Mia and Miya were going to join the celebrations later tonight since they were already off with their boyfriends to celebrate with their families that had come from Korea to celebrate their success.
We'd at least gotten some pictures together. What brought me even more happiness was knowing we'd remain friends regardless of what was next.
When we reached the designated room to wait, Jax stopped me at the door.
"What?" I questioned as he smirked and reached out to fix my hair.
"Gotta make sure you look perfect."
"Liar," I laughed as we stared into each other's eyes.
He took a steady breath and whispered, "Can Jaxsin speak to Marianna real quick?"
"Sure." I gave him a curious look at his apprehensiveness before Marianna was in control and opening my eyes to acknowledge Jaxsin, who was now present.
With a sly smirk, I moved my hand to wrap around his neck.
"Well, well, well. Why have I been summoned from my lovely slumber?"
"You weren't sleeping," he grumbled back.
I giggled. "How do you know? Hmm? Time is valuable. If you're too shy to say what's on your mind, then-"
He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him while his eyes never left mine. Inching closer, I lowered my eyes to his approaching lips, and with a tiny smile of my own, I accepted his sweet kiss.
"Thank you," he softly expressed his gratitude. "For not leaving me."
"As if I'd ever leave," I huffed but pulled him into a tight hug. “I love your dark-tempered butt too much to abandon you in this world."
He hugged me back as the two of us allowed ourselves to enjoy this brief moment.
Pulling back, Marianna was gone, as was Jaxsin, leaving the two of us to share a pleased smile as I slipped my hand into his.
"Ready for our next adventure?"
"Yes, if it comes with cake and wine," I suggested. He chuckled and bobbed his head. "Anything for our Notorious Queen."
We entered the room and quietly made our way to the front, where Kaito, Finnick, and Connor waited for us. To our surprise, Elijah and Eliyahu came into the room, followed by Eliza, which shocked us further as she worked on wheeling herself into the room.
She didn't speak until she reached where we stood, her intention to speak pausing when she acknowledged the twins.
"I thought you died," she stated to Eliyahu, who rolled his eyes.
"That was the imposter."
"So you're a triplet?"
"No," they said together before they gave each other an annoyed look. "Stop copying me!"
"Here we go," Ms. Electra hummed as the twins went right into a fighting spree, leaving us to watch while Eliza looked my way. Deciding to acknowledge her, I gave a slight wave.
"Hey, Eliza."
"Hey," she replied and looked at the five of us. "Congrats on graduating."
"Thank you," I replied for us. "Have they reached a final verdict for Elisha?"
"Until they're positive that her death won't kill me, she's been locked up in some evil mage prison that people compare to Hell. My dad has to serve some time even though he was being manipulated, but he didn't take it too harshly. As for my mom, she's officially back. She's going to be supporting me while I do my final year here so…”
"That means you have one more year to go to graduate," I stated with a frown.
She actually smiled while she shrugged. "Sadly, but I guess it's better than being kicked out, right? It sucks since everyone I knew is basically leaving and it's not like the rumors my evil twin spread aren't still lingering around. Either way, I'll get around it. I'm apparently a stubborn bitch, so I guess that applies to the desire of wanting to succeed."
"Stubborn my ass," Eliyahu muttered while Elijah rolled his eyes. "You're not going to be alone, anyway. You can have Eliyahu bothering you."
"Huh?" She gave them an odd look. "He's not attending."
"Actually, we are," Eliyahu revealed. "We decided it wouldn't be fair to get a pass to graduate from Witchling Academy due to all the craziness that has happened."
"Therefore, we're taking a makeup year. It'll give us enough time to figure out what we want in life and give us more confidence."
I was shocked, just like the others, and we looked to see Eliza's wide eyes. "Okay, but it doesn't mean we're friends or anything."
"Why not?" they inquired and Eliyahu continued. "We dealt with similar shit, though Elijah over here got the end of the stick most of the time. I was in school, but things just got out of hand and, well, here I am. I don't know anyone here and I'm sure Elijah's going to deal with a few bad apples who know the lies of our imposter, so we're in the same boat."
"Might as well help one another," Elijah concluded. "We're here just to confirm our attendance."
"But..." Eliza frowned. "You don't wanna hang out with a handicapped person. I'm just going to slow you down."
Her words pulled at my heartstrings, and from the other's expressions, they all felt the pain in her voice at the admission.
"A disability isn't going to stop a star from shining brightly," I voiced, which got her attention. "If someone can't be around you because they want to use something like that against you, it just proves they're not worth your time or commitment."
Elijah nodded. "Real friends stick together with you. Even if you are different." He looked my way. "True friends just want the best for you and accept you no matter what."
Eliza nodded in understanding before the three of them had to sign a form to confirm their re-enrollment.
"We'll see you guys at the big celebration tonight," Eliyahu announced. "Then you can listen to our sob story."
"No one wants to listen," Eliza huffed as she worked on wheeling herself to the door.
Eliyahu tsked before catching up to her to help her out.
"I didn't ask for your help, evil twin."
"First off, It's Eliyahu. Second of all, my ass ain't evil. I'm impatient as fuck, but I don't have that murderous intent nonsense. Lastly, your arms are shaking, which says you’re exhausted, so suck it up and accept my help."
"You know what? I don't like you!"
"Join the club. There's a damn waitlist of people who don't like me, and sadly the number one member is over there mentally conflicted about when he's going to confront Brianne and say how thankful he is!"
"Can you shut the fuck up!" Elijah snapped back at his brother, who was swiftly moving out the door with Eliza. "I'm going to hurt you!"
"I'd like to see you try, coma boy! You owe me for changing your diapers!"
We were all silently watching as Ms. Electra quietly snickered. "I'm sorry, that's just funny."
Elijah groaned before he let out a sigh and walked over to face me.
"Before you guys get into the important stuff, I just...wanted to say thank you."
He looked at each of my men before he settled his expression on me as he took a step back and bowed.
"Thank you for taking care of me when it wasn't any of your responsibility. Though I can only remember bits and pieces of what I heard when in a coma, I was thankful to be cared for by a group of individuals that actually wished me well. I held a lot of bitterness years ago, and my actions are what pushed away the woman I cared about. I felt trapped, burdened, and couldn't do what I wished to do, and it ended with a cascade of troubles that impacted your school experience. Though I can't fix or change those events, I can at least do my part and grow into a better person. I'm hoping this isn't the last time we see each other, and I pray to the gods we'll get an opportunity in the future to be friends."