The turbulence shook him awake.

Liam's eyes shot open with the new sinking feeling in his gut. His body screamed for a moment, as if it entered free-fall, but in just half a second it corrected itself. He was in a plane. He was safe.

He glanced out of the small window to his right. The sky was a somber blue and gray, with the sound of thunder and rain resonating through the 40 meter plane. Liam rubbed his eyes, trying to will away the jet lag that he was already experiencing. He had barely even left his home town, so the thought of going to a whole other country had sapped away any energy he had over the last two days.

'This is so insane...' Liam thought to himself. Two days ago he was going to work at the gas station, buying food for the week and texting his parents, and now he's-

"We have now landed. Please remain seated." A voice spoke over the intercom above him. It shook Liam out of his thoughts, dragging him back to the present. The older woman who sat next to him unbuckled her seatbelt-and he noticed he had as well. His body moved without thought, performing the tasks it knew was necessary as his mind was busy with itself. It always scared him when there was a disconnect. Body and mind independent of each other. 

Liam shut his eyes, squeezing them until a headache started to form behind them. 'Focus,' he reminded himself. This was going to be a new start.

The intercom voice spoke again, and the passengers all rose.

- -

He approached the end of the gate. He kept his eyes locked forward in an attempt to get his mind to stay as well, his hand squeezing the suitcase rolling behind him until it grew sore.

The airport was similar to most Liam had seen, although in all honesty he had only been to a couple. White walls, white floors, white ceiling. Tiles with such a composition that clacking sounds would echo through the entire hallway, no matter what shoe you were wearing. The different shops on either side of him had more vibrant colors, drawing wandering eyes towards them, eyes that wanted to see anything else but the drab white color surrounding them. The modernity of the building left a bad taste in his mouth.

To his left, he could see a few men and women lined up next to each other. Some simply stood with hands clasped, others held signs with the names of expected loved ones. And some...

"Liam? Liam Sinclair?" The voice traveled the entire length of the hall, drowning out the idle chatter and clicking of shoes against the tile floor. Liam could spot a young man's head jumping around the different people, who tried desperately to ignore the loud boy shouting directly next to their ears. Golden hair bounced around the line of people before it eventually reached the end and fully revealed the figure.

He was a taller boy, maybe around Liam's age but a few inches shorter than him. His eyes were a bright blue paired with his blond and shaggy hair. He wore a simple, although not very casual, long sleeved white shirt and brown vest. Liam picked up his pace, almost jogging over to the boy in hopes he'd stop being just so loud.

"That's me, that's me-" He assured the boy once he arrived, scanning him. It wasn't quite what he expected when the man told him a 'horrible student of his' would be escorting him, although in truth, Liam didn't really know what he expected. The boy's eyes lit up as they landed on Liam.

"So you're the new one! Great to meet' cha, you can call me Flat!" He proclaimed with a toothy smile, reaching out an outstretched hand. Liam gave him a smile of his own and shook the hand. 

"Yeah, I'm Liam-though, I guess you already knew that." The words stumbled out of his mouth, unsure and shaky from the anxiety which laid deep in his chest. But Flat kept his smile and spun on his heel to begin the journey out of the airport.

"Yup! People have been talking about you back at the tower." He said without much thought, his hands now slipping into his brown pants pockets. Liam followed Flat, putting his own hand in his blue jackets' pocket while the other dragged his suitcase close behind. The anxiety sunk deeper as he processed Flat's comment.

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"Really? Am I that big of a deal?" Liam asked as he walked up beside the boy, looking down to him.

"No, not really, but it's not everyday a complete civilian walks into the Clock Tower! You don't even know anything about magecraft!" Flat's smile widened, while Liam's shrunk.

"Y-Yeah... To be honest, this still doesn't feel real." Liam let out a sigh as his eyes met the glass of a revolving door. He saw himself reflected back. Black, short hair and ever-so-slightly green eyes, dressed in black jeans, a t-shirt, and a blue hoodie. Was he supposed to be magus material?

"I know, right? I was so excited when I first came." Flat pushed through the revolving doors with Liam only a couple feet behind.

"More like frightening." He replied, although his voice was too low to truly be considered one. They arrived in front of a parking garage, jogging inside as the rain plummeted down on the road between the airport and garage. They took a sharp left and stopped. Flat approached a silver car, long and sleek, but not of a very recent make. Liam quickly swung open the trunk and tossed his now soaked suitcase inside, slamming it down and walking to the passenger door.

"Oh? You wanna drive?" Flat asked as he opened the door in front of Liam. After a couple of seconds, he realized his mistake.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot the roads are different here." Liam took note of the driving wheel on the right side of the car before passing in front of the car and entering the left side. His clothes made an uncomfortable "squish" as it pressed against the fabric of the seat. He had felt bad about getting into the car while soaked, but noticed Flat didn't seem to notice. His eyes wandered to the boy on his right, who was slowly interlocking his finger.

"Game Select."

The innocuous words left Flat's mouth, seemingly devoid of any hidden meaning or power. Liam stared at him for a few seconds, eyebrows furrowed at the unusual gesture and words the boy was performing. Flat quickly returned to his normal demeanor and stuck the key into the car with a smile.

"That's better!" He exclaimed while he shifted the car into reverse, pulling out of the parking space. Liam's eyes still remained on the boy until he found himself unable to contain himself.

"What was that? What you did?" Liam asked. He hadn't noticed any dramatic or clear effect the action had. Flat shifted into drive, returning his eyes forward to exit the garage.

"Just dried us off. You didn't notice?" Flat tugged at his right sleeve, showcasing the dryness of the fabric. Liam hurriedly looked down at his own clothes. It was as if he had never entered the rain to begin with. Taking glances around the car, he could see faint wisps of steam rising to the roof, caused by the hot water vapor colliding with the cold air.

"Woah." The words left his mouth without his knowing, which widened Flat's smile.

"It was just a trick, really. Actually, my teacher would probably beat me if he saw me doing magecraft like that!" Flat laughed as he steered through the rain.

"Why? Isn't that what magic's for?" Liam questioned, taking the moment to stare out at whatever London scenery he could see through the rain. It mainly consisted of bland grey or tan buildings, with the occasional shop stuck between them.

Flat opened his mouth, but silence remained for a few seconds as he made a turn.

"My teacher will explain all that stuff later, when you meet him. He definitely wouldn't want me to confuse you." The golden-haired boy replied. 

The car was mostly quiet for the rest of the ride. The rain increased in intensity, the water pounding against the windshield, the plastic wipers struggling to clear the glass. It seemed to calm Liam down. The rain hid away the new land surrounding him-but that pit of anxiety still laid in his chest. 

Eventually it came to a stop, pulling up in front of a large brick building. The bricks that made up the flat were of a red similar to rust with an innumerable amount of black cracks across all of them. Some had whole chunks torn out from the brick, while others merely had the image of weathering, although the pouring rain seemed to worsen the image even more. The green and strangling plants that poked through the cracks were beat down by the rain, almost impossible to see through the water.

"Thank you for the ride." Liam turned towards Flat, giving him a small smile. Flat returned the gesture and struck a horribly energetic pose, sticking up a peace sign and tilting his head up.

"No sweat! It was a pleasure to drive you." He exclaimed, holding the pose. Liam nodded again as affirmation before opening the door to his left, hurriedly jumping out and shutting the door. He rushed himself to the trunk and retrieved his suitcase before running to the front door of the apartment.

He shoved the door open and closed it just as fast, sighing at how he was going to enter the residence soaking wet.

In front of him was a large, dark lobby of mostly dark brown textures around him. In the middle laid a large, spiral staircase made of metal. Recalling the directions from the email he received, Liam quickly made his way up the staircase to the second floor, his adrenaline and anxiety colliding to make a horrible fuel that pushed him forward. He didn't even bother to take a look at the room on the right side of the lobby.

Riding his emotional fuel, Liam walked to the door three meters across from the staircase, coming to a stop right before it.

His hand reached to open it, but a voice from inside stopped him in his tracks.