Chapter 3-Marella

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I'd never been so angry before. Not even when Sophie burned down the storehouse, or when someone took my pet gremlin. Those times, I was mad, sure. But when Quan Song insulted my mother, I was livid. It wasn't even so much about my mom. I've heard those taunts before. It was how he treated Linh. When he snapped at her for using the kitchen, something so small, and the way Linh pleaded for him to stop. I suddenly felt what the years of abuse the twins had endured had been like. I'd heard of it, of course. I know most of the Foxfire gossip. But to actually meet Quan, and see the way he treated his daughter. I was almost done when he was about to strike Linh, but talking about my mother. I almost cried. Well, or burned him with my pyrokinesis. But the point is, I don't cry. Or, at least, not in front of people.

Quan Song knew exactly what he was doing. And I did not like it. I also knew that he wouldn't like me hanging around Linh anymore. So, of course, that's what I did. I mean, I would have done it anyway. But I paid extra attention to her. After about a month of us being around each other non-stop, I realized something.

I really wanted to kiss Linh.

I've never had a crush before, so this was entirely new to me. This feeling. How when I see her, my heart flip-flops and back-hand-springs, and goes crazy. How I want her to laugh, and to make me laugh. How I want to be there for her, and I want her to be there for me. It makes me kind of nervous, and excited. When I leave her house, or when she leaves mine, I have one thought:

I can't wait till she comes again tomorrow.

That night, I scarfed down dinner, and get ready. I'm so damn nervous. Linh is coming over for a sleepover-study-session! She's only been to my house a few times, because I was worried about her seeing my mom.

I sat on my bed for about an hour before she arrived, but the whole time I was thinking about what she would say if I did kiss her. Would she kiss me back or would she push me away? I thought about it some more and wondered what I would have done if she had kissed me a month ago? I probably would have pushed her away but now it's the thing I dream about each night. I was just finishing up thinking about exactly what I would say to her when I noticed her walking into my house.

I sprinted down the stairs when I remembered how messy I looked. I tried to find a brush and fix it. But it was too late. My dad had already opened the door since my mom was with Elwin getting more elixirs and Linh saw me. I walked right to her knowing there was nothing I could do anymore.

"Hi," I said. Oh my God, do I sound as bad as I look? I thought. She waved. After a long, awkward pause, I said "Let's go upstairs." She followed me up the stairs which had little flowers with silver centers woven in as we walked. I got an idea. I slowed down and once we were out of the view of my father, I stopped. I picked a blue flower, it was the softest and prettiest flower I could see and it matched Linh's beautiful eyes perfectly.

"This is pretty." I turned to Linh and I carefully tucked it into her silky black hair.

"Here, it matches your eyes." I say. She blushed but kept my eye contact as I stared longingly into her grayish blue eyes.

I told her to follow me as I continued walking up the stairs. Embarrassingly like Sophie, I tripped and nearly knocked her over. "Oh my god I'm so sorry" I said, embarrassed. Linh giggled and it was probably the best thing I'd ever heard in my whole life.

Once we finally got to the top of the stairs, Linh said, "Race you to your room." She had already started running down the long blue hallway with a gold chandelier as I tried to catch up with her. She turned a corner and I heard a big thump and Linh screamed for just a second. I ran as fast as I could and when I reached the turn I saw Linh lying on the floor. At first it looked like she had just tripped and was about to stand up, but then I saw her right arm. It was swollen and red, and it looked like it hurt. I ran to her side and helped her up, careful not to touch her arm as she winced in pain.

It took a long time to carefully walk the rest of the way without Linh's arm hurting and us having to stop moving to check on it. But we finally made it to my room and I laid her down on my pale pink bed with light orange flowers sewn in. I grabbed two pillows from where she wasn't lying and I carefully used one of them to prop up Linh's arm. The other pillow I plopped down on the bed right next to Linh and I sat down on it. Carefully, I gave her a healing elixir that I kept in my room.

Softly I asked her, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she replied weakly. But I could tell by the way she winced when she tried to move her arm that it was a total lie.

"Maybe don't run so fast next time. Here, I'll be right back," I said as I ran out the door.

I sprinted down stairs as fast as I could and ran to the kitchen. I slammed open a kitchen cabinet not caring that my dad would be mad, and I grabbed the strongest healing balm I could find. I thought of calling Elwin, but I remembered that he was with my mother. I ran back up the stairs and into my room. I opened the balm, and carried the balm to Linh and sat down so close to her that our hips were touching.

I leaned over and carefully started to rub the balm on her swollen arm. As I did, I looked at every detail of her beautiful face. By then there were just a few inches between us.

What happened next felt like a dream. It was like my brain worked without me telling it to. I closed my eyes, and finally, finally pressed my lips against hers

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