"Get away from me!" I yelled at both Grace and Lily, their forms blurred in my teary vision. "Run! Get out! It's too dangerous and you're not allowed to die!" I got up from my place on the ground and tried shoving them inside, but they both stubbornly refused to move. 

"Gyps! For hell's sake, we are not leaving you!" Grace yelled, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

"Please! Before you burn!" I tried.

"Gypsy."

Lily's gaze bored right into me, her eyes pleading. "We won't leave you."

I took a few deep breaths. Why did everything feel so wrong?

"Can you stop the fires?" Lily asked.

I shook my head. "It's out of my control. I could try, but it won't be enough. I can't believe I did this. All because I wasn't feeling well. I'm such a drama queen –" my voice broke and I started sobbing again.

I saw Grace and Lily glance at each other. I heard Grace tell Lily to calm me down and she'll try to move the fire into some place that has water.

It was getting really hot. Most of our backyard had been burnt down. I felt horrible. I wanted to throw up.

Lily hugged me and I crumpled into her arms, sobbing, trying to stop the fire.

I almost didn't see everyone that had been staring, open-mouthed, at our backyard. The neighbours were screaming and calling fire departments, confused and terrified.

As I melted into my friend's warm, supportive hug, I found myself calming down. I tried to conjure water to put out the fire, managing further success as I regained my mind.

In a few minutes, the fire was out, and I was taking deep, shuddering breaths as my two loyal friends hugged me. I can't believe even after all the drama, they still loved me.

"Thanks guys," I took a breath. "I literally couldn't have stopped my fire from ruining the neighbourhood without you two." I barked a dry laugh at my joke.

"Don't mention it," Gracie waved the compliment off, concern and sympathy in her voice.

It took me a second to realise everyone around us was staring, mouths open, at where the fire had once been.

Lily snorted and waved her hand.

The effect was instantaneous. Immediately everyone's expressions of horror and petrified curiosity were replaced with confusion as they went back to their tasks.

The air was still lingering with smoke, steam from the water-and-fire mix combating it slightly.

"Oh, Grace and Lily! I'm glad you came. Could you help Gyps with her homework?" My mother's voice called from inside. Thank God she didn't come out to see us.

"Sure thing, Ms Bane!" Gracie called back, then she slumped backwards onto the deck, exhausted.

"Listen, Gyps," Lily started, launching into an explanation I knew she had been practising. "We left because we got texts from our parents. I had a dentist appointment I forgot all about. Case had a skateboarding lesson. Skye just left because her parents hate it when she's late."

"My parents told me if I hadn't walked Tilly-Mae by four, they'd take away my phone so I wouldn't be able to send you guys random memes I had found. Sorry," Gracie shrugged.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait," I said aloud. "Then why was Lyn so vicious? I joked about Jason in chem saying he liked her."

"You what?" Gracie and Lily both yelped, sitting up abruptly.

I laughed nervously. "Come on guys, seriously. That's all I d – why do you two look so worried?"

"GYPSICA!" Lily yelped, her eyes wide, and Gracie grabbed me by my shoulders.

"Gypsy, you sweet, innocent, poor child. Lyn used to like Jason. And she gets sensitive whenever we talk about him. Especially when it's THAT time of the month," Gracie explained.

"Oh no," I stated and fell backward, groaning. "I'm such an idiot. I completely forgot about that. I'm the worst." I started breathing fast, and my breath came out in such powerful bursts that the leaves above me were blown right off the tree branch. Courtesy of my wind powers.

"You are not," Gracie tutted. "Besides, Lyn's always lasts about three days. She'll feel terrible and apologise to you, and then you'll say it was your fault as always, and then you two will cry together or whatever."

Lily shoved her shoulder. "So insensitive," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not!" Gracie growled back, but the mischievous glint in her eyes betrayed her. "Okay, yeah, that was sarcasm. But still. Your Lyn problem will be fine, Gyps. Got that?"

I sat up again, taking deep breaths. I looked at Gracie, then Lily. I nodded, smiling at each of them.

"Yeah," I said, trying to believe the words. "Yeah, I got it. Everything will be fine."

At least for now, there was no drama.

It'll work itself out. We'll be fine.
Right? 

"Now," Lily sighed, standing up and stretching, "Gracie, can you call Skye? We'll need her if we're gonna fix this place up."

I glanced at the backyard and winced, immediately wishing I hadn't. 

The fence was burnt down, as were most of our plants and grass. In their respective places were smouldering black heaps of ash. The calming scent of fire was quickly retreating as the much less pleasant smell of burnt vegetation took its place. 

Once I had rejuvenated my strength for a little, I'd be able to grow all the plants back. And I'm sure we could replace the fence or something using Casey's older sister's ID and Lily's forget-me-knots.

But it was clear there would be a lot of work to do.

<⚙︎>

Thankfully, my family had believed the excuse that we were working on a science project in the backyard and had obliged when we asked them to kindly not disturb us, and after an hour we were finally finished. Skye had come over and gaped at the amount of stuff I had destroyed.

("I'm impressed," she had remarked. "Like, as a crackhead, good god, this level of destruction was thought to be unachievable."
To which I had replied, "I'm your King Crackhead. Bow to me, peasant!"
To which Gracie affectionately told us we were both dummies.
To which we had all laughed.)

After we were done rebuilding the backyard I had burnt, dad invited my friends in for dinner. Skye had raided our pantry and left behind no cereal-box or two-minute-noodles cup untouched (when dad had asked if that was all she wanted, the rest of us explained that it was about all she lived on); Grace enjoyed some of our potatoes and lamb-skewers; and Lily and I had the same with salad. 

Since Casey lived nearby, we all crashed at her's at around seven in the arvo (minus Lyn who didn't want to leave her bedroom). 

"Hey hey hey!" Casey chirped as she strode into her familiar room, keeping the door open just long enough for her cat, Oreo, and her dog, Jessie, to pad in before kicking the door shut with her foot. In her arms were piles of snacks, which she dumped on her bed.

"My children, you may feast," she grinned, and we all pounced onto the bed.

I invited Jessie and Oreo onto the bed, who sniffed and nipped at the chips and chocolate. To keep them away, Skye reached over, plucked Oreo from the fabric sheets, and promptly deposited the unsuspecting cat on top of her head.

Jessie curled up next to me and rested her head in my lap, looking up at me with wide, begging eyes.

I grabbed a box of Freckles and sighed contently, glancing at all my friends, who were enjoying themselves as much as I was.

"Can we sleep over?" I asked the country-girl host.

Casey nodded, excited. "It's Saturday tomorrow, my parents won't mind," she smiled.

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, opening up a convo with my mum. My grin widened when she shot back a text confirming I could stay the night.

"Whoop whoop!" Skye and Gracie cheered in unison as their parents allowed them to stay over too.

"Netflix marathon anyone?" Casey asked. We all shouted our requests at her as she fired up her desktop computer.

"Greenhouse Academy!" I shouted. "Love Simon! The 100! Stranger Things!"

"Let's take a vote," Casey yelled, struggling to be heard over us.

"All for Greenhouse Academy?"

Skye and Gracie raised their hands, then high fived each other, levitating the TV remote over to them.

"All for ... Parks and Rec?"

My hand shot up, along with Casey's own, Lily's, and the name twins, who changed their minds.

This sleepover was going to be legendary.

But I couldn't stop the next thought, despite how hard I tried: If only Lyn where here.

I shook it off, deciding not to focus on the negative. It'll be alright, I smiled. It always is.