I never told anyone about it. It was too personal, too difficult to explain, too difficult to say. Half a century and I still hadn't processed it myself. But time had passed, as time always does, leaving us as we were as we would always be, unchanged a day, a minute, an hour from when it happened. We had tried to mark it, with hair cuts and injuries and Andrew had even tried getting a tattoo at one point. But the magic would work and we'd be back as we had been within a few days.

It suited Andrew fine, mostly. Razors in the 1960s were very different to the ones of the twenty first century. He'd slick back his hair every morning with his comb, put on his shirt, pants, tie, and his trademark James Dean red leather jacket. Mother had been horrified when she saw it. I haven't seen mother since it happened.

We were in bed, asleep, after a night we'd snuck out to explore a nearby forest under the full moon. They didn't even wake us to tell us they'd gone, just a note on the bench. We waited for them. Andrew hated waiting, so he left. After a few weeks, the process was done. From the Chamber of Sparrow, a doorway to the Neverside, the fire came. It took everything. I've forgotten everything it took.

A dragon had tried to break through, finding our portal unguarded. I sent it back from whence it came, but the damage had been done and our home was gone. It was my fault. Andrew assured me that it wasn't. He'd tell me for days. After weeks he grew tired of reminding me. Months and he didn't care anymore. Because it was my fault. I wasn't strong enough. I barely sent the dragon back!

That was what I remembered as he blew out one of the candles in our house. He double checked his hair, slicked back perfectly. His jacket he inspected for scuffing before putting it on.

"You ready?" He glanced over his shoulder to me as he fiddled with the tie.

"Yeah," I mumbled, getting up from where I was slouched against the wall.

He nodded and we were off.

Park Vale Comprehensive had been a surprise for both of us. We'd been called back to school several times over the years. Most ended with us running away or using our magic to make them forget. As soon as another wizard family showed up, that was a definite sign to move on. We got older as the students we were placed with stayed the same age. Any documents proving our actual ages had gone with the dragon, so there was no way for us to provide evidence that those weren't the grades with whom we should be placed.

I imagine other people might have taken advantage of this. Being trapped in a youthful body, surrounded by other youthful people, I could even see the idea's appeal. But Andrew never let himself get that serious with a girl, and me… well… I had other things to worry about than high school relationships.

He headed to his maths class as I sat in the back of English. The teacher told us to work on exercises. No one was working on exercises. Keeping my head down, I didn't engage with anyone around me. Instead, I listened to them talk. A few were discussing the football. A couple were talking about what they had watched on TV the night before. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from blurting into their conversations every few seconds when I recognised something I could add to, even though I knew my contributions wouldn't be worth much, until-

"Ellie, what do you think?" the girl in front of me turned and put her laptop down on the edge of my desk. I stared up at her in shock through my fringe. She tapped the screen of her laptop insistently.

I turned my gaze away from her, hoping I wasn't already blushing. Rani was cute, and nice, and sadly from the wrong time… or perhaps I was from the wrong time. But I was glad she hadn't been from my time. She deserved this future. I hoped it would never fall back to what I'd seen in the past.

The screen had a photograph of some blurry figures carrying a crate.

"Rani, it's probably nothing," Clyde reminded her. "Sarah Jane has got enough on her mind." There they went again, talking about Sarah Jane Smith. I'd never met her. From what I could gather she was related to Luke somehow, perhaps another sister of his, like Sky.

"Yeah, I know, that's why I want to try looking into this myself!" Rani snapped back at him. Their friendship was one of the mysteries of Park Vale. Rani, the headmaster's daughter, and Clyde, a joker with an artistic streak – or artist with a joker streak if you asked his art teacher. Nobody seemed to know how it came to be, but they were the best of mates.

Clyde sighed and turned back to his notebook which was mostly full of sketches and doodles. At least someone else in the class still appreciated a pen and paper!

"What do you think that is?" Rani asked me, pointing at the screen again.

I peered at it. It looked like the type of picture you'd see through a television screen back in the late 50s in shop windows. I'd walk past them with my grandmother and she'd always say something about unenchanteds finding out about magic sooner or later, or making a magic of their own.

"I don't know," I shrugged, averting my eyes back to my book.

"That crate, it looks big enough to fit something, don't you like? Like, an animal?" Someone had said Rani wanted to be a journalist. I could believe it.

I glanced to the screen again. "Yeah, maybe, like a big dog or something," I agreed vaguely.

"See, Clyde!" Rani exclaimed, victorious. She took her computer away, putting it on her desk, as if my admissions had been a vindication of some theory she had formulated as to the photograph's contents.

But still, there were plenty of people around, and she had turned to me.

My heart warmed for a moment before I turned back down to look at my books.

I immersed myself in my work, letting the time slip away. After all, I'd probably have a lot of it left, so I didn't have much concern wasting some with schoolwork. Yet it still didn't feel like time passing at all.

There was a growing ruckus, some muffled shouts from the other side of the building. When the school bell pierced through my concentration, everyone reached for their bags to start to pack up. But the bell was still ringing.

Lockdown.

Everyone looked to the teacher in confusion, a few already half risen with their eagerness to go. I glanced to the clock. Twenty minutes too early.

"Okay, pack up, get under the desks and stay quiet," the teacher instructed us, going and switching off the lights and projector.

"Ow!" Clyde whined when he hit his head on the desk.

"Sh!" Rani shushed him. "You okay?" she whispered when he rubbed his head and winched.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he whispered back.

"I'll text Sarah Jane and Sky, see if they know what's going on." Rani reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. A few others were doing the same, sending messages through their network of friends around the campus to find out who knew what was happening where.

The seconds dragged by as we waited. People shuffled, restless and cramped uncomfortably under the desks. One girl was about to have a panic attack, so her friend had given her headphones and her phone, letting her listen to her music to keep calm.

Rani was frowning at her phone before showing it to Clyde. He frowned as well. She pointed at it but he shook his head. They both glanced around to see if other people were watching before she started texting again. I carefully opened my bag, pulling out my notebook and pen.

What's going on?

I wrote and looked to them. Rani was absorbed in her phone and didn't notice me so I reached out, notebook extended. I touched her arm. She nearly jumped out of her skin, but recovered in a flash when she saw it was just me. She accepted the notebook and read it. She looked around the room again, but no one was watching her – everyone was concerned with their own screens. Looking back to me she gestured for a pen. After glancing at the door, all clear, I quickly rolled it to her.

She held it and froze, not knowing what to write, looking at the texts on her phone and back at me.

She knew something.

I gestured for her to write. She bit her lip and looked to Clyde. He nodded. She wrote. It felt longer than I'm sure it was before she reached across to hand me back the notebook and pen.

A group got into the school. I don't know how. Someone saw them taking your brother. They're searching the rest of the school. Do you know why they'd be after you or your brother?

My heart dropped through my chest. Andrew? Taken? By who? Was it wizards, out to get us for whatever it was one of our relatives had apparently done? If they were still searching, that meant the must know I'm here. They're looking for me.

The door slammed open.

"Give us your wizard!" A tall shiny blue armoured figure bellowed, marching in, shoving over a table and picking up one of the girls, the one who had given her friend her phone and headphones.

She screamed.

Everyone was frozen.

"I can smell you! Come out now, and I won't have to harm this… human." It spat the word, lifting her into the air.

This is my fault. She's going to die and it's all my fault.

"No," I whimpered. No, not again, I can't do this again!

"Clyde!" Rani exclaimed, lunging for him, trying to drag him down.

"Oi! Big fella! I don't know what stories you've been hearing but wizards aren't real!" Clyde taunted the figure. It dropped the girl. She fell to the ground hard, but scurried back to her friend who was rigid in terror.

She's okay, she's alright, what do I do now?

Instead, the figure set its gaze straight on Clyde. Rani peeked up over the desks just as it raised its arm.

"CLYDE!" she shrieked. The weapon began to shine blue.

I have to do something.

I focused on the weapon and clicked my fingers. For a moment everything froze. Clyde was grimacing in anticipation of being shot, but the weapon didn't fire.

"The room is empty," I spoke as the figure spoke. "There is no wizard here." The figure turned and walked out.

My head pounded as my stomach threatened to revolt. I screwed my eyes shut as Rani flew to cling to Clyde. She said something to him before the next bell began to sound, an evacuation. The teacher lead everyone out, but I stayed in place.

That wasn't right. The feel of that creature… it unnerved me… like reaching to pat warm soft fur to find cold hard scales. It felt wrong, very wrong.

"What was that you did?" Rani asked, crouched by me with Clyde. Everyone else had gone. "That light, that was you, it came from you," she babbled on. "Are you an alien?"

"I'm nothing, forget about it, you need to get out," I croaked.

What just happened? I just did magic? Those things took Andrew oh my god what am I going to do they took Andrew and they were going to kill Clyde and that girl could have died and oh my god –

"We're not leaving you behind," Clyde told me, reaching under the table to pull me out.

He dragged me to my feet. I wobbled. Rani ducked under my other arm so I was supported from either side.

"You okay?" Rani asked as I blanched.

"Go, get out, I'll just slow you down," I rasped. "Go!"

They ignored my shouts, carrying me between them out the door and through the hallway with the other students being evacuated.

The ground was firm beneath me. Thank heavens it hasn't rained! People bustled around. Mr Chandra said something to me, some police talked to us both. There hadn't been any sign of the intruders after the one who had tried to kill Clyde. Andrew was the only person missing.

"Are you Elaine Sparrow?" a young voice asked me. I looked up and a kid was staring at me.

"Sky!" a woman exclaimed, racing to us. Rani and Clyde came over from where they'd been in deep discussion to the side. The woman hugged Sky close. "What happened?"

"The people, they tried to take me, they said I had magic, but Andrew stopped them and they took him instead," Sky explained. "What were they talking about, Sarah Jane?"

So this was Sarah Jane. I'd overheard Rani and Clyde mention her often enough. I thought she'd be a friend of theirs, a young friend.

"I don't know," Sarah Jane admitted. How old is she? I wondered. She might still be too young. How old am I again? What year is this? "Oh, hello, I'm Sarah Jane Smith." She let Sky go to introduce herself to me.

"Hi," I rasped and coughed.

"Here," she said, kneeling down and offering me a thermos. I glanced up to her questioningly. "It's tea." I accepted and took a small sip.

"Thanks," I mumbled, handing it back.

"Sarah Jane, this is Elaine," Rani introduced me.

"So you're the other student the… intruders were after?" Sarah Jane said. So Rani had told her about that. "Can I ask what it was you did to save Clyde?"

"I didn't do anything, they're mistaken," I asserted, not looking any of them in the eye.

"You can trust me," Sarah Jane said. Oh, how desperately I wished I could believe those words! Trust? Ha! She was unenchanted, what could she know or possibly understand! "I can help rescue your brother, but you have to tell me the truth."

I sighed. I couldn't help it. Unenchanteds thinking they had power, they had knowledge. They couldn't see what was right under their noses!

"I can handle it." I can't handle it.

"Ellie, Sarah Jane can help," Rani insisted.

No one can help. Andrew is gone. I have to get him back. There's nothing these unenchanteds can do to help me.

"Sarah Jane!" Mr Chandra called, coming over to us.

"Haresh, what can I do for you?" Sarah Jane asked, standing and turning to him.

"We're closing the school for the day. They can't find the intruders, but I will not put the students at risk. I have to stay here and help the police – could you make sure Rani gets home alright?"

Rani was ready to snap at him. I ducked my head to cover a grin, quietly getting up and sneaking away while they were distracted. Carefully creeping away, I did my best not to draw attention to myself. That was how Andrew and I had gotten around all the years.

Sarah Jane knew a torn parent when she saw one. Haresh wanted to make sure Rani was safe, but he had responsibilities with the school. "Don't worry, Haresh, I'll look after her."

"Thank you, Sarah Jane." He shook her hand and hurried off back to the police.

"El–" Sarah Jane started, turning back to where I had been. But I was hidden out of sight behind a wall. "Dammit!" she cursed under her breath.

"Do you want us to go find her?" Clyde asked.

"No, those aliens could be anywhere," Sarah Jane explained, exasperated. Aliens. Again, they mentioned aliens. "I don't want to send any of you into danger before we know who we're dealing with. Their armour suggests Judoon, or possibly Sontaran, but the shape is all wrong."

"Ellie certainly knows more than she's saying," Rani pointed out.

"Come on, Mr Smith will be able to find her," Sarah Jane said.

They left.

I took a deep breath. It's time for me to do something.

Sarah Jane and the gang all bundled into her car and made their way back to Bannerman Road. "Have you noticed anything odd about Elaine's behaviour?" Sarah Jane asked as they climbed out, heading inside and up the stairs to the attic.

"She's always been quiet," Rani admitted. "Came to the school… almost a year ago?" She turned to Clyde for his opinion.

"Yeah, a bit longer than a year, she made some cupcakes for Luke's farewell party," Clyde recalled.

"Does she have any friends?" Sarah Jane inquired.

"No, neither does her brother," Rani said. "He's pretty hot, in like, an old fashioned sort of way. But he hasn't had any girlfriends or anything, although he does flirt a bit."

"I'm pretty sure she's gay," Clyde contributed just as they were about to enter the attic.

"What?" Sarah Jane turned on him.

"How do you figure that?!" Rani exclaimed. Elaine?! No! She wasn't, was she? Pondering it, Rani examined her own experiences talking to Elaine. Sure, she wasn't totally normal. Could that be it? Rani wasn't sure.

Clyde looked between Rani and Sarah Jane, somewhat bemused. "Well, surely you noticed the way she looked at you," he said to Rani. "She kind of seemed to like you too, Sarah Jane."

"What does gay mean?" Sky asked. Sarah Jane turned, trying not to blush, leading the way into the attic.

"Mr Smith, I need you!" she summoned her sentient super computer.

"Well, Sky," Rani looked to Clyde and then Sky who was watching them eagerly for an answer. "A gay person is someone who has crushes and stuff on people who are the same gender as them. So like, boys liking boys and girls liking girls."

"Oh," Sky voiced with surprise. "Isn't that normal?"

"Yes, it is normal, Sky," Sarah Jane said from where she was programming Mr Smith with some information to try and find out about the aliens or where Elaine had gone. "It's just society still hasn't quite properly caught up with it being normal."

"You mean like how people don't usually know about aliens?" Sky asked.

"Yes, like that." Sarah Jane nodded. "Except people know gay people exist, they just aren't always accepting of them and many try to deny them their rights."

"But they're just the same as everyone else, yeah?" Sky looked around.

"Yeah, gay people are totally normal," Clyde assured her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Sky smiled up at him. Sarah Jane glanced at them over her shoulder, a swell of pride.

"I have located a ship in orbit," Mr Smith announced, breaking through the moment. All eyes turned to him as on his screen a small blip appeared near the moon.

"UNIT moonbase had been reporting a strange energy reading," Sarah Jane pointed at the screen.

"What is it, Mr Smith?" Rani asked eagerly. The image on the screen changed to show the schematics of a space ship.

"The design is of a species known as the Nekross. They have advanced cloaking technology, and explore the universe, stealing energy from every planet they come to," Mr Smith calmly informed them.

"Hold on, energy? Like outer space vampires?!" Clyde exclaimed in panic, his eyes widening. "We've got to stop them!"

"The energy they harvest is not known to human scientists," Mr Smith informed him. "The Nekross refer to it as magic."

"The one that was in the school, it said it wanted a wizard!" Rani snapped her fingers.

"So they aren't here for the entire planet, just people who have this… energy," Sarah Jane pieced it together.

"Ellie and her brother must have it," Clyde said.

"That weird light thing she did to save you, she must know how to use it," Rani proclaimed. "And we thought she was an alien! No wonder she ran off! She's probably as scared of us as she is of them!"

"But the Nekross wanted me too," Sky said quietly with a frown. Sarah Jane looked down to her as Rani and Clyde shared a glance. Sarah Jane's face fell.

Why would they be after Sky? What makes her different? "It could be… left over from what the fleshkind did."

"You mean my powers aren't completely gone?!" Sky stepped back in fear.

"Whatever the case, the Nekross may come after you again. We have to stop them before they do," Sarah Jane reassured her.

"Mr Smith, what can you find about Elaine?" Rani asked. "Perhaps she'll help us, since they have her brother. We have to warn her anyway, the Nekross will be after her."

"What's her last name?" Sarah Jane inquired.

"Sparrow," Clyde broke in. The display on Mr Smith's screen shifted as he searched.

"Elaine Sparrow, born in the early 1950s. Mother, Priscilla Sparrow, maiden name Hammond. Father, Alistair Sparrow. Older brother, Andrew Sparrow."

"1950s?!" Rani exclaimed. "That can't be her, Elaine is our age!"

"Is there a photograph, Mr Smith?" Sarah Jane inquired. An old blurry black and white photograph from a newspaper article appeared. "That certainly looks like her. What about her family, what happened to them?"

"All traces of her family disappeared during the late 1960s," Mr Smith informed them. "The house was destroyed in a fire, all members presumed dead. Elaine and Andrew appear intermittently in the decades since."

"But she still looks like a teenager," Clyde argued. "How can that be her? Unless she hasn't aged a day since the sixties!"

An idea struck Sarah Jane. "Well, there are those two Cambridge professors who haven't aged since then either," she said cryptically.

"Are you saying she might have known the Doctor?" Rani asked.

"If that's her and she hasn't aged, it could be an explanation," Sarah Jane admitted. "Where is she now, Mr Smith?"

"There is a single bedroom flat leased to Andrew Sparrow, 3 Roberts Lane."

"Well, it's a start, let's go," Sarah Jane ordered, leading the way back out to the car.

Peculiar, Rani pondered as Sarah Jane drove them to the address listed for Elaine. I wonder why Sarah Jane reacted like that when Clyde said Elaine is gay? Is that why Luke hasn't come out to her yet? But it seemed like she'd still be accepting of him.

I'll tell him what she said about gay people being normal. But perhaps I should also mention she did seem pretty uncomfortable when the topic was brought up…

The car stopped. They were there.

What am I going to do what am I going to do what am I going to do! I paced back and forth through the living room, fighting tears.

Aliens took my brother. I need to get him back. Aliens. Space. How do I get to space? I haven't had to go to space before. Are there any spells I can do?

What was that!

I whirled at the sound of a knock on the door. There were muffled voices and a buzzing noise. I raised my hands, light glimmering as it swung open.

"Elaine!" Sarah Jane exclaimed, raising her hands in surrender. She only had some sort of lipstick device in one hand. "I promise we aren't here to hurt you. We want to help you. We can help get your brother back."

"How?" I demanded. The clouds were greying behind them. It fitted with the kind of day I was having.

"First I need you to tell us everything you can," Sarah Jane said.

I rolled my eyes and lowered my hands. Don't these people get it?! Stupid unenchanteds! "I don't have anything to say to you," I spat, turning and heading into the kitchen. The bench still had mine and Andrew's dishes from breakfast. Maybe I could use his saliva as a lock to summon him. I hadn't done that before, but I'd seen father do it once. It looked hard. If only I still had the books. If only I had been strong enough to stop the fire.

They came inside and shut the door. Clyde reached for the light switch as I struck a match at the stove. "There's no electricity," I told him when it did nothing. "And don't open the blinds either, we can't have the neighbours being nosy."

"I understand," Sarah Jane said. For a second I believed that she did. But how could she? I wished she could. I wished I could tell her. I set the kettle on to boil.

"Tea?" I asked.

"If it isn't any trouble," Sarah Jane spoke calmly. I sighed as I got down some mugs. It was all the ones we had. Andrew and I never had guests, so we didn't need extra crockery.

"I expect you'll want me to light the lantern and some of the candles as well, then," I cattily said, lighting a tapering candle from the stove and walking to the middle of the living room. They were all clustered around the door, as if waiting for my permission to sit. This is mine and Andrew's home and they had no business being here! I'll listen to what they have to say about getting him back, but after that, they go!

"Thanks," Rani said as I lit the lantern. It filled the room with a gentle glow. Sky looked around at the knick knacks strewn everywhere.

"You can sit, but don't mess with anything," I cautioned her.

"Is it true you have magic?" Sky asked casually while Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde all sat on the sofa.

"Magic isn't real," I instantly responded.

"Perhaps you could tell us about yourself," Sarah Jane changed tact. I went back to the kitchen and hunted for the teapot.

"Ask your questions," I told them. "But I won't promise you any answers." I added as I found the pot.

"How old are you?" Rani inquired.

I held back a laugh. "My last birthday I was… let's see… sixteen?" I said. "Yes, sixteen." I got out the long life milk and the container of sugar. By then the kettle was boiled so I poured the water into the pot and put in some tea to brew. Carrying the milk and sugar to the table, I cleared some space.

"Here, let me help you with that," Sarah Jane offered, getting off the sofa to assist me.

I couldn't help it.

I jerked back, dropping the milk. Thank goodness I hadn't taken the lid off yet!

Don't touch me, I'm poison!

I snatched it back up and put it on the boxes that made the coffee table, moving a pile of magazines to the floor beside it.

"I'm fine," I snapped at her, spinning back around to get the mugs.

"I'm sorry," she apologised. I wish you wouldn't be, I thought bitterly before turning back around and carrying the mugs to the table.

"Help yourselves," I instructed after I returned with the tea pot.

"Is there a strainer for the tea?" Clyde asked, shuffling forward.

"Since you seem to think I have magic powers, I thought you might want me to try reading the leaves for you." I glared at him. He shrugged it off, pouring tea for the others and himself. Sky squeezed onto the sofa between Sarah Jane and Rani as I pulled up the beanbag strewn with throw rugs.

"Thank you," Sarah Jane said courteously.

I met her eye through my fringe. "But then there's no such thing as magic, is there," I said, holding her eye.

"Perhaps," Sarah Jane said. "At least, not magic as most people think of it. There are many things I've seen which people might mistake as magic which had a perfectly reasonable scientific explanation."

She doesn't understand. "But dragons and witches and warlocks, those have got to be stories," I egged her on.

"But the stories have to come from somewhere," she countered.

Oh, how I wish I could tell you! I leaned back with a smile. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" I inquired.

"Go ahead," Sarah Jane said.

"What do you know about the…" I gulped. They'll think I'm mad. I'm mad anyway. They're mad, coming here. "Aliens… that took my brother?" Sarah Jane tilted her head to the side, fixing me with a look. A sad look. Does she pity me? I looked away in disgust.

"So you believe in aliens?" Sarah Jane asked me in reply.

"What I believe doesn't matter right now, does it," I snapped, cocking my head as I stared at the teapot. "I heard you say they're aliens. Judoon or Sontaran, you said you thought they were. Are they?" I couldn't look her in the eye. I kept staring at the teapot. It was a nice teapot. It had served Andrew and me well over the years.

"They are aliens, but they're not Judoon or Sontaran," Sarah Jane said conspiratorially. She's leant forward so she could lower her voice. If only she knew how many soundproofing charms were about the place! All of us could be screaming at the top of our lungs and all anyone could hear outside would be a whisper. "They're called the Nekross. They travel in space, and take energy from planets they find. Energy they call magic. That's why they took your brother and tried to take you and Sky."

Nekross. They have a name. I could curse them. But that wouldn't get Andrew back.

"Okay," I said. "So what are we going to do to get Andrew back?" I broke my gaze away from the teapot to look her in the eye. She stared me down. Is she trying to gauge if she can trust me? I wondered.

"I have a computer that can hack into the Nekross ship," she explained. "It's in orbit, hidden by the Moon. We can beam ourselves over to it." She stopped.

"And then what?" I demanded.

"And then we find a way to stop them." Sarah Jane said. They don't have a plan. "Which is why I need you to tell me what you know about magic."

I guffawed, leaping to my feet. "Phsst! That is hardly a plan! You could get us all killed! You have no idea what you're up against!"

"Neither do you," Sarah Jane declared, standing to stare me down. She's shorter than me, I realised. She's so cute when she's angry.

I looked away, trying to hide a smile and my shame at my feelings. It was stupid, I was stupid. What would Andrew think? I sat back down in the beanbag with the whisper of all the beans being crushed. What would he think? Should I trust these people? It's worth it if it saves his life. Maybe it is time.

"You don't exactly seem like the force's finest," I commented, raising an eyebrow at them.

Sarah Jane narrowed her eyes at me. Now I've done it, I thought with a satisfied smirk.

"If you won't help us rescue your brother then we'll do it ourselves," Sarah Jane announced, sticking her chin out. Oh she is so cute! Andrew would get cavities!

"And why should you? He's my brother. We're of no importance to anyone. What do you care?" I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey, that's not true!" It was Rani who voiced the objection. "Listen, if you're just going to be rude and mope in your self pity, that's fine by us. We'll go rescue him. Sarah Jane can do it."

"We can do it," Sarah Jane echoed her sentiments, glancing around her group. "And Rani's right. If you don't want to help us, then I guess we'd better be off."

She held my eye. I stared her down. What does she want from me? She doesn't need me! If she's already faced aliens then what help could I be? I could barely banish a dragon!

"You know, I get it," Clyde murmured from the sofa.

I turned my gaze to sneer at him. "You really don't, Clyde. You're just a kid."

"And you're not?" Sarah Jane spotted the err, drawing my eye back to her. I have to get them out. Now.

"Maybe not the details, but when you've been on your own a while and someone offers you help, sometimes that can feel like a threat. Well, we're no threat to you. We're going to help you, whether you help us is beyond the point. We're going to get your brother back. Do you want to come?" Clyde served me their final ultimatum.

I don't know.

The door blasted past me, flooding the room with light. Sky screamed. A pair of figures came through. I flew up out of the beanbag.

"Wizard scum!" one declared. I stood to defend the others.

"How dare you invade this space!" I shouted. "Get out!" They advanced. Unthinking, I sent a wave of magic at them. It vanished into their heads.

"Delicious magic," one snarled. "The king will be so pleased!"

"Out the back!" I shouted to the others, waving them to the bedroom door. They didn't have to be told twice as light glimmered a rainbow. So I can't spell them? Well then, I hope those suits make nice roasting ovens. My voice a deep growl in my throat I began to chant, calling the fire from the lantern. It fought my grasp, leaping about in sparks, eager to explore this new place. Fire was curious but never meant to harm, no, it never meant to harm. But it was oh so very curious! I sent it forth towards the intruders and didn't stay to watch my work complete, instead running out after the others. They'd waited for me out the back door. "Come on!" I shouted, running past them as smoke started to hit my nose.

Please, forgive me, Andrew.

"Wizards!" the yell came from behind us as we ran through the lane behind the houses. I didn't stop to look behind me, but rather felt as a projectile hit my spine. There was a whirr and it was gone, but now I had my face buried in gravel.

"Come on!" Sarah Jane dragged me up as Sky ran past with Clyde and Rani. I didn't need telling twice. We all squeezed into her car, speeding away.

"How did they find us?" Rani asked as Sarah Jane drove.

"They must be able to track us," Sarah Jane said. "I'll have Mr Smith stop their teleports from beaming down on Bannerman Road. We'll have to be fast."

So no plan then. I was going to be fighting aliens with a bunch of amateurs! Well, it's better than fighting on my own.

"What did you do?" Sky asked, her head peeking up between the chairs.

"Put your seatbelt on!" I snapped at her. She disappeared into the back seat, Sarah Jane glancing at me. What? I'm not getting attached to her! It's a standard safety precaution!

"They aren't following," Clyde announced, craning his neck to see out the back window. "What was that you did?"

"It was nothing, just forget about it!" I was at my wit's end with this lot!

"Oi," Sarah Jane warned me. So she didn't believe I was a child, but would still try to correct my behaviour. Typical adult! Just like every teacher, every government official, every other wizard I had ever met! Why on earth did Rani and Clyde hang out with her?! "What I want to know is why didn't it work the first time?"

She glanced at me again before swerving to dodge a pedestrian crossing. "Just focus on driving," I told her, turning away to watch the road. An extra pair of eyes wouldn't be amiss, I figured. "You said the Nekross take magic! They don't take it, they eat it! My magic doesn't work on them!" Oh, now I've done it! I realised after the words escaped. "Shit," I muttered, rubbing my lip.

"Not in front of my daughter, thank you," Sarah Jane said under her breath so only I could hear before raising her voice so the others could be privy to the conversation. "So your magic doesn't work on them, but it was working on that fire." We pulled into her driveway. As soon as the car stopped, I leapt out. I could feel the soot in my throat, the smoke burning in my lungs, the embers stinging my skin as they fell.

It was happening again. I would lose everything again. I can't do it, not this!

I curled up over the gutter as my stomach was about to revolt. A gentle hand cupped my shoulder. "We have to get inside," Sarah Jane told me softly. "You're smart, you can do this." I'm an idiot and it's my fault that my brother could be dead right now. None of this would have happened if I'd just – "There's nothing you could have done. What matters is what you can do now." There isn't anything I can do, I'm helpless!

I let her guide me inside and up the stairs. "Mr Smith, give me everything you have on the Nekross," Sarah Jane ordered. They talked on and on. I couldn't follow any of it.

She was right. What I do now is what matters, so what do I do now? I can't curse them, or spell them, or do anything directly to them. The Nekross, they eat magic. So I'll have to mix it with something they can't eat, something that destroys everything.

"Dragon fire," I breathed.

"What?" Sarah Jane said. I'd interrupted them in the middle of their conversation.

"Dragon fire," I repeated. They shared blank looks. "You don't have any weapons, do you?"

"No," Sarah Jane admitted with no remorse. No, she wouldn't have weapons. She's too nice. They're all too nice. That was as it should be. They shouldn't ever know what that's like.

"Good," I told her. "Send me up. I can stop them. I know what to do." I stood, shaking a little. I would die. Andrew could die. Or we could be sucked into the Neverside which would be no worse than the life we had on Earth. But I could save Sky, and all the other wizard children who the Nekross would take. That would be worth it, to stop any other family being torn apart like mine.

"Ellie?" Rani asked me cautiously.

"I'm not sending you up there alone." Sarah Jane would be stubborn. I sighed. I wouldn't be able to come find them again if I survived this. Perhaps I could just watch every now and then, maybe make sure her kids and grandkids stayed safe. Would she hate me if I disappeared? She hates me enough while I'm here so I don't think it would make much of a difference.

"Well you're going to have to because I don't think you have much other choice." Is putting these kids in danger what she did? Would she risk leaving Sky and Luke without a mother? How self absorbed could people be?!

"Out of the question. You're a child, Elaine. I will not put you in danger by yourself."

She doesn't get it. None of them get it. How could they? "I'm not a child, but Sky is." Her eyes shifted to her daughter. "And she needs her mother."

What's going on behind those eyes? I wondered, watching Sarah Jane. Was she actually considering it? These people needed her; Rani, Clyde, Sky, and Luke probably did as well even though he was away at Oxford. Did she realise I was right? If she took Sky with us, then she'd be responsible for whatever happened to her. Did she realise what could happen?

Then it struck me.

Aliens. They've done this before. I glanced around the attic. They've done this lots of times.

"Sky, stay with Mr Smith," Sarah Jane ordered.

"But Sarah Jane!" she objected instantly. I closed my eyes. Is this how I would have sounded to my parents when they'd go to the Neverside without me? But it was always for the best. In the end, it hadn't, but the time between, it had been for the best.

"It isn't safe," Sarah Jane told her. "The Nekross want to kill you."

"So? We've fought plenty of things that wanted to kill us before!"

"Rani, Clyde, you'll make sure she stays here?" Sarah Jane implored of them.

"What?!" Rani's eyes flashed.

"You're leaving us behind as well?!" Clyde exclaimed. "Sarah Jane, you need us!"

"Nekross closing in on the house," Mr Smith announced.

Everyone whirled around. "They must have beamed down outside the field and entered on foot," Sarah Jane winched. "Mr Smith's shields won't be enough."

"See, now we have to come," Sky told her.

"Alright," Sarah Jane conceded.

"WHAT?!" I shouted. "We are fighting aliens and you are bringing children?!" She spared a second to look at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Mr Smith, send us to their ship," Sarah Jane ordered.

In a flash we were in a completely different room. Everyone was silent. Sarah Jane pulled out her lipstick and zapped a central console. "Teleports shut down. We're safe in here." She zapped the door for good measure. "Sonic lipstick," she told me as I silently fumed.

Then I turned. "Oh my god." A huge window showed the Earth far away. "We're in space." How could this be happening?! "Proper space? We're on a spaceship. In space."

A hand clapped me on the back. "Yup," Clyde said nonchalantly. They're all so calm. They do do this all the time!

I turned back around. "Okay, so what's the plan?"

Sarah Jane, Sky and Rani were examining an interior schematic of the ship. "Clyde, you're with me. We're going to the throne room and have an audience with the Nekross king." Clyde nodded. She handed Rani her sonic lipstick. "Rani, take Sky and Elaine, go to the holding cells. Hopefully they haven't eaten your brother yet." She shot me an apologetic look. I swallowed down. "As soon as you have them, come back here and beam back to Earth. Don't wait for us."

"But how will you get back?" Sky asked.

She doesn't know if she will, I realised, seeing her hesitate. "Don't worry, Sky. Sarah Jane and Clyde are unenchanteds. The Nekross don't care about them," I bluffed. "Remember, they pretty much ignored everyone else at school." It didn't look like Sky believed me.

I looked to Sarah Jane. "Thank you," she mouthed to me. "Alright! Let's get going." She and Clyde went out first, Sarah Jane leading the way to the throne room.

"So where's the holding cells?" I asked Rani, looking at the screen.

"There," she pointed. "And we're here." She pointed to another spot.

"Fantastic," I breathed. "Rani, Sky, take care of each other." I snatched the sonic lipstick out of her hand in her moment of bewilderment, running through the door and sending out a charge of magic. The door shut. It would only open with the sonic lipstick now.

"Elaine!" Rani shouted, she and Sky running up to bang on the door and try the opening mechanism.

"Stay out of trouble," I told them and ran down the corridor.

The place was like a maze! I ended up putting a net of magic through it to find my way around. The holding cells were guarded. Too well guarded. To keep from being spotted, I found my way closer and closer to the engines. Ducts ran exposed along the ceiling in parts. Clearly the Nekross king didn't take these corridors often.

I'd have to be fast.

"Oh, what the hell, they deserve it anyway," I breathed, pointing the sonic lipstick to the ducts above me. The entire ship shook, convulsing. A giant wave of power knocked me from my feet as sparks came off around me.

Andrew! He's still alive!

"Intruder!" shouts came from further along the corridor. I'd done what I could. Now it was up to Andrew. I muttered some spells and left benign circles behind. Either when we left or when the other's left, I had the sense they could come in handy. Hopefully they wouldn't be able to stop them.

I kept running away from the shouts as long as I could until I skidded to a halt in the throne room. All eyes turned to me. The shouts kept following me. I tossed Sarah Jane her lipstick. She caught it and stared at it a moment, paling a shade. "Where's Sky and Rani?" she asked me.

"Don't worry, they're safe," I assured her as soldiers ran in behind me.

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for us," Clyde said regretfully as we raised our hands.

"See, humans?" An unhelmeted Nekross taunted us. Its face was black and yellow, almost like a pine cone texture, with two extensions… a third eye… and a second mouth… "As a show of good faith, we will let you return back to your planet. After you have watched us drain this wizard of her magic." It spat in my face. I shut my eyes and swallowed down my anger. People kept assuming things about me today. They never assumed I'd kick their butt.

"I'm not a wizard," I growled deep in my throat.

"Liar!" the Nekross roared. "I can smell it on you! You reek of magic, disgusting wizard!"

"If you don't leave this planet and all its people go, then I will have to stop you," Sarah Jane told them coldly.

"Would you stop one of your cat creatures from eating fish because you wanted to protect one reef, Miss Smith?" Another argued with her. I didn't care who they were.

I'm going to kill them.

Well, they just admitted they're going to kill me, and they'll probably kill Sky. They were going to kill Andrew. They had it coming.

"These are people, not fish," Sarah Jane refuted. "And you should all know better! With the technology you have, you could easily synthesise your own energy! Why take it from living people? It's cruel!"

"Put her in the extractor." I melded my shoes to the floor. They yanked at me.

"Let them go back to the teleport," I said icily, screwing my eyes shut as I felt around in the darkness. I knew it would be there. It was always there, waiting. My family was always cursed, or perhaps it was just a few of us. Maybe that was why the wizards kicked us out.

"Let them go, they're of no concern to us."

"Elaine, don't do this," Sarah Jane pleaded.

"BRING THE WIZARD HERE!" cried a bellow that shook the very walls. I turned at the familiar cascade of swear words.

"ANDREW!" I shrieked as they forced him into a cabinet.

"Watch your brother perish, wizard," they mocked me. "It will be your fate next!" They let me go. I ran to the glass, searching for a way to open it as he tried to escape.

"The others got out, the girls from school," he told me. "I saw them disappear. Get out, Elaine, go, now!"

"I'm not leaving you!" I bashed my fist against the glass. Behind me a flash of light and a roar that had everyone plastering their hands to their ears.

"No, Elaine, you can't control it, stop!" Andrew pleaded.

"What have you done?" Sarah Jane exclaimed, cowering back with Clyde by me. Most of the Nekross fled the room while some tried shooting some sort of ray gun at the creature. Klaxons sounded as fires started in the engine. The gravity started to fluctuate.

My friend.

I turned around.

This life hurts you. Let me heal you.

Flames licked up the walls, tasting whatever flesh was contained within those damned blue suits. The dragon lazily sauntered about the room, breathing fire upon those who fired at it.

"What is that?" Sarah Jane coughed by my ear as the room quickly filled with billows of smoke. She leaned against the wall. I put an arm around her to support her, watching the destruction I had caused.

"They won't come back to hurt Sky," I told her. There were explosions as part of the ship gave way. "Your daughter is safe."

"You're killing them!" She thinks this is wrong? There is no other way.

"Retreat!" a shout came. "Abandon ship!" roared still more as those remaining fled death, fled the dragon that was sniffing occasionally at the fallen bodies, fled me. The fire kept back from us as I willed it.

"You did it, Elaine, now stop," Andrew spoke clearly in my other ear. "We have to go home."

My friend, these are strange creatures. But they shall harm you no more.

The floor vibrated with a deep purr. I closed my eyes and let it reverberate all through my being. It was done.

I held Andrews hand as he did the spell.

Opening my eyes, we were in a clearing of a forest. "Woah, where are we?" Clyde explained, stumbling and coughing the rest of the smoke from his lungs. "Is that a dragon?" Above us loomed a great being, power, muscle, death and life all within its power.

"My friend, these creatures do not smell like you," it spoke.

"Oh, you talk, hi," Clyde said awkwardly, wide eyed. I loosened my hold on Sarah Jane so she could go to him. They'd be alright. The Nekross would do no one harm, not Andrew, not Sarah Jane, and not Sky. My job was done. "Um, where are we?"

"They mean us no malice," I reassured it. Stepping forward I reached out my hand as it lowered its snout to rest against my palm.

"You were away so long." I rested my forehead against it. There was magic everywhere! The grass whispered our arrival, beasts shouted behind the trees, a few faces peeked out. I was in awe of it all, and terrified.

"You have to go back," Andrew told me, casting a glance to Sarah Jane and Clyde. "They can't stay here."

"You're going to stay?!" I turned on him.

"Elaine, I'm tired of that world," he sighed, cupping my cheek in his palm. There were singes on his clothes, a few scratches about. I brushed my hand gently over his face and they were gone. "That isn't my home anymore. You know it isn't. It's time I moved on."

"But I want to stay with you," I whispered. "I had to save you."

"We've had our time." He took my hand from his face, caressing it in his hold.

Sarah Jane stood with Clyde, both of them turning and watching for any threats as Sarah Jane tried to get a device hidden as a watch to work. The forest was alive around us! Properly alive like no where I'd been for so many years! My heart yearned to join it but it also tied me back. I couldn't. I wasn't ready. I'd never be ready. I'm not strong enough, wise enough, smart enough. I'm not enough.

"And it seems to me, you might have finally found some friends to share a piece of your eternity with," he glanced over to Sarah Jane and Clyde. I followed his eye. "You have to take them back. They can't stay here. You can't stay here."

"If you don't mind my asking, where exactly is here?" Sarah Jane inquired, having given up on her endeavour.

"My friend, you can't stay?" The ground shook and everything froze. A diamond slid from scaled skin, splashing to the ground.

There is no heart as big, nor fast to turn and easy to crush as a dragon's. Their thick skin was always just a physical safety.

I ran to press myself against its chest. "I'm sorry," I murmured as it wrapped arms and wings around me in a cocoon. It was all so confusing, so sudden!

"This is the Neverside," Andrew explained to Sarah Jane and Clyde.

"Another dimension?" Clyde asked.

"Sort of." Andrew didn't worry about the scientific technicalities. The Neverside had a different science anyway. "Elaine will take you home. Look after her for me."

He walked off into the forest without another word. "He always did hate goodbyes," I cried, snuggling a little closer to my friend.

"It is common amongst your kind, my friend."

It gently released me as I wiped my eyes. "I guess you're right. But I'll see you again. I promise."

"I will be waiting, my friend." It stood tall up on its haunches. "I promise."

"Thank you." We bowed deeply to one another before I turned back to Sarah Jane and Clyde. So this was where my future was to be. I'll have to learn to live with that.

"What is this place?" Sarah Jane asked me softly. "I've never been anywhere like it."

"It's the Neverside," I said simply. There was little more to it than that. "A place of magic. The science of man means nothing here. And now we have to leave." A rustle began to grow in the forest. It seemed our arrival hadn't gone unnoticed.

"You'll explain this when we get back?" Sarah Jane asked with a raised eyebrow. I smiled coyly, closed my eyes and focused.

The next moment we were falling to the floor in the attic.

"Sarah Jane!" Sky and Rani exclaimed. "Clyde!" Rani added. They rushed to help their friends to sofas as I slumped onto the step that divided the attic space.

The cold reality of my actions began to sink in. I had killed… how many had I killed? How much had I destroyed? They wouldn't even want to know me after this! Andrew was gone to the Neverside. Without summoning the dragon again, I didn't know if I would have the power to get back.

"Mr Smith?" Sarah Jane asked.

"The Nekross left the solar system three hours ago," he announced.

"Three hours?!" Clyde exclaimed. "But it was just a few minutes!"

"The science of man means nothing to the Neverside," I murmured.

"Thank you, Mr Smith," Sarah Jane sighed, sitting back. "I'm glad that's over!" She smiled, putting an arm around Sky beside her.

"What happened, where did you go, what took you so long?!" Rani pestered Clyde with questions. He turned to me.

"What happened to you?" Sarah Jane asked Rani. "I thought you were going to be releasing the prisoners in the holding cells."

Rani looked gobsmacked at being questioned on this, and rightly so.

"My fault," I admitted, raising a hand to get their attention. I was barely able to raise my head as it pounded to glance at Sarah Jane a moment. "I locked Rani and Sky in the teleport room to keep them out of trouble." I didn't so much see, but have the sense that Sarah Jane was wryly smiling.

"Ah," she voiced.

"She took the sonic lipstick before I could stop her!" Rani tried to excuse herself. Sarah Jane wasn't having any of it.

"Three hours," Sarah Jane echoed Rani's earlier statement, bringing it back to how much time had passed. "You'd better get home before your parents start to worry, Rani."

"But Sarah Jane!" Rani objected.

"You can come around tomorrow," Sarah Jane assured her, standing and going to open the door. "You heard Mr Smith, the Nekross are gone."

"For now maybe." She pouted. I wonder if any of them ever stopped talking.

"Alright," Sarah Jane sighed. "At least call them so they know where you are!"

"Okay!" Rani stood with glee, running past me to call her parents outside in the corridor.

"Anyone else fancy a cup of tea?" Sarah Jane asked. I silently followed them downstairs, wordlessly tucking myself into a corner of Sarah Jane's living room. They chatted a while about what had happened, speculating about the Neverside. Whenever the kids directed questions to me, Sarah Jane shifted their attention to something else.

Does she know? How could she? But… it feels like she does… somehow…

Hunger won out in the end and with an empty pantry – Sarah Jane had been out about to do the food shopping when the crisis had started – Clyde, Rani and Sky were sent out to purchase takeaway for lunch.

"So," Sarah Jane said, now alone with me in the room. It was a nice room. Homey, I suspected, although I had forgotten at some point what that felt like. "How old are you, Elaine?"

"I was born in 1953," I said aloud for the first time in… decades… It had been decades. There hadn't been any reason to say it since…

"Two years younger than I am," Sarah Jane commented. "Andrew was born before then?"

"He was born in 1952." He's in the Neverside now. We were all each other had for decades, and now I might never see him again. I didn't cry, or sob, or weep, or moan, but a cold feeling ran over me, chilling me to my core, like the nights in winter when the gas went off or a window broke in a storm.

"So why do you both look so young? Or is that common amongst your kind?" she inquired. She was unexpectedly calm about it, which I found help me keep calm as well. "But then, you say you aren't a wizard, so… what are you?"

"We were cursed." My voice caught in my throat. These were words that had never been spoken. New words that my brain knew as well as my name, yet were a stranger to my tongue. "My family…" Why was I saying it after all these years? I glanced down to my cup. Was there something in my tea? I don't care. I just don't care anymore. There isn't anything left of me to care. "We were cast out by the wizards. They went to the Neverside, but didn't take Andrew and me with them. We just woke up one day and they were gone." I don't care, but why does it hurt? "I don't know what I am."

I'm a mess. She must think I'm like a kid, crying about all this, broken up in side by things that happened decades ago. Sarah Jane came and sat on the sofa beside me. "I'm sorry." It isn't your fault, it's my fault, I'm an idiot, I'm not enough. I'm never enough.

She put an arm around my shoulders, holding me. No, I can't do this, not here, not now. I sniffled, wiping my eyes on my sleeve. "I'm fine." I shifted a little forward out of her embrace.

"Are you sure?" I shot her a glance over my shoulder. I don't deserve their worry or compassion. But still there she was, giving it. My gaze softened and I looked away.

"I'm never really sure of anything," I muttered bitterly. Again her arm was around me, this time pulling me deeper into her grasp. It felt safe to be there, like with the dragon, but I was still terrified. Terrified that if I let her see me for who I was, love me for who I was, that she would run away like everyone had before. Is that what Andrew had finally done? "What do you think I am?" I shifted the question back onto her in hopes of putting up walls to protect myself.

"I think," she started, looking me up and down. She swallowed down. "I think you have remarkable power, and it scares you. But you're also trapped out of your own time."

"Cursed," I agreed. It was reassuring to hear someone else think so.

"Perhaps."

"I am cursed." It wasn't something to be argued. It was fact. I am cursed. Simple!

"Maybe you just haven't found the hope." Sarah Jane reminisced her years adrift, trying to find her purpose again and be content with it after being left on Earth. It had taken a long time to heal and learn to build a home. K9 had been an immense help, having a friend she could talk to about aliens and everything. Maybe that's what Elaine needs now? Sarah Jane wondered.

"What hope?!" I exclaimed, standing and striding around the table. "I am stuck looking like a teenager! I can't fall in love, or marry, or have children like you! I can't be normal and have friends because I can't tell them what happened to me! I can't like people because I know I'll just end up hurting them!"

"You don't like me?" Sarah Jane asked innocently from her seat.

"What?! No!" She'd caught me flustered. "I do like you I just –" I sat down with a sigh beside her. "It isn't right. I'm not right. I'm cursed and wrong and… I wish I could be normal."

She reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. I blushed at the contact, but didn't move away. I'd most likely be going soon, never to see her again. I'd savour it while I could. I'd savour the foolish hope while I could.

"I do like you, Sarah Jane, please believe me." My voice was little more than a whisper as I closed my eyes, pressing my clasped hands into my forehead. "I may not know any of you well, but the family you have made is beautiful. Sky and Luke are fortunate to have you as their mother. Clyde and Rani are lucky to have you as a mentor. You are an incredible person."

"Do you think I'm out of your league?" she teased me. My eyes shot open. Of all the things I had expected her to say, that wasn't it, and certainly not teasing! I slowly turned to her and she was blushing, shocked by her own slip of tongue.

"Well… Yes… I mean… You are… Not that I ever thought… You're so… I'm not…" I mumbled and fumbled my way through my words until I tore my eyes away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for conversation to go this way."

How did we get here? It didn't make any sense!

"No, it's my fault," she argued. "Clyde said that you're gay and –"

"WHAT?!" I shot out of the seat, backing away towards the door.

Oh god, what have I done! Sarah Jane scolded herself. "Elaine, I'm sorry, I didn't mean –" She was up on her feet, her hands extended towards me, trying to be reassuring. It did not feel reassuring.

I shook my head, paling in terror at the secret she had voiced. The secret that I could never voice. "No, I'm not! It's the curse! It has to be the curse! I can't be…" Gay. I curled up, covering my face with my hands as the tears ran. My chest heaved as I sobbed.

"I'm sorry, I assumed… Don't worry, I won't say anything to anyone," Sarah Jane said and paused. I know how it feels, she wanted to say. I felt the same way for so many years. I still am scared. A change of government is all it would take and Luke and Sky could be taken away from me. Rani and Clyde's parents could ostracise me. I could lose everything. "You're safe here." She wrapped me up in her arms as I rested my forehead on her shoulder. "It's okay, you're safe here," she softly cooed to me until I calmed.

"I never even told Andrew, and now I might never have the chance," I whimpered.

"I haven't told anyone either," Sarah Jane admitted softly. I slowly drew back, covering my mouth with a hand. I was sure I looked a mess, but I had to look her in the eye.

"You too?" I croaked. She mutely nodded. In a second I was clinging to her, the two of us holding each other close.

"I haven't done this for a long time," she confined in me. I could hear the smile in her voice and feel her own happy tears against my cheek.

"I never have," I breathed. I'm not broken, it isn't the curse, I'm not a monster because of it. She loves me and accepts me.

"Will you stay?"

My answer was lost as we both turned. Our heads were centimetres apart, her lips still slightly open from speaking as my gaze drifted up to her shining green eyes. "Will you stay?" I could feel her breath against my cheek. Her perfume was strong being this close. I wondered if it would rub off on me.

"Can I?" Her head raised a fraction in a nod. Our lips brushed together, my heart thumping in my ears. I felt giddy as she leaned into me for support. Turning, I guided her back against the wall, my arms wrapping around her shoulders and waist while hers held on around my neck. Her skin was soft, like gossamer, as though if I pressed to hard I could pierce it.

The door slammed.

I flew back. She faltered a moment, I stumbled, both of us dizzy. Sarah Jane leant on the wall as her head spun, I stubbed my toe on the coffee table and fell headlong onto the sofa. As I lifted my face from the cushions, I was serenaded by her musical laughter. Dazed, I peered around, Sarah Jane coming to help me up.

"We'd better… ah…" I murmured as she ran her hands over my hair to neaten it and I straightened her collar. She put her hands on my shoulders.

"It's fine," she whispered. "Don't worry. It'll be okay." I glanced up to her eyes. Sarah Jane wasn't just saying those words for me – she was scared as well!

I raised her hands to my lips and kissed them gently. "It'll be okay," I echoed. I wasn't sure if I believed it, but I wanted to.

A deep breath and we opened the door, catching the three kids in the middle of some hushed conference. "Sarah Jane!" Rani exclaimed loudly. "Elaine!"

"Sarah Jane!" Sky said, gleefully running up to hug her mother. I stepped back to give them space.

"What did you get?" Sarah Jane asked, eyeing the bag Clyde was carrying.

"Fish and chips," he answered, raising it. He and Rani kept looking between Sarah Jane and me. Whatever they were thinking… they weren't happy. Sarah Jane seemed to share my unease, herding everyone into the kitchen to eat. They chatted, carefully avoiding the subject of whatever they thought of seeing Sarah Jane and I… kissing. We were kissing! I was kissing her! I couldn't eat as my stomach was still doing somersaults. Was I nervous? Or excited? I couldn't tell, but I liked it.

"Cup of tea?" Rani asked when everyone was done.

"I'll get it," Sarah Jane said.

"I'll clear the table," I added, standing as she did. As I worked, Sarah Jane didn't notice it with her back to everyone, but Rani and Clyde seemed to be having a discussion with just their eyes. I wasn't sure what it was, just catching bits and pieces over my shoulder.

"Sarah Jane," Rani said. "Clyde and I have an assignment to do, for history." She's bluffing. The history assessment this term is an exam. "Do you mind if we use Mr Smith to research?"

"Go ahead," Sarah Jane told them. Both stood and hurriedly left the room. Sarah Jane was unperturbed as she set the tea to brew. "How are you going with your schoolwork, Sky?"

"We're doing Macbeth in English," Sky announced.

"Oh! I have that on DVD from when Luke was studying it, I think," Sarah Jane said.

"Gosh, the Roman Polanski one, I remember when that came out," I commented to her. We shared a smile.

"Can I watch it?" Sky asked eagerly.

"Of course, go ahead into the living room, I'll bring the tea," Sarah Jane told her. Sky left with no qualms.

"I'll take those up for Rani and Clyde," I told her, gesturing to the other two mugs.

"Really? You don't have to, I should…" she started.

"It's fine, you go and enjoy the movie with Sky," I assured her, taking the mugs and hurriedly exiting the room. I was careful not to spill any as I silently climbed the stairs.

As I expected, reaching the top floor, I could hear the voices in the attic. "This is all happening too fast, Clyde," Rani was saying, pacing around.

"I know, but what can we do?" Clyde reminded her. "You remember what happened with Truman, what if Elaine is like… possessed too? But then it was the Trickster with that guy, Peter Dalton. How do we know he didn't set it all up?"

"Yeah, and she wasn't able to tell when he had her under mind control," Rani agreed. Mind control? They thought I was doing that to Sarah Jane?! "What do you think, Mr Smith?"

"I have detected no signs of Sarah Jane's mental capabilities being compromised," Mr Smith said calmly. At least the computer was on my side!

"But you couldn't detect Truman's power either! How do we know this isn't like that?" Clyde demanded. "And Sarah Jane isn't gay, we'd have known by now! Wouldn't we?"

"Well, I had no idea about Elaine until you said earlier," Rani admitted. "But she liked Peter, she liked him a lot. So, that would make her bi, wouldn't it?" The pit of my stomach was roiling. How could they be saying all those things?! What business was it of theirs what Sarah Jane and I did?! "Anyway, something is definitely going on. I mean, Elaine looks like she's our age! What would Sarah Jane even see in her?!" What did Sarah Jane see in me? I wondered. I certainly didn't know.

What if she didn't see anything, if she had just been sorry for me? What if I had pressured her into it… What was I even thinking? Her and me? That would never work! Could never work!

Should never work, a voice whispered.

"Who knows? I mean, none of us exactly asked her what she liked so much about Peter," Clyde pointed out. "They haven't even known each other a day though, something is definitely wrong."

They mean me. They think I'm a monster, manipulating her, hurting her. I would never want to hurt her. I couldn't listen to any more.

I put the mugs down on a box next to the attic door and knocked on it twice, hard, before fleeing down the stairs. I heard them run out onto the balcony. They were right, I have to go, it's the curse. It has to be. I ran out the front door closing it behind me.

Sarah Jane came out of the living room as Rani and Clyde bolted down the stairs. "Was that Elaine?" she asked, perplexed, making a dash for the door. She opened it and looked out, but I was already gone. A sprint to the end of the driveway and she looked up and down the road. Nothing, she ran for the corner to look down the other way.

"Yoo hoo! Something the matter, Sarah?" Gita asked, merrily coming out of the car after making a delivery for her store, Bloomin' Lovely.

"I…" Sarah Jane started, but couldn't say the words. "No, nothing, excuse me," she said, dejected, and headed back inside.

"Sarah Jane, what's going on?" Sky asked, stood in the lounge room doorway, the movie paused on the television screen behind her.

"That's exactly what I'd like to know," she declared, rounding on Clyde and Rani. Her eyes moved between them a minute before they settled on Clyde. Rani was stubborn, but Clyde, she'd known him the longest. She raised her eyebrow ever so slightly. That was all it took.

"We were just talking," Clyde whined. "We had no idea she was listening, honest! We're worried about you, Sarah Jane!"

"Worried about me?" she echoed in disbelief.

"We go out to get lunch and come back to find the two of you snogging against the wall, so yes, we're worried," Rani told her candidly, crossing her arms over her chest. Sarah Jane let out a long sigh, putting her face into an open hand.

"Whenever you've been interested in someone before, it's gone bad," Clyde added. Sarah Jane raised her free hand before he said the names.

"I don't understand," Sky voiced in confusion. "You said that girls liking girls and boys liking boys is normal."

"It is normal, Sky," Sarah Jane implored of her to grasp that yes, no matter who she loved or didn't love, that she would always be her daughter and that she would love her just the same.

"But so suddenly?" Rani exclaimed. "Sarah Jane, you haven't even known her for a day! She's the same age as Clyde and me! She's the same age as Luke!"

"No, Rani, she isn't," Sarah Jane said, more harshly than she had intended. Rani blinked with surprise. Sky moved forward and held onto her hand. Sarah Jane wrapped an arm around her, letting her know she was alright. "You remember meeting the Doctor? How he looks much younger than he is?"

"Yes, but he's a Timelord," Clyde pointed out. "He's supposed to be like that. He's an alien."

"Is Elaine a Timelord too?" Sky inquired curiously.

"Not quite," Sarah Jane smiled down to her, then looked out at Rani and Clyde. "Elaine is two years younger than me. We're closer in age than Peter and I were."

"Are you sure, Sarah Jane?" Clyde asked.

"We only have her word for it," Rani agreed.

"Mr Smith told us she was born in the early 1950s!" Sarah Jane sighed, exasperated. Why do I need to justify my relationships to them all the time?! But then… they're just concerned after everything I've been through. "You're right, I have rushed into this," she admitted at last. Can't I just have something good happen in my life that doesn't come with all the extra baggage? she pondered wistfully. "But as I said with Peter, I'm don't have as many years as you all will. I don't want to waste them."

"Yeah, and he turned out to be teamed up with the Trickster," Clyde pointed out.

"And I said yes to marry him before the Trickster started controlling my mind," Sarah Jane countered. "I haven't even had the chance to discuss this with Elaine. She might not even be that interested in me." Why should she be? She might be closer to me in age, but she still has the passion and energy of youth. Someone in their twenties would be better able to keep up with her.

"I don't know, she looked pretty interested," Clyde snidely remarked.

"The cheek!" Sarah Jane chided, tapping his shoulder. He smirked. They all couldn't help breaking into small smiles. Then an idea struck her. "I might not have known her long, but you all go to school with her. What's she like?"

"Quiet," Rani said.

"Anti-social," Clyde put in.

"Nice," Sky contributed. "She stopped some boys teasing me for being a nerd." Why didn't Sky tell me about this earlier? Sarah Jane wondered.

"She's a nerd as well, I think," Clyde said, but then questioned himself. Was she a nerd? Or was it just someone Sarah Jane's age looking like a teenager that gave him that impression? "She was really good about baking the cake for Luke's farewell party. Nice cake too. I wonder if she actually made it or if it was," he waggled his fingers, "magic."

"So nothing that would make you suspicious beyond the suddenness of… whatever it is she and I have?" Sarah Jane finally said.

"Well, there is the thing about how we've pretty much only just found out she does magic," Clyde said.

She nodded. It was a good point. "I'll be careful," Sarah Jane assured them. "But right now, I'd like to make sure Elaine is okay. Don't forget, her brother left to be in the Neverside. She has a lot going on right now." Someday life won't be so complicated… nah. "You three stay out of trouble until I get back."

I stood surrounded by charred remains. The magazines Andrew had collected over the years, the skeletons of the sofas we had picked up from the side of the street, the mugs, several cracked and warped, strewn on the ground among dying embers where they'd been thrown in our haste to escape. It was gone. I had nothing.

I knew from experience that I didn't actually need to eat, drink, or sleep at all to stay alive. My body would keep regenerating itself from the magic in the curse. I wouldn't gain or lose weight, become dehydrated to the point of blacking out, or tired to the point of mania. I'd just keep going. All my feeling was gone. I just stood there, numb, staring vacantly at it all.

"Elaine? Oh my…" Sarah Jane stopped in the front doorway. The door lay flat on the ground, partially covered with a still smoking Nekross suit. "Are you okay?" She stepped around blackened piles on the floor to reach me, putting a hand on my shoulder. Whatever the Nekross were, it still smelt like burnt flesh. It reeked of it!

Like last time.

"I don't know," I murmured distantly. "I… can't feel… anything…" She wrapped me in her arms. After a moment I registered that I should hold her, awkwardly placing my hands on her back. I turned my head into her neck and breathed in her perfume, her scent, closing my eyes and focusing on that and the feel of her against me. It was all I was sure was real anymore.

"Do you have a bag?" Sarah Jane asked, letting me go. "We'll salvage what we can. You can come stay at my house." She patted my arm.

"Okay." Nothing was processing. She looked into my face and could see it.

"Are your clothes in the next room?" she asked. We had run through so fast earlier in the day, she hadn't had time to notice.

"The fire didn't… it didn't reach as much in there… I should probably…" My words kept fading away before I could make a sentence.

"Here, how about you sit outside, I'll get your things for you." She took my shoulders and guided me out. I sat on the curb by her car. She opened the trunk and got a roll of black plastic bags out before shutting it and heading inside again.

I gazed into the distance as cars rumbled past. The clouds that had been greying all those hours before looked just about read to drop their load upon us. The stench of soot wasn't as strong out there. For a moment I thought I spotted a rainbow in the east, before the rain caught up. It started as a light drizzle, gradually building until it pattered down. Closing my eyes and turning my face up into it, I let it mix with the tears running down my face. I didn't blow my nose as it ran, instead letting it be. After a few minutes, I smiled, got up and headed inside. Now at least I couldn't smell.

I found Sarah Jane in the backroom.

"You're drenched!" she exclaimed upon seeing me. I nodded, carefully checking a small metal container that had once been covered in brightly coloured paint. It was now blistered and peeling, pale or charred in spots. I opened it and found some sachets Andrew had saved. I closed the box and put it in a bag for us to take.

There wasn't a lot to salvage. Any clothes would require thorough soaking to lose their reek. My toothbrush had melted into a glob of plastic, so that was gone. It was a good toothbrush while it lasted. All of the records were destroyed. The scarce photos were even rarer, time erased that I might never get back. Several of my diaries were piles of ash, along with journals of sketches, stories and poems. I tried not to cry again as I put the few remaining ones into the bag, even taking ones which were barely legible. A few of Andrew's journals were there. I bagged them too.

"Ready?" Sarah Jane asked as we placed the bags in the trunk of her car. My entire life, in the trunk of a car, in black plastic bin bags.

"Thanks," was all I could say. I hate goodbyes. I hate fire. I envied Death.

We climbed into her car and drove off, away from that part of my past for the last time, heading to where the next step of our future would be.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please feel free to review! I know it's been a while (*coughs* a year *coughs*) since I've posted anything, sorry about that. Let me know if you would like a sequel...? Should I introduce some of the other characters from Wizards vs Aliens? What was in the crate from Rani's photograph? How come Elaine could do multiple spells in a day instead of being restricted to three like other wizards? (side effect of the curse on her and her brother - however if they do too much magic, other wizards get curious and look for them, also why she couldn't spell the house to fix everything at the end, because they would have sensed it and it would likely have caused more trouble than good. She didn't want to have to deal with their archaic sense of wizarding society after everything she'd been through that day. Also, there was so much damage and despite being older, she doesn't know a lot about her powers like how to do big spells and things because she never had anyone teach her and she's afraid from past experience of what happens when she tries big magics herself.)

I hope you all have a wonderful day! Please tell me in reviews what is your favourite scene/line?