I was heading over to the library, and I noticed everyone but Fire Elements were wary of me. It made me a little sad, but I smiled through it and continued.

But then I started to get lost. Why had I not paid attention to the tour?! I shouldn't have been gawking at the little intricate designs...

Whenever I tried to walk over to someone to ask for directions, they'd get scared and run away. The only ones who didn't were the Fire Elements.

I looked around, searching for the friendliest one out of them all...

And I saw her.

With chestnut brown hair weaved into a braid and flaming amber eyes, and some clothes mixing between the genre of punk and girliness, she seemed the nicest out of all of them.

And then I made my move.

I walked towards her, trying to keep a friendly smile on my face. Hopefully she's not one of those stereotypes that are popular but mean, I thought. But then again - when were stereotypes ever found in real life?

"Hi! I'm Rachel. What about you?" I asked, holding my hand out.

"Hey there! I'm Candice Weston, nice to meet you!" She said with a smirk, grabbing my hand firmly. "What business do you have with me?"

"Oh, well I was looking for the library and I got kinda lost, so when I wanted to ask people for directions, they just ran away. Y'know, because I'm a Dark Eleme-" I got cut off.

"What?! Why would people just not help you out only because of your Element? People these days are sick in their minds." Candice said. What a relief.

"Yeah... Anyway, I noticed the Fire Elements weren't scared, and so I decided to ask the friendliest one. You seemed nice, so I walked over to you." I said.

Her face morphed back into a smile as she ruffled my hair. "Thanks, Rachel! Hey, how about we find the library together?"

"Sure!" I replied happily.

As we walked to the library, I was a little weirded out by why she ruffled my hair. And then I realized - even though we'd just met, her presence was almost like a big sister's. It made me smile even wider. The thought of a big sister was enough to keep me smiling for days.

True, I had Lukas, but I needed another girl in family other than Mom-

Mom. The thought of her gone made my smile shrink a little. But I can't think of her right now! She wouldn't want me to worry over her!

I forced my smile to keep hold. I'd be happy. For her!

Soon, we arrived at the library.

"So, what kind of books do you like?" I asked Candice.

"Anything that involves fantasy. Harry Potter, The Land of Stories, The School for Good and Evil, y'know, stuff like that." She answered. "What about you?"

"Oh! Well, I like that as well, but it's always fascinating to learn about our world's history. It's like real life's version of a story! Filled with thrills and excitement!" I replied, grinning.

"When you put it that way, history is super cool. You make things sound super amazing!" She said.

I went bashful. "Oh, it's nothing, really..."

I looked around t all the shelves, and the people around there. The people in the library was more than what others would usually expect - a lot of teenagers don't really like spending their time reading. But a bunch of them do. Including me.

I guess this school picked out most of the ones who love to read!

"I think the fantasy section is out in the back. I read the signs. Let's go check!" I said, pointing at the far end of the library. Candice nodded.

While we were walking, a Fire Element was in our way.

"Excuse me? Um, could you scoot over a bit? We need to pass." I said as nicely as I could. He turned around and glared at me. Specifically me. I gulped.

"Yeah, right. Like I'd move for a Dark Element. And what are you doing with one of our own? Planning to hex her or something?" He growled.

"No! It's not like that!" I protested.

Candice grabbed the boy and I noticed a glint of rage in her eyes.

"Look, you got a problem? I don't see why you have to step in like this. Do you not have faith in me for being with a Dark Element, huh? Are you that much of a weasel to doubt your classmate? I figured the rest of you would be so dumb. Now go away before I get serious - my fire is wild." Candice said.

Once the boy was freed, despite his muscular and intimidating appearance, he fled like a kicked puppy and stumbled on the floor, desperately trying to get away from Candice.

Well. I guess I picked out a good friend. Then again I feel guilty for getting her all up in my mess...

"Now that that's over with, let's actually go to the fantasy section." She said with a smile.

"R-right! Thanks!" I said, and we headed over there.

We picked out two books to read together. The books were called Mystical Realms and Colorblind.

They were really interesting! One was set in medieval times, while the other was set in the modern day! It was incredible!

The mystical one was pretty short though. And it had a lot of plot holes. Like how did Molly die form being corrupted?!

Whatever. It's fine. The other book made up for it.

And with Candice's great storytelling abilities, it was amazing! She reads with such emotion!

It did take a while though. A few hours at least. Now there were only three hours left of teh day before we had to go home.

My stomach rumbled.

"Uh, Candice? I'm hungry. What about you?" I asked.

"Me too. Let's go look for the cafeteria." She replied.

So we got up form our seats and set off. I started to explain about my twin brother.

"So, I have a twin brother named Lukas. He uses his head a lot, a big contrast to me using my heart." I started. "He always thinks rationally and only seems to panic when we're in real trouble. However he's been getting really cold recently, and doesn't open up to people much. He's gotten paranoid, ever since..."

I stopped cold.

"Well... I won't ask for details, but when you get the chance, tell your brother I said that no matter what happened in his life, he should do  what makes him feel better and be who he wants to be. Nothing should let him get in the way of his dreams, and he just has to move on. We'll all be supporting him after all." Candice said.

It's fine. She doesn't know when it happened. She assumes it happened a while ago.

"It happened yesterday night." I said. "Our mom went missing. Not a trace of her. We called the police but they said they couldn't do anything unless she was gone for forty-eight hours. Ever since then, Lukas has been really harsh to everyone and everything. Except me, of course. But that's besides the point."

I looked up at her. "He's starting to become... scary." I added, frowning.

Candice frowned too. "I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe he needs something to distract himself - something to lift his spirits up."

"Yeah, maybe..." I said. Think, Rachel, think. What's one of his interests?

Well, he's talented in drawing... and painting, too...

Maybe we could draw and paint together! That'll be sure to lift his spirits!

And just like that, I was smiling again.

"Thank you so much, Candice! After school I'll be sure to make him happy again!" I said with a giddy grin.

"I'm just glad I was able to help you!" She said happily.

We were in the cafeteria, and only a dozen or so of people were there. They were finishing up their food too.

And in the far corner, sitting alone at a table, I saw Lukas.

"Hey! Lukas!" I said, waving my hand over my head to get his attention. He looked up and waved his hand back, but when he saw Candice his waving slowed.

I grabbed Candice's hand and headed over to his table.

"Sorry I took a while to get here. We were hungry and I completely forgot you were here! Meet Candice!" I said, showing her off. "There was this big muscly Fire Element, and by the time Candice was done with him, he went squealing a pig and stumbled away! She's so cool! You're gonna be friends in no time!"

Lukas didn't look that excited though. He stared at her coldly for a bit, but after a few moments he lightened up a bit and held out his hand.

"You probably already know, but I'm Lukas. Nice to meet you." He said calmly.

"Nice to meet you too!" Candice said, and took his hand.

"You guys get to know each other while I order some food. What do you want from the menu, before I go?" I asked Candice.

"I'll just take the cheapest thing." She replied. I nodded, and headed off.

I headed off, confident that they'd get along. I ordered the cheapest thing for Candice, a cheeseburger with fries and ketchup. As for myself, I got a taco and some potato wedges.

I returned with two trays of food and instantly sensed some tension. Lukas was glaring at Candice, but when he noticed me, he quickly smiled. I could tell it was forced.

He didn't seem to like Candice. But why...?

"Here's the food! I assume you ate before we came, Lukas." I said, and he nodded.

And then we dug in. The taco was delicious and crunchy, and the potato wedges were sweet and salty at the same time. Whenever I looked up from my food though, Lukas would be staring at Candice but then quickly smiling at me.

"Thanks for having me, you two!" Candice said after we'd finished eating. "I have a few things I want to do before school is over for the day, so I'll get to that. Have a great day!"

"You too!" I said, smiling and waving. Lukas just waved.

After that, she headed off.

"So, Lukas, why were you glaring at Candice?" I asked. Lukas just chuckled.

"What do you mean? I wasn't." This made me even more confused. Before I could press it further, he changed the subject.

"So, are you excited for the magical things we might learn?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah! We'll finally be able to do really cool things! Like change outfits with the snap of our fingers, make awesome and durable shields against whatever forces might come our way, and levitate things with the simple flick of the wrist!" I gushed.

"Sheesh, keep it down, will ya? People might stare." Lukas said.

"Since when have you ever cared about public opinion?" I asked with a giggle.

"Since you got tickled." He said with a grin.

"Huh-" He tickled me. "BAAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHA! Lukas, stop! Hehehehe!"

*Time Skip*

Soon, school ended, and we were escorted back to the bus, being bus students. Sitting down together, he continued to stare out the window just like he did earlier this morning.

"Lukas...?" I asked. He turned.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He paused, but still answered.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Despite his words, it sure didn't feel that way.