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Chapter 45

We ran through the streets the rest of the way back to her house. Stopping on the front porch, Farrah took a deep breath and paused. She quietly slid her key through the door and unlocked it, and we tiptoed back into the living room. The lights were still on, and the space was exactly how we had left it.

I felt a wave of mental relief. But Farrah drifted to the chair in the living room, sitting down and zoning out. I had never seen her perturbed. To me, it seemed like she never had anything to worry about.

"Is everything all right? I know that's a dumb question, but you haven't said much since we walked back."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around whether that was my brother. It can't be. He's such a good guy. Why would he be hanging out in some abandoned building with a bunch of sketchy characters?"

"Did you recognize any of the other voices?"

"I think so. That's what's so disturbing." Farrah shivered. "But it's hard to say, they were murmuring, and I could only see glimpses of their faces. Couldn't see their whole bodies."

"I feel like I heard Head Counselor Jonathan talking about it," I said.

"Don't say that. We don't know for sure, and we should not spread rumors if we don't know for a fact."

"Understood." I nodded. "I'm just wondering what summoning crystals are. Do you know what they were talking about?"

She shook her head. "I was curious about that too." Farrah pondered, fixing her gaze on the floor.

"Thank you for coming with me. I know I pushed my luck there, but I wanted to know what was happening. It was weird getting that letter."

"Yeah, that was really weird. I'm actually glad we went. My brother was there. I'm sure of it."

"Like you said, if we don't know it for certain, let's not believe in it."

Farrah didn't respond. I didn't know what to say, but I wanted to do everything I could to make her feel better.

"You should go to bed. It's been a long night," Farrah suggested.

"Are you going to bed too?"

"I think I'm going to read down here for a while. My mind is racing. Reading helps me calm down sometimes." Farrah went up to a bookcase and pulled out a thick hardcover. Before she sat down in the chair, she looked at me. "Thank you for convincing me to go tonight. It probably wasn't the best idea, but I felt I saw something important. I really think that was my brother and I'm going to ask him about it this week when he comes home. We'll see what he says."

"Sure, sure. Honestly, I regret pressuring you into sneaking out. That was messed up of me."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I would have put my foot down if I was totally against it. Good night, Rollie." Farrah approached me and wrapped me in a hug. "I'm delighted you're here right now."

"Are you kidding? I'm thrilled to be here right now. I don't think I'd rather be anywhere else in the world."

We pulled back from the hug, and she smiled.

"There's something else that's on my mind." My heart thumped in my chest and picked up the pace like a drumroll on a snare. It was the most afraid I've ever been but also the most excited I've ever been. But looking Farrah in the eyes just made it all the more fearful.

"What's up?"

"Uh." I didn't know if I could say it. I wanted to, but I was hitting a mental wall.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Could she tell I was about to have a panic attack? But I took a deep breath and said, "Would it be all right if I kissed you?"

Farrah froze up, but she smiled and leaned forward, and we kissed.

I felt like my heart was about to burst into fireworks.

We kissed for a few seconds.

It felt like the happiest I had ever been.

We pulled away.

"I never kissed anyone before," I said.

"Me either. What a wonderful idea, though. I've wanted to do that for so long, but I was too nervous."

"I know, me too."

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"Better late than never, right?"

"Of course."

We hugged and kissed one more time.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now. You should get some sleep too."

"Goodnight, Rollie."

I felt my heart flutter. My face hurt from smiling. After all the dumb obstacles I had gone through for the year, that moment felt like it was all worth it. I tiptoed upstairs and fell onto the mattress, and thought about Farrah. It was the fastest I had ever fallen asleep.

Morning rays of sunshine came through my bedroom window, and I went downstairs to find Farrah sleeping in the living room chair with her book on her lap. She looked adorable.

Her parents were cooking a breakfast that smelled like cinnamon and sugar in the kitchen.

"I can't believe Farrah fell asleep in the living room last night," her dad said.

Farrah's head turned, and she opened her eyes. She beamed at me once she realized she was awake. "Good morning, Rollie."

"Good morning," I said, returning the same smile.

We went into the dining room and had a pancake breakfast with her parents with some oatmeal.

"Sweetie, I couldn't help but notice you fell asleep on the chair in the living room?" her father said and chuckled.

"Uh, yeah. Just really wanted to read once Rollie went to bed. I'm always studying at school and just had a craving to read for leisure."

"All right, if you say so," her mom said.

The rest of the breakfast didn't feel as awkward since Farrah said, "So, what will we do today with Rollie in Hartsera?"

Her parents talked on and on about all the different things we could do. We couldn't go around and shop at any stores. Those were all closed on Thursday since it was the official Autumn Holiday. They decided to check out 1111 Serpentine. That was going to be one of the first things he would do. Then we would eat at one of the few restaurants open on Autumn Holiday for lunch and take Sparky to a park. Finally, we ended our day with a tour of the downtown area via the trolley cars.

It was nice traveling around during the daytime. Being in Hartsera was like being in the bustling metropolises of early 1900s America, with tall brick buildings lining the streets and trolley carts clattering along the main roads. The streets were stirring with activity as people hurried to and fro on their daily errands. The architecture was a mix of ornate Victorian and Art Deco styles, with wrought iron lampposts on the cobblestone sidewalks.

Mages in long robes and pointy hats strolled along while mysterious arcane symbols adorned the storefronts and buildings. The city was alive with energy as the hum of magic permeated the air.

Farrah and her parents pointed out where the music venues were and knew more about the history of buildings and where the hip spots were.

When we went to 1111 Serpentine, Farrah asked more questions than I did about the desolate structure and if her parents had ever gone there, but they hadn't. They didn't know anything about it.

"What about summoning crystals? Do you know anything about those?" Farrah asked.

Both her parents were dumbfounded.

"Can't say I've ever heard of those. What are they? Where did you hear about them?" her mom asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was just in a dream I had. I had deja vu coming here to this spot again. Yeah, that's it. It was in a dream I had last night. Sorry about that," Farrah said.

Nice recovery, I thought.

The rest of the day was nothing short of amazing. I felt calm and relaxed in the presence of Farrah and her parents. I thought about holding Farrah's hand, but I let her lead the decision in front of her parents.

My highlight of the day was playing fetch with Sparky. Farrah's parents showed me that they could shoot out an electric bolt, and Sparky would chase after it, never coming close to catching it, but the dog still had its tongue dangling out the side and seemed to happily prance as fast as it could. It warmed my heart to see. Fortunately, they had a frisbee, and that's what I used to toss the disc to Sparky as he made incredible jumps for an old dog to catch the disc.

I couldn't remember the last time I had a day of pure enjoyment and didn't have a single thing go wrong, or a single thing stressed me out. Farrah explained that the park we went to was usually more crowded. Still, since it was a holiday, there were only a few other people. The park was on the opposite side of the island. I could see the rustic downtown prominently poking out above the barren trees.

We returned to her house with her family and enjoyed a wonderful dinner. The actual celebration with everyone else would be on Friday.

During the evening, her parents went to bed early again, and Farrah and I hung out in the living room. Sitting together on the couch, watching another calm flame in the fireplace that Farrah started. She knelt by the wood, held her finger out, and flaming sparks jumped out and caught the logs on fire.

"I really want to one day go to your family's house," Farrah said. "I'd really love to meet your parents and see your homeworld. Last night, to calm my anxiety, I was thinking about how nice that would be."

It was crushing to hear that but also heartwarming. "I'd love nothing more than for you to visit my parents some time, but it's not like this house. Our parents and lives feel like two different worlds... Well, technically, they are, but, you know, I mostly meant the personalities are different."

"It's okay. I don't care how they are. I just want to visit them and see more of your life."

"You'll get to see them at some point, I'm sure. But I also have a question for you. Are we, like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

Farrah giggled. "Well, I'm not seeing anyone else or interested in anyone else."

"That's a problem since I'm interested in one of your friends," I said.

Farrah furrowed her brow.

"Sorry, that was just a bad joke. I'm really sorry."

Farrah tried to laugh it off but shook her head. "I'll just pretend I didn't hear that."

"Probably for the best."

There was an awkward pause, but then we leaned in and kissed each other. It felt like my terrible joke was forgiven.

The following day I got up and had another similar morning to the one before, enjoying an excellent breakfast with Farrah and her parents. Still, we stayed in instead of going out to explore. They asked me more questions about what my home world was like, and then I talked more about music with her dad, and he went on and on about the punk music scene in the '70s and '80s, and I loved every second of it.

Eventually, Farrah's friends came over. And even though I never felt uncomfortable around them, my anxiety about the joke I had made the previous night kept gnawing at me.

I really wish I didn't say anything dumb. I hope Farrah doesn't feel uncomfortable about everything, I thought.

It felt like a packed house; apparently, they all planned to sleep in the living room and throw a slumber party. I was still going to keep my room, though, which I was thankful for. The rest of the day, her parents spent it cooking, and occasionally Farrah and her friends would help out with something.

But with all the coziness and happiness, I couldn't help but be afraid something awful would happen soon.