Prologue Pt. 2

--- Jon ---

He jolted awake, his breathing quick as his eyes dart around, his hand already settling on his knife.

“Steady.” A familiar voice told him from across the seating.

He blinked as he took in the Asian teen in front of him. “Ying?”

“Yep.” His friend nodded

He let his head hit the back of his seat. “Sorry.”

“It’s no problem.” She assured him. “If anyone deserves the right to a few bad dreams it’s you.”

“Hmm, suppose so.” He admitted with a bitter grin.

A glowing figure almost twelve inches tall buzzed in front of his face.

“I’m fine Pix.” He told her, only for the little fairy to glare at him, before flying in front of Ying and pointing at him vehemently as she made an odd series of buzzing and bell like jingles.

“Yes, I know he’s being stupid again.” Ying agreed as she cupped her hands together for the little fairy to take a seat.

“And how am I being stupid now?” He couldn’t help but ask, as he remembered some faint advice from that bastard of a quartermaster about men always being idiots in the eyes of women.

Ying gave him a look. “You’re waving off the fact that you’re still having nightmares.”

“Didn’t you just tell me I’m entitled to a few nightmares after… everything?” He asked, without any real heat.

“Because you’re not talking about it.” Ying explained pointedly.

He couldn’t quite meet her gaze at that. “Just the usual stuff.”

“And what pray tell is the ‘usual stuff’?” Ying wondered.

“Madness, magic, and mayhem.” He answered in a half-joking way.

Pix zapped him for that.

“Good girl.” Ying praised, kissing the little fairy’s forehead.

He rolled his eyes as Pix puffed her chest up in pride, before letting them drift to the scenery passing through the window behind the two.

“Well looks like we’ve finally made it back to the city.” Ying commented as she followed his gaze. “Still surprised we live in the same city now.”

“Yeah, me and ma moved out this way when she transferred around… November, I think?” He told her. “Shame we don’t go to the same school.”

Ying gave a half-amused chuckle. “Yeah, I could just imagine my mother’s reaction to me going to a school on the southside.”

“It’s not that bad.” He laughed.

Ying gave him a flat look. “If rumors are to be believed at least half of the school belongs to one gang or another.”

“It’s overhyped.” He told her, not bothering to explain that it was more like a third of the school that was in gangs, and another third were huffing whatever drug they could get their hands on.

“For your sake I hope so.” Ying sighed. “I would absolutely hate for our next meeting to be me patching another hole in your stomach.”

“Please.” He scoffed. “We both know I’m the better nurse between us.”

“Yes, and the fact that most of that is from self-practice does very little to reassure me.” Ying pointed out dryly.

“Really, because I figured with me still standing that’d mean I was pretty good at it.” He joked, trying very hard not to think about the various times his hands had been covered in his own blood.

“I suppose so.” Ying stated more than said, a flat tone she tended to use whenever she was upset about something he’d said but didn’t want to admit it.

Pix being far blunter, decided to just zap him again.

Shaking his head, and not minding since he was used to more dangerous injuries than that, a thought occurred to him. “Hey, Ying?”

She glanced at him. “Yes?”

“Um, how long do you think it’ll be before we can, uh, meet up again?” He asked, since there weren’t too many people understood exactly what happened that summer. “I mean, I know things with your mom are… rough.”

Ying gave a snort of amusement. “That’s one way of putting it.” She leaned back to actually think about it, before sighing. “Knowing my mother, she’ll try to keep me locked up more or less for the next few weeks, excluding attempts towards academic achievement.”

He tried not to show how much that irked him. Even his military mom wasn’t that controlling.

“I honestly wouldn’t plan on us being able to catch up for a month at the very least.” Ying finally admitted, though she looked less than happy about it.

Pushing through her own issues Ying gave him a look. “How about your mom? Do you really think you’ll be able to cover for Pix?”

“My ma ‘s gone most of the day at work so as long as Pix can keep her head down in the morning, not make too much noise at night, she won’t even notice.” He figured, giving Pix a meaningful look.

The little fairy gave him a decisive nod, sending her little antenna bobbing.

“Well, at the very least you won’t be alone.” Ying told him, and if he didn’t know her as well as he did he might’ve missed the hint of jealousy underneath it.

“You sure you’re going to be okay? Especially considering… everything.”

(Dang, that’s becoming my go to phrase…)

Ying sighed as it was her turn to look at everything but him. “Yeah. It won’t be fun, but I’ll be able to keep everything under wraps for a few weeks.”

He decided not to call her on the fact that a few sparks of electricity were dancing across the back of her hand. (If she doesn’t want to talk about it I’m not so much of a hypocrite as to make her.)

“Remember, if you need anything I’ve-” Pix started chiming. “We’ve got your back.” He told her once more.

“I know.” Ying smiled, before frowning as the bus pulled over. “Well, this is my stop.”

“Right, just…” He sighed, not entirely sure of what he wanted to say.

“Stay safe?” She offered with another smile.

“Stay safe.” He agreed.

Watching her leave, he met her gaze as she sat at the bus bench to wait on her mother, before waving as the bus started to move once more.

“Guess it’s just you and me now Pix.” He told the little fairy as she landed on his shoulder, receiving a faint trilling in return.