Episode 5: Jealousy
867 Words
By the following week, Heaven had learned three things.
The first was that magic was becoming harder to control.
The second was that Conrad’s strange mark appeared whenever her magic became stronger.
The third was that she was starting to like him.
A lot.
That last one was the most frightening.
She tried to convince herself it wasn’t true.
She told herself she only cared because of the magic.
She told herself she was curious about him.
She told herself that the way her stomach fluttered whenever he smiled at her meant nothing.
She knew she was lying to herself.
She realized it during lunch.
Conrad was standing across the courtyard, talking to someone.
He was smiling.
Not his usual teasing smile.
A real one.
He looked happy.
He leaned closer while listening.
He laughed.
Heaven’s stomach twisted.
She immediately looked down at her food.
Why did she care?
She shouldn’t.
She had no reason to.
Conrad wasn’t hers.
They weren’t together.
They hadn’t even admitted that they liked each other.
Still, she couldn’t stop herself from looking again.
He was still talking.
Heaven frowned.
She hated the feeling.
Jealousy.
She had never thought she would be jealous over Conrad.
She picked up her notebook and stood.
She was going to leave.
She made it three steps before Conrad appeared in front of her.
“Where are you going?”
“Class.”
“Lunch isn’t over.”
“I’m not hungry.”
He looked at her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been acting weird.”
“I’m always weird.”
He laughed.
“Not like this.”
Heaven looked past him.
“Go back.”
“Back where?”
“To your conversation.”
Conrad glanced behind him.
Then he looked back at her.
“Are you jealous?”
Her eyes widened.
“No.”
He smiled.
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“You definitely are.”
“You’re annoying.”
He laughed.
Heaven tried to walk away.
He caught up with her.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“There’s nothing going on.”
She looked at him.
“I didn’t ask.”
“You didn’t have to.”
She sighed.
“You’re impossible.”
“Maybe.”
He walked beside her.
After a few seconds, he spoke again.
“I like talking to you.”
Heaven didn’t answer.
“I like being around you.”
She looked at him.
“And?”
“And I don’t want you thinking there’s something between me and anyone else.”
Her heart skipped.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I care what you think.”
Heaven looked away.
That was exactly the problem.
She cared what he thought too.
Too much.
They stopped outside the classroom.
Conrad leaned against the wall.
“You know, you don’t have to pretend you don’t like me.”
Heaven’s face warmed.
“I don’t.”
“Okay.”
He smiled.
“I’ll wait.”
“For what?”
“For you to admit it.”
She shook her head.
“You’ll be waiting forever.”
“We’ll see.”
The bell rang.
Heaven entered the classroom.
She tried to focus on the lesson.
But her thoughts were somewhere else.
She had barely opened her notebook when the lights flickered.
Her heart sank.
Again.
She looked at her hands.
Nothing.
Then she heard a faint whisper.
Not in the room.
Inside her mind.
Conrad.
She looked behind her.
He was holding his wrist.
The golden mark was glowing.
He looked at her.
Something was happening.
The classroom lights suddenly went out.
Students gasped.
A second later, they came back on.
Everything appeared normal.
Except Heaven’s notebook.
A symbol had appeared across the page.
The same one.
She stared at it.
Conrad leaned toward her.
“We need to talk.”
Heaven nodded.
They waited until school ended.
Then they met outside.
“What happened?” Conrad asked.
“I don’t know.”
Heaven showed him the symbol.
He looked at it for several seconds.
“It’s getting stronger.”
“I know.”
“Maybe we should stop using the magic.”
“I don’t know how.”
Heaven closed her notebook.
“I think it’s responding to something.”
“What?”
She looked at him.
“You.”
Conrad frowned.
“Me?”
“Whenever you’re near me, it gets stronger.”
He was silent.
Then he looked at his wrist.
“Maybe that’s why we found each other.”
Heaven’s heart beat faster.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
She stopped.
“Because what?”
She looked at him.
Because I like you.
The words stayed inside her.
She couldn’t say them.
Not yet.
Conrad stepped closer.
“One day you’re going to tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
He smiled.
“Exactly what you’re thinking.”
He walked away.
Heaven watched him go.
She touched her chest.
Her heart was beating too quickly.
She knew she was in trouble.
The magic was growing.
Her feelings were growing.
And somehow, she had a feeling that both were connected.
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