Her Inheritance

Chapter 8 -•- First Everything

           Aurora hadn't even realized she never asked Jude to her house after school until she was halfway through her third period. She walked down the halls to lunch, and found Kairo talking to a table full of random kids she didn't recognize.
           "Hey... have you seen Jude?" She asked him over the noise of the busy room.
           "Uh... I think he said he had to meet someone after class? He's probably still on forty-seven," Kairo shrugged at her. She looked around awkwardly as Kairo started goofing around with the boys at the table again, and she felt she had no reason to stay. She made her way back up the stairs, figuring if Jude never showed up, she'd just wait outside her next class. She walked down the vacant halls and froze when she saw Jude talking to another girl— a different one. She squinted and realized it was one of the girls that was always hanging around Kairo's goddess, Severine. Aurora felt like she could go into comatose. She wondered if she should just turn around and pretend she never saw anything, but she couldn't help take a few steps closer, trying to hear what he was whispering to her.
           Her expression looked annoyed with Jude, and she glanced at her long, white-tipped acrylic nails while Jude spoke. She began whispering something back to him, and she tried to walk even closer, feeling like she could almost hear what they were saying as she clutched her stomach.
           "I know, I know, I'm being crazy, but she's—" Jude froze as he spoke to the taller girl, and locked eyes with her as Aurora's presence began to sing to him again, "she's here, isn't she?" he whispered. The girl was already staring back at Aurora with her arms crossed, and Jude turned to look at her too. Aurora just stared at him blankly.
           "Ha ha... wow, I sure do talk to a lot of girls, don't I?" Jude laughed, and Aurora just knitted her brow at him and sadly looked to the floor.
           "What's wrong with talking to girls?" She questioned him softly. He pressed his lips together in shock, looking back at the polished young lady behind him, and she raised one of her red eyebrows at him. She sighed deeply before walking towards her, "I was just about to come down... I just needed to talk to Marla for a second," he explained to her softly, rubbing his arm.
           "Okay?" Aurora answered uncomfortably, looking down at the floor and not wanting to question the situation further, "Um... I was just going to ask if you wanted to come to my house today... to uh... s-study," she mumbled.
           "Study?" He repeated her, internally wondering— maybe even hoping— that it was some kind of innuendo for something else.
           "Headmaster Noctaine said if I don't get into a club or job path within thirty days of starting here, I can't keep my green card," she explained, and Marla blinked at her, listening intently, "my grades are already so bad... I feel like I'm so behind, and... you're like my only friend," she told him with a slight shrug. Jude began to grin at her, which made her heart flutter. Jude looked back at Marla, who just stared at him, making Aurora falter again.
           "Of course... I mean— yes... I'll— I'll help you study," Jude laughed, shaking his head in astonishment. The two of them got lost in each other's eyes again, never getting sick of that burning energy. Every time Aurora questioned Jude's mysterious nature, he turned around and had some kind of reasonable explanation. She was still terrified, but she was actually starting to trust him. Her eyes instinctively went back to Marla, though, who was just observing the two of them. Jude followed her gaze, and immediately glared at Marla.
           "Don't worry about her, Aurora. She's just a stupid, bio-glitched, rat-faced, ugly, trampy— ugh, I don't even know what she is," Jude sneered, wrapping his arm around Aurora's shoulder as he waved Marla off and walked away. Aurora was flabbergasted and looked back at the young lady, who rolled her eyes and simply stormed off in the opposite direction. She didn't know what that was about, but she wasn't complaining.

           Aurora was shaking in her silence, glancing back and forth at Jude and the ground as he walked with her away from their giant school. She couldn't believe this was really happening. She almost wished it wasn't just the two of them. She began thinking of every possible bad scenario, and stressing herself out over minor details.
           "So? What subjects are you struggling with the most?" Jude asked her.
           "Uhh... you know... basically everything?" she told him. He smiled to himself in a quiet victory, hoping she'd say something like that as an excuse to come with her all the time after school.
           "Looks like you're gonna need a lot of tutoring," he said playfully through his teeth, making her giggle, "how'd you get behind in everything? I know you just started, but do you not pay attention at all?" he asked her seriously, raising an eyebrow at her. She didn't know how to respond, because she couldn't just tell him that she never paid attention in class because she was too busy thinking about him every second of the day. She was starting to realize having him alone in a private space probably wasn't going to help much with that.
           "I don't know... I know I can understand the material, it's just... exhausting..." Aurora sighed. Jude smiled coyly at her. They got on the mag-tram together and zipped over to the very next stop, where they got off. Aurora took Jude into the giant building she lived in, and he looked around at the big lobby in awe. She took him up the elevator to her and her Dad's floor, and SOPHIA unlocked the door for them when they arrived. Jude smiled around at their gorgeous apartment as she took off his shoes.
           "Wow. Nice place," he nodded his head, his eyes lingering at the loft room. She smiled sweetly at him. She began to frown slightly and blushed.
           "Thanks... I'm uh... gonna get changed really quick, if that's okay," Aurora told him, to which he turned to her with a surprised, blank expression. She frowned at him, "...in my room?" she added, making him laugh and look away in embarrassment.
           "Of course, go ahead," he said, taking a step back. She smiled as she passed him, and climbed up the flimsy loft stairs, shutting the sliding door behind her. His mouth was stuck partly open as her head peaked at him from the glass window in the wall. She waved at him with a giddy smile, and he cracked a half smile at her, shyly waving back, before the window blacked out, appearing as part of the solid wall. He stood around waiting, and when the door finally opened again, she revealed herself in her signature black sweater, black leggings, and bare feet. Only this time— unbeknownst to him— they were freshly washed and carefully selected, with full awareness that he might see her in them. Aurora looked down at him shyly, concerned with how he felt seeing her in her true form. He just smiled gently and affectionately at her, making her blush as she rushed down the stairs towards him. She stopped in front of him again, and his figure loomed over her. He fiddled with the buttons on his school uniform as he looked down at her.
           "Uh... are we alone here?" Jude asked her nervously, and Aurora frowned.
           "Um... yeah, but my Dad will be home in a few hours... why?" she asked him, tucking her hair behind her ear. He swallowed, his breath uncontrollably picking up. Being alone with her was a dangerous game. He didn't trust himself around her. He knew he was just being crazy, but the solitary environment was sending his mind to a certain, venereal place that he wasn't sure he was comfortable with— let alone if she was. He was beside himself over wanting it so bad, his dirty mind kept making him misconstrue what her intentions were. No girl has ever made him like this before. In fact, he prided himself on his lack of sexual motivation, and Aurora was destroying his entire self-image by simply being. He finally took in a sharp breath when her face began to falter with concern.
           "Well, where do you reckon we start? Should I just pull out a book at random? Or do you actually have an interest in learning something in particular?" He asked her, putting his hands in his pockets and making her giggle.
           Before they knew it, they were both sitting at the bar in Aurora's kitchen, reading over a science text book together. Aurora just stared at Jude's big, soft lips as he read a page from the textbook Applied Human Genetics: The Inheritance and Expression of Endowments, aloud.
           "Endowments, or genetically inherited abilities beyond baseline human function, are encoded by what researchers have termed E-genes— Endowment-Linked Gene Clusters. These genes are not located on a single chromosome, but rather exist as polygenic markers that span multiple loci across the human genome. Activation of an endowment depends on the presence of specific gene pairings and the successful expression of epigenetic triggers, such as environmental stress, hormonal shifts, or developmental milestones, commonly adolescence," Jude suddenly looked back at her, and saw her smiling face leaning onto her hand, just watching him read like an excited kid at bedtime, "are you getting any of this? Is anything sticking?" He asked, shaking his head at her playfully, and she frowned at him. She timidly picked up a her tablet pen and pulled her school screen towards her, suddenly ready to take notes, making him chuckle to himself.
           "While most individuals inherit latent endowment potential from one or both parents, expression rates vary widely depending on genetic dominance—" he continued on, and Aurora scribbled down a few words, "gene compatibility, and historical lineage. Families with long-standing activated bloodlines— known as homo-endowed lines— show much higher rates of early manifestation and more consistent power strength across generations," he finished the paragraph pressing his glasses back into his face. He looked at Aurora curiously, watching her jot the words; expression rates— genetic dominance, gene compatibility, historical lineage. Homo-endowed— early manifestation, consistent power strength.
           "What was your endowment supposed to be?" he raised an eyebrow at her, making her tense up and look at him. Nobody had asked her a question like that since she was a small child.
           "Oh... I don't know. My Dad can clone small objects identically, down to the molecule, and my mom had Vital Lock. My Dad said when she was in the height of her career, she would sometimes go almost three months without eating," she explained, making his eyes widen in shock.
           "Wow... yeah, those are pretty intense abilities..." he smiled at her, "how... how sure are you that you don't have an endowment like that? Not that I think you should, but... have you ever tried starving yourself like your mom did?" He asked her curiously, making her chuckle.
           "No, not like that... I guess I have always noticed I have a pretty small appetite, though... maybe that's why I'm so skinny," Aurora explained, Lorraine's constant berating echoing through her mind, "but... no, I've been to doctors and tested on my whole adolescence, trying to emerge my endowment— or figure out why it wasn't emerging. My Dad just stopped it last year because things were getting really invasive, but not really going anywhere... I kind of wish he would've kept trying, though. Even though I hated it," Jude just stared at her with wonder for a long time. She finally looked back up at him after a moment, "you know, nobody has ever really asked me that," she smiled at him, making him break down in a smile as well.
           "Really? That's actually shocking to me," he laughed, making her stare at him dreamily, leaning closer to his face. Jude had to suck in a deep breath and make himself focus again.
           "Interestingly, recent genome mapping has revealed that Mind—Body-type endowments are linked to a denser cluster of neural-regulatory sequences on Chromosomes 8, 11, and 17, suggesting a deep-rooted connection between these abilities and the autonomic nervous system. In contrast, Elemental endowments show higher expression correlation with immune response genes, which may explain their lower frequency and greater volatility," he read the page aloud again. He looked back at Aurora as she jotted down neural-regulatory sequences, chromosomes 8, 11, 19, elementals— expressions correlation/immune response. He was pleasantly surprised with how good her notes were. He watched her begin to thoughtfully chew on her pen, and noticed her tongue softly brushing against it behind her teeth, causing him to have to turn away from her again, clearing his throat,  "It is estimated that eighty-three percent of the population carries at least one E-gene marker, but only forty-two to forty-eight percent express a functional endowment in their lifetime. Rarer traits such as multigenerational suppression, hybrid endowment types, or spontaneous late manifestation are still being actively studied. These cases are often used as evidence of mutation, ancestral recessive recombination, or ancient inheritance lines—some researchers theorize this may be connected to surviving strands of 'primordial DNA' dating back to the Great Bestowment event." Aurora's eyes widened and she tilted her head at the text. Jude looked at her intensely, and pondered if she was just hearing this for the first time.
           "Yeah... I already knew all of this," she smiled at the paper, finally scribbling down a few more notes, and then sighing as she looked at him, "trust me, anything there is to read about late endowment emergence... I've read it. Or watched it. Or listened to it on a five-hour podcast," she sighed, lifting up her notebook and rereading her notes. Jude smiled at her intensely, falling deeply for the realization that Aurora was, in fact, very intelligent, and she had a thirst for learning— she just didn't care. Which was far better than her just being plain stupid. He recalled studying with Lira back when they used to date, and how clueless she was even after Jude tried to break the text down in very simple terms. Lira didn't care, and she was too stupid to understand the material. He realized that she's also the one who taught him that 'study' doesn't really mean studying.
           "Well, if you're already so well-versed in endowment science, maybe we should look into something else? How good are you at math?" He asked, closing the text book, and she groaned with dread.
           "I don't want to..." she sighed into her arms and the white and black, marbled granite counter, making him chuckle.
           Jude began reviewing all of the math formulas he recognized from this year's classes. He was once again surprised by Aurora's recognition and how quickly she picked up on the processes. He didn't have to go back to square one with her, explaining how to cross-multiple fractions and carry decimals. She already had the basic understanding, she just wasn't developing her skills, and that made teaching her easy and even a little fun. It was deeply gratifying watching her face light up when the numbers began to click, and she scribbled down the correct answer. He recognized an important part of himself in her, and he was so hooked.
           "Ugh... this is going to make my next class so much easier," she sighed, admiring all of the numbers she had been working with on her screen.
           "See, not so bad? I kind of love it, actually. Solving the puzzle," he wiggled his eyebrows at her, making her gaze nervously dart away, "Don't tell anyone, but, I think Math is actually one of my favorite subjects..." he admitted in a half-whisper, scratching his neck and making her laugh.
           "That's okay, I'm just glad you're having fun. I was worried you might think I'm stupid or something..." Aurora sighed with relief, making him peek up with a small smile.
           "No, you're not stupid..." he responded, making her blush slightly and play with the raggedy strings of her sweater sleeves.
           "As long as you think I'm a decent study partner, I don't care how smart I actually am," she laughed, her eyelids lowering at him and her ice-blue eyes shimmering.
           "You're a great study partner. You know once you get caught up, I think you'll  start helping me study," he laughed, turning towards her, "because... you know, you actually want to study and not just—" he paused as the words spilled out of his mouth, and he realized he was saying too much. Aurora began to frown at him.
           "Not just what...?" She knitted her brows at him, making him turn back to the math book as his face went red. This is one of those painful moments where he really wished Kairo were around to help him change the subject. He cursed himself by the five, trying to think of how to save the situation. Aurora was scared by his silence, and shifted away from him slightly as she turned back to her notes. Jude bit his lip, knowing all too well how bad he was screwing up.
           "Lira used to invite me over to study when her parents weren't home... and uh... we never actually studied," he explained slowly, walking around his words like eggshells. She turned back to him with her chest beginning to ache. He looked at her expression, feeling her sad, detached emotions creeping into his system, "but— I thought she really wanted my help, and it was a weird feeling, you know? I thought she liked me because I was smart... I felt pretty used..."
           Aurora's expression softened at him, and she had so many personal questions she wanted to ask. She felt her eyes getting hot, not really wanting to know anything either. She smiled softly to herself.
           "At least your first time was with someone really pretty. Even if she's not the nicest person..." Aurora tried to make herself feel better by being kind, and Jude just turned to her in shock.
           "First time— Aurora, no, I never had sex with Lira..." he waved his hands at her in defense, and she turned back to him in surprise, "I-I've never had sex with anyone. Yeah, she was my first kiss... I kissed another girl at a party like a year later... but that's it. I'm not that kind of guy. Especially when I was only a first-light," he chuckled nervously, then looked back at her for a response, and he couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed at his admission. Her eyes were twinkling at him, though.
           "I've never even had my first kiss..." she giggled shyly, bringing her fingers playfully to her lips. Jude straightened up at her comment, looking her up and down, and shaking his head as he fixated between her eyes and lips.
           "Never?" he asked, and she shook her head, "how old are you?" He laughed, and she furrowed her brows at him with a smile.
           "I'm about to be sixteen!" she laughed reactively, "I'm not that old..." she pushed him by the shoulder, making him giggle.
           "No, no, I... I think it's cute..." he laughed with reassurance, and shot her a slightly sly look as she rested her pretty little head back on her hands. He looked down at her lips again with a sudden, beating urge. Knowing they were undiscovered territory only made them more irresistible. He wanted to be her first everything. He was leaning into his arms on the table now, really considering just doing it— just casting his claim and finally closing that aching space between them. He imagined what that surge of power at contact would feel like, and he was getting more aroused by the second. Aurora watched him slowly lean into her, maybe moving a tick closer every three to five seconds. They looked into each other's eyes, still trying to figure out if they were allowed by the other to do what they were doing. He was getting so close, she was beginning to feel his heavy breath brushing against her face. Their eyes began to fluttered closed, and Jude could already feel the static tingling at his lips,
           "Aurora," SOPHIA popped up on her school screen, making both of them yell and nearly jump out of their seats, "your father is approaching the front door," she told her. Aurora furrowed her brows at SOPHIA, realizing she had been watching them this entire time, and they were never really alone. Then she double-realized that SOPHIA just saved her from the most embarrassing moment of her life thus far. She looked back at Jude, who nervously bit his lip in response. Then the sliding door swiftly shuffled open, and a soft chime played throughout the house. Graham stepped in, glaring at the two teens and carrying several grocery bags in each hand.
           "Hi, daddy," Aurora smiled at him, instantly looking at Jude, who was smiling brightly at him as well. He didn't respond, just slowly turned his gaze back to Jude with that unfaltering, intimidating expression. He walked into the apartment and began pulling out the groceries for dinner, not looking up at either of them.
           "So you're the famous Jude I've heard so much about," he finally spoke, immediately  making Aurora want to crumple up in despair. Jude giggled to himself, happy that he was already a token name in their small household.
           "In the flesh. Nice to meet you, Mr. Valeur," Jude stood up and reached over the counter, eager to shake his hand, and Graham raised an eyebrow at him, cautiously taking it, "Should I call you Graham? Or do you prefer Mr. Valeur?" He questioned him politely.
           "Mr. Valeur is fine, thanks," he told him sternly, turning to wash his vegetables in the sink. Jude nodded at him.
           "Sure thing, Mr. V.," he said, cleverly working in a chummy, but respectful nickname as a compromise. Graham raised a brow at him again, and eyed his daughter. Who tried to hide her excitement by covering her mouth with both hands, making Graham chuckle without flashing a smile.
           Jude nervously tapped his fingers against the counters, looking around at his papers, tablet, and textbook. He turned to Aurora again, and got a little nervous when she turned back to him, smiling gently.
           "So, um... how about some world history?" he finally swallowed, pulling another book out of his bag, "Your class should be on unit four, aren't you? We're getting back into the Gods again," he grinned in a sing-song voice, shaking the book at her.
           "Oh yeah, I think we were on a similar curriculum when I left Redwind," she answered.
           "Well, the more you get to know me, the more you'll realize how obsessed I am with religious history," he said, flipping open the book, earning an intrigued glance from Graham. Jude knew all too well that he was a charming, charismatic, and ambitious young man, and he used it to his advantage to butter Graham up.
           "Why do you have so many textbooks when all of the material is in our digital classroom?" Aurora laughed at his quirks.
           "Paper books are a fleeting art form, Aurora. And uh... the screens hurt my eyes after a while," he said, pushing back his glasses as he opened his book, and Graham watched as Aurora melted at his adorablness.
           "Though modern interpretation often focuses on the elemental gods as isolated forces of nature—Fire, Water, Earth, and Air—it is crucial to understand that pre-Bestowment civilizations worshipped them as living aspects of relationship, rather than power alone," Jude began reading a page out of Foundations of Pre-Elemental Lore: A Study of Pre-Bestowment Deities and Rituals. Aurora copied down some short notes as he read, and Graham listened as he began cooking dinner, "For example, the god Syrion, widely recognized today as a symbol of destruction and transformation, was originally venerated as a patron of sacred fury and fertility. Early inscriptions from the Cradle of Vaskorne depict Syrion not as a tyrant, but as a protector of hearths and newborns—his flame used to purify, not punish. Naelis, the veiled goddess of tides, was once believed to weep rivers from the sky in grief when humans strayed from their virtues. In some cultures, her tears were thought to cleanse sins; in others, to signal divine withdrawal. Ancient sailors feared her most of all—not for her storms, but for her silence—" Jude looked up from the book for a second and turned to Aurora, "Did you know...? Naelis's oldest temple didn't even have walls— just pools and fog. People used to wander into it barefoot and disappear for hours. They thought she showed them visions. Or drowned them. It depends on who you ask," he said, smiling back down at the book.
           "Which temple is your favorite? Mine is the Tomb of Vaedra. They say that's where the void is... people can jump in and eliminate their endowment and become true human again. Or, they might just be engulfed by nothing and erased from all existence, including memories that other people had of them," Jude turned to her in awe. Not many people were genuinely interested in the concept of the void, not even Kairo cared for it, because it's more grounded in myth than real history. He was entranced by her knowledge, and a little worried by her morbid interest in it, like she wanted to jump in it herself, "It's like a huge bucket list thing for me— to see Noravella one day? It looks so beautiful there," she sighed. There were so many good lines Jude wanted to respond with, but he couldn't, especially not in front of her lurking father.
           "You know, your mother was an orphan, but she always had strong beliefs that she had a direct lineage to the Noravellians. It's too bad we never looked into it," Graham turned to her, making her stare at him in admiration, "I always thought it made sense, considering she's an albino... I guess we can always look into it with you. Figure out if I'm your real dad along the way," he joked without smiling, which put Jude off, until he saw Aurora giggling and realized he was just messing around.
           They continued to study together— proving a point to Aurora's father and letting him subtly get to know Jude without any extra interaction. When the food was done cooking, he served each of them a plate at the table and then sat down in the seat in between them. The meal was silent at first, until Jude began complimenting his talent in cuisine and going on a long tirade, tying the ethnicity of the dish to the texts they had just been reading together. Graham was annoyed by how hard he was trying, but couldn't help feeling amused, especially at how excited Aurora got each time she knew he was impressing him.
           "So, Jude. Why don't you tell me more about yourself? Your endowment? Do you have a job, or any goals after school?" Graham interrupted him as he casually took another bite, sizing him up in the most fatherly way imaginable.
           "Oh... uh, yeah, of course. My endowment is called Emotional Anchoring. Right now my job path at school is diffusion of emotional situations and keeping the atmosphere around the school high. You know, breaking up fights, comforting people in distress, resolving panic attacks? I'm basically a glorified hall monitor," he shrugged, "And uh, that's why I'm allowed to use my endowment at school," he explained, and Graham nodded at him with sincere interest, "My mom always says I should become a therapist or psychological researcher. I actually kind of lean more to law enforcement, personally. Can you imagine me diffusing a hostage situation, Aurora? It would be so freaking badass," he smiled at her, taking another bite as she grinned at him, eyeing her dad for his reaction. His face was as stiff as the Stonefather.
           "Emotional anchoring... now I can really see why Aurora gravitates to you... You can actually keep her stable," he nodded, not realizing he was taking a slight dig at his daughter by being so direct. Aurora knew he was just trying to scare him off, but at her own expense? Just cruel... Jude saw the annoyance and humility written on her face, and he knew what he was about to say, he couldn't take back. But she was worth it.
           "Actually, my endowment doesn't work on Aurora..." Jude looked down at his food and began sawing at the beef strip with his fork. Graham paused mid-bite, and then slowly set his fork down, looking at Aurora, who looked just as confused and surprised as him.
           "What do you mean, your endowment doesn't work on her?" Graham questioned him again. Jude eyed him, and then looked back at his plate with a shrug.
           "I don't know. Weird right? Never happened before, but... yeah, I have no effect on her emotions. I can't bring them down and change them like I do for other people... just... feel them," he elaborated in a mumble, resting his head on his hand without looking up, leaving the two Valeurs stunned.
           "Why didn't you tell me that before?" Aurora asked, starting to piece a lot of their interactions together a lot more clearly. Jude looked at her from across the table and smiled with a shrug.
           "You never asked... I thought you already knew they didn't work on you," he chuckled.
           "No!" Aurora laughed, and Graham looked between the two of them with so many different questions. He stared at Jude for a long while, wondering who this boy was, where he came from, and how he was suddenly starting to realize things about Aurora that she didn't even know about herself. Jude finally made eye contact with him again and smiled, and Graham grabbed a napkin and began wiping his face.
           "I'll uh... let you kids hang out while I do some office work," he began grabbing his dishes as he stood up, and went to take Jude's, but he shook his head, gently pushing his hand away. He then stood up and took the plate and silverware from his hands, and grabbed his and Aurora's as well, and then went to wash them in the sink himself. Graham sighed at him, stroking his chin in thought.
           "Dad... you're okay with us watching TV in my room?" Aurora asked him again, and he sighed once more.
           "Door open... window visible..." he demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose with stress. He looked back at Aurora, who was swaying adorably and smiling coyly at him, "yes... I like him..." he mumbled, making sure Jude couldn't hear over the running water, and Aurora beamed at him again.