Eighteen years later, the year 2544 of the Elyndra calendar.
Inside a dimly lit bedroom sat a lone figure hunched over a wooden desk. A red mana crystal powered a lamp that illuminated the study guides scattered about the desk.
The young man leaned back in his chair, the hinges creaking at the movement as he let out a groan and rubbed his hands through his long black curls. Damn, I hate having to do all this. Naturally my worst two subjects are on the final day.
He let out a long yawn as he rubbed his eyes. The muscles in his lower back burned as he leaned back; his legs cramped when he stretched them out in front of him.
All I want is just ten hours of uninterrupted sleep, is that too much to ask for? He let out a sigh in defeat, his momentary break was over and it was time to continue the nonstop grind. Four weeks of cramming was almost to an end. Just one final day of grueling tests and he would be free for the summer.
He looked around his room in mild irritation. I really need to clean this crap up. He grumbled to himself about the soda cans and energy drinks in his overfilled trash can by his desk. The mountain of clean laundry on one half of his bed that he hadn't bothered putting away, and the piles of dirty clothes on the floor he still had to run through the wash.
In short-his room was bad. At least a certain someone hadn't been over to see the chaos.
The only reason he let his room get to this point was the desperation to pass his finals with the required grades to get into the Magical Academy of Allario. The most renowned institution for those seeking a future with magic.
"Hey Gavin, how's studying going?" A soft feminine voice came from behind the door as it opened slowly. The faint scent of lavender and lilac filled the room as Gavin jumped in surprise. He turned his chair around to see the source of the voice. Great, she chooses now to visit, when my room is an absolute disaster.
He looked around at the state of his room and grimaced at the mess. Then he looked at Erza's face and smiled bashfully.
Erza lifted one eyebrow in surprise as she opened Gavin's door. I knew he'd been cramming nonstop for weeks, but I didn't realize it was this bad in here. She turned her head as she noticed the mountain of clothes on the bed which left just enough room for someone small enough to sleep on the other side. The room smelled like body spray, bad body odor, and days of trash.
"Please, don't start. I know it's bad." Gavin's voice was quiet and embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around the room.
She laughed at his actions while she shook her head. She strode into the room and helped kick the piles of clothes over to one side. Her laughter was soft amusement as she looked over at him. "Burning the candle at both ends, aren't you?" She chuckled and walked over to his desk to examine the study guides he had open.
"Yeah, I know. I'm going to be so glad when it hits four o'clock. Then I'll be done with all this." He yawned again as he sat back down at his desk with a huff. He stretched his arms above his head, hearing his joints snap and crack.
Erza chuckled. "Yeah, so glad I'm not you this week." She sat on the edge of his bed. "I do not miss finals week at all."
"Just because you took your finals three years ago, doesn't mean you can rub it in, you know." Gavin complained as he turned to face her.
"Maaaan, I'm getting hammered this week. Any chance you want to take these tests for me this year?" Gavin bowed his head and held his hands out in a prayer gesture towards her. I bet I know the answer, but hey, never hurts to try right?
Her soft melodic laughter filled the room and relaxed his weary mind. "You know I can't, dude. I barely passed my own at the time and as you pointed out it's been three years. You really think I'd do any better now?"
Her laughter was music to his ears. I swear, she has a way of always putting my mind at ease. Gavin smiled and shook his head.
She leaned over and handed him a bottle. The scent of her body wash and shampoo filled his head like a drug. "Here is some sugar for your grind," she said as she looked over his current paperwork laid out on the desk. He had half a dozen books open on his desk, and various study guides next to them.
Gavin smiled, popped the top, and took a swig before he sat the bottle down. He let out a grateful sigh as he felt the carbonation scratch his throat. "Yeah, I know. These tests just blow." He turned his chair around to look at the mountain of textbooks and study guides on his desk. I would love to just throw everything away and be done.
"I'm pretty sure that I almost failed the math final yesterday. And I'm sure the science final tomorrow is going to go just as well." He leaned forward, elbows on the desk as he rested his forehead in his hands. His voice was laced with exhaustion as he just took a moment to close his eyes. Naturally his worst subjects would be both on the same, final day.
Erza leaned over and looked at the study guide he had opened in front of him. She brushed a stray piece of long red hair back from her eyes and rubbed his back soothingly. She felt the tension in his back quickly relax as she put more pressure into the massage. He let out a groan as she found a particularly tense spot and slowly worked it free.
Gavin let out a long appreciative sigh as Erza rubbed his back. Between the gentle pressure on his back and the soft gentle scent of her shampoo and body wash Gavin could feel the exhaustion creeping up on him. If she doesn't stop, I'm gonna pass out and not get any kind of studying done. But honestly, I don't care right now.
"Hey, I'll tell you what, if you pass your finals tomorrow, I'll take you out to a movie or dinner to your favorite restaurant, my treat." She said encouragingly. I can tell he's already more relaxed than before, but damn. He must really be worried about these tests.
Given their closeness in age, it was easy for Erza to learn how to bribe him. Food and cringe worthy movies was the best way to motivate him for anything. She smiled down at him fondly as memories of their movie night hangouts growing up floated through her mind.
Gavin had spent three weeks cramming everything he can into that thick head of his to the point she'd barely been able to see him.
I miss my best friend. Erza rubbed her right arm as she waited his answer.
Gavin perked up immediately. He sat up and turned his head to look at her, a broad grin spread across his face. A movie and dinner with Erza? This would be a huge win. "Oh seriously? I'll make sure to pass everything, then we're gonna have an awesome date night to celebrate!" His excited voice made her heart swell.
He really is like a kid on holiday. She smiled at his exuberance.
Gavin didn't think about his word usage at first. He just wanted to spend time with his best friend. It had been too long since they had a night to themselves to just relax and have fun.
"Oh, a date, huh?" Erza asked with a hint of mischief in her voice. She lifted an eyebrow as she looked at the back of his head with a sly grin on her face. She clasped her hands behind her back as she feigned innocence. "Why, Gavin, I didn't know you felt that way about me," she laughed at the beet-red expression on his face as he turned around to face her.
Maybe Aria and Lyla were right. Maybe it is time I see him differently. I can't deny the way he acts around me. But, the last thing I want is to risk our friendship.
She hesitated, watching him. She shook her head.
I'd rather not risk my safe harbor when life comes at me hard. How many times had she gone to his house, and drowned her sorrows over a guy being a jerk, while eating tubs of ice cream together and laughing at some innocuous movie on TV?
"That's not what I meant," he stammered, as he quickly turned his back to her; his ears were burning. "Leave me alone. I have studying to do," he said as he focused his attention back on his books. But deep inside, even though she was teasing him, he really hoped it might just turn into a date.
Maybe, just maybe, his luck would turn.
She smiled widely as she leaned back, the bed creaking as she moved. Should I keep teasing him? Maybe I should let him just get back to studying? She sighed, decided to give up tormenting him for now and stood up. She ruffled his hair affectionately, her fingers tangling in his long black curls before she walked out of the room.
As she left, she glanced back and saw his broad back bent over his desk as he moved papers around, searched for answers to the guides and made notes in his notebooks. She smiled to herself as she had every confidence he would pass his exams the following day. He always succeeded when he set his mind to something.
Her phone beeped and as she pulled it out, she saw the headline come across her phone.
JUST IN…BODIES WERE FOUND DUMPED IN THE MIDDLE OF MAIN STREET. VICTIMS BELIEVED TO BE SHIFTERS…. She swiped the notification away. Not tonight. That would be a worry for another day.
She glanced back to see if Gavin's phone went off. If it did, he just ignored it as he hyper focused on studying. Just maybe, it was time to see where things really stood between them.
Erza turned and shut the door behind her as she walked down the hallway and said goodbye to Lucian and Evelyn Johnson, Gavin's parents. "Oh, you're leaving already, dear?" Mrs. Johnson, a short, sweet human woman asked. She barely reached five feet but had the biggest, kindest heart that Erza had ever met.
A wonderful odor reached her nose as Mrs. Johnson turned at the stove to face Erza. She always cooks amazing food, smells like her pasta. Erza's stomach grumbled since she hadn't eaten dinner yet. But she wouldn't intrude on them when they didn't plan on having her for dinner.
"Yeah, Mrs. Johnson, he's studying hard, and I guess he forgot our plans to hang out after school tonight, so I'm going to let him study in peace." She responded and waved a hand. She didn't want to interrupt her boy when he was working so hard to pass.
"Don't you want to stay for dinner?" Mr. Johnson asked, his deep voice, a soft rumble in the kitchen. She smiled as she looked between the Johnson's. They always treated her as family through all these years. They were really like a second set of parents to her.
"No, thank you, Aria and Lyla need my help for a music video project, so I have to go save the day," she said with a laugh. Her best friends were always getting over their heads on these business projects.
"Alright, be safe," Mrs. Johnson said as she was in the middle of setting a place at the table for Erza. She smiled as she watched Erza leave the kitchen and towards the front door.
As the front door shut, Mrs. Johnson looked at her husband and smiled sweetly. "Dear, when will those two finally get together?" She asked him in a hushed voice. They had been growing closer ever since she started coming over to watch Gavin for them when he was ten years old.
Mr. Johnson laughed good-naturedly. "Darling, I don't know. They've been thick as thieves ever since she first came to babysit for us and have been inseparable ever since." Mr. Johnson took a glass out of the cupboard and poured him some coffee before he continued.
"I've been waiting for it for a long time. But he just can't seem to get the courage to confess he likes her. I bet he will probably say something once he graduates and finals are done," he said as he took his seat at the table. The only question on most people's minds was when?
"But those extremists," Mrs. Johnson commented worriedly. She recalled the day they found Gavin. The bodies. The smell of burned flesh. "What if they find out about them and go after either one of them?" The memory of the tunnel and screams of people dying was never far from her mind.
"I'm sure things will be fine." Mr. Johnson took a deep, satisfying drink of the cold coffee. "As far as they were concerned, all their targets were dispatched, and they left no survivors." His voice was a quiet whisper as he recalled the events. He still had nightmares from the images they saw and the screams they heard that day. "We need to tell Gavin the truth, and soon," Mr. Johnson's deep voice filled her ears.
"No! He's far too young to know yet," Mrs. Johnson refused to acknowledge their secret that they'd kept hidden all these years from her precious son. "I don't think he'd ever forgive us for not telling him sooner," she whispered mournfully at the thought of his anger over finding out. What would his reaction be, after discovering his entire birth family was slaughtered and he was the sole survivor of a group that they had no idea of finding any information out on.
"Let's cross that road when we get to it, dear," Mr. Johnson said peacefully as he glanced upstairs to where Gavin was most assuredly studying his backside off, he prayed that his son didn't choose this moment to come downstairs for dinner.
"For now, let's let the boy worry about passing his finals," he proclaimed as he set his cup on the table as a breaking news story came on the TV.
This is just in. In Kuerien City, officials found the disposed bodies of several shifters and their believed partners beaten and hung under a bridge. The perpetrators are still at large. A reward is being offered currently for information leading to the arrest and sentencing of the people responsible.