Sprinkle of Magic

Ailbe and her grandfather had been waiting for her at the kitchen table when she pushed through the back door. Ailbe took one look at her and laughed. "You'd better hurry up and get yourself changed. You look like you were chasing rabbits all day." Maerin grinned in return, remembering once when she was younger when she and Ailbe actually went rabbit hunting because she wanted a pet. She gave a quick nod and ran up the stairs. She took the quickest shower of her life and blow dried her hair in record time, before she realized something.

"Casual or fancy?" She shouted down the stairs. She heard Ailbe's faint reply of 'in between', and she inwardly groaned. She went to her wardrobe, trying to see if she had anything nice, but not too nice. She ended up finding one of her old dresses. It was a red and black plaid sleeveless dress that reached just above her knees. She yanked it over her head before sliding on a pair of black leggings. She debated for a while before she finally pulled on her pair of red converse, and applied a thin layer of red lipstick, just enough to make them pop. She applied her eyeliner, stuck a red bow in her hair by her bangs and skipped her way down the stairs. "Ready!" She shouted once she reached the bottom, grabbing her leather jacket off of the railing where she'd left it, shrugging it over her shoulders. The pair at the table nodded, and they all piled into Maerin's car, since she didn't want to be seen in the rust bucket.

Ailbe drove the easiest way into town, and Maerin was surprised when they pulled up to a fairly fancy place. She remembered it from childhood, though, they had the best pizza pasta ever. She grinned at the thought as she followed Ailbe and her grandfather into the place. The heat instantly hit her, and she mentally cursed herself for wearing the heavy leather jacket. They were shown to a table rather quickly, though, and Maerin took no time in shucking off the jacket, draping it over the chair behind her. The three of them made small talk while Maerin looked over the menu, it had changed in the long years since she'd been there. "Can I start you off with any drinks?" The lazy, familiar drawl hit her ears, and her eyes snapped up, shock and anger filling them. Of course he was there. She was glad that Ailbe ordered for all of them, since Maerin was too annoyed to speak. It seemed like she just couldn't get away from the blonde. Niall returned with their drinks and quickly got their orders.

Maerin tried to keep herself distracted while she waited for her salad. She opted to glance around the room, her eyes falling on a red head just being seated with a handsome ginger. Almost as if Talia could feel her gaze, the girl looked up, her eyes narrowed into slits. She held her middle finger in the air as if it were the most natural thing ever, and Maerin didn't know how much more she could take. What had she done to make Talia hate her so much? They'd been the best of friends when they were children, what had changed? The frustration was too much. The familiar pounding started in her head, and she heard the crackle moments before she heard glass shattering on the other side of the room. Maerin snapped her head back up, eyes widening in fear when she saw Talia standing up, brushing glass and water from her dress. Had she done that, or was Talia just clumsy? She didn't stay to find out. "I-I need air." She rushed out before she quickly stood up, knocking her chair over. She rushed out of the building as quick as she could, her jacket forgotten.

"Mae?" She whipped her head around, frowning when she saw Niall running after her. This was the last straw.

"Are you daft?! When are you ever going to give up? Why are you bloody everywhere?!" She screamed in frustration, though a second later it was in fear, when the street light above them shattered. Niall pulled her out of the way, though, as the shards of glass began showering down. She couldn't live like this anymore. "I'm sorry." She whispered softly before pulling out of Niall's grip. She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and pushed speed dial 2. The familiar voice rang through her phone and she gave a shaky sigh. "I..I need your help. Pick me up, please." She rattled off the address before she hung up the phone, sending a text to Ailbe to stay and enjoy the dinner, she had a ride home and she was fine.

"I don't mean to make you so angry." Maerin's eyebrow rose a bit when Niall spoke. She nodded though before crossing her arms over her chest. "I just...You're interesting. You're not like the other girls at school. I was just trying to get to know you, be your friend." He bent down, sitting on the curb before he looked down at his hands. Maerin frowned, sighing as she moved to sit next to him. She kept her eyes on the road, her voice monotone.

"It's not worth it." She started off. "Getting to know me, its-it's dangerous." She whispered out the words before she rubbed her temples. She winced, though, when she felt a sting where she rubbed. She pulled her hand away, seeing her fingers spotted with blood. "What the...?"

Niall's head shot up when he heard her tone of voice, worry in his eyes. "There must have been a piece of glass from the light." He leaned forward, trying to examine the wound, but Maerin pulled away, shaking her head. Niall finally sighed in defeat. "Look. You say it's dangerous, but I don't really care. You're one of the only people who seem to talk to me. I just annoy everyone else. I'm the new guy, everyone's favorite punching bag." Maerin was about to disagree with him, when a black truck sped up to the curb, tires screeching as it came to a stop.

Ardan hopped out as soon as the engine was cut, taking the few steps to Maerin. He opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped when he saw the cut on her head. "You. What did you do to her?" His voice was fierce as he spoke to Niall, and Maerin quickly stood, putting a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Ardan, no. It wasn't him, he didn't do this." The words were rushed as she tried to calm him down. "It was me." She whispered her next words, loud enough so only he could hear. Understanding filled his features, and he nodded.

"Alright. Let's get you home." A soft smile crossed his face, and Maerin nodded slowly and pulled away from him, getting into the passenger seat of the truck. Before she closed the door, she heard Ardan grumble out four words to Niall. "Stay away from her." Maerin slammed the door with a sigh. It wasn't Niall's fault. Well, it mostly was, but she'd caused everything. She actually felt bad for being so harsh to him. He was feeling like she was. Alone and afraid in a new school where everyone looks down on them. She couldn't let him in, though. It would be risky. Letting him in meant potentially putting him into danger. Ardan snapped her out of her thoughts as they drove. "Are you alright?" She only nodded in response. She could feel the blood dripping down the side of her head, and all she wanted to do was go home and clean it up. She got her wish the short minutes later when Ardan pulled up in front of her house. He followed her in and up to her room, where he promptly sat her down at her vanity before grabbing medical supplies from her bathroom. "This might hurt.." He whispered as he knelt down in front of her, tweezers in hand. She gave a tight nod before taking a deep breath, bracing herself. She released her breath in a hiss when Ardan pulled the small piece of glass out of the small wound. "You're lucky. it's pretty shallow." She gave him a tense nod as he cleaned up the blood and stuck a butterfly bandage over the wound.

"Thank you." She said quietly when he finished. He just shrugged his shoulders as he stood up. He replaced all of the supplies before stating that he was going to make tea. When he was gone, Maerin got herself changed into a pair of cotton pajama pants, and an overlarge All Time Low t-shirt. She tip-toed her way downstairs, finding Ardan with his back to her in the kitchen. "Is there any way to stop it?" Her voice wavered slightly, but she took a deep breath to keep his cool. He didn't face her at first, but when he turned around, worry was still in his eyes.

"No. You can't just turn it off. But you can control it, Maerin. You don't have to let it rule you." The words brought both relief and fear. She didn't want to be different. She wanted to live a normal life.

"Why am I even like this?" The question made Ardan chuckle, though the girl didn't understand what was so funny about her being a freak.

"That's a story for another day. I have to leave, now, but I can come back tomorrow if you want. I can't give you all of the answers you want right now, but I can at least give you some." With the hope of finally figuring out why she could do these things, she gave him a nod. Ardan surprised her, then, by walking towards her and wrapping her in a hug. "You don't have to worry, Mae. Whenever you need me I'll be here. You touched the tree, we're connected now. If you're ever in trouble and don't have the time to call me, just think as loud as you can. I'll find you as soon as possible." She nodded into his chest. She was still afraid, though, but she felt comfort knowing she had someone she could talk to, someone who wouldn't judge her for being odd. "Goodnight, Maerin Curruthers." He placed a kiss to the top of her head before he walked away and out of her house.

She watched him from the window with a small smile on her face, but her eyebrow raised when she watched his truck pull onto the dirt road a short ways from her house. She sent him a quick text, chuckling at his reply when she received it.

Why didn't you tell me you lived so close?

You never asked.

Maerin shook her head, trying to wrap her head around the strange tree boy, before she grabbed up the cup of tea he'd made her. She walked into the den, somewhere she'd rarely gone since she'd moved in. It was cozy, with its fireplace and leather couch. She set her cup on the coffee table before she moved to start a fire. When the newspaper she put in, caught, she smiled before she took another look around. She made her way to the book shelf on the opposite wall, scanning the spines for anything interesting. One book in particular stood out to her. 'The Life Tree'. The title intrigued her, so she plucked it off of the shelf before she flopped down on the couch, sprawling out on it.

Her eyes scanned the pages, completely enthralled. It was about the tree she'd seen in the Forest, the one Ardan protected. He hadn't been lying. It was said to be the source of everything magickal in the world, and if it were to ever be destroyed, the aftermath would throw the planet into chaos. She flipped through more pages, needing to get away from the dark undertone of the previous reading, when a beautifully decorated page caught her eye.

The Shadow will come
With flames and smoke

The Tree will choose wisely
Its Ward awoke

The Savoir shall come
With light and rain

To save humanity
Destruction and pain

For some reason, the rhyme didn't set well in the pit of Maerin's stomach. It seemed to be more of a prophecy than just an old story. Words stuck out to the girl as she re-read them another time. 'The Shadow'. Did it mean the Shadow that had been stalking her since she was just a child? The Tree was obviously the Tree the book was dedicated to. 'Ward'. Ardan had called himself the Ward of the Tree. Was the book talking about him? What did he really have to do with anything? He was just its caretaker, right?

The questions filled her brain and she finally closed the book, setting it next to her un-touched tea. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make sense of anything she'd read. With a loud yawn, she came to the conclusion that she would ask Ardan when he came the next day.