A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan

I don't even make it out of the kitchen. Lucy comes thundering down the hallway, drawn by the sounds of our voices and the smell of food. She throws herself at me and hugs me so tightly that I can't breathe. I don't mind in the slightest and I hug her back just as hard. Over her shoulder I can see Marcus approaching much slower and without the violent enthusiasm, although he does look just as happy to see me.

"You don't LOOK like you're dying. Are you sure this wasn't all some excuse to get out of work? I had to get your shifts covered, you know." His tone is dead serious but his smirk gives him away. He's only teasing me.

"Oh totally, I went ahead and nearly got myself killed just to avoid coming back to work, I'm a slacker like that." I respond sarcastically. The three of us all burst out into laughter and Lucy finally lets me go which gives Marcus a chance to give me a quick hug.

"Please don't scare us like that again." He whispers into my hair and I nod against his chest.

"I'll do my best." I step back and gesture at the huge amount of food on the table.

"Dad anticipated you. Come and eat." I offer. Ashton greets Lucy and Marcus cheerfully with a friendly nod as we all sit. Fin is conspicuously quiet and doesn't try to sit. Mostly because there aren't enough seats. There are six of us and only four chairs. We don't usually have this many guests all at once. Dad doesn't seem to care. I don't think he's all that interested in listening to us catch up. He waves at me as he slips out the door and out of sight. He will reappear a bit later. He wants to keep an eye on me today after all. I think mostly he just wants to reassure himself that I'm fine. He doesn't mind what I'm actually doing with my day as long as it's safe.

I actively watch Lucy to see how she reacts to seeing Fin again. He doesn't have a seat and is leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping at his coffee. If I didn't know better I would think she hadn't seen him at all, she seems so relaxed. But every now and then I catch her eyes straying towards him. In those moments her smile brightens even more and she launches herself back into the conversation. I spend some time telling Lucy and Marcus everything that happened, including more of the fun details like about the fae club and my opinions of their clothing. Lucy insists on getting to see the dress I was wearing and my new magic comb thing. I promise to let her mess with them later. She oohs and ahhs at my new bracelet. It really is beautiful and I like it even more because it's a clear sign that Ashton's mum DOES like me. We've been talking for an hour when Fin finally speaks up. I feel a little bad leaving him to stand there but he doesn't seem to mind, he's just been standing there and watching Lucy. He has contributed to the conversation a little but Lucy has very obviously not responded to a single thing that he's said. It's actually kind of painful to watch.

"Lucy, are you planning to just pretend I do not exist? I cannot force you to speak with me but I would like to know where we stand." he says clearly. The rest of us fall totally dead silent and turn to look at Lucy. There's no pretending this isn't the most interesting thing happening in the room. Lucy scoffs and finally turns to face Fin properly.

"What am I, a child? I don't care what you do, Finvara. It's none of my business. I'm not ignoring you, we just aren't friends so you'll have to get used to not having me give you all my attention, I would rather focus it on the people I actually care about." Lucy says, her tone cold. Ouch on Fin's behalf. I wonder if he knows that she's lying. Not entirely, I'm sure she means it when she says they aren't friends and that she means it when she says she wants to focus on the people she cares about. She's lying when she implies he isn't one of those people and she's lying when she says she doesn't care what he does. I'm sure of it. Fin just plasters on his poker face and nods.

"Very well." He agrees. His tone and expression give nothing away, but I've seen how bothered he is about this so I know it's not real. I'm also fairly sure he doesn't know that she's being less than honest about how she feels. He's not used to being lied to, not directly at least. The most obvious sign of Fin's agitation is his wings. It seems like he can't quite keep them still. Noticing his wings makes me realise something else that I hadn't before. While Ashton and Fin both automatically put on glamours when my friends arrived, they dropped them part way through the conversation. I didn't notice right away since I've gotten fairly used to looking through their glamours anyway. Even more interesting is that my friends barely noticed. I mean I'm sure they realised that Fin suddenly had wings, and Ashton's horns and magical tattoo marking things are hard to miss. They just don't really care. I love my friends.

We hang out for another hour or so. The conversation is a little strained because since Lucy was so blunt with him, Fin has mostly withdrawn from the conversation. I offered to get him a chair or something but he refused and is instead standing around the kitchen awkwardly. He even washes a few dishes and I notice him using magic to mend a chipped coffee mug. I'll have to remember to thank him for that later. It's dad's favourite which is why we've kept it, even though it's not in the best condition, or it wasn't at least. I've just about decided to drag everyone to the living room so that we can all sit down when my dad returns to the kitchen. He pats me on the shoulder affectionately before turning to Ashton with a grumpy look.

"The car will be here to collect you in five minutes. Take Fin too." He orders. Ashton sighs and nods.

"Alright." He answers. He definitely doesn't seem like he is looking forward to dealing with the mayor. To be fair, I wouldn't be either. Dad marches the two of them to the front door and we all go along to see them off. Ashton gives me a super quick and innocent kiss goodbye and my dad huffs and glares at him. Lucy squeals with joy and I just know I'm going to be interrogated later.

It's strange watching Ashton and Fin go off in a car without me. The moment they're out of sight I start to worry. They might know more about the human realm than they did when they first came here, but they still don't know much. There's all sorts of trouble they could get into. At least they both took their phones. They were both smart enough to charge them last night. I think Fin was pretty excited to have access to technology again, and access to Lucy although that definitely isn't going all that well for him. With the fae gone, dad turns on Marcus and Lucy.

"I want to spend some time with my daughter. You can stay if you like but no complaining about the old guy hovering around." He says gruffly. Lucy laughs and hugs him. Dad looks bemused and a little alarmed and lightly taps her back until she releases him.

"Don't be silly. We love having you here. Don't we?" She directs the question to Marcus who kind of gives a half shrug slash nod. He's always been a little nervous around my dad. Probably because not only is he a guy, he's ten years older than Lucy and I. But dad knows that he's just a friend so he doesn't actually mind him as much as Marcus thinks he does. We all head to the living room where dad has set up a movie and popcorn for us all with bonus fluffy blankets. We all get comfortable and I curl up on the couch next to dad, leaning against his shoulder. Everything should be perfect except... I wish Ashton was here. I'm fairly sure he's talking to the mayor right now and I wish I was able to help him. But he doesn't want me involved in any of his drama anymore. I'm not sure if I like that, shouldn't we be facing problems together as a couple? It's also strange because despite the fact that I'm here with my two best friends and my dad, the man who has protected and cared for me my entire life, despite the fact that I'm comfortable and well fed, I am STILL unreasonably anxious. Something just isn't right.