Hailey drained the rest of her beer and dropped it back to the table with a thud. She tossed her jacket aside, bare-armed and ready to fight. Her elbow slammed onto the table with her hand in the air, a wide grin on her face and an eager glint in her eye.

  "Scared?"

  Trevor shook his head. His own hand fell into place alongside hers.

  "Those arms are like ten times your size, Hales," said Elissa, sipping her glass of wine. "You're crazy."

  "Can it, Piao," Hailey shot back. "I've got a boy to humiliate here." She meant it, as she was currently trying to gauge the right amount of magic to push into her arm. She didn't want to totally obliterate the poor guy, just put him in his place. No matter what happened, he was in for a rough surprise.

  Rupert gave her a knowing wink as he cleaned up the beer bottles around their pending contest. He carried them over to his recycling in the corner of the apartment. "You know, Hailey, Trevor's undefeated in the noble sport of arm-pulling."

  "You do a lot of arm wrestling in nursing school?"

  "A bunch of hot guys in scrubs always wanting to show off?" Elissa mused.

  Rupert raised his eyebrows. "Do you really believe everyone who attends nursing school is hot?"

  "I can dream." She sipped her glass again with a wistful look in her eyes. "It's gotta be better than most of the guys in my CS program."

  "Just gotta know where to look," Hailey grinned.

  "Screw you Hales, I'm still infinitely jealous you found Rupey before I did."

  "I don't know how long we'd last if you called me Rupey," Rupert murmured.

  "Enough stalling, Johnson," Trevor growled. Hailey winced. Such a lame last name. Only thing I could come up with in the moment though. "Let's do this."

  "Does someone wanna give us a coun—"

  "Go," Elissa said lazily.

  Without a moment's hesitation, Trevor nearly twisted her arm all the way down to the table. Hailey only had a split-second to react—but she had already prepared her shoulder and her arm enough to resist. She was ready for him.

  Hailey stopped him an inch above her side of the table. With a wicked grin, she began to ratchet him back up a centimeter at a time. His eyes went wide as the dinner plates they'd just been eating from. Elissa seemed to have totally forgotten her drink, watching them with a dumbstruck expression.

  Rupert laughed. "Is there a problem, young master Trevor?"

  "What the hell..."

  Hailey sent another burst of energy into her arm, gathering it up from the thrumming, spinning core of power she constantly felt around her heart. Trevor's grip, as strong as it was, couldn't possibly stand up to her magic. He made a valiant effort, but they crossed the apex and his arm started falling down little by little.

  Hailey wondered briefly if she should be screwing around like this. Even if they were both Rupert's good friends, they were both mundane, normal people. They hadn't the first clue about magic. This was just cheating.

  Yeah, but he asked for it. No way in hell am I gonna lose to him.

  Hailey paused about a quarter of the way down. Trevor's eyes were bulging out of his face, and she could see his muscles straining from the effort. She barely felt anything. He might as well be pushing up against a brick wall.

  She held him there for a moment. With her other hand, she plucked another beer out of the bucket of ice sitting on the table and opened it one-handed. She chugged the whole bottle dry, while Elissa and Trevor gawked. Trevor continued to struggle in vain against her arm, but Hailey finished off the beer without losing a millimeter in the contest.

  As she drained the last few drops, Hailey leaned forward. Looking Trevor directly in the eyes, she held up the bottle. She moved it toward his hand, and—ever so lightly—tapped the glass against the back of his fist.

  An instant later, Hailey slammed his hand flat against the table.

  "And that's how it's done," she crowed, dropping the bottle on the table with a flourish.

  Rupert smiled. Elissa was still looking at the spot in midair where their hands had been a moment earlier, her mouth slightly open. Trevor rubbed his hand, eyeing her with newfound respect.

  "Okay, maybe you're right," he said begrudgingly.

  Hailey rolled her eyes. "Don't make me beat you up every time you're losing an argument, man. That's gonna get old quick."

  He smiled. "Nah, I'm rethinking my entire life right now."

  "What were we even arguing about again?" Elissa wondered aloud, hiccuping slightly.

  "If you're too drunk to talk straight?"

  "Hey, I'm not drunk. I've had way less than Hailey, and I'm just having wine."

  "Oh, you don't want to get in a drinking contest with her," Rupert added, dropping onto the couch next to Hailey and putting an arm around her. Hailey settled in comfortably, still enjoying the rush of victory coupled with the solid warmth of her boyfriend's chest. "It's even more one-sided."

  True to form, Hailey was barely feeling the three beers she'd already drained. She wasn't planning to drink much that night, since she still had to fly home with Jessica later. Flying around intoxicated wasn't something she felt like trying anytime soon.

  Remembering Jessica, Hailey sent a tiny breeze to flow around Jessica's hair where Hailey knew she'd be laying down, just to say hi. Her friend was currently on the roof of the apartment complex, a couple floors above them. She refused to meet Rupert's friends, though she never said why. Hailey secretly suspected she didn't want to deal with teaching yet another group of people how to interact with her. Whenever they ever visited Rupert and he had company, Jessica spent the time on the roof, practicing magic or doing whatever else she might be doing.

  It was always a bit dangerous, going out into the world with their status as refugees-slash-wanted persons, but Hailey didn't want to get trapped in a cycle of being stuck with so few people to interact with, as they had been in Rallsburg. Hailey had offered to go out alone, since they didn't need to risk both of them being recognized somehow, but Jessica insisted on accompanying her every time.

  After their day in Seattle, the original plan had been to come back to Rupert's place and spend the evening with just the three of them, but Rupert's friends ambushed them on the way home. Jessica had pretended not to know her, discreetly following them home and levitating herself up to the roof from the dark alleyway.

  As soon as Hailey's breeze hit her, Jessica sent one in return, fluttering the shades near the window. It looked like the oscillating fan in the corner (always on to mask Hailey's unconscious air currents from Rupert's friends) had moved them, but Hailey could tell the difference. Thanks, Jess.

  "So what were we talking about?" Rupert prompted, who hadn't actually been in the room when they'd started getting into it.

  "One person making a difference," answered Elissa, getting up to refill her glass.

  "I thought you couldn't remember," said Trevor. Elissa rolled her eyes at him and walked back into the kitchen area.

  "What do you mean?" Rupert asked.

  "Well, we were talking about the world right now." Trevor went on. "How one person can only do so much on their own. They gotta be lifted up by the gatekeepers if they want to make a difference."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "How does that lead to Hailey making a fool of you on my table?"

  "He made a dumbass comment about women being weaker than men," Hailey said with a shrug.

  "I worded it poorly," said Trevor quickly.

  "Then why'd you agree to arm-wrestle me?"

  "Because he likes showing off," said Elissa, plopping back onto the couch and putting her feet up.

  "I didn't mean to insult anyone. I've known plenty of women stronger than me. I'm just trying to speak at large here."

  Hailey laughed. "I know, dude. Don't worry. Just remember some people take it a lot more seriously. Think before you speak and all that."

  "Right." Trevor leaned back in his chair. "Anyway, back to the real topic. These days, it doesn't matter nearly as much if you're male or female, black or white for making a change at the top. It matters a lot what you are when you're at the bottom, but at the top, the thing that really counts is money."

  "Brilliant insight, Mr. Halliday," said Elissa dryly.

  "It's always been money, hasn't it?" Rupert pointed out. "That's not exactly new."

  "No, but what has changed now is the reach and power of that money. You know that we've had protests, riots and injustices just as big as the huge, history-making movements back in the day? But they don't get anything done anymore. Why is that?"

  "Because they have no clue... what they're doing?" said Elissa, desperately masking another hiccup.

  "I mean, yeah, that too, but they're also working against massive corporations with little regard for how the law can actually be changed. They don't know how to work the system."

  "What's your solution then?" Hailey asked.

  "Change the laws," Trevor said simply.

  "That easy, huh?" said Elissa.

  "It's the only way to get change set in stone. Everyone, even the corporations and the wealthy, still obeys the rule of law. They find every possible loophole they can, up to and including paying off judges, but by the absolute letter of the law, they're legal. So that's where we start."

  "Pity all the lawmakers are owned by 'em too." Elissa sipped her wine and sighed. "And we're just a bunch of broke college kids with big dreams and broken arms."

  "My arm's not broken."

  "Really? 'Cause it looked like Hailey was gonna tear it off there without breaking a sweat."

  "She's freaking strong, Elissa. You try to wrestle her."

  Elissa eyed Hailey warily. "No thanks."

  Hailey ignored the aside, as the main topic was starting to interest her. "So if we have to change the law, but we can't change the law, what can we do?"

  "Change the minds of the people in power, I guess?" Trevor shrugged. "I'm just spitballing here."

  "But we're all nothing," said Elissa. She was getting a bit emotional. Hailey suspected it was partly due to how much she'd had to drink. "I barely have time to keep up with school. I can't change the world."

  "I don't think it all hinges on you, Piao," Hailey commented. But maybe I can? I've got the time and the power…

  Rupert shot her a look that said he knew exactly what she was thinking. "But maybe there are a few people out there with the power to make a difference, who aren't already sitting at the top of the world."

  "Better hope they're on our side," Trevor muttered.

  "Oh, you might be surprised," Rupert added with a smile.

  "When I see some random person off the street actually decide to help his fellow man for no benefit, no reward at all, then I'll start believing." Trevor got to his feet. "I've gotta get home and study."

  "Want any of the leftovers? I've far too much for my poor refrigerator."

  "Yeah, thanks."

  While they negotiated the food, Hailey scooted over and took a seat next to Elissa. She hiccuped again, scrolling through her phone with glazed eyes. "Hales, how do you do it?"

  "Do what?"

  "Balance all your shit. I'm constantly overwhelmed."

  Hailey shook her head. "I'm not in school and working and dating all at once. You've got way more on your plate and you're still handling it."

  "Two out of three," Elissa grumbled. "I can't find a decent guy for the life of me."

  "No takers?"

  "No worthwhile ones. All I'm finding are nervous wrecks who can't get a word out or perverts." Elissa glanced at her sideways. "How'd you land Rupert?"

  "Bumped into him."

  "Seriously? Least helpful answer ever."

  Hailey laughed. "Seriously. I ran into him at the grocery store. Completely knocked him over." Outside the grocery store, actually, and by knocked over I mean he fell over shocked when Jessica and I landed nearby and turned visible. Who would have expected someone taking a walk through the thickest part of the park that late at night anyway? "I helped him up, we got to talking, and ten minutes later we were strolling through the park under a full moon. Couldn't have happened better if I planned it."

  "You're so lucky." Elissa finished off her glass of wine. "Also, would you stop calling me by my last name? That's kinda Trevor's thing."

  "Oh! Sorry!"

  Her face got red. "Okay, I'm definitely talking too much now."

  "No, that's a good thing to tell." Hailey helped her to her feet. "I was just going with it, I didn't notice it til you said something."

  "Trevor and I have been best friends since kindergarten," Elissa went on, rambling a bit as if Hailey wasn't even there. "He's always been there for me."

  Hailey resisted pointing out the obvious. There could be any number of reasons why she'd never considered it. Hailey had only known these two for a few weeks. She helped Elissa to the stairs, where Trevor took over. They waved goodbye as they headed out for the bus stop, leaving Hailey and Rupert alone.

  Rupert glanced up at the ceiling. "Should we invite her to join us?"

  Hailey bit her lip slightly, eyeing him with a small smile. "I dunno. I was just getting an earful about how great you are. I thought maybe you would want to take advantage of that. Now that you've got me all alone."

  "Take advantage? Me?" His face twisted into mock-outrage. "I'd have to turn in my card and venture back across the pond for such a transgression. Her Majesty would have my head. I'd be beneath the worst of scoundrels."

  "Well then," said Hailey mischievously. She created a burst of air behind Rupert, shoving him toward her waiting arms. "We'll just have to make sure she doesn't find out."

  They fell onto the couch together, scattering a few loose papers that Rupert hadn't cleared up. She pulled Rupert tight, kissing him as they landed on the couch—right until Hailey bumped her head against the couch arm with a loud knock.

  "Ugh."

  "What?" Rupert sat up, genuinely worried.

  Hailey shook her head. She reached up and pulled him back down again. "It's fine. Come here." Rupert was still distracted, though, which killed the mood. Hailey sighed. "I'm not fragile, you know. A few bumps and bruises aren't gonna break me."

  "I know." He didn't sound totally confident though, which bothered her more than she wanted to admit.

  "I'll be fine."

  "I can't help worrying about you, dear."

  Hailey sighed, and scooted back up to a sitting position. She'd lost him for a while at least. "You do remember I'm basically one of the most powerful people on the planet, right?"

  Rupert frowned. "That's a dangerous thing to say."

  "It's a dangerous thing to believe. I don't actually believe it." Hailey shrugged. "There's the rest of the naturals, plus Alpha's still out there somewhere. And I don't think for a second I'm stronger than Grey-eyes. Trust me, I know the totem pole."

  "But you still think you're stronger than the common man."

  "Well, I mean…" Hailey nodded at the table, where her beer bottle still sat. "I'm pretty sure that's true."

  Rupert shook his head. "I don't mean physical strength, love. Though you've obviously got that. I mean actual power."

  "I don't have any of that."

  "Don't you?"

  Hailey frowned. "I agree with Trevor on that bit. Actual power is all about money now, and I'm flat broke. I'm a supposedly dead faux-celebrity in hiding, living off the generous donations of a multimillionaire who's also in hiding. I'm a charity case."

  "But you have influence. Influence is the real power. Money purchases influence, whether that's directly or simply by having it and impressing weak-willed individuals with its ownership. Influence gives you a voice, and that voice is how you can change the minds of those in power."

  "How did we get from almost having sex to debating philosophy?" she grumbled.

  Rupert smiled. "Do you want to go back to that?"

  Hailey laughed. She pulled him down next to her, laid out on the long couch. "No, no, you've actually got me interested now. Keep going."

  "I'm afraid I've lost track of my argument."

  She snorted. "Ah yes, the typical young adult male," she added in her best fake British accent. "The mere mention of sexual activity and their brains are emptied in an instant."

  "Guilty as charged, love."

  "I think you're overestimating my power of influence," Hailey continued. "I'll give you that having influence isn't totally tied to having a huge bank, but you usually still gotta have something. I'm not even really a celebrity. Your friends haven't figured out who I am yet, even with all the pictures floating around."

  "You do look quite a bit different," Rupert pointed out. "By necessity of course. But it's not your celebrity or money or anything like that which will propel you, dear. You've got something far more important than all of that."

  "Hm?"

  "You're a hero," he said simply.

  Hailey snorted again, even as her heart fluttered a little at his words. "As if."

  "I mean it wholeheartedly."

  "That's sweet of you, but even if that's the case, heroes don't always become influential. Half the time they just become figureheads for the money again."

  Rupert shrugged. "So don't let them do that to you."

  "That easy, huh?" Hailey echoed Elissa's tone from earlier.

  "You're smart, you're crazy strong—"

  Hailey burst out laughing. "Oh my god, please do an American accent more often. That was amazing."

  He grinned. "And you're beautiful. You're forced to hide it right now, which is a terrible crime against the gods, but I've seen you with your hair down—so to speak. They can't compare. Combine those three and you can do almost anything you put your mind to."

  Hailey shrugged. "A lot of pressure to put on a girl."

  Rupert nodded. "It is. But I believe in you. And I'm here to support you come what may. If there's anything I can ever do, you just say the word."

  She smiled. "Thanks."

  As a small gift to him, she murmured a spell under her breath. Slowly, her face changed shape and color ever so slightly, the freckles fading away to perfectly smooth, clear skin. Her hair returned to its natural, wavy golden blonde.

  A coquettish smile creased her lips. Rupert's eyes had grown wide again. He'd never seen her shift appearance like that. She wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him close, meeting his lips with her own, playing up the old fun Hailey persona she used to wear.

  Now that the fake Hailey was her natural look, she had to actually hold her old self in place with a constant stream of magic. It was a bit of a strain, and she had to dedicate real brainpower to keep it going. She longed for the day she could finally go back to being herself, without the odd feeling that her face didn't quite fit on right, or that her hair was like a wig she couldn't take off.

  For the look on Rupert's face in that moment, it was totally worth it.