Ferry hadn't seen Matilda for a week. After the incident with Danny, he thought it was better to talk to her outside of school. And there came Ben's turn to play the role of the peacemaker. Ferry had gotten on Ben's back on the subject every break, for a whole week.

But Ben wasn't sure about it, "I don't know about that, Ferry ... Matt will be angry if she finds out we set this up together."

"She won't realize it, Ben. The Science test is coming. You know Matt is not the best in Science. She'll need your help. She will come to you to meditate her. Then, I'll show up ..."

"I don't know, Ferr ..."

"Look, you can invite Celia if you like. That way, it won't look suspicious."

Ferry took Ben to a more secluded place behind the gym where they would work out the details of the plan. It was lunch break and they had more time for that. They were heading for a more secluded bench when a sigh stopped them; it came from a corner of the park near the gym. The boys looked at each other, then headed for that place. They found Steph sobbing, stunted near a tree, her face buried in her palms.

Ferry suggested to Ben to leave. But Ben's kind heart couldn't see anyone suffering.

"Steph, are you alright?" he asked, stepping closer.

At his sight, Steph began to sob even louder. "Go away, Ben," she told him, her eyes brimmed in tears.

"Not until I know you're alright."

"What do you care?" she asked, looking at him, her frog-eyes swollen with tears. You've forgotten me already...

"Of course I care," Ben said softly. "I don't want to see you sad."

At the sound of his words, Steph clung to Ben's neck and began to cry even louder at his chest. Ferry wanted to leave, but Ben made desperate gestures at him to stay. When he managed to pull Steph off his neck, his shirt was wet with tears.

"I miss you, Ben," she sobbed. "Why did we have to break up?"

"Steph, we've talked about this before. It wasn't working. I-- I didn't love you. And it wasn't fair to you."

Suddenly, Steph's gaze turned wild. She forgot to cry, "It's because of her, isn't it? That phony Celia Haughty. How can you like her?"

Ben tried to calm her down, "It's not because of her, Steph. Things just weren't going well between us."

"She'll break your heart, you know," she said as if spitting poison. "Do you think her parents will accept you, as mine did? Do you think they will agree their precious girl being with someone of your condition?" she said, breathlessly.

"What does that mean?" Ben frowned.

"Well, it's not like you have the noblest blood," she grinned. "Not to mention that your mother is, well, a nomad."

"Steph, how can you say that? What has this got to do with it?" Ben raised his voice.

"I mean, I accepted you the way you are, Ben," she said, and her voice broke again. She tried to step closer to him again, but Ben took a few steps back. "I see you the way you are. You're kind, and sweet, intelligent, and generous. You're every girl's dream. While she-- Do you know what she's saying behind your back?" she yelled through tears. "She's laughing at you, Ben. She and her friends. She says that you are a bet and that she just wants to make you fall in love with her, and then, she'll ditch you. Can't you see that, Benji?"

But Ben shook his head. "You're lying!" he said. "Celia is not like that!"

"See? She already has you wrapped around her finger. I don't recognize you anymore, Ben. You weren't like that." 

"Like what?" Ben wondered.

"Like that," she darted at him and tore his shirt around his neck. On Ben's neck, Celia's lips were perfectly visible. A hickey;  the sign that their love was far from discreet. If Celia managed to hide the traces of Ben's kisses on her skin with scarves she changed every day, it was harder for Ben to do that.

Ben hid his love mark and walked away from her, his fists clenched. Ferry hurried to follow him.

"You're going to pay for this, Ben!" Steph screamed behind them. "You are both going to pay, you and your girlie!"

"Now that was intense," Ferry said after walking far enough where they could no longer hear Steph.

Ben said nothing.

"You don't believe what Steph just said, do you?" Ferry asked him. "About Celia, I mean."

Ben shook his head, "No ... It's just-- I wish we didn't hide anymore. Not be afraid of her parents anymore. And so what they find out?"

"Ben, you don't know them," Ferry said, turning very serious. " I met them a few times. Let's just say they're not the most ... permissive parents in the world. Quite the contrary. Besides, don't you think things are moving too fast between you?"

Ben gave it a thought for a moment, "No, Ferr," he said. I've never been more certain. I'm sure that what we feel for each other is forever."

*

Ferry didn't meet Matilda during sports classes either. The girls and boys had separate classes because it was trial times.

"I think this time I'll have a better time. I've been training every day, lately," said Ben.

"Where did you train?" Ferry wondered.

Ben fussed, "At Celia's. Actually, on the lakeshore at night. So that no one can see us."

Ferry smiled. Ben and Celia took every moment to be together, but no matter how long they stayed with each other, it wasn't enough. He was happy for them, but in a way, he was jealous. He had never had anything like that with anyone. He had never seen two people so in love. Or maybe he had. Billy and Andrew. But their love was also hidden. And it saddened Ferry to think that something so beautiful as love had to stay hidden as if something wrong.

Now, Andrew and Billy kept the distance from each other, each pretending to warm up for the speed trial. From time to time, they would look at each other and smile. But Andrew looked tired and weak again. He was paler than usual and deep circles surrounded his eyes. The green of his eyes had faded, his eyes taking on a strange look.

Billy was surrounded by the boys on the football team teasing him for the mark on Billy's neck they had discovered in the locker room. Andrew avoided taking part in the discussion, pretending to tie his lace.

"Come on, Billy, tell us who the girl is," the boys laughed.

"A gentleman never tells," he tried to get rid of their awkward questions.

"Oh, come on, Billy, stop killing us with suspense," said Sam Roberts, the football team's captain. "Is it Celia? Or May? Samantha?"

"I told you, you won't find out anything from me."

"Since when did you become so boring?" Sam laughed. "You used to tell us every detail."

"I bet it's Celia," said another boy. "I've seen her wearing scarves lately. You're a lucky lad, Billy."

Billy said nothing, continuing with the stretching exercises.

"Why are you so secretive lately?" Sam insisted. "Who is it? She's an older woman, isn't she? Maybe she's your friend's girlfriend, Mrs. Jones. You two share everything anyway," he laughed.

But Billy wasn't laughing anymore. The discussion turned dangerous and Andrew quickly glanced at him worriedly.

"Mind your own business, Roberts," Billy said.

"Or what?" Sam insisted.

Billy walked past him and pushed him with his shoulder. Sam couldn't help but push him back. 

The quarrel was about to break out, but Mr. Owen, the sports teacher, separated them, "Come on, boys! Put your energy into sport," he told them in a serious tone. "I'm sure you don't want detention. Everyone, pay attention. The trials start soon. I'll call you two by two, then I'll give you the start. Remember that you are against the clock. Try to give your best and have a good time."

Then, Mr. Owen started calling the pairs and lining them up at the start line. Ferry was teaming up with Andrew. Again. He sighed and positioned at the starting line. He hadn't won a single race since he ran against Andrew.

This time, Andrew didn't look at him defiantly. He positioned at the starting line and waited. Mr. Owen whistled and Ferry darted like an arrow. He ran as fast as he could. He expected to be left behind by Andrew at any moment. But that didn't happen. Without stopping, he turned his head and saw Andrew far behind. At one point, the boy stopped and collapsed.

Ferry turned back towards Andrew. But Billy was already beside Andrew who was lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

"Andrew, are you alright?" Billy said between gasps, examining his forehead, neck, and chest with his fingertips for a blow. "Please, open your eyes," he whispered, bringing his lips closer to his forehead.

The other boys also came running, together with the sports teacher.

"What happened?" they whispered at each other.

Andrew finally opened his eyes. A white liquid flowed from his nose, which Andrew wiped quickly.

"You'd better take him to the Nursery," said Mr. Owen.

But Andrew shook his head no, "I'm fine. It's probably because of the heat," he said, forcing a smile.

"Son, this is not something to play with. You're going to the Nursery now!But Andrew tried to get up, leaning on Billy's shoulder, "I'm fine, Mr. Owen, seriously," Andrew insisted. "I'm sure that if I walk a little, and drink some water, I'll be as good as new."But the pallor of his face said otherwise.

"Andrew, Mr. Owen is right," Billy said. "A doctor should see you."

"No, Billy, no," Andrew insisted, "I'm fine." Then, he looked into Billy's eye in a certain way, "Please, let's take a walk. Please..."

Billy nodded, and they both started to the edge of the sports field. Andrew could barely move, leaning on Billy's shoulder, which had wrapped his arm around him so he wouldn't collapse. The other boys scattered as well. Only Ferry and Ben remained, looking behind them, not knowing what to make of what just happened. Ferry looked to the place Andrew fell and saw something glittering in the grass. A drop of silver. He touched it with his fingers and examined it closely. Ben also came closer. Ferry now knew what the silver drop was.

"White blood," he said.

"Fairy blood," Ben added.

*

Ferry was in a hurry to get home to Lavender sooner to change and get to work earlier; that way, he would get to Ben earlier and he could finally see Matilda after a whole week. He was trying to slip through the crowd of students when a warm voice behind him stopped him. It was May.

"Hello, Ferry," she told him and smiled at him as only she could.

"Hello, May," he said, feeling flustered all of a sudden.

"May I join you?"

"Sure..."

They walked for a while in the gentle afternoon sun without saying a word. They were approaching May's house when the girl stopped him, gently putting her hand on his arm, "Listen, Ferry, I wanted to apologize for ... For accusing you of telling my secret."

"How did you find out it wasn't me?" he asked.

"Matilda told me." "She paid a visit last week ... We talked."

"She did that?" Ferry wondered.

"Yes. Matilda can be stubborn, and too direct, and a thousand other things. But she knows when she's wrong."

"Did she say anything about me?" he asked, suddenly becoming interested.

"No ... But I think she likes you. More than a friend, that is. That's why she did it. And she's embarrassed about it. I saw you don't talk anymore. You shouldn't be mad at her."

"I'm not mad at her. It's just ... it's complicated," he said softly. "Are you sure she didn't say anything else?" he insisted.

May frowned, "No ... What else was to say?"

"Nothing...

They both turned silent.

"You shouldn't have doubted me, May," he told her, looking her in the eye.

The girl looked away, "I'm sorry, Ferry ..."

Ferry looked at his watch. It was getting late. "I have to go..."

But May stopped him again. Her delicate hand rested on his arm for a moment longer.

"I was thinking maybe you want to come by tonight."

"I don't know, May ... Your father didn't look very welcoming the last time I visited you."

" Maybe you'll come to see me later in the evening. Like before ... I'll leave the light on."

Ferry fussed, "I'll try..."

"But try not to be too late," she smiled. "We have school tomorrow."

Ferry nodded and left. It was already late.

*

Ferry ran like a shot to Ben's house. He was late. He saw Matilda's bicycle resting against Ben's fence. She had arrived before him. Come in anyway. Maybe it wasn't all lost.

He greeted Ben's mother and sisters in a hurry and climbed the stairs. He burst into Ben's room without knocking on the door. Three heads turned to him: Ben, Celia, and Matilda.

"What is he doing here?" Matilda asked, her foot tapping; she glared at Ben, waiting for an answer.

Ben fussed. "Well, I invited him too. Ferry isn't good at Science either," he tried to explain.

"If I knew he was coming, I wouldn't have come."

"Oh, come on, Matt," Ben insisted in his soft voice, "it would be like before. It would be nice, you'll see. This is hard for me, too. I can't choose between my best friends."

Matilda rolled her eyes, turned her back on Ferry, who was catching his breath and focused on Ben's desk. Until Ferry arrived, Ben explained to the girls an optics experiment he had designed himself. Ferry took a deep breath and approached the table. In the middle of the table, there was a chess piece behind which were several in-line lenses, Ben's glasses among them.

"By placing the lenses in a line, light from behind the object is focused down to a point through one lens, then emerges out, essentially bending around the object," Ben explained.

Celia was in front of Ben, studying the chess piece. From time to time, she turned to him and smiled. Then, their hands were always searching and finding each other, whether Ben was giving Celia her hair behind her ear or Celia's hand resting on Ben's shoulder.

Matilda, on the other hand, turned her back on Ferry as if he wasn't there.

"Look," Ben said, "if you bend over and look at it from this angle, it's almost ..."

They all knelt by the table.

"... invisible," Matilda whispered.

"Exactly," Ben said, proud of himself.

Now, they were all sitting on the floor, in front of the table, and watched the chess piece appear and disappear in front of them.

"It's just light," Ben said.

Celia, standing next to him, put her hands around his neck and gently rubbed her nose against the back of his neck.

"Celia, stop," Ben said, without retreating, though. "You're tickling."

"I can't help it," she said. "You smell so good. Like green apples."

"Are you sniffing me?" laughed Ben.

Matilda sighed and rolled her eyes. She was now keeping some distance Ferry, but at least he could see her face. The girl wore pants, like usual, and a white blouse that showed a fine vein on her white neck. Her hair had grown and it was now reaching her shoulders, a ray of sunshine playing through the shiny strands, giving them reddish reflections. Her bangs, also long, kept falling into her eyes, and Matilda blew it up so she could see. Her fresh breath, from the mint gum she chewed, reached to Ferry.

"Alright, let us know when you're done sniffing," she told Ben and Celia. "Maybe we can get back to learning. I'm sure no one will ask us how Ben smells at the Science test tomorrow."

Ferry couldn't help but laugh and Matilda glanced at him, but Ferry could see a glimmer of joy in her look.

Ben took the Science textbook off the table and began to explain the definitions of optics lessons to them. He then laid down on the floor, with his head on Celia's lap, and began to read, following the lines with his finger. The girl removed the hair from his forehead, but Ben's rebellious hair stubbornly turned back on his forehead. Ben tried to focus on the textbook in his hand, but his eyes were always on Celia's face. When their eyes met, the girl leaned over and kissed him. Ben didn't resist and kissed her back. The book slipped from his hand, and his now free hand caressed the girl's hair. Their gesture was so natural as if Ben and Celia had always been together and the entire world was theirs.

Matilda's eyes widened and she looked at Ferry. Ferry smiled at her and shrugged.

Then, Ben and Celia remembered that they were not alone. Ben blushed to the tips of his ears and sat up to pick up the book that had fallen from his hand. He cleared his throat and began to read again, without looking at Celia. The girl, also surprised by the gesture she had just made, stared at the ground, playing with the hem of her skirt.

Matilda clasped her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, her thoughts away. Ferry pulled closer to her and gently poked her on the ribs. The girl shuddered, smiled at him, and wanted to poke him back. But then, as if she remembered that this was forbidden, she looked at him and heavy clouds covered the look in her eyes. She got up abruptly, collected her notebooks, and headed for the door. The others got up, too.

"Matt, what are you doing?" Ben asked."

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Thanks for the optics lesson, Ben," she forced herself to smile, then left the room.

Without waiting, Ferry followed her. He caught up with her in front of Ben's house.

"Matt, what happened?" he asked.

The girl turned to him. She struggled not to cry. "I'm sorry, Ferry, but I can't ..."

"What is it that you can't do?" he asked softly, though he knew the answer.

"This," she said. "This bad try to make things look the same between us."

"We can try again, Matt," he said, coming closer. "We can try to make it as before."

But she shook her head no. "I'm sorry, Ferry. I can't. I can't pretend that all I feel for you is just friendship."

Ferry tried to say something, but he felt a lump in his throat.

Matilda headed towards her bicycle, but then she stopped. "Please, Ferry, don't try anymore... Just let it go ..." she said and her voice broke.

Ferry nodded and felt his eyes fill with tears again. "This means that..."

"It's over, Ferry," she said, biting her trembling lip. She came to him, sat on the tip of her toes, and pressed her cheek to his cheek while he stood still, unable to believe it. He saw her through the tears that trembled between his eyelashes as she got on her bike and left.

Ferry didn't know for how long he's been there, looking after her. He was awakened by Ben's hand on his shoulder. He found him and Celia looking at him.

"Ferry, are you alright? What happened?"

Ferry turned to his friend, "It's over, Ben," he softly said. Then, he turned and left, saying nothing more. He no longer felt in the mood for his friends, the beautiful weather outside, or long walks. He wasn't in a mood for anything anymore.

*

At dinner, he barely touched the food. Parsley didn't insist on lessons for revealing his fairy powers. His mother didn't insist on eating everything from the plate. Ferry told them he had a hard day and retired to his room. He then stared at the ceiling for hours. It couldn't be over. He couldn't imagine his life without Matilda. The most important events in his life were all related to her. First time he left home. First day of school. First Halloween. The first time he set foot on the fairyland. First kiss. She had always been his first time. What would his life be like now without her?

He got out of bed and looked at the darkening sky. No. It couldn't end like that. He couldn't live with the thought he would never see her again, or meet by chance, whenever their roads would once cross. If she didn't want to see him, he would still see her. That very evening. He took off his jacket and left the house.

He took flight and stopped in the tall poplar tree across Matilda's house. Voices came from the backyard. Matilda and Sage were there. Ferry was hidden by the foliage of the tree and the moonless night. The tree was tall, and the light from the street lamps did not reach its top. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her again. It had been a few hours since he'd seen her, but he already missed her.

He was now watching the two of them. They didn't play football, as usual, they just talked. Matilda looked sad. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could tell she was crouching on the grass with her chin on her knees. He knew her that well. Sage was in front of her and made all kinds of jumps in the air, trying to cheer her up. From time to time, Matilda laughed. Her laughter sounded like a bell in the high silence of the air.

Then, Sage showed her some fighting moves. Ferry knew that he, too, although born for something completely different, was training to be a fighter for when they would return to Akna. After the moves he was making, he still had work to do. Matilda rose from the ground and showed him a move that Sage tried to imitate. He didn't succeed this time either. Or maybe Sage was showing himself so ignorant in the art of fighting just to make her laugh. That thought bothered Ferry, somehow. He focused better on what the two were doing.

Matilda showed Sage a new move, this time using her legs. She did not see the branch behind her, she stumbled and fell. Sage was next to her at the speed of light. Matilda seemed to have hit her hand. Sage took her hand gently, turned it upside down, and studied it to see where she was hurt. His gesture seemed incredibly tender to his massive figure. In his big hand, Matilda's delicate hand looked completely lost. Then, Sage leaned over her hand and kissed her palm. 

Ferry was about to fall from the tree. He could barely breathe. Matilda looked at the wolf-man in front of her who seemed to have suddenly turned into the gentlest being. She smiled at him and slowly withdrew her hand. Sage stood up and helped her stand as well. They both went inside, Sage's protective arm gently grasping the girl's slender waist.

Ferry stayed in the poplar tree near her house for a long time. He didn't know what he had seen. Had Matilda replaced him as a friend so easily? Or did Sage mean something else to her? Or her to him?

He knew from Matilda's mother that Sage had become part of the family. Unlike his other Guardians who were always around him and who lived in Lavender's cottage, Sage had chosen to live in Matilda's house. Not to become suspicious that so many strange creatures were lurking near Lavender's house, he had said. But was that the real reason?

Ferry struggled to leave the tree, taking flight to the northern hills. That day had been longer than any other. In his lazy flight over the town, a thought suddenly came to his mind. He had promised May that he would stop by her that night. He flew like an arrow to her house. He stayed somewhere above. The house was in complete darkness. Ferry scanned the sky. It was supposed to be long after midnight. He had completely forgotten about May.

TO BE CONTINUED

So... Things are getting complicated for everyone. What do you think? 

Can't wait to see your comments. I want you to know I read them all, even though I can't always reply (there are hundreds of them every day). Also, don't forget to vote! Thank you!