Lena Matthews

"No, no, that's not what happened at all," I said, trying to catch my breath. My stomach already hurt from laughing so much, and Carter's commentary was making it worse.

"Then what?" Carter asked.

"Ok, ok, so," I said, starting that part of the story again. I cleared my throat. "When Mr. Burns found out that I left, he locked the door and trapped me outside."

"Oh no," said Carter, already knowing where this story was going.

"So the rat was loose in the classroom, but I couldn't tell anyone. Every time I banged on the door, Mr. Burns told me to get a hall pass." I explained.

"And?" Carter asked.

"Well, I was upset." I continued.

"Naturally," Carter affirmed.

"So, I didn't tell him," I said, smiling at the memory. "If he wasn't going to let me back inside or listen to what I had to say, then I figured that he had it coming."

"What happened when he realized?" Carter asked.

"Complete chaos," I answered proudly. "A couple girls started screaming and jumped on the tables. The guys were no better. And Mr. Burns," I bit back another laugh. "I've never seen a face turn that red. And that's when someone pulled the fire alarm."

"I would have killed to see that." Carter laughed, as energized by the story as I was.

"Yeah. It really was something." Finn added, unamused. Finn was not Carter's biggest fan, apparently.

"What?" I asked, glaring in Finn's direction. Finn and I never argue, but ever since Carter and I have become friends, he's started acting odd.

"It's just that you tell that story all the time," Finn explained. "It gets old."

"This is my first time hearing about it," Carter added, only to Finn's annoyance.

"Asher, could you get the marshmallows for us, please?" Mom asked, interrupting the conversation. She could sense the tensions rising between Finn and I, and was ready to separate us before anything bad happened. Finn got up obediently and went to the house to get supplies for s'mores. Carter watched him go, not saying anything.

To celebrate our first week in Atalka, Dad had decided that we could use a nice bonfire. The backyard setup looked like it had come from a commercial, and was far too nice to go unused for much longer. I asked to invite Carter and Jessica along, and would have invited Rowan too if she wasn't stuck with babysitting duty. Finn, however, was hesitant. This past week, he's had plenty of chances to get to know both Carter and Rowan, but has dodged all of them. In the process, it's felt like he's been trying to avoid me.

After some convincing, Dad agreed to have some guests over. He reasoned that never having any guests could be suspicious, and wasn't willing to throw away a chance to learn more about Atalka. So far, everyone except Finn has warmed up to Reynolds.

"So, how long have you been working at Atalka General?" Mom asked, breaking the silence. She adjusted her scarf before smiling amiably at Jessica.

"Quite some time," said Jessica. "Being a nurse has been so rewarding over the years. It's a good way to talk to people. Most of my patients don't really have a choice." She and Mom shared a laugh.

"So, what do you specialize in?" Mom asked, taking another sip of red wine. Jessica had refused any alcohol, claiming that she was trying to keep her sobriety.

"Wherever I'm needed," Jessica explained. "Atalka General is pretty small since there aren't too many people living within the gate, so everyone in there has to be pretty versatile."

"I got the marshmallows," Finn announced, returning. He sat down next to me and tossed the bag a little more aggressively than I had expected.

"Watch it!" I complained as the bag bounced out of my lap. Finn didn't seem to care.

"What are you looking at?" Finn asked, looking at Carter.

"Nothing," said Carter, turning away.

"Does anybody want to see a magic trick?" Aurelie piped up. She looked at everyone expectantly.

"Sure, Annie," I said, eager to steer the conversation in a different direction. I had no idea what was going on between Carter and Finn, but sitting between the two of them was stressing me out.

"Okay," said Aurelie. She stood up from her seat proudly, and walked towards the fire. She held her hands up above her head, and made sure that she had everyone's attention. With every pair of eyes locked on her, Aurelie slowly took off her jacket and pulled up her sleeves. Then, without warning, Aurelie swept her hands low and brushed the fire. The fire tilted in the direction of Aurelie's movements, emphasizing just how close she had allowed herself to get to the flames. Everyone shouted in protest, but stopped when Aurelie revealed her arms, which were perfectly unscathed. I glanced at Carter, whose jaw had nearly dropped on the floor.

"See?" said Aurelie. "With magic, the fire can't hurt me!" Aurelie smiled as she dipped her hand into the fire once more, this time not moving it. She let the fire kiss her skin for a few more moments before Jessica yanked her away forcefully. "Ow!" Aurelie protested. "You're strong."

"How old are you Annie?" Jessica asked. She had a terrifying authority in her voice.

"Nine." Aurelie squeaked.

"Well, a nine-year-old should know better than to play with fire, right?" Jessica asked. "Fire is dangerous." She inspected Aurelie's burns, but once again, she was unharmed.

Mom joined Jessica, but she couldn't find anything wrong either.

"How did she do that?" I asked.

"Magic, I guess," said Carter. We both giggled to ourselves.

"Are you guys serious right now?" Finn burst out unexpectedly. "She could have gotten hurt, and you guys are laughing?"

"Annie's fine." I countered. To prove my point, Aurelie waved at us cheerfully, and nudged away the motherly concerns of Mom and Jessica. Unable to find so much as a paper cut, Jessica and Mom retreated to their chairs.

"That doesn't mean that you can joke around about it," said Finn, not budging from his opinion. "Seriously Ivy, you're way better than this." I rolled my eyes in response. As much as I hated not getting along, Finn was really testing my nerves.

"Whatever." I dismissed, ready to move on. "I need a s'more." Purposefully, I speared a marshmallow on one of the thin metal rods Mom had bought earlier. "Carter?" I asked, offering him a marshmallow.

"No thanks," Carter replied.

"It's just a marshmallow, it can't hurt you," said Finn. I bit down the urge to ask him to shut up. More than anything, I needed Finn to act like himself again.

Jessica's phone rang, and she excused herself before stepping out of earshot. Mom didn't seem to care too much since she was still lecturing Aurelie for her little fire stunt. I'm pretty sure a grounding is in her near future.

"What is wrong with you?" I finally asked Finn. "If you have a problem with me or Carter, just say something."

"You don't have to fight my battles, Ivy," Carter assured me. "I can stand my ground if I need to."

"What are you gonna do?" Finn asked, a foreign venom in his voice.

"Asher!" I exclaimed. I could feel the anger radiating from Carter and Finn on either side of me, creating more heat than the fire.

"I'm on my way." I could hear Jessica say, ending her phone call. When she walked back to the fire, she looked sullen. "Something happened," she announced somberly, the bonfire illuminating her face.

"What was it?" Mom asked.

"Is there a suspect?" Dad demanded at the same time.

"They don't entirely know what happened," Jessica explained. "but a kid was found frozen by the park. They need all the help they can get."

"Of course," said Mom sympathetically.

"I'm sorry to cut everything short, but I really need to go." Jessica glanced at Carter. "Can you make your way home by yourself?"

"Absolutely not." Mom interrupted. "I'll drive him home."

"Thank you," said Jessica, relieved. She waved a quick goodbye before disappearing around the back of the house. I could hear her car start in the distance.

"Well," I said, trying to break the silence. No one responded.

"I'm going inside," said Dad, standing up and exiting without another thought. I wanted to go with him, but he probably wasn't in the mood to discuss a potential Forbidden attack with me right now.

"Come on, let's go," said Mom gently. She tried to guide Aurelie away from the fire, but she wasn't ready to go. Mom practically dragged her across the lawn to get her back inside.

Just like that, it was Finn, Carter, and I seated by the fire.

Alone.

Great.

I sighed to myself as I hovered my marshmallow over the fire, determined to ignore whatever was going on.

"Maybe I should go," Carter suggested.

"No, you're fine." I insisted. "Wait until my Mom can drive you."

"Are you sure?" Carter asked.

"Yeah," I assured him.

"No," said Finn at the exact same time.

"Come on," I complained. "Can you please grow up Asher?"

"Listen, when Jane-Anne-" All it took was one name for everything to erupt at the same time.

"This shouldn't even be a problem if you could just - and Jane-Anne needs to mind her - I don't care!" I couldn't even get a full sentence in between Carter and Finn, who were forcefully hurling words at each other.

"You guys just need to calm-" My sentence broke off again when my marshmallow caught on fire. I slapped it onto the ground quickly as Finn and Carter continued to bicker. Right now, a burnt marshmallow was the least of my worries.

"I'm just saying that in light of everything, you shouldn't be here," Finn concluded when Carter and I gave up trying to talk over him.

"What the hell, Asher?" I asked. "How could you say that?"

"It's fine, Ivy," said Carter. He got up from his chair calmly and walked over to Finn before throwing a right hook that landed square on his jaw.

"Carter!" I exclaimed, shocked. Finn was definitely asking for it, but I hadn't expected Carter to retaliate.

Finn touched his lip gingerly, clearly not expecting the attack. Without exchanging a single word, he got up from his chair and threw a punch at Carter. Carter dodged his hit expertly, and managed to land a blow on his abdomen.

"Stop!" I yelled desperately.

Carter and Finn refused to listen, lost in their anger at each other. I wasn't sure how long Carter could last against Finn. He was pretty wiry, and Finn had a lot of training on his side. But surprisingly, it was Carter who had the upper hand in the fight. Carter dodged another punch from Finn and tackled him to the ground. Carter had my brother pinned. Finn struggled against his grasp, but it was no use.

"This isn't worth it," Carter announced. He slammed Finn's wrists into the ground before releasing him. Finn stood up and brushed himself off, relatively unharmed. A silence engulfed the night again, with the crackling fire trying its best to fill the void.

"So, that was interesting," Carter announced finally. "I'm going home. Tell your mom I said thanks for having me." Carter turned to go, but Finn leaped back into action.

Carter turned back around to face Finn, foiling the surprise attack. He caught Finn's fist in midair before it could make contact. "It's over, Scott," said Carter. "Please don't be a sore loser. It's really unattractive." Carter released Finn's fist quickly, causing him to tumble to the ground.

Satisfied, Carter walked away. Finn and I watched him go, shocked. I didn't realize that my mouth had been hanging open until now. I closed it and looked down at Finn, who was practically seething with anger.

"That was stupid." I reprimanded Finn harshly. "I mean seriously, getting into a fight? What's going on with you?"

"It's nothing," said Finn.

"Really? " I asked. "Then what could this possibly be about?" I was nearly shouting in frustration, my arms extended wide. I looked like I wanted to give the fire a really angry hug as I waited for Finn's response.

"You can't get attached to the people here. We're investigating this town for Forbidden, and you never know-"

"We're supposed to blend in for the mission, aren't we? We can't do that if we don't make friends." I interrupted.

Finn sighed. "I could care less about this mission. I just don't want you to get attached to this town or the people here. Trust me, Lena. Best case scenario, you might get hurt. Worst case, you could get killed."

"I'm not going to let myself get attached to anyone in Atalka," I swore.

"I know you," Finn warned.

"You're underestimating me." I protested. "Just like Dad."

When Finn didn't say anything, I huffed and walked back to the house, letting my brother trail behind.

"You have to trust me. I care about this mission, but I also like Carter. If being friends with him and Rowan is a risk, then it's one I'm willing to take. You can't push him away on my behalf. That doesn't just affect me, that's going to hurt him too. I mean, seriously, that was-"

"I'm sorry." Finn apologized.

"Save that for Carter," I replied. "No matter what happens, I know that you care about me. I'm always going to be your sister, but I need you to let me make my own decisions."

Finn sighed. "Just promise you'll be careful. I've got you. No matter what."

I nodded silently, even though I wasn't sure how well I was going to honor that promise.

We walked into the basement, prepared to sneak to our rooms. Finn had a split lip, and the last thing we needed was for Mom and Dad to freak out over nothing. Finn and I slowly made our way up the stairs, trying not to interrupt Mom and Dad's hushed conversation.

"Anything?" Mom asked. Now that we were halfway up the stairs, I could hear their conversation fully.

"I can't get much more information, but there's no way that was normal," said Dad, his voice serious.

"Does that mean-"

"I think they're here," said Dad flatly. "You know that you can back out if you want to, Trina. You can go and take Aurelie and Lena. I'll take whatever repercussions that Agency will give me, it's not worth-"

"We're going to be fine, Brandon." Mom assured him firmly. "We need to do this. It's a once in a lifetime chance for you and the Agency."

"Have I ever told you how amazing you are, Trina?" Dad asked.

"Only every day, Agent Matthews." Mom replied, almost seductively. I made a gagging motion to Finn. "Are we going to talk about Aurelie?" Mom asked softly, changing the mood.

Dad sighed. "I really didn't want to think about it," he admitted.

"Sooner or later, you'll have to tell them," said Mom. "Aurelie is already displaying the same traits you have. Her affinity for fire could get stronger. We need to figure out what to do."

"If the Agency finds out, they'll kill her. Lena and Finn, too," said Dad.

"And you," Mom added. "I can't lose my entire family."

"Don't worry," said Dad. "I'll figure out what to do in time. Let's just focus on the mission. No one can know that my mother was one of the Forbidden."

A/N: Cue the dramatic music! Apparently Finn, Aurelie, and Lena are a quarter Forbidden... That might be a bit of a shock. Things are about to get a little bit complicated, to say the least. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even if it was a bit of a roller coaster lol.

QOTD: What type of Forbidden do you think the Matthews are descended from?