Rock Solid
Neil looked at his mother expectantly as they sat in the couch of their apartment.
"So, I have an uncle you never told me about?" He asked.
"You had." Lena sighed. "His name was Callindor. He was the wielder of the thunder wand and a knight as well. He was one of the many who lost their lives in the last war, defending the realms."
"I am sorry, mom." He grimaced, taking his mom's hand.
"I am sorry too, Neil. Your father and I … We wanted you to have a normal life, away from all this." Lena looked away. "Clearly it didn't work."
"Dad… he was a mystic too? A knight?"
Lena smiled. "A mystic yes, but a knight, no. He was a pacifist through and through. The best healer and the most ingenious alchemist in the last century."
Neil looked awestruck. "That sounds really cool, mom. I wish I could have asked him about all this."
"Me too. He loved us so much and though he would be furious at me for allowing you to be a ranger, he would have relented eventually. After all, he always believed, if you have the ability to help others, you should help them no matter what. He would be proud of you." She said softly, kissing his forehead.
"Mom, I know I asked this before but wasn't there any spell or potion that could have saved him? I mean our suits literally protect us from attacks that most definitely would destroy us otherwise-"
"That's different. Once you start learning about healing magic, you would know it is very similar to modern medical science. The potions and spells the healers use have similar side effects to the medicines doctors prescribe. There was no cure. Just because we have magic doesn't mean we can perform miracles. Death and disease… they plague wizards too." Lena told him gently. "I know it's difficult to digest-"
"No, it's a relief. That's something I was wondering ever since I found out that magic was real. I wish magic could have saved him though, He didn't deserve to-" Neil broke off, closing his eyes.
Lena hugged her son, resting her head on his shoulder as a single tear rolled down her cheeks.
Maddie walked angrily out of Rock Porium. Sure, she sometimes preferred staying indoors to going to parties or raves like her sister, but she never saw them as flaws. She loved filming. It was a way of capturing memories, so that she never forgot them. She was not hiding behind her camera, as Nick accused. It was her hobby.
She wanted to pursue journalism as a career and making a documentary series was one of her oldest dreams. What she was doing now, recording her life in Briarwood, was just for fun, but she really hoped it would lead to something more in the future.
Her entire dream getting dismissed so nonchalantly hurt.
Okay, she might be a bit shy sometimes but did Nick forget that she was the first one of them to reach out to him?
She did not need to do something crazy or spontaneous to "live". She liked herself, just as she is.
"Hey, everything alright?" Maddie looked sideways to see Neil walking towards her. He was in a white hoodie and denims.
"Yeah…" She shook her head.
"You sure?" He pressed.
"I think so. I just…" She huffed. "Do you think I am boring, like I don't know how to have fun? That I am hiding behind my camera?"
"Whoa, wait… Where's all this coming from?"
"Do you think it's true?" She asked him, eyes widening.
"Of course not!" Neil rolled his eyes, taking her hand as he led them to a bench at side of the park. As they sat down, he looked at her. "Want to explain what's really going on?"
"I was filming in the store and Nick told me that I am hiding behind my camera and that I am so busy recording others that I am not living my own life!" She said, while making air quotes with her hands.
"Wait, Nick said that! That was rude!"
"He thought he was helping me or something. I don't know." Maddie bent down, propping her elbows on her knees and then resting her chin on them.
"Hey, listen to me. You are an amazing creative person. What you do is thoughtful and artistic. It's your hobby. Don't let anyone judge you for it." He told her gently. "I know I am always reading just like you are always filming. And both of us aren't exactly social butterflies like Xander, but that does not mean there's anything wrong with us or we are missing something. We are introverts and that's totally fine!"
Maddie smiled softly. "Thanks, I needed to hear that. I don't know why I was getting so riled up."
"Probably because your crush told you he thought you were boring." Neil teased her.
"Hey!" She playfully shoved him.
"Look, most probably, he didn't mean anything by it. He is new and doesn't know any of us that well. Or maybe he is camera shy or something. I don't know but Nick doesn't know you enough to give you life advice." He told her.
"Yeah." She nodded before twisting her lips. "I know Nick's a good guy and he didn't mean to hurt me but how he said all that and everything reminded me of-"
"Jarrod?"
"Yeah. He said the same things. I was boring and-"
"That guy was a total douchebag and everything that came out of his mouth was garbage. He didn't deserve you." Neil told her sternly, placing his arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer.
"I know but it still hurts." Maddie sniffed. "I trusted him with everything, and he just tossed me away. I know he is a jerk and I shouldn't even bother thinking about him, but I do. I am an idiot."
"Hey, Jarrod hurt you, broke your heart and your trust. No matter how hard you try, you are always going to be hurt but it'll get better and someday you will find someone nice, who actually sees how amazing you are and worships you, because that's what you deserve." He told her firmly.
"You really think so?" She looked up at him.
"Of course. It's going to be okay, Maddie." He told her earnestly, wiping her tears with his thumb and beamed at her when she smiled softly.
"When did you become an expert on love?" She giggled.
"Since I read a ton of cheesy romance novels." He replied cheekily.
"Seriously?" She raised her eyebrow.
"What? Just because it came from stories, doesn't mean what I told you wasn't true! Plus, I cheered you up. That's a win!" He protested.
"Yeah, sure." Maddie smiled, rolling her eyes.
Neil looked at his watch. "Shoot! I am late to my shift."
"When aren't you?" Maddie retorted.
"Well, I was talking to my mom and found out that my uncle was a knight as well and a thunder mage. Oh, and my dad was an alchemist." He shrugged. "That kind of revelation does warrant taking some time to process it."
"Yeah, I think Chip's going to be more excited about it than you."
"Definitely!" He laughed.
Just then, they heard a commotion and looked ahead to see people running away from a monster and a lady in purple armour.
They looked at each other and sprung to their feet.
"It's her – Bandora!" Neil glared at the woman who had brutally destroyed her own allies, who was now clad in armour similar to Koragg's, except instead of a helmet, she wore a jagged purple crown adorned with intricate emblems of silver wolves.
"Show these feeble humans your power, Clawbster!" Bandora ordered the monster, who seemed to be a humanoid version of a dragon but with the head of a rooster. The monster chuckled, firing a blast of purple energy at the fleeing civilians, turning them into stone.
"We need to stop them!" Madison exclaimed as the attack caused more panic and the other civilians in the area quickly scurried away, leaving only the two of them facing the villains.
"Oh, look what we have here- two burgeoning mystics!" Bandora cooed at them patronisingly. "Your tales will be etched in stone, quite literally!"
The dark witch cackled as the monster let out another blast of dark magic.
"No!" Neil shouted, taking out his morpher and pointing it at them. "Barrier of Ice!"
A wall of ice crystallised in front of them, moments before it was turned to stone by Clawbster's attack.
"Ready?" He asked Madison, who nodded.
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!" They shouted, raising their morphers and transforming.
"You can't hide!" Bandora screeched and firing a bolt of purple magic from her hands that demolished the stone wall.
"Who said we were hiding!" Neil retorted, taking out his staff and firing a ice blast at Bandora. "Flurry of Snow!"
"Magi Staff – Trident Mode!" Madison turned her staff into a trident and swung it in a wide arc and a huge tidal wave crashed into the monster, sending him staggering backwards.
"Wolf Shield!" Bandora summoned, blocking the ice attack with her shield.
"You are using Koragg's powers, aren't you?" Neil asked, charging at her with his staff.
"Well, since he is not using it, I figured why let it go to waste!" She snarled, drawing out a sabre from the shield and meeting Neil midway.
"Why did you do it? Those two were on your side!" He asked, pushing her back with his staff.
"Why do you care?" She scoffed, slamming the white wizard back with her shield. "To answer your question, they didn't deserve to call themselves generals of the Dark Army if they were bested by mere humans! They were liabilities."
"You are heartless!" Neil said flabbergasted.
"And you are weak and sentimental. But that is what all humans are!" The dark witch wrinkled her nose. "Behold the power of darkness – Wolf Attack!"
Spectral wolves emerged from her shield and lunged at Neil, clawing at his armour and causing sparks to tear through it. He screamed in pain as he was blasted back as the wolves combusted in a purple explosion.
"Neil!" Madison cried, as she dodged another energy blast by Clawbster.
"Didn't anyone tell you not to get distracted in the middle of a battle?" Bandora scoffed, teleporting in front of her and blasting her with dark energy, throwing her back.
"Maddie!" Neil yelled, staggering to his feet and running to her side. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, taking his hand as he pulled her up.
"Not for long!" Bandora cackled, snapping her fingers and tendrils of dark energy burst out of thin air, lunging at them. Madison and Neil swung their magi staffs, attempting to dispel the attack and didn't notice Clawbster creeping up behind them and firing a burst of dark magic that washed over them, not only forcing them to demorph. The tendrils wrapped around their arms and dangled them in front the monster like ragdolls.
"NO!" Madison screamed as the monster attacked again. They looked at each other terrified, unable to retaliate or summon their magic.
As the cursed magic hit them, they were instantly turned to stone.
Bandora cackled in glee as the dark tendrils lowered them to the ground before dematerialising. She turned towards Clawbster. "Take them to the Underworld. They will make perfect trophies for my husband!"
There was a yell and they looked up to see the other four rangers and the lightning knight jumping from their mystic racers.
"No!" Lena screamed, running over to the stone statue of her son. She turned towards the villains. "What have you done to him?"
"Sis!" Vida exclaimed in shock, touching her petrified sister.
The dark witch and the monster laughed at their distress. "Consider it payback for sneaking up on me, knight!"
"I will show you payback!" Lena snarled, drawing her lightning bow and firing a volley of arrows at them. They shrieked as jolts of electricity coursed through them, throwing them back.
"Restore them or else-" Lena demanded, approaching them.
"You are in no position to make any demands, knight!" Bandora snarked, standing up. "Foolish mundanes, can't you see you can never stop the darkness, especially now that you are down two mystics!"
With that, a spell circle appeared underneath, whisking them away to the Underworld.
Lena demorphed, turning back to the other rangers. "We have to get them back to Rootcore."
"What happened to them?" Vida asked hysterically, still not leaving her sister's side. Chip laid a hand on her shoulder while Xander stood protectively in front of Neil's statue. Nick nodded at Lena and pointed his wand at the ground. "Uthe Zazure!"
A golden spell circle appeared on the ground, transporting all of them to Rootcore.
"Sorvadum Nuchaios!" Udonna thrust her hands forward and a wave of white light washed over the two statues but nothing happened. She sighed turning to Lena, Vida and the others.
"That was the strongest curse breaking spell inscribed in Xenotome. I am sorry, rangers. The monster's magic is too strong." Udonna told them gravely.
"Udonna, I can't lose my son." Lena said furiously. "We should have left Briarwood when we could have!"
"Lena please, Neil and Maddie are still alive. Do not give up hope." Udonna insisted, taking her old friend's hand. "They can still be restored."
"How?" Vida asked.
"By destroying the monster." The sorceress answered them. "but with Bandora protecting him, it won't be an easy task."
"Oh, I will destroy him all right!" Vida growled, clenching her fists. "With my bare hands!"
She stormed up to the stairs, towards the crystal ball.
"Whoa, easy V!" Xander ran after her. "We go out there without a plan and we will end up just like them!"
"Xander's right." Lena cut in. "We need a plan and more information about the monster."
"We can search the scrolls in our library. Admittedly, our collection is not as vast as the Academy records, but I am sure that we have an extensive record on all the creatures faced by the mystics of the past." Udonna said, walking up the stairs towards one of the many rooms in Rootcore. "Lena, Clare, come with me. Rangers, stay alert. We must be ready for when Bandora may strike again."
The knight and the apprentice followed Udonna, leaving the others in the main hall.
"What were they doing there anyway?" Xander rubbed his forehead, grimacing as he looked at the statues.
"They probably got over their heads! They shouldn't have taken on those two on their own!" Nick shook his head dismissively.
"Excuse me." Vida raised her eyebrow. "You don't know them. They may be shy on the outside, but inside they have the hearts of warriors."
"Right…" Nick scoffed. "That's why Maddie's always hiding behind a camera and Neil's always nose deep in a story book."
"Mate, you don't know them like we do, so don't go throwing off stuff." Xander warned him, his eyes narrowing.
"You are so clueless," Vida snapped, taking out her wand and pointing it at Maddie's camera that was on the wooden table. "This is why she is always behind the camera."
A spark of pink magic hit the camera before bouncing off and hitting the crystal ball.
"Introducing DJ Vida!" Maddie's voice came out as the crystal started showing a video of Vida behind the turn tables back on Rock Porium, mixing different tracks. "The best sister ever!"
"Don't forget Xander, not only a great friend but he's sick on his board…" The film showed Xander skating before changing to Chip who was practicing his archery. "Chip Thorn, known him since grammar school, there's no one quite like Chip!"
The film next showed Neil smiling at the camera, lowering his book. "Neil Grey, one of my oldest friends, always reading something…" It changed to show him writing in a hardbound notebook before shifting to Nick washing his bike and another short video of him riding it in the local Briarwood track. "And then, there's Nick, also new to the town. We do not know much about him yet but I can feel it. He is something special. So yeah, those are my friends, both old and new. I know I can count on them for anything!"
"Everyone expresses themselves differently, Nick." They turned around to see Lena, Udonna and Clare, who were climbing down the stairs with several books on their hands. "For my son, it's through his books and for Madison, it's her films."
"You were right, Vida." Nick sighed, approaching Maddie's statue. "I was clueless. I am sorry, Madison. I shouldn't have gone shouting my mouth off. I am gonna get you guys out of this, I promise."
"And we have found a way to do that." Clare interrupted.
"That monster is a mutated cockatrice. It's a variant species of a basilisk." Udonna informed.
"Basilisk as in turning people to stone with their eyes, basilisk?" Chip asked eagerly.
Udonna nodded.
"The best way to repel it's attack is to redirect it back at the monster." Lena told them. "Use the spell Reflecto Tardo and it will summon a mirror in front of you and redirect the monster's attack back at himself."
"That is really a cool move!" Xander smirked before scratching his head. "But you guys were able to do all that research in five to ten minutes."
Clare made a face while Udonna smiled mysteriously at them. "Five minutes to you maybe but five hours for us. We used a time warp spell on the library to give us more time."
"That sounds awesome!" Chip squealed.
"Yeah, that would make cramming before college exams much easier." Xander nodded.
"Teenagers…" Lena rolled her eyes.
Just then, their morphers chimed as the crystal ball showed a vision of the monster back in Briarwood.
"He's back, you guys ready to do this?" Nick looked at the others.
"Yeah! Let's rock!" Vida said determinedly, before wincing at the choice of her words. She turned to her sister apologetically. "Sorry sis!"
"Ready?" Nick asked.
"Ready!" They nodded, raising their respective morphers. Lena touched her amulet.
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!"
They morphed into their respective armour and rushed to the stations at the side of the wall, where their brooms were held. They grabbed their brooms and the stations shot up, launching them off the top of the tree as the brooms transformed into their mystic racers.
"Come on Rangers!" Lena shouted, directing them towards the city.
"Where do you think you are going rangers!" They heard a familiar cackle and was followed by energy blasts that they narrowly avoided.
"Bandora!" Lena said angrily.
"It's an ambush!" Chip swerved his racer, dodging a blast of purple magic.
"You four go ahead and stop that monster. I will hold off Bandora!" They nodded, flying off while Lena jumped off her racer to face the dark witch.
"It took me a while to recognise you, but you were the yellow mage in the last war, weren't you?" Bandora smirked, drawing her sword.
"You remember correctly but I came here to stop you, not reminiscence." Lena snapped, summoning her lightning bow. Yellow magic coursed through the bow, straightening it's edges and transforming it, till it became a sword.
"Oh, where is the fun in that?" The witch cackled as they moved in a circle. "It is odd, seeing you fight alone. Only lightning, no thunder!"
"Your attempts to goad me are futile."
"No worries, knight!" Bandora leaped at her, her sword poised. "You will be reunited with your precious brother in the sweet hereafter, soon enough!"
Lena dodged the attack before flipping around and smashing her lightning sword against Bandora's armour, sending her staggering backwards.
"Do not overestimate yourself, witch. You may have won against the rangers, but I am no novice!" Lena snarled, not giving the witch a chance to recuperate before slashing her repeatedly with her sword. Sparks flew across her armour, forcing her to stagger backwards. Her armour dematerialised in purple sparks and she fell to the ground, weakened. Lena pointed her sword at her neck.
"Do it!" Bandora urged, her eyes glinting madly.
"Unlike you, I take no pleasure in felling those weaker than me." Lena scoffed, lowering her sword.
"And that's why the forces of Light will never win!" Bandora spat. "You are weak!"
"Do not mistake our honour for weakness, dark witch!"
"Whatever you say, knight but next time our battle will have a different outcome." Bandora swore before a spell circle appeared underneath her.
Lena shook her head seeing the witch disappear. One down, one to go.
"There he is!" Vida pointed at the creature, who was running after defenceless individuals, turning them to stone. They nodded at each other, jumping off their racers and landing in front of him.
"Stop freak!" Nick demanded, drawing his magi staff.
"I am just getting warmed up!" Clawbster laughed as hidiacs appeared behind him.
"Great, now we have to deal with the stooges!" Xander groaned, turning his magi staff to axe mode and charging at them. Chip followed, turning his staff into a sword.
Nick and Vida faced off against the monster, hitting him with powerful spells. He roared, clapping his hands together and blasting them with dark energy. He turned towards where Chip were fighting off the hidiacs.
"Back off!" Vida yelled, kicking him from behind. He stumbled as the rangers regrouped.
"Magi Staff, Crossbow!" Chip switched his staff to his favoured mode and took aim at the monster, pelleting it with yellow thunderbolts.
The monster stumbled backwards before fuming at them.
"Hook, line, sucker!" Nick whispered as the monster let loose a torrent of his cursed magic at them.
"Reflecto Tardo!" Vida shouted, pointing her staff at the attack. A mirror appeared in front of them, redirecting the attack as planned and turning the monster to stone.
"Now to finish this! Power of the Phoenix!" Nick yelled, charging at the monster as enchanted flames swirled around his body till he was covered in the midst of a fiery spectral phoenix. He slammed into the monster, shattering it to rubble.
"Yeah!" He whooped as he landed behind the crumbled remains of the monsters, the last of his flames flickering away.
"Great, let's hope Maddie, Neil and the others are okay." Vida said.
Lena returned to Rootcore, demorphing as she watched her son and Madison gasp as they reverted to normal.
"The spell has been broken!" Udonna smiled with relief.
"You are okay!" Lena ran over to her son, hugging him tightly.
"Yeah, think so …" He said confused, returning the hug.
"Mom, I love you and all but I really need to breathe!" Neil gasped. Lena smiled, letting him go. "Never scare me again like that!"
"Somebody wanna fill us in as to what's going on?" Madison asked as she and Neil looked at each other. "Last thing I remember was that monster firing at us."
"We were petrified!" Neil exclaimed. Lena nodded.
"There will be time for explanations later, the others are still in danger!" Udonna said gravely, as the crystal ball showed dark energies converging on Briarwood.
"We need to help!" Neil said. Lena nodded, snapping her fingers and summoning a spell circle underneath her, Neil and Madison, transporting them to Briarwood.
"Maddie!" Vida cried in relief, running towards them and tackling her sister in a hug.
"Hey Madison, I was a jerk. I am sorry I said everything." Nick told her apologetically.
"Apology accepted, let's just forget about it." She smiled at him.
"Neil!" Xander pulled the unsuspecting white mystic in a hug. "We had us so worried, mate!"
"Sorry for that. But thanks to you guys, we are okay." He grinned at him.
"Not for long!" They turned around to see Bandora standing on a rooftop, holding a golden staff with a ruby emblazoned on it's top. She pointed it at Clawster's remains and cackled. "Evil spirits of the realms beyond I beseech you, MAKE MY MONSTER GROW!"
A purple spell circle appeared beneath the rubble and not only reconstituted the monster but also enlarged it to giant proportions.
"It looks like we got here right on time." Lena surmised, her amulet shining brightly. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!" The three of them raised their morphers, summoning their armour.
As they morphed, all their morphers chimed.
"A new spell code!" Madison gasped, opening her morpher.
"Yeah, let's do it." Neil urged as they pressed their morphers. "Galwit Mysto Prifior!"
The rangers turned into their respective titan forms while Lena transformed into a saffron version of the garuda titan, but instead of her arms transforming to wings like Chip's does, two giant wings sprouted from her back, giving her the appearance of a winged angel. She wielded a sword emblazoned with amber.
"Let's try my new spell code!" Madison suggested.
"Go for it, sis!" Vida cheered from her place on Xander's shoulder.
"Galwit Mysto Unios!" They cast the spell and all six titans began to glow before they combined, creating a megazord and they reappeared inside it, holding their staffs.
"Rangers, you performed a unison spell!" Lena said awed. "That took my team months of training to unlock."
"Whoa, this place is freaky!" Xander said, looking at the dark surroundings and they were seated on podiums that moved around.
"I get it! The cockpit is like a chessboard! We control our fight with strategical moves!" Maddie realised.
"Lucky for us, I won our school several chess competitions!" Chip said smugly, moving his place to the centre.
"Okay guys, let's get serious!" Nick told them as they put their hands on the podiums and the chamber lit up and the megazord lifted it's head.
"That doesn't scare me!" The monster unleashed a blast of dark energy at the megazord which Lena deflected with her sword.
"Our turn!" Neil said as all the rangers moved forward, swinging their staffs.
"TITAN SABRE!" The megazord drew their sword and swung it across the monster's front.
Lena swung her sword, as lightning bolts struck the monster, preventing it from mustering another attack.
"All together, guys!" Xander yelled as they channelled more magic. "ANCIENT POWER, MYSTIC SPELL SEAL!"
The megazord called on their most powerful attack, destroying the monster completely in a huge explosion.
"Checkmate!" They cheered.
Lena looked down to see Bandora screech before disappear in a burst of purple smoke. She turned towards the megazord, beaming with pride as the rangers celebrated their victory inside the cockpit.
"Hey, Neil?" Xander asked, heading over to the white mystic as he rearranged some CDs in the racks. "Can we go for a walk?"
"Now?" Neil asked, scratching his head. He turned sideways to see Toby engrossed in a conversation with a customer. Though he had explained his being late with a semi truth excuse of being turned into a statue, he doubted Toby would give him a free pass if he walked off in working hours. Thankfully, his ramblings usually keep him occupied for better part of an hour, so long as they returned within that time, he would be safe.
"Yeah sure." He smiled as the two of them headed out of the store towards the nearby park.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Neil asked him.
"It's … I am glad you are okay, mate." Xander said nervously, twiddling his thumbs.
"Yeah, me too." The white mystic said. "Hey everything okay?"
"I was really scared when I saw you turned to stone. I thought I had lost you. It made me realize something I was too blind to realize before…" He said, his voice unusually serious as he looked at him. "I really like you. More than a friend. It's okay if you don't feel the same but after what happened today, I didn't want to waste another second-"
"I like you too." Neil whispered back, blinking repeatedly, still unable to believe what was transpiring was reality and not some fervent daydream.
His heart hammered in his chest and the rest of the park faded to obscurity. All he could see was Xander, his gentle eyes and fond smile as he wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer. He didn't move when Xander bent down and pressed his lips against his softly. His eyes closed as he kissed him back, his arms locking around his neck. He had never felt anything like it before, the faint smell of cologne, the slightest bit of stubble that was sort of ticklish and the strange euphoria that seemed to have devoured him completely.
They broke apart, the giddiness of their hearts reaching their brains as they gasped for air. He looked at Xander smiling at him and he smiled back. What he just felt right now trumped over everything else. A sense of invulnerability.
"That was-" Xander started. He didn't know what came over him but he cut him off, kissing him again. The green wizard didn't hesitate, reciprocating with equal enthusiasm, lifting him off his feet.
It felt like he was living out a scene from one of his novels, something he never thought would happen to him, let alone with someone as incredible as Xander.
Maddie smiled to herself, walking out of Rock Porium. She did have a crush on Nick and while she didn't hold today's events against him, the infatuation she had with him was gone.
What Neil told her made sense. She did deserve someone who saw her for who she was, appreciated her instead of picking out flaws in her personality. And she already had met the right person, known him for ages in fact, someone who always cheered her up, someone who always knew the right things to say, someone who always boosted her up instead of bringing her down. She couldn't believe how she hadn't noticed him before!
Maddie bit her lips. She can't believe she was about to do this, but she didn't want to wait, not when she finally found that her perfect Prince Charming was with her the whole time!
She was going to be brave and she knew there was a chance that he didn't feel the same way, but she also knew him well enough that he wouldn't let that affect their friendship if that were the case.
She needed to find him.
She looked around as she entered the park. This is where he went a few minutes ago and she supposed he would still be here.
Maddie spotted him on the back of a tree. She ran closer, only to stop as she saw him tangled with another, their lips pressed against each other's.
Maddie gulped, stepping back, and running out of the park. It was her fault, she supposed, for getting her hopes up in the first place.
She couldn't help the tears that came out of her eyes. She smudged them off with her hand. No, he was her friend. Both of them were. She would be happy for them.
She was the one who took so much time to see what was right in front of her, always falling for the wrong people when the perfect guy was in front of her the whole time.
No, she wouldn't think like that.
Maddie forced a smile, walking back to Rock Porium, secluding herself to the store room. They were her friends and she would support them but it hurt. It was so fast and she took a leap of faith, only to fall flat on her face and her hopes to come crashing down.
She shook her head. She didn't need to sort everything right now. All she needed to do was sort some files and inventory, for she was ready to face him, right now.
Nick let out a frustrated sigh as he walked back towards the apartment he shared with his sister. He finally found friends, who were actually nice to him and he almost risked losing that by saying the first thing that came to his mouth like always. Madison was the sweetest girl he had ever met and the first one to welcome him here and he had been a jerk to her. Though she forgave him, he knew anyone else in her place would have reservations trusting him.
He looked down, not noticing as he stumbled into someone.
"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" The man in front of him, a handsome blond wearing black shirt and grey trousers asked.
"I am okay. I'm sorry. I was the one not looking where I was going. Sorry." He mumbled apologetically.
"It's fine. Neither was I to be honest." The man fumbled. "I am a bit lost. I am new here and I rented a place here but can't find the address."
Nick grinned back. "I moved here a couple of weeks ago. What's the address? Maybe I know where it is?"
"James Building, 19, Arcadia Road." He replied.
"Oh, you are lucky. That's where my apartment is." Nick grinned at him. "What's your flat number?"
"B 3." The guy said and Nick broke into a laugh.
"Mine's A3. Looks like we are about to neighbours. Welcome to Briarwood." He extended his hand towards him. "My name is Nick Russell."
"Thanks." The man shook his hand and smiled at him. "I am Ryan Mitchell."
Hope you guys like this chapter and please review.