I learned things while writing this chapter. MC says her parents died two years ago, but in Joel's route they died when she was much younger. And, she said (it might have been in chapter 7) to Yukiya that she wasn't all that good at music, yet in Joel's (and in Cerim's) that wasn't a problem. What the heck Solmare?! Keep the facts straight! But since I'm kind of cutting out the childhood friends part between Joel and this OC, and the fact the Cerim will be part of the next generation, it guess I'll let it go. For now.

Daisy Pragnya: I'm glad you like these stories so much, as well as the last chapter. It makes me so happy that people like them. :)

TheFallenHer0: Thankfully he doesn't have to worry forever, and that his fears won't actually come to life. And I fixed the one part you mentioned. Honestly, for a typo, it was one that could cause a lot of confusion, so thanks for pointing it out. As for Elias' ability to hide his feelings, he really can't. It's very obvious to everyone...except Katalina, who is just as oblivious as he is. :)


Chapter 8—Be Yourself

I seemed to be in the courtyard, the one we used in class, and where I'd often sit at lunch with Selene and Yukiya most days. I hadn't eaten lunch here since Selene went back to Terra. It had a pleasantly nostalgic feeling, when the rest of the class isn't here.

"Elias?" The voice was familiar. It was her.

"Katalina?" I looked over my shoulder and smiled.

"Elias…" she repeated, seeming surprised about something. I'd never smiled like this at her before, and wasn't sure why I was. I mean, I had admitted to myself that I liked her, but I was no where close to saying it out loud, and even further from actually telling anyone, Katalina in particular.

I'm not sure why, but I started walking towards her, feeling strangely bold, "Close your eyes." I told her.

"Huh?"

"Hurry up." I encouraged.

"B-but…" she seemed a bit unsure of what to do.

"If you don't, I'll just do it like that." Do what? I wasn't even sure what I was saying.

She widened her eyes instead, confused, "Do what?!"

I smirked playfully. I don't do that. "Isn't it obvious?" No, no it's not...what am I doing, exactly?

"E-Elias…" her voice had become lower. I wonder why.

"Stay still." I whispered, my own voice deeper than usual. I leaned towards her, feeling emotions run rampant in my chest. But right before my lips touched hers…

I started, jolting up. I found myself sitting upright in my bed, an uncomfortable feeling between my legs. Crap. Crap. Crap. My face is bright red as I remember a certain "talk" Klaus gave me when I turned twelve. It was normal, he said. Ha! As if!

There was the barest amount of light was filtering in through the window. I glanced at Yukiya's bed. He was already gone. Which meant it was past five thirty. I felt uncomfortably warm underneath the covers, so I threw them off. At least I'm alone for my mortification. Might as well get ready.

Oh gosh...talk about an embarrassing dream...something's wrong with me…

…. …. ….

I was trying to avoid thinking about, er, that dream when I spotted Katalina. She was hunched over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She stood up again and noticed me, "Elias!"

"Yes?" I said, trying to fight a blush as I looked at her, and trying to keep my face blank.

"G-good morning." She chirped as her cheeks flushed a little. I'm going to say it's because she was in a hurry, yeah…

"Good morning." I replied calmly.

"Oh? Elias, aren't you rather late? Did you oversleep?"

No. Maybe. "Don't lump me together with you."

"Okay…" she laughed awkwardly.

"As you know, I'm the housemaster of the dorm." I sighed, "I'm late because I took care of a sick student, and I've already told the professor that I'd be late." One of the younger students had collapsed, pale and feverish, in the hall of the dorm. It turns out that he'd been under the weather the past few days and had been trying to ignore it. This is why you nip things in the bud and take care of yourself.

"I see…"

"But it seems you did oversleep."

"Ah, yes…"

"You have bed hair."

"What?!" She quickly moved her hands to her head, attempting to smooth and fix it.

I couldn't help but smile a bit, "I was joking." Not really, but she looked cute, bedhead or not.

"You're so mean!" she pouted.

I raised an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you be running? The bell will ring soon."

"Oh no!" she gasped, "I'm glad I got to talk to you! See you in class!"

"Yeah…" And why did my mind chose now to bring that dream to the forefront?

…. …. ….

I made it to class a few minutes after the bell rang, and took my seat. I felt my eyes focus on some random point in front of me, and became lost in my thoughts. I couldn't even hear the lesson, and it didn't seem all that important. My mind kept on going over yesterday's events and this morning's dream, trying to make sense of them. No wonder Klaus was such a wreck when he thought Selene was going out with Xavier Moonwalker. This concept of love was "one heck of a confusing doozy." as Selene says. Of course, she refers to all sorts of things with that phrase.

"Goldstein!"

I started. That was Professor Schuyler. "Ah, yes?"

"What's wrong. This isn't like you." Really? The one time I space out I get caught?

"Excuse me." I said, standing up. I'm hoping my assumption that he asked a question wasn't wrong…

"I asked which magic tool can reject curses."

At least it was an easy one. "Yes. The Veil of Sanctus can bounce back a curse. This veil bears divine protection. As long as you wear it, curses can't touch you. However, it is only a preventive tool. For a curse that has been cast already, you can use the Dagger of Reberrio—in which case you also need a spell to return the curse. It is a spell that requires quite a lot of magical power. In short, once you are cursed, it becomes difficult to undo it."

"Good. As expected. However, when your older brother had this class, he gave the exact same answer." The professor said, "You cannot betray a bond by blood, or maybe your brother's influence was too strong."

"I'm sorry." There wasn't much else I can say. Yes, Klaus was instrumental in my learning magic. And yes, I was only as good as a textbook. I hated being compared to Klaus, as much as I love my brother. I want to be my own person, not just Klaus' little brother.

"No need to apologize." The professor dismissed, "Your answer was correct. Still, if you don't want to forever stand in the shadows of your father and elder brothers, you'll need to think for yourself."

I sat down, feeling a crease between my brows. Did he think that I didn't already know that? What did he think I was trying to do? I'll never be able to hold a candle to the brilliance of my brothers. At this point, I almost think it's worthless to try.

…. …. ….

"That concludes today's class." I barely heard the professor's words over my thoughts. I kept my eyes on my desk. That looks weird. Mechanically, I reached over and pulled a book out of my bag, opening it to a random page.

I was in love. And I couldn't tell whether it was a bad thing or a good thing. Should I work for or against it? Should I try to ignore it? Or should I embrace it? Ugh...why is this emotion thing so hard? I vaguely registered Luca speaking, and Katalina responding. I felt something nasty and mean twist in the pit of my stomach at that.

"Is he in shock about what Professor Schuyler told him?" Luca inquired. Nosy good-for-naught. The professor didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. "That can't be. There's no way Elias is that soft." Luca continued. You'd be surprised if I ever told you how much I hated it...but then again, I hate you so I'd never tell you to begin with. "I mean, he's seemed weird since this morning, like something's been on his mind. Very unusual for a stern overachiever like him." If I could, I'd curse you for being so perceptive. And better an overachiever than an underachiever like you. "He always seemed like a precise machine." Shut up. Shut up. Shut up…

"Don't talk about Elias like that!" To my surprise, Katalina rose quickly to my defense, snapping at Luca.

"Hmm? You're defending him, Kittycat?"

"Huh?" she sounded confused.

"I wouldn't have imagined you defending him like that before."

"W-well, you know, I'm his buddy!"

"Ohh? I wonder if being his buddy is the only reason…" Luca teased. Shut up, Luca. Shut up.

"W-what do you m-mean?" She stuttered.

I decided. He knows I'm listening. That I'm hearing all of this. I start swearing at him in my head, but it doesn't stop his talking. "I thought you might have some other kind of special feelings to him." It's times like this when I really miss Selene and her ability to smack him upside the head and tell him to behave.

"Why would that be?!" Well, she was quick to dissuade him…why do I feel kind of hopeless now?

Luca made a humming noise, "Guess I'm thinking too much, Kittycat?"

"Yes! You are!" Katalina snapped. Please, please, please say it's out of irritation for Luca and not the possible thoughts of maybe possibly liking me...please…

I stood up from my chair, knocking it back with a loud thudding sound, and shoved the book into my bag. I couldn't help but glance over at her, but I regretted it, because for a moment our eyes met. I immediately averted my gaze, walking out of the classroom.

I heard a quiet, somewhat confused and worried, "Elias…" as I hurried off.

I avoided her best I could until the end of classes. But then I had to suck it up and go talk to her. I told her we'd be training after classes today.

She was yawning when I walked over to her. "Sommer."

"Oh, Elias!" she immediately jumped, closing her mouth and sitting up straight.

"Too late. I saw your big mouth already." I said blankly.

She didn't seem to know how to respond. "Uh.."

I moved right into business, "About your training today—let's meet behind the school building."

"Okay. Got it. Thanks!" She smiled brightly at me, and my heart sped up a bit.

"I'll go, then." I needed to get out of here before I started blushing.

"Ah, wait!" she cried.

I paused, "What is it?"

"Why don't we go together?"

And there's the blush. Gosh dang it. "I don't mind." At least my voice isn't out of whack like my blush-control function that seems to be MIA.

But she didn't seem to notice, and cheerfully replied, "Okay!"

Thankfully it was a quick walk to the field behind the school, but was long enough for me to completely beat back my blush. I put my bag off to the side, and she did the same.

I turned to her, "Alright. Today we'll continue learning how to cast spells on living beings. However," I added, "I'll pass on being turned into a piglet again."

"Yeah, sorry about that…" she said sheepishly.

"It's fine. It was an accident." And that's all. "It couldn't be avoided. I'll forget about it, so you'd better do the same." Or, rather, I'm going to try and forget about it. I had decided that would be the best course of action for a while. I have my reasons.

"Okay." she agreed, biting her lower lip. She looked slightly hurt, or was it just me?

"Uhm…" I wasn't sure what to do now.

She looked at me, head tilted, "What?"

"I've heard that, er...for ladies, a first time for anything is very important." Percy had actually told me that, a while ago. Not Klaus. Klaus would of made fun of me. Percy was a lot kinder about such stuff. That didn't help the blush that had spread across my face.

"Huh?" and now I seem to have confused her.

I sighed, forcing myself to elaborate, "You see, it was an accident, so therefore, it doesn't doesn't count. As a kiss. So, er, that wasn't really your first one." Oh sun just kill me now.

"Y-yeah?"

"Just don't worry about it…"

"O-okay?"

I changed the subject very abruptly. I couldn't help it. "Now, let's get back on topic. About today's training. Today, we'll have this guy cooperate." I reached out and plucked the pink carbuncle off her shoulder. "You'll cast spells on him."

"On carbuncle?" she now sounded nervous.

"If something goes wrong, I can save him." I assured her. So far, none of her bungle's have been fatal. Just annoying. And a mess.

"You're right! I see." she sounded relieved.

"Let's start with making it one size bigger." No use going onto other things until this is mastered.

"Okay!"

"And what is the spell for making something grow bigger?" Suddenly the grimoire was floating next to her.

"Ah! Grim!" she yelped, startled, "When did you get out of my bag?" It seems she's given the book a nickname, as well.

"When did you plan on taking me out?!" It—I guess I'll start calling it Grim in my head, it's better than 'it'—snaps. "Listen, here is the way to make the object grow bigger with magic. The first half of the spell, you need to state the object's name, then command to make it grow." And that was pretty much the exact same thing Grim had said yesterday. "The latter half of the spell is 'Clesko' followed by the name of the object. You must combine these two parts to make a magic formula to complete the spell. Furthermore, you need to concentrate to imagine the size you want while chanting your spell. That is all." Well that was long winded.

"Understood." Katalina nodded.

I set the carbuncle on the ground, "Okay, now try it." I looked down at the pink fluff ball. "Stay still now, okay?"

It made a cheerful noise, and Katalina readied her wand. "O carbuncle, I command you to grow! Carbuncle Clesko!" She waved the wand, and a circle of light surrounded the creature. A puff of smoke appeared with a pop. It drifted away, leaving a now-smaller carbuncle with a squee an octave higher than normal. I resisted the urge to facepalm at this fail, but Katalina's heart eyes returned, "Whaa! It's sooooo cute!"

"Hey." I waved my hand in front of her face, "You were supposed to make him grow, so why did he become smaller?"

She seemed to realize what had happened, "Ah. Right."

"Oh my. Well done." Grim snickered.

"Hmph!"

I withheld my smile, "Try that spell once again."

"O-okay." She had to try several more times before she got it back to it's normal size. "Is it finally fixed?"

"Yeah." I shook my head slightly, "But returning it to normal wasn't really the purpose."

"Y-you're right…"

"This is hopeless…" Grim sighed.

"Let's take a short break." I suggested. She clearly needed one. And so did I. Tutoring was a lot harder than it looked. I don't give Klaus enough credit for putting up with me for so many years, and then Selene for the past handful of months. "I'm beat."

"Sorry about that." she said, sounding miserable, "It just doesn't seem to go well."

"Well, I sort of expected it wouldn't from the start." This seemed to depress her more. Crap. "But I guess it didn't grow wings or turn into a snake this time, so you could call it progress."

This perked her up, "Really?"

"Yeah," I said, feeling myself smile a bit, "You're doing your best."

"Thanks." she smiled back at me.

"Hmpf." Grim said, "Good old days, huh? I'll rest in your bag for a moment. Call me when you start again."

"Oh, sure." Katalina nodded.

"Even so, we only have five more days to get you accepted…" I said, more to myself than anyone.

"Only five…" she replied softly.

"Somehow, I have to make you succeed at least once. Once you get the hang of it, I think it'll work out."

"Get the hang of it? But it's all so difficult…" she absently watched the carbuncle, which, despite being a magic test subject for so long, was running around, full of stamina and energy.

"He's pretty energetic." I commented.

She smiled, "Yeah, he is."

"I'm pretty exhausted though." I replied, shaking my head.

She nodded, agreeing, "True. Me too." She stretched her arms up, then let herself fall backwards on the grass. She sighed contently, gazing upwards. "The sky is so beautiful today."

I felt a corner of my lips quirk, "It's not very admirable for a lady to lie down in the grass like that."

She didn't even seemed bothered by my comment, "But it feels so nice!" It looked like it did.

"Hmm."

"Why don't you try it? But I guess you wouldn't—"

I plopped down next to her, laying back. My feet were the opposite direction of hers, but our heads weren't that far from one another. I had one of my hands next to my head, brushing back some of my bangs with my knuckles.

"Elias?"

"You're right." I said simply, "It does feel nice. Once in a while, I guess this is okay."

"Yeah." she replied.

I stared up at the sky, just watching the clouds. It's been a while since I've done something like this, just layed back and relaxed, not doing anything. "The sky is beautiful." Funny how I always seem to take the small things for granted.

"Isn't it?" she breathed, "It's just so blue...I used to just lay down and look up at the sky like this often in the past. I've been busy, so it's been a while."

The past? How far in the past? "The past?"

"Yes." she sighed fondly, "There's these large meadows near my home, just a small walk into the woods. I used to go and lie down in the grass there a lot."

The Goldstein estate had several homes across the country, so I had seen lots of places. But I'd never really been to a small town for more than a tourist thing, usually with my mother. "Huh, what kind of place is your hometown?"

"It's deep in the countryside up north, surrounded by mountains, with lots of farmland. I used to work as an advisor for animals, and would heal them when they got hurt or sick." she replied, sounding a bit wistful.

"I see. You fully made use of your magical ability then." How lucky, to have such a special talent. I'm envious, honestly.

"Yup. Even someone like me was regarded as a reliable wizardess by the townspeople."

I glanced over at her, and could help but tease a bit. "Reliable, huh?"

"H-hey!" she protested, "I know! I know I'm not that good. I knew I was still a total amateur. I've never succeeded casting magic on something other than animals."

"You're truly strange." I said. Strange was a compliment. "Casting spells on animals is pretty high level magic, after all."

"I guess it is strange." At least she didn't seem offended.

"Well, it's not that surprising."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." I looked over and caught her eye, causing us both to smile. This was wonderful. It's been forever since I've felt so relaxed, at peace. I hadn't realized how stressed I've been lately until it subsided. "Are your parents doing all right, with you being gone?" They must miss her. Heaven knows my own mother writes me at least weekly, and is constantly sending me things. I haven't seen her in a month or so. I should probably visit home after Klaus and Selene come back.

"Ah, umm…" Katalina's didn't seem to know how to respond.

"What's wrong?" I asked, a bit worried.

"Actually..." she began, "My parents passed away in an epidemic about three years ago.

"...I'm sorry." It was me apologizing this time. "I've asked something I shouldn't have." Leave it to me to make things awkward.

"No, no, I'm fine. I'm pretty much over it by now."

Wait…does that mean… "So, the past three years you've lived on your own?"

"I did. But I was never lonely." She said, doing her best to sound happy, "The people in town were so nice to me, and there were lots of animals."

"I see." I muse. But you can be lonely in a crowded room. And trust me when I say I know how that feels. But at least I always had my brothers, and my mother. And more recently, Yukiya and then Selene. She never had any of that.

"That's why I want to learn more and become better at my magic, so I can repay them all for the kindness they've shown me."

"You're always able so positive."

"That's about my only merit." she giggled, but then became a little more serious, "You know, after I lost my parents, there was a saying I always repeated to myself."

"A saying?"

"Yes. 'Don't be disheartened, look forward and smile brightly. Things can always get better and they could always be worse.'"

I smiled at that. It sounds like something she'd live by, "Smile brightly, huh? It's true, you're always smiling."

"But I feel sad sometimes, too. I'm only human, after all." She looked over at me, "What about you, Elias? What's your home like?"

"My home?" I looked up at the sky, trying to think of what to say. After a while I smiled a bit, "Well, my mother just loves to dote on me as if I was still a young child." She smiled at that. "Klaus is in his last year here, and I'm very close to him. He was the one who taught me magic in the first place, and he's been teaching and helping me my entire life. I really look up to him. Most people think he's scary and gruff and whatever else, but he just doesn't have a filter. He's gotten a bit better at that since Selene barged into everyone's lives. I've been egging him on for months just to get it over with and ask her out already." Katalina laughed, and I continued, "Then there's Percy, my oldest brother. I like him well enough, but he's so much older than I am that we never really got a chance to become all that close. Ten years is a bit hard to connect over. It's been getting a bit easier as we've both gotten older. The only other member is my father. He and I have never really gotten along. To him, in comparison to my brothers, I'm a disappointment in his eyes. A lot of people are envious of those in the Goldstein family. But it's not as great as it's made out to be."

"Oh?"

"My father and both my brothers are excellent wizards, so from an early age people just kept saying and expecting that I would be just as great. So I, too, believed it without any questions. Because of that, I did my best to endure the most demanding education. I had to be the best in each and every subject. And that was just to keep up with what my brothers did naturally. Klaus is a genius level wizard. Percy is amazing with people and diplomatics. I'm not like that, not like either of them. But I finally understood—after I saw my true self inside the Persona Mirror. As you can tell, I didn't want to acknowledge it, but that was who I really am. Fulfilling the expectations of my father and everyone else was normal. I believed my magic skill was my meaning in life. On the other hand, somewhere in my heart I longed to run away from the pressure. Compared to my father and brothers, I don't have an innate talent for magic. So I worked harder than anyone else to try and compensate for that. But no matter how hard I tried, it was like I was haunted by my own inferiority. I hoped that being skilled at magic would give me a reason to live this life."

"So if you didn't have magic, Elias, would your existence be meaningless?" Her question was sudden, and I couldn't quite place the emotion behind it.

"That's what I thought."

"That can't be! That's not right!" she cried, turning sideways to face me.

"Sommer…" I was surprised.

She smiled at me, "I really, really like your magic. It's smooth, graceful, and beautiful. I wish I could be just like you. Isn't it because you like magic that you can use it like that? Thinking about magic, studying it, understanding it and being dedicated is why you can use such amazing magic. But it's only because you love it that you can! So how can you think of it that way?" My eyes widened, shocked. "Instead of becoming a wizard for your father and others, why not become a great wizard for yourself?"

I hadn't actually thought about it that way. I remember Selene saying something along the lines of "sometimes the persons involved are too close to the issue to see the answer" at some point. "For my own sake…"

"Yes." she confirmed, "For you, Elias."

"Truly, you are…" I put my hand to my forehead, trying to figure out what to say to that. Eventually I dropped it and gently smiled at her, "Maybe you should worry about yourself first."

She wrinkled her nose, "Geez! Don't tell me that!"

I grinned, and couldn't help but laughing. She joined in, and we both just laid there and laughed. We eventually calmed down. "But, thank you." I told her, giving her a smile, "Before, you once said that you and me both are the same as the other students at the academy."

"Huh?"

"You said that at the academy it didn't matter if you were a Goldstein or a country bumpkin."

"Eh? Did you hear me back then?"

"I kind of saw the whole thing." I admitted, "And when you said that, I was really surprised."

"What? Why?"

"Because there was someone who didn't regard me as 'a Goldstein'. Someone who wasn't from another dimension where the most outrageous things are acceptable. Just a girl from the country. Well, you did say some harsh things after that, though."

"Sorry...I really didn't mean it quite the way I said it. I was really annoyed with those sisters and kind of snapped."

"Don't worry about it. I know how the sisters are, trust me. They even scare me sometimes. Selene is constantly scolding them for being creepy and irritating."

"Still, I said some really mean things about you." She said, sounding apologetic.

"Well, I lashed out at you too. I should be the one saying sorry. I had no reason other than my own stupid pride." I sighed.

"Elias…" she shook her head, "To be honest, at first I thought you were a bit scary and hard to approach. But I know now I was wrong. You're super serious most of the time, sure, but pretty friendly and gentlemanly…"

You wouldn't be saying that if you knew about my dream this morning…

"W-what are you saying?!" I could feel my face turning red again.

She blinked, as if she hadn't realized what she had been saying, then quickly averted her eyes, blushing a bit herself.

I looked down at my hands. "Either way...what you said made me happy." I mumbled.

"Don't you think there are others apart from me who think the same? Well, not counting Selene. She's a special case. But I-I'm sure that it's just you don't know it."

I looked over at her, my eyes wide. But then I smile, "You really are a strange one."

"Ah! That again?" she pouted, but her eyes were sparkling.

"When Selene comes back, ask her about her opinion of that word." I chuckled, "Let's start again, shall we?" I sat up entirely this time.

She smiled widely, "Yes."

"Did you call me?" Grim said from her bag. No, but I can see where the confusion could come from.

"We didn't call you yet!" Katalina whined.

I decided to just get back to it, and stood up. I have no doubt that stupid book was listening to the entire conversation. "We might as well." I sighed, "Let's try to cast that spell on the carbuncle again." I beckoned to the pink puff ball, which was still running around (how in the world can something so small have so much energy?), and it came running over, sitting in front of her. At least it's obedient. She smiled and stood up, brushing herself off. "All right. When you cast a spell, don't just say it, but focus your magic into one point." I coached, "Also, keep the vision of what you want to do clearly in your mind."

"Got it!" She took a breath, readied her wand, and cast the spell. After the puff of smoke cleared, "How did it go this time?" I smiled slightly and nodded at her—it was about the size of Yukiya's wolf now. Her eyes widened and she broke into a smile. "I-I did it! I did it! It worked!"

"You can do it if you try!" I congratulated her as carbuncle squeed and rolled around.

"I did it, Elias!" She grabbed my hand and started jumping up and down in excitement, taking me completely by surprise. "Thank you thank you thank you, Elias!" And, yet again, I went completely red. A hundred curses upon my way-to-easily-triggered blush! "Ah! Sorry! I just..." She went to let go, but in a completely uncharacteristic move, I held onto it tightly. Now she turned red.

"Uhm...could I...you…?" Dang words! Dang them all! Just come out!

"Hm? What's that?" she looked confused.

"Nothing!" I gave up and tried to let go, but this time she held onto my hand, causing my eyes to widen.

"Answer me!" she demanded stubbornly.

"...I, er...your name…" I managed to stutter out before looking away. I took a deep breath, and began again. "Would you mind if I called you by your given name?" Not once had I actually called her by it. Out loud, at least.

She broke into a grin, "Yes! Of course! It'd make me super happy!"

"H-happy?" I was not expecting that response, actually. Oh gosh. I can just feel the social awkwardness increasing. It's probably only one-sided, though. It always seems to be...oh gosh, someone help me…

"I always thought it would be nice if you just called me by my given name." she was still smiling.

"D-don't misunderstand!" I blurted. "It just seems unnatural to be to formal with my buddy...! Besides, I hate it when people call me Goldstein."

Authoress: Ha! As if, Eli. You just want to call Katalina by her name because you're in loooove~ Elias and Katalina, sitting in a tree— I…

Shut up Authoress! Go away! No one wants to hear from you!

Authoress: Fine. I'll leave. Say goodbye to the rest of the chapter, you ungrateful bloke!


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


.


Authoress: Haha. Did I scare you? Good. Now back to the chapter. Maybe Eli should be nicer to the creator of Katalina in the future! Hint hint!


"I see." Katalina was still smiling, oh-so-brightly, at me, "Hey, why don't you just try it already?"

"W-why? I have no r-reason to call your name n-now, so wh-why should I?" Oh great. Now I was stuttering…

"'Cause...I want to hear it." she said simply.

I couldn't meet her eyes again. Dang social anxiety or whatever Selene calls it! "Er, um...Ka-Katalina."

"W-woah…" her eyes widened, and her smile, if possible, widened.

"W-what are you smiling at?!" I snapped.

"'Cause I'm just so happy!"

"Say…" I began.

"Yes?"

I steeled myself to bring up something I had been bothered by today in class, and felt my eyebrows furrow a bit before blurting out: "Er...are you in love with Luca?"

She seemed completely taken aback, "What?"

Oh crap. Did I really just say that? "Ack! What am I saying?"

"Elias?" she looked a little confused. I seem to make her confused a lot.

I sighed, "Forget about it. Sorry, it seems I'm not my usual self today. Let's end the training here for today."

"O-okay…"

I turned around, grabbed my bag, and promptly walked away before I said something stupid again.

…. …. ….

When I made it back to the dorm, and into my room, Yukiya made a comment that I looked happy. I guess I was. Very much so. I didn't even feel the need to study. I felt so light I was sure I'd start floating if it weren't for the fact the Snow jumped up onto the top of my head. Normally I hated it when she did it—Yukiya let her do it to him, so she assumed she could do it to me—but I honestly didn't mind at the moment.

I kept replaying the afternoon inside my head. I confessed some things to Katalina that I've never told anyone. I felt comfortable (as much as a socially awkward dork could be around the girl he likes) around her, safe. Happy.

No wonder Klaus thought the whole love thing was worth it.

It totally seemed that way to me.


Fun Fact 9: How'd y'all like my interruption of the storyline? That's also a reason there really isn't any enders. I do that several more times in the story. Mostly to provide some comic relief in really tense scenes (or because I couldn't resist). That, and I enjoy breaking the fourth wall. I actually do it in my own life sometimes. It's so much fun. Oh, and Selene'll join me in the breaking of the fourth wall at one point or another. Blame Eli for being such a "socially awkward dork." (Note: He's actually quoting something Selene said to him at some point that actually never got said in a chapter.)