Summer's Solstice

Chapter Three

Liv sat at the desk in her economics class, barely aware of the buzzing coming from the front of the classroom. She found concentrating on trivial human subjects mundane and tiresome lately. Not because these subjects were completely useless, but because Liv wasn't sure if she would be able to apply anything she'd learned from her entire school career to her life in Aderlane.

The language in and of itself was completely different, the numbers and letters more rune-like in structure, accounting for magic and the absolute lack of any kind of physics that she could understand. She wondered if she had made a mistake in coming back. After all, returning only compelled her to face the constant nagging feeling of guilt that plagued her from the moment of Nathan's death. It forced her to go against her own morals, to accept that maybe the world wasn't as black-and-white as she had previously believed. Maybe those around her really only did what they thought was best. Perhaps they never really had a choice.

Liv shook her head when the bell rang, the shrill noise cut through the cacophony of her incessant thoughts. Emma glanced over at her, grabbing Liv's bag and shooting her a sympathetic look. Liv's jaw clenched. She was pretty sick of this too; the sorrowful stares and constant condolences. The one thing worse than the guilt she shouldered from Nathan's death- and being suspected of murder- was being perceived by her peers as some grieving girlfriend. It felt as if the last few months had never happened, as if none of the people she grew up with could remember that she and Nathan had been fighting. All they could see was a love story that ended in tragedy.

Emma tugged at Liv as they came to the graphic design classroom for their yearbook class. Liv tensed. What used to be a way to escape had become a living nightmare. She walked to the back of the room and sat in her usual seat. Keiran glanced back and gave her a tight lipped smile. Liv froze for a moment when she noticed someone take the seat beside her. She focused again on logging into her account and opening the design software. The boy beside her began to mutter, pressing frantically at the keys and clenching his fists on his desk.

"Liv!" Killian hissed from her side. Liv rolled her eyes, staring intently at her computer screen. She had an aching feeling of deja vu. Killian grabbed the arm of her chair and turned her to face him. He leaned towards her with his ever present smirk twisted into irritation,

"Could you please show me how to turn this damn thing on?" Killian implored through his teeth, his eyes filled with an emotion she'd yet to see on him.

Liv chewed her lip for a moment, fighting the urge to grin. She pressed the power button on his monitor and turned away from Killian, returning her focus to the screen before her. Killian sat for a moment, then turned to Liv and mumbled a quick thanks, a light blush spreading across his cheeks. Liv merely nodded, clicking her tongue, and proceeded to pretend that the light dusting of red on his face had done nothing to soften her heart.