Chapter 20

The Crystal Tour

"You good?" My manager called through my ear piece. "Ready to go?"

"Ja. I'm ready." I replied, getting a final stretch in. I was stood on a platform, just below the stage that was set to rise in a moment. Looking over my shoulder, I smiled as my father approached me, hopping onto the platform.

"This is it!" He grinned. "You made it!"

"I know. Two full months of touring..." I sighed happily. "We did it!"

"No, you did it." He corrected me. "I'm proud of you, son."

I held my arms out to him and he complied, grabbing me in a warm, solid hug. He patted me firmly on the back and pulled away after a moment, setting his hands on my shoulders to get a good look at me. Letting out a deep sigh, he nodded to himself before he spoke up.

"You've prevailed. This is it son. You kept your promise."

I blinked towards what he'd just said as he stepped off the platform. It didn't register immediately. In fact, it wasn't until the platform began to move that his words hit the very core of my soul. Our promise. I'd been so eager to fulfill the promise I'd made to my father when I'd first discovered my abilities as a youth. There was nothing I wanted more at the time than to be just like him. I constantly looked to him for approval to no avail. There was always something more I needed to do and always something I was missing, till now.

"F-Father?!"

He gave me a wave and a gentle smile from where he was stood backstage with the rest of the crew. I saw the look in his eyes, a look I'd never seen before. Facing forward again, I felt myself quickly growing emotional. My eyes had gone wide and my breathing labored as I desperately fought the tears that wanted to stream from my eyes. I gripped my jacket and closed my eyes tightly till a hot spotlight beamed against my skin and the roars of applause filled my ears.

Showtime.

"HALLO NEW YORK CITY~! IT'S CHRISTMAS! HOW ARE WE FEELING TONIGHT?!"

When you thought the roars couldn't get any louder, they did. Cameras flashed from all angles as my face appeared on the screens above. You would've never guessed my emotions from the expression on my face. I'd never allow that. I'd become a pro at turning on the performance side of me. I took to the stage as I always did, with my arms outstretched to the crowd before materializing to the very front. Always got them going and tonight was no different.

"LEMME HEAR YOU NEW YORK! YOU'VE BEEN...?"

"DAZZLED~!"

"JA! I LOVE IT~! LET'S DO THIS!"

I think that was my best show. Of all the shows I'd performed over the vast span of the globe, that was my greatest show of all time. The joy in my heart, the magic flowing through from my veins to my hands. There was something about New York that just kept me going. I couldn't see my friends in the crowd, but knowing they were there was all I needed. I was exhausted, but I pulled through over and over. Trick after trick. It felt damn good when it was over and even when I'd finished, I came back out for an encore.

Being the finale to my world tour, fans tossed waves of flowers to me on the stage when the show had come to an end. There was a standing ovation that seemed to go on forever. It was at that exact moment that I finally broke down and cried. I knew I was on a big screen, but I'd just felt so overwhelmingly grateful. This entire tour had been simply unreal when I finally stepped out of myself. It was bittersweet knowing it was over. I grabbed as many flowers and stuffed animals as I could and bowed deeply as the audience continued their applause, which had only elevated when I'd began to cry.

"T-THANK YOU NEW YORK! THANK YOU, FATHER! THANK YOU SO MUCH! GOOD NIGHT!"

Materializing from the very front of the stage to the backstage, I tumbled over, dropping the gifts from the stage as the staff and crew erupted in cheers for me. They immediately lifted me up from the ground in celebration, my manager included. We were officially finished with the Crystal Tour.

"That's a wrap!" Steven called out with the biggest smile I'd seen from him yet. "You're a legend, Nightbreed!"

"SIGMUND!" I heard Ivan scream. The crew set me down as my friends were ushered through to the backstage zone. Ivan pulled me into a tight hug. "BRO! THAT SHOW WAS INSANE!"

"IT WAS SO GOOD!" Nicolai yelled, hugging me as soon as Ivan had let me go. "YOU'RE INCREDIBLE!"

"Thank you guys!" I blushed, my tone a little raspy. My eyes fell on Kyle and I was shocked when he actually hugged me.

"Good show!" He congratulated me. "Bloody good show!"

"Kyle! Thank you!"

"I don't see what you're going to Milkweed for. I'd drop out if I was you. You've already got it."

"Don't go putting weird ideas in his head." Erin playfully pouted towards Kyle as she made her way over to me. Her siblings were in tow and just as eager to see me as everyone else had been. With Erin stopping in front of me, we gave each other soft smiles and I instantly pulled her in. I was surprised when she'd kissed my cheek, considering my friends and her very protective brother were around. There was snickering, but no objections.

"Congratulations, Sigmund. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Erin."

"Ooof—! You're so sweaty right now!"

"Hahahaha!"

As we pulled away from each other, I held her hand and kept her at my side. Erin's brother, Eric, shook hands with me. Her baby sister, Ellie, reached up for a hug, which I bent down to give her. Even her parents had come through to congratulate me. That meant a lot.

"Great show, Sigmund!" Erin's mother, Emelda clapped. "Simply fantastic!"

"Yes! That was amazing!" Her father, Levitt nodded. "Haven't seen magic like that since I was a boy!"

"That's because he learned from the best!" My father beamed with pride.

Erin let me go and ushered me to meet with my father, which I did as soon as he approached me. The entire backstage crew applauded as I hugged my father. With my mother walking over, I pulled her in to join the hug as well. I held them as tightly as I could and almost instantly, the waterworks started again.

I couldn't help it and even though I didn't mean to, it just came out of me. I couldn't stop crying if I tried. Especially when my mother cried. Nothing makes you cry more than seeing your mother cry. They weren't tears of sorrow, they were tears of great relief.

—

"Look around the room again and make sure you haven't left anything behind!" Kyle ordered the boys. "I just passed through here and I saw someone's headphones on the ground!"

It was the morning after the finale of my show. I met the boys in their hotel suite where they'd been actively packing up to head back to the airport and go their separate ways. Nicolai pulled his suitcase over to the door for the bell boy and held up a newspaper for me to see.

"You're on the cover of the New York Post! Look!"

"Ugh..." I groaned, taking the paper into my hands. "This is the third paper to use a photo of me crying..."

"You shouldn't have cried!" Ivan teased. "Gotta keep the press in mind! They love that shit!"

"Noted..."

"I quite like this one." Kyle pointed out, lifting a paper in his hands. It was a photo of me bowing at the end of my show, the stage around me littered with flowers. "Tasteful choice."

"Oh, yeah! I like that one!" I nodded. "Gimme!"

"No need to snatch!"

"New York Times has a photo of you crying too." Ivan laughed, holding up his own paper. "But there's a spread on the inside with other photos and your fans waiting on lines and stuff. Look."

I was overwhelmed with the amount of press I'd been bombarded with. Stories from all over the world in a swirl of languages, all speaking on the success of my tour. There was negative press as well, which was expected, but my father didn't allow me to read any of those articles. We took turns trading off newspapers, flipping through the pages for any news of my show.

"We shouldn't stay in here too long." I told them, catching their attention. "You guys still have a couple hours in the city before we leave. We should do something."

"Aren't you tired?" Nicolai asked with concern. I shook my head.

"No, I'm fine. Honestly."

"I wanna walk through Central Park one more time." Ivan suggested. "Nicolai and I walked the other day and there was some guy, covered in pigeons!"

"Oh yeah!" Nicolai laughed. "That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen!"

"Almost as weird as that bizarre man with the cowboy hat and guitar in Times Square." Kyle mentioned, getting a good laugh out of them. I raised a brow.

"You guys went without me?!" I pouted. Kyle shrugged.

"You had better things to do, didn't you? I wasn't gonna waste my free trip waiting for you."

"You know, I'm really growing to like you." Ivan smirked towards Kyle. Kyle returned the gesture. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, I didn't wanna go anyways. I probably would've gotten swarmed over there."

"You'll never be able to travel comfortably anywhere ever again." Kyle told me. "As soon as someone sees Nightbreed on something or hears Nightbreed mentioned somewhere, it's over for you."

That statement actually made me smile. That had been my goal after my fight with Klaus. They'd tried so hard to bury my family and make sure we'd never be known. They forced my father into exile and called him a reject. Now, they'd been the ones pushed into oblivion in this world and I'd make sure they'd be pushed in the realm too.

Having collected all their belongings, we walked out of the suite and headed for the elevator. My parents waved at us from the opposite end of the hall and approached with their own bell boy in tow.

"Did you boys enjoy yourselves?" My father asked my friends. They all nodded in response.

"We're probably gonna grab something to eat in the park." I told my father. "They have a few hours before they need to leave."

"Don't go too far, okay?" My mother spoke. "It's an easy park to get lost in..." My father laughed suddenly, to my mother's displeasure.

"Don't mind her, son. She got lost when we went walking, is all."

"Pffff!" I laughed with my father and waved to them both when the elevator finally came for us.

"We'll be here in the hotel till you all get back!" My father waved back.

After the ride down, I pointed out the carpool to the bell boy for their bags and finally left the hotel with my friends in the direction of the park. As we crossed the street, my phone rang in my pocket.

"Hallo?"

"Hey you!"

"Erin!" I smiled, slowing my walk to distance myself from my friends. "Good morning."

"I can't believe you're awake right now!" She giggled. "I thought you'd be in a deep sleep!"

"I'm at Central Park with the guys. Come see me?"

"I'm already in the air."

"Well, hurry up! I don't have all day!" I joked. Erin laughed loudly on her end of the phone.

"Excuse you, Sigmund! Bye!"

I smiled to myself as we ended the call with one another. Pushing my phone back into my pocket, I jumped when someone in the park suddenly approached me.

"A-are you Sigmund Nightbreed?" They stammered. I'd forgotten to put my sunglasses on. I nodded and took a selfie with them when they'd asked. "Oh my gosh! Thank you! Bye!"

I instantly pulled my glasses from my varsity jacket pocket and put them on, smiling sheepishly towards my friends who'd seen what just happened.

"Oh my gosh~!" Ivan teased after the fan had skipped off. "I can't believe my eyes! Sigmund!"

"Take a photo with me too!" Nicolai joked. I crossed my arms as they laughed. Kyle nodded.

"I'm understanding the baseball cap now." He spoke. "I was confused when you stepped out like this the other day. Not the best looking outfit."

"I know, right?!" I groaned. "How embarrassing that someone has a photo of me this way..."

"I'm sure no one's gonna care." Kyle assured me. "You're a celebrity. They all dress like this in public."

Kyle's attention turned to the sky and he waved, turning everyone's focus upward as well. Erin had arrived, but not alone as I'd hoped. Both her and her older brother landed beside where we'd been huddled up.

"Yo!" She grinned, letting her broom vanish. She playfully punched my arm, payback for my teasing over the phone. "What's up guys?"

"We're looking for the pigeon man." Ivan answered, getting a laugh out of Nicolai. Eric's brows furrowed behind his sister.

"Pigeon man?" He asked. "What pigeon man?"

"Please ignore him!" Kyle groaned. "We've just started walking through the park. We were thinking of finding something to eat as well. Our flights aren't for another few hours."

"You're not gonna find anything to eat in Central Park." Erin giggled. Her brother chuckled with her.

"Nothing but overpriced hot dog carts, stale soft pretzels and water." He told us. Kyle folded his arms in annoyance.

"See? I wish I had more time here." He complained. "I've been able to see a few sights, but I haven't been able to walk the city the way I would've liked to. There was a lot I would've liked to try."

"Yeah, me too..." Ivan nodded. "Wish I didn't have to go back so soon."

"You guys can always come back this summer. Maybe you can stay at my place!" Erin offered. Her brother jumped.

"Do ya really think mom's gonna let ya have a bunch of boys over?" He spat. "I highly doubt that."

"I don't see the issue." Erin pouted. "We're friends!"

"They're boys!"

"So are you!"

"I'm ya brother, you bozo!"

"Alright, so I'll ask Meghan to come too. Does that balance it out?!"

"No!"

I laughed at the banter between them both. Raising my hand to stop the argument, I shook my head and suggested something else.

"We can come back and stay at the hotel again." I offered. "I'm sure I'll be back for summer holiday for filming again. I'll just bring you guys along."

Ivan and Nicolai grinned to one another, thrilled with the news, but Kyle didn't seem to smile with them. In fact, he frowned. I tilted my head towards him, confused by his expression. Glancing at me, he sighed.

"I'm still not sure what's happening with my readmission as of right now..." He told us. "There hasn't been an update since my last meeting with the headmaster. I don't know if I'll be back at Milkweed in the new year with you all."

There was a silence among everyone in the circle and a joint look of sympathy towards Kyle. My friends had never been too keen on hanging around him, but through all of this, it seemed like they'd finally formed some type of camaraderie. Erin spoke up and broke the pity.

"Maybe it's because of the holiday?" She gestured. "Yesterday was Christmas after all. You might just hear something before the break is over."

"She's right." Ivan nodded. "I think if they really didn't want you back, then they would've never called you and your folks to the school. Merlin wouldn't have called either." My brows raised. Clearly, I was out of the loop here.

"They called you back to Milkweed?" I gasped. Kyle nodded. "When?!"

"I called you, but you must've been busy at the time." Kyle answered. "They called me back the week before winter holiday began with my parents. I sat with a couple board members and Merlin, and we just talked things out, is all."

"Oh, you're definitely going back!" Eric butted in, shooing off Kyle's doubts with his hand. "That kid was right, they're calling you back to make sure everything's straight before they bring you in again."

"How are you so sure?" Kyle asked. Eric pushed his hands into his coat pockets.

"I got kicked from Halfmoon a couple years ago." He explained to Kyle. The boys in the circle seemed confused with that statement altogether, being that Halfmoon was an all girl's school. Eric rolled his eyes. "Long story, but anyways, when I was getting called in back and forth, they bought my parents in and offered me different options to study afterwards. They always call the parents before they make final decisions."

"So you're saying I should be back after the holiday?" Kyle perked up. Eric shook his head.

"Didn't say that. What I'm saying is, they're gonna let you back in, that's a guarantee."

The sympathetic looks in the circle turned joyful. It was relieving to hear an account from an upperclassman, even though he wasn't a Milkweed student. Kyle looked genuinely hopeful and that made me happy.

We ended up spending the rest of the time we had together in the park, just talking. It was the safest place for me to be out in public and being the big city, there was always something strange happening nearby that gave us something to laugh at or talk about. When the time came for them to head to the airport, the boys climbed into the carpool back at the hotel. Erin's brother waved them off before parting ways with the rest of us. I turned to my friends, leaning over.

"Let me know when you guys make it to the airport." I told them through the window after the door was closed. They nodded in response. "A-and let me know when you get back home too!"

"Why's ya voice getting shaky?" Ivan teased. "We'll see you next week at Milkweed!" I blushed in embarrassment. I was a little emotional seeing everyone together like this, but I wouldn't say so. It was nice having my friends around and I wasn't ready for everyone to leave. Kyle caught my expression and gave me a warm smile.

"If I hear anything, I'll let you know. Okay?"

I nodded, backing away from the car as the engine started up.

"Okay."

"Bye, Sigmund! Later, Erin!" Nicolai called out. Erin and I waved at them from the roundabout at the hotel and watched the car finally pull away down the road. With a deep exhale, I glanced over at Erin who seemed to exhale herself.

"This has been really refreshing." She finally smiled towards me when the car was out of view. "Going into the new year with good news all over."

"What about you though?" I asked her. "Are you gonna be alright?" She wrinkled her nose at me.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Who's been bullying you at Halfmoon?"

"O-oh!" She stammered, looking away from me. "Don't worry about that..."

"I will worry, regardless of what you say. I'm not okay with that."

"Sigmund..."

"I'll have it handled when we go back to the realm."

"You don't have to!"

"Ja, I know I don't have to. I want to."

"Sig—!"

"Shhhh!" I held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I've already made up my mind!"

In front of us, my bus pulled into the roundabout. My parents walked out from the hotel lobby with their bell boy from earlier and waved when they'd spotted us.

"We're packing up now!" My father called to me. "We've got to get going soon!"

"I thought we had a later flight?" I frowned in confusion. He nodded.

"We do! Your manager wants to see you before we leave, so we're stopping at the studio first, then heading straight there."

My mother waved at Erin, who happily waved back. I pouted. I thought we had more time.

"Don't worry about it." Erin spoke knowingly, noticing my demeanor change. "I'll see you next week."

"Ah..."

"Oh my gosh! Don't make that face! Hahaha!"

"I'm not ready to go..."

"We have to get back home to study!" She reminded me with a squeeze to my hand. "We have finals around the corner, remember Mr. Celebrity? We've gotta be number one again!"

"I don't care about finals..."

"Oh, cut it out! You were on and on about your sorting year! You're almost there!"

My father waved me down when our luggage had been set on the bus. He waved to Erin, who waved back with a laugh when he winked at her. She laughed harder when I shooed him off after he gave me a knowing look, just to embarrass me.

"Your parents are the best." She sighed.

"They like you a lot."

"Do they? Mine like you too. They wanna know when you're coming back to New York. They said you're good company. Even my brother likes you, despite how weird he is."

"Ja?! My mother was talking about you last night after the show. She told me she got a chance to speak with your mother and they get on well. She also said you were so kind and a fast learner."

"Oh, she was teaching me German." Erin blushed. I grinned.

"Was she? Lemme hear some!"

"No way! I was actually pretty terrible. She was just being nice."

"Come on!" I laughed, pulling her back when she'd pulled away from me. She laughed with me and pointed out the bus.

"You have to go!"

"Not till you tell me something in German!"

"Go!"

"Steven can wait!"

"Go, Sigmund!"

"Want me to teach you something?" I smirked. Erin poked her lip out in annoyance.

"Don't be funny."

"I'm not! Just one thing before I go."

"Okay then, what?"

"Ich liebe dich."

"I love you!"

"I love you too."

"Huh?! No, silly, that's what she taught m—!"

I'd wanted to kiss her again for some time, but I hadn't gotten a chance to, so I took the opportunity while I could. When she stood in front of me, stunned, I patted her on the head.

"Practice, okay?" I grinned. "Next time I see you, I wanna hear it!"

"S-sure!" She nodded. I kissed the back of her hand before I let it go to wave.

"I'll call you later! Bye~!"

"Ah! Bye! See you soon!"

I climbed on board the bus as the engine started and rushed to the window, sliding it open quickly to wave again.

"Bye, Erin!"

"Bye, Sigmund!"

"Hahaha! Bye!"

"Bye~!"

Erin walked alongside the bus as it turned out into the street, then chased after it jokingly and waved me away till I couldn't see her anymore. I finally leaned back in my seat with a loving sigh, glancing over when I heard snickering. My parents were having a good time in the row across from me.

"What?!" I blushed. I'd sorta forgotten they were on the bus with me. My father grinned a toothy grin in my direction.

"I saw you..." He told me. My mother giggled behind him. I folded my arms, knowing exactly what he was referring to. I just knew my face had gone red all over.

"You saw nothing."

"I saw—!"

"You saw nothing!"

—

Back at it again, waiting in the hallway early in the morning for the scores to be posted after final exams had gone by. It was nearing the end of our term and wizarding finals had finally taken place in late Spring. We'd studied and studied hard to make sure we were ready. Even with the amount of studying, I still felt apprehensive about my scores. Ivan and I stood side by side and both of us seemed to sigh.

"Were these exams harder than last year, or was it just me?" He asked. I nodded.

"Way harder. I'm genuinely concerned about how I scored. I don't think I'm top three this term at all. Probably on the low end of top five."

"Damn. If you're top five, I definitely didn't make the score board this time."

"I'm not even that sure. The elixir test took me out, I just know it."

"Not for nothing, I feel the same way. That last section was a bitch!"

Merlin finally walked out of the office, holding a scroll in his hands. It was the same speech from him as last year, the one no one cared to hear. We were stressed out and anxious about our scores. Despite what he was saying, these scores meant a lot.

Among the crowd, I'd spotted Klaus, who'd been eyeing me till he noticed my eyes on him. He shot me a nasty look and turned away. The boys had filled me in on his discipline after I'd left for the start of my tour. He'd been suspended for the fight we'd had for using black magic. Yes, black magic. What we'd originally thought to be dark magic had actually been much worse and I'd been lucky to have walked away with just those burns.

I shook off his glare and turned my attention to the bulletin board when the scores were finally posted. The students in the hall scrambled to look over the list. As usual, I didn't have an issue thanks to my increasing height and Ivan hadn't had a problem either.

"What the—?! You liar!" Ivan suddenly gasped. "Low score my ass!"

"You too!" I laughed. "You're top three overall!"

"You're number one again! Two time Wizard of the Year! Unreal!"

"You beat out Klaus!" I chuckled. "You dropped him down to third!"

"Congratulations, bro!"

"You too, Ivan! Congratulations!"

We exchanged our secret handshake and high fived one another. I was proud of him. He'd drastically improved his score this term. Walking past us, Klaus purposefully bumped into me, which pushed me into Ivan. Ivan was quick to lunge, but I stopped him. I couldn't stop his mouth though.

"LOSER!" Ivan spat in the direction Klaus walked off. "Go back to the University of the Underworld with your third-rate scores!"

"He's not worth it..." I muttered, setting my hands on Ivan's shoulders to calm him down. "Don't let him get to you."

"But, Sigmund! He pushed you!"

"We made it to our sorting year on top. Let's be happy!"

"Ugh..." Ivan shrugged to get my hands off. He crossed his arms in protest, but followed me as we turned to walk back to our dorms. Walking past the Headmaster, he stopped us to shake both of our hands.

"Congratulations to both of you!" Merlin smiled. We smiled back at him.

"Thank you, Headmaster." We answered together. I jumped when a thought came to my mind.

"Headmaster!" I gasped. "How did Kyle score on his exams? Am I allowed to know?"

Kyle had informed me that Milkweed would allow him readmission if he showed legitimate interest in continuing his studies. They'd sent him the criteria that we'd learned over the term and expected him to study the best he could. Of course, we all studied together as a group. I'd kept him updated on the term whilst I'd been on my tour and hearing about this opportunity, my friends jumped in to help him at every corner, no questions asked. He called us in the middle of the night with questions and no one argued with him. We were determined to get him back in the realm, especially after hearing about his new found comfort at home.

Final exams were sent out to him to complete and based on his scores, a determination would be made. Merlin paused for a moment in thought. He shook his head as an answer, but leaned into me to whisper.

"There's no need to worry about his scores." He assured me. "The choice is his now."

My eyes widened. He'd done it! I wasn't sure what his score was, but knowing he passed was all I truly needed. I couldn't help but smile, but I covered my expression quickly and nodded frantically, getting a laugh out of the headmaster.

"T-thank you!" I whispered back, turning away with Ivan. He waved us off as Ivan leaned in to be updated.

"See you boys at picture day!"

"What did he say?!" Ivan asked me, his expression turning to one of great concern. I laughed at him. I'd never seen him look so frantic.

"What's with you and Kyle?" I asked. "I thought you couldn't stand him!" Ivan's brows furrowed.

"N-nothing! He's my friend too, you know!"

"Well, your friend passed the wizarding finals."

"Seriously?!"

"Ja. I don't know what he scored, but he did it!"

"Well hurry up then!" Ivan finally smiled back, pulling my arm. "We've gotta call him! We've gotta tell Nico too!"

We rushed back to the common hall, racing behind one another up the stairs to the dormitories. Nicolai was already waiting outside of my room and waved when he spotted us. We waved back. Ivan told Nico the news before I could even catch my breath.

"Kyle passed the finals!"

"Yes!" Nicolai cheered. "I knew it! How about you guys? How'd you score."

"I'm top three overall! Second in our level!"

"Ivan, that's amazing! Congratulations!" Turning his attention to me, I gave Nicolai a sheepish smile.

"I'm the Wizard of the Year..."

"AGAIN?! NO WAY!"

"Ja...heh."

"You were on tour! How did you manage?"

"And now he's acting all humble about it." Ivan spat, teasingly. "Shut up with the mumbling already, Nightbreed! I'll help you get the word out—HEY EVERYONE!"

"Ivan!" I gasped, fighting him to cover his mouth with my hand. He fought me back through laughter, causing more attention to us in the hall than I wanted.

"SIGMUND'S THE WIZARD OF THE YEAR AGAIN!"

"Ivan!"

"SIGMUND'S THE WIZARD OF THE YEAR!"

"I hate you! Hahahaha!"

Picture day came quickly and when we finally packed up for summer holiday, it felt just as bitter sweet as the end of my tour. With our sorting year next year, there was a great chance that we'd be separated from one another. Ivan practiced dark magic and alchemy, Nicolai was a shapeshifter and I was more of a spellcaster. For sure, we would be in different classes, but we made a promise to each other to stay friends and make time for one another.

"I might be moving to the realm soon." Ivan informed Nicolai and I as we descended the steps of the assembly hall together. Picture day was finally over and this was where we'd separate for summer holiday. "My father was offered a full time job in a brewery house here. We only used to brew in the summer, so I think he might take it."

"Yay!" Nicolai grinned. "I need more company here!" It was nice to see that they'd be closer to one another soon. From what I understood, my family couldn't reside in the realm since my mother wasn't a witch. Some weird realm occult law.

"What are we cheering about?" Erin smiled, pushing herself in between Ivan and Nicolai. "And when are you guys coming over?"

"Ah! Halfmoon's very own Witch of the Year..." Ivan greeted. "I'll be in New York in three days! I have to go back home first to figure out what's happening."

"I'll be at the airport tomorrow!" Nicolai told her. "I can't wait! I'm bringing more money and an empty suitcase this time! I wanna shop!"

"Hahaha!" Erin laughed. "Sure! We'll go shopping as soon as you touch down!"

"I'm leaving tonight." I told Erin, catching her attention. "But I won't be in your area till tomorrow."

"Work?"

"Lots. We'll be starting summer filming by the end of the week."

"Damn! You never get a break!" Ivan exclaimed. "I'm making that my business when I show up at your studio! I'm cursing them all out!"

"Please don't!" I laughed. I knew it was no use protesting with Ivan. "Kyle said he's coming at the end of the week. He's moving back in with his mother."

"That's nice to hear." Erin sighed. "I'm so happy for him. And I'm so glad he'll be here next year. I missed that kid." Turning to us, Erin gave everyone a warm smile. "You all did a really good thing this year. I'm glad everything's worked out."

"Ah! Stop being soft!" Ivan blushed, getting a laugh from our circle. "Shut up!"

"I'm glad too." Nicolai agreed. "Let's do just as well next year, okay guys?"

It was a mutual agreement, no questions asked. We all went our separate ways from there and as I finally settled in the backseat of my chauffeured car, everything just melted away. Everything. The worries, the stresses the sadness. Everything. For the first time in a long time, everything felt in order. Even with work on the horizon, I felt like I was where I needed to be. I felt like I could finally manage.

I just wanted to be happy. I wanted my friends to be happy and I got that. I wanted my family to be cared for and I'd settled that. There was work to be done, even now, but I'd find a way. I'd managed to thus far.