“I thought you said you weren’t good at this!” Chanyeol laughed between ragged breaths.

“You’re an exceptionally good teacher.” I beamed.

Hours must have gone by because when I looked up at the sky, the gloomy grey clouds were now replaced with the dark starry night of Coleste. In the back of my mind I knew that there was something I needed to do, but I was having too much fun to dwell on it for too long.

With Mr. Blackthorn, my lessons mainly consisted of using the nature around me to conjure and control my magic. Chanyeol opted for a very different method. “Attack me.” He had said when we first started and I had almost run away. I had thought he was crazy or worse, suicidal –you had to be to ask a mystic who can barely control her elements to attack you with fire- but after a while the exercise turned out to be greatly helpful. He had said that the best way to learn how to control your magic is to stimulate your energy as if you were in battle, and as we ran around attacking each other and deflecting fire balls away from our faces, I was surprised to find out that he had a point. I had never felt so powerful, so in control before, it was like the magic that had been suppressed for years inside of me finally burst out and enveloped me in an invisible halo. I could feel it running through my veins, tingling in my spine and exploding out of my fingertips. I had even managed to burn a big chunk of his coat while protecting my precious hair from his fiery attacks. He was very proud of that.

“I never thought magic could be so fun.” I sighed in contentment.

For as long as I have been here at the academy, not a day had gone by without me stressing about the fact that I was a mystic that could not control her element. I worried about my inability to conjure my magic at will, I got anxious when I couldn’t feel the energy in my core and I cried myself to sleep for endless nights as I thought about giving up the magical life. I had thought I was a failure as a mystic, that somehow someone made a mistake and gave me magic that simply did not belong to me.

But this evening everything was different.

I could feel my magic in every cell and every crevice in my body. My fire felt like my own shadow, following my every move naturally and without being forced out of me. I had won my first fake magic battle and had the best time in a long time, and it was all thanks to Chanyeol.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” He smiled warmly at me.

Under the light of the stars, he looked even more heavenly that he did in daylight and my mind briefly flashed to a dream I had a while ago. I felt the blood rush into my face as the sensation of his lips on mine crashed into the forefront of my mind and I cleared my throat in an attempt to clear the fog. Chanyeol was thankfully unaware of my inner turmoil as he took a few steps closer to me.

“We should do this again; I have a lot more to teach you.”

“I would love that.” I let out in a whisper, afraid my voice would betray my unstable state of mind.

“You did great Lilith.” His warm smile never left his features. “You should be proud of yourself.” His voice was deep yet warm, sending shivers down my skin.

He slowly lifted his arm towards my face and for a second I could swear my heart stopped beating. I stood frozen, barely able to breathe as he swiped his thumb against my cheek gently. “Ash.” He said with a smile when he was done and dropped his hand. I nodded in understanding, suddenly my face feeling cold and deserted without his touch.

What the hell was happening to me?

“Let’s meet up here tomorrow!” Chanyeol suggested cheerfully and I immediately perked up. “At around 4 PM?”

“Yeah that sounds great!” I nodded. “But maybe don’t wear something so fancy, I already feel terrible about your coat.”

The sound of his melodious laugh rang through the silent night and I couldn’t help but feel proud to have changed his mood.

“I’m glad you both are enjoying yourselves.”

My head snapped to the right as soon as I heard that familiar voice and the smile dropped off of my face in a second. There, emerging from the shadows of the night stood a very displeased Kiseop. The mood changed drastically in a matter of seconds and the smile that once adorned Chanyeol’s face was replaced with a scowl all too soon.

“I waited for you back at the house but you never showed up.” Kiseop’s voice was cold and void of all emotions, every word he said sending a cold shiver down my spine. He kept his gaze fixated on Chanyeol, his eyes conveying nothing at all.

Chanyeol held his gaze for a minute, and I swear you could cut the tension between them with a knife. Just like my roommates, Chanyeol seemed to hold a certain disdain for Kiseop, one that was most certainly reciprocated by my boyfriend. A few moments of silence passed by before Chanyeol brought his gaze back to me with a tight smile.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?” He gave me a meaningful look and I nodded.

“Tomorrow at 4.” I whispered back, smiling to the best of my abilities. Satisfied with my answer, Chanyeol turned around and walked away without another glance at Kiseop. Once he was out of earshot I took a deep a breath and swallowed the lump in my throat as I made my way towards my boyfriend.

Kiseop stood a few feet away from me, his back straight and his shoulders stiff. His eyes were cold and calculating, betraying no emotion whatsoever. His hands were balled into fists by his side as he stared me down and his lips were pressed into a thin line. I had expected him to be angry, to shout at me or even throw a couple of punches at Chanyeol – God knows those two hated each other with a burning passion- but his cold stare that seemed to be piercing through my soul was somehow worse than any tantrum he could have mustered.

“I was worried when you didn’t show up”, he started and the shiver that ran down my spine had nothing to do with the cold, “I thought that something might have happened to you.” His voice was cold and distant and I swallowed visibly. “I should have known he would be involved!”

What?

“Were you with him last night, too?” His cold gaze never left mine and I tried hard not to squirm. “Is that why you stood me up? Were you meeting him behind my back?”

“Wait, what?” It finally dawned on me what Kiseop was implying and something inside of me snapped. I could understand why he was mad and I had even expected it, but this was going too far.

“I fell asleep last night! I was so tired after practice and I went home to shower and get ready but I couldn’t stay awake.” I was fuming at this point but I tried my best to keep my voice low and my emotions under control. The irony of my situation was not lost on me seeing how just a couple of hours ago I had witnessed a fight in this same spot, but I wasn’t about to cause a scene either.

“I was on my way to your house earlier to apologize when I ran into Hyuna and Chanyeol and they were having a fight. I stayed to make sure that Chanyeol was alright and he offered to help me with my magic.” Granted the fight I witnessed between the power couple was about me but I didn’t think that bit of information would make this si