r e d

10. Zander

I woke up in my living room, with my face against the floor. I was confused for a moment, but then everything that occurred six hours ago came back to me and it forced me to stay down for another twenty minutes to contemplate everything in the world. Magic is real. Things can happen without explanation. Magic is no longer just science that we don't understand. There really is magic and my entire life is a lie. I'm a person who tries to find logical explanation for everything but there was no way I could explain how Zander was able to summon a rose in his hand other than, fucking, magic.

I'm both frustrated and amazed at the same time.

It took great effort to get up from the floor, take a shower, and get ready. I didn't even have time to make breakfast because I ended up taking longer than usual in the shower. Shower thoughts are crazier than usual. After getting dressed, I stormed out of my apartment and went straight to my car without sparing a glance at Orion's door. Throwing my backpack in the backseat, I got on the driver's seat and turned on my car.

It was only a couple of minutes when someone opened the door and sat down on the passenger seat beside me. The dark haired boy with violet eyes flashed his teeth at me and shouted a good morning, despite me being right in front of him. He is wearing Orion's clothes, which are way too big for him: black jeans, which would be skinny for Orion but not for Zander, as well as black shirt, red unbuttoned flannel, and a familiar burgundy scarf on his neck.

"That's my scarf." I made a move to take it off his neck, but he slapped my hand away and hissed at me.

Zander scooted father away from me. "It's mine."

"It's not. You took it away from me when you dove in my laundry basket."

"Well, it's mine now." He murmured, holding the scarf against his face.

I rolled my eyes. "At least, take it off. It's hot."

"Thank you."

Damn it. "I meant, it's scorching hot and you will die of heatstroke if you do not take that scarf off. Also," My eyes caught the sleeves of his flannel. "Come here."

Zander glared at me. "No."

"Will you just - " I caught his arm, which he tried to pull away, but I hanged on tighter. I rolled up his sleeves, stopping at his elbow. I did the same to the other one, which took less effort because Zander didn't resist but watched me curiously. "Let me see your legs."

The boy turned pink. "Weirdo."

"I'm trying to make you look less like a clown." I clicked my tongue and reached towards him to grab his legs. He let out a screech as my hand went from his thighs to his legs, then to his ankles, resting them to the chair. By doing so, I saw that he is wearing Orion's shoes as well. An old pair of red and white checked Vans sneakers. "How were you able to walk all the way here without tripping?" I asked, cuffing his jeans so that it doesn't touch the ground and it shows off the shoes.

Zander smiled sheepishly. "I did trip. Three times."

I moved his feet off the seat and turned my attention to his hair, which is all over the place. "I recommend going on a hike or a jog to get your legs working properly again." I ran my fingers through his hair, putting them away from his face and away from the sides so they aren't defying gravity.

Zander closed his eyes and a low purr came from his throat.

Funny how he can still do that.

"There. You look pretty."

He opened his eyes and smirked at himself through the small mirror in front of him. "I know."

"Good." I turned on the car's radio. "Now get out. I'm going to school."