Andie bit her lip. Was this about the day Hannah had been taken? Had they figured out she'd lied? Or the night she herself had vanished? She looked at her mother, trying to keep the sudden panic off her face.

Think of something, anything... come on, think!

She picked up her glass and took a long sip to give herself some composure.

"Listen, honey..." Lauren said. "I am all for getting back on the horse right after you fall off, but... when it comes to romantic relationships..."

Andie's head snapped up from her glass of orange juice. A part of her was relieved, the other stunned by what her mother was saying;

"Whoa, wait, what?" she asked. "What are you talking about? You think I'm replacing Bane with Eric? Because I am not, and that would be wrong."

Lauren blinked in surprise.

"Well... I... I just thought..."

"Mom, Bane and I didn't break up," Andie said. "We're just... hitting a few bumps, at the moment, that's all."

Lauren looked taken aback.

"Oh... I just assumed... you had seemed so upset, lately..."

"Because I am." Andie said. "But that doesn't mean I want to be with someone else."

Especially not Eric...

"Well, then... I wonder if it is very wise to spend time with Eric..."

"Why? We're just friends."

"To you, but I'm not sure he feels the same way."

Andie didn't answer. She wasn't sure what to answer, and she knew her mother had a point. She'd noticed it too, no matter how much she tried to shut it out.

"He's my friend..." she said quietly. "I can't just ignore him."

Lauren touched her forearm.

"No, I never suggested that. I know you two were very close as children. But being close at the age of ten is very different from being close at the age of eighteen. I just mean that you need to be careful."

Andie nodded. She knew that, but had a bad feeling it might not be enough.

"I will be," she said.

The sound of hurried footsteps made them look up.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Hannah squeaked excitedly, hurrying back into the kitchen, followed by Hank.

"Laura's fine with Nina coming along, so long as she's back by six," he told them. "She said they have guests tonight."

"Okay, thanks, Dad," Andie said, glad for the change of subject.

Andie and Eric watched Hannah and Nina run around in the park. They sat on a small stone wall, listening to the dogs barking and the children laughing.

"Hey... Andie?"

Andie looked at Eric.

"Listen, I really wanted to apologize for how I behaved since I arrived here..."

Andie managed to bite back the "you should be" that tickled her tongue.

"... It's okay... I was hard on you too."

"You had a right to be. I was completely out of line."

"Let's just say we were both wrong, and leave it at that." Andie smiled.

He smiled back. There was a pause.

"So... Did you manage to figure things out with Bane?" he asked.

Andie hesitated before answering. She wasn't sure Eric was the right person to talk to about this. If she said yes, she would be lying, and if she said no, she was almost sure that would give him ideas.

"... I don't know..." she said.

"Really? You looked like you were doing okay at the dance."

"... Oh... you saw that?"

"Well, me and half the school, so yeah." he smiled.

Andie flushed. She hadn't expected to have caused that much of a sensation...

"I... I don't know." she said again. "It's... complicated."

"If I may ask, what happened between you guys?" Eric inquired.

Andie looked at him, trying to decide whether to confide in him or not. She had done so without thinking as a child, but now...

"... I..." she began.

Andie finally decided she would confide in him. He was the only one who had a half-way impartial view on her situation... well... as much as it could be, given that he had feelings for her... and of course, she couldn't tell him all the details... but it couldn't hurt to give him a general picture...

"... We've been through a lot of things together. And I came to trusting him more than I ever did anyone. The way I trusted you as a kid."

"That's usually a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yes," Andie agreed. "But... I recently found out something about him. It's not... bad, exactly. But it changes everything, because it was something important, and he didn't trust me enough to tell me when I trusted him with m-"

She only just stopped himself from saying "with my life", which would have sounded strange without the whole story.

"My heart," she finally said. "And... I thought he had done the same, when... it seems he hadn't."

Eric seemed unsure of how to respond.

"What do you plan on doing?"

"... I don't plan on leaving him, if that's what you're asking," she said.

"It wasn't. And I know I made some mistakes, but everything I say is not about wanting you and Bane to break up."

Andie sighed.

"I know... I'm sorry. I just hate this situation..." she said as Hannah's laugh filled the February air.

Later that evening, Eric drove them home. He climbed out with them and walked them to the door. Hannah hurried inside while Nina walked home to her mother next door. Andie and Eric paused outside the door, looking at each other.

"Thanks for today," Andie said. "It was nice."

Eric leaned against the wall, smiling. Andie couldn't help remembering how easily he'd smiled as a child, and how it had always made her feel like smiling too.

"You're welcome." he said.

Andie ran a hand through her hair before resting it on the back of her neck.

"... I'm sorry I spent all that time talking about Bane..." she said. "I know that couldn't have been fun for you."

"No, it wasn't," he said. "But it's okay. I know when I'm beaten."

Andie thought it best not to comment on that.

"You're still my friend... I don't want to lose you."

"No. I know that. I don't want to lose you, either."

There was a silence.

"... What happened to us?" Eric asked. "We could never get enough of each other when we were kids."

"We grew up," Andie said quietly. "We changed."

"Yeah. We did grow up," Eric agreed. "... Maybe I should just surrender."

Andie sighed and rolled her eyes at him.

"It was never a competition..." she said. "I told you that. I was always crystal clear on where I stood. And that hasn't changed."

"I get that." Eric said. "I just don't want to go down without a fight."

Andie raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not a prize you can win, you know."

Eric nodded.

"Yeah, I do." he said.

"Good." Andie replied. "Because I'm tired of feeling like one."

She suddenly bit her lip.

"... I'm sorry, that wasn't fair..."

"No, you're right. I was so focused on getting what I wanted that I forgot it wasn't actually an object."

Andie wasn't sure what to answer.

"... I'd better go," she said. "My parents will be waiting for me."

"Yeah, mine too." Eric replied. "I'll see you at school."

He kissed her cheek and hurried off before she could react. Andie watched him go, and for the first time, she realized she didn't mind so much.

That night, Andie woke up to Adena's voice.

Andie, wake up!

"Adena, I'm tired, can't it wait till morning?" Andie mumbled sleepily.

I don't think so. It's Hannah.

That caught Andie's attention. And now that was awake, she could hear a faint knocking sound.

"What?"

She's outside the door, right now.

Andie got to her feet and opened the door.

"Hannah? What's wrong?"

She then saw she was crying.

"Come on..."

She led her to her bed and sat her down before wrapping the blanket around her.

"Hannah, what is it?"

"Fire... I dreamed I had flames coming from my hands, and I couldn't control it... Andie, I'm scared..."

Adena, why is this happening? Andie demanded.

I don't know... it seems her short time in the Demon Realm exacerbated what was already within her... her power is waking up...

"It's okay, Hannah..."

She wrapped her arms around Hannah. And at that moment, a burning heat flowed through her as well as a flash of memory. She was in the car, several years before. Hannah was beside her, and they were arguing. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but their expressions were clear. Just then, there was a flash of light. Andie saw her eyes widen, then her body move across the back seat to shield Hannah. There was a flash of white light... and in the white light, Andie saw a flash of golden red...

"Andie?"

She had pulled away from Hannah sharply with a gasp. Trembling, her heart hammering, Andie looked at her sister, then at Adena, who was staring at her with wide eyes.

What... wait... is that possible? she asked, her inner voice far too high.

... I don't know... Adena answered. I suppose that your desire to protect her must have triggered your power somehow...

So it's my fault? Andie said. That's what you're saying?

What? No, of course not! You couldn't possibly have known...

That doesn't matter! It happened, whether I knew or not. So what do we do now?

"Andie, what's going on?" Hannah asked.

Andie hesitated. It was time to tell her.

"Listen... Hannah..." she said, turning to look at her. "Remember when that napkin caught fire, and when you got a fever?"

Hannah nodded, looking scared.

"Well... when I was born... I was given some... special abilities. And... when we had that accident with mom... it looks like I gave you a small portion of those abilities."

Hannah's eyes widened.

"But don't worry, from what I can tell, it's really faint." Andie said, repeating Adena's words. "It'll be okay, trust me. I'm going to make sure it works out."

She had no idea how, and pulled Hannah close to keep her from seeing her face. A look at Adena told her she was as worried as she was.