I had never thought that this kid would have been able to melt the cold façade I had built up over so many years.
And yet, here I was, laughing with them, eating with them and genuinely enjoying their company.
Well, eating with Nick at the moment. Nymphadora and Jacob were asleep and cuddling next to us.
Nick had proposed we divide it into four equal parts and eat while they waited for them to wake up.
"I don't think they're waking up any time soon." I said. "Nymphadora is asleep from mana exhaustion and Jacob looks super comfortable with her."
Nick agreed. "We should sleep too." He said. "But we need to take turns being a watchman. I'll go first."
I agreed and pulled out the massive bedroll that Jacob had brought for all of them to share.
"Think we should move them?" I asked, acting out of concern for someone for the second time in my life.
"Not with Jacob's back injury." He said. "If we move him now, we might paralyze him."
"I'm no expert, but are you sure his posture is best for healing?" I asked.
"Actually, having a spine that is relaxed like that might help recovery." Nick said. "I'm no expert though. What I know, though, is that we shouldn't move him."
As I laid myself in the bedroll, it occured to me that I had just trusted my back to someone.
"Hey, Nick?" I asked.
"Yup?" He responded.
"Why does it feel so weird for me to be able to trust my back to you?" I asked.
"Probably because our whole lives we have never had someone to truly trust." He spoke his thoughts aloud. "Maybe because Jacob brought us together? I don't know, but in all of our fighting together-"
"Which is less than two days." I broke in.
"Well, yes." He agreed. "But all of our fighting together made me realize how much I have been missing."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"What? Me missing fighting?" He asked. "I have never been able to fight without having to watch my back. Now that I'm with you guys, I don't have to worry about my back. I have Nymphadora and you to watch my back and cover me if need be."
I considered his words for a moment. "I'm glad I met you guys." I said. "I'm only sad that we didn't meet earlier."
I had almost fallen fully into the haze of sleep when Nick spoke again.
"I don't believe in fate, but events like that make me reconsider that belief."
"After we met, I started believing in fate." I responded. "And I can't help but wonder what fate had planned when it brought us together."