Chapter 8: Feelings

Aurora's POV

The school bell blared like a personal insult to my ears as I shoved my books into my locker and slammed it shut. Another day survived.

Barely. If high school had a war zone equivalent, it would be Ridgewood High between second period and lunch.

There were too many cliques, too many eyes, and—lately—too many complicated feelings swimming around inside me.

Especially when two certain boys kept orbiting me like they were the sun and I was stuck in the middle of their gravitational pull.

Ugh.

I was trying not to think about them. I really was. But when your best friend was a walking lie detector with zero filter, trying to hide thoughts from Ember was basically impossible.

Speak of the devil.

“Okay, seriously,” Ember said, sliding in beside me like a shadow, a devilish smirk on her face. “You’ve been making dreamy-eyes at your locker for the last two minutes.

Spill. Is it about Zander my brother? Or is it that new guy? The one who looks like he walked out of a fantasy novel?”

I blinked. “What? No. I wasn’t—dreamy-eyes? Seriously?”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Girl. Your cheeks are literally red.”

“They’re not.”

“They are. Like cherry Jolly Rancher red.”

I groaned, hugging my books tighter. “I wasn’t thinking about Rowan.”

“Ah-ha! So it was Rowan.”

I cursed inwardly and gave her a glare that lacked any real heat. Ember was impossible when she got like this—relentless, smug, and entirely too perceptive for her own good.

“Can we talk about something else?” I muttered.

Ember linked her arm through mine and tugged me down the hall. “Sure. Let’s talk about how your sixteenth birthday is this weekend, and you’ve said absolutely nothing about what we’re doing.”

I blinked again, startled. “It’s not a big deal.”

Ember stopped dead in her tracks. “Excuse me? Not a big deal? Aurora Hayes, you are turning sixteen. That’s like, a coming-of-age milestone! It’s basically your princess coronation.”

“I think that’s just in Disney movies.”

“Well then, lucky for you, I am the fairy godmother you didn’t ask for. What do you want to do? Spa day? Shopping trip? Secret bonfire in the woods with questionable snacks?”

I laughed, feeling the knot in my chest loosen just a bit. That was the thing about Ember. She didn’t let you wallow for too long.

“I don’t know,” I said after a moment. “Maybe just something small. You, me. Movies. Cake. That kind of thing.”

Ember gasped, clutching her heart. “You want me all to yourself on your birthday? I’m touched.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled. “Seriously though. I don’t want to make it this huge thing. I just want to feel… normal.”

That made Ember pause. She tilted her head and studied me, her expression softening.

“You okay, Rory?”

I looked away. “Yeah. Just… been weird lately, you know?”

Ember nodded. “You mean the whole ‘two incredibly hot guys suddenly noticing you exist’ weird? Or the ‘you’ve been having spooky dreams and hearing wolves at night’ weird?”

I gave her a sharp look. “How do you know about dreams?”

“You talk in your sleep sometimes. Plus, I’ve known you since we were five. You get that haunted look when you’ve had one.”

I sighed. “It’s just… I keep dreaming about them. Rowan and Zander. And not in a romantic fantasy kind of way. It’s more like—”

“You’re caught between them.”

“Yeah,” I whispered. “Like I’m the rope in some invisible tug-of-war and no one told me the rules.”

Ember’s grip on my arm tightened slightly. “Do you want me to beat them up? I know Zander’s huge, but I’m feisty.”

I laughed again, even as the weight of the conversation settled back onto my shoulders. “No. I just… want to forget about all of it for a day.

That’s why I want a small birthday. No drama. Just cupcakes and movies and maybe you painting my nails while we complain about school.”

“Done,” Ember said with a firm nod. “But I am still getting you a gift. Something wildly embarrassing, like lingerie or a life-size cutout of Mr. Kellan from English.”

“Please don’t.”

“Too late. Already ordered.”

We both dissolved into giggles, and for a moment, everything felt normal. Easy. Like it used to.

Then she got that look in her eyes. The one that meant she was about to ask me something I wasn’t going to like.

“Oh, and hey,” she said a little too casually. “Zander’s first football game is tomorrow night. You're totally going to come with me too.”

I blinked. “What? No.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s loud and crowded and—he hates me?”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Okay, first of all, you don’t know that. Second, he doesn’t take his eyes off you in the hallway. Remember, I’m his sister. I know him more than you do.

And third, it’s the first game of the season! The whole town’s going. You need to come with me. I’ll even buy your nachos.”

“Tempting, but—”

“Please, Aurora. Just come for a little bit. If it gets weird, we can leave. But I promise you, it’s fun. It might even help take your mind off all the… weird dream stuff.”

I hesitated. Zander on the field. Rowan also somewhere in the game. Me in the middle, again.

Ember pouted, poking my arm. “C’mon. Pretty please? For me? For nachos?”

“You really weaponize snacks when you beg,” I muttered, sighing.

“So that’s a yes?”

“..Fine.. But I’m leaving if he growls at me.”

Ember beamed. “Deal. And I’ll bring snacks for the walk over. We’re making this a thing.”

That Night – I dreamt of them again.

Rowan stood in a clearing beneath a silver moon, his hand stretched out toward me.

His eyes were filled with warmth, quiet understanding.. and something ancient. Like he’d known me across lifetimes.

Zander emerged from the shadows behind me, his hand gripping my wrist. His green eyes flickered with something between rage and desperation.

“I said stay away from her,” Zander growled.

“She’s not yours to command,” Rowan replied coolly, stepping forward.

The trees bent in the wind. The sky darkened. Thunder rumbled.

And I stood there, caught between them, heart pounding—not with fear, but with something deeper. Something older. Something I couldn’t name.

When I looked down at my hands… They were glowing.

I keep feeling like something’s coming.

Like my life is about to split in half and I don’t even know which version I’m living in anymore. I’m scared to look at Zander too long.

Because I’ll see something I don’t want to understand. I’m scared to look at Rowan too long because he already sees too much.

And I’m scared of myself.

What if I’m not who I think I am? What if there’s something under my skin, some truth waiting to come out once I turn sixteen and the moon is full?

What if Ember’s right?