Nikki

My head was groggy when I woke up. I blinked my eyes open slowly, my room was still dark…meaning it was still night. I groaned and rolled out of bed, Bellasprite hissing in protest as I did so. I looked down at my bed; Lofton was in her own world tonight. She had told me that she and Graham had to talk about some things and that she would see me at the meeting tomorrow, well today I realized at I glanced at my clock; it was 3:36…

I gave a little snort, not like the time mattered anyway, not even sure how accurate that clock was anymore.

I gave another glance around my room to find it was not me that had woken me up, but a steady tap at my window…

My sword was pulled from my Sylladex in an instant as I glanced out of my blinds, expecting a curious imp but I had a near heart attack when it was no other than the man of the hour, Rylan.

He had obviously not changed or gotten any medical attention yet because his nose was still crooked and a hand stayed clasped to his side. His cloths were stained and the cut on his neck was still angry red but now dried blood caked it. His eyes were hard to see in the light but he saw me look out and made a motion to my front door, I scoffed.

Did he really think I was going to just let him in? I get that the day was not entirely his fault but that did not mean that I was not somewhat afraid.

Then I realized that sounded so dumb, how could I be afraid? Sure he killed one of our friends but he did it because if he didn't, Cade would have killed him.

My mind swam for a moment, conflicting thought pushing at the back of my mind and everything got groggy again as I found myself marching toward my door…

I swung it open with an angry look on my face, my eyes meet with his pale gray ones, he was looking at me weird again and with a startling thought I realized I was still in my pajamas which were shorts that barley hid anything and a tank top. I blushed a little and I could see him fight redness from his face as well as I grabbed a sweater that I kept by the door over and around myself.

I stepped aside and allowed him to come in, neither of us had said a word yet but I knew somehow that he wanted to come and talk about something.

I sat at my kitchen table, deciding he did not deserve to sit on the couch, "You better had good reason to wake me up in the middle of the night when I barely get enough sleep as it is anymore," I muttered bitterly.

He sighed and to my surprise, laughed a little, "Then this is going to be disappointing news to you," He told me, glancing around my home with his weird probing look.

I sighed again, "What is it?" I asked.

He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, "Can uh…"

He blushed…he actually blushed.

It took every bit of self-control that I had to not laugh as I watched a blush cross his face in the moon light that streamed in though my sliding glass doors.

Finally he forced those silly insecurities down and looked confidently at me again, "Can you fix my nose, I know you're not a healer or anything but if I asked Drew or Lofton they might have killed me on the spot," He sighed.

I chewed on my lip a little, still feeling slightly humorous at the entire situation. Here I was sitting in my kitchen alone with a person who everyone thought was absolutely psychotic, for good reason.

I looked at him for a moment longer, watching him shift as he waited on my reply, "Only if you answer my question first," I said clearly, leaving no room for bargaining.

He looked scared and confused all at once and it occurred to me that he may have thought I could not see him in such low light, once again I held back a giggle.

He conceded, "Well what is your question?" Rylan said his tone very skeptical.

"I want to know why when you're around I get these sudden mood shifts. Like someone is changing my mind," I said quickly then held my breath, hoping my theory was not correct.

It was like someone had turned him into stone, he went rigid, his entire body clenching all at once in an almost panicked way.

I watched the emotions play across his face and decided I needed to trick him into thinking I couldn't tell what he was feeling more often.

First Rylan was scared, his eyes widening as he realized my question. Next he was angry, not sure why but it was clear. Finally he was defeated, a tired expression fallen over him.

His words were soft as he spoke, "It is my powers…but not mine in specific but also, I don't know really," He sighed.

I gave a bitter laugh, "How in the hell don't you know?" I said sarcastically.

Rylan looked back up at me with an annoyed expression, "Look all I know is if I focus hard enough on how I want someone to feel, it might change their mind. Like that day on Bryson's world…I panicked and I needed to go home, I had to figure out what to do but you both were so angry and I was sure Bryson was going to kill me right there. So I just kept thinking that if I could just get him to calm down then things would work out and It did," He tried to explain, he seemed just as confused as me.

I brought my eyebrows together in confusion, "So…the random mood swing that I have been having are your fault, like just now at my window. You made me calm down so I would open the door?" I asked, I suppose a bit of my nervous energy slipped into my tone because his eyes widened.

"I am not trying to control you or anyone or anything…I just needed your help." He forced the last bit.

I was struck with a pang of sadness, he hated asking for help. It was sort of like me.

I took in the information in silence; I was not sure how to feel really. I could see the struggle on his face and the thought occurred to me, "Have you told anyone about any of this?" I said tentatively.

He shook his head immediately, "And that was my next point, I don't want Mark dragged into this at all and you cannot tell anyone about my powers." He said firmly, his eyes determined.

It was sort of a crappy pet peeve but I hated when someone told me that I couldn't do something. Not in a like rebellious matter, but in a personal matter and I wanted to snap back at him.

I had every reason to tell everyone, he had hurt out friend and he was dangerous, he could make us feel differently.

Though in the same breath, he kept my secrete…

I groaned a little and stood up, he looked up at my confused and I shook my head in a exasperated way, "This is going to hurt," I told him as I reached down toward his face.

He flinched a little and I stopped, waiting on him to still. He looked up at me and blinked a few times before nodding a little.

My heart beat had become erratic, I did not want to mess up his nose even worse but I could not leave it like this. So with a deep breath I placed a hand on either side of his nose and put pressure but almost as soon as I did he gasped out in pain and his hands shot out toward me, grabbing on to either side of my hips.

I blushed furiously and looked down at him, he shook his head, "Just keep going," he said through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse with pain. He did not look up at me, but I could tell from the tone of his voice, he was embarrassed as well.

I pushed away any personal awkwardness and took another breath. This time I did not allow myself to think as I forced the bone back into place, there was a snap and Rylan gasped out again. His fingers dug into my hips and I winced in pain but stayed quiet. A bit of blood dribbled from the now straight nose.

He was breathing heavily, trying to gather himself and we probably stood there for a good five minutes before I finally couldn't stand the contact anymore.

The moon light filtered in, letting us see both of each other's faces which were bright red. I felt like someone was sitting on my chest and someone else had just spiked my drink with Adderall. Rylan tentatively brought one hand to his face, feeling it softly and wincing when he realized it was still tender.

I walked over into the kitchen and grabbed a rag from the bottom drawer and handed it to him without another word. He gave a nod in thanks and I sat across from him again.

I looked at him for a long time; he was also looking at me. For once he did not complain about my staring, not that he could because he was as well. I felt the question at the tip of my tongue but as always, he seemed to know it already.

"I didn't just come here to have you fix me up," He sighed.

"You are too proud to come for just that," I said with a little huff of laughter.

"Hahaha, you're such a comedian," He sneered a little, but the foul expression quickly faded from his face. He sighed and clasped his hands between his knees, his back hunched as he looked at the floor. I blinked at him, why come to me of all people.

He finally looked back up and took a quick breath before speaking, "I wanna thank you," Rylan breathed out softly.

My eyes widened a bit, I scoffed a bit and shook my head a bit, "For what?" I asked bitterly, I had failed to stop the vision from coming true and now he and Cade both were sort of bad guys, mainly Rylan.

Rylan looked confused at my reaction, "For not condemning me, you could have told all of them anything and they would have believed you…but you kept the blame even, so thanks," He repeated the last part, a bit more strongly this time.

I looked at him wide eyed, my brain shifting thought after thought. I don't think he was using his powers right now, but I felt relaxed…maybe a bit sad but relaxed. It was so odd.

I leaned back in my chair a little and played with the silver ring on my finger, it was my class ring but I don't think it bore much meaning anymore, "So…since you are here, where are you from?" I asked him. I had always wondered and for some reason, this seemed like a good time to ask.

Rylan laughed a little, the deep kind of laugh that bounced off everything and reverberated through the room. "Um, back home. I had lived there my whole life along with Mark," He said.

I nodded in understanding, he squinted at me a bit, "What about you? Where are you from?" He asked.

I laughed again, earning a confused look from him, "It depends on who you ask. A person from Arkansas would tell you Louisiana, from Louisiana Missouri... etc. etc." I tried to explain.

"That makes no sense," He remarked.

"That is the point,"

"Just answer the question,"

"Why?"

"Because now I'm curious."

I gave a small grin and shook my head, "My dad was in the Army, we moved around a lot, never really stayed in one place long enough to be considered from there," I told him.

He softened a bit after that, we talked about ourselves for what felt like the first time in forever, Rylan was sarcastic as always but there was something genuine there as well, he actually wanted to know things about me and we talked for another hour after that.

Soon the sun peeked into my backdoor and his eyes widened in realization that he had been here all night, I sighed, "Better go get some sleep, it is going to be an interesting day,"

Bryson

My shoulder ached when I woke up, I blinked my eyes and groaned a bit, a heavy weight was settled on my chest and there were bugs buzzing in my ears.

Wait…bugs?

I opened my eyes all the way, and remembered where I was at.

I was in Mark's world, I had fallen asleep, and Mark was still asleep in my lap.

And Mark was no longer asleep.

The two of us stared at each other, in the night was had curled together, our bodies intertwined and our faces only millimeters apart. His eyes were wide with shock, and I am sure mine were too.

Neither of us spoke for the moment, only stared. I reached out to him with my mind, desperate to get some kind of feedback from the situation. I could feel the brush of his mind against mine and I know it sounds weird but it was a sort of pleasant sensation. I could not feel any anger of disgust or some other widely negative emotion. All I could feel was what seems like curiosity.

I took one more sharp breath and decided to be brave, "So, good morning," I said with a shy smile.

Mark only gazed at me a little longer; he seemed to be lost in thought even though his body did move a little when I spoke. His eyes seemed to linger on my face, and suddenly the air felt heavy.

Finally Mark smiled, but not a kind smile as usual, but a sly smile that spoke volumes all at once.

I felt my heart race as he slowly put an arm on either side of my head, his body hovering over half of mine. My hands clutched at my sides, but my eyes never left his.

I could practically hear our hearts pounding in fear and anticipation, not from the fear of one of us rejecting the other, but from what this could mean.

Mark was waiting on me to stop his as his face came closer to mine, but I couldn't find the words, I did not want to.

Finally Mark's lips collided with mine.

It was not passionate and rough like a movie but it wasn't just a simple pec on the lips eithers. His lips were soft but a little chapped from sleeping outside like I am sure mine were as well. Out of instinct I wrapped my arms around his neck, securing him close. I wish I could read his mind but to me the kiss meant so many things. It was nice and gentle and over all kinda toe curling. I had never in my wildest dreams thought this would happen but it was.

I began to feel a bit giddy and as he pulled away both of us were smiling.

I had a lot of questions but none of them felt really appropriate for the moment, like what did this even mean? Were we together now? Did it feel as nice for him as it did for me?

Instead of asking we just kept smiling like idiots.

A few hours later, after I had gone home to shower and change and mentally prepare myself for the day, I found myself on Jason's world. Drew and Jason were there as well, Drew rested her head of Jason's shoulder while he gave her a comforting pat on the arm. None of us spoke because I am sure the nerves would make us throw up if we did.

Everyone arrived in the next few minutes. The only ones missing were Cade, Mark, and Rylan. As if they read my mind Mark walked into the clearing Rylan in tow. A few people gave Rylan dirty glances, me included.

Nikki was next to me, she kept her gaze locked on her feet. Kailee was across from her and Lofton beside. We were sitting in a circle for the time being and you could hear a pin drop.

Since Nikki was on my left Mark settled himself to my right, Rylan did not sit down, and instead he hung back by the shadow of a nearby spire. On Nikki's left was of course Lofton, then Brandon, Mimi, and Brittany. Next Kailee, Drew and Jason. There was space next to Jason for when Cade arrived, whenever that may be.

We sat for a moment longer before the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard, everyone sucked in a breath as Cade stepped through the bushed.

There was no evidence of his fight yesterday, only Rylan bore those bruises. He was still in the strange orange and yellow outfit he had been in yesterday. His face was void of emotion as he strolled almost lazily into the clearing with us all. I could feel everyone tense around me, Nikki especially.

He sat down right in the space beside Jason, like I expected him to do. No one said a word as well stared at him, some of us in shock, others confusion, and even some anger.

To all of our surprise, Cade laughed.

"Well you can put your tongues back in your mouths now, I am alive and better than ever," He said, still chuckling a little. "Thanks to Rylan, I have more power than ever! Now that does not mean that I am not pissed that he killed me." He said and gave Rylan a sharp glance from the corner of his eyes.

Rylan, who had been quiet this whole time, said noting and only glared a little in return.

Cade sneered a bit, and took a few steps toward the darker headed boy, "You know I could always return the favor, kill you since you killed me? That was it is fair and you get to go god tier," He stated, getting closer with each word.

To my surprise it was, Lofton that stood up, placing herself between the two teenagers. She looked small compared to them. Cade stopped and looked down at her with a frown, Rylan looked confused but said nothing, like usual.

"Cade sit down, there is no reason to fight right now," She said sternly, looking Cade in the eyes.

Cade was about to say something but Jason beat him to it. "This has nothing to do with us, and we should let them figure it out," He said quickly. Drew yanked him back down and shushed him but this led to an explosion of conversation.

People in the group began arguing with one another, some for Cade killing Rylan and the other trying to stop it.

Those among the plan to kill Rylan were I, Jason, Mimi, and Brittany.

The people saying that was excessive were Lofton, Drew, Brandon, Kailee, and of course Mark.

Everyone was spouting off reason at once and it had become a mad house. Drew was yelling at me and Jason in equal parts while Mimi and Brandon were at each other's throats, but finally above all Nikki yelled.

"Hey! Everyone sit down right now and calm down! No one is about to kill anyone," She called out, her voice still horse and heavy with yesterday exhaustion, I had not noticed when we got here but her eyes had dark circles under them from a lack of sleep.

I got a hold of my temper and sat down like she wanted, Cade and Rylan remained standing, neither on of them moved in what I suspect was fear of angering the blond who had perched herself on top of a stump above us all.

She took a deep breath, and gave everyone a moment to cool down before she began, "Right now revenge and retribution does not matter. Right now we need to know exactly what happened to Cade, and how…" She finished strongly.

Everyone was quiet and I mentally chided myself for getting worked up, of course she was right. This was not the best time to call for blood.

Nikki pointed to Cade, "Now tell us what happened to you and how, because you were dead and now you are okay," She said, almost to herself.

Cade gave her an apologetic smile, but not without a dirty look at Rylan, who was concentrated completely on Nikki.

My skin itched a bit at the way he kept his gaze locked on her but I dismissed the feeling. Like I had said before now was not the time.

Cade cracked his knuckles and stepped into the middle of the circle, "Well, I am sure you all know the story of my death and as Nikki said we are not going to go into that right now. All I know is one moment I am dead and the next there is this burning feeling in my chest then this blinding flash of light! I opened my eyes and my veins felt like they were on fire," He said, flourishing his hands with the story to add depth, "The only phrase that kept going through my mind is god tier, god tier, god tier. So I asked Jokersprite about it. Finally he gave me an answer," Cade stated.

"He told me that when a player dies on their quest bed, their themselves will merge and you reach your full potential, all those powers we have get magnified 10x and I will be honest it is kind of amazing," He sounded almost in awe of himself. He gave us a moment to take that in, "But it is not all sunshine, you do have to die to do it…and if you don't have a dream self left then you have to go to Derse or Prospit respectively and die there in the center on your quest bed instead. I am not saying everyone needs to go and kill themselves right now but we need this power if we are going to win the game," He finished.

A silence fell over everyone, we were all thinking. It was not exactly easy to kill one's self and even harder to kill a friend. He was right though, this power was nessicary.

Nikki chewed on her lip, her eyes flashing different emotion, but she settled on steeled and ready to go. "Tomorrow we are going to talk about the punishment for both Rylan and Cade," Before Cade could protest she held her hand up, "I have not forgotten what you did and I haven't forgotten him either. I am not going to take anyone's side and please people, don't let this rip us apart," She said softly, finally descending from her perch.

No one seemed too keen to chatter at this point, I threw Mark an apologetic smile and he gave me one in return. Rylan looked in between us skeptically and gave Mark a look but Mark waved him away, it would be a topic for a later date.

I wanted to catch Nikki, but she was already gone, I sighed and Lofton walked up to me.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly.

I looked at her carefully, and remembered how she had stood up for Rylan, I did not want to angry at her but I was curious, "Why did you stick up for him Lofton? He killed Cade," I said simply, hoping I did not come off as aggressive toward her.

Lofton laughed a little, "Honestly?" She asked and I nodded my head, "Well, Cade hurt Nikki, I was the one to heal the wounds. That is not something I can forgive him for. Way I see it, Rylan was defending her and I will be dammed if he gets blamed for that. I may not like the guy at all, maybe even hate him but he does not deserved to be condemned." She finished.

I felt a bit irritated by her answer; even if Cade had done something so wrong does not mean he deserved to be killed! Though I wanted to be angry I had promised her that I would not be.

"Well good night Lofton," I said. She gave me a nod and we parted ways,

I walked home alone that night for the first time in a long time.