When Channing first texted me about the supernatural training schedule, I got a little excited. I figured I'd be learning how to use my magic, more about supernatural creatures and the other worlds, maybe some tips on fighting ghost dragons and other beasts, but god was I wrong. Apparently, it's just like regular school, but the subject matter is different—at least for the first few months. After that, you get to choose whether to continue training and learn more about magic.
It's for fucking ever before you even get to decide whether you want to know more about other creatures, let alone fighting them or more about their worlds.
So, much like I do in regular classes, I spent the entire time plundering the secure online library of the Overwatch Division. Everyone in training had access to it and could access anything in it, which meant I went fucking wild while some guy droned on about human history and how a lot of it was the result of supernatural creatures fucking things up.
I spent an hour learning about my magic and how most telekinetics were witches and the power was so integrated into the mind that eventually, I might be able to move objects without having to make physical movements to control it. But, until then, it was natural to use hand gestures and other movements to channel the magic. Other creatures that were known for having telekinesis were some fairies and special breeds of vampire. Elementals were thought to have condensed forms of it too since they were technically using telekinesis, but only on one grouping of objects.
I downloaded a few articles on other species to my laptop, since I wouldn't be able to access the Overwatch Division's library once I was out of range. That would tide me over for the next few days until I had another few hours to download more.
Glancing up again to at least give off the impression I'd been listening, I caught another student staring at me for the fifth time in twenty minutes. She had long, curly red hair and sparkling brown eyes. She wore a plaid button up and a pair of ripped denim shorts with black sneakers. Once she noticed I saw her, she smiled and winked at me.
I didn't know her. Why would she wink at me? Did people really do the whole smile and winking thing?
Maybe I needed to get out more… Or I could just ask Dallas. He might know. He seemed to have a life, or at least more of one than I did. And as soon as I thought it, the talking guy dismissed the class. Packing up my laptop, I left the room, and just as we'd agreed, I found Dallas loitering in the lobby of the old warehouse turned training facility.
"What now?" I asked, pulling my phone out of my pocket. Still two hours left to go for the training session.
"There's a twenty minute break before the last session starts. After that, we get to go home," Dallas said.
I nodded and leaned against the wall. "They have a coffee joint in this place, or should I walk down the street to the gas station?"
"I think they have a little cart with coffees and snacks upstairs. You tired?" Dallas smirked..
"Hey, I worked all evening. You were off today. I don't want to hear it."
Dallas shook his head. "You were the one that told Channing the 23:00 to 3:00 slot would work."
"You know I can't guarantee I'll be free any other time, and it's not like she'll let me alter my schedule. Can't alert the fucking humans." I rolled my eyes. The whole thing was a pain in my ass. Magic and the supernatural was amazing, but god, the few boring things I still had to do were absolutely fucking horrible. If anything, they were made worse by the few tastes of intriguing events I'd had recently. "I'm going to quit."
"No you're not," Dallas said, raising a brow. "Just because you aren't human doesn't mean you don't have to pay your rent… or student loans, for that matter."
"Spoil sport." I folded my arms over my chest and looked across the lobby at the other students. The only ones I could pick out really easily were the fairies. Like Dallas had said, they all had different sorts of markings. Some of the vampires could be identified by their teeth, but that was only when they smiled too wide. The rest looked very human.
And one of them—the one from the history class—was still staring at me, grinning.
"Oh my god, still?"
"Still what?" Dallas asked, frowning at me.
I tilted my head toward the girl. "That girl keeps staring at me. She fucking winked at me in class earlier."
Dallas looked over at her. "She's cute." He watched for a moment as her eyes went back to me and she grinned again. Dallas chuckled. "I think she's trying to flirt with you."
"What? How can you tell?"
"Seriously?"
"What?"
Dallas outright laughed at me that time. "Oh my god, do you really not know when someone is flirting with you?"
"No one flirts with me. It's not a skill I've needed." I walked around him and headed for the staircase at the side of the room. "Now, coffee."
We went upstairs and sipped at our coffees in comfortable silence. Despite only knowing one another for a few days, Dallas and I were getting along well. Dallas had made a habit of coming over and spending the day, only leaving when one of us had to go to work. He'd slept over the other night in the spare bedroom. I'd lived alone for the last two years, once I started college, and I loved the peace and quiet. But, I also kind of enjoyed the noise of Dallas puttering around the place.
"Well, it's about time to head to the next session. I'll meet you out by the car, yeah?"
"Sounds good!" I parted ways with Dallas and headed back into the classroom for the next session. There were the same amount of people in there—actually, all eight people were the same.
Shit, the girl was there too.
I opened my laptop, resolved to ignore her as well as the lecture, and got back to reading while a woman came in to tell us about secrecy, ways to maintain supernatural secrecy, and consequences of not maintaining that secrecy. Time dragged past, and finally, it was time to go. I met up with Dallas, we got into the car, and I drove us back to my apartment.
As I pulled into my spot, Dallas groaned and pressed the heels of his palms against his closed eyes. "God, I thought I'd be more awake by the time we got here."
"Just stay here tonight," I said, turning the car off.
"You sure?"
I nodded. "I've got a spare room."
"Still, it's someone else in your space." Despite his arguing, there wasn't a single fiber of him that seemed remotely passionate about it.
"You aren't a noisy sleeper, and I haven't noticed anything horribly irritating about you yet, so just stay. Do you have to work in the morning?"
He shook his head, eyes still closed as he rested his head against the seat.
"Good. Come on, get up. Let's get inside, and we can both get some shut eye."
He groaned, but clambered out of the car. We walked up the stairs next to the shop and I unlocked the door. Locking it back behind us, I watched as Dallas automatically drifted down the hallway, going straight for the other room. I followed suit and headed for mine. As I dug out a pair of pajamas for myself, I grabbed some for Dallas as well. I had a pair of oversized sweats and a T-shirt that looked like it would fit his broad shoulders. He was taller than me, but he could always sleep in his underwear if he didn't want to roam around in capri sweats.
After I changed, I padded down the hallway in sock feet to deliver the clothes. But, when I got to his room, I saw a sliver of yellow light under the crack in the bottom of the bathroom door. He was in there. I ducked into the spare room, left the clothes on the foot of the bed, and went back to mine.
I went through my things, searching for my phone charger. I'd had it before I left, and I rarely moved it from my bedroom—
"Hey."
"What's up?" I glanced back over my shoulder and saw Dallas there.
"Do you have a set of spare pajamas?"
"Yeah, I left them on the bed in there."
Dallas frowned. "I didn't see them."
I blinked and squinted at the wall as I shook my head. Maybe I was more tired than I thought. Moving back to my closet, I grabbed another set and handed them to him. "There you go."
"Thanks. You work in the morning?"
I shook my head. "I have the evening shift."
"That's good. Well, good night, Daisy."
"'Night."
Dallas left my room and pulled the door shut behind him. I gave up on the search for my phone charger—it was still at 40%, so it'd last until morning when I was less tired and could see straight enough to spot it. I slid into bed, pulled the covers up, and clicked off the lamp on the nightstand.
Before I closed my eyes, a light knock sounded at my door before it popped open.
"What?" Dallas asked, looking concerned.
I raised up on my elbows. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"You yelled?"
One of my brows shot up. "Nope. Not me."
Dallas shook his head and smoothed his hair with his hand. "Guess I'm tired. Sorry about that."
"It happens." I waved a hand and bade him another good night. Once he left, I lay back down and cocooned myself in the blankets, letting sleep wash over me. As I started to fall asleep, I heard a loud crash from the living room.
My eyes snapped open. Jumping out of the bed, I ran into the room, flipped on every light I reached, and glanced around the room. Nothing had fallen over. There weren't any signs of an intruder… Maybe Dallas fell?
I knocked at his door and poked my head inside. "Everything okay in here?"
"Huh?" His drowsy form rose from behind the blankets.
"I heard a crash. I thought you fell or something."
"I crashed into bed as soon as I left your room."
I frowned and leaned against his doorframe. "I think something weird is happening here."
"Sleep deprivation makes everything weird, Daisy." Dallas scrubbed at his face and sat up straight. "In the morning, everything will be fine. It was probably just the start of a dream."
"That's not how that works," I corrected as I bit at my thumbnail, mentally skimming back over the articles I'd read during class, thinking of creatures that'd been briefly mentioned during my search on telekinesis.
Oh!
"I think we have a goblin," I said.