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Dinner was a quiet affair that night. Raiden had joined my parents and me, and the atmosphere, although filled with pleasant conversation, held an undercurrent of tension.
Raiden tried to lighten my mood, and I knew he didn't mean for bad. But I was a resentful person so it was hard to forget these past weeks. But I was glad to have him by my side, and sharing these moments with my parents. I had missed him these days, I simply couldn't deny it. Especially not now that he was fitting so well here, with the three of us. Even Albert loved him, and spent most of his time trying to get his attention away from me.
The doorbell rang, cutting through the conversation. I excused myself and went to answer it. As I opened the door, I found myself face-to-face with a guy from our school, his expression confident and a little mischievous.
"Willow, right?" he asked, his voice smooth.
"Yes," I replied, my curiosity piqued. "Can I help you?"
"I'm Ben," he said, leaning casually against the doorframe, yet looking around as if he was suspecting something. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out. Maybe catch a movie?"
I blinked, taken aback by his forwardness. "I know who your are... uh, now?"
He smiled, a glint of amusement in his eyes, but it was like he was trying to hide apprehension. "Yeah, why not?"
Before I could respond, Raiden appeared behind me. His presence seemed to fill the doorway, his protective stance clear. "Is there a problem here?" Raiden's voice was calm, but his eyes held a warning.
Ben's eyes widened in recognition and surprise. "Raiden? What are you doing here?"
Raiden crossed his arms, his expression hardening. "I could ask you the same thing." I felt him close the little distance between us, my back almost touching him.
For a moment, Ben seemed at a loss for words, then he composed himself. "I just wanted to ask Willow if she wanted to go out with me sometime. Is that a problem?"
Raiden's gaze didn't waver. "It is if you don't know what you're getting into."
Ben's eyes flicked between Raiden and me, his curiosity now mingled with suspicion. "All right. I'll be on my way then. See you at school, Willow," he said, turning to leave. But before he stepped off the porch, he hesitated, and paused.
He looked back at me, staring deeply into my eyes. "Willow, which side are you on?"
His question hung in the air, heavy with implication. I watched him walk away, my mind racing. What did he mean? Did he know about my powers? About Raiden and the others?
I closed the door and turned to Raiden, my heart pounding. "Who is he?"
He frowned, his protective instincts clearly on high alert. "I don't know, but we need to find out. He seems to know more than he's letting on," he whispered too, ushering me inside and signaling me to be silent about this.
I nodded, my resolve hardening. "I'll go to the movie with him. We need to figure out who he is and what he wants." I whispered in his ear as I faked a hug to be closer to him so I wouldn't speak too loud—We still didn't have a clue if my house was bugged or not.
Raiden's eyes darkened with concern. "I'll be close by. If anything happens, I'll be there. But you need to be careful. There have been reports of people looking for others like us. We can't trust anyone."
Later that evening, after dinner, the tension from Ben's unexpected visit still lingered in the air. My parents had gone to bed early, leaving Raiden and me alone in the living room. The soft hum of the old ceiling fan was the only sound breaking the silence.
Raiden was staying the night, but it hadn't been planned. He had nothing with him, no change of clothes. I handed him one of my father's old t-shirts, but when he pulled it on, it was comically small, barely covering his chest. We both burst out laughing.
"I guess your dad's a bit smaller than I remembered," Raiden said, tugging at the hem of the shirt.
"Yeah, seems like it," I replied, still smiling. But as the laughter faded, the reality of everything that had happened that night settled back in.
Raiden gave up on the shirt, pulling it off and tossing it onto the chair. He stood there, shirtless, the dim light casting shadows across the defined lines of his chest. My heart skipped a beat, but I tried to ignore it, focusing instead on tidying up the room.
"You should get some rest," he said softly, his voice breaking through my thoughts.
I nodded, suddenly feeling the weight of the day pressing down on me. "Yeah, you're right. We should."
I led him to my room, but when I turned to leave, he caught my wrist gently. "Willow, are you okay?" His voice was tender, filled with concern.
I hesitated, then sighed, leaning against the doorframe. "I don't know, Rai. Everything's so... confusing right now."
He nodded, releasing my wrist but not moving away. "Let's talk, then. Come on." He pulled me gently towards the bed, and we both sat down. I pulled my knees up to my chest, my oversized t-shirt bunching around me, offering a sense of comfort despite everything.
After a few moments of silence, I finally spoke. "Raiden... I'm scared." My voice was barely above a whisper, the weight of my fears threatening to crush me.
His gaze was steady, never leaving my face. "What are you scared of, Wills?"
I bit my lip, trying to find the right words. "Everything. My parents have been acting so weird lately, like they're hiding something from me. And then there's Alicia... I don't want to leave her behind. Or my family. But I know we might have to, right?"
He didn't answer immediately, giving me time to gather my thoughts. He just listened, his presence a steadying force.
"I'm scared that I don't really understand the situation we're in," I continued. "Like, I know it's dangerous, but part of me just can't fully grasp it. And then tonight with Ben... What if he knows something? What if we're being watched right now? What if this whole thing blows up in our faces?" My voice cracked at the end, all the emotions I'd been holding back starting to spill over.
He reached out and took my hand, his thumb brushing soothing circles over my knuckles. "I get it, Wills. I do. And you're right to be scared. This is serious, and we have to be careful. But you're not alone in this. We're all in this together, and I won't let anything happen to you."
His words were comforting, but they didn't erase the gnawing anxiety in my chest. "What if we have to leave? What if we have to run? I don't know if I can just abandon everything—my family, Alicia. And what if we don't make it?"
He squeezed my hand, his expression turning serious. "We'll figure it out when the time comes. But we won't leave without a plan, and we won't leave anyone behind if we don't have to. I promise you that."
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, and I blinked them away quickly, not wanting to break down in front of him. "I'm just... I'm not ready for any of this."
Raiden shifted closer, his body warmth enveloping me, and before I knew it, his arm was around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. "No one's ever really ready for this kind of thing," he murmured, his breath brushing against my temple. "But we'll take it one step at a time. Together."
I turned my head slightly, our faces now inches apart. The intensity in his eyes made my breath catch. I hadn't realized how close we were until this moment, and suddenly, the air between us was charged with something different, something more.
"Rai..." I whispered, unsure of what I was going to say. But before I could finish, he leaned in, his lips brushing against mine in a tentative, almost hesitant kiss. It was soft, gentle, as if he was giving me the chance to pull away if I wanted to.
But I didn't want to. I closed the distance, pressing my lips more firmly against his. It felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest, and all the tension of the past weeks melted away in that single moment.
When we finally pulled back, we were both breathless, our foreheads resting against each other's. His hand was still in mine, our fingers intertwined, and I felt a warmth spreading through me that had nothing to do with the summer night air.
"Willow," he murmured, his voice barely audible, "I really like you. This is not pretending. I can't pretend around you."
A shy smile tugged at my lips. "I really like you too."
"Can I kiss you?" he asked, almost pleading, his eyes never living my mouth, devouring me with his gaze.
I nodded, breathless. We spent a lot of time kissing and touching one another. Keeping it soft and delicate. I could finally pass my fingers through his hair without hesitation, touching him, feeling him without thinking of pretending or restriction.
He was grounding me. Occupying my mind with him and nothing else. I was feeling him, breathing him, only us.
"You're the first girl I ever kissed," he suddenly said, kissing my forehead while scratching lightly my back.
I didn't know what to say. Deep down I was relieved and selfishly happy. He didn't look and didn't act like someone who had zero experience though. But I trusted him, I realized I completely and utterly trusted him.
"I simply wanted you to know, this is new to me. And I never wanted to open up to anyone that way before. But I simply can't stay away from you." Instead of trying to find words I know I wouldn't find, I cupped his face and kissed him like I had never done in my entire life.
"But... Aria-" he cut me, sighing and kissing my knuckles.
"Aria's is like my sister. Nothing but family bond between us. I've basically known her my whole life, and I've been taking care of her and her brother all this time. She's been through a lot. We all have, but Ria... she and her brother had no one until my dad found them. I can't simply act as if we hadn't grew up together. But that's all, no romantic feelings."
I nodded, burying my head in his chest, feeling better and soothe with his sent.
We lay there in silence, wrapped in each other's warmth, the world outside our little bubble fading away. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt safe. Not because the danger was gone, but because I knew, no matter what happened, we'd face it together.
But as we lay down side by side, the reality of our situation began to creep back in. I couldn't shake the feeling that the quietness of the night was only temporary. We still had to figure out who Ben really was, what the blank piece of paper meant, and what my parents were hiding. And deep down, I knew the time would come when we'd have to make a decision—to stay or to go.
For now, though, I let myself drift off to sleep, Raiden's presence beside me a comforting reminder that I wasn't alone in this. Whatever came next, we'd face it together. And that, for now, was enough.