The chipped Formica of the diner booth felt gritty under Leo’s elbows. He stabbed a french fry with enough force it nearly bounced off the plate. Across from him, Maya traced the rim of her water glass, her knuckles white. The high school gym still echoed in his ears – the roar of the crowd, the squeak of sneakers, and *her* laugh.
“So, the levitation thing happened again?” Maya asked, her voice low, barely cutting through the diner’s hum.
Leo groaned, pushing his plate away. “Worse. During the cheer routine. Brittany was doing a backflip, and… well, let’s just say she didn’t quite land.”
“How bad?”
“Bad enough the principal pulled me into his office. Said I was ‘distracting’ the team. Distracting! Like I *meant* for her to almost crack her skull.” He ran a hand through his already messy hair. “It only happens when Chloe is around.”
Maya sighed, a plume of breath fogging the air. “It’s the same with me. Last week, trying to ace that history test… suddenly, Mrs. Gable’s wig was doing the tango. Right off her head.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Wish I was. The entire class lost it. And Mr. Henderson kept looking at me like I’d summoned a demon.” She tapped a fingernail against the glass. “It started after the initiation. The Shadow Order never mentioned *this* part. Just endless chants and weird herbs, nothing about teenage hormones turning our magic into a circus act.”
“Old Man Hemlock made it sound so… controlled. ‘Harness the ancient energies,’ he said. Now I can barely walk past the library without making the books rearrange themselves.” Leo picked at a loose thread on the booth’s vinyl. “Remember what he said about focus? ‘A wandering mind invites chaos.'”
“Easy for him to say, the guy’s been dead for a century.” Maya’s gaze drifted toward the window, where a group of football players swaggered past. “I swear, if Jake sees me glitch again, he’ll think I’m possessed.”
“Just avoid him,” Leo said. “Like you’ve been avoiding… everything.”
“It’s not that simple. It’s like the power’s… unstable. It surges when I’m stressed or, you know… thinking about *him*.”
Leo flinched. “Don’t.”
“What? I didn’t say anything.”
“You were going to. I can feel it.” He slammed his hand on the table, rattling the sugar dispenser. “This isn’t some cute little crush, Maya. This is… dangerous. Hemlock warned us. Uncontrolled power attracts attention.”
“From who? The other Order members? Are you saying they’re gonna come after us because of a stupid high school romance?”
“No.” Leo leaned closer, his voice barely a whisper. “Something else. Something… older. Hemlock hinted at guardians, watchers. Things that don’t want us wielding this kind of power.”
“Guardians?” Maya scoffed. “You’re starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist.”
“I’m telling you, it’s getting worse. Last night, I dreamed about the grove. The one where we did the ceremony. It was… broken. Twisted. And there was this… darkness.”
“A nightmare, Leo. It was just a nightmare.”
“No. It felt real. And I think… I think it’s coming here.” He glanced around the diner, a shiver running down his spine. “They’re watching.”
A waitress, a woman with a permanent frown and a stained apron, slammed a refill of coffee in front of Maya.
“You kids alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Maya forced a smile. “Just a rough day at school.”
“School,” Leo muttered. “That’s one word for it.” He grabbed his jacket, stood abruptly. “Come on. We need to go back to the grove. We need to see what’s happening.”
Maya hesitated, her eyes scanning the diner, the street. “What if we’re wrong?”
Leo didn’t answer. He was already walking toward the door, a grim determination hardening his features. He didn’t need to speak. He knew, with a chilling certainty, that whatever was coming wouldn’t wait for them to be ready.
