Chapter 10

The week for Una had been the most eventful week of her life and she loved every single minute of it. Just last night she had finally caved into Ferris' pleading and they all went out partying at one of the hottest clubs that they were able to get her into.

She couldn't deny that she had fun regardless of it being something she wouldn't have liked to do, and she could hardly remember doing anything other than dancing with the girls...and then Gus. Her dancing with Gus was a little blurry and she had in her head that she just must have embarrassed herself, all she can remember was swaying her hips in time with the music whilst his hands roamed her body but she didn't have a dancing bone in her body, so lord knows what she looked like.

She didn't have the chance to go back to the small café after the girls took her out again to enjoy the shops they didn't see at first, and then the day after her and Flynn made it their goal to take pictures of every animal they saw in the park that she had fallen in love with.

One of her days she spent at home whilst the rest of them did what they needed to, Delilah had to phone her parents and she was on the call for hours upon end and looked seriously drained when she emerged from her room for dinner, and Elysia and Ferris looked seriously concerned for the girl.

Flynn had left early in the morning that day to visit his parents and looked rather happy about it, but Elysia informed her that it wasn't best to talk to Flynn when he came home and Una realised why when he walked in the door with puffy eyes and a frown on his lips.

River had "business" to attend to with his family and left without a goodbye just when Una was waking that day. She didn't mind all that much that he didn't like her, it amused her more that she could get on his nerves and spent her time doing that instead of trying to befriend him.

The day she stayed in the apartment she spent decorating her room with the new accessories her friends had bought her. The clothes they had bought were tucked away in the wardrobe as well as the clothes and shoes and everything she had brought from her town.

She didn't think it was possible to feel more at home until her room was completed, she had gotten a few shelves which were now lined with books she had bought at the bookstore that Ferris told her about and even took her one day during the week when everyone else had things to do.

She hardly knew what Gus was up to when he left the house but it seemed important and she made sure to check if he was okay every time he came back, he looked seriously exhausted at times but she didn't want to push him to tell her things he didn't want to, she respected what he did tell her, and what he didn't she was sure he would in due time.

Her dresser was lined with bottles and tubes and tubs of lotions and creams and perfumes and body wash that they had all bought her and Gus had made a few remarks on helping her use them the next time she was in the shower.

She just told him to piss off.

The mirror that leaned against the wall had small lights draped over it now and her bed had another blanket that went with the colour of her bedroom. It was lovely, she truly loved it and she could have spent all of her time at her desk that she had lined with new accessories of pens and pencils and a globe and even a map of the world and on the wall above it where the small polaroids of all the dogs she had seen with Flynn.

The bed was near empty as she fidgeted, Gus had gotten up an hour before her and went to his own room that he barely entered in order to get dressed for the day ahead. Una was sporting a headache when she woke courtesy of her friends ordering drink after drink for her at the club they partied at last night and she was sure it wasn't going to go away.

She wished to rid the pain with painkillers but she couldn't bring herself to get up, wishing that the curtains she always forgot to close actually where just that. The brightness of the city streamed into her room and she groaned loudly, rolling over and burying her head into her pillow in hopes for at least some darkness to ease her headache.

She knew that she had to get up at some point, and figured right now would at least ease her headache in ten minutes and with very much force and a lot of reluctance, she climbed out of the warm bed. She pulled on her fluffy socks that Flynn got her, he got her matching ones to his own considering they both loved the feeling of them, and he was ecstatic that she was excited to wear the ones that looked like dogs.

She could hear the muffled voices of her friends in the main room of the apartment and ran a hand through her tangled hair, decided to pull a brush through it with much force so that she looked somewhat alright.

Her door didn't creak when she opened it because the noise would have been too much for her. She was creeping quietly, rubbing her head and stifling the groan of pain as it passed through her, she wasn't used to it, used to a hangover, used to drinking and she knew that she could go a lifetime without doing it again.

And she really didn't want to if this was the pain she would find herself in.

She lifted her head to see her friends huddled around the island and stopped dead in her tracks - wide-eyed, lips parted, something dropping in her stomach and she was sure it was shock, maybe slight fear.

Right at the other side of the island, right across from her was a dog - but it wasn't a dog really...well, it was, but it was a dog with a human body. She was stuck to the ground, frozen, more than sure she must have been hallucinating, but then the dog - or, not dog - shifted, and where the dogs head was stood Flynn with a laugh on the tip of his tongue whilst the others laughed along at how odd it looked.

It was Ferris who turned to see her, and he roughly nudged Gus beside him whose head whipped around to see Una standing there. She was frozen to the spot, mouth opening and closing as though she was a fish, and as though she couldn't think of anything else to say, but she managed to choke out,

"It's too early for this," and passed out on the ground.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

She awoke two hours later on the couch in the living room with a blanket draped over her as well as Gus' arm who was stroking her hair softly. She jumped up when her eyes fluttered open, hoping that what she saw was a dream, it must be, she thought, eyes wide as she looked at the worried faces looking down at her. Her eyes locked with Flynn's who looked terribly guilty, and slightly sad.

He was sad, he felt horrible because he knew she was scared. When she saw him shift, she was scared of what he had become, regardless if he had just changed his head and it was a dog, she was scared of the fact that it was a mere possibility to do that and he wanted to make sure she knew he wasn't something to fear.

"How are you feeling?" Elysia asked, slowly stepping forward and ignoring the ache in her heart when Una flinched. She didn't mean to do it, she was just confused - so terribly confused as to what was going on, what they weren't telling her.

She shrugged Gus' arm off of her, reaching for the tea and staring into it, "is this going to change into a dog too?"

She heard a snort and lifted her eyes to see that it was River as he sat on the opposite sofa, the only one not looking at her as though she was a five-year-old child and she had just been pushed down. Flynn took a step back, and Delilah's hand rested on the boy's shoulder, a silent indication that it wasn't his fault that she saw him, that it wasn't his fault at all.

And Una knew that whatever she saw...she hated that Flynn was sad, that he blamed himself for her fear but she was just...angry. Angry at them for not telling her sooner, at Gus who had kept this from her - she realised this must have been what River was talking about outside her room just last week which felt like a lifetime ago.

He was the only one that thought she should know.

And yet she still glared at him.

"Strong. Hazelnut. Mixed thoroughly. Two and a half sugars," Elysia recited the instructions of her favourite tea and Una took a sip, the familiar taste warming her stomach and she realised she didn't have a sore head anymore, but she did have a sore back from her fall.

"So," Una took a deep breath, "you're what? Half...dog?"

River snorted again and Ferris had to cover his mouth with his hand to muffle the laughter begging to come through. Elysia bit her lip and pulled Delilah to the side to show a frowning Flynn, of course, she knew that he wasn't half dog, but she was just terribly confused.

"What is your favourite animal?" he asked and she thought for a moment.

"Elephants."

Her eyes widened when not a moment later, Flynn had grown a large trunk that was swishing about in front of him, and River piped in with, "you look better than ever Flynn."

"Piss off, River," Flynn flipped him off, sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of Una and reaching for her free hand, "I'm not the only one who is...different."

"What so you're telling me you can all grow trunks?!" she shrieked, wide-eyed but Flynn shook his head.

"No, it's not like that."

"No, but I bet you wish Gus could grow something," River piped in with the small ghost of a smirk on his lips and Una rolled her eyes. It was clear that he was enjoying her reaction, and Delilah squeaked at the joke, whacking River's arm who merely smirked wider.

"You're an arse," Gus flipped the boy off who merely just waved him off, fixing the tie around his collar and returning the bored expression.

"I'm called a shifter," Flynn said, lifting up his hand and changing it into a paw and then back quickly, "I can shift into animals...fully. But I can clone myself too, stay in my human form and in animal form at the same time - please don't ask how because the science behind it is near impossible and bloody hell it gives me a headache just thinking about it."

"A shifter," she repeated, though she had heard him loud and clear the thoughts in her mind where still muffled, "how do you shift fully?!"

He let go of her hand, standing to the side and in an instant, he had morphed...transformed into a puppy, a baby chow chow and she groaned. She had told him that chow chow's where her weakness, that she loved them so much and he used that against her.

She glared down at the dog nudging her leg, waggling its tail and she even went as far as to laugh, exclaiming, "Flynn!"

When he reappeared as himself, fully clothed with his hair slightly messier than before, she glared at him, "you did that on purpose!"

He grinned cheekily, taking the seat on the coffee table once more, "please don't hate me."

"No, I don't," she shook her head, "I'm just...shocked."

"Don't have powers in that town?" asked River.

"No," she snapped, and he looked surprised but not enough to say anything.

"How did you get through to the city?" asked Ferris, "you would have felt it...the magic."

"I was asleep," she whispered, wide-eyed she turned to Gus with an angry look swirling around in her eyes, "that's why you didn't wake me!"

"I didn't want to overwhelm you," he defended himself, lifting his hands in defence.

"We all thought it was best," Delilah spoke quietly, taking a small step forward. She lifted her hand and opened her palm and a rose bloomed. She kept her hand open until the stem formed but no thorns and she tucked it behind Una's ear, "it goes with your hair."

"What are you?" she whispered, eyes wide, her fingertips brushing over the soft petals of the blood red rose. She was shocked, that much was obvious, and she really didn't know how to react to it, but she couldn't deny one thing.

She was fascinated.

"I'm a giver," Delilah took the space in front of her that Flynn previously sat at, "I give...life. My powers are mostly plant-based. I can control all things to do with plants and gardening, it's an oddly specific power but it runs in my family like most powers do. I can control the air, the weather, the humidity, I can grow plants and vines and flowers and I can...transport."

"Transport?"

Her gasp filled the air when Delilah vanished, appearing next to her on the couch, Una's eyes had widened so much she was getting a headache, "I let the air guide me."

She had fallen onto Gus, leaning against him whilst he returned to stroking her hair softly. Delilah smiled at her softly but she didn't mimic it, she could hardly comprehend how to understand - how to react.

"A giver," Una's voice was terribly quiet, and Elysia stepped forward.

"I'm a maker," Elysia spoke shakily. She was wary to tell Una any more information in case the girl became far too overwhelmed, "I...use magic to see peoples fate and give them what they most desire."

"Desire?"

"It can have some very bad precautions," she whispered, "I use what the person loves most to give them what they want most."

"...How?"

Elysia danced her fingertips over Una's mug, taking a deep breath, "drink it."

Una was wary, but she was curious, terribly curious. What she wanted most? Well, she very much wanted tea and she had that. She took a gulp of it, not exactly feeling any different for a few moments until her head turned and she looked right at Gus.

She heard Ferris snorting and Delilah giggled softly and Una could hardly help herself when she lifted herself and slid into his lap. It was as though she knew she was mad at him and yet she still couldn't help but want to touch him, to feel him...and kiss him.

She tried to stop herself and Gus was evidently wary of what he was doing knowing that she was under one of Elysia's many spells and with a click of Elysia's fingers, Una was back to normal. She even made a point to move away from Gus, not exactly caring that it was River she was sitting beside when she wandered over to the other couch with a glare in her eye.

She nudged her head to Ferris with a frown, "what about you?"

He smirked, "I'm sure Elysia will be happy to know that she is the most beautiful girl that you have ever seen. Or that River is incredibly handsome. Or that Flynn is beautiful in his own unique way, and that Delilah is just as beautiful as Elysia."

Her mouth hung open in shock, eyes wide as she stared at the boy, "you can-"

"Read minds, yes," he nodded, watching the blush spread over her cheeks.

"You heard me at the café," she whispered, wagging a finger in his face, "that's why you smiled at me!"

"I couldn't have you thinking that," he shook his head, both of them oblivious to the curious faces, "I'm called a deceiver. I can read and control minds - erase memories, all the good stuff."

"Erase memories?" she squeaked wondering if it was safe to have that much power.

"I don't use it for bad if that's what you mean."

"Stop it, don't do that," she growled, shaking her head as though it would rid him from reading her thoughts, "my head is personal."

"If I didn't need to hear about everything you want to do to Gus and vice versa then believe me I wouldn't, but I can't control that part of it," she was sure her face was redder than before and she couldn't help but glare at him, glare at them all.

"What do you do?" her voice was harsh but River wasn't fazed, and she was sure he was going to show her before he shook his head.

"None of your concern."

"Oh, piss off!" she shrieked, standing suddenly from the couch, "is this all some kind of a joke to you all? Oh, look the human who can't do shit! Let's just violate her thoughts and keep something vital about ourselves from her!

And you!" she shrieked, pointing to Gus, "I told you everything about me, I don't have secrets from you and you keep this from me?!"

"Una-"

"Don't interrupt me!" she snapped, pointing a finger at him when he moved to get closer, "this isn't just a joke this is magic, this is myths! This shouldn't be real!"

"Una let us explain why we didn't tell you-"

"I think you have all done enough!" she huffed, "you invite me here as though you all like me but you've been keeping this behind my back...pretending that you're all nice! Is that it?! was this a joke to you, Gus? To bring me here and have my freak out and laugh about me later?!"

"Of course not!"

"Then why am I here?!"

"Because I didn't want to leave you in the village," he whispered, "you had fun...Una, we had fun. You told me you didn't want to go home and you don't need to, nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed!" she exclaimed, "is this full city magical? Is that why the plants grow and the colours are brighter? Is that why I'm drawn to you all-"

"What?!" Delilah gasped.

Ferris shifted, as did Flynn and Elysia's lips parted.

"What are you looking at?!"

"What do you mean?" River asked calmly, too calmly...he was just as bored as usual, "drawn to us."

"I don't...know!" she ran a frustrated hand through her hair, shrugging angrily, "it's embarrassing!"

"Tell us," Elysia whispered.

"Well...when you came to get us I saw you and I couldn't stay away from you," she spoke only to Elysia and her voice was low and then she turned to the rest of them, "when I came up here, when I met you all, I felt the same - like I...like I had just come home."

She shook her head with a bitter laugh, "like I was a part of something, like a family - but real families don't keep secrets from each other."

"It was to keep you safe!" Ferris said, taking a step forward, "I said that to ease the tension, Una, not to embarrass you. We are all a family here and we wouldn't ever make fun of you. Your thoughts I might hear but no one else can and I'd never ever share them with anyone, ask anyone, I would never do that and I wouldn't ever tell anyone about them.

We can't help who we are, Una," he shook his head, looking down at his hands as though it was the source of the powers he had, "but we all made a vow to never use it to hurt people."

"Elysia cast a spell," Delilah stepped forward, patting Ferris' shoulder and looking at Una, "over us all that we were a family by a bond. One of the most notable feelings of that bond was feeling drawn to each other."

"...what does that mean?" Una asked.

"It means that you are one of us," Flynn said, "it means that you are part of the heart squad."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

She didn't talk to them all for the rest of the day, and as she lay in bed all she could feel was loneliness. Gus decided to leave her alone and instead slept in his own room that was just across the hall from hers and she missed him beside her, she missed the way he hugged her and the kisses he would press to her skin to help her sleep soundly.

She didn't know how to truly process everything they had said...magic, powers, mind reading, it was all too much and she hated how much it guilted her that she had snapped at them. They couldn't help what they were and she had shouted at them, her voice booming off of the wall that she was surprised that neighbours hadn't complained.

Then again, they could probably use magic to stop the noise.

The entire city was magical and she didn't even realise, she had absolutely no clue and any possibility didn't even cross her mind. She groaned, rolling over and cursing into her pillow, her thoughts replaying over and over of the fact that she just didn't know.

She was part of the heart squad, they said because she felt drawn to them but she just couldn't help it. She thought it was because of how nice they all were, how accepting and how happy she had been.

She was happy.

She hated to admit that she was happy even if she was confused, and she wasn't scared of them either. All fear had vanished and it was just frustration of what was right in front of her eyes. She hated that they knew, that Elysia and Delilah knew of their appeal to her, that Flynn knew and River did too, it was incredibly embarrassing but she knew that Ferris didn't do it to embarrass her.

He did it to ease it, to make her realise that they weren't to be feared. That they still joked and he was still her friend, and they all were.

She heard movement outside of her room and part of her hoped that it was Gus, she hated that she did, she hated that she wanted him to come into her room, to climb into bed and maybe she wouldn't talk to him but she wanted him there regardless and he wasn't, he wasn't there.

She sat up, the rain was pouring from the heavens but she could hardly hear it. It was so odd to see the rain in the city but she wished to, so she got up. She decided to leave her room and soon shuffled into the main room where the rain lashed down harder and harder.

She had debated leaving, packing up and finding some way back to the village, but she just didn't know.

"Please don't," she turned to see Ferris.

"I forgot I couldn't think here," she mumbled, shaking her head with a bitter laugh.

He took the seat beside her on the couch, watching her whilst she watched the rain battering the window, "I'm sorry, Una, I can't help it or I would."

"I know," her shoulders slumped and she sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just hard to handle all of this."

"I get it," he muttered, "or well, I think I do, I grew up in this city. I've never known anything else."

"You must think I'm a bit of an arse then," she sighed, finally looking at him but he shook his head.

"No, I don't." He shrugged, "I think you're trying to tell yourself that you're not scared but you are...even just a little bit and I know a thing or two about being scared."

"Me too," she whispered.

"I think I should tell you something about me, I mean," he said, "to make us even, y'know, for me reading your thoughts."

"You don't need to tell me anything, Ferris," she patted his shoulder but he disagreed with a shake of his head.

"I want to," he sighed. She frowned, watching him take a deep breath.

"Do we need tea?"

He stopped, looking at her as she stared at him and soon did he nod, "I think that would be nice."

So, she got up. It took her just under ten minutes to make them both their tea, preparing it perfectly for the both of them and putting the same amount of sugar in each one because he said he takes two but he wished it was sweeter.

"So, you're a part of the heart squad now, whether you like it or not, it's a bond," he smiled at her and she hated that she felt her heart warming, that she finally had friends who loved her. She hated that she even thought of leaving, of the setback, that maybe they would have told her in due time and she had caught them at the worst moment.

She wondered what would have happened had they had the option to tell her if she would have been a lot more understanding, so she asked, "where you all going to tell me?"

Ferris took a deep breath, "we were going to tell you tomorrow, there is still a lot you don't know and I can't tell you as much as I wish to."

"Sorry," she sighed, running her hand through her ginger hair, "I'm just trying to wrap my head around it all."

"I know, it was sudden," he agreed.

It was very clear that he was nervous, or scared, or both, and Una felt horrible that he wished to tell her something - he really didn't need to and Una was terrified as to what it was.

"Last year," he took a deep breath, "last year I had a girlfriend and at the start she was great, she was nice and kind and she didn't mind that I liked to party because I met her at a party. I didn't party much last year, it was at the start of the year and River and I had gone out and I met her.

She was great and I had fallen for her fast, really fast," he shook his head, running his hands through his hair, "she started saying things about me. About my appearance, the way I dressed, my love for my friends - not good things, insults and shouting.

Shouting turned to hitting, she would slap me and punch me and she made me buy her things. I'd steal Elysia's makeup to cover up bruises and hide slits from her magic. She could cut things, it was an odd power but it was a weapon and she was powerful.

Then the...physical hitting didn't dampen her anger," Ferris was crying at that point as he remembered it and Una didn't know what emotion running through her was the most dominant.

The pain, the sadness, or the fury.

She reached for his hand and he clung to it, tightening his grip on her as he thought of what happened to him, "she would force me to do things to her...you know, she'd force me onto the bed and she'd have her way with me whilst I told her no, I told her I didn't want to do it but she made me and I couldn't stop it.

And the thing is, I felt embarrassed, I felt as if I should have been able to stop it - I guess it was because she was so small and she didn't look as though she was strong that maybe I would have been able to get her off of me but it's not like that. It didn't matter that she was my girlfriend because she wouldn't care about me, or me consenting to her or to anything she did."

"Ferris," Una choked out, rubbing small circles on his back and even moving to wipe his tears, "you didn't need to tell me that, you shouldn't have told me that because you think you owe me, but I'm glad you told me."

He took a deep breath, "I'm not done."

"After that was when I started getting more and more into parties, I drink more than I ever have and I do it for that moment of escape. I do it so I don't need to think of it, so I can go to bed numb and wake up without the nightmares," he shook his head, the tears flowing freely.

"Ferris that is no way to live," Una bit back her own tears, "you should be able to laugh and be happy and be yourself. You shouldn't have to live with the nightmares, or drink your pain away because it won't help you."

"Nothing else does," he wiped his tears with his sleeve, choking back his words and she threw her arms around him tightly, allowing him to sob into her.

"Who else knows?" she asked, tightening her grip on him.

Una didn't know why Ferris trusted her enough to tell her but Ferris knew that she was trustworthy, he had looked into every corner of her mind, knew every single thing about her and trusted her as much as he trusted his friends. She was part of the heart squad, she was a part of his family and he trusted her.

"Only River," he muttered, "River can...control himself the most. He was livid, he really was and he made it clear to her and her family that if she ever came near me they'd all suffer, but that was all he could do.

If I told the others, they wouldn't be so controlling of who they were," Ferris sighed, "they would do things they never thought possible, and I know that Elysia wouldn't hold back, she'd kill her if she knew, Delilah would too, Flynn would rip her to shreds."

"River should have when he had the chance," Una growled angrily.

"I said he couldn't, he respects my choice," Ferris leaned back on the sofa and Una did the same, "I'm sorry if that was too much for you to hear."

"No," she shook her head, "I just want her dead for what she did to you. But I'll promise you something, Ferris, I'm not going to rest until you're happy being you, not intoxicated you."