Everything had changed. How dare the world still stay so constant?

I hadn't found it in myself to ask...my dad? Arden? How should I even refer to him?

I hadn't asked him yet about what I had overheard. How would he respond? He could of course, straight up deny anything I said. Or he could admit everything, tell me the truth. Did I want either?

From downstairs, I heard the doorbell ring. I didn't bother to move from my position- face down on my mattress. Whoever it was, would go away, soon enough. 

Much to my annoyance however, I heard vaguely familiar footsteps out in the hallway, getting louder as they walked towards me. Who could it be? Someone whom I could ask to fuck off, hopefully. 

"Aster, you there?"

Kai's voice caught me off guard for a few minutes, before I became wary. Of course I would see a lot of him. Dad wanted me to befriend him. I wasn't sure I was in the mental state to deal with his extraordinary exuberance. Maybe he would understand if I asked him to leave. On second thoughts, maybe it was better if I did talk to him? Might take my mind off everything. The Ball. My dad. Zeph. 

The thought of Zeph felt like a hot knife slicing my chest open. An agony that left be breathless, and at the same time euphoric. The realization that I was devastatingly in love with him. The knowledge that he could never be mine. But he had held me back, hadn't he? He had kissed me. I touched my forehead almost instinctively, remembering the fleeting, soft touch of his lips. It had felt so tender. Almost like a dream. What if it had been?

"Aster?"

Kai's voice pulled me out of my reverie and I answered back, "In a minute."

I opened to door to reveal Kai standing there, seemingly bouncing on the balls of his feet. He smiled brightly when he saw me, although I couldn't help but notice the dark circles under his eyes. "Training keeping you awake?" I enquired, feeling pity for him. 

"Er...a bit yes," he said, somehow not meeting my eyes. "Anyway, I heard you attended the Rise of Light Ball," he asked, bouncing at an almost alarming rate, already out of breath. "How was it? Did you see anything interesting? Who all were there? How was the food? Did you dance? Can you dance? What was the music like? Who-?"

"Alright now, shush," I said, amused by his barrage of questions. His cheeks flushed and he shook his head, his shoulders slumping. 

"Sorry," he muttered. 

"You don't have to apologize," I said, chuckling.

"Sorry," he said again before slapping a hand on his mouth with a concerning sound. "Er-"

I couldn't help but laugh at his antics. He seemed to be like a mischievous elf- complete with curly hair and sparkly eyes. "It's okay. But er...kind of a relief to see you."

"R-really?" his eyes widened, shining. "Oh. I thought I would be disturbing you. I was just out in the city. And well...wondered if I could see you."

"Oh, exploring the city?" I shrugged. "Sounds like a fun time."

"Would you like to c-come with me?" he asked, blinking rapidly. "Er...we have this ice cream shop down the store that has the tastiest sundaes. If you w-want."

"Ice cream sounds great!" I said, shutting the door behind me. I wasn't sure how long it would be till I got bored of his energy, but till then, I could at least distract myself with a treat. Once outside in the street, he started rambling again. It was strange to me how he didn't really seem to need another person to converse with. 

"- for like thirty minutes. But even then, it was awfully painful. It's a very very strict method of punishment. Some even compare it to the Sanctum. But, I don't think it's that bad. I mean, a few hours of pure solitude versus a few weeks? I'd take a few hours any day. But it does seem like a tiny Sanctum- only much less ritualistic. And it doesn't really have much of a purpose either. I mean, I went there for a few hours and-"

"Wait," I said, repulsed. "They actually made you go through a ...a mini Sanctum?" The thought made me shudder. 

He nodded sheepishly. "It's the very highest level of punishment," he said. "I've only done it twice. Both times...messed up my exams. A lot. I didn't know what subject it was and got a zero-" he chuckled. "It was...strange."

And for the first time since knowing him, there seemed an odd, off putting tone to his voice. Sanctum- a ritual. A mode of penance. Lightwielders usually condemned the most vile criminals to that perjury. Weeks- months without any social contact. In an empty room. No sounds. No movements. No light. Just darkness. It was enough to drive anyone up the wall. Usually ending with the condemned man begging for mercy- death. 

"Wow," I sighed, "Sounds like they're really strict over there."

"Sometimes yeah," he said as we turned around a corner and he pointed ahead. "There."

It took me a while to see what he was pointing to- and at the very end of the street I could see a signboard that read, 'Swirls and Serves.'

Walking closer I saw a dainty little store. Through the glass I could see a few round tiny tables, a counter on the other end, doilies and several flowery decorations on the tables. It looked cosy. We walked in as the bell tinkled above the door. Inside, the place was rife with the scent of coffee beans, instantly making me wonder if there was coffee flavoured ice creams. A middle aged, rather round woman sat on the other end of the counter, smiling brightly at the pair of us. The store, save from the three of us, remained empty. 

"Millie!" Kai said brightly. 

The woman- Millie, nodded at him, her dark eyes twinkling. She seemed as happy to see him as he did and I wondered if it was his infectious energy rubbing off on her. She had her hair pulled in a tight bun on her head, covered with a net- which also seemed to wiggle with excitement. "Kai! Wonderful to see you, honey! And-" her eyes landed on me, "Who is this young man?"

"This is....my friend er-" Kai stuttered, possibly wondering if he should tell her my name. I shrugged and completed his sentence, not thinking much of it. 

"Aster. May the light be with you, Millie," I gave her a tiny little bow as she giggled happily. 

"Ah I see. I have heard quite a bit- I mean...a lot about you from dear Kai-" she glanced at him, tittering. Much to my surprise, I saw he had turned a deep shade of pink, his gaze fixed on his sneakers as he shuffled his feet. "Well, should I get you the usual?"

"Um...yes. For me. What about you, Aster?" he asked, still not looking at me. I glanced at the large menu that was handing on the tiled wall behind Millie, seeing a number of flavours I had never had or even heard of before. 

"Oh...coconut? Sounds delicious," I glanced at Kai. He nodded at Millie and she tottered off behind the curtain, emerging a few minutes later with two brightly pink paper cups. I leaned over the counter, watching as she scooped the ice creams onto the cups. 

"Sprinkles?" she asked as Kai answered in affirmative. 

"Uh, no thanks," I said, not sure how the combination would taste like. She handed both of us the ice cream after a while and I reached into my pocket for my wallet. Kai however paid for both of us before I could even get a move on and I proceeded to pay him instead. 

"No no, I insist-" he said, his cheeks still pink. 

I wasn't sure how to feel about him treating me. Where did he get the money from anyway? Would it be rude to ask him?

"Hey Kai, is it okay if I ask something a little...nosy?" I asked him as we stepped onto the street. 

"Sure," he said, taking a spoonful of his ice cream. 

"How do you guys...like...get money?" I asked.

"Oh," he took another bite. "From our sponsors."

"Your sponsors?" I asked. 

He nodded. "They're anonymous for the most part. But they're the ones who send us gifts and money and stuff. Sometimes there are multiple of them too."

He didn't know who his parents were, and yet it never seemed like he was dwelling on it. Of course, he might simply not show it as much. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but admire his zest for everything. 

"What flavour is that by the way?" I asked, finally taking a bite of my ice cream and finding myself pleasantly surprised at the coconutty flavour. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the subtle coconut was definitely delicious. 

"Just vanilla," he shrugged. "Simplest."

"You come here  often then?" I said as we started walking along the pavement. The sun was hanging low in the sky, almost dusk. The streets around us basked in a golden light. A strange lull falling over the town. 

"Pretty much, yes," he said. "Me and my friends. They went to the arcade. I promised I'd join them later...would you like to come?"

"The arcade? With your friends?" 

He nodded. "It's really fun."

I didn't really find any reason to refuse and thus decided to go with him. He led me through a few more streets before I found myself standing in a queue in front of a stupidly vibrant building. A large neon sign blinked on top of it, reading 'Game-in Arcade.'

I smirked at the non-creativity of the name as I finished the last bite of the ice cream and tossed the empty cup into the large trashcan on the side of the street. I was surprised to see such a long line of people- mostly around our age, each with a distinctly coloured outfit. A contrast to the monochromatic clothes I was used to seeing. 

"There are so many games inside. It's why it's so popular. I had a friend recommend me to it once. We played-" 

I tuned in and out of Kai's rambling, my mind drifting away. Phasing out the noises of the crowd before I felt a familiar hand brush against mine. My heart skipped a beat, and sure enough, a few seconds later, Zeph's voice spoke enticingly close to my ear. 

"Come with me."

I turned to look at him, my heart racing when I saw nothing but the empty street behind me. The crowd jostled me farther away from it, and I quickly broke away, glancing around to search for him. "Zeph?" I had spoken his name way too softly, not in a way that he could hear me. Had it been an illusion?

My suspicions turned to confirmation however as I felt something in my pocket, something I hadn't noticed before. I reached for it, knowing full well what it would be. 

A white origami bird. Zeph was here. 

I took off, without glancing back at the crowd and into the dark street behind it. His shadow magic, this was how he wove in and out of the city. 

"Took you long enough," Zeph's voice called and I saw him leaning against the dark alley wall, a few feet away from where I stood, his figure nothing but a silhouette. I walked closer to him, finally able to see his face. 

"What...the fuck are you doing here?" 

He scowled, annoyed. "Well, sorry for breaking up your date."

"My...my...what?" I spluttered.

"Your date, with Sparky," he said. 

"Sparky?"

"Guy follows you around like a puppy," he scoffed. "I'm surprised he's not wagging his tail and licking your face."

"Kai?" I asked, shrugging. "Er...he's a bit energetic."

"Energetic?" he raised and eyebrow. "Yes. He's very energetic and also very in love with you."

I almost choked on my own spit. "W-w-what?"

"Come on, Goldie," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, an uncharacteristic frown etched on his face. "No way you're this clueless. The guy has the biggest crush on you."

"Oh."

I thought back to most of the interactions that I had with Kai, realizing with a jolt that it was very possible. I shrugged, not really knowing how to respond. 

"Well...there was something I wanted to show you," he said. "If you'd wanna come with me that is."

"Sure," I said, instinctively. He tilted his head to the side, a small smirk on his lips. 

"You gonna abandon Sparky huh?"

"He's gonna be okay," I said as my stomach turned in guilt. "His friends are in the arcade. What did you wanna show me?"

He turned and placed both his hands on the rain pipe behind him, pulling it to check if his weight would hold before he grinned at me, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Hope you're up for some parkour."