"Well I'm going to go to bed, it's been a really long day." She said as she gave hugs to her family.
"Alright, sleep well. Don't sleep through your alarm again!" Her Mom yelled as she went up the stairs.
Abbie smiled as she opened the door, "How're you doing down there Keefe?"
He grumbled something she couldn't make out as he slithered out from under the bed.
"You were downstairs for two hours!"
"Yes I'm aware. I had a lot to do, sorry I can't just stop my life because a sparkly elf started stalking me." She said, laughing.
He stayed quiet, just looking at her for a while. She wasn't going to say anything but once it hit two minutes later, she couldn't stand it anymore
"Keefe, why are you staring at me? You're reminding me of Mr. Forkle when he came here."
"I'm looking at your eyes- not in a creepy way- I just thought they would be brown, so when I came here I was looking at all of the girls with brown eyes. Once I felt your emotions I knew it was you though."
"And you're telling me why?" She asked, looking at him like he was losing his mind.
"Sorry I've been rambling. Sophie Foster has brown eyes because of the way her genetics turned out. Yours are a deep blue which is normal for an elf, I just didn't think about it until now."
"Alright then, you can keep doing your weird staring, I've got to clean my room up a bit. My poor Momma would have a seizure if she came in here right now."
He cracked up at that.
"What did I do?"
"Nothing at all, I've just never heard anyone talk like you before. It's pretty, but I'm just still getting used to it."
She smiled, "Well I'm glad you think the way I talk is pretty, but I don't have an accent. You have a weird accent."
"I've been speaking my natural language this entire time. You just happen to know how to speak it." He said calmly, hoping she doesn't get worked up.
"Well… when I turned Eleven I was able to speak and understand any language I wanted to. So I take Advanced Spanish and French at school and I'm really good at it."
He sighed, making Abbie dread what he was about to say.
"What abilities do you have? And when did you manifest each of them?"
She eyed him, "Why do you want to know all of that?"
"I know you're going to be wary because you've kept this secret for so long; but I'm here to help you, I promise."
She sank onto her bed. "I'll tell you, but you can't freak out."
"I'm not going to freak out, this stuff is all normal for me." He chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's crazy that having powers or 'abilities' is normal for y'all."
Staying quiet,she ran her fingers through her hair. After a minute, she shot up and started pacing.
"You realize this is me trusting you right? This is a big deal."
He grabbed her hand and guided her back down to the bed, "You can trust me."
She calmed her racing heart and pleaded with her palm not to sweat.
"Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. I started manifesting every year on my birthday after I turned five. So I guess I'll make a list on paper, it'll be easier to see everything."
After about five minutes she handed him the paper with her life's biggest secret on it, hoping he didn't notice her hand shaking.
They went through it together.
5 years old: Telepath
6 years old: Ice powers
7 years old: Wind powers
8 years old: Empath
9 years old: Nothing? I could feel weird things when I look at people for too long but I don't understand it
10 years old: Vanisher
11 years old: Understand every language
12 years old: I could like… hear technology? Super weird I'm not sure what it is.
13 years old: Water powers… I hate it.
14 years old: I could make people do things if I wanted them to. I don't do it anymore but I can if I want to…
15 years old: Nothing? I didn't notice anything different so…
16 years old: When I get mad people get hurt. Don't ask.
17 years old: To be determined
Keefe had tried to keep a straight face, Abbie could tell. He failed. Badly.
"How crazy is it?" She squeezed his hand, waiting for him to spit out the horrible news.
"It's not bad… It's just…" He obviously didn't know what to say.
"Keefe, how many times do I have to tell you to just spit it out." She muttered.
"It's different, that's all. No one has had that many abilities before… ever. It's also just a lot of very different abilities." He looked her in the eyes, "I know on the paper it says not to ask, but I don't need to ask. That's called inflicting, Sophie has that ability too." He said softly.
She gave him the pen, "Here, write what each ability is actually called, you can tell which ones I know versus which ones I don't."
He wrote for a while and then handed it back, "Sorry, my handwriting isn't as good as yours."
She laughed because he was right, it wasn't as good… it was better. But she would never give him the satisfaction of telling him that.
5 years old: Telepath
6 years old: Ice powers -Froster
7 years old: Wind powers -Guster
8 years old: Empath
9 years old: Nothing? I could feel weird things when I look at people for too long but I don't understand it -I've got one idea but it's a stretch
10 years old: Vanisher
11 years old: Understand every language -Polygot
12 years old: I could like… hear technology? Super weird I'm not sure what it is. -Technopath
13 years old: Water powers… I hate it. -Hydrokinetic
14 years old: I could make people do things if I wanted them to. I don't do it anymore but I can if I want to… -Mesmer
15 years old: Nothing? I didn't notice anything different so… -Could be something?
16 years old: When I get mad people get hurt. Don't ask. -Inflictor
17 years old: To be determined -Oh Boy
Abbie looked at the paper with curious eyes. None of these words made any sense to her. "What do you think I got when I turned nine?"
He looked at it again, "Not exactly sure.. Maybe a Descryer? That means you can see if someone has potential or not. It's very rare, only one elf has that ability." He paused, yawning, "The only way to find out is to try it but let's not do that tonight." He yawned again.
"It's time for bed Keefe, we need to figure out how this is gonna work. Because no offense, but I am not sharing my bed with you."
He faked being hurt, "Fine I see how it is." He paused, letting her feel bad. When she looked like she was going to say something, he said "I'm just messing with you, I'll make a pallet on the floor with extra blankets. It'll be good."
She laughed, "Well I'm glad you figured it out because I was close to kicking you out."
Abbie watched intently as he grabbed the extra blankets and made himself a little bed beside hers. Since he wasn't paying attention, she took in all of his details she had missed in the past few crazy hours. The way his blonde hair falls exactly the right way but also looking messy, his icy blue eyes and how they light up when he laughs, but also his gentle hands. He has made this whole ordeal so much easier and she will never know how to thank him enough.
"Keefe?" She finally decided to ask.
"What's up?"
"Um, I just wanted to say thank you." She said quickly before she could overthink it.
He smiled, "What for?"
"For making this whole process of finding out I'm an elf a lot easier." She tried to avoid eye contact but his eyes found hers. Her face slowly became beet red.
"Abbie you don't have to thank me, I'm glad to do it and I guess I should be thanking you." He winked.
"What for?" She asked, mocking him.
"For not freaking out and unleashing the Abominable Arsonal of Abbigail"
Abbie cracked up, "No problem. I'm going to bed…. good night."
"Good night, Abbie Gray."