Wow, I really can't believe how close we are to the climax here! But things are about to get worse before they get better... Much as I'm having fun writing this!

Please Remember Me Like This

Chapter 11: "That's Why They Envy Me"

"Dear Iandore,

Congratulations on your acceptance into Willowdale College! We hope you'll consider joining us next semester as part of our continuing, rich legacy. As a new Griffin..."

But Ian stopped reading after that, breathing a sigh of relief as he leaned back in his seat after he got the e-mail. Willowdale. Dad. Aeric.

It was all really happening.

"Well, hon, what did it say?" Mom asked, trying to refrain from looking over Ian's shoulder to look at the letter. She had to hold onto Colt's hands just to keep herself from acting too nosey.

"Yeah, come on, Ian, tell us!" Barley goaded, actually threatening to look at his laptop screen.

Oh, who was he kidding? He couldn't keep it in any longer! "I got in!" he cried, breaking into a giant smile.

"Sir Iandore of Lightfoot is gonna be a Griffin!" Barley exclaimed, picking his little brother up in a celebratory hug.

"Oh, honey, congratulations!" Mom reached over and kissed Ian's cheek. Even Blazey got into the excitement, jumping up to hug Ian by the waist. "I promise you're gonna love it!"

"Great job, sport." Colt gave an obligatory thumbs up, but Ian went out of his way to hug his stepdad, too. This was a time to celebrate everything!

"Well, I can't believe we got a piece of news as big as this before Aeric," Mom chuckled, making a joke of it.

But that had Ian's smile faltering for a moment. It'd been a full week since he healed Aeric's leg—and yeah, they acted like things were okay in front of their friends, and they still sat together in the classes they had, but other than that? Pretty much silence. No times after school getting coffee and hanging out, no late "I love you" texts. Sure, they said it in school, and Ian caught on Aeric's story their continued campaign for Prom Kings, but they seemed to just be acting the part of boyfriends instead of just... being. Which was so dumb! If he didn't love Aeric, he wouldn't have wanted to heal his leg in the first place! Obviously he loved his boyfriend more than ever, and now they were more than likely to attend college together. He still wanted Aeric. But he wanted Aeric to understand just how much magic meant to him now, and that it would just continue to be part of his life well into college.

Of course, when he asked why Aeric acted so distant when he could miraculously walk with this spell, Aeric had just said, "We could forget it all if you apologize for not asking to heal my leg first."

Well, that was rich. Ian wasn't going to concede with that attitude coming from his boyfriend. And with Victoriana postponing meetings for a week, Ian couldn't even discuss it with anyone. Sure, there was the group chat, but he hated trying to read people's tones over text when it came to something so heavy—one of the biggest struggles when it came to being on the spectrum, especially when, on the outside, nothing about him looked out of the ordinary. It was why he and Aeric usually didn't text anything too heavy.

No, he had to just wait for the next meeting. And boy, what a wait it was.

This news, though, getting into Willowdale, might actually overshadow that.

"Well, now, this calls for a celebration!" Colt declared, clapping a hand on Ian's shoulder. "Wherever you want to go, Ian. It's our treat."

"Ooh, we can invite Aeric!" Mom piped up, obviously unaware of the situation. As far as his family knew, Aeric had been totally okay with Ian healing up his broken leg (selflessly!) on a whim. "Celebrate the two new Griffins heading off into the real world!"

Oh, Ian didn't know if he could handle that, pretending he and Aeric were completely okay in front of the family. Sure, he'd tell his boyfriend. But not with this. "Um... actually, Mom, I was hoping we could just celebrate with the family," he said. "I can celebrate with Aeric another time."

"Alright, alright." Mom laughed, kissing the top of Ian's head. "We'll let you two have your moment later. Where do you want to go, sweetie?"

"Let's go to Corey's," Ian decided, smiling. "She'll probably be thrilled to know, too." And, in all honesty, it was such a catalyst to his growth into becoming a bolder, better person. Of course he wanted her to know about Willowdale.

"I'll call her now," said Mom, pulling out her phone. "You go on ahead and get ready."

Once upstairs, Ian shot Aeric an obligatory shot of his acceptance letter to show he got in, with a little note: "Can't wait to be there with you," and three blue hearts.

Because even during this little tough spot, Aeric was his rock, his love, his boyfriend. He saw a future with this amazing guy—and he couldn't wait for it.

Now if only said boyfriend would move on from this little disagreement!

As expected, Aeric did seem to overlook everything about his leg once he got the news about Ian's Willowdale application, focusing more on trying to get back to their sense of normalcy. Of course, the second they saw each other after getting the news, Aeric immediately picked him up into a sweeping kiss, the kind that took Ian's breath away and in an instant, all was forgiven—even if they just seemed to be brushing past it instead of talking it out, like they'd promised so long ago.

But now wasn't the time to hold a grudge, not when they were going to Willowdale together! Well... whenever he decided to formally accept and fill out all the paperwork and all that. He still had some time before the deadline hit, and usually he was great about not procrastinating. Now he could affect the culture and stigma against magic in college! And now it was something he could really bond over with Morgana, who'd been pestering him about his status for near a month now.

"Finally, I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief," Aeric admitted, once he was proud enough to declare that not only were he and Ian a power couple, but future Griffins, now, too. "I would have hated being there without you."

"Well, now we don't have to worry about that," Ian assured, wrapping his arms around Aeric's midsection. "And with the way things are going now, it's totally smooth sailing to graduation." Barely any homework, senior activities and Prom just around the corner...

Groaning, Aeric held Ian closer. "Don't remind me!" he lamented. "My senioritis is already kicking in! You know how hard it is for me to concentrate as is!"

"I'm not going anywhere," replied Ian, scrunching his nose up at his boyfriend. "Right now my only priorities are you and this group. This whole school year has pretty much been a blur!"

"It's been pretty great, hasn't it?" Aeric sighed. "It's only gonna get better, you know. And I know people think jocks and other popular kids peak now, but how could I have peaked when I'm about to go to my dream school with my dream guy? Ooh, that's good, I should put something like that in my speech." He whipped out his phone to make a note before he forgot it.

Well, at least Ian didn't have to worry about that. Of course, that wouldn't stop him and their moms from recording it once he was onstage.

"Well, I went from lonely nerd to popular kid in no time at all. Perks of being a wizard dating a jock, I suppose. Since, ya know, we're both nerds."

"The biggest nerds," Aeric reiterated, nuzzling their noses together. "Gods, if I wasn't doing sports, I'd double major, but now I have to settle with minoring."

"You do so much already," Ian sighed. "One thing at a time, babe. Big things are coming for us."

"You're probably right about that."

Oh, Ian knew he was. He kissed Aeric, but the big things weren't about graduation.

He knew the break from the group must have had something to do with Victoriana researching more into Vesshydar's Diamond, and where it could possibly be. True, it needed to be revealed with an insane amount of magic (from the little he could find out, from both online and from Barley), but Ian figured she had a good reason as to why she didn't want the rest of the group with her. They were all still learning, after all.

And when Ian could, since he still had high school, he tried to join them on a few get togethers, mostly just going out to eat and hanging out in the park to practice some magic together. Lili admitted that she'd never had such a big, supportive friend group before, and everyone had to agree, especially Ian.

For so long, he only had Barley. Now he had his group at school. These cool people.

Aeric.

At the next meeting, Ian gave Ferry a fist bump, and sat in between Cord and Morgana, smiling shyly. He still had yet to tell her about his acceptance, but that was all coming out in the open once the meeting got started—and something told him that he probably had the most eventful fortnight since they all last saw each other, with Aeric's leg and college acceptance all in one fell swoop. Still, he loved hearing everyone's stories, how they all got on using magic, and all the little ways they were incorporating it into their lives, even just using the levitation and animation spells to clean messy rooms. It assured him that they could balance a magical life with, well... a normal one.

"Alright, alright, please calm yourselves." Victoriana wore her calm smirk well. Was it just Ian, or was there a hint of a wrinkle near the corner of her mouth? Usually she was so... flawless, like an old movie star. Despite the one thing, everyone settled quickly, taking their seats around the circle. "I know we've taken a bit of a break, which I'll explain after Affirmations. In the meantime, would anyone care to share something eventful since the fortnight break?"

In this case, Ian couldn't wait to go first. He started with the Willowdale acceptance, which had Morgana's eyes wide and the rest of the group congratulating him on getting into such a good school, especially after he'd explained that it was where his dad went (and planted a tree for his mom!). And then he got into Aeric's leg, how the injury happened, and that he'd healed it perfectly—only for Aeric to be mad at him! And, as expected, pretty much everyone shook their head in disapproval for Aeric acting so ungrateful for the aid of magic to help him walk again so soon.

Carls, though, the nurse she was, actually thought differently.

"He has a point," she said with a shrug. "Permission is such an important part of the healing process. Someone has to want it before we can help them. It's why I always ask my patients if I can assist magically, if I can."

"Well, Iandore, thank you for sharing your rather eventful fortnight," Victoriana interrupted, standing. Why did she want to close that down so quickly before he had a chance to respond? But Ian had to shut up, and sat down. "Does anyone else have a story to share?"

And sure, the rest of the group shared, Lili's being especially exciting with how she'd been able to do some simple, staffless magic, as well. The improvement in everyone was impeccable—they'd learned more in these few months than Ian had ever learned before senior year. Why hadn't he fought harder to find more magical people in New Mushroomton? Was it because he didn't have a car then?

But he had this group now. And he really felt they could be friends for years to come, when everyone from high school faded into obscurity and anonymity.

"I've some news," Victoriana reminded once they finished Affirmations. "I apologize that we haven't met for some time. But I saw this."

She held up an old map, one that looked like it'd been through the wringer and made out of something that seemed impossible, like dragon skin. And yet... it was a map of New Mushroomton, with all the current streets and highways. Near the coast, atop the map's brown ink, showed a glow where they were, at the community center, and other places they'd performed magic: at various ballrooms and meeting centers around town.

"I've been enchanting this old map, which my teacher gave to me as a finder of magical artifacts. It can't completely find the Diamond, but it can at least mark where we've been. Any surge of huge magic might set the Diamond off. And I skipped group to try and find it when I saw a surge—unfortunately, I got no closer."

When Victoriana sighed, the rest of the group did, as well, like they all felt her frustration.

"I do believe we're close, though—and I believe we're on the verge of unlocking all our magical capabilities and bringing that balance to all. There was a surge I noted near the coast—" She pointed to a circle she'd made near Scale Cove, a dangerous, beach cave area for most creatures outside of mermaids, "—and I believe that's our best bet. We must start preparing ourselves."

Rose flew up, her way of raising her hand, since she was so much smaller than the rest of the group. "I read that there are a few circumstances to do the type of magic we want on the Diamond," she said. "Does this mean we have to be ready by a certain point?"

"I do believe so," Victoriana replied with a nod. "The end of next month marks the Blue Moons—the perfect night for conjuring the most powerful magic. But I know you all will be ready by then, which means we must start meeting more frequently. More one-on-one time, more peer work, more time where we're practicing magic together. I'll be talking to you all individually to help with that."

More time devoted to the group? Ian certainly wanted that, but he still had a few months of school left! How was he going to do this?

Ian paired up with Morgana, so they could talk more about Willowdale, at least. But Morgana had majored in digital photography with a minor in business, two things that really didn't interest him. Maybe there could be some overlap.

"So, are you and your boyfriend gonna dorm together? I heard the Rutherford dorms are pretty great for people on the team, but I only lived on campus for my first two years." She grabbed a keychain from her purse, using that as something to toss around with Ian using the levitation spell for their warm-up. "It's close to the field for those early morning and late night practices."

"I'm not sure yet," Ian admitted, doing a little flair before tossing it back to her. "Rutherford is pretty close to Frat Row..." And after what happened at Tina's party, certainly not something he wanted to interact with anytime soon.

"Ah, gotcha." Smirking, Morgana decided to try her staffless magic, holding the ball up with one hair while she clipped her thick curls back with the other. Impressive. "Is he gonna pledge?"

"I don't think so," Ian replied. Aeric had never shown any interest in it, from what he knew... the only upside would probably be all the test perks, but was it worth it for the hazing? Probably not, not with Aeric's sensitivity, anyway. "We haven't really talked about it, but that's pretty much like moving in together, right?"

"Come on, Ian, put your staff down!" Morgana goaded, tossing the keychain again. "And yeah, I guess it is. I never really had any long term relationships, just casual stuff. But if you think you're gonna spend the rest of your life with this guy... maybe that's a natural next step for you."

"Yeah, maybe..." Ian set down his staff, but he always had a more difficult time trying to do staffless magic while having a conversation. But then again, this made for good practice. The good thing was, if he moved in with Aeric into a dorm, he wouldn't really have to meet anyone new or deal with their living habits. But maybe Aeric needed someone who was just as active. Looked like there was another conversation for them to have in the near future. "But I still haven't filled out all the acceptance paperwork and stuff yet."

"Ian, you've gotta do that ASAP!" Morgana chided with a chuckle. "What's holding you back? Your dad went there—I mean, I used to study under the Laurel tree all the time! There's a whole history and legacy to learn all about your dad, and isn't that what you wanted more than going to the same school as your boyfriend?"

She made a good point. Before Ian could answer that he would do it as soon as he got home, Victoriana tapped his shoulder. "Iandore, a moment, please?"

"Um... yeah." She must have been asking everyone about their schedules, and of course Ian could only adhere to whatever was after school and on weekends. Morgana nodded in understanding and joined Lili and Cord for the moment.

Once they were in a corner of the room, out of earshot from everyone, Victoriana's voice lowered a bit. "I don't want to say this in front of the group, but I do believe you're the most capable out of all of them, Gifted as they are. Which is why I want you to lead with me in spellcasting once we find the Diamond."

His eyes widened, clutching to his staff tighter. He, the greatest wizard in the group? But what about Morgana, or Lili, or Rose? They'd shown so much more improvement! "Y-you really mean that?" he squeaked out.

"Mean it? Dear boy, I know it. The raw energy and power I feel from your magic is enough to bring the realms to their knees. The others are learning, but when you're in the right mindset, you're unstoppable. Are you or are you not the wizard who used two Phoenix Gems to perform a complicated Visitation Spell and used arcane lightning only using a splinter?"

Ian shrugged; he couldn't deny that. When he didn't think, he supposed he could do some great magic. "Won't that put the others off?" he asked.

"Not at all," she assured. "I've broken that down for them, and they've all agreed that you're clearly the most talented wizard here. But I need more time with you, one-on-one. This current schedule isn't unlocking your full potential."

Flushing, Ian only tensed up more. "It's hard with school and all... I really only have after school and weekends."

Was that a flash of disappointment in her grey eyes? He swallowed thickly, wishing there was another way.

Sighing, she placed a manicured hand on his shoulder. "I didn't want to say it in front of Carlson, but you were right in your actions, to heal your Giftless friend."

"Boyfriend," Ian corrected.

"Yes, well. Magic is impulsive. You know best that your talents come when you're not overthinking it, or doubting yourself. What mindset were you in once you found out he broke his leg?"

"Helpless," Ian admitted. "I didn't have my staff and all that mattered was getting him feeling well so he could still play and wouldn't have to catch up once he healed. And so we could dance at Prom, and he could walk the stage and deliver his speech. All that mattered was getting him healed up."

"You did the right thing," she assured, squeezing his shoulder lightly. To be honest, hearing that validation had him breathing a sigh of relief—all the guilt Aeric made him feel for doing this was just too much. "He's just not appreciating your qualities. To be honest... I believe he's jealous of your Gift."

"You really think so?" Not that Aeric had ever given any indication of that...

"You mentioned it yourself—he asked to see what goes on in your meetings. Is that not a little too suspicious, like he's monitoring your every move?"

Ian thought about the notes he had to share, the times the meetings went down, how he'd been so upset that he dropped out of his extracurriculars. She really had a point here! "I never thought about it like that... I guess you're right."

"I've seen this jealousy in the past, Iandore. It's not pretty once it comes to a head," she warned. "He's hiding behind this wall of superiority, but in all honesty, he's afraid because he knows you hold all the power. It's only a matter of time before this all comes out."

Blinking, Ian didn't think this sounded much like Aeric, but then again, they'd just been burying all their problems once he got the acceptance. And why would Victoriana lie about this? Their problems really had started once he started getting more involved in magic, finding more people like him! "What do you think I should do?" he asked.

"Well, you're in your senior year of high school, right?" She pondered, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. It never looked tangled despite the fact that, even tied up, it reached her waist. "Surely there must be some way to get you more involved with our one-on-one time without it tarnishing your record too much."

Given it was second semester of senior year, grades pretty much posted, college acceptances out, everyone slacking off more than usual... There had to be something he could do! At least in study hall, which was pretty much a joke now that ORCs and applications were done. Really, after attendance, he and Aeric had been fooling around during that period!

"Yeah, I think we can work something out," he assured with a nod.

Besides, he knew how to play this system. He could have his cake and eat it, too.

And maybe then, Aeric would understand just how important this group and magic were to him.

And so the plot thickens! Just what does Victoriana have planned in store?

As always, comments and kudos are insanely appreciated.