When I woke up, it was dark out. But not dark enough for dinner time. 

I frowned, looking at the empty spot on my bed. "She left?" 

"She didn't." I looked forward, seeing her come out of my bathroom. She chuckled, sitting back down. "You okay?" 

"You've really been here the whole time I slept?" I cleared my throat, reaching for the water bottle. 

"Yeah," she shrugged. 

I blinked in confusion, opening the lid. 

"No," she chuckled. "I went back after you fell asleep. I changed, got some homework done. Then I came back around twenty minutes ago. By the way, you have a fever again. So I've called the nurse." 

"What? No," I groaned, leaning my head back on my pillow. "Do you have any idea how scary the nurse is?" 

Then there was a knock at my door. 

"I think she's here." She stood up and then got the door, letting the nurse and... the principal too, great. 

"What happened to you, Callum?" the nurse asked while walking over. 

"Clara." She turned to the principal when she called. "Let's allow the nurse to check up on him in private, come, honey." 

She nodded in response and left the room with the principal. 

I sighed. 

"What did you do?" 

"Nothing, I went out in the rain last night." 

"Darklings don't get sick just by standing in the rain. You did something. With your powers, didn't you?" 

"No," I lied. 

She grabbed my wrist, checking my pulse. And then squeezed down. 

"Ow, ah, oh my god, ow!" I winced, yanking my wrist back. 

"Your pulse is slower than normal, your heart is weaker than normal. You know what happens when Darklings get sick like this, right? It weakens the heart. That's not good. What did you do?" she huffed. 

"I might have been overusing my powers lately," I admitted. 

"How? Why? And when?" 

"I controlled electricity a lot to sneak out of the gym during the blackout, I hid in the walls to do that too, I teleported in the library, and um, I did it all with Clara." 

She frowned, "The principal said she doesn't know about this yet." 

"She doesn't," I nodded. "I did it without her realizing and finding out." 

"There's something you're still not telling me. I think you should before I call home." 

"You always do this," I whined. 

"Tell me," she scolded. 

"I lost control last night in the rain." 

"With which power?" 

"Fire and electricity." 

"So that's why all the lights in the building were flickering." 

"You were awake at that hour?" I asked. 

"I'm always awake," she shrugged. "What did you do?" 

"I don't know," I groaned. "I could feel the voltage in my fingers and my bones, my skin felt like it was on fire and that fire was coming out of my fingers." 

"You weren't just picturing it?" 

"No, it was. I burned a hole through my shirt," I deadpanned. 

"You're not meant to use both of those powers in the rain. It weakens the body more, you know this," she sighed. "Why were you losing control?" 

Because I was panicking about liking Clara Desmond. Not just liking her. But really liking her. I guess that means I figured out what the difference was. 

"I don't know," I lied. 

"You like the new girl, don't you?" She narrowed her eyes at me. I didn't answer her. "Callum, things never end well when a darkling loves someone." 

"I don't love her, I just met her." That's true. 

"You know about the curse, right?" 

I nodded. 

"Just keep that mind." She glanced at the door, then at my window. "You still have that rose," she chuckled. "Try not using your powers for a few days, take loads of rest, do not use any of your powers with her unless you absolutely have to. It could hurt you really badly. Okay?" 

"Okay," I mumbled. 

"Still. It's very unusual for a darkling to get sick so quickly," she sighed, folding her arms across her chest. 

"Unusual?" I asked. 

"Yeah. Darklings don't get sick. Sometimes they feel a little sick after using fire and electricity in the rain. But it fades in a few hours. How long have you been sick?" 

"Since this morning." 

"Hmm," she nodded. "Take a few days' rest. Tell me if anything gets worse. I'll check on you," she said, turning to leave. 

"Nora." 

She halted. "Yes?" That's her name. She's older than all of us but not too old, I guess. Early forties maybe. 

"Please have the principal talk to Clara. I can't hide my powers forever. It's—" 

"Physically painful. I know," she finished for me. "I'll remind her. You take some rest. Eat light, drink loads of liquids. You'll be back to good in no time." She took a step forward but then stopped again. "One more thing." 

"What?" I asked. 

"The new girl is cute. She's nice. Good for you. Keep her around," she smirked before opening the door and leaving. 

I sighed, closing my eyes as the pain in my muscles intensified. It's true. As a darkling, the more you try to conceal your powers, the more it physically hurts. There's a difference between controlling and concealing. A small difference, but still a big one. The latter hurts a lot more. Like it's hurting me right now. 

The door opened just a bit so I could hear their voices. 

"Clara," Nora said. "I suggest you stay with him until he's okay. I don't know about the sleeping arrangements, but someone needs to take care of him. And he seems most comfortable with you. Let me know if anything happens. Just stay with him, okay?" 

"Um, sure. Okay," she replied a little hesitant. You could hear it in her voice, she didn't know what exactly she was agreeing to. Taking care of me or staying here with me for the night. 

"All right, so after dinner you can just bring a few things here, stay with him tonight, and we'll see how he's feeling tomorrow." 

"Yeah, sure thing." 

I turned to look through the door but I could only see her. Principal Michelle and nurse Nora left but she was still standing there. 

"Wait, did I just... oh god," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She shrugged her shoulders and then came inside. "So um, I have to stay here tonight. But dinner is in an hour, I'll bring it up for you. What do you want?" 

"You didn't have to agree when they asked you to stay tonight," I said pointedly. 

"But you're sick. You might need help. So I'm staying. I'll sleep on the uh... you don't have any other furniture in your room," she cleared her throat. "Just give me a pillow, I'll sleep on the floor." 

"Don't be stupid," I scoffed. "You can sleep on the bed." 

"Where will you sleep?" 

"On this side of the bed," I shrugged. 

She pulled her lips into a thin line and glanced around. 

"Unless you have a better idea?" 

"No," she sighed in defeat, her shoulders slumping. "Okay, it's fine. You stay on your side, I'll stay on mine. It doesn't matter. Anyway, what do you want for dinner? The menu is Indian tonight," she smiled. "But you should eat something light. So I'll bring you... rice with curry?" 

I shrugged, "Okay." 

"I should get it now so I don't have to wait in line. I'll be right back," she said before standing up and walking out. 

How can I like her? I barely know her and I already like her? 

"No, no, no," I groaned, kicking my legs around restlessly. 

I am the worst choice for her here at Arcane High. The literal worst. Being with me she'll be under everyone's eyes, everyone will focus on her, and she'll have a target right on her back for Atticus to aim at. I can't let that happen. Not again. Even if last time it happened because she wanted it to. I can't let Atticus hurt Clara. But I'm not sure if keeping her by my side is good or bad. If she's with me, I can keep her safe. But at the same time, being with me means having all eyes on her. 

I need to talk to Wyatt. I grabbed my phone, dialing his number. 

"Hello?" he answered. 

"Where are you?" 

"In the art room, why?" 

"Are you alone?" I asked. 

"Yeah, what's wrong?" 

"Come to my room." 

"What?" he scoffed. 

"Wyatt, it's an emergency. Get here right now." 

"Where's Clara? Isn't she meant to be taking care of you?" 

"I'm not calling you to take care of me, you idiot. She's gone to get us dinner. Get here before she comes back. I need to talk to you. About her." 

"Oh no, does she know? Did you use your powers in front of her?" he asked while I heard shuffling. He's probably coming over. 

"No, she doesn't know. It's something else. Just get here as fast as you can and I'll tell you everything." 

"Fine," he groaned. Then I hung up. He came running through the door a minute or two later. "What?" he panted while walking over, sitting in my desk chair and spinning to look at me. "What the hell is it?" he asked, catching his breath. 

I sighed, "I think I like her."

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