Shadow Author



Breathing heavily the car eventually stopped moving about but the pain in my head only increased many times over.

Charlotte was still sobbing uncontrollably as she curled up into a ball in the driver's seat.

Exhausted I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my temples desperately trying to feel any sense of relief.

Eventually, things were just too much for me and I undid the lock for the second time as I pulled on the door to leave.

This time the door freely flung open and I moved to get out but I was stopped when I felt some resistance.

Turning back around I was shocked to see that Charlotte was tightly squeezing onto my shirt.

Her fingers were already turning pale from how tightly she was holding on but the rest of her body seemed to be completely resisting me.

She was still crying and shaking but as if some kind of deep instinct was telling her to not let go caused her to grab onto my shirt.

Staying in place I looked at the desperate girl who was fighting an internal conflict but I gave up on her as I once again tried to leave the car.

However, Charlotte refused to let go and I was forced to either drag her out with me or sit back down.

Choosing the latter I made myself comfortable and took some deep breaths.

When doing so I realized that Mana Breath wasn't active and became shocked.

After spending years in the void I managed to master the skill and use it as a replacement for normal breathing but it seemed that in my rage my breathing got so messed up that the skill failed to work.

Once I got it back on pace and was much calmer I looked over at Charlotte who was no different than she had been a few minutes ago.

Although my head was still killing me I gave up on my selfish actions and reached over to her.

As I got closer I could see fear flash in her eyes and her breathing stamper but she didn't flinch away from my touch.

I wrapped my arms around her body and picked her up as she was still curled up in a ball and moved her on top of me.

Holding her tight I had her head rest under my chin and began whispering comfort words in her ears.

After a long period of time Charlotte either ran out of tears to shed or just stopped, but her body never fully relaxed although she never made an effort to move away.

Once I felt like she was in a better mind space I began talking again, this time in a much lighter and calmer voice.

"Charlotte I truly do treasure you, and you took something from me I'll never be able to give to anyone else. Our relationship is a special one and for that, I swear I'll keep you by my side."

I sighed before continuing.

"But the love that you speak of, I'm not even sure if I am capable of having such feelings for another person. Yet I can promise I will never do anything to hurt from this point onward."

At the end of my declaration, Charlotte finally calmed down and got out of the ball she had been curled up in to hug me.

"Lucas, I still and will always love you."

"Okay."

"I'll always try to spend time with you."

"Okay."

"I'll work hard to get to a level where I can stand beside you."

"Okay."

"So please, please never leave me."

"Okay."

Like that, the first fight between the two of us came to an end with the loss of a few tears and a car.

Yet our relationship was redefined and the future seemed to be a little less clouded as we stayed in each other's embrace for a few more minutes.

Eventually, the two of us managed to calm each other down but it took Charlotte a while longer as the red in her eyes refused to disappear.

Thankfully she was well prepared and with a bit of magic, she was back to her original self — if not more timid.

Once we got out of the car she grabbed onto my arm and brought it close to her chest as she refused to let me go.

I complied with her request as I was feeling somewhat bad for my outburst.

Plus the way Charlotte was holding on to me seemed as if she expected me to vanish from her sight.

Once we entered the academy the people in the office had a disappointed look on their faces as if they knew I would come in late.

But what surprised them the most was that the most attentive person who never skipped a class was late!

And what made matters worse was that she was with the delinquent so the only conclusion that they came to was that it was all my fault and I was a bad influence on her.

I could only sigh as I received multiple dirty looks.

'This time it wasn't all my fault, in fact, I tried to get here on time.'

Yet I didn't say anything aloud and once our identities were confirmed and we were allowed inside the two of us headed toward Mr. Vankay's classroom.

The period was nearing its end and I realized we spent more time in the car than I first thought.

Knowing that I would get chewed out as soon as I stepped inside I tried to keep my emotions in check.

However, I also knew that it would be extremely hard as I was a ticking time bomb.

What happened in the car didn't relieve any of the built-up stress but seemed to make it worse.

Not to mention the migraine was becoming debilitating as the pain never seemed to stop.

I could feel Charlotte tighten her grip as she gave me a light squeeze as if to say that everything would be okay.

I gave her a light smile before opening the door and entering the classroom...

*