I drive her to my house, my yard is huge and surrounded by a privacy fence. No one should bother us. I scan the backyard mapping the layout in my mind. My house sits behind me and two large oak trees stand in either corner of the lot close to the fence behind Ashley. There’s nothing in between us that will get in the way in case I have to run from her—I don’t plan on running from her but that crazed look she’s giving me is freaking me out.
We don’t worry about changing out of our academy uniforms. This will be a quick sparring round.
“Are you ready?” Ashley asks with a sinister grin on her face like she’s going to enjoy attacking me. She stands with her hand held out like she’s about to blast me.
“Of course I’m ready. It’s not like you can actually hit—”
A wave of energy hits me right in the chest. The momentum sends me flying back a few feet landing on my back. My vision blurs and all I see is the cloudy sky.
“Nevin, are you okay?”
“I wasn’t ready!” I call out trying to figure out how to stand.
“Stop kidding around,” she snaps. Her royal blue eyebrows squint together. “If you’re going to prove that you belong on the sweep team, then you need to be serious.”
She’s right, as always. Still, why did she hit me? I didn’t know we’re supposed to actually hit each other. I stand up and conjure my lightning sword. The light-blue electricity crackles and swirls around my hand forming a blade. I move my left foot behind me, ready for another attack.
“Now I’m ready.”
Ashley grins. She holds out her hand and shoots a wave of energy. I watch the dust trail toward me. It’s an easy dodge. I rush her. She shoots another blast at me, this time higher from the ground, followed by a second shot. I fall forward allowing both waves to fly over me and then I roll over onto my back jumping to my feet.
“Not bad,” she says clapping her hands in approval. “Now try to attack me.”
I relax, letting down my guard. “You can’t handle my lightning.”
“Ha! Just try me.” She smirks.
I rush toward her with my glowing sword to my side. She doesn’t flinch. I swing at her, not planning to hit her or anything, but she side-steps and punches me in the ribs full force. The blow knocks the wind out of me, sending me to one knee.
“W-What was that for?” I moan rubbing my bruised ribs.
Ashley let’s out a loud sigh rolling her eyes. “Nevin, I told you to take this seriously. Now attack me!”
Fine, if she wants to do this for real then we can. I shake off the raging pain in my side and stand up. I swing at her and she dodges again. My left elbow connects with her nose. As she stumbles back, I kneel and sweep my leg into hers knocking her to the ground.
“Not bad, right?” I say standing over my adorable girlfriend. I dismiss my sword, silencing the buzzing sound while extending my other hand to help her up.
She smiles as she grabs my hand, but then she yanks me down and rolls on top of me.
“Not bad at all, but you’re holding back. You’re going to get yourself killed.” She wipes a drop of blood from her nose using my shirt. My white shirt!
What is she talking about? Of course I’m holding back, I don’t want to hurt her. Does she want me to hurt her? I push her off my chest and scramble to my feet conjuring my sword once again. Before she can stand, I swing at her but she rolls away. Blue electricity explodes as my sword hits the ground.
I chase her and attack again. She blocks my hit with her metal wristband. The electricity buzzes as it crawls up her arm. Her pain-filled cries pierce my ears. I pull away and push her to the soft grass with my foot. Standing over her, I aim my sword at her face daring her to try to get up.
“So how was that?” I ask, dismissing my sword. A large smile comes across my face. “Wanna go again?”
“That was better,” she says, lying as flat as possible in the grass. “I think I had enough for one day.”
She stands up and brushes the dirt from her uniform skirt.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, trust me. You did great, sweetie.” She kisses me on the cheek.
“Are you sure? I can go get some ice or something.”
I really didn’t mean to hurt her, but she wanted me to, I think. Ashley rubs her arm where I shocked her. Tiny hairs stand up from the base of her skin. She then looks over toward my house.
“No, I’m fine, but I should get cleaned up before I head home. I don’t want to be questioned why I’m covered in blood and grass stains.”
I lead her inside the sliding door into the kitchen. She grabs a rag from the sink and dusts off her uniform as much as possible. In hindsight, sparring in our white uniforms probably wasn’t the best idea.
I head to the downstairs bathroom and grab some gauze for her nose along with Lightning Rob ointment. The box says it’s supposed to take away minor effects of getting shocked by someone like me. Good thing I held back, the electricity could’ve burned her.
“Thanks,” she says as she grabs from gauze and ointment. She kisses me on the cheek again as a reward.
“Do you think I have a chance with the sweep squad?” I ask.
She looks at me with her adorable blue eyes. Then her smile fades.
“Nevin, why do you want to risk your life so much?”
I scratch my head. The thought hasn’t crossed my mind. “This isn’t about risking my life. It’s about being someone and proving I’m not a loser.”
“Oh babe, you’re not a loser. I…I just don’t want to lose you. This is big for both of us.”
I wrap my arms around her and hold her to my chest. Her heart beats against mine. She looks up at me and kisses me on the lips. The warmth of her body melts my soul. At this moment, I actually believe I’m not such much of a loser. Then she pulls away and walks toward the sliding door.
“I should go. I’m sure my father is wondering where I am.”
Before I can say a word, Ashley blows a kiss my way and exits the door. This is why I love her, she’s one of the only people that care if I live or die. Well, I’m sure my friends care but I’m not feeling their warmth, no way!
All there’s left to do now is wait to hear back from Dante, or I could contact him myself. Forget it. I’ll go put some ice on my ribs.
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