I collapse onto the ground without even a thud.

My heart is racing wildly.

Am I dead?

No, I don’t think so. But how did I survive a fall like that? Where even am I?

“Get up.” Jimin pulls me up. My eyes blink rapidly. It looks like we are on the sidelines of a soccer field- Windsong Prep’s lacrosse field, I realize with a jolt. The air is damp, sticky with heavy fog that weighs on my skin. By the look of the foreboding gray clouds in the distance, a storm is coming to Windsong.

“Wha- how did we get here?” I shriek. “Did we teleport? Is this a simulation...,”

I trail off as I see a group of young teenagers march out onto the field. My eyes narrow; something about that girl’s voice, that boy’s hair, their gait... seems extremely familiar.

And then they get closer and I realize I am looking at the preteen versions of Jimin, Taehyung, Laila, and the rest of the Kado.

“Holy ,” I whisper.

“Alright, everyone, Instructor Oles said she’ll be out in a few minutes,” Jimin announces. Even though he’s years younger, I see tinges of his maturity and tranquil demeanor in this younger version. Unlike today’s Jimin, however, no one seems to be paying much attention to him. “In the meanwhile, let’s warm up.”

“Where’s Lucy?” Jin loudly asks. Whoops of enthusiasm from the group accompany his question. Jimin’s professional demeanor falters- I see hatred clearly flash across his face while his fists clench by his side. The animosity disappears as soon as it arrives, though, and Jimin’s face has quickly snapped back to a bland smile.

“I don’t know,” Jimin responds. “Come on! Let’s stretch.”

“Lucy!” Laila suddenly screeches. Everyone turns around.

My eyebrows shoot up.

A smirking Lucy is confidently strutting towards the group, a blonde-haired woman by her side. Lucy’s hair is cut short into a bleached bob, with random chunks of hair dyed every bizarre shade of neon I could imagine. Deep red magic symbols drawn in henna pattern her arms, disappearing under chunky spiked bracelets sitting on her wrists. She looks like the walking embodiment of teenage rebellion.

“Wassup?” she drawls.

The group cheers in response. She high-fives Namjoon and Hoseok as she passes them and finally arrives at Jin’s side.

“Ready to kick some , bud?” she asks. Jin grins, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

“Hell yeah,” Jin replies.

“Oh, by the way. How’d your date go yesterday?” Lucy grins. “Ready to marry her?”

Jin reddens. “It wasn’t a date date. We just studied at Chopons instead of the bio classroom.”

“Mhm. At this rate, Meena will be graduated when you officially ask her out.”

Meena. I realize with a jolt that this is taking place during Lucy and Jin’s freshman year. Jin was in love with Meena, Lucy was in the scholarship seminar with Dev, Sofia, Tom, and Meena, and I was still making potpourri in Kansas. She must have been 15 here, while Jimin was 16.

Young Jimin is watching Lucy with the blank smile and cold eyes that are so characteristic of him. It is the same expression I have seen him wear as he watched Lucy kiss Jungkook, saw me joke around with Taehyung and Jin, watched Lucy and I laugh together. I sneak a peek at present-day Jimin. He is staring at his younger self with steely eyes.

“Settle down, Chen!” The blonde-haired woman- presumably Instructor Oles- barks. “Jimin, thank you for being the only out of this bunch to take charge. Why aren’t any of you warming up?”

At the mention of Jimin’s name, Lucy stiffens. She throws Jimin the scariest scowl I’ve seen in my life.

“Instructor Oles ,” Jin mutters. “She always has it out for you.”

“Look at Jimin,” Lucy says in a low, spiteful voice. “He’s such a ing teacher’s pet.”

“How long have you two hated each other?” I ask older Jimin.

“Our entire lives,” he responds.

“But why?”

“Don’t you see what’s going on here?” Jimin crosses his arms. “I was the Kado poster boy. Every adult loved me. I’d wanted to be Junior Vice Captain my entire life. But...,”

“Your peers didn’t actually respect you,” I say. “Lucy, on the other hand-,”

“-was adored by every single kid. Older, younger, our age- they loved her.” Jimin exhales. “None of the grownups liked her. She was rebellious, too out of control. But everyone could see that she was a born leader. And she was clearly more powerful than me.”

He stares at Lucy for several moments.

“I couldn’t tell if I wanted to kill her or be with her.”

“Now, I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for this,” Instructor Oles says. “Duel 8 is today. Jimin versus Lucy.”

The entire group explodes into yells. It is clear from everyone’s expressions that they’re thrilled to see this. Honestly, I’m excited, too. I want to see Lucy in her magical prime.

Jimin and Lucy step out onto the field. While Jimin is wearing a fake half-smile, Lucy does nothing to mask her loathing.

“No holds barred, fight until someone’s down,” Instructor Oles says. “Are you both ready?”

“Ready,” Lucy growls, rolling her head from side to side.

“Ready,” Jimin says in a smooth voice.

“Start!”

Lucy immediately explodes into a fiery inferno so bright that I can barely watch. Every single pore in her body is emitting pure, white-hot power. Waves of heat emanate from her- it feels like my body is being lowered into a boiling vat of lava. I turn away from Lucy- , I can’t even watch her-

“This isn’t a good idea,” older Jimin mutters. He takes my arm and slashes his arm through the air. A cool blue bubble materializes into place. The heat subsides.

“That’s never happened,” I whisper. “I’ve never been... physically unable to stand someone’s magic.”

“Sorcerers usually keep 90% of our magic sealed, and then gradually draw it out when we need to.” Jimin says. “Even though your DNA changed, you’re still mostly a human who’s never been exposed to a sorcerer’s full power.”

“So Lucy’s bringing out 100% of her power?”

Jimin laughs. “More like 50%.”

“Holy .”

Younger Jimin does not look fazed by this grand display of energy. “Are you done with the theatrics?” he calmly asks.

“Theatrics, my ,” Lucy hisses, and sends all her power flying at Jimin in a massive ball of power. I gasp- Jimin’s going to get incinerated-

But he merely waves his hand through the air and speaks an incantation. Deep blue waves of light slice through Lucy’s blast, dissolving it into shards of blinding brightness. Thunder booms in the distance. Jimin slams his hands onto the damp grass and chants something rapidly. Dirt rises up from the ground in a whirling tornado, slowly arranging itself into an enormous bull with glistening, curved horns.

The bull lets out an ear-piercing bellow and charges at Lucy, who rolls aside right before it tramples her. Her lip curls with annoyance; she kicks a clod of mud into the air and flings a ball of light into it, transforming it into a slithering green boa constrictor that wraps itself around the raging bull.

Jimin and Lucy’s movements are so fast and violent that I can barely keep up. Their peers seem transfixed by their battle. Even Instructor Oles is staring at them with wide eyes.

“You two are unbelievable,” I whisper.

“This fight lasted half an hour, so I’ll skip to the end.” Jimin closes his eyes. Time speeds up- the thunderclouds arrive directly above us, and rain starts pouring down. The land around Jimin and Lucy becomes increasingly more decimated. Small fires of power are burning around them.

“End this!” Instructor Oles barks. “This has gone on for far too long!”

Jimin is panting heavily. There are cuts all over his body. He is limping for some reason.

Lucy, however, looks significantly less affected.

“Give up,” she calls out. “Or you’ll seriously regret it.”

Jimin’s lip curls. “I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure?” Lucy sneers. “It’s pretty clear that you’re not going to win.”

Thunder booms through the air. Jimin growls with fury- he raises his hand, concentrating a bolt of power to fling at Lucy-

And then Lucy slams her hands on the ground. The land below Jimin’s body suddenly lifts up- Jimin finds himself on a rapidly growing hill, rising higher and higher above Lucy. Confusion flits across his features, but he still flings a spear of light at Lucy-

And then a bolt of lightning hits his body.

I clap my hands over my mouth. “Oh my god!” I gasp.

“Jimin!” someone shouts from below. Jimin’s body goes utterly limp. He falls, rolling off the hill. Everyone- except for Lucy, who is smiling smugly- rushes over to the hill. Instructor Oles yells an incantation and Jimin’s body becomes suspended in mid-air. Slowly, he floats down the ground, where Instructor Oles picks up his body.

“Is he okay?” a petite, black-haired girl asks anxiously.

Instructor Oles places her hand on Jimin’s forehead. A green glow emanates from the palm of her hand.

“He’s alive,” she utters. “Taehyung, Maria- take him to the infirmary. Lucy- get over here.”

“Oh, .” I turn to Jimin, my eyes as large as saucers. “She knew exactly what she was doing. She heard the thunder, and saw the clouds above you guys, and knew lightning was coming, so she got you to high ground-,”

“Yes,” Jimin says tersely.

“You could’ve died!”

Jimin gestures over to Lucy and Instructor Oles. “Listen.”

“What’s up?” Lucy says, giving Instructor Oles a cheeky grin.

Instructor Oles draws herself up. Her entire body is pulsing with rage. Lucy simply smiles.

“You knew exactly what you were doing,” she growls. “You could have killed him!”

“But he didn’t die. And I win.”

A shudder runs down my spine. Lucy doesn’t care. Her lackadaisical attitude, glee at winning- she’s so cruel. Is this seriously the same Lucy I am best friends with?

There’s no way.

“Why did everyone like her?” I murmur. “She... she was a ing monster.”

“I was the only one she acted that way towards,” Jimin says. “Besides, she was just paying me back. I put her in the hospital a month before that.”

“What?! That’s so ed!”

“Yeah, well... Lucy and I had a lot of pent-up anger and frustration towards each other.”

I turn to Jimin. “Okay, so you and Lucy hated each other. She was super powerful. Why don’t you want Lucy to know this?”

Jimin snaps his fingers, and the scene around us disappears.

“I’ll show you now.”