Edge Becomes a Witch | [Half Bad Fanfiction]

Eavesdropping on the Railway

 Daisy is in my arms again, this time sober, and at the Railway Station.

'I really hope everything works out, and that I'll see you again,' she says.

'Edge! It's leaving now!' Arran shouts over the crowd, waiting for me by the train door. Daisy kisses my cheek, and I run through the crowd, the train door shutting seconds after I'm in.

We're sitting as we sat before, Gabriel opposite of me, Arran beside me. I haven't spoken to Gabriel since last night. Of all the things that have happened on this trip, what I did to him shocks me more than anything. He looks fine and healed now, but I know his face would've looked different if he hadn't healed it. I want to apologize to him. Tell him I wasn't myself.

After half an hour with silence and window-gazing, I'm finally prepared with what to say to Gabriel. I go over it one final time in my head before turning to face Gabriel. His eyes are closed.

'Gabriel?'

'I think he's asleep,' Arran says beside me.
'When will he wake up?' I blurt out.

'I don't know,' Arran answers, pretending as if my question wasn't the dumbest thing he's ever heard. I put on my headphones, another half an hour passes and Gabriel wakes up. I'm wondering if I should tell him now, but then I notice he's already talking to Arran. So instead I pause my music, keeping my headphones on as if I can't hear them, and close my eyes, pretending to sleep.

'Yes, he's the youngest to ever join. He's extremely gifted,' Gabriel says, answering a question I didn't catch.

'How old is he?' Arran asks.

'Nineteen. Joined at seventeen. Nathan said he wanted to focus on him the moment they met.'

Then Gabriel laughs. 'I and Nathan celebrated his birthday some weeks ago, and we said we would take him wherever he wanted to go. He chose The Old Library at Trinity College in Ireland! I was just thinking; he's definitely not our average teen, in the most opposite way of what Nathan was.'

'Christ, what did Nathan think about that?'

'He was just glad Luc managed to get out of bed.'

'It's that bad?'

'Yeah, the other members have complained a lot about it, but we argue he's too talented to be sent away. Though, really, Nathan would never. He loves him. He doesn't want to push him; we think we just need to be patient with him. It seems to be working; he manages to practice with Nathan some days, and those days are becoming more frequent. What he's been through is just... He won't talk about it, but he lets Nathan see his memories.'

'Have you? Seen them, I mean.'

'Nathan won't let me, even though he's ok with me knowing. He has told me some of it, though.'

'He doesn't think you can handle it?'

'It's more about sparing me, I think. It was necessary for Nathan to see his memories, so he could understand where he was coming from. A bad joke of his, but after Nathan saw the memories, he came to me and said he wondered if the council had more of that stuff they gave Edge. I was mainly shocked he mentioned Edge though, he never does that.'

'A bad joke, but not a bad idea.'

'Manipulating memory is always a bad idea.'

'But what about the boy? Maybe he should be spared from his own past?'

'It's a tempting thought. However, there's a reason why we need to be careful about that stuff. If we wiped away his memories of abuse, his emotional memory would still be present. It would be even harder, if not impossible, for him to get better. Bodies remember for life, even though you don't.'