SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 17- Baby Steps

"Breeze, you need to relax," Mom says as she holds me, but I can't help but keep rocking back and forth. The wind keeps getting stronger and the sky is growing darker.

"Val, I've got this, I can calm it down." Aunt Alice states as she starts to raise her hands.

"Don't." Daddy says calmly "She's not a little kid anymore, she needs to learn how to do this on her own." he explains. Alice sighs as she puts her hands back down, calmly sitting down on the stairs.

"Just think calm thoughts, kiddo." she states reassuringly "This used to happen to me before I even knew what was happening. You just have to focus on positives and ease your soul." she explains. As I look at everyone, I take a deep breath and let it go, closing my eyes and focusing on them. I'm fine, I'm just having a mild panic attack. It wasn't even over anything big, I just need to remember that I am safe and everything is going to be fine. Suddenly, I feel the wind begin to soften, relieving the goosebumps that had formed on my skin.

"There we go." Alice smiles warmly "Deep breaths, you've got this." she says reassuringly. As I look around, I see the clouds begin to disappear, making way for the blue sky.

"Atta-girl." Mom says happily, "See, I told you that you could do it on your own." she says as she squeezes me tightly.

"Whoa." I state as I stare out at the sky "I made that happen?" I ask, shocked at my newfound ability.

"Yup." Aunt Victoria states as she comes out the front entrance, staring out at the city "It's amazing what you can do without even realizing that it's even possible." she smiles.

"I'm proud of you, little warrior." Daddy smiles as he helps me to my feet "No wonder, that ability fits your name."

I can feel a chilling breeze on my skin as I start to wake up, causing me to shiver. When I begin to open my eyes, my head feels like it's resting on something warm. Suddenly, I realize that I'm leaning on Magnus.

"Shit!" I shout as I jerk back, crashing into the rock.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." he laughs as he watches me fumble to sit up.

"Damn, how long was I out?" I ask nervously as I see the orange sky through the trees.

"Maybe two hours." he laughs softly. "You seemed exhausted, so I didn't want to wake you up." he explains kindly.

"Oh, um... thanks?" I say awkwardly as I sit up and lean on the boulder.

"Do you always mumble in your sleep?" he asks curiously, and suddenly, I got insanely nervous.

"Sometimes I guess." I state anxiously "Did I say anything interesting?"

"You just sounded like you were nervous, then really excited, but I couldn't really catch any words," he explains, making me feel relieved.

"Oh, okay." I say, feeling embarrassed "Sorry I fell asleep on you, that was pretty awkward." I apologize.

"Oh, please, I didn't mind at all." he smiles warmly. Suddenly, I have a weird fuzzy feeling in my stomach and my face starts to turn red.

"So, um, what did you do while I was out? It must have been pretty boring." I ask, trying to change the subject.

"Just sat and thought. I daydream a lot, so the peace and quiet was nice with the occasional murmur from you," he explains happily.

"Oh yeah? What were you thinking about?" I ask curiously.

"Just a bunch of nonsense, nothing special." he states "What were you dreaming about?"

"Um," I begin, trying to think of a good cover. Once again, I suck at this. "Just a bunch of nonsense I guess. I can't really focus on any of it." I explain nervously, and he seems to take notice.

"Are you okay?" he asks worriedly "You've seemed kinda flustered since yesterday." Suddenly, that feeling returns to my stomach. What is this?

"I... don't really know honestly." I sigh, "Ever since the festival, I've been feeling kind of weird." I explain, happy that it wasn't really lying.

"Oh," he says, sounding relieved "I honestly thought it had something to do with me. I'm not really close to anyone outside of my family, so I was kind of worried that I was coming on strong," he explains.

"What?" I say, kind of surprised by this "I don't really think so. If you were, I would have said something by now. I'm kind of a blunt person and... um... yea." I state, realizing why he said that I seem flustered.

"Wow, and I thought I was nervous about making conversation." he laughs as he sees me look away, my face beginning to turn red again.

"I'm sorry, I just... I really don't know what's going on with me." I state nervously.

"You need to relax, I think you're stressing yourself out too much." he sighs, suddenly waving for me to turn around. I look at him confused for a moment but decide to just follow his instructions anyway. Suddenly, I feel as though I'm going to melt as he begins to rub my shoulders. I guess I had more built-up tension than I thought I did.

"Holy shit," I say as he digs into my shoulder blade "that's the good stuff," I state as I sink into it. After a minute, he slows down and stops, still holding my shoulders. I glance back at him in confusion, and suddenly, he leans forward and gently kisses my lips. At first, I'm completely taken off guard, but then it starts to feel warm and inviting as he runs his hands up my neck and into my hair. I can feel myself leaning into it more as I start to crawl closer, soon climbing on top of him as he lays back on the ground. After a moment, I suddenly sit up on his lap, then jump off, falling back on the ground.

"I'm sorry, I was just... I..." he says nervously as he sits up. I brush my hair out of my face as I look at him, suddenly studying his face.

"No, no, don't apologize." I say reassuringly "I just... I haven't kissed someone before." I say, suddenly feeling embarrassed as ever.

"Tessa," he says calmly "Neither have I," he explains. I can't say that I'm not that surprised by this, but for me, it's different. In total, I'm over a hundred and ten years old, and it somehow took me this long to kiss someone for the first time. I have to say, I know now what Scarlett was saying that I was missing out on.

"I guess I just... wasn't expecting that. Or to... you know." I say shyly.

"I didn't mean to cross a line." he apologizes nervously "I just thought that you, maybe you felt..." he seems to keep getting more and more anxious. Suddenly, I can't stop myself as I sit back up and fall into his arms, warmly embracing him as my lips touch his again. Something about it just feels natural and comfortable. As much as I hate to admit it, Pearl was right about there being something more going on here.