Argent Eye III

37

When I got home, I was tired. Walking around museums all day really saps the energy out of you, for sure. So, I made myself a quick snack, not that hungry from my Five Guys meal, and put on a movie in my bedroom- everyone else was out, it was dark, and it had started raining a lot.

I was midway through the movie, and had finished my snack, when I heard someone knock the front door.

I frowned, wondering who it could be. I mean, I guess one of the guys could have left their keys behind, but normally they would give me a heads up if they wanted letting in. Still, I paused the movie and went downstairs.

I recognised the figure on the other side of the door through the glass. I would have recognised it anywhere. I opened the door, and Ronan was standing there, his lips pursed together. He looked nervous. Awkward, perhaps.

"Oh, hey." I said.

"Hey." He said.

We stood there in silence for a few moments.

"You wanna come in?" I asked.

Ronan nodded, relieved that I'd asked, and stepped through over the threshold. It was still raining hard outside, but Ronan was obviously dry from teleporting here.

"Before you start, I think we need a cup of tea." I said, and didn't wait for him to answer as I went to put the kettle on.

Then, I took the two mugs of tea into the living room where Ronan was sat, and placed them on the coffee table.

"Thanks." Ronan said, taking the tea. I also held my tea, letting it warm my face and hands.

"I think I need to start by apologising." Ronan began. I was glad he started the conversation, because I wasn't quite sure how I would start it. "I shouldn't have done it."

"It's okay." I said, still not really sure if I was okay with it or not.

"No, it's not." Ronan said. "But now that it's happened, I need to explain a few things. I need to tell you how I'm feeling, because if I don't say it now I worry that I will never say it."

I nodded slowly. I wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say- that he regretted the whole thing? He wished it never happened? As these thoughts circulated my head, I started to realise that I didn't want him to say those things.

"When I first met you, I obviously had no idea that you'd be able to control all the elements." He began. Well, I knew that. "It had never even crossed my thoughts. But do you know how we know a potential Argent from an ordinary human?"

I frowned. Truth be told, I didn't know. I'd never asked. "No." I said.

"We are drawn to power." He said. "We can teleport wherever we like, but it's like a strange alarm going off in our heads when we need to trigger another Argent's power. We can either teleport to a specific location, or we can teleport to the source of the power. All we need to do is focus on the power, and then our body does the rest. When I teleported to Greenwich and first saw you, I could sense the elemental power from you and knew that you were the one I was going to be teaching."

He paused for a moment, and I wondered why he was telling me this. I couldn't figure out the relevance. But I didn't interrupt him.

"So, when I got to know you more, we became friends, right?" Ronan continued. "But I've never spent more time with an apprentice than I have with you. I mean, the main reason for that was because you had a few more issues than the average Argent." He chuckled, and so did I. "But it was also because I enjoyed spending the time with you. Most Argents are brave and kind, however I'd never met one quite like you. You practically throw yourself into danger's path if it means you can help people. You do it without thinking. Like, in your mind, there is no alternative. And by doing that, your powers have grown by a lot. And so have my feelings for you, Millie." He paused. "But that was when I started to wonder. Was I drawn to you, or your power?"

He stopped again, to let that sink in. So that explains why he was talking about the stuff before. He didn't know whether he actually liked me, or whether it was just the power.

"Did you figure it out?" I asked, my heart racing. I didn't know what I wanted him to say. It was still a lot to digest in such a short space of time. Whatever he said, I knew I would still need time to figure it out.

Ronan had been looking at his mug of tea, but then he looked up at me. Our eyes locked.

"Yes." Ronan said, quite confidently. "But I'm not sure whether it would be selfish to tell you or not."

I rolled my eyes. "Well you're gonna have to tell me now, aren't you?"

He chuckled. It was my own nerves that triggered the sarcasm, but it did seem to lift some of the tension in the room.

"When I kissed you the other day, it was like I'd let out a huge breath I'd been holding." He said. "I'd not felt anything like it before, and I realised I'd been wanting to do it for a very long time. I also realised that it wasn't your power I was drawn to- it was you. Your bravery. Your kindness. Your humour. Your smile. Everything about you."

Again, silence. Unless you counted the pounding of my heart in my chest. That, along with my racing thoughts. How long had he been trying to figure this out for? A few weeks? Months? Years? And how had I not even noticed?

Had I noticed? Had I just turned a blind eye to it?

"I guess I'm gonna have to apologise again for throwing all that at you." Ronan said. I looked at him, and he genuinely looked sorry. Upset. Nervous. You wouldn't think that this was an ancient, powerful being sitting before me. He looked like an ordinary man.

"No." I said. "You don't have to apologise for how you feel, or for telling me."

I swallowed. I loved Ronan- I did. But at the moment, I needed to digest what he'd just told me. I needed time. I needed to figure out the kind of love I felt for him. Currently, my thoughts were jumbled.

"I just..." I began. "I need time. I need to think things through."

Ronan nodded.

"But don't ever apologise to me again." I said.

He smiled. "Sorry."

I glared at him, enough to make him laugh. I was glad he laughed- it was like nothing had happened for a second.

"Thank you." I said. "For being honest with me."

He smiled again. "Thank you for listening to me. And, um, not exploding or anything."

I chuckled. "I do try."

"Oh, shit." Ronan suddenly said, and stood up, putting his tea down.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I think Luke is having an episode." Ronan said. He must have seen the confusion on my face. "The new Argent I'm training. He got out of hospital the other day, and I think his element is beginning to manifest."

I remembered how panicked I was when my element was beginning to manifest.

"You better go, then." I said, and then smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Ronan smiled in return and nodded, before vanishing.

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