Chapter 51

77,4%

As Stormy predicted, Darcy didn't take it well at all. She took it so bad that she didn't speak to Icy all day, not even when that afternoon they went to Xavier and prepared with him a calendar of classes. Even Donnie noticed something was wrong and expressed his impression to his sister, who made him understand that it wasn't the right moment for questions.

If the professor noticed anything, instead, he ignored it: it looked like anything pertinent to feelings did not involve him. He was more worried about finding a safe place outside the Wildlands to train the girls, or to make a list of things he wanted to try to teach them, applications more or less common of their powers that in his opinion could make the difference in a fight. He was particularly bothered by the fact Aisha was only able to control water, morphix and plasma, and every now and then he asked her if she was able to control nitrogen, blood or mercury.

When at the end the girls left, Icy kept at a distance from Darcy, happy of avoiding her accusing looks. Cassandra could do nothing but notice the umpteenth signal of tension and asked her:

- I didn't start the trend of "argue with your best friend", did I? -

Icy smiled sadly and shook her head.

- No, it's my fault. I mean, it isn't my fault. There isn't really a fault. -

- Do you want to talk about it? I mean, I know I'm not your first choice for confidences, but if you want... -

- I appreciate that anyway. - replied Icy.

They walked in silence for a while, walking down the path more and more yellow with leaves.

- I did something foolish and impulsive, and now I don't know how to behave. - Icy said suddenly, surprising Cassandra.

- I can't imagine what you did to her, honestly. -

- Actually, Darcy has nothing to do with it! She makes me go crazy! She is so offended by something that doesn't influence her. -

- You lost me even more then. -

Icy sighed.

- I know. The thing is that she doesn't like anything that concerns me and Lzzy, and... -

- What does Lzzy have to do with this? - Cassandra interrupted her, confused.

- I did the foolish and impulsive thing with her. -

- And does Darcy feel cut out? -

Icy almost laughed: she doubted that Darcy would ever want to share with her and Lzzy that particular experience, but generally that was pretty much the problem.

- Let's say she does. We drifted away after the trial, but that up until then we basically did everything together isn't a good reason to act like this. It's a question that only involves me and Lzzy, and she has to accept that. -

- I hope that at least you two can solve it soon. - said Cassandra.

Icy thanked her. To solve it soon... she didn't even decide what to do with her own feelings, let alone thinking of how to handle Darcy. She kept being afraid of doing something wrong by allowing herself to fall in love with Lzzy more than she already was: on her personal scale, what she felt floated between "serious crush" and "infatuation", and she was scared of going up to the next level. She was mostly held back by the fact that for months now she and Lzzy lived in each other's mind without perfectly knowing each other. She could have simply been influenced by Lzzy's feelings for her and she could be unable to distinguish them from her own feelings, but it could very well be the opposite. That was why she decided to isolate herself from the earthling as much as possible, even though it meant to feel the hammering need to see her and hear her, to take her hand and stroke her hair and feel the warmth of her skin… she was wandering off, she was definitely wandering off! Even though after all those were thoughts she linked to Lzzy, so she stayed focused on her anyway. She forced herself to keep those thoughts at bay for the time necessary to drive back to Alfea.

The next day nothing seemed to have changed, if not that Icy really felt the effect of the forced distance from her mindmate. Darcy avoided or ignored her, Stormy tried to cheer her up in her own way (that is, trying to trigger a violent reaction) and the others tried to talk to her but got at most two-syllables words out of her mouth.

In an attempt to distract herself and at the same time do something useful, Icy started listening to any song that came on shuffle, looking for the one to use for the exam of Expression. The thing was that every now and then a Halestorm song came up, throwing her back to her previous conditions of intolerance and indecision. She wanted to act, but not act impulsively. She wanted to let go, but not mindlessly.

Maybe her dilemma would have stayed unsolved for weeks if Tecna didn't talk to her, after dinner. Icy was on the balcony looking at the sky, hoping to see a cloud where she could flee and find an answer, but the sky was clean that night and the stars she liked so much seemed far and indifferent. Tecna walked out and closed the door behind her.

- Are you making any progress out here? - she asked, shivering.

It was almost cold, but of course it wasn't a problem for the witch.

- No. - she replied, not turning to her.

- Maybe you won't like to hear me say this, but I don't think you'll last long without having contacts with her. Less than two days and look at you. -

Icy smiled sarcastically.

- I'm about to lose my mind. It's like I'm missing an arm. -

- I know. -

Both of them waited for the other to continue the conversation.

- If we didn't have a Bonding, I would already be with her. - Icy confessed in the end.

- You know, on this note… The unexpected development of your relationship made me curious, so I made some research. I collected as many cases of Bondings between humans as I could, and I found out that most couples had a relationship. More exactly, it happened in the 77,4% of cases. - said Tecna.

- W-what? - exclaimed Icy.

-It seems that knowing someone so well and sharing so much with them favorites the development of a relationship. - replied Tecna, making fun of the witch.

Icy felt relief washing over her, and she was surprised and almost ashamed of it. It wasn't wrong. No deviation or perversion. For once her case was normal. She almost forgot that that term could refer to anything, even her, but it was wonderful to remember it. With her heart beating fast and filling her ears, Icy thanked the fairy and went back into the apartment. She decided.

§§

"I have to talk to you, now. Are you alone?" Five words, just five words that Lzzy kept reading over and over obsessively walking up and down the bus' corridor. She got back in almost running, telling the boys to wait for a good twenty minutes before coming in. They didn't complain. On the other hand, they wouldn't have had the chance to step foot outside the bus for the next eight hours, and even though most of it would go by sleeping it was still a lot of time, so they took advantage of that break to the last second.

Icy appeared next to the stairs, preceded by the usual bluish light. Lzzy didn't remember ever seeing her so similar to an earthling: she was barefoot, like she often was, she wore an oversized hoodie and dark blue leggings. She didn't think Icy knew hoodies were a thing, she always saw her with skin-tight, elegant clothes. The witch she had in front of her in that moment tugged at the heart, and yet she took her breath away and she couldn't get her eyes off of her. Maybe because those two days felt so long, even though last night's concert cheered her up a bit. Icy looked at her like she was a mirage too, and that reassured Lzzy: she thought she was the only one to feel like they suddenly took away from her something she had had her entire life.

Not knowing what Icy was going to say, Lzzy resisted the impulse to run to hug her. She didn't want to embarrass her.

- So... - she said, not knowing how to approach the topic.

Icy tried to get her brain to find the best way to assemble the letters of the alphabet. The first result wasn't the best:

- I thought about it, about us I mean, and I didn't know what to do. Sure, our feelings are pretty clear, but our bond made me doubt a lot. Now I know it's not something uncommon, it's not me making a mistake again for the umpteenth time, and even if someone won't approve of it, it won't be because I did something bad. -

Lzzy didn't know if that premise was at her advantage or disadvantage. She bit her cheek, tense, and Icy continued, looking at the floor.

- What happened the other night was unexpected and, I admit it, amazing, but if anyone else had been in your place, it wouldn't have been that way. So, if you agree, I... - she looked in her eyes, - ...I'd at least want to try. -

It took a few seconds for Lzzy to understand the concept and smile to the witch, not knowing how important that smile was to her.

- Does that smile mean that it's fine? Are we together? - Icy asked.

- Yes, of course. -

- And Joe? -

- Oh, I'll explain exactly how it works between us later. Now I need to sit down. -

Having said that, Lzzy sat on the couch, sighing an evidently false sigh of relief. Now that she had the answer, she could go back to being funny instead of having the reactivity of a turtle. Icy sat next to her and Lzzy pulled her in a suffocating hug. All the tension they piled up during the weekend melted in that hug, substituted by a new, sweet feeling of safety.

- If you didn't come tonight, I think I would come to you. I didn't think it was actually this hard. -

- Me neither. - replied Icy, closing her eyes.

Even if she wasn't wearing it in that moment, Lzzy still smelled like her leather jackets. There was also a certain scent of chocolate mixed to that of her shampoo. She really liked it.

- Who does not approve? - asked Lzzy.

- Oh... Darcy. -

- Oh my goodness. -

- Yeah... She hasn't spoken to me since yesterday morning. But it's not her business, I mean, she should just wrap her mind around it and stop. -

- I didn't want to make you argue. I am so sorry. -

- It's not your fault. -

- Why did you tell her? I thought you didn't want to, not so soon at least. -

- True, but she read my mind and she almost had a stroke. The others were much calmer though. -

Lzzy blushed. They all knew it already?! After Icy explained her, she felt a little better, but it still embarrassed her to an extent. She tended to be very reserved about her relationships.

- I see. Speaking of which, Arejay knows too. You know, there isn't a lot of privacy on a bus. -

- Ouch. What did he say? -

- Nothing. - snorted Lzzy, - He doesn't have the right to speak on my sexual life. -

Icy laughed.

- Why, does he have it on your sentimental life? -

- Since I talk to him about that every now and then, he has the right to comment. -

Icy laughed again.

- What did you mean just now by "I know it isn't something uncommon"? - Lzzy asked again.

- Well, I... thought that having a Bonding made having a relationship something abnormal, wrong. Instead Tecna told me that it happens often when two humans are bound, and it makes me feel better. I know, - she anticipated Lzzy's reply, - it's stupid, but try to understand: any relationship I ever had or tried to have went bad for various reasons, and we have the same bond the Winx and the Pixies have. I mean, you saw the Pixies! -

- Yeah, I see what you mean. Tell you what, that's part of the reason why I never told you anything, I thought it could be considered similar to incest or stuff like that. -

- Fantastic, we also have the same paranoias! - remarked Icy, making Lzzy laugh.

- I was thinking, - she said then, - that I could come often on Earth and I should keep a low profile. What do you think of this haircut? -

With a spell, Icy shortened her hair up to her shoulders, and at the same time she colored it pink.

- Icy, honey, us earthlings are very boring, and that pink hair doesn't stand out less than your natural color. - Lzzy laughed again.

- I know, but I wanted to see your reaction. -

Lzzy pulled a pink lock behind her hear (the ponytail was gone). She was so close... Icy intercepted her look and nullified the distance between their lips. Lzzy didn't back off, indeed, she welcomed the kiss with the passion of who hadn't thought of anything else since Icy left. She was in her arms again and this time she was fully conscious of it, she consciously wanted it and this made the kiss more important than it really was. Neither one of them said "I love you", but it wasn't necessary. They both could do without.

They were so busy they didn't notice the sound of the bus door nor the steps of the boys.

- Ah, Lzzy! Come on! - exclaimed Josh, embarrassed.

To say that he should've been used to it by now.

Lzzy widened her eyes and broke the kiss, Icy on the other hand would have gladly sunk through the floor to the center of the planet. Arejay didn't recognize her at once.

- Who is she? - he asked in fact, not understanding how she came in without being seen.

- Uh, it's me, - Icy said, her cheeks of the same hue of the hair and her ears itching.

The three of them stared at her with an open mouth: Josh because he was still unaware of the entire thing, Arejay and Joe because they weren't psychologically ready to see Icy, her hair short and pink, sitting on the couch with her cheeks glowing red because a few seconds earlier she was making out with respectively their sister and partner.

- Oh come on, you've seen worse. Get a grip. - mumbled Lzzy.

Arejay was the first to react.

- Well, you're still my little sister. I like being someone's older brother. - he told Icy, who smiled.

- You have lipstick under your lip. - Joe told her instead.

- True that. - confirmed Lzzy.

- You mean, it's fine? It isn't a problem to you guys? - asked Icy surprised.

- Why should it? Sometimes Lzzy gets into some terrible deal, but I'm pretty sure that's not your case. - Josh replied.

- Hey! - protested Lzzy.

The three boys shut her up with an eloquent look. Effectively, The Reckoning didn't write itself.

- I'll try not to be one. - said Icy, making the lipstick disappear.

§§

Alfea, Practice class, the next morning

Faragonda was back to her old passion, one on one duels, that if anything had the merit of waking you up. The problem was that right after breakfast it wasn't really life's best moment. Anyway, Icy and Aisha, who were fighting in that moment, were doing pretty well and they weren't even playing. After years spent fighting each other they now knew each other's best moves, and it was thus harder to surprise the opponent. Moreover, Icy seemed to have a new energy that Francesca had no idea where it could be from: the day before she really wasn't the portrait of vitality. Maybe the argument with Darcy had something to do with it, maybe she unleashed the tension in the fight. Francesca wished she could vent like that too, but it wasn't like her: she sunk in melancholy and nostalgic memories.

The memory of when she and Ioanna went to their first school ball, for example: they were still on the Earth and magic didn't concern them, she had a crush on a classmate and she wore décolleté for the first time, but halfway through the night she took them off because her feet hurt too much. Someone always remained barefoot at school balls. At the last they went to, managing to drag there with who knows what miracle even Cassandra, Ioanna's shoes broke, and all of them tried to find a way to hold the pieces together. Today it would have taken her a snap of her fingers.

She couldn't believe that the girl she remembered was the same who abandoned them, she didn't understand how she could trust and appreciate such a person. Her Ioanna wasn't so selfish. Sure, she preferred not to exit her comfort zone, to ignore the problems that didn't affect her, not to make too many questions... but she was her friend, she stood by her side and they spoke a lot and when in need they gave advise to each other. She must had overestimated her, or she had changed. It happens, after all, teenagers grow up and give priority to different things. "I'm not a priority for her anymore" thought Francesca, and for some reason this sentence hit her deeply and she couldn't stop repeating it to herself, even during Daphne's class, which was also very interesting. And after lunch, while she lazily studied the last Elementology class, the thought stood crouched in a corner of her mind, making her feel an emptiness in her stomach which distracted her and worsened her mood.

A few minutes earlier than 05:00 pm she closed the book with a snap. They were going to Xavier that afternoon as well and it was appropriate to wear something more decent than a tracksuit. Shortly after she was walking down the stairs with Rebecca, Cassandra and Bloom. The others were waiting in the hall and together they walked out the doors. Icy looked nervous again.

A black-dressed silhouette was restlessly walking around the well at the center of the yard. If Francesca didn't have Cassandra by her side, she would have thought it was her: nobody in Alfea dressed in total black, not even Mirta. And in any case that wasn't Mirta's dark red hair, it was light brown.

Recognizing them, Lzzy walked towards them. Some students kept staring at her, they hadn't done anything else since she had arrived there and, unsure whether she should get in or not, she had decided to stay outside and postpone eye contact with the girls as much as possible. She was afraid they would have judged her. Thus, she kept at a distance from Icy, which the witch seemed to appreciate: there was no need to let half the school know they were a couple, unconventional but still a couple.

She smiled thinking back to the previous night, when Joe sat on the couch next to her and Lzzy announcing:

- Rule number one: you don't sleep with each other's SO... which is me. -

Lzzy had laughed, amused by Icy's embarrassment, who didn't expect such a direct approach. She liked the rules: discretion, dialogue, sincerity: all things she approved of and felt she needed. Stella, instead, didn't agree much with the term "discretion".

- Do you need to talk? - she asked in fact.

Lzzy shook her head.

- We already have. - Icy cut it out.

- Oh. And... -

- Can we just ignore it? - Darcy interrupted her before she asked the question.

Although she had seen it coming, the irritation in her voice made Lzzy nervous, but she didn't reply as fast as Icy.

- Can you just get over it? - replied Icy with the same annoyed tone, - It doesn't concern you, it's my choice and the only thing you have to do is to deal with it, clear? -

For the Winx it was clear enough what was Icy's decision. Tecna and Flora made small encouraging smiles to the other two, although Icy only saw them with the corner of her eye. She was more focused on Darcy, who on her side glared at her and Lzzy and headed to the gate without answering.

- Not the best way to soften her. - observed Stormy critically.

- Yeah, but what's wrong? Except for me, that is. - asked Lzzy.

- Don't mind her Lz, she has it up with me. A few days and she'll be able to face a civil discussion. - Icy said.

- I feel it's better not to ask even if I want to, right? - asked Maria, appearing behind her together with Desirè and Aire.

They too were going to Xavier, including the youngest: the professor manifested a certain curiosity when her scepter had been mentioned and the witch sure didn't mind being involved with anything concerning the Trix.

- It would be appreciated. - Icy replied.

The three newcomers gave up on investigating and settled for getting to know Lzzy. Then the group headed for Alfea's gate, which Darcy had now reached.