Chapter 9 - Cold Warmth

Her question sent chills down my spine and i shivered. She starting menacingly walking toward me. I could sense her anger rising. It was rare to see her fuming, and it was terrifying. The air in the room dropped significantly, my breath started becoming visible. "Aurora… Relax. I'm fine." I tried to calm her down.

"What… Happened?!" She was raising her voice now, ice was starting to form everywhere. "Did you not want to see me?! Was that what happened?!" She was starting to scream now. If i did not stop her quickly, she would cause an actually blizzard.

"Aura…please it's not like that…" My fear was rising now. Her hair was blowing in the cold wind.

"Then what?!" She was in front of my face now, and she raised her hand to slap me. I closed my eyes and braced myself. A second went by and i still felt no impact. I slowly opened my sealed eyes an saw Aurora seemingly frozen in time. Her hand was still above her head. It was falling as slowly as possible. I looked at her, and it took me awhile to realise what was happening.

I swiftly side stepped to the side, walking behind her, holding her waist and her raised hand. Once i did, I disabled my speed enhancement and everything flowed like normal. Aurora brought down her hand but her eyes widened when she saw a trial of lightning that led behind her. She also was shocked to see her wrist and waist being firmly held. She turned around, her eyes wide and mouth agape, staring at me. She must have been in shock. The shock caused the ice and frigid temperatures to shrink away in an instant, like it never existed.

Her breathing hitched seeing me looming over her, casting my shadow over her. We stayed like that for a long time, or at least it felt like it. We stared into each other's eyes. We always did when we were trying to get through to one another, but this time felt…different. My gaze eventually fell to her soft, plump lips. They were light pinkish and looked like small pillows and…

I violently shook my head and stepped back at lightning speed, a trail of thunderbolts in my wake. What was I thinking !? I had no right to think of Aurora this way. Especially not after what i just did. to my surprise, i heard soft foot steps slowly pacing toward me. The sound was cushioned by the soft carpet. I turned and saw her big, soft eyes. Without saying anything, she reached out her hand and pressed my left chest. I was confused but did not stop her.

My eyes and thoughts began to wander, but I was doing my best to maintain discipline. I closed my eyes, maybe if I don't look at her, everything will be alright. "Take off your shirt." My eyes flew open and looked down at Aurora who was looking at my body sheepishly. Her cheeks were flushed. What is up with her? What is up with me? Why did she ask something so vulgar of me so suddenly?

"Are you deaf now too?" I blinked, nothing changed, she was still looking down, but I heard her loud and clear. Stepping back, I did as I was told. As I did, I could see slight shock overcome her facial features. I tilted my head in confusion. "Look in the mirror." She pointed to the mirror next to my cupboard and looked away in slight embarrassment, probably realising she was staring for too long. Her cheeks were still flushed, which caused me to chuckle internally. Being student council president, and having such a cool exterior, i forgot how awkward she can be sometimes.

I once again did as I was told and looked in the mirror. My eyes widened. Before, I was always known as the skinny gloomy kid. Bullying was common for me. It happened every single day. The body in front of me was not mine. It was defined, trimmed, and one step away from looking like a professional body-builder. "What the…" I mumbled under my breath.

"So…what happened?" she asked again. I looked back at her, her hand was rubbing her chin, examining me. "This doesn't make any sense. I saw you 3 hours ago. You were skinny, close to looking like you have malnutrition. Now. You have…this." She gestured to all of me, looking down away slightly. "On top of that, you can now move before i can even think. You are leaving literal lightning bolts behind you Kale. What happened?" She sounded like she was begging me now.

I walked to the side of my bed, slumping to the floor, and leaning my back on the bed. I looked up and closed my eyes, exhaling exasperatingly. "I don't know, Aura. I wish I could tell you, but I can't. I'm sorry."

She did not ask any further questions, instead she walked over to me and sat beside me. I did not look her and she did not look at me, sitting in comfortable silence. We felt at peace with the silence.

When i finally looked her, she was leaning in. I was frozen with surprise. She pressed her palm against my chest, where my heart was. Her palm started emitting a cool wave of ice magic, it permeated my body and reaches my heart. A sense of calm washed over me, reaching my very core. It made me relax in an instant, any worries or fears dissipated in an instant.

In its place, I felt something magnetic. We both felt attraction toward each other. A divine force that neither of us could deny. This time, I did not fight it. We both leaned in.

Our lips met. That was my first. It felt natural. It gave me comfort. I was happy that it was her. Once again, i felt immense warmth from the queen of ice. It was a warm feeling that left me feeling the same on the inside. Now there was no running from it. I knew how I felt about her. But am I ready for it?

We pulled away after what felt like a minute. Our bodies were facing each other but we did not dare look into each other's eyes. We were both as red as a tomato. She broke the silence, like she always does, "When you are ready, when you've figured it out, let me know. 'Kay?" My eyes started to well with tears. I was touched by her genuine concern, even though i was hiding my new powers. Suddenly I felt a hand holding mine. I gasped softly. " I will always be here for you, Kale. So please, never forget that."

With those words, she stood up and walked to the door. Before she opened it and left, she looked back at me one last time, her usually cheerful face now only had a tight smile on it. I knew what it meant, she feel sad, but doesn't want to show it. I looked away in shame. I did this to her. She left.. I crawled onto the bed and curled up into a fetal position. What should I do now?