3rd POV

In the kitchen of Y/n's apartment. That's where they were. Leon, Cleo and Y/n decided it would be the best place to be. It was a place away from the Daemos and away from Ava in case she and Y/n tried to cover each other's stories. Leon and Cleo wanted to truth and they were determined to get it.

"So..." Leon started, trying to break the silence but not exactly sure what to say. Y/n just continued to look sadly into her cup of tea as she leaned against the counter, facing away from her parents. She couldn't face them... How could she? They were always protective of her and wanted the best for her, but her parents thought she was in a harem?! She was stuck.

"Y/n." Cleo said monotonously. Y/n tilted her head slightly towards the voice of her mother but didn't face her, indicating that she was at least listening to her mother. "What is going on..? What happened to the little girl who would wander the gardens of the park every weekend and bring me a tulip? What's with all these boys? Is it my fault? Did I show you too much anime? I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE SHOWN YOU FREE!-"

"IT WAS NEVER YOUR FAULT!" Y/n screamed, gripping her mug so hard it could shatter at any given moment. "It was never your fault, okay?" Y/n finally faced her parents; they gasped. Her eyes were welling up with tears and her nose was becoming red. Her mother ran and pulled her daughter into an embrace.

"It- I-" The (h/c)-haired girl words began to choke up in her throat. "I don't know. I don't know much, but one thing I do know is that... That little girl is a woman who is still trying to put the puzzles pieces of her fucked up life together." The girl was significantly taller than her mother so she put her chin atop her mother's head. She pulled away from Cleo's embrace, with slight difficulty as she struggled to escape her mother's death grip.

"But you don't have to do it alone," Cleo stated.

"Your mother's right, Y/n," Leon agreed, standing up from the kitchen stool and walking to his daughter's side. "We are your parents and guardians. We are here to help you with whatever you need. You've also got your uncles and Ava - even if Ava is going through some shit too," He said, receiving a slap on the arm from his wife and chuckling. "What I'm trying to say is that you aren't alone."

"But that's just it!" Y/n exclaimed, creating distance from her parents. "You say I'm not alone and yet I feel it! I feel so different from everyone else! But I don't know why! It tears me apart inside because I don't understand!" She started to cry, gripping the part of her chest in front of where her heart would be and turning away. "I keep a part of myself hidden from everyone! From Ava, the boys, my uncles! Even from you guys because I'm afraid of what you'd think of me!"

Cleo and Leon exchange knowing looks. They share a nod as if they were telepathically communicating. They faced their daughter as they said simultaneously, "Your magic?"

"Exactly! I keep it secret from everyon-" Y/n started but stopped herself. She turned around swiftly, "How the fuck do you know about that?" Her parents  laughed at their daughter.

"We're your parents," Cleo said, a-matter-a-factly, "You think we wouldn't know? We raised you, honey!" The (e/c)- eyed female gaped, but still tried to regain her composure by running a trembling hand through her (h/c) hair. "Oh my, I still remember when you discovered your first power! Do you remember, honey?" Cleo asked her husband.

"I do. She was at the park like she always was. When she saw an injured bird, she started to cry which alerted us. So we ran to check on her and found her holding the poor sparrow. We stayed by her side and and tried to stop her from crying until a bright light shone from the creature's wings. Soon enough, the sparrow was bouncing up and down in her hands in joy. That's when we realised she was a truly special child," Leon recollected, not realising he was looking out the window at a bunch of sparrows on the neighbouring buildings' apartment's window sill. 

Y/n had a flashback. She remembered that sparrow. She remembered that moment. Everything about it. 

"Did you not freak out?!" Y/n asked frantically. I mean, who wouldn't act this way? You had believed that you hid your powers from everyone and then find out that your parents had known you had powers long before you did, and they didn't panic? You would want answers too! Admit it.

"We'll, we sort of did..." Leon said, scratching the back of his neck as sweat started to accumulate across his forehead. 'Okay, they're hiding something.' Y/n thought. Whenever, Leon was hiding something, he would scratch his neck, which is what he was doing now.

"What are you hiding?" Y/n asked suspiciously.

"I think it's time we told her." Cleo stated, placing a reassuring and calming hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Tell me what?!"

Leon sighed and said...

"You're not our real daughter..."

"What."

"Y/n, we know you are probably mad-"

"DAMN RIGHT I'M MAD!! MAYBE FURIOUS IS A BETTER WORD!" Y/n interrupted her mother. "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?! WHY DID YOU HID IT?!"

"Because it was their wish." Leon said calmly.

"WHOSE WISH?!" Y/n was so close to punching the wall.

"We don't know. But we think it was your real parents." Cleo admitted, reaching into her pocket, pulling out her wallet and opening it. She pulled out a worn out piece of paper and handed it to Y/n. "This was with you when we found you outside our doorstep." Y/n opened it and started to read aloud.

" 'To whoever could be reading this, please protect this child. Her name is Y/n and she is special beyond belief. When she becomes 16, give her this charm bracelet. Ensure she never loses it; it is a reminder of her true identity. Keep her safe, raise her, love her and one day, she will save many. Signed-' But the name is scribbled out..?" Y/n said, tears dripping onto the note. She looked up to her 'parents.' She fell to her knees and held the note in her lap. Cleo and Leon kneeled in front of her.

"We knew you were special from this note but we weren't sure how. But when we saw you that day, we knew," Leon explained.

"We understand if you don't want to see us as your parents or don't love us anymore-" Cleo began but she was interrupted by her 'daughter'. Y/n wrapped both Leon and Cleo in a warm embrace.

"Don't say such things," Y/n hiccupped, " You may not be my parents by blood but... Family isn't blood, it's love. And you showed me that by raising me into the woman I am today. I am to thank you for that." The family stayed on the floor in the embrace, crying their eyes out and laughing at the same time. After a while, they separated.

"Now about those boys-" Leon started, glaring slightly.

"Dad!" Y/n's face glowed bright red as she remembered what the Daemos had said.

"Don't worry honey! It was probably that they were her and Ava's friends that had a crush on her and wanted to be with them so badly that they just said it. But they don't know which one to pick, right sweetheart?" Cleo suggested. Y/n gave a light chuckle before agreeing with her mother, knowing full well there would be no reason to fight her because she would lose immediately.

"Well, Y/n, if you want to get into a relationship, get to know them better first, then you'll know if they're perfect for you," Leon instructed.

"Perfect, huh? Like you and mom (Or 'mum' for my British friends out there!)?" Y/n retorted, smirking. She watched as her parents faces blew up crimson. Her mother started denying anything and everything in a loud voice (Y/n was sure that everyone in Ava's apartment could hear), while Leon started stuttering and sputtering, unable to make coherent sentences.

"But really... I love you both and I will take into account your words, dad," Y/n smiled. Her parents cooled down and stood up, helping their daughter up. "We better get to Ava's and see how they're doing!" All in agreement, they went down to Ava's apartment. Then they saw Devon, Andrew and Ava outside the apartment.

"No one can get past me with secrets!" Devon proudly said, not knowing that Leon, Cleo and Y/n were making their way to them.

"In any case, we're happy you two have got people to hang out with pumpkin," Andrew spoke.

"Couldn't agree more," Leon said, drawing attention to him and the two women walking down the stairs with him. Y/n ran to Ava's side hugging the short potato. She whispered in her ear, 'I'll tell you about it later.' Leon and Cleo joined the gay couple's side. Andrew gave Ava a kiss on the forehead and Y/n a head pat. Devon did the same.

"We'll be dropping by again soon!" Cleo stated cheerfully, her daughter smiling at her childish demeanour.

"Oh, Mrs. Oats! Good to see you!" Leon announced, making to two youngest females look in the direction of the receiver. It WAS Mrs. Oats. The elderly woman stood there, her glasses gently propped upon her nose.

"Wonderful to see you all as well!" Mrs. Oats chorused.

"Have you been keeping an eye on our babies?" Devon asked in an almost panicked manner.

"Oh, of course!" Mrs. Oats confirmed, "They've been super busy lately. Especially with her new friends." Ava and Y/n's faces turned to ones of panic; Y/n could almost feel the aura of anger radiating from her father's very being. 'She wouldn't tell them... would she?' Y/n questioned and soon she questioned the very culmination of her existence.

"You wouldn't happen to mean those boys, would you?" Leon asked, gritting his teeth but still displaying a smile. One might think it a murderous one.

"Oh, yes!"

"You live quite close to them, care to tell us how they've been with our babies?" Andrew requested. Mrs. Oats gave a light giggle.

"They've been getting along as great friends. Yep! Nothing more than that!" Mrs. Oats confirmed. Y/n sighed in relief as she felt her father's sinister aura fade with each syllable spoken by the elder. "Though I'm sure those boys have a thing for the young girls." 'Nope, the auras back...' Y/n thought as she scrunched up her face in fear.

"They haven't been doing anything crazy, have they?" Devon and Cleo asked at the same time.

"Oh no! Please, I live next to them and I know they are doing nothing but good, wholesome fun. If those two were doing something bad, I'd most definitely inform you!" Mrs. Oats answered, giggling softly from word to word. Y/n looked to her father and saw a calm look. She felt a calm aura. 'Okay, we're in the clear.' She thought.

"That's a relief to hear," Leon said as he threw an arm around Cleo's shoulders, pulling her closer to him.

"Same here! We are glad they have a neighbour like you, Mrs. Oats." Devon complimented.

"Oh please! I'll keep an eye out for them! Even if Y/n lives one floor above me!" Mrs. Oats promised. Everyone said their goodbyes and left through the stairwell, leaving Y/n, Ava and Mrs. Oats.

"You know you both owe me big time for lying to your parents about the fun you've been having with your boy toys," Mrs. Oats proclaimed slyly. Y/n and Ava's faces erupted a bright rosy colour.

"Mrs. Oats!" Ava and Y/n yelled, while Mrs. Oats began howling in laughter. Y/n grabbed Ava's hand and pulled her into her apartment, thanking Mrs. Oats and quickly closing the door.  Ava ran to the bathroom as Y/n sank to the floor in front of the door, putting her head down to meet her knees as they tucked themselves closer to her torso.

So much had happened in the past few hours. She couldn't believe it was all happening. It was happening to fast to comprehend. But, this was her life. She has to live her life because that's all she can do. She couldn't go back in time and change things. 'There's no point in dwelling on the past, I can only move forward.' She thought. She suddenly got a sharp pain in her head. She lifted her head slightly to cushion the pain in her forehead with her palm. "Somebody kill me now."

"You sure you want that, princess?" A voice came from in front of her. Y/n lifted her head only to find her face a mere two inches from Lief's. Her eyes widened as she punched his chest. He stumbled backwards.

"와우! 나한테 쉽게 가자, 공주! 갈비뼈가 부러질 수도 있습니다 ~(Woah! Go easy on me, princess! You might break a rib~)" Leif said flirtatiously, smirking and rubbing the part of his chest which she had struck.

"LIEF!!!" Y/n screamed as she started to chase him around the apartment. In the back of her mind, she thought, 'You know what? I might not want to change a single thing at all. Let's see if I can complete this weird life-puzzle of mine.' For the first time in what seemed to be forever, she felt...

Free..?

~~~~~~The End of Chapter 17~~~~~~

(A.N: Heyo! I'm Back! Sorry for not updating in months! Truth be told, it is getting near the end of my school year which means there will be... Final Exams! Dun! Dun! Duhhhhh! So there will probably be a strong delay in posting. But when it's summer, I'm going back to my home country for a month and while probably have tons of free time so, hopefully, I will upload a bit more!

As always, don't forget to comment on any improvements, anything you like about the story or just comments that come to mind. I look forward to seeing what you think about the story and about where I can improve. Also, remember to vote if you want more and you like my stories. Thank you!

Cassie, Out!)

Words: 2390