Tori's POV

"Come on Sarg." I said clapping my hands together waiting for the little pup to jump off my bed and into my arms. "I promise I'll catch you."

He was looking between my arms and the bed until finally, after what I felt like hours of coaxing, he jumped. I caught him without difficulty and laughed. Placing him back on my bed I rubbed his soft fur while cooing at him. The next time we did the trust jump, he instantly came into my hands instead of hesitating. He and I were getting along, occasionally he would come and sleep in my bed with me. But other than that, the one he was truly soft for seemed to be Suzie. Either way, the little puppy and I would still have fun. I taught him how to play tug-a-war and we were working on tricks. Somehow, it was getting the hang of 'sit' but that was still with some difficulty.

There was a soft knock at my door before Cole popped his head into my room. He was smiling brightly and said, "You should come downstairs and see this."

I quickly grabbed my crutches and managed to get up. Prom had been weeks ago and finally I was gaining more control over my leg. I could put pressure on it and my doctor said it would be good to start moving on it. So every so often I would use my leg to stand or I would put pressure on it when I had the support of my crutches. I still couldn't walk but at least it was getting better.

Sarg followed me downstairs as Cole stayed ahead looking back to check up on us. "Come on Tori," He would whisper.

"What is it?" I asked as Blake appeared at the bottom step. He held his finger to his mouth silencing both of us. Shawn was in the living room and the only reason I knew that was because I could hear him commenting on a Cartoon Network show he was watching with Suzie.

Lilly and dad were at the front door. They quietly opened it letting Em slip in. Following her was an elderly man that I recognized from dad's wedding. The wrinkles on his face seemed to match the wide grin he had. Almost like years of smiling is what got him the wrinkles. He wore a satchel around him and started pulling things out of it with ease. It reminded me of Shawn's backpack that always seemed to be packed with the most random things. The elderly man, who I recognized as the boys grandfather, pulled out a pair of plastic glasses with a really ugly nose attached to it. Then a stuffed snake he wrapped around his neck like a scarf. And finally, he pulled out a noise maker and held it in his hand. "This is a surprise you say?" He asked no one in particular.

"Yes." We all whispered back.

"Do I get a hello grandpa?" Cole asked.

"Just a minute now boys," He said tip toeing towards the living room. "I need to see my favorite grandson."

Blake and Cole rolled their eyes like they were not at all offended. Their grandpa gave me a small pat on my shoulder as he walked past me. He held up the noise maker in his hand and crawled slowly to the room. He definitely looked like a ninja about to make his move. Finally, he jumped out into the living room making the most noise anyone could ever imagine. He swung the noise maker while screaming, "A boogla boola boo!"

Shawn gave a high pitched scream that was followed by a sudden surge of happiness. He started jumping up and down like a girl who had just seen Justin Bieber. "Grandpa!" He exclaimed while running to his grandfather who was laughing hysterically. Shawn hugged the old man so tight I thought he was going to break him. Instead they both laughed. "What are you doing here?" Shawn asked.

Mr. Parris turned towards us with a smile. We all returned it seeing as Shawn looked incredibly happy. Blake had picked up Sarg to prevent him from getting in the way. He was wagging his tail and trying to worm out but Blake kept his grip somehow. Cole held a proud smile on his face as he watched Shawn hug their grandfather. Lilly and dad were both happy, at least Lilly was especially because she was glad to see her old father-in-law. Em wasn't watching Mr. Parris as much as she was watching Shawn. I think his reaction is what made her day because she couldn't stop beaming. "Your amazing girlfriend called me to come to your graduations." Mr. Parris said giving Em an approving look. He leaned close to Shawn and whispered loud enough for all of us to hear, "She's a keeper. Don't let her get away or the bees will all escape."

Shawn looked up at Em. The happiness and pride in his eyes said it all. He looked like he had woken up to Christmas. "Is that true Em?"

She nodded, "Yeah he told me some interesting stories on the ride here from the airport."

Shawn ran towards Emily, picking her up and kissing her on the cheek. As he put her down he kept repeating, "Thank you thank you thank you."

"Anything for you Shawn." She replied returning his hug.

"I've got presents!" Mr. Parris exclaimed. "Everyone! To the room of appliances, happiness, and pure satisfaction!"

He held up his noise maker like a baton and made his way to the kitchen. We all followed, somewhat eagerly. Shawn however, grabbed Em's hand and dragged her quickly to the kitchen where we all gathered around the main island.

"First," Mr. Parris said pulling up the suit case that Lilly had brought along. "Shawn. This is all for you."

"Really?" Shawn grabbed the suitcase taking a deep breath in. His eyes were wide and he stared at all of us with his mouth open. "This whole suitcase?"

"Yes little chicken nugget," Mr. Parris said. "All for you."

Shawn started jumping up and down again. He gave his grandfather another hug before turning to the suitcase. As he placed it on the ground to open it Cole turned to his grandfather, "And us Pop?"

"Oh that's right," He said like he was suddenly remembering that Blake and Cole were still there. "You two exist as well."

"Dad," Lilly said putting her hand on his shoulder. "They're your grandsons too."

"Yes yes I know." Mr. Parris said patting Lilly's hand. Even with the sarcasm I could tell that Mr. Parris deeply cared for his grandchildren. And even though Lilly wasn't actually his daughter, they treated each other like family. They both obviously endured the worst together and it seemed to bring them closer. Mr. Parris wouldn't take his eyes off Cole as Shawn ripped through the suitcase. Eventually he sighed and said softly, "You look so much like Jacob you know that?"

Cole smiled sadly and nodded, "That's what I'm told."

"Good." Mr. Parris then put on a straight face with a lopsided grin. He turned towards Blake saying, "And you look like you took Muscle Menacing Candy Droplets. You know that?"

"No..." Blake looked bewildered and confused.

"He does look like that doesn't he Pop." Shawn said pulling out a few wrapped gifts from the suitcase. So far he seemed to have a crocodile mask, pointed shoes, and a very suspicious box.

"Well everyone," Mr. Parris said pulling out four envelopes. He handed one to Blake, Cole, Suzie, and I before giving us a big smile. "Those are your presents."

Cole opened it first before squinting down at the small paper, "Bonds?"

"Yes." Mr. Parris said. "Not the spy, not the things used to tie people up for whatever purposes you may have, but the government entitled ones."

"Whoa!" Shawn exclaimed. He had just finished unwrapping the large box which apparently contained an airplane as big as the suit case. "This is awesome!"

Cole looked between the bond to the airplane then back at his grandfather. He looked so in shock he couldn't form words. Then Blake said, "Don't we get something...fun?"

Mr. Parris snapped his fingers like he had just remembered something else. He went digging in his pockets until he pulled out two Yo-Yo's and handed them to Blake and Cole, "Go nachos."

Shawn continued to play around with the plane as all of us watched. He zoomed by us with it over his head and then got me to pose on the counter as King Kong. Mr. Parris watched the madness unfold around us as Blake and Cole just looked down at their bonds and Yo-Yo's. Suzie asked Cole what a bond was. Shawn made airplane noises and then exclaimed that he would save the Princess--Em--from the gorilla--me. There was still a suitcase full of random trinkets and toys but Shawn was far too distracted by the plane.

"I'll show you to your room dad." Lilly said after a solid five minutes of watching Shawn play around like a five year old.

Dinner that night was interesting. Em stayed with us even though she had insisted on going home. But in the end I think she was glad she stayed. Mr. Parris and Shawn did an reenactment of the "very famous" pegasus and griffin war. They first explained the story that both mythical creatures believed they were the kings of the sky because they could fly. They all declared territories for each other. Pegasus' controlled the northern and southern skies. Whereas the griffins belonged to the east and west. One day however, they crossed over and suddenly a war broke out. The reasoning behind the war is apparently unknown. They had been in a strong rivalry and I guess it finally caught up to them.

The pegasus and griffins were suddenly fighting continuously. The creatures of the earth were getting tired of all the battles that happened in the sky. Whenever the pegasus and griffins died the rain became black and the clouds would cover the sun. So one day the rulers of earth got together to try and create something that would prevent the pegasus and griffins from fighting. The unicorns, elves, and other mythical creatures I'm pretty sure Shawn and Mr. Parris made up--got together and created the phoenix. Another creature of the sky that would promote peace between the pegasus and griffins.

"And that is the story of how Northeast, Northwest, South East, and South West were all created." Mr. Parris concluded. "The end."

There was only silence at the table. Shawn was clapping loudly but everyone else had their mouths wide open in astonishment. "So...that whole story was to explain how a compass works?" Cole asked.

"Yeah Cole. Weren't you listening?" Shawn said in a 'duh' tone. "The phoenix lives between the pegasus and griffins working as a buffer between their rivalry. Without the phoenix all the Landias of the land would be devastated."

"You should be thankful young man," Mr. Parris said chewing on his food. "Without the phoenix we could've died."

Blake clicked on his watch, "That story only took about twenty minutes. Wow...I'm impressed."

"Shawn once told me a story that is somewhat familiar," Em admitted.

"We don't want to hear it."

"Stop. Don't encourage them."

"I still don't understand what that has to do with a compass..."

Em laughed as we all tried to hush Shawn as he was about to commence another story. It wasn't as if the stories weren't interesting, it was just...we had enough of Shawn as it was and now his grandfather--his teacher--was here as well. It was suddenly weird living at home. There were constant remarks about unicorns and rainbows and sugary foods. My brain was slowly imploding in my head.

"What about unicorns?" Shawn asked his grandfather. "What's their origin story?"

"Maybe," Blake said catching everyone's attention without looking up from his food. "They were tested on because they're immortal and suddenly their horn became metal. Maybe there are horses that just sprout that metal horn out of their heads like Wolverine. Or maybe unicorns were bitten by ice cream cones and like Spider-Man, inherited the abilities of a pointed cylinder shaped...thing. Or I know I know! They're actually aliens from a different planet that exploded but one unicorn escaped just in time to live among humans. And instead of the sun giving them power, rainbows do."

"Oh my God!" Cole slammed his hands on the table. "It's contagious!"

Lilly and dad laughed hysterically but Suzie looked worried. Suddenly it looked like she had been surrounded by mad people and just like Cole, she was very afraid of what that meant for her. Mr. Parris turned to Shawn and said, "If you go upstairs and grab my cigarettes, we can go outside and I'll tell you all the stories you want to know."

"Deal." Shawn shot out of his chair and ran upstairs to the guest room. While he got his grandpa's things, we all slowly got up and cleaned the table.

By the time everyone was done washing the dishes, we all dispersed into our own things. Em had followed Shawn and his grandfather outside. Mr. Parris continued telling stories as he slowly smoked. Suzie decided to watch TV with our parents which left my brothers and I oddly looking out the window at Shawn. He was sitting on one of the chairs with Em on him. Mr. Parris was turned in their direction but was looking up at the stars. I grabbed my crutches and went out to join them.

It was a beautiful clear night. The moon shone perfectly along with the stars. With summer rolling around the hum of moths wings against the lights joined in with the crickets chirping. I pulled up a chair and enjoyed the light breeze that went through the porch. "Sometimes," Mr. Parris said smiling softly. "You can still hear what they say. Why do you think streams make such an alluring sound?"

Em smiled at me softly as Shawn went off asking his grandfather questions. She had her head tucked under Shawn's and looked at the verge of falling asleep. Blake and Cole soon joined us followed by Sarg who roamed around before settling with us. The boys sat at our feet because there weren't any chairs left. Mr. Parris continued telling us stories. The myths of how fireflies got their fire. The stories of how zebras and tigers got their stripes. Sometimes he would branch off and make up a story of how worms in books were actually bookworms--a very complicated story of how people become worms...Then other times he would tell us about how fairies were called fairies. How the moon was actually a symbol of light whereas the sun wasn't. It was the weirdest stories that seemed to make the most sense.

I'm not sure when we all fell asleep. Or if we had gone inside to sleep. But everyone was in a daze. Mr. Parris told stories like it was his job. He probably knew they weren't real just like we did. But by the end of each story, somehow it made sense. Just like Shawn learned how to do. His stories never made sense but they did. And finally I understood where Shawn learned it all. This man wasn't just Shawn's father figure. He wasn't just his inspiration. This man truly made us believe there was magic. That things that couldn't possibly exist did. And that's why Shawn looked up to him so much.

I guess that's the secret of Shawn Parris. He truly believes in magic.

************************************

"Tori come down!" Dad yelled. "We're going to be late!"

"I"m coming I'm coming." I mumbled to myself. The car was honking and I could hear my name being yelled from outside. Everyone was in the car except for me because I couldn't find my graduation cap. I had looked through my bed room a thousand times and I could've swore I had left it on my bed. But now it was gone and I couldn't find it anywhere. It wasn't in my closet or on my TV.

There were loud and heavy footsteps in the house as they ran upstairs and into my room. Blake had his blue graduation gown on along with some dark polished shoes. He gave me the most annoyed look he could possibly conjured before realizing I was missing my cap. "We're going to be late Tobi!" He said joining me in my hunt for my cap.

"I can't find it!" I said. Anxiety started to kick in. After a few weeks of catching up with my classes I was finally given permission to graduate. I didn't think I would be able to until summer but my teachers and I worked out an after school schedule along with some Saturday school or online classes. If I didn't have my cap I was going to murder someone.

Sarg barked from under the bed and Blake bent down to look at him. "Sargent no!" He shouted before he began pulling on my cap. "Give that back. Drop it. Drop it."

Sarg gave off a bark before handing the cap over. I guess me teaching him how to play tug-a-war didn't help but I still sighed in relief and grabbed my crutches. Blake hastily put the cap on my head before grabbing me around the waist in one arm and quickly running back downstairs. "Ow, ow, ow." I muttered every step he took. It was definitely not a comfortable position.

"Suck it up Tobi." He was carrying me like a football while I held my crutches for dear life. "We're going to miss Cole's valedictorian speech."

When we got into the car it was mania. Dad quickly started driving before we even got the door closed. Lilly was in shotgun which left Blake, Suzie, Shawn, Mr. Parris, and I in the back. Luckily the mini-van was suitable for all of us but the gowns were making it harder for us to scoot in. Mr. Parris would pretend that we broke his foot every time we would accidentally step on it. And every so often Shawn would let out a blood curdling scream before bursting into laughter.

The graduation ceremony was being held on the football field. It was a sunny day with only a few clouds which meant that everyone was invited to go to the ceremony. Typically, if it started to rain it would have to be moved into the gym but our class got lucky. Cole had left about an hour earlier because as valedictorian he had to be there to shake peoples hands and whatnot. Honestly, all we knew is that for the last couple of days he had been stressing about writing his speech. He had called Jodee several times to ask for advice and one night she joined us for dinner.

The school parking lot was completely full and backed up with traffic. I found it shocking that we could not find a place to park. Eventually we did and my brothers and I made our way to the student entrance. "We'll see you after you've graduated!" Dad yelled after us.

"Come on Tobi!" Blake said a little ways ahead of me.

"And now if everyone could find their seats--" The intercom said.

"Let me be your horsey." Shawn said before kneeling in front of me. I handed Blake my crutches and jumped on Shawn's back. As we ran towards the stadium Shawn narrated, "And away we ride into the free zone where the hero's will claim their victory. Here we will finally become true knights. We will have the dignity and respect us knights deserve. We will be vict--oh my God that's such a nice tree."

"Focus Shawn." We went through the back entrance where there was a teacher chaperone. As everyone was already sitting down we quickly made it to our spots. Shawn set me down on my chair as Blake handed me my crutches. People were staring at us but finally we could take a deep breath because we made it. Shawn coughed a few times in his sleeve like he was out of breath before following Blake a few rows behind me.

I looked towards the stands and saw dad sitting with our family. Next to him were the Bennett's joined by Jodee and Em's aunt. I gave them a wave which they all returned before turning their attention back to the front. A few rows in front of me was Mark who turned around and looked directly at me. It was obvious by the look on his face he had been worried I wouldn't show up, but the moment he saw me he smiled. It wasn't a regular smile. It was a full blown teeth-showing-almost-laugh smile that was followed by him biting his lip. My heart did a somersault and I had to look down so no one would see how red I was.