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Vienna groaned as she opened her eyes, the bright overhead lights blinding her. She turned her head to the side as she blinked continuously, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness.

"Sweetheart?"

She looked up in a confused daze towards the voice, her hand moving to clutch her head.

"What happened," she croaked out as she addressed her father, her head moving as she took in her surroundings, registering the hard surface that was beneath her. She realised she was laying atop one of the wooden tables in the dining area, surrounded by various people who had looks of relief on their features. The blonde boy seemed to be missing, but that was the least of her worries. "Is the school okay? How long was I out for?"

Silva nodded as he clasped both his hands around her left hand, and placed a gentle kiss on her fingers. "We're okay. You were out for around fifteen minutes."

"Bloom went full fairy," Natia exclaimed from the end of the table, an excited expression on her face. "She had these massive fiery wings and just.. obliterated the Burned Ones." Vienna widened her eyes in surprise as she listened to the girl explaining what happened in detail, finally recognising the absence of burning pain she had experienced.

She sat up carefully with the help of her father and moved her legs over the edge of the table, her fingers moving to pull up her shirt slightly. A small bandage was now covering her wound, but there were longer any black veins travelling across the entirety of her torso.

"I thought I told you to be careful," Silva joked, but the welling up tears in his eyes showed just how distraught he was, his grip around her hand tightening slightly.

"Technically, you told me that after I crossed a Burned One," she responded with a small smile, her free arm wrapping around his waist as she laid her head against his chest. She could hear the others shuffling away as she felt her father wrapping both arms around her, his head leaning against the top of hers.

"I have never felt so scared," he mumbled as he held her, his voice shaking slightly. "I don't know what I would have done if you-"

"It's okay, Dad," she reassured with a soft voice. "You're not gonna lose me. Not anytime soon anyway."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he questioned as he pulled away, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Ben could have helped you."

"I didn't want you to sideline me," Vie admitted with a small shrug. "I had zanbaq, so I thought I would be fine."

"Just... Just don't do it again. Please, for my sake."

Vienna nodded with a small smile, her hand moving up to wipe the lone tear from her father's face. "I promise I won't do it again."

"Good," he murmured, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead.

"You should probably find Sky," he suggested after a few moments, a new kind of pain visible in his eyes.

She gently moved off the table and onto her feet as she looked up at him, a small frown on her face. "I take it you told him about Andreas."

The man sighed as he looked away, his shoulder falling slightly. "Yeah, he was pretty devastated. And angry, understandably so. I should have told him years ago, but the truth is I was too much of a coward."

"You've told him. That's the important thing. I'm sure he'll forgive you as long as you give him some space. It can't be easy finding out that the person you idolised for years isn't actually idol material."

"Yeah," the man breathed out softly.

Vienna's eyes swept across the room as she looked for the boy in question. She saw that various students were helping to put the courtyard back to how it was before, but she couldn't spot the tall, blonde boy amidst them.

"He's outside," Silva stated, pulling her gaze towards him. "I saw him leave when Ben was trying to fix you up." She nodded in thanks before making her way through the room and towards the exit.

As she stepped outside, her eyes automatically found a figure sitting in the distance under the cover of night. Her eyes momentarily glowed purple as she shadow-travelled to the other side of the field and appeared behind the boy.

"Hey."

"Shit," the boy exclaimed under his breath, clearly startled by the sudden greeting. He looked over as Vienna sat down on the grass beside him, his head shaking slightly as a small smile graced his lips. "I forgot you could do that."

"Sorry, " she said with a chuckle as she pulled her legs close to her chest, her gaze turning towards the academy, watching as the lights went out one by one.

"You're not sorry."

"You're right, I'm not," she responded with a laugh as she turned towards the boy again, and found that he was already gazing at her.

"How are you feeling?" he questioned. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"It's just a scratch, I'll be fine." The boy raised his brow at her. "I swear I'm fine, pretty boy. The Burned One that infected me is dead. It's just a regular injury now."

She watched as he nodded slightly. "Good."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

Vienna shrugged slightly and turned away. "Okay. But in case you're not fine, I'm here to listen."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Sky spoke up again. "It feels like my whole world is crumbling around me." He sighed softly as he tilted his head down towards his knees, his fingers playing with the sleeves of his shirt. " All my life I've been idolising my father. Everyone has always compared me to the great Andreas, and how I'm gonna one day be as great as him. Turns out he was a complete joke." Vienna listened intently as he spoke, realising just how badly he needed to get this off his chest. "And Silva. He's been like a father to me, but I guess he only looked out for me because of his own guilt."

"It's true," Vienna softly spoke, prompting a surprised look from the boy. "He initially helped you out because he felt guilty. But he grew to love you like you're his own son. He really wants to make it right, but I told him to give you some space. He won't try and approach you until you're ready." Sky didn't say anything after that, and instead chose to stare ahead at the building. "I don't know how long you plan on being out here, but i'm gonna stay here right with you."
"You should go and get some rest," he tried to convince, but she shook her head at him. "No way. I'm staying here with you." She laid her head against his shoulder, and after a few moments she felt his arm snake around her waist.

"Did you hear about what Bloom did?" the girl questioned.

"I heard she single handedly obliterated the Burned Ones."

"Apparently she went full fairy too. With massive fiery wings."

"No way, really?"

The two of them continued to talk about random things through the night, both of them content with the other's company. They were two kids with their own personal problems. But together, they made those problems disappear, even if it's only temporarily.

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already crying thinking about the next chapters 🤠🤠

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