With a burst of magic, Tessa threw open the door in front of her, stormed through, then slammed it shut. She began furiously pacing back and forth, eventually letting out an angry scream as her tattoos flared again, this time hurling a chair across the room. It collided with the far wall, denting it before crashing loudly to the floor. She joined it a second later, collapsing to the ground and running her hands through her hair, locking them together behind her neck and pulling her head down.
The door opened again, much more quietly, and she heard someone step through. "Tess, what's going on?" Nick asked.
"Here to yell at me? Remind me what a fuck-up I am?" Tessa hissed.
Nick closed the door, then sat down next to Tessa. "What? No, I'm just worried about you. When have I ever yelled at you?"
"...Shut up."
There was a heavy sigh, and she flinched as Nick placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tessa, I just want to talk. I don't know what's going on, but it really feels like there's something you're not telling me. Which, I mean, I'm used to that, but things are a little different now."
"Because I yelled at Naomi?"
"And shoved her to the table, and held a knife to her throat," Nick said, his voice somehow reassuring and accusatory at the same time. "I've never seen you blow up like that."
"We just... we can't let this get out, Nick," Tessa said, finally looking up at him.
"Why? What's at risk here?" When Tessa refused to elaborate, Nick continued. "Look, we're all in this together. If you tell us what's going on, we can help you prepare. If you keep this to yourself, then we're left scrambling when another threat inevitably lands on our doorstep without warning."
Tessa took a deep breath, shutting her eyes as she summoned the strength to say something. "It's my coven. They monitor news sites and social media to look for shit like this."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"It is! If they see those pictures, they'll know that I've been keeping them in the dark about the last few months. I'm supposed to report back if anything weird happens, but at first I thought I could handle it myself to avoid dealing with them. Then I learned about Amara, and she changes everything. They'd be furious at me for keeping this all a secret, but it's not like they'd kill me. If they find out Amara's a demon... it wouldn't go well."
"Howso? Like, banishment?" Nick asked.
"Maybe? I honestly don't know. I didn't stick around long enough to learn what their policies are for demons; I just know it's considered a huge risk."
Nick squeezed her shoulder again before letting go. He slid in front of her, leaning forward to try and look her in the face. She reluctantly raised her head to oblige him. "We're in this together, Tess. You just have to talk to us."
Tessa averted her eyes, looking back at the floor. Ordinarily she would be trying to figure out what Nick wanted to hear so he would leave her alone, but she couldn't deny she appreciated the company. She eventually spun around, then fell backwards to lean on Nick.
"Feel free to not answer this, but it doesn't sound like you get along well with your coven," he asked as she settled in.
Memories of her time studying magic flashed through her head, and she shuddered before shaking them away. "Nope, but you don't have enough Boy Scout badges for that conversation yet, sorry. Try again once you've mastered knot-tying."
"I mean, I wouldn't say I'm a master, but I know some basic shibari. Amara once hinted that she wanted to try bondage, though we never got around to it."
"Seriously?" Tessa craned her neck to look up at Nick. "Huh. Here I thought you were nothing but a lukewarm bowl of vanilla pudding."
They both laughed, then fell quiet for a few moments. "Look, I know we're basically living through your worst-case scenario, but we still have work to do. Amara's unconscious, Brandon is planning something terrible outside, and we have no idea how much time we have before he does irreversible damage out there."
"Trying to make me get back out there?" Tessa asked.
"If we don't give them some direction, they're going to start panicking. Plus, you should apologize to Naomi."
"Ugh, do I need to write it ten times on a blackboard while I'm at it?"
Nick playfully smacked Tessa's arm. "Look, if you apologize, I'll try to handle the crowd. You need to talk with Vee and Amara to start putting together a plan."
"You drive a shrewd bargain, but I accept your terms." With a heavy sigh, Tessa reluctantly pushed away from Nick and stood up. She looked around at her surroundings for the first time, and realized they were in some kind of employee break room. A row of lockers stood against the far wall, and there were doors that led both to the cafeteria and the kitchen. The wall opposite the lockers now had a sizeable dent in it, and Tessa sheepishly averted her eyes as she left with Nick.
When they rejoined the crowd, Vee and Amara were nowhere to be seen. Nick pushed Tessa in Naomi's direction, then started approaching different students to hopefully begin instilling a sense of order.
Naomi immediately tensed up as Tessa walked closer. Another student, the one in the purple jacket that had helped her up earlier, moved in front of her to stop Tessa from coming any closer. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it from there. And if I see those tattoos glow, I'm throwing hands," the girl said.
"That's.... I deserve that," Tessa muttered. "Look, Naomi, I just want to apologize. It's not your fault you don't know what's at stake here."
"Tess, that's the shittiest apology I've ever heard," Naomi said.
"At least you're getting one!" Tessa snapped. She immediately sighed in frustration, then tried to calm herself down. "I'm sorry, it's just... I don't have time to go into details, but there's a reason the world doesn't know magic is real, and it's not because no one has ever thought to reveal it. There are countless organizations that dedicate their lives to keeping magic a secret, and they'll stop at nothing to keep it that way. If you try to spill the beans, you're gonna get black bagged by a secret government organization in the middle of the night, if not worse."
After another angry glare, Naomi responded. "Alright, look, I'll agree that I'm a little out of my depth here. When this is over, and those things are back where they belong, you and I are going to have a chat."
