unedited and written at a questionable time of night so might not be cohesive but hey, it's an update xx 

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"Okay, rumors say that a certain person is going to be sleeping over my house tonight," Blythe told me with a grin as she placed her tray of food onto the table. 

My conversation with Lyra stopped immediately, but we shared a brief glance as if silently acknowledging we'd talk later. It was nice to know that I was less alone with her now in on my ability. While I still talked with Eamon, it was a reminder that I didn't have to rely on him thus meaning that maybe I could slowly ease out of talking to him so much. 

Only a few weeks previous I hated him, and it unnerved me I now thought of him as someone to rely on. I didn't want to get too attached to any sort of friendship with him, especially with the option to now discuss problems with Lyra, who definitely would have more of an opinion anyways. 

"Really?" I joked. "Now who told you that?" We laughed together and started to talk about our plans for the night. Apparently her parents had let her go out and fully stack up on snacks, and random games for us to play.

"We have to play pictionary," she told me. "It's some human game that Aunt Sophie taught us how to play, and I have to give in and admit that it can be very fun. It's kind of frustrating, but you're good at drawing so it should be fine." 

"Good at drawing you say?" I jumped in shock as Eamon took a seat beside me. I looked at him with confusion, but he looked towards Blythe. 

Her mouth gaped open, looking at him with bewilderment. Lyra decided to pipe in, telling him, "Yeah. Nova is an amazing artist. She could probably rival your dad, if we're being honest." 

"What are you doing over here?" Blythe asked the question I had been thinking. 

"Well, I don't have lunch detention and I thought I could celebrate that fact with the only people I know that don't have lunch detention either," he explained, taking a bite out of the food on his tray. "All my friends decided to get lunch detention the one day I wouldn't have it. Bummer." 

I narrowed my eyes at him, but didn't question it. "However will you survive?" I instead made the sarcastic reply. 

He grinned at my comment, joking, "Well maybe with your help I'll make it." 

I rolled my eyes, looking down to hide my blush. While frustrated that he was sitting here with me and my friends, full well knowing that I didn't want to become public about any friendship with him due to the fact I would have no explanation for how it started other than telling everyone about my abilities, I also found myself somewhat content. He had become a rather good and close friend ever since I manifested. 

I looked back up to see my best friend's eyes glaring at the minimal space between him and I, so took the initiative to add more space between us. I was still confused, usually when the rest of his crowd was in detention he would simply do something to get him thrown in there or he had other tables he would sit with. I didn't realize we had become one of those tables. 

"Do you guys normally only have just the three of you?" He asked, trying to start a conversation. He directed the question to Blythe, who answered promptly. 

"We like it when it's just the three of us," she stated, her voice filled with malice. "What is your plan, here, Foster? What are you up to? I know you're not just a sad neighbor with nowhere to sit." 

"Well, I wouldn't have sat if I'd known I would get such a warm, welcoming meeting. I much prefer to be heckled at when peacefully sitting with my cousin and her two friends to eat my food." 

She rolled her eyes. "We're not cousins, Eamon."

"I just overheard you call my mom your aunt. Guess what that makes me?" 

"A pain in my behind?" 

He grinned at her joke, and I was happy that he wasn't taking her lashing too close to heart. I knew that my best friend could be vicious, especially when it came to their friend group. I knew it hurt her to see all her cousins so close and how they left her out of everything, how they isolated her at all their family events. It happened even before we became so close, and I knew that it probably wouldn't end soon. While the Foster children were the ones without biological ties, she was the one without the psychological ones. Her mother wasn't part of their parent's group, and with her being closer to her mom she found she wasn't really part of it either. 

It was silent for a little while, with all of us eating. I was a little upset that the conversation about our sleepover had been interrupted from the tension, but I was more worried about what would happen if my friendship with Eamon continued. I didn't want to continue to be friends with him if he made my best friend feel so isolated in that way. I always knew they didn't get along too well, but actually seeing the way they interacted was more eye opening. 

Is there something wrong with her? I tried not to react to hard when Eamon's voice reached my mind. I shrugged slightly as I took a sip of my drink. The color was somewhat murky, and it didn't look too appetizing, but the actual taste was a delicious sweet flavor that danced on the tastebuds. 

I allowed him to listen as I replied, Does she not normally act like this? 

She's always irritated when I'm around her, but never to this extend. What happened? Is there something going on with her that our parents should know? He glanced at Blythe with concern in his eyes, but she stared at the table in front of her. 

I took the time to study her appearance, how unkempt her appearance actually was. Her hair looked as if she had only brushed for ten seconds, her attire was slightly wrinkled with her cape in slight array, and her face showed complete and utter exhaustion. It was something that I failed to notice all before, but now as I looked I realized that nothing in her appearance changed when Eamon came in, other than the scowl. 

She looked like a zombie and I was too caught up in the happiness surrounding our sleepover that I ignored it. 

I'll talk to her, I told him and he took the finality of my statement to exit my thoughts. 

"Hey, Bly, lunch is almost over and I need to grab something from my locker really quick before darting all the way back in this direction. Come with?" She let out a sigh but nodded and followed after me as I walked the distance towards our lockers, which were definitely far away from my next session. "What's wrong?" I questioned her when we reached the locker. 

"What?" 

"You look exhausted. What's up?" I asked, concern filling my voice. 

"When did you become so close with him?" she asked, her tone slightly irritated. "I told you nothing really good would come out of it, and while I trust you I really don't trust him." 

"Nothing is going on. Is that what this is about?" I frowned. It had to be more than boy troubles. Eamon bothered her, but not this much. 

She exhaled before lowering her voice and saying, "When did you become so close with her?" 

"Her?" I was completely shocked. "Who's this her?" 

"Lyra," Blythe responded. "I don't know. I've been sitting down at lunch everyday with so much to say and it just seems like you could care less and you're more interested in talking with her. And it makes me feel less than because I've always felt like you were my person and I've been yours. Like obviously we're not object, I don't think of you as one, but I just thought-"

"Of course you're my person!" I interrupted her, not wanting to hear the rest. "You have been my best friend forever. You can't be my only friend, and it's something I realized lately, and Lyra as always been there with us at lunch each day. I'm not going to ignore her." 

"You guys used to have small talk everyday, but now it's like you have serious conversations that stop immediately once I reach the table. Like you have some big secret that I'm not in on." I fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist she had given me during our midterms a few months prior that I never took off. She immediately noticed, knowing that's my nervous habit. "There is something I don't know, isn't there? What is it?" She narrowed her eyes. 

I bit my lip, worried because to admit my abilities in that moment would also be telling on Lyra. And I couldn't do that to her. "I can't tell you," I stated. 

"And why not?" She crossed her arms. 

"It's not my secret to tell," I half-lied. "It's something with Lyra that I found out and she doesn't want others knowing. I'm sorry. It's not my secret." 

Blythe studied my face, and I stood there awkwardly waiting for her to say something. "It has nothing do to with you?" She finally asked. 

I was about to open my mouth when a voice cut in, "What are you ladies talking about over here?" Then in my mind, Thank me later. 

I sent him as much gratitude as I could with just my expression as he walked in from behind Blythe, making her turn around. "We were talking about things that aren't your business," Blythe told him. 

I took the distraction as a breathing moment for myself. I found in my training that certain emotions spiked my heat. Anger, sadness, fear, and worry. Within the past thirty minutes I had probably experienced all of those. That itself was a reminder of what I was protecting. I almost got too emotional, and all this tension would have been for nothing. 

I looked towards Eamon, who was practically saving my butt, and I realized that even if I had Lyra to talk to, he would be there to help me. 

And my poor best friend was standing there, still feeling left out and alone. And suddenly I knew that she would help me too. Her own father was a twin, she had been raised to embrace everyone around her. What would ever make me think that she wouldn't embrace me? 

I knew that we needed the sleepover. I knew that she needed to know. 

***

it is 1:37a.m. i wake up in exactly four hours and seven minutes. 

i haven't updated in literally eons. like since December. 

I have new classes now (Chemistry, AP English, Adv Mods and Fun, and AP Gov) and they're all my hard ones so i'm pretty much always busy. I also have friends now, fun fact. and I graduate in like 105 days. My prom dress came in and i'm kind of really into it ?? which is good since it's my prom dress lmao. 

also i got accepted into my college aND like i've applied for a few different scholarships and my college gave me my track and everything so i'm enrolled with student ID and a student email and everything. everything is suddenly feeling super real and tomorrow my mom is going to show me how to file my taxes. wild.