i'll be here 'til the end of time

one .

linh

"I still don't think you should be doing this," Tam said quietly.

Even I wasn't sure if I should be here. Waiting. For Fitz. Because today we were going to open our matchmaking lists. To say the gang was stunned would be an epic understatement, because like, what? The uncontrollable hydrokinetic who hates all the prejudiced laws wanting to see if Fitz was her match? Ever since Fitz had brought it up a few months ago, warning bells were going off in my head. And they were loud. But I had to trust Fitz. He knew what he was doing, right? Right?

I chewed on my lip. For once, I didn't argue.

"Hey," Marella spoke up, her voice more timid than normal. "You good, watergirl?"

"I'm fine."

"She's not fine," Tam muttered, but I glared at him. Tam had been nothing short of incredibly annoying for the past few weeks.

A burst of light and a woosh told me that Fitz was here.

"Hey," He said softly.

"Hi," I replied, not looking him in the eye.

He sat next to me and ducked so I was forced to look at him. I laughed weakly.

"There we go," Fitz grinned and kissed my cheek. "Are you all set?"

I nodded and we both stood up. I waved to Tam and Marella, barely even able to say a meek "bye" before Fitz pulled me into the light.

"So this is it." I stared blankly at the package. It was pretty boring, just a plain pink box with a sparkly ribbon on it. Blue would be better.

"Yeah."

"Should I open it?"

"That's the reason we're here," Fitz reminded me.

Oh. Yeah.

Fitz steadied my shaking hands. "Linh. Even if I'm not on it, it's fine. The only reason we're doing this is... well, just for the fun of it."

"Yeah. Just for the fun of it." I repeated.

I opened the packet and sucked in a breath.

1. Fitzroy Avery Vacker.