"I'll be good, I'll be good, and I'll love the world like I should."

T A N N I

No. No no no no no. I didn't, I did not just touch someone, let alone make him burst into flames like a freaking phoenix.

"You're on fire," I'd said so calmly like I didn't just almost kill him. And when I say almost killed him, I didn't mean the fire.

When I made the clarifying statement, he nodded back, supposedly distracted by how unnaturally calm I was. Then he processed what I said.

"Oh."

He scrambled back from my candle, slapping his arm to get the fire out, only burning himself in the process. The boy kicked and thrashed his arms around with panic, accidentally kicking the candle at me. I screamed, trying to back away too––neither of us bothered to get off the floor––and ended up quite literally playing football with it, making the grass around us catch fire in the process. He grabbed it and threw it somewhere far from us, near an old hut––the one teachers used to use to store medication and stuff.

He was such an idiot.

And he probably should've turned it off first. 'Cause, it fell on top of my book.

He burned my book.

We both watched in horror as the novel burst into flames; the fire spread around us and on it and we could already see corners of the pages turning black. I yelled in despair, anxiety lacing my voice, and I was overwhelmed with dread. I ran towards the novel and began blowing and whacking its pages in the hope of putting out the fire. Fortunately, it worked. Unfortunately, my beautiful, gorgeous book that was my whole life and sanity would be forever singed and damaged, though readable. I glared up at him, murder in my eyes.

"Look, before you yell at me," he put a hand up in defence. "We need to put out the fire that's currently spreading around us, yeah? Hand me my bag, it's behind you."

Glaring, I threw him the bag. He pulled out a water bottle and little by little poured out the liquid onto the flames until they extinguished.

Ok, could I yell at him now? Yes. Yes I could.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I yelled, anger clear in my voice. He stared back at me, standing up while he wiped his hands on his jeans to get the mud off his hands. I huffed in exasperation, giving him the side eye as I picked my belongings up off the ground. Unfortunately, he decided to retort. As if he could say anything!

I mean, I did set him on fire. But his arm is nowhere near as important.

"Do you normally go around setting people on fire?" he asked, "or is this a one time thing?"

I sighed. "I might turn it into a hobby," I replied, "what kind of idiot plays football with a candle anyway?"

"The same kind of idiot who uses a lighter for reading light," he replied coldly, "ever heard of a torch?" I looked down, my face heating up with embarrassment. I turned on my heel, walking off. I heard the boy sigh before he too decided to leave.

And that's when the realisation hit me.

I set him on fire. Not only that. but I touched him too. What if my gloves had fallen off? What if I'd made contact with his bare skin? What if I'd killed him?

What if I did what I did to my brother? I needed to get back to the dorms quickly, before I had the chance to hurt anyone.

"No touching, Tanni," I told myself, "no touching no touching don't you dare walk into anyone again don't you dare." I tried to pull my sleeves further down to cover up my hands and ducked my head down. And once again began the painful task of trying not to kill anyone accidentally...Not until I found a way to get rid of it.

♡♡♡

"Well, don't you look cheerful tonight," Harper signed to me, glancing at the expression on my face through the mirror as I trudged into our room, "come on, what happened?" She adjusted her hearing aids and spun around in her chair to face me.

"I don't wanna talk about it," I signed back, throwing myself down on her bed, "I'll never be the same again."

"Drama queen," she smiled.

"I'm not being dramatic," I sat up. "I walked into a guy, set him on fire. And then––guess what he did. Go on, guess."

"He drowned himself in the rain?" Harper replied, rolling her eyes.

"He burned my book," I held up the proof.

"Oh, what a tragedy," she signed, sarcasm in her eyes.

I grinned, and although I was still in absolute despair over my ruined copy of 'A World Without Colour', Harper never failed to make me feel better. I blushed, feeling my face heat up with shame. I didn't deserve her. I'd made a mistake befriending my roommate in the first place, now she was in even more danger than everyone else.

"So, what have you been doing tonight?" I asked.

"Nothing. But I did see this guy fall out of Vidius's office window, so that was pretty amusing," she shrugged.

"Sounds fun. No late night run?"

She shook her head, chucking a couple of textbooks in my direction. "Throw them," she signed, "I wanna practise."

I grinned. Helping Harper with her force fields was always my favourite part of the day.

I moved to the other side of the room, books in hand and when I got the okay from her, I chucked them one by one at her, cheering when she sent them back my way.

That is until I got whacked in the face. Again.

When I recovered, Harper was still laughing.

"Can't you catch?" she signed teasingly.

"Some friend you are," I rolled my eyes, sitting back down, "excited about the abilities project?" Harper was the only person I knew who was 100% happy with her power.

She nodded, but her hands shook when she reached to pick up the books. I didn't blame her, I really really really didn't want to do this project. No one knew I had an ability, and I intended to keep it that way. There was no way anyone was going to hear about my past, let alone my power.

That night didn't go so well with me.

It was five in the morning when I went to bed. I wasn't planning to fall asleep. But there I was, having the same nightmare I'd been having almost every night for three years...

I woke up in a cold, bright, empty room. I could feel a sickening energy pulse through my veins, taking over my body. The sudden urge to jump out of bed and break down the door overwhelmed me, but I was too confused, too tired, and too ill to move. My head pounded, my ears rang and I lay still for what felt like an eternity. No one came to check on me, but I only had one thought running through my mind on that torturous day.

I need to see my brother.

My brother was missing for six months before the Last Bomb. My brother who everyone thought was dead. My brother who'd promised he'd come back for me.

My brother whose voice I could hear at this exact moment.

"I already told you, I'm not doing it," James's hushed voice rang through the air.

"And I already told you. There. Will. Be. Consequences," another voice whispered, suddenly it turned confident. "And who says they haven't already happened, hm? Who's to say that you won't walk into that room and find out that your mistakes have messed with your family too?"

"Enough with your threats, Thomas. I've said what I need to say, I'm not stooping down to that level. The war is over, now let me live in peace," James said harshly, "now get out of my way, I need to see my sister." I straightened up, suddenly feeling hyper and able to move freely.

"Whatever you say, Evelyn," Thomas scoffed.

And before I knew it, there he was. My older brother had opened the door and was standing directly in front of me. After two years, I could finally tell him everything.

"Hey there, Lieutenant," he said jokingly, using his old nickname for me.

"James!" I cried out in relief. I jumped out of bed, despite my condition and hugged my

brother with all the energy I could muster. He had a real, pure smile plastered on his face, but then it disappeared.

Because one second he was in my arms, the next he was dead. Swallowed by the darkness.

♡♡♡

The next morning, I was pretty shaken up. As I was each and every morning before it. It also didn't help that the boy I'd walked into last night kept glaring over at me. I heard one of his friends call him Mark. Well, Mark. I hope you bloody feel guilty now. Book-burner.

Another thing. The conversation that James had with that other guy outside the room before he died? It had something to do with my ability. It must have. What else would it be about?

James knew something was up, and he must have been fighting against it.

Until I figured out what he knew, I had to worry about this stupid project.

"Good morning, I'm sure you've all remembered that today is the beginning of your ability research project," Mr Vidius interrupted my thoughts, tiredly, "you'll be doing this in pairs, allowing you to compare your individual power and presenting it with great creativity."

"You will find an enclosed list of who you are to do this project with," he continued, "please start as soon as possible, the deadline is in one month."

Silence followed, and no one dared to speak a word, our fingers itching to open our lists.

"Have fun," he mumbled sarcastically and then decided to practically fall asleep at his desk.

The sound of tearing envelopes filled the classroom, with mild chatter in the air. I reached forward and began opening my own list. I looked behind me, giving Harper a hopeful smile and began reading.

Below you will find an enclosed list of partners for this project:

Nico, Harper

Amira, Celeste

Thomas, Dex

Izunami, Sophie

The list went on and on and I found myself skimming until I found my name, though I didn't expect anything good now. Harper was paired up already, with Mark's friend, Nico; finally, I stopped when I saw my own name on the list, right next to...

Oh god.

Mark, Tanni.

a/n – ok i know this was pretty similar to the og but asdfghjkl tanni's back!!!! i'm so glad you've stuck with her <333. please remember to vote/comment!! anyway, question of the chapter: favourite music artist? (mine is mother––taylor swift)!! have a nice day/night wherever you are!!