(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 80

"Wh-whoa. Blitz, you won't believe it, but an angel is standing outside."

Blitz's ears stood on end. He yipped excitedly as he jumped by the door, desperately wanting to see the ethereal beauty that was Kimmy.

"Okay, okay, boy." Dre opened the door. In a burst of lightning, Blitz zipped towards the group, jetting here and there like a ricocheting bullet with trails of lightning behind him. He moved faster than the eye could see, miraculously not hitting anyone. "Blitz! Heel!"

In an instant, Blitz stopped on a dime at Kim's feet and sat, panting as he looked up at her, tail wagging. Dre breathed a sigh of relief before he walked down the steps. "Oh! Dre, me boy!" Stevie called with a grin.

The group of people called out in joy as he walked towards them. They made remarks about how he looked. He could only make out Grandpa Samuel saying he looked "sharp as a tack," Abigail saying that he as good as his father when he was at the same age, McManus claiming that Dre "almost looked as good as him," and Brianna saying that Dre actually did have the Wolf charisma. Dre didn't know how to take that.

Patting him on his back, a little too hard, Ian remarked, "Boy, I thought you were going to stay in that bathroom forever."

Ignoring Ian, Dre walked over to Kim, mouth slightly agape. "Hi, Ke'Undre. How do I look?" she asked, her hands behind her back.

She was even more beautiful up close as she was when he was looking through his window. There were tiny golden stars stitched into the top half of her dress, glinting in the sun's light. She wore lavender eye shadow, bringing out her beautiful, hazel eyes, and pink, glossy lipstick. Even in the open air, the scent of lavender was able to flood his nose. He was a lowly peasant staring a princess in her eyes. Dre quickly looked away, glancing at the thicket of trees across from his house. "You- I- er," Dre stammered. Kimmy giggled in her hand. "Did Tryphosa leave some of her spirit in you?" Kim's eyes rose, perplexed. He cleared his throat, finally looking over to her. "You look like an angel." He regretted saying that as soon as it spilled from his mouth. Behind him, he could feel his family and friends staring at them both as if they were watching someone confess their love. Even Rain and Stevie had that gleam in their eyes.

Kim's giggled melted his heart when he was inside. Her smile now ignited his soul. "I'm glad you think so. I worked pretty hard to make everything look good for you."

Dre had to look away again. He could only take so much at a time. "Y-you didn't have to, you know. You look beautiful in just about anything." Oh God, he reached the threshold of embarrassment. He couldn't even filter out what he wanted to say anymore. Not only that, but he was saying it in front of their parents. It was even worse once he thought about how protective Kim's parents are. He couldn't look at them; he didn't want to see if they were either happy or angry at his compliment.

If they didn't approve of his slip of the tongue, they'd have a cow over what happened next. Kim wrapped her arms around Dre, making what was left of his mind get fuzzy. He melted in her arms, not wanting her to let go. He held her tighter, feeling a jolt from touching her bare shoulders and their cheeks nuzzling together. If this moment lasted forever, it would still end too soon.

"So... Dre," Raheem said, much to Dre's dismay. "Do you mind speaking to McManus and me over here for a sec? Don't worry, Steve. It's nothing bad. Just giving my son some last minute advice," he added, smiling at Stevie.

But I don't want to let go.

Frowning, Dre released Kim and walked down the road away from everyone else. "So, tell me something, son," Raheem began once they were out of earshot of the rest of the group. "How do you feel about Kim?"

That was the last thing he wanted to hear his dad ask. "She's cool, I guess," Dre hesitated, trying to sound cool.

"You wanna try again?" McManus asked, both of them grinning. "You two were giving subtle hints about each other a few months ago. Now, you're visually screaming at the top of your lungs how you feel. Your dad and I, we already know about it. So, do you mind filling us in on how you really feel?"

Looking over from McManus to his father, he exhaled. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you." If they already knew, there was no point in trying to hide it. "She rocks my soul. Like, I don't know when it all started, but now I just can't get her out of my mind. And when I saw her in her prom dress, I completely forgot how to speak. She made me forget English."

Raheem laughed. "Boy, the bug bit you hard, didn't it?" He patted Dre's shoulder. "I think you're old enough for me to tell you something about myself. Back when I first started going to Reiax academy, I was the complete opposite of how I am now. I was a young boy cloaked in rage, ready to lash out at anyone who even blinked in my direction. I was a hopeless child, joining the academy to try to learn more way to hurt people. When I was there, I met the most beautiful girl in both worlds. I'd never forget those beautiful eyes, her curly, silky hair, or her beautiful, angelic voice. Just by gazing at her, I saw everything I needed to be. It was like I was a sinner being remade by God himself. I went to the ends of the Earth to protect her." He chuckled. "She almost didn't even pass the entrance exams because of how much I tried to protect her. That woman wound up being my wife, your mother." He looked over to the crowd, who was looking at them. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that history is repeating itself. Don't force anything to happen. Just let it come naturally."

McManus cleared his throat. "Hogging up all of the speech time, huh." He turned to Dre. "You remember what I said the first time you and Megumi met? It turns out that I was wrong." He fell silent for a moment, no doubt remembering all of those times he'd teased him on his crush with Megumi. "Look, forget all of that stuff I said about you and Megumi getting together. I was just teasing you back then. Now, though, I'm being one hundred percent honest. You have one of the kindest girls in your school crushing on you. That kind of innocence in a girl is rare nowadays. And you feel the same way about her, right? Then, for the love of all that is holy, do us one huge favor." He firmly grabbed Dre's shoulders. "Do. Not. Screw. This. Up," he enunciated slowly, shaking Dre with every word.

"Geez, McManus. No pressure, huh?" Dre stated.

"Nope. Let's get back to the crew before they start worrying about us."

As the three of them walked back towards the rest of the group, he noticed Stevie whispering something in Rain's ear. That kind of worried him. With Stevie being a Spirit elemental, and with him reading people's aura who were trying to get close to his daughter, there was no doubt that he knew how Dre felt about Kim. Pretty soon, Rain would know, too.

"You looked a little bit firm with him, didn't you Demetrius," Brianna said once he reached her. She looked over to Dre. Even with her deep scars on her face, her smile looked kindly, almost making the scars seemingly disappear.

"Looks your intuition was right, Stevie," Rain said once they returned. Both she and Stevie chuckled. "Don't worry, Ke'Undre. I won't tell Kimura. I'll let you do it," she said with a wink. Dre breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tell me what?" Kimmy asked, perplexed.

Stevie placed his a finger over his lips. "It's a secret."

"We're wasting daylight here people. Are you guys ready to take some pictures?" McManus interrupted.

Both Dre and Kim turned to see everyone pull out either a camera or a phone, each with a glint in their eyes. "B-but it's only 3:40," Kim hesitated. "The Grand March doesn't start until 6:30."

"Then, that gives us just enough time," Abigail said.

"You guys seriously aren't going to take two hours' worth of pictures, are you?" he asked, the both of them panic.

"Damn right," Marcus said.