"Here's your stupid green algae," I said, thrusting the slick green mass at him. I was soaked and sour, and there were three more globs of algae in my backpack.

The wizard merely took the algae and dropped it into his cauldron. I heard it hit the bottom of the empty pot with a thick, wet squelch. "Thank you."

I stared at him. This was maybe the fifth time I had come by to help Rasmodius with an errand. Each time, he dumped whatever I had brought into that cauldron. It was always empty before my offering was dropped inside it.

He reached into his robes and held out his hand. "Here's your payment."

I stretched out my own hand beneath his and felt him drop some coins. I pulled back and counted my change. "45g? That's it? This is even less than last time," I frowned. "Do you know how much rain is coming down right now? I nearly drowned trying to get that algae."

He leered at me. "I'm well aware. Not only am I giving you 45g, but I am also letting you into my inner circle."

"It isn't really a circle if there's only one person," I huffed.

He snorted. "You dare to be cheeky with me? You have no idea what a friendship with me would bring you."

I crossed my arms. "No, I don't. And frankly, I'm not sure if I care."

The room was swallowed by darkness and my breath caught in my throat. A burst of light appeared and flew around the room. In the blink of an eye, it had tripled, and all three balls of light circled me. All of a sudden, they flew off and exploded with a loud pop. I heard a low, guttural growl and the lights came back on, but a large monstrous shadow remained. I watched in horror as it crept towards the wizard, who stood with his eyes focused on me, his lips pulled back in a sneer. The shadow beast approached the wizard's shadow and melted into it.

I took a shuddering breath. "What was that?" I squeaked. My pulse was racing and a chill slithered down my spine.

The wizard smiled wolfishly. "Just a taste of what my friendship could offer you."

"Hmm," I thought, scratching my chin. My gut cautioned me to tread carefully, but I really did not have time for him or for being careful. I was trying to earn more money so I could upgrade my house, and he was keeping me away from my precious time spent fishing. "That hardly is useful to me."

"Useful, eh?" Rasmodius grinned. "Come," he said and spun on his heel, his purple robes flapping around him.

Without another word, I followed him to the back of the room, down a set of stairs.

We were in a cellar of some sort, the focal point of which was a mirror.

He noticed where my gaze lay. "This is not just any mirror," he said smoothly. "It allows you to become whatever type of person you'd like."

I approached it, taking in the intricacies of its frame fashioned into swirls and whorls. On its surface, I saw only my own reflection warily staring back at me. "What if I wanted to become a shadow person?"

Rasmodius tugged at the collar of his robe, frowning. "Well, it's not quite like that." He exhaled loudly. "This mirror allows you to change your appearance – skin, hair, eyes, those are all changeable."

I continued to stare at myself, aware now of the interface that seemed to materialize in my mind. I contemplated switching up my looks just for fun, but decided against it. There was a weird, dark charge that this mirror gave me. It didn't sit well with me. I pulled away from the mirror and moved towards the stairs from which we came.

"That's some fucked up shit," I declared.

The wizard shrugged and it felt like a spell had been broken. "Well, it's only 500g if you ever wish to try it out."

I gaped at him. "You'd charge me? I thought you said that I was part of your inner circle."

"I don't allow those outside of my inner circle to even venture down here. Consider yourself lucky that this opportunity is available to you, even after your insolence." He sniffed as though he was hurt by what I'd said. What a load of crock. "Just consider the possibilities that access to a mirror like this present to you."

I could not help but think about Abigail and her vivid, purple hair, her pale flawless skin. For 500g I could look like her, at least to a certain extent. I wondered if Sebastian would like me more, or at least find me attractive. It was unclear to me still what their relationship really entailed. The two of them, along with Sam, seemed to form a sort of trio. Sam had recently recruited her to play drums for their band, but the friendship involving the three of them went beyond that, I knew. There was history between Sebastian and Abigail, and though the two of them didn't appear to spend time together outside of their trio, the unrelinquished past stood firmly in my thoughts.

I shook my head. What was I even thinking? We were friends. That's all I had wanted, to make friends with someone out here. That was what we had, and I should be more than satisfied with how things were. But the thoughts came unbidden — the image of him in his kitchen under the cloudy, filtered sunlight; the look he had given me as he had called himself a monster; the blush that tinged his cheeks when he stumbled over kind words of gratitude. But the tease of romance was futile; I was a maelstrom of uncertainty and doubt. I could not drag someone else into my mess. It would be unfair to unload even a fraction of that onus onto someone other than myself.

"We'll see." I started to head up the stairs. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'm going to head out."

"I shall see you again," the wizard said cryptically and followed me up.

"Don't give me that voodoo, clairvoyance shit. And if you make another request for algae, I'm going to ignore it. It's not worth my time."

Rasmodius waved me out with a smile. "You're saving up to upgrade your house."

I stopped mid-step, one foot already on the stoop outside. "How do you figure that?"

"Tell me, are you wanting to upgrade your house so you can start a family?" There was a strange light in his eyes. He grinned, but it looked more like he was baring his teeth at me.

It was then that I laughed in his face. "Me? Start a family? Are you insane? That's the most ludicrous thing I've heard in a long while." It was a thrilling feeling, this reckless laughter. "Thanks for the chuckle, Ras."

"Consider my question whence the upgrade is complete. I sense that you are not being truthful to yourself."

I decided not to dignify that with a response. I waved as I bounded down the steps and Rasmodius shut the door behind me without lifting a hand.

Lightning ripped through the sky as thunder boomed throughout the valley. Thunderstorms like this didn't exist in the city. It was awe-inspiring feeling the electricity in the air, like the earth was holding its breath, waiting for that echoing clap before it could respire.

The rain-soaked valley had lost some of its novelty now that I had seen it drenched in rain a number of times, but I still enjoyed the emptiness. I pressed quickly through Cindersap Forest and hurtled into town, en route to the beach. The lights were on at Sam's house and I wondered briefly if Sam would want my extra algae. I checked the time. I had already wasted too many minutes at the wizard's tower, it wouldn't hurt to pop in just to say hi. It also wouldn't hurt to try and make friends beyond Sebastian, as well, I conceded.

"Hello?" I said as I pushed the front door open.

"Oh, hi," Sam called from the kitchen. "I'm in here."

I carefully wiped my boots on the mat before walking into the kitchen. Sam was rummaging in the fridge and didn't see me as I came in.

"Are you looking for something to eat?"

In his surprise at my proximity, he smacked his head on the inside of the fridge. "Ow, oh," he breathed and pulled himself out. "Yeah, I was just about to have a snack."

"I have some green algae." Without waiting for him to reply, I shoved the algae into his hands.

His expression clouded over. "You don't really get it, huh?" He threw the algae into the kitchen sink. "I want real food."

I shrugged. "Well, I've got nothing."

He returned to perusing the fridge. "Here, let me get something for you."

"Sure." I hadn't had real, home-cooked food in a while, I realized.

"Cool." Sam retrieved the ingredients needed for a sandwich from the fridge, and as he was about to slam the door close, an egg rolled off a shelf. The crack as it hit the floor was sickly. "Oh no, what a mess," Sam exclaimed.

Sam's expression was a mix of panic and irritation as we heard footsteps approach.

"What was that sound?" Jodi entered the room and gasped. As her eyes took in the mess on the floor, her face contorted with pure, unadulterated rage. "This is absolutely terrible! What happened?"

Sam shuffled forward, his gaze focused on me, pleading. He jerked a thumb towards his mom. "Tell her."

I tried not to glare at Sam for putting me on the spot. What an asshole. And he wanted me to cover for him – I could tell from the wheedling look in his eye to the slouch of his shoulders. I debated for all of 10 seconds before deciding on what to say.

"Sam handed me the snack and then I dropped it." I gestured at the egg. "I was holding it. We were going to hard-boil it and put it in our sandwiches, but I lost my grip and dropped it."

Sam looked relieved, as though he had been spared death. Ass.

"Yeah, that's what happened," he said, his voice resuming its usual peppiness. Little did he know, but he was going to owe me big time. Sure, I wasn't the most coordinated of human beings, but I was not such a butterfingers that I couldn't hold a goddamn egg.

"Thanks for telling me the truth," Jodi said to me. "It's not such a big deal."

"I'm sorry about this, mom. I'll clean it up," Sam said.

"Thanks, honey," his mom nodded and pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to hide her smile. She was charmed by her own asshole son. Sam was an absolute cad.

I shot another glance of vitriol at Sam as his mom left the room. He had busied himself with cleaning up the egg. Cowardly ass.

The sandwiches that Sam made were surprisingly good, but once I finished mine, I did not linger. There was a strange sadness that blanketed this house. It was there in the strained dialogue between Sam and his mother, and it was there in the array of toys strewn across the floor of Vincent's room. There were whispers throughout the house of Kent – the father, the husband, the soldier.

"You owe me," I said to Sam, by way of farewell.

He gulped, but waved and shut the door behind me. I could never stay here long, unless stuck in band practice. And now, I had some fishing to do.

The beach was a bleak place in the rain, but the sight of Sebastian on the pier sent a warmth through me. I went to say hi.

"You don't mind the rain, huh?" he asked. He himself was soaked, his clothes clinging to him, the contours following the lines of his body. I looked away.

"No, I don't. it's rather cleansing actually."

He noticed the fishing pole I clutched in my hands. "Doing some fishing?"

"Yeah, some different ones come out in weather like this."

"I'll leave you to it, then." I sensed that as much as I wanted to get to fishing, he wanted his solitude.

I nodded and moved to my usual fishing spot. I was hyper-aware of Sebastian watching me until I fell into the rhythm of it: baiting the hook, casting the line, reeling it in, unhooking my catch. I caught his eye once after a catch, and he seemed to want to say something, but stopped himself. The next time I looked over, he was gone.

A silent disappointment constricted my chest. It was probably nearing dinner time and he had to be home, I told myself. I had to face reality; Sebastian was not interested in me beyond being friends. Rasmodius's words came back to me and I bit my lip in anger. My own thoughts worked against me and I blinked away a tear.

I had to stop. I had to focus on myself, on my own life. I cared for him, but ultimately he was second to the issues I had to work through for myself. Shaking my head, I got back to work and let myself become one with the crash of the waves.