Sprinkle of Magic

The next few days went by without a hitch. No weird noises, no appearance from the Shadow, and not-so-surprisingly, no Talia. The only thing was, my mother still hadn't woken up from the attack. We didn't want to take her to a doctor, that would just raise too many questions, so Granda moved Mam into his room to keep a close eye on her. I still hadn't moved back into my own room, though. Instead, Niall had been staying with me after my first night back in it, when he'd shaken me awake because I'd been screaming my head off. I don't remember what I was dreaming about, but I remember the feeling of dread when I woke up to see Niall staring down at me. I didn't mind it, though. I felt safe in his arms, as strange as that sounds, since he can't protect me from anything that we knew could come after me. He's not like us, and it worried me more than anything. He was getting in over his head, but I swore that I would protect him.

It was finally Tuesday, the day of the concert, and to say that I was nervous was an understatement. It was only second hour, and I was already shaking in my mary-janes. I only had to sit through one more class before I was free, though. Those of us in choir were allowed to get out of classes starting at fourth hour to set up the theater for our concert. I glanced up at the clock every few minutes, glaring at it, hoping it would move faster. I just wanted the classes to be over with so I could do something I actually liked.

"Miss Curruthers? They need you in the office, they said to bring your things." My head snapped up at the sound of my teacher speaking. I was a bit shocked. Had something else happened at home? Was my mam awake? Was she worse? I quickly pushed the thoughts out of my mind as I grabbed my books off of the desk, setting them on my lap. I would put them back into my bag once I actually got to the office. Without another word, my teacher handed me a hall pass and I rolled out of the room and down the long hallway.

"They called you, too?" I didn't turn to see the person who spoke. I would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Yeah...What do you think it's about, Niall...?" My voice was small, and I knew for sure that he was wondering the same things that I was. I only saw him shrug from the corner of my eye before we reached the office. Being the sweetheart he is, Niall pushed me the rest of the way, and we both stood there in an awkward silence as we waited for the secretary to notice that we were there.

"Oh! There you are, loves! We just got a call from your Granda, Miss Curruthers." I gave a simple nod before the woman turned to Niall. "Your relative has woken up, you've both been given permission to go visit her during your third hour." My jaw dropped to the floor at the words, and I'm sure Niall's did the same. Without another thought, we both scribbled our names down on the sign out sheet and rushed to our lockers. Since we knew we were coming back, we just stuffed everything in before he rushed me out to my car. He didn't take as long as usual to load me in, but he shook me a bit more, smacking my leg off of the car door a couple of times before he actually got me settled in. I understood, though.

I was glad that the drive was only a short five minutes, because it seemed like Niall was hitting every bump he possibly could. I didn't say a word, though. I just gritted my teeth, held on for dear life, and waited until he got me out of the car, into the elevator, and to Cece's room. He went to open the door, but I placed my hand on his arm, stopping him. "You should go in first, you're her family." I expected him to just nod and go in, but that's not what he did at all.

He bent down, pressing his lips to my forehead, which sent a swarm of butterflies through my stomach. "But you saved her, Mae." I had no argument. If I was completely honest, my mind was trying to decipher the kiss. I know he was just trying to be friendly and comforting, but my stupid brain was making it into so much more. A frown crossed my face as I tried to shove these thoughts out of my head, but I forced a smile as I nodded up at Niall, watching as he slowly opened the door. I didn't know what I excepted, but it wasn't what I saw.

Celine was attached to every machine possible, though she was sitting up in her bed. Her entire torso was wrapped in gauze, and only a thin cotton robe was wrapped around her shoulders. "Ah! You must be the relatives!" My head snapped away from Celine, who'd been staring at her lap, to the doctor I hadn't noticed in the corner of the room. Niall and I both nodded, and he grinned at the both of us. "I'll leave you be for a while, then. I'll be back in half an hour, Celine." The girl on the bed just nodded, and I felt my heart break. She looked so broken and fragile, nothing like the girl I'd met in the Magick Shoppe. I hadn't even noticed the doctor leaving the room, until Celine spoke up.

"Thank you." Her voice was hoarse, and I felt tears stinging my eyes. I bit them back. I wasn't going to cry in front of them. Niall had already seen me cry enough, he didn't need to see that again. I lifted my head, my smile smaller, but still there. I watched as she slowly held her hand out to me, which had needles and tubes sticking out everywhere. The sight made me wince, but I held out my own hand. Niall wheeled me the few steps closer, and I took my hand in hers. "I was wrong about you." The words confused me. Had she not liked me? Did she think I was a horrible person just because my family believed the horrible rumors? I blinked back my tears and she gave my hand a little squeeze.

Niall had gone over to her other side, taking her other hand, and I glanced at him for a moment before looking back to Celine. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." I choked out the words, the stupid tears not wanting to go away. Celine only smiled at me, reaching her hand up to ruffle my hair before replacing it in my own. She just looked so weak, I wanted to take all of her pain away. "I get my cast off next week." I said softly, my smile growing as I tried to lighten the mood. Her eyes seemed to be smiling for her as she squeezed once again.

"That's wonderful. I'm so sorry you got hurt because of us." I flinched at the words, shaking my head rapidly.

"Don't. Don't be sorry. I already told you, I'd do it again." I took another glance at Niall, but my cheeks turned crimson when I saw him staring back at me. I looked back to Celine, hoping she hadn't seen. She had. "I'm going to give you two some time alone. Make sure you rest." My smile had returned as I kissed her knuckles. Her smile seemed to grow, as did mine. I didn't even look back at Niall before I let go of Celine, rolling out of the room. I was surprised to see the doctor sitting just outside of the room in a plastic chair. He grinned at me, which I returned with a nod, before I pushed myself to the elevator before going to my car. I knew I couldn't get in it, but I needed some time to myself.

As soon as I was by my door, the tears came. All of the hurt and frustration I'd been feeling since I'd gotten there came pouring out. I choked out sobs as I held myself around the middle, trying not to put too much pressure on my ribs. I don't know how long I sat there, just crying, but before I knew it, another body was wrapped around my own. "It's okay, Mae. It's okay to let it out." Hearing that it was Niall's voice made me sob again, and my arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly to me. He rubbed my back, whispering soothing words into my hair until I finally calmed down. "There. That's it. That's better, yeah?" He finally pulled away from me, and I let my hands drop to my lap, not looking up at him, ashamed that I'd acted like a two year old in front of him. I felt his lips on the top of my head, and I tensed a bit. "Let's get back, okay? You can sing out of the window again on the way back. I'll drive slow."

I couldn't help the laughter that escaped at his words. He seemed to know just what to say to cheer me up, and that bothered me. We'd hated each other. We were friends. We hated each other again. Now..I don't even know what we were. He held me while I slept, keeping the dreams at bay. Kissed my forehead or the top of my head whenever he got the chance. I really don't know what's going on. We have wonderful conversations. We can actually speak to each other without me wanted to slap him in the head every five seconds. "Mae?" I snap my head over to Niall. Wow. I was so far gone in my brain. He'd had me in the car, buckled in, and we were already back at school. When had all that happened? "You zoned out a bit, love." I gave a simple nod, not trusting my voice. Plus, I'd been crying a lot, and I needed to rest it if I actually wanted to be good for the concert later.

He probably understood what I was doing, because he didn't say anything else as he wheeled me into the school. We signed back in at the office, and went straight to the theater. Everyone else was there already, including Da, but he was talking to the instructor. Niall went off to help with lights, so I went to the pair, forcing a smile onto my face. Da gave me a sympathetic smile. He must have heard about Celine waking up, knowing why I looked such a mess. "Oh! Welcome back, dear! Since there's really not much you can do, would you mind helping me fold up the programs?" I shook my head, a smile on my face. Da simply gave me a nod before he went off to join Niall.

My instructor tried to make small talk at first, but I took a moment to tell her that I was on vocal rest, and she instantly shut up. We folded programs in silence, until I learned that it was time for us to start getting ready. Most everyone would just be wearing their uniforms, but not us soloists. We actually had to dress fancy. I didn't mind, but I wasn't allowed to wear pants, which made me extremely angry. I wasn't a fan of skirts in the first place, and now I was being forced into a silly dress that wasn't me. At all.

I was surprised when Ailbe showed up to help me get dressed. But I shouldn't be, really. She was my caretaker after all. She wheeled me into the bathroom, and it was a struggle to get me into the dress. Ailbe had gone all out for me, wanting me to look the best I could possibly look, but I still felt odd in the fancy clothes. Sure, I dressed like a girl, but I dressed like a girl my way, not the way I did now. My dress had off the shoulder sleeves, fell just below my knee, and had a large cut-out diamond on the stomach. Obviously, I didn't feel confident enough for that, so Ailbe wrapped a slip of white silk over the bandages on my torso so it still matched the outfit. She also slid a single heeled boot onto my foot, with gem studs on the heel. I liked it, but I still looked a bit odd with one beautiful shoe, then a cast on my other leg. Now was the part I was dreading. Ailbe applied a thin layer of foundation, trying to hide the fact that I had been crying earlier. My eyes were still puffy from the aftermath. She applied eyeliner on my waterline, then did a thin line on my top lid. I kept my eyes closed, though. I didn't want to see myself yet. I knew she was putting lipstick on me, but I had no idea what shade it was. I felt her tug at my ears a bit, then a weight around my neck, followed by tugging at my hair. "Open your eyes, love." I did, and I gasped. Was that actually me?

The eyeliner made my dull brown eyes pop out more, my white and purple hair was hanging over my shoulder in a fishtail braid, and my lips were a bright red color. I had a beautiful necklace of fake diamonds, and jeweled earrings. I could barely recognize myself. "Thank you." I whispered softly, a smile coming onto my face.

"Two minutes." A voice sounded from outside the door, and the smile grew. Niall. I was actually excited to see what he looked like. I took a deep breath, and Ailbe opened up the door. I'm pretty sure Niall's expression matched my own. I gave a nervous cough, and he snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in. Ailbe excused herself to go find her seat, leaving Niall and I standing by ourselves. "You look...Wow." He finally said after an awkward silence, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. He blushed furiously before he cleared his throat. "Come on, we have to line up." He grabbed the handles of my chair and pushed me into the choir room, where it seemed like everyone was staring at me. Me, on the other hand. Well..I was staring at Niall. He had a stark white dress shirt, with a black tie, and a black tux lined with white. His hair, for once, was flat against his head and not styled into his quiff. I gave him a small smile before it was finally time for the concert.

Niall was behind me in line, so he pushed me behind everyone else. We were the last ones, since we would be in the front, and I was going to be dead center, where everyone could see me. I tried to shake out my nerves as we went through the doors, but seeing all of the people didn't help. There were even metal chairs lined in the back, and people were standing against the walls. I took deep breaths as we were all settled and the instructor stood in front of us. I was most nervous for the end of the show. I would be the one closing the show. My song was last. I ignored my nerves, keeping my eyes on the instructor as she introduced the first soloist, Niall. I couldn't help but smile as I watched him standing in front of me, his guitar in his hands. He sang a song by Bastille that I had never heard of, but would surely be listening to frequently in the future. I think I may have even clapped the loudest for him when he was done. When he stood next to me again, we launched straight into the first song. Between each song, there was a soloist, until finally, it was my turn.

Da arranged the mic for me so I could actually reach it, while he had a stool for himself next to me. I glanced back at Niall, and he nodded encouragingly. I took a deep breath, nodding to Da. He started in on the intro, and the lyrics just flowed from my lips. As I sang, something hit me. Niall. Niall was the reason for this song. A part of me hoped he would understand that this song was for him. The other part hoped he never did, so things wouldn't be awkward between us. After I sang the last note, Da set the guitar back down, and the instructor came back up. "Miss Maerin Curruthers, and Mister Ardan O'Hoole." The crowd went insane, and I felt the blush on my cheeks. We were then all ushered out of the theater, and we were finally free.

Niall instantly found his way to my side, but I was still in shock. I had just sang, in front of hundreds of people, and I hadn't messed up. A small smile crossed my face, and it only grew when Niall hugged me. "You were brilliant, Ni!" I whispered into his neck while I returned his hug, squeezing him lightly. He shook his head, though, as he moved around to push me through the crowds.

"No, Mae. You were amazing." I knew my blush was deeper, but I ignored it as we met up with Da, and found Granda and Ailbe. We made small talk while random people came up to Niall and I, telling us how wonderful we were. I was in the middle of a conversation with a girl from my class, when a sharp pain went through my head, causing me to hiss. When it subsided, my head snapped to Da, who had the same look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Carrie, I need to go." She gave a nod as Da rushed over. "Get there, fast." I hissed at him, and he ran off. He had come with Granda and Ailbe, so Niall and I would have to give them a ride home. We all piled into the car as fast as we could, and Niall sped the entire way there. Niall pushed me through the forest as fast as he could as I barked directions out to him. When we finally reached the clearing, all I saw was Da, staring up at the tree.

"She was here. Talia. She said it wasn't over." I could barely hear him, but his words hit me like a splash of ice water. Of course this war wasn't over yet.

It was just beginning.