“Go away,” Aidan’s voice sounded behind his door.

  I slumped against the door. Was this my fault for inviting Marge to begin with? No, I’m sure Finn would have invited himself over no matter what.

  “Come with me to the duel,” I said, not knowing if he had even heard that part or if he had already left by the time they had mentioned it.

  “What duel?” That answered my question.

  “Finn and Maverick are having a duel so I can watch what magic looks like, or something.” Probably could’ve explained that better…

  “Finn and Maverick. My two favorite people. That sounds exactly like something I’d want to go to.”

  “Well, you wouldn’t be talking to them.”

  “I don’t want anything to do with them.”

  “Why do you hate them so much?” I guess I could understand why he hated Maverick since it was the same reason I disliked him. But what did he have against Finn?

  “Maverick’s an asshole, and Finn reads minds. Your innermost thoughts are revealed to him, and who knows what he does with that information.”

  He had a point… If he really wanted to, Finn could be the most powerful person in Meridia due to information and knowledge alone. It was almost scary knowing someone like that existed… And that my thoughts were contributing to his knowledge. I had already given him so much knowledge about Earth— No, Finn isn’t like that. He’s not a threat. Sylvis wouldn’t have let him in if she thought he was.

  “Besides, he just uses people. Especially women,” Aidan continued. Seems like Maverick and Finn had a reputation around here… Yet, there were still people who liked them. I caught several women and men stealing glances at Maverick in the dining hall. And Finn has so many friends. I guess it was similar at my high school, too. The popular kids were always the ones with the most drama. Explains why I’d never been popular.

  “Can you at least go for my sake?” I asked. While I didn’t mind Finn and I was stuck with Maverick whether I liked it or not, I didn’t know if Marge would be going, which would leave me with Aqua. I was warming up to Aqua, but I still didn’t feel quite comfortable being alone with her. Hence Aidan.

  “You’ll have a bunch of friends with you. Why do you need me?”

  “They’re not my friends!” I blurted out. “You’re my friend! Well, you and Marge. But I don’t even know if Marge is going! Plus, you were my original friend! You’re irreplaceable!” Wait, what was I saying? Aidan was irreplaceable? What about Rose and Carol? Had I replaced them with Aidan?! Crap, I had been in this world for too long… “I’m going to this duel no matter what, but I'd be happier if you came too,” I said, turning my heel and making my way towards the elevator.

  While I was waiting, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Aidan swinging his hoodie back to get his arm in, revealing his white undershirt. He didn’t look particularly happy, but it seemed he couldn’t help but smile back when I smiled.

  I was able to convince him. I’m so relieved.

  Not wanting to sit in the arena alone, we waited outside for the time to come closer. This time, it was just the two of us—no uninvited guests.

  “M-Marge was nice,” Aidan opened with.

  “Really?!” I beamed. “I knew you’d like her! She can see glimpses of the future, and she wants to use magic to help others! She’d probably heal your sister if you asked.”

  “I… I don’t want anyone to know that I plan on healing my sister, or get anyone involved, either.” Aidan grabbed a fistful of his sleeve in both hands. It would put both of us in danger if Sylvis ever found out.”

  “So, that’s why you didn’t want Marge knowing… …Why tell me?”

  “B-Because I knew you wouldn’t tell! R-Right?”

  “Of course!” I said matter of factly. If only I could use magic…

  Wait, there was someone else who knew about Aidan’s plans to heal his sister! “What about asking Finn?” I asked. “He probably already knows about—”

  “No! Absolutely not!” Aidan jumped up from his seat, scaring me in the process. “I don’t want him anywhere near my sister!”

  “He’s not going to hurt her! And so what if he can read her mind? Isn’t her health more important?”

  “I…” Aidan trailed off. “It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s not going to do it for someone like me. Especially with how risky it would be if Sylvis found out.”

  “Then let’s ask. After the duel!”

  “W-What?! N-No!” Aidan shook his hands back and forth defensively.

  “Come on! What have you got to lose? Actually, we don’t even have to ask! It’ll be on our minds, which is basically like asking! But easier!”

  “T-There’s really no way out of this…”

  “Nope! Submit to your fate!” I winked.

  If only I were this confident when it came to standing up for myself…

  We made it to the arena a few minutes before the duel started. It was way more packed than it was when I dueled! And to think I thought there were a lot of people watching me. I guess word spread around fast, and considering the two’s reputation, it wasn’t surprising people wanted to watch.

  Maverick and Finn entered the arena at the same time, and cheers erupted from the stands. Hmm, I guess I’ll root for Finn since he always loses, and Maverick’s a jerk.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “State your Talent magic,” a voice could be heard. Huh, it wasn’t Sylvis this time. I guess she wouldn’t have time to oversee every duel that happens.

  “Mindreading, which isn’t effective against you.” Finn shrugged.

  “Cross-world teleportation; which I believe would be against the rules if I teleported you out of the arena.” Maverick smirked.

  “Seems neither of them can use their Talent magic in this match…” I mumbled the obvious, to which Aidan nodded his head. I caught a glimpse of Marge while looking at Aidan, and we briefly made eye contact. Aidan glanced at where I had been staring and waved her over. I guess they hit it off after all.

  The countdown started, and the match officially began. I was surprised to see Finn summon a lance covered in flames. Weapons were allowed? Remind me to bring a sword next time. Oh right, they’re magic weapons, so the protective field thingy probably absorbs damage from it. Awww, I was hoping Maverick would get poked a little. Or a lot.

  Finn dashed at Maverick with his lance at his side protruding past him a bit. I wondered what was taller — Finn or the lance. Maverick was quick to sidestep at an almost impossible speed. If he’s that fast, I’d like to see how fast Aqua is.

  Finn quickly turned his heel to try to get another hit in, which Maverick avoided by stepping back. He had an amused smirk on his face. That jerk!

  Maverick summoned a ball of fire and launched it at Finn, who was quick to deflect it with his lance. I guess it can’t absorb someone else’s flames. What a shame. More balls of fire came, which were just as quickly deflected by the lance. How much physical strength did it take to deflect those? Or was it none since the lance is magical?

  Finn slid down, creating icicles in the air that were headed straight for Maverick’s head as his lance was heading for Maverick’s upper thigh.

  Of course, Maverick was lame and teleported out, dodging both attacks, earning a boo from the crowd, myself included.

  “How about we agree that teleporting is off-limits?” Finn offered a lopsided grin.

  “What, can’t handle fighting someone stronger than yourself?” Maverick smirked.

  “If anything, I’d say you’re scared to dodge or parry like a normal person.” Finn smirked and shrugged, causing Maverick’s own smirk to disappear. A sword appeared in his hand, and the crowd cheered. He seemed to study his sword for a moment before attacking. What was that about? But I was more concerned about the whole teleportation thing.

  “Why isn’t teleportation off-limits?” I whispered to Aidan and Marge.

  “Teleporting your own body takes a lot of ether. Most people won’t waste it on something like that when they’re fighting,” Marge answered. “They’d rather save it for attacks. Especially people with lower ether capacities. Finn could probably handle teleporting a few times, but his lance requires a constant output of ether to supply the flames, so he’s kinda on an ether timer.”

  The crowd was entranced by Maverick and Finn’s fluid movements — they seemed evenly matched now that they were both fighting with weapons and Maverick wasn’t teleporting away.

  Also, was it just me, or did the flames on Finn’s lance increase in size?

  Maverick’s movements were faster considering he had a one-handed sword, but Finn blocked them effortlessly — the flames licking Maverick’s sword in the process. I wonder how long he had trained to do that?

  There were flashes of fireballs in between strikes and bolts of lightning that I couldn’t quite tell who summoned, with how erratic their movements were. One slip-up, and someone would be instantly finished.

  Maverick created a puddle behind Finn that he immediately froze over. He put all of his strength into his next attack, knocking Finn back. A look of surprise flashed on Finn’s face before it turned into a determined grin. Rather than fighting against the ice, he moved with it, his entire body momentarily in the air as his feet slipped back — his body falling forward. He stabbed his lance into the ground at the last moment, using the momentum to launch himself up as he soared over Maverick, his feet catching the invisible barrier around the arena as he used it to run and kick off and aim his lance at Maverick.

  Maverick, too, looked amused, and was that… pride? Was he proud of Finn? Of course, he dodged at the last minute — using a gust of wind to launch himself out of Finn’s attack.

  Finn gritted his teeth, looking at the smug Maverick. This didn’t deter him as he pulled his lance out and rushed towards him once again, creating ice in the process to speed up. Maverick parried the attack effortlessly, but Finn’s attacks were becoming more relentless.

  When it looked like Maverick was about to finally give in, he closed his eyes before opening them. A gust of wind sent Finn up in the air, his lance pried out of his hands. Without anything to break his fall this time, he clumsily fell to the ground, and I saw a flicker of light around him.

  The match was over, and I was in awe. Even if Maverick did win, I couldn’t help but be captivated by Finn’s performance. He was the real winner in my book.

  I immediately jumped up to talk to Finn, but it seemed that everyone else had the same idea or was otherwise congratulating Maverick. I tried to squeeze through the crowd, but it was impossible. Maybe he could hear my thoughts from over here? Ugh. It was no use. I gave up and returned to Aidan and Marge, who seemed to be waving goodbye. I guess Marge had to get going.

  “What happened?” Aidan asked, noticing my defeated frown.

  “I couldn’t get to him. There were too many people.” I shook my head and sighed.

  “Which?” He eyed me curiously.

  “Finn. I wouldn’t congratulate Maverick even if he saved the world from impending doom.” I crossed my arms, sticking my tongue out.

  Aidan didn’t reply, but from the look on his face, he seemed annoyed and slightly suspicious? Ugh. Did he honestly think I had a crush on Finn? I don’t! I’m in a relationship!

  As the two of us were walking out of the arena, we got stopped by none other than Finn.

  “Hey! I was looking for you! You’re the only one who didn’t— Oh, the crowd got in the way, haha!” Finn chuckled as he caught up with us. He looked out of breath, too. Had he run all the way here? “So, what did you think?”

  “Impressive!” I beamed. “I’ve never seen anyone fight like that before! Magic aside.”

  “Ah, well…” He scratched the bottom corner of his mouth. Was he blushing? Oh wait, my thoughts are totally about how awesome he was during that fight… Oops…

  “Sucks you lost.” Aidan killed the mood. I could’ve sworn I saw Finn glare at him for a second, but it was instantly replaced with a sheepish smile.

  “Yeah. I’ll try harder next time.”

  And now it was time to put my plan into action.

  Finn’s eyebrows raised, obviously having read my thoughts. He looked between the two of us before speaking. “You want me to heal your sister?—”

  “Shh! Not too loud!” Aidan whisper-shouted.

  “My voice was at a normal level.” Finn shrugged. It was true. Aidan was probably just paranoid, which was understandable when it meant we could be expelled. Not me, though. Sylvis would just double my time.

  “Y-Yeah, what you said before. O-Obviously you wouldn’t want to help, so I don’t know why Elaina even tried i-in the first place…”

  Finn’s expression flickered from annoyed to angry, to neutral, to back to annoyed. Just what was Aidan thinking? “You’re right. I’m not interested. Simply because you’ve already decided that I wouldn’t help.”

  “Wait, what?!” I blinked, confused about how he reached that conclusion. Well, I guess that’s obvious, but still!

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Aidan narrowed his eyes at Finn.

  “I think you know exactly what I mean.” He turned heel and left.

  “What did you say to him?!” I accidentally snapped, causing him to take a couple of steps back. I didn’t mean to, it just slipped out!

  “I didn’t say anything! You mean my thoughts?”

  “Yes, I mean your thoughts. I’ve never seen him so angry before!”

  “I can’t exactly control what I think, now can I?! I’m not going to censor what I think just because someone else can hear it! A-And why are you on his side anyway?!”

  I took a step back. He was just as angry as Finn was. “This isn’t like you, Aidan… You can’t let your hatred for others control you…”

  “I-I’m fully in control of myself! I-I’ll see you later…”

  What should I do now?