Salem Falls

“Siren,” Niall sighed on the voicemail. Siren sat on her roof, a blanket of black and stars above her head. Glancing up, she saw it was going to be the full moon soon. A chill ran up her spine. “Are you going to keep ignoring my calls, or will you just listen me out? I want to see you.”

The voicemail ended and she deleted it. Pulling her knees into her chest, she set her chin on them, working on her bottom lip with her teeth. It was hard for her to admit that she wanted to see him too. After living an entire life, with only ever wanting to see Lucie, it was weird for Siren to miss another person.

Niall was different than anyone else she had ever met, though. Yes, he was her complete opposite, but that’s why she was so intrigued by him. He was so kind, kinder than she had ever seen someone be. He was so many different, complex versions of good that even the darkest parts of her had a little light that belonged to him.

Siren laughed at herself, hiding her face in her hands. How had she come to this? After all her pushing and shoving, and burning and hating and scorning, she had finally found it within herself to feel. It was annoying, but it also made her giddy in only a way that she understood.

Crunching gravel sounded in her ears. Moving quietly, she crawled up the slope of the roof, peering over the peak of it and watching as Niall himself walked up her drive, hands shoved in his pocket as he walked up to her door. She watched him with curiosity as he knocked, bouncing on his heels.

It was hard to contain the giggle, as he frowned at the door. He never thought to look up. Chewing on the side of her lip, Siren murmured a small spell under her breath, watching as the wind picked up dust and blew it upwards towards her.

Niall’s blue eyes followed the movement with ease until he was looking at her, which made him cock his head to the side in puzzlement. Though she was still mad at him, she wiggled her fingers in a cheeky wave, as she peered over him.

“How did you get up there?” he asked, grinning at her. He had the most beautiful grin in the whole wide world, she thought. “And if you answer a broom, I’m going to kick your ass.”

A bubble of laughter escaped her lips and she clapped her hand over her mouth. She didn’t want him to know she was amused, because it had been what she was going to say. “Figure it out. Grow a tree, green peace.”

“Ha-ha.”

Sliding back down to where she was originally sitting, siren sat Indian style, waiting as Niall figured it out. She herself had just climbed from the window that was open in her bedroom, a fact Niall seemed to figure out as well, when she heard the door open and close.

A few minutes later, Niall was hauling himself onto the room through the window that was a perfect access. Dusting his hands off, he plopped down beside her, mimicking the way she was sitting. She had to admit the peaceful pose looked better on him.

“So are you playing hard to get? Or have you misplaced your phone?” She lifted a single shoulder in a shrug, giving him an innocent look. “Innocence does not suite you, Siren.”

“Everything suites me,” she scoffed, bumping his shoulder with hers lightly. It seemed her anger had dissipate almost entirely. “I’m painstakingly gorgeous.”

“One day I will get used to your arrogance.”

“No you won’t.” Both of them laughed and fell silent. The cool night wind brushes around them like strokes of a lover, and they both gazed at the sky. Siren’s home was on the edge of the town, where the woods began to get thick, so the stars were easier to see out here. And there were thousands, twinkling with hope. “So what made you decide to come knocking on my door?”

“Logic: If Siren wont come to you, you come to Siren,” he joked, looking at her and grinning. She shifted and brought her knees to her chest once more, laying her head sideways on them to examine him. Absently she hoped no members of Sixth Circle wanted to pay her an uncharacteristic visit. “You wouldn’t answer the phone, so I had no other choice. I’m not okay with you ignoring me.”

She shrugged again. “I was mad.”

“Was?”

“Am.” She sighed heavily, knowing she was going to have to go into detail. And she wanted to. Sort of. “you don’t like what I am. You wish I was different.”

He thought on this for a long time. The silence almost killed her. Silence was always the one answer everyone dreaded, because it was the confirmation you didn’t want to hear, that you didn’t want to accept. But then he raised his hand and touched he cheek lightly, making her catch her breath. “I thought I did. But then I realized that I wasn’t spending time with you because I wanted to change you. I did it because I liked you.”

“That’s a first.”

Smiling at her, Niall shifted over, so that they were sitting with their legs touching. She lifted her head, looking at him with furrowed brows. He looked at her and she tensed, chills running up her spine at the realization at how close they were. She had never been that close to him.

“Close your eyes,” he murmured, softly. She gave him a doubtful look. “Just do it, alright? It’s a new spell I’ve been wanting to try.”

Huffing, she complied, closing her eyes. It was difficult for her not to peek, not knowing what he was doing. He shifted again, and she waited, but before she knew it, Niall’s lips were pressing softly against hers, startling her. But though her brain was startled, her body reacted on instinct.

It was natural, for Siren to kiss him back instantly, leaning into it. Fire erupted all over her body as he cupped her face gently, mouth moving in time with hers, slowly as if he had all the time in the world to kiss her, as if there was nothing else in the world that he wanted to do.

Niall pulled away suddenly then, blinking in shock. She slapped her hand over her mouth, unable to hide the laugh escaping her mouth, realizing that the fire she had felt had actually existed. Her attunement to the element had gotten the best of her.

Niall shook his head, his lips curving upwards. “It didn’t hurt,” he promise, touching his lips with his own finger. “It felt… nice. How’d you do that?”

“Fire… fire is my element. It is me. I’m not sure.”

“Hmm,” he hummed lightly, cupping her face and leaning in towards her again. “Try that again.”

Two silhouettes against the darkness of the sky, they kissed again, both too tangled in one another to care about anything else. For those few minutes, Lunar and Sixth circle didn’t matter. The fact that this was forbidden didn’t cross their minds, their fight seemed completely irrelevant, and nothing else in the world could ruin the moment.

For the first time in a long time, Siren did not want to be alone anymore. She would have been content to sit with Niall for the rest of her life on her roof. And a single thought, kept crossing her mind, for the rest of the night: Something that felt that right, could not possibly be wrong.