Finally a shorter chapter! But I did like writing more from Aeric's perspective. I always do-he's so much fun!

Please Remember Me Like This

Chapter 7: "Some Things Just Don't Change"

Second semester for seniors brought on this laissez-faire attitude almost immediately, with how lively everyone sounded when they came into school, greeting each other with smiles despite the cold weather. Aeric walked in with Ian, who decided to show off the boots he'd gotten for Winter Solstice, paired with a tasteful sweater, shorts, and thermal tights.

"Ian, you look so well rested!" Sadalia complimented at lunch, her voice seemingly laced with the barest hint of jealousy. "Did you find a sleeping spell or something?"

"Not all of us are studying our butts off for Valedictorian!" Parthenope replied, nudging her playfully.

"I just had a great winter break!" Ian laughed in return, and Aeric realized he'd still never gotten around to telling the group that he'd found more magical friends. Was it supposed to be a secret? Would Aeric even know about them if he hadn't seen Victoriana that first encounter? "The application to my first choice school is in, I spent Winter Solstice with Aeric, played some Quests of Yore with my brother... I mean, we also all did the lights drive around a couple of weeks ago! And now we're second semester seniors? Of course I'm happy!"

"Man, second semester is gonna be a breeze!" Gurge exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. "I have a recruiter from Stonemeade coming to a game soon, so I might be playing against the Griffins in the future!"

"Hey, if I lose to you, at least it's a good loss!" Of course, missing Gurge from the team would always hurt—but his dad had also been on the Stonemeade team, which made his chances getting in there with a scholarship so much more likely. Whatever made him happy, of course, that was what mattered.

Even the teachers seemed more lax—in study hall, Aeric and Ian worked on homework a little louder than usual, and no shushing occurred. If anything, now he felt like he could get away with more, and what they'd done last semester, that seemed insane. But, of course, they still doubled down on studying, and what especially intrigued Aeric was just how much Ian wanted to get done during this hour they had together.

"You know, quality work matters, too, babe," he pointed out as Ian seemed to be on a mission with how quickly he wrote on his calculus study sheet.

"Just trying to get it all done early to free up the day," Ian dismissed, not looking up.

Brow furrowing, Aeric almost asked about the group—but refrained at the last moment. He had a feeling Ian would just change the subject, or would barely say anything. And if he pressed... that might push him away more. But that's what it was, he knew it.

Was it jealousy, he wondered? Was he jealous of the fact that his boyfriend found another group that could do something he couldn't, that was becoming so much a bigger part of his life? Did he envy that there were things Ian wanted out of his future that Aeric couldn't provide?

Honestly, yeah, a bit. At least, when Ian failed to disclose what made them so special. He wanted to at least try to relate to all the magic, just as he tried to bring Ian into his own lifestyle, but being so secretive meant Aeric couldn't figure out what he was supposed to know!

The plot started to thicken a little bit, after practice next Monday. Every second and fourth Monday of the month, Chess Club let out right around when practice ended which, well, meant carpool. Aeric had driven them to school this morning, coffee and all, and Ian had given no indication that anything had changed. But when Aeric finished up in the locker room and noticed Ian wasn't waiting for him, something felt... off. Not in this just being a fluke, but like something might be wrong.

So he walked to the classroom where meetings were held, keeping an eye out in the halls just in case he might pass Ian in the meantime (and then got a little distracted by the student board with the ads and posters he'd been hanging up promoting them for Prom Kings). Some kids got a little weirded out traversing the wide, empty halls alone, the fluorescent lights giving off uneasy lighting and the squeaking of his sneakers on the floor echoing.

Moments like this, where he'd be alone in the halls with barely a soul in sight, should be treasured, Aeric supposed. With senior year already in its second semester, it wasn't like there would be any communal halls for students to walk through once he got to college. And he was proud to be a Dragon—he loved playing for the team, loved his varsity jacket, loved that this was where he met Ian.

Luckily the Chess Club president (gosh—Aeric couldn't remember this satyr's name, but he thought it started with a "Z") still lingered in the class, packing up. He knocked on the door, though there was no one else beside him inside.

"Uh... hey. Did Ian leave already?" Aeric played with the strap of his duffel bag, unsure what to do with his hands.

"Ian?" The satyr's brow furrowed. "Didn't he tell you? He dropped out of Chess Club right after we came back from winter break."

"What?" There had been very few times when such a shock struck him right in the chest, but this definitely had him. "No... he didn't."

"Huh. You'd think he'd tell his boyfriend..." the satyr mumbled, then shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders. "Uh... sorry, man. Nothing I can really do other than be the bearer of bad news. Kind of a shame, though—he was one of our best players. All he said was there was something else that was taking up his Mondays."

And now Ian already had Chess Club set up as an extracurricular on his Willowdale application—dropping out now wouldn't mean anything in the decision making process.

"Okay, thanks." Aeric quickly left the room, and instead of enjoying his walk in the hall at a languid pace, he started speed walking, needing to get out of the school as soon as possible. Why wouldn't Ian tell him that he dropped out of Chess Club? Ian had never been spacey when it came to important information like that!

"How come I had to find out from the Chess Club president that you dropped out?" he texted before driving home. "Why didn't you tell me?"

But then, instead of a quick text back from Ian, Aeric had time to eat dinner and change into loungewear to work on homework, before he heard back. This had really been the longest Ian had gone without answering a text—even longer than on his birthday, and during their first fight. Aeric knew he had a problem with jiggling his leg whenever he sat, never able to keep still... but tonight was worse than any other night, and he was hyper aware, for once, that he was doing it.

Instead of a text, the absolute unexpected happened: Aeric just laid in bed, reading for Lit, when, like an echo, he heard Ian's voice. "Oh, my gods, it worked!"

Startled, Aeric quickly put down his book, sitting stark erect at the sight of his boyfriend materializing before him. "Ian?" he asked, though his boyfriend, while holding his staff, looked a little transparent, as Aeric could see through him to his exercise equipment in the corner of the room. He had a blue, sparkling ring on his outline, as if surrounded by the magic emanating from his staff. "Are you actually here?"

"'Here,' as in actually? Nope." Ian walked right through his desk chair, and Aeric swallowed thickly, unsure of what to think. "I just learned astral projection with the group!" he explained giddily, deciding to take a seat on the floor at the foot of the bed. "Cool, huh? Now we can study together when we're not in the same place! Imagine how cool it'll be if you ever have one of those away games where you're gone for the weekend! I can see your room and everything!"

"Um... yeah." Did his mouth just go dry? Why was his water bottle suddenly so far away?

"Babe?" Ian tilted his head as Aeric crawled across the bed to get a better look at him. "You look... pale. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just..." Why couldn't he find the words. "Just a little startled, is all." This summer, Ian struggled to fly his car a couple of blocks. And now he could project himself into his room? "And a little confused."

"Confused? Why? Oh, here." Ian levitated Aeric's water bottle from his desk into his hands—while still projecting. Powerful, indeed. "You need this, I think."

Nodding, Aeric took a sip, eyes still wide. And now he could do two spells at once? "Thanks... And I mean, I'm glad you're learning so much about magic, really. This is super cool. But you could share with me what you've found out instead of—you know—materializing in my room without a warning."

"Oh. Yeah, I probably should have; I'm sorry." Ian chuckled, standing again. "If I could, I would kiss you right now."

"I'd like that if you could," Aeric admitted with a shrug. Even a kiss done with magic was better than nothing at all. "Maybe you could text me so we could schedule it out, you know? That could be really great." And a way for Aeric to tangent into what he'd learned—if Ian even read his text, which, judging by how proud he was of his astral projection spell working, he probably didn't. "Speaking of texts... did you get mine from a few hours ago, after practice?"

"Um... oh, no, crap." Sighing, Ian walked closer to Aeric. "I got busy. What did you say?"

He really didn't know? "You never told me you dropped out of Chess Club. I had to find out from the club president when you didn't show up outside the locker room after practice."

"Oh... no, I thought I told you! We switched up group meetings to every Monday and Thursday," Ian explained, genuinely looking remorseful for not saying anything. "I'm so sorry, babe."

"Ian, we carpooled today and you didn't say anything," Aeric chastised. "I know I can't do magic, but I'd like to think I'm not second place to it."

"You're not, you're not!" he assured, though Aeric wasn't sure if that sounded as sincere as Ian usually was. "It's just... a little harder for time management is all. I wish I could tell you everything I know, but it can get to be so advanced sometimes! And it's not my place to tell for some magic, you know?"

Aeric almost said something snarky in return but held his tongue. "You're coming to the game on Friday, right?" he asked instead.

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it for anything." He probably would if their group met on Fridays, but again, Aeric held his tongue.

"Okay..." Really, it was all that was coming to mind, as he tried to wrap his head around all this. As long as Ian wasn't skipping school, right? They wouldn't promote something that terrible, would they? "Just... remember to tell me these things, okay? I don't want to wait around for you if I don't have to."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that except after home games. I had to drop out of all my extracurriculars." He said it so... nonchalantly. But Ian loved chess and math, especially when he got to collab with other likeminded students. He didn't have to drop out! He just had other priorities, apparently. "But I get it. I'll keep you in the loop about our schedules if they overlap, okay?"

"Yeah..." Really, it's all he could say without sounding accusatory, or unsupportive of his new hobby. Not that Aeric wasn't—but there was an itch he couldn't quite scratch when it came to Victoriana, to how easily Ian devoted his time to this group, and he wasn't sure how far it could go. "Um... it's getting a little late for me, so maybe you could come by another time? Or maybe actually come over?"

"Aw, but this is kind of fun!" Ian did a cute little jump around the room. "I can even see every part of your room and everything. But yeah, I should let you sleep."

"Wouldn't it be better if you were here? So I could kiss you?" Aeric raised an eyebrow, hoping that was enticing enough for Ian not to rely entirely on magic.

"Hmm.. you make a very compelling argument there." In this state, Ian could only blow him a kiss. "Doesn't mean I won't try, babe! But I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you!"

"Love you..." Ian just seemed to fade out of his room, and Aeric wasn't sure if he even heard his reply. In fact, even when he turned out the light, and tried to fall asleep, he just found himself tossing and turning with all this news, his mind too active.

He couldn't be the only one worrying about Ian, right? That felt like something was off?

Picking up his phone, Aeric texted the one person who might understand. "Has Ian been acting a little off or strange to you?"

Aeric didn't know if Barley was the type to answer quickly, but he figured, now that he had a girlfriend and a Quests of Yore guild and a job that might need him on call, he should be readily available, even at this hour.

Luckily, he was right. "Seems fine to me, if a little less jittery than usual. But I only see him when I'm at home, why?"

Was it weird, texting his boyfriend's brother behind his back? Aeric could feel his heart pounding; it certainly felt weird. "Has he told you about the magic group he's part of?" Truth be told, Aeric wasn't sure if he just spilled a secret he shouldn't have.

"Yeah, and? It's a good thing he found a group of people who can do magic."

Well, that went without saying. Why was it always so hard to send texts that didn't sound accusatory? "I know that, but did you know he dropped out of all his extracurriculars for it? He didn't tell me."

"It's second semester and his Willowdale application is in. Should he not explore magic?"

Great. So he did sound backwards and not open to everything Ian learned. It wasn't the content, it was the context. The way he had to act so secretive, and yet Ian improved at an unheard of rate.

But then again, Barley saw his little brother conjure arcane lightning within a day of learning magic. Maybe Aeric was just acting crazy.

Then why didn't it feel right? Eyes wide, he tried to think of what to send Barley next. "I just have a little hunch, is all." Aeric loved magic, really! Especially when Ian did something wonderful for him—and yet... the astral projection should have been wonderful. But with how abruptly Ian learned it, something felt off, and Aeric couldn't explain it other than a hunch! A trickling, a feeling, a... something not cool. "I want him to get more in touch with his magical side. But I think he's keeping some secrets about how he's learning."

"Aeric, he doesn't have to tell us everything." Where was the overprotective big brother that couldn't trust Aeric just based off his initials? Aeric needed that Barley right now. "If you keep pressing him about this, you could be pushing him away."

Which was why he wanted to talk to Barley first. He supposed that, right now, he might just be a little too heated about this after how he found out about Ian dropping out of his clubs. But that wouldn't mean he wouldn't stop questioning it, even in his head. And maybe he could at least make Barley a little aware of Ian's behavior, too. "You know I don't want to. But he seems a little spaced out at school, more than usual. I just want to make sure everything is okay."

"I guess I'll keep an eye out if anything seems off. That cool?"

It would have to be for now. It wasn't the satisfactory answer Aeric wanted, making his concerns seem invalid, but there was only so much he could do from a distance, without the tools Ian had. "Yeah, cool. Thanks."

He and Barley left it at that, just a respectful end to the conversation. But Aeric still stayed up for a little longer, his concerns for just how quickly Ian was advancing his magic only growing.

I promise you, though it's been a few chapters to keep things mysterious, we're getting back to the group next week! And I just wanted some astral projection for the boys, for it just being a great idea.

As always, comments and kudos are insanely appreciated.