Nora


    "I should probably teleport to our house in Lunaris before you guys, set up the heat, and make sure there is food," Evan says, scratching his neck while ncing between us. "Is that alright?" "That''s fine, honey. It will be a long ride." My mother stands on her tiptoes to kiss my dad. She still doesn''t reach, so he picks her up into her arms- so gross.


    I avert my eyes and fight the urge to roll them when my second dad, Raphael, is suddenly fighting for my mother''s attention. It''s kissing chaos on the street.


    Lily is packing the rest of her things, and I look up when I hear a chuckle from above me.


    ke is towering over me, and finally, he is wearing clothes that fit his superhero body. "Not a fan of seeing your mom and dads shower love and affection over each other?"


    I grimace. "Not really. It''s cute what my parents have, but... No one likes seeing their parents smooch each other with kisses."


    "Understandable," ke rakes me up and down with curious eyes, and his smile grows. "So, how do you want me?"


    My eyes almost bulge out of their sockets, and my voicees out high-pitched. "E-Excuse me?" What the hell does he mean by asking me that? Is he onto me?! Does he know I like him?


    "During the car ride... Like, do you want me small or big?" ke blinks, and I swear I see a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I don''t mean in a dirty way, of course. I think it might be crowded with Lily, you, and I all sitting in the back with me like this." Lily, who knows I''m crushing on ke, chooses that moment to sneak up from behind.


    "You can stay like that," Lily winks at me when ke doesn''t see it, and then she smiles at him. "Nora is the smallest one out of us three. She can sit in the middle."


    ke lifts a skeptical eyebrow. "But is there enough space?"


    Lily giggles. "Well... Nora usually falls asleep during long car rides, and I rather she uses you as an armrest rather than me. She drools in her sleep, and I want none of that on my arm." OH-MY-GOD.


    WHAT IS SHE EVEN SAYING RIGHT NOW?!


    My chest intes with nervous energy.


    I stare at my sister, asking her with my face, "What the f**k are you doing?!" And she shrugs, seeming to say, "I''m your wingman; what does it look like I''m doing?"


    "I suppose that''s true...." ke muses, buying my sister''s excuse before turning to me with a megawatt smile. "Looks like I will be your pillow for the entire duration of the ride."


    My heart skips a beat. I watch ke help my mom with closing the trunk. Evan leaves, and Raphael takes his ce behind the wheel. This is it, we are going back home. Lily nces down at me. "How do you feel?"


    "About what?" I whisper-yell at her. "You making sure that my heart will race the entire way to Lunaris?! Sitting next to ke is a bad idea, and you know this!"


    Her lips part in a gleaming smile. "C''mon, aren''t you grateful that you will be able to sniff ke for the entire journey home? That man uses the best cologne, I must say." "Lily!" I exim, narrowing my eyes before lowering my tone once more. "Not so loud! What if he hears you?!"


    "Pfft, ke might be a powerful fairy, but he doesn''t have werewolf hearing; you''re fine."


    I pout with reddening cheeks. "Even if ke can''t hear you, I don''t want to take the risk... I feel terrible for... You know... Liking him and all. I should feel things for him."


    "I''m sorry," Lily''s eyes travel to ke. "You two have been inseparable ever since you guys time traveled. I know you said Leo is your mate, but... I hope you can have both."


    I swallow thickly. "ke belongs to Erika." This is why I should give up on him, but the heart wants what it wants. And mine is greedy.


    "I know," Lily grimaces. "Which is why I think you must spend as much time with ke as possible. I''m not saying this to break your heart, but you might lose your best friend soon." My heart crumbles a little further.


    Lily is speaking the truth. Her words cut underneath my skin, and I feel like crying. I might lose ke soon. He only hangs out with me because he doesn''t have a mate.


    But once he finds Erika? Then it will be about him winning her over and making her ept him, and I''m a terrible friend. I should support his rtionship, but I''m... I''m in love with him.


    And it''s all wrong!


    "I''m a terrible person," I look at Lily, eyes filled with tears. My heart feels like it''s shattering to pieces. I whisper to her. "How do I make it stop? How do I stop liking him?" Lily, the best sister in the world, cries with me. Tears pool in her eyes, and she hugs me. "I don''t know..."


    "Like, why does he have to be so nice? He time traveled with me to save Leo. He is always there when I need him. We joke and watch movies together. We argue, and... I just like him." Lily hugs me tighter. "I know... I know..."


    "I can''t breathe..." my eyes are also burning and stinging from my tears. My eyelids are probably swollen. "I don''t want to like him, Lily..."


    "I''m aware of that too..."


    I sniff,ughing a bit. "Why are you crying?"


    "I don''t know-probably because you are crying!"


    We bothugh and continue hugging each other. ke walks over to us, confused as to why we are shedding tears, but he probably assumes we are sad to leave.


    Either way, ke says nothing and instead offers me a small smile, entirely clueless that he is the reason my heart hurts. This stupidly beautiful boy with a heart made of gold. "Hey, girls!" Raphael shouts. "You ready?"


    "We are on our way!" Lily shouts. "Rx!"


    Raphael honks, and we allugh. The atmosphere is light again, and we all get inside the car. It doesn''t take long before Raphael and mom are talking about travel ns while Lily is listening to her own music.


    I nce her way, see the earphones, and sigh. I feel really awkward and sweaty sitting next to ke. He is so huge that my left arm and thigh are glued against him.


    When I meet his eyes, he smiles hesitantly. He doesn''t seem to know what caught my attention but is happy to have it. So beautiful. His eyes are gentle, and like clockwork, my pulse skyrockets. Damn it.


    "Is something the matter?" ke asks.


    "No..." I slowly exhale, careful not to let him know that he is making me feel nervous, sparky, and warm. "I''m just spacing out."


    "Noted."


    "Hey, kids-" my mom stops in her sentence when she notices that Lily is sleeping and grimaces. Her voice turns into a whisper. "I was going to ask if you want some privacy and if I should close the curtain on the backseat divider?" "Sure," I say and re at her. "By the way, we aren''t kids anymore."


    She sticks out her tongue. "In my world, you will always be my small, cute little children. Age doesn''t matter."


    I glip my mom the bird, she flips hers back, and we both snort before she closes the curtain. I love our rtionship. It''s built on love and trust and a lot of swearing between each other.


    My eyes travel to ke, and I notice him whispering a spell. He moves his finger to his lips to hush me, and then I see a blue light spreading to form a barrier around our space. "Woah, what was that?"


    ke grins. "A little spell of mine to make sure they can''t listen in on our conversation."


    "Oh," I blink in surprise. "You have something important to say? Secrets?"


    His smile vanishes, and he sighs. "No secrets, but there is something private I would like to discuss with you, actually."


    Somehow, I don''t have a good feeling about this. There are warning bells even before I''ve opened my mouth. Even my heart is pounding, but every little thud hurts. Yet I dare ask. "What is up?"


    ke peers down at me, all serious, which is odd. "Do you have romantic feelings for me, Nora?"