Wow, it's been a busy week, with Thanksgiving bleeding over into Christmas PLUS the end of Barlover Fortnight! And this was a chapter I was really looking forward to (and dreading) writing! Hopefully it's all worth it!

Please Remember Me Like This

Chapter 12: "'Cause Things Get Ugly Way Too Quick"

Ian stopped showing up to study hall.

It was just study hall, sure, and their teacher never asked (and Aeric wondered if he even bothered to take attendance), but he knew where Ian was. Or rather, who he was with.

This inability to access that world... Aeric always had that access until she came into his life.

What was her motive? What did she want from Ian that made him so important?

And, even more scarily, how had she gotten so good at manipulation that it had Ian—his sweet, nerdy, perfect attendance boyfriend Ian—to ditch school during senior year?

Aeric just... missed what they had, especially at the beginning of the year. No cares in the world other than getting into Willowdale, and by this point, they really should be here, just enjoying the rest of senior year together with getting out of study hall to make out behind the bleachers, making lavish plans about going to college and what they were going to do once they started living in the city. They should be even more carefree.

Not this. Not this thing where Aeric buried his anger about Ian healing his leg without his consent, where he figured the fact that he could do this magic was more important than what it could have done to Aeric.

It all just turned into this resentment toward Victoriana. Because whenever he texted Ian about where he was during these missing periods, it was the first time his boyfriend ever ignored him. Ian never left anything unanswered. They always fought to see who had the last word, so many texts just being emojis or gifs until one of them fell asleep before replying. And yet... complete silence when it came to something actually important, where it could actually impact his future.

Occasionally he still got "I love you" texts, if only to bury his questions.

This went by for a few weeks, with Ian changing the subject whenever Aeric asked if he'd be around for study hall, like it was a terrible word that was forbidden to even mention. Even easier to do if they were around the gang, and Aeric realized, even after all this time—he never mentioned he'd found a group of magical people to hang and learn with. Why was it such a secret from them, too?

And then, Ian started missing classes.

Actual classes, where homework was due, where quizzes were still issued, no matter how easy. One day could be a coincidence. Even two.

Three days was a pattern. And that's when the gang started to ask questions at lunch, and Aeric had absolutely no excuses for Ian.

"I, uh... really don't know," he'd reply, flushing with the realization that he really was helpless here. "I just hope he's okay."

"No one gets sick around this time," Sadalia pointed out, her brow furrowing. "Especially not Ian; he's always griping about perfect attendance."

"That's what gets me, too," Parthenope added, picking at her grass salad. "Like... if it was both of you, I wouldn't be nearly as worried. And it's not like him to keep us out of the loop, especially you, Aeric."

"Yeah..." he admitted, picking through his own salad like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Gods, he knew how pissed Ian would be if he told on him, but something told him Laurel and Barley had no idea he was skipping class.

He loved Ian, he decided. That's why he had to tell on him. Because he cared. Because their future together might depend on this.

After practice that day, season over but everyone still keeping in shape (and a damn shame that Ian missed their last game without an explanation!), Aeric swallowed his pride and drove to the Lightfoots, his heart sinking when he didn't see Ian's familiar sedan parked beside Guinevere. He should talk to Laurel or Barley in person, right? Not convey everything through a call or text? Taking a deep breath, he got out and rang the doorbell.

"Aeric?" Barley looked genuinely surprised as he answered the door. "What are you doing here? I thought Ian was with you—he said he was studying at your place after school?"

Crap, they really didn't know. Aeric pushed his glasses up his nose and took another deep breath. "That's what I was worried about..." he uttered, looking down at his shoes for a moment. "Barley, I haven't seen Ian in three days. Not at school, and before that, he was ditching study hall. But no teachers have asked me why he's out—so I figured either you knew, or... he was finding some way to ditch while keeping his school record clean. Does that make sense?"

Barley stroked his chin, pouting. "I've seen him at home, but other than coming down for food, he's been holed up in his room. And when he leaves in the morning, he always says he's picking you up. You don't think he's in trouble, do you?"

"I think he might be," Aeric admitted. "It's that woman who runs the magical group he's part of—Victoriana Ayers."

"What was her name?" Barley asked, blinking.

Aeric's brow furrowed. "Victoriana Ayers," he repeated. "Why?"

His boyfriend's older brother waved a dismissive hand. "Could be nothing, could be something. I'll let you know if something comes up, though. In the meantime... that's serious. It's not like Ian to ditch school, especially so close to graduation. Much less for you not to be in on it."

"Look, I know he's gonna be pissed, but I'm so worried about him. I think she's putting some crazy ideas in his mind about magic."

"Well, if he wants to make magic his full time priority, we can't really stop him." Barley shrugged, and it was then Aeric noted he wasn't even going to bother inviting him in. "If that's what he wants to choose, we should support him."

"But risking not walking for graduation or going to Willowdale?" Aeric pointed out, wishing Barley would take this a little more seriously. "He worked so hard to get here."

"And he worked hard with magic, too." When Barley crossed his arms, it made him appear bigger, immediately having Aeric step down (despite the fact that he could definitely barrel him down if he needed to). "Are you afraid for him, or for your relationship? He could just be moving on without you, if you're not supporting this."

That stung right in the chest. "Barley, I really think there's something up with this woman. Of course I want Ian to do more with magic and learn. But this isn't going about it the right way, and you know it—if he has to keep sneaking around behind our backs."

Sighing, Barley shook his head. "Sorry, Aeric, I just... I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I've gotta defend my little brother no matter what.

"I'm coming from a place of nothing but caring for Ian. You know how hard it was for me to come here?" Gods, and how Ian might react once he found out where this all came from...

"Yeah, I get it. I'll tell our mom. I guess thanks for letting me know."

Nodding, Aeric just left it at that. Not much he could do now, other than wait.

The second he got home, he tried to lose himself in a workout, blasting nothing but upbeat pop as if that would distract him from everything, how his entire relationship with Ian might be over just from this. Without Prom, without celebrating at graduation, without being together at Willowdale. And yeah, sure, he could have kept his mouth shut and just pretended like everything was okay, with Ian possibly showing up to Prom, and maybe Graduation, and maybe Willowdale if he decided not to defer, or worse—never attend college at all. It wasn't for everyone, of course, but he could so easily picture Ian there. And he'd been so excited all those months ago, looking at the Laurel tree and the legacy his parents left... How could he not want that for himself? For them, even?

He almost missed the text when it came in, if not for the blinking light signal he installed once he realized just how loudly he worked out sometimes.

"We need to talk in person. NOW." Ian didn't text in capitals. Aeric gulped and tried to prepare for that worst case scenario and hoping it wouldn't turn into a screaming match.

Instead of driving, since Aeric was already in his workout clothes and needed to work off all that nervous energy, he decided to jog there, given they didn't live that far from each other. Sure, it was dark and cooling down, but he needed this. He needed to see if he could get the Ian he loved out of this funk.

He'd never been this pissed before in his life.

Sure, he'd gotten annoyed at Barley over the crazy, kind of overprotective big brother antics he pulled. And sure, he'd gotten pretty angry over what had happened on his sixteenth birthday, but to be fair, he'd barely gotten any sleep and, well... it was Dad! It all still worked out for the best, didn't it?

But this? Not only was he betrayed by his family, but his boyfriend, too? The person he trusted most in these realms? Gods, he hated to think that Victoriana had been right about Aeric this whole time! He didn't know who he could trust now!

It started the moment he got home from a one-on-one session with Victoriana, where he practiced on staffless magic and getting good at harder magic without the aid of his staff. The easiest part of starting to sneak around was just copying his staff and pretending it was safely tucked away in the living room with all their umbrellas to not raise any suspicions with Mom.

The second was pretending to be her to call into the school. Ian always went around the truth once he started getting good at it: "Yes, this is Laurel Lightfoot's voice you're hearing," "No, Ian Lightfoot will not be in today, as you're hearing from me, the voice of his mother." Then there was nothing stopping him from grabbing breakfast at Burger Shire and hanging out in the lookout until he was set to meet Victoriana. Hell, he even saw a couple of movies with matinee prices (while only slightly missing Aeric's company). First it just started with getting out of study hall, but what point was there to go back to school when pretty much everything was set in stone for him?

All he had to do was fill out the Willowdale acceptance in the next couple of weeks. And even then, once they used the Diamond, that's when Ian would make the final decision or not. He might just want to make magic his full time, and who was going to stop him there? He had Victoriana to teach him, with all the realms in front of him for Ian to travel to, and learn with the best teacher.

Of course, that all would have worked, if Aeric didn't blabber on him.

He came home, prepared to lie about what he "learned" during second semester of senior year with just enough of an intriguing story to get them off his tail (this one being that Aeric accidentally forgot his protein powder for his shake at home). But when he entered, his backpack slung over his shoulder, there was Mom and Barley and Colt sitting on the couch, waiting for him. Barley's brows furrowed in worry; Mom's in absolute anger. Colt... stern, for once. Even Blazey had retreated to her bed to stay away from the mess.

Getting out of her seat, Mom held her hand out. "Your staff and keys. Now."

Okay... best to play it cool and pretend she didn't know what she was talking about. He handed her his keys before saying cooly, "My staff is where it always is, Mom, right by the umbrellas."

"I know it's a duplicate," she replied stubbornly. "Your staff, Iandore. I'm not going to ask you again."

Mom never used his full name. Swallowing thickly, Ian reached into his pocket and handed her the shrunk staff he carried around until he had the space to let loose with magic. "Wh-what's this about?" he asked with a chuckle, hoping that playing dumb would help.

"Aeric came by today and talked to your brother," Mom explained, and the sound of his name made Ian's heart sink. "Now why would your boyfriend come around to talk to us about you ditching school, hm?"

"H-he's been so crazy busy getting ready for Prom and graduation, you know. He has a whole speech to write, so I think he's just been imagining things—"

"Ian," Barley piped up from his spot on the couch's arm. "I know I've been pretty hard on Aeric before, but for once—I actually believe him more than you right now. I think I know him well enough now that he cares enough to not lie about what you're doing."

Aeric... He knew he couldn't use Aeric as an alibi since he didn't understand magic nearly as well as he should have. But he didn't think his boyfriend would tell on him like this! "That's because Aeric doesn't get it..." he said lowly.

"What I don't get is why you would waste all your hard schoolwork and studying for this," Mom replied, still just as stern. "From now until graduation, you're grounded. I will be driving you to and from school, and you will only study down here with one of us present. And no more magic until then. We'll think about letting you go to Prom with Aeric if you behave."

"But Mom!" Ian paled; they were planning on searching for the Diamond this week so they could cast the spell on the Blue Moon at the end of the month! It was so soon! "I'm seventeen! I'm not a kid anymore! You can't force me to not do magic!"

"Well, if you can't handle the responsibilities of an adult who's trusted to drive himself to school and use magic responsibly instead of impersonating me to get out of class, then you'll be treated like a kid. And what's this about you not accepting Willowdale yet? Do you want them to give your spot away to someone else?"

"Well, maybe they should!" Ian shouted, trying to keep himself from crying. Maybe he could still get out of this. "The people at Willowdale didn't like seeing me use magic—so why should I be there if they don't like me? Just because you and Dad went there? That's a load of crap!"

"Hey—" Colt stood, crossing his arms as he stepped up to Laurel's side. "Don't talk to your mother like that when she just wants the best for you."

Ian, so clouded in his red, boiling anger, said the one thing that would shut Colt up immediately: "You can't tell me what to do. You're not my dad."

"Ian—" Barley started, but Ian, who had surrendered pretty much everything that would have given him this shot at magical freedom with the group, stormed upstairs and slammed the door to his room. He took a few angry breaths to calm down, and luckily, no one followed him.

And then he saw it: the one person who should have defended him through all this. The one person Ian thought he could trust completely to not say anything. The minute he saw pictures of Aeric in his room, his smug, gorgeous smile and those violet eyes behind his stupid, huge glasses, the anger only boiled again, and Ian was ready to burst.

In a rage, he tore down every picture of them hanging up, from his bulletin board to the walls, to his dresser, even. Really, he should have torn them all in half, but kept them in tact—for now, just littered on the floor. Sure, he and Aeric disagreed on a few things: whether or not protein shakes were weird, if it was normal to do jumping jacks while brushing your teeth, and the merits of each other's singing voices, but nothing had pissed him off quite like this. Aeric may have just ruined his chances of ever becoming an insanely powerful wizard, when Victoriana assured him that, once they had the Diamond, he was that much closer to being an actual magical legend.

How could Aeric love him if he did this?

And that's when Ian sent the text. He got a reply a few minutes later, Aeric saying he was on his way, and Ian spent the time pacing in front of his mirror, waiting for that familiar sedan to grace the driveway. The moons rose quickly, only about halfway lit tonight, and the street lamps went on before Ian noticed that Aeric hadn't driven to his place; he'd jogged, his hair in that stupid bun that Ian finally realized, yes, it was dumb, and Aeric should just cut his hair if he didn't like it getting in his face.

Once he saw Aeric jogging up the driveway, Ian sprinted downstairs, ignoring Mom asking what he was doing before he opened the front door and closed it before Aeric could step in. He wasn't welcome in his house anymore.

"Ian—" Aeric started, slightly out of breath.

"I trusted you," he said lowly, crossing his arms. His heart pounded probably more than Aeric's did despite the run, just out of pure anger.

"Ian, I'm worried about you," Aeric said, after taking a swig from his water bottle. "We promised each other we'd talk things through, and for the past few weeks, you weren't around to explain yourself. I didn't have a choice, once it became a pattern."

"Yes you did!" Ian would not cry here. He would not let himself get emotional over his boyfriend—if he could even call Aeric that anymore, after what he told Barley. "You could have just let this all blow over until everything was perfect! Instead you've ruined everything I've worked for with magic!"

"Ruined?" Aeric repeated, taken aback. "Ian, you were about to ruin everything you've done at school! And what about Willowdale? What about us?"

"What about us?" asked Ian, digging his nails into his arm to keep himself focused on something other than tears. "At this point, we're just growing apart, probably naturally."

"Ian, you can't mean that." Without his glasses, he could see Aeric's purple eyes, the ones he'd come to love so much, well up with tears, too, but trying to hold back. "I love you. That's why I did this."

"No, Aeric. If you really loved me, you would have just let this lie," he shot back.

"I wouldn't be trying this hard if I didn't think we had a future together! We're supposed to stick together through college, and now I hear you don't even want to do that!"

"And who are you, or Barley, or my mom, or anyone else to tell me how to live my life!" Hold it together, Ian. He could do it; he just needed to get Aeric to go away. "And maybe I'm doing all of this because I want us to have a better life, with more magic in it! Did you ever think about that, or is magic just an evil thing to you now?"

"It's not you!" Aeric yelled, throwing his hands up. "It's... it's that woman! She's gotten into your head and made you all about magic! The Ian I know and love knew how to balance magic with a normal life, and made the most incredible magic. And now you're just scaring me."

"That Ian had no confidence in himself." He could feel the anger overcome the sadness, especially with him shooting vile at Victoriana, who did nothing but help him realize his potential! How dare he talk about her like that! "And now, I'm one of the most powerful wizards in this city—maybe even the realms! And I think she was right: you're just jealous of my power and I couldn't see it until now!"

"Jealous?" Aeric scoffed. "Now I know she's gotten into your head! I never cared about not being able to do magic if I can just admire all the wonderful things you do! But now you're just using it to better yourself and show off and not to help other people!"

"No, you're jealous!" He was still on that train; how could that not be the case? "You're just jealous that I found somewhere I belong, with other people like me! And you'll never get it because you can't do magic and never will!"

Was it harsh? Yes, especially since he noticed a tear rolling down Aeric's cheek at that. But he didn't regret saying it, especially since that gave every indication that it was true.

"Ian do you... not wanna be with me anymore?" Aeric asked softly, his voice shaky.

"If you're gonna keep acting like this, then probably not," he admitted, digging his nails in deeper. Either move on with me, or we can't work out."

"Ian, if you just talked to me, let me in so we could work this out and you could see how you're being manipulated—"

And now Aeric was pissing him off again! "You've done enough! You should get out of here!"

"No, we need to talk this through," Aeric replied stubbornly. "I don't care how long it takes."

"Okay—then I won't ask!" On instinct, his hands shot out. "Aloft Elevar!" Ian had never used magic on Aeric like this with the express purpose of getting him off his yard, but the magic lifted him up and set him back on the block. "Go away! I don't want to be with you unless you're on my side!"

And saying it out loud, like that... He didn't want it to be the end, but if it had to be? It might be looking that way. The end of the greatest year of his life... but if Aeric couldn't accept who he was turning into, he'd just have to move on.

Aeric gave him one last pleading look, but jogged off without a word, and good thing, too. Because Ian could feel himself starting to cry, and if they both did, together, they'd both just be weak.

He trudged upstairs, not bothering to answer Mom asking what had just happened out there when he was still so pissed. So he could barely do staffless magic, so what?

He was going to channel all that anger and frustration from being stuck at home, and he would astral project into the next meeting, if it was the last thing he did. Ian couldn't let the group down now, not when they were this close, and he would make it to the ceremony.

This all couldn't be for nothing.

It was a good thing he ran. Aeric wouldn't have been able to drive home if he didn't have to channel all his energy into keeping his breathing in check, or focus on the rhythm of his footsteps. That way, he could keep his tears in until he got home.

Mom was out of her tank, lounging on the couch so she could stretch her tail. An hour or two out of water was healthy, apparently, and Aeric remembered being so surprised to learn that as a kid. She looked up from her magazine, her eyes wide when she saw him. "Aeric?" she asked gently, immediately concerned. "Baby, what's wrong?"

With that tone of voice... he couldn't hold it in, and he was a kid again, running up to her spot on the couch and curling into her, sobbing into her shoulder. "Mom I..." How was he going to get the words out through all these wrenching sobs, that hurled his chest every time he tried to speak? "I don't—I... I think I lost him...!"

Mom just hugged him tight, trying to shush him with her gentle voice, her hands undoing his bun and running her fingers through his hair to calm him down. She always had so much patience with him, when he interrupted her, when he asked pestering questions, when she tried her best to try and find what he loved so he could channel it into something productive. And now, she was his only rock, the only person he could talk to right now about this. "Shh... you can tell me if you want, when you're ready."

When he finally calmed down, Aeric sat on the floor next to her, and confessed everything, from how suspicious he was of the group, to how he had to tell Barley about Ian skipping classes, and how they might just be over. And Mom just nodded and listened, and shooed Dad away when he came into the room to see what the fuss was about. "Did I do the right thing?" he sniffed, wiping his nose with the hem of his shirt.

"Yes," Mom replied immediately, wiping away one of his stray tears. "Ian being mad at you now is natural. He thinks he's doing what's right, but I think he'll come around. You could have just planted a seed that has him questioning all this. Ian's a good kid, after all, and I don't think he'll actually risk not walking with the rest of the class."

Aeric just nodded. "Is it dumb to still think he's 'The One' or whatever? Especially since we're still just in high school?"

"No, sweetie," she assured, shaking her head. He always loved the little dimples at the corners of her mouth. "Not when you were making college plans together. There's nothing wrong with wanting the best for yourself when it comes to love. And you're both good together. I don't think this is the end."

"Then why does it feel like it?" he asked, fidgeting with the remote to keep himself grounded.

"Because it's your biggest fight yet. But in this case, there's a clear right answer. It's just going to take some time for Ian to realize it. And if you can get through this, you can get through anything together."

Well... that did make him feel a little better. Maybe arguing wasn't the best way to go about this. But he didn't regret telling Barley what was up. For now, they just needed a little time, and maybe then Ian would want to talk. Nodding, he kissed Mom's cheek. "Thanks, Mom. I... really needed that." And he thanked the gods every day for being lucky enough to have her in his life.

"That's what I'm here for," she said with a shrug. "Now go upstairs and shower. You stink, kid."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Aeric chuckled. "Will do," he replied. "Love you."

"Love you, too, kid."

In the shower, Aeric could at least think, surrounded by all the steam, and the constant hot stream of water. What Ian needed was some proof, that Victoriana was up to no good. If he could figure that out, he just knew he'd have him back, and he'd listen.

But... where would he even start? And how much time did he have before Ian was lost to him for good?

Would I ever break up my boys? That's for me to know and you to find out.

As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated, if it's your first or hundreth!