Wish - Chapter 6

VI

The next day, Sarita held hands with Talya as they walked to class. If Talya couldn't take pictures of Sarita, then she usually wanted to hold hands and Sarita didn't mind. Talya leaned over to whisper a question in Sarita's ear, but was interrupted by Mary.

“Hey, uh... Can I talk to you?” Mary asked.

“Sure,” Sarita replied with a soft smile, and then slipped her hand free from Talya's. “If I'm late to class, tell the teacher than I needed to do something and will be there as soon as I can.”

Talya nodded and kissed her on the cheek. This was not so unusual either since Talya had been doing so randomly from almost the first moment they met. “Will do!”

Sarita followed Mary to the first spot that seemed to be mostly empty that they could find, which was in the maze of lockers. Mary stopped and looked to the floor as she gathered her thoughts. Then she heaved a big sigh.

“I'm not sure how to feel today,” Mary admitted solemnly. “My parents were super wonderful last night. They both came to my recital. They cheered me on and then took me out to dinner afterwards. They seemed to be so happy – almost like they were friends again! – and then they told me...”

“What?” Sarita prompted curiously.

“That they're getting divorced,” Mary whispered. She cleared her throat and continued. “My dad is going to pack up his stuff and look for a new place to live. I want to feel hurt and betrayed by this, but... Well... They're finally getting along. It seems like the moment they finally made the decision, they stopped fighting.”

“Well that part is good at least, right?” Sarita asked, putting a hand on Mary's shoulder.

“Yeah,” Mary agreed softly. “It actually is. Like I said, I feel like they're friends again. I just don't want to lose my dad!”

Sarita pulled Mary into a hug so that she could cry on her shoulder. The one that Indigo wasn't invisibly sitting on. After a few moments, Mary calmed down.

“If they're friends again, I'm sure that they'll work together so you don't lose either of them,” Sarita murmured, not using her power, simply hoping that she was right.

“Yeah... They probably will. I just wish I could do something so I didn't feel so powerless,” Mary said sadly.

Sarita felt a mild tingle and knew that this wasn't a true wish so much as a impulse wish. Smiling, she brushed her magic aside and rubbed Mary's back. “So... Do something. Help your father look for a place nearby so that you can visit him whenever you want.”

“That's a great idea!” Mary exclaimed, hugging Sarita. “You're brilliant! I'm going to go to the computer lab now; I'll let you know how it turns out!”

Sarita smiled at her. “Good luck!”

***

Liam noticed Sarita waiting for Talya after school and lurked indecisively a few meters behind her. Sarita sensed him and nervously turned to look at him. He was tempted to sneak away, but he forced himself to walk over to her.

“I meant to ask this the other day, but what spell did you cast?” Liam wondered.

“I told you, I don't cast spells,” Sarita murmured softly, unconsciously stroking Indigo sitting on her shoulder. Her voice got even softer. “I grant wishes.”

“What do you mean?” Liam asked in confusion.

Sarita sighed softly, not sure how to explain it since it wasn't like she could make things appear out of thin air to convince him. “Um...” She hummed in thought. “I have have an idea. Wish for your favorite candy bar.”

“That's not a true wish,” Indigo reminded her with a tone of disapproval.

“I know, but it's something small and harmless,” Sarita stated confidently.

Liam frowned for a moment, and then shrugged. “Okay... I wish for a twix...”

Sarita closed her eyes and gathered her power. It was fairly intuitive and usually knew the difference between a true wish and an impulse wish, so she half expected it to refuse her. Even so, her magic was warm and ready to serve her.

“I hope you find a twix soon,” she murmured with a soft smile.

Just then, a boy that Sarita didn't know ran out the entrance of the school. “I'm going to be late for practice!” He spotted the two of them standing off to the side of the door and chuckled. “Hey there Liam. Remember how I brought a bunch of candy to share today because it's my birthday? Well, I have a ton left; you want some?”

“Uh... sure...” Liam replied hesitantly.

The boy dug in his bag and pulled out a large package of twix. He tossed it at Liam with a grin. “Here you go. Hey what about you?” He asked Sarita.

“No thanks,” Sarita declined with a shake of her head. “But Happy Birthday!”

“Thanks! Now I really gotta run! Later Liam!” He called out and rushed off.

“That... That had to be a coincidence...” Liam murmured, staring at the twix in his hand. “But I saw you use your power...”

“It's real all right,” Sarita assured him.

“But that's so...” Liam looked around as he tried to find the right word. He gave up with a shrug. “Not magical...”

“That's why I'm not worried about using my power in public. My power looks ordinary. It looks like mere coincidence,” Sarita shrugged.

“I wish my power worked like that,” Liam grumbled, and then gasped in alarm. “I didn't –!”

“I understand,” Sarita responded soothingly. “I don't have to grant every wish I hear.”

“Oh,” Liam mumbled.

“So... how does your power work?” Sarita wondered curiously.

Liam shrugged. “It's plant based mostly. I can use herbs to cast spells when I really need to, but other than that, I just make ointments and tinctures and stuff.”

“That sounds fun,” Sarita said with a smile. “And useful.”

Liam shrugged. “I used to make a pretty good pain reliever for my grandpa.”

“Hey Sarita,” Ianto called out as he walked over to them. Thomas followed behind him, half glaring at Liam. Ianto smiled at Sarita before giving her a tiny kiss on the lips. “Are you waiting for Talya?”

“Yep,” Sarita confirmed, her smile dreamy from being kissed. “She's practicing her song for an upcoming competition.”

Ianto turned his attention to Liam. “And who's this?”

“This is Liam; a new student from Ireland,” Sarita introduced. “I'm helping him find his way around school and stuff like that.”

“That's nice of you,” Ianto complimented. “Hi Liam. I'm Ianto; nice to meet you.”

Liam made a bunch of strange noises until his face flushed as red as possible. Realizing that he was unable to stop embarrassing himself, he decided to just make a hasty exit. He turned and ran as if demons were chasing him.

Sarita chuckled. “He's really shy,” she explained.

Ianto shrugged it off. “Do you want me to wait for you?”

Sarita shook her head. “No, that's okay. I know you guys need to study for a test.” Which she knew because Ianto had texted her about it earlier.

“Dad's gone on his trip,” Thomas reminded her. “So do you want me to make dinner tonight, or do you just want Pizza tonight?”

“I can make dinner,” Sarita murmured with a shrug. “I'm thinking about a chicken and shrimp alfredo.”

“That sounds good,” Thomas murmured. He was tempted to smack his lips. “Okay, you can make dinner tonight! And if you plan to bake a cake, can you make something light? Those brownies were really heavy...”

“I can try,” Sarita promised.

***

“Hey Indigo,” Sarita murmured softly when she was all alone in her room that evening – after dinner. “I was thinking... I know you always tell me to only grant true wishes, but... What would happen if I granted little wishes too?”

Indigo sighed. “If it were anybody but you asking me that, I would warn you about dire consequences, but... I actually think you know how to choose the right wish... and your power doesn't seem to fight you.”

“Fight me?” Sarita questioned with a tiny frown.

“Yeah,” Indigo murmured, thinking about how to explain it. “You know how in the stories, some genies who grant wishes either purposely or accidentally make it go wrong? Your power could be like that, but it's not. I think it's because you yourself intend only good things.”

Sarita giggled. “For example, I probably wouldn't grant a wish for someone to go jump in a lake.”

“Exactly!” Indigo agreed with a soft laugh. “Anyway, why do you ask?”

Sarita sighed happily. “I realized today that granting a wish for something tiny – like a candy bar – felt as good as granting a big wish. There wasn't any bad consequences, and even my magic seemed to want to do it. It just made me wonder why I couldn't; like maybe there's a rule against it.”

Indigo got very quiet for a moment, and then sighed heavily. “No... it's your power to use however you want to. It's just that as your familiar, I hope and pray that you won't use it for bad wishes – such as winning the lottery. Don't get me wrong, that could be a good wish to grant under the right circumstances, but if you granted it for everyone, that would bring a lot of trouble!”

“Like how?” Sarita wondered. It didn't sound like a truly bad thing.

“Well, lottery wins are tracked,” Indigo explained. “If suddenly everyone in this small city started winning the lottery – in big or little amounts – surely someone would be sent to investigate why. Your friend Liam is right in that if the wrong people found out about what you can do, they could bring you great harm.”

“I see,” Sarita murmured with a tone that suggested that she didn't fully believe him.

“And besides, each wish you grant has consequences. Not for you, but for the person you grant the wish. Let's say you did grant a true wish to win the lottery. It might solve that person's biggest problems at first, but in the process, they might lose all the people they hold dear,” Indigo explained.

“They what?!” Sarita blurted out in astonishment.

Indigo nodded solemnly. “It's not the same for everyone. Take Mary – for example – she wished that her parents would get along, and now they do, but at the price of getting divorced. I think that it will turn out for the best in the long run – true wishes usually do – but it could be seen as a pretty harsh consequence.”

Sarita thought this over in silence for a long time. Long enough to change into her pajamas and get ready for bed. Finally, she felt like talking again.

“So... What you're saying is that I don't have to worry too much about my power because I myself genuinely want the best for everyone... Right?”

Indigo took a deep breath and held it for a moment. “Right...” He finally answered, letting his breath out again. “I naturally worry, and if it was anyone but you I'd forbid it... but since it's you, I think you would be just fine.”

“Awesome! I think I'm going to start granting all the wishes I can!” Sarita announced. She grabbed her laptop and crawled into bed with it.

“Online?” Indigo asked in confusion.

“Nope!” Sarita stated with a smirk. “Not really. I just have a friend who posted on her facebook that she wished she could go to the amusement park this weekend. I'm going to ask her if she still wants to go, and if she does, I'll grant her wish and see what happens.”

Indigo nodded in acceptance. “Well, if you're going to grant frivolous wishes now, I wish you'd start making cakes just for me!”

“Indigo!” Sarita squealed incredulously – it's not like she didn't share her cakes with him! – tossing a large pillow at him. The weight of the pillow unbalanced her, making her fall off her bed. She landed with a loud thud. “Ow...”

“Buwahahahaha!” Indigo laughed at her from the edge of the bed. “You missed me!”

“I'm totally going to get you, you little rat!” Sarita shouted at the top of her lungs, grabbing her pillow once more. Before she could land more than two hits, there was a knock on her door.

“Are you okay?” Thomas asked, clearly worried.

“None of your business!” Sarita roared, thinking that he was just trying to tease her again. Then she noticed Ianto standing behind him. “Oh! Um... Yes... I'm fine...” She blushed and looked away. “I just fell out of bed...”

“And you're trying to kill your cat why?” Thomas wondered with an amused smirk.

“Is someone else in here with you?” Ianto asked, looking around suspiciously. “I thought I heard another voice...”

“Oh! Ah, um... I sometimes pretend that I'm Indigo and talk for him,” she lied, looking away to hide a telltale blush.

Thomas stood up a bit straighter when he realized that this meant that she was lying to Ianto about her familiar. When he thought about it, he had figured that she must have told her boyfriend the truth. However, a glance at Ianto's confused expression proved that he honestly didn't know – and also suspected that she was lying to him.

“Will you tell me the truth if I promise not to laugh?” Ianto asked softly, walking into her room fully so that he could look her in the eye.

Sarita looked beyond him at her brother for a moment before looking down. “I, um...” She hesitated as she tried to think of a more believable excuse.

“Ah whatever!” Thomas muttered. “I'm going to go get something to drink. You want anything, Ianto?”

“Nope, I'm good,” Ianto replied, tossing a grateful smile at him.

As Thomas left, Sarita sat on the edge of her bed closest to her boyfriend. He could see that she felt guilty, which pretty much confirmed that she had lied to him about the voice he'd heard. He sat on the bed next to her.

“So... Do you really pretend to talk for your cat?” He asked, trying to get her to tell him whatever she was hiding.

“No...” Sarita admitted softly, not looking at him.

“Then who was that I heard? There's clearly no one here, were you on Skype with someone?” He asked, pointing to her laptop.

Sarita mentally kicked herself as she wondered why she hadn't just thought to use that as an excuse in the first place! As it was, if she used it now, he would know she was lying to him. In an effort to avoid the conversation, she threw her arms around him and kissed him.

Ianto returned her kiss for a moment before trying to push her away. It concerned him that she was trying to distract him from the truth. “Hey...” he murmured, turning his head away from her.

“What?” Sarita asked with a mischievous smirk. “Do you want to hear me say that my cat can talk?”

Ianto chuckled. “No! I suppose that I won't make you tell me the truth if you don't want to, but I'm just worried that you're talking to another boy...”

“Aww Ianto!” Sarita purred. “It's not like that at all. I promise!”

He gave her a wry smile. “Okay, I believe you.” To prove that he meant what he said, he kissed her. Sarita still had her arms around his neck, and now shifted so that she faced him better as they kissed. She really wanted to learn to be a great kisser, and figured that there was no better way to learn than to practice.

Ianto made a soft noise when she timidly licked his lips. His arms went around her, holding her close. In actuality, he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready to try kissing with his tongue, but he opened his mouth anyway.

In the hallway outside the open door, Thomas wasn't sure whether to interrupt them or give them a few more minutes of privacy. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall so that he wasn't watching them and they couldn't see him. Mentally, he was in agony at this turn of events. It took him several deep breaths before he could stop the urge to start shouting like a jealous lover.

“I think that's enough for tonight,” Ianto mumbled with a blush. “I feel like my heart might explode if I keep kissing you,” he added in a voice just barely louder than a whisper.

“Me too,” Sarita confessed softly. “I guess I should say goodnight.”

“Goodnight...” Ianto returned the phrase, giving her one last tiny smooch before pulling free of her arms. “Sweet dreams.”

Deeply relieved, Thomas slunk down the hall so that he could pretend that he was just now returning from getting a drink. He hid around a corner until Ianto came out of Sarita's room and shut the door. Then he walked back toward his room, yawning because he really was tired.

“I should probably go home,” Ianto suggested.

“Already?” Thomas asked in dismay.

Ianto looked at Sarita's closed door, and then beckoned for Thomas to follow him into Thomas' room. When they were alone with the door firmly shut, Ianto leaned over to whisper in Thomas' ear.

“I think I need to take some of my medication. I already took a dose today, so I don't have any with me.” He tapped on his chest over his heart lightly. “But I'm having pains...”

Thomas nodded in understanding. “Okay. Do you want me to drive you home?”

“Yeah... I probably shouldn't be biking right now,” Ianto accepted.

“Okay, just give me a minute,” Thomas bade with a worried frown. He quickly opened his door and crossed the hallway again. He tapped on the door twice before he opened it. “I'm going to drive Ianto home, I should be back in 20 minutes.”

“Okay,” Sarita murmured, biting her lip as she concentrated on her laptop. “Yes! She does!”

Thomas was confused by her excitement, but shrugged it off. He shut her door before beckoning to Ianto. “Come on.”

When they got in the car, Thomas decided to ask a couple of questions while he could pretend to be so focused on driving that he didn't seem too interested in the answers. “So... Do you, like, love my sister now?”

Ianto shrugged. “I'm not entirely sure. I do like being with her and she's adorable and makes me feel happy when she looks at me.”

“Well, if she makes you happy, then it must be love...” Thomas stated as if solving a puzzle. This made him feel both happy and sad. He resigned himself to focusing on being happy for his friend with a long and nearly silent sigh.

“Maybe,” Ianto murmured. “I just feel so lucky that I have a girlfriend. For years, the doctors have all told me that I don't have long to live. It seems like no matter what they try, I just never get better. I really thought that I wouldn't be around long enough to go on dates and kiss...”

“And this new treatment?” Thomas wondered hopefully.

Ianto sighed and looked to his hands in his lap. “I'm not getting better, but I'm not getting worse either, so that's something, I guess.”

“Isn't there a surgery they can do?” Thomas asked in frustration.

“I've already had a heart transplant, but I was born with a weak heart, and even this new one can only do so much. My body can't handle it and starts to reject it if I am too active.” Ianto chuckle wryly. “You have no idea how badly I wish I could play basketball or soccer!”

“I've seen you shoot hoops, so I think I can imagine how badly you want to play it for real,” Thomas replied sympathetically. As he did so, he also pulled into Ianto's driveway. Ironically, a freestanding basketball hoop waited by the side of the driveway as if it knew that they were going to be talking about it.

“My parents are torn. They know that I probably won't live to be 18 no matter how careful I am, so they want to encourage me to follow my dreams and live life to the fullest, but they also know that a simple game with my friends could kill me.” Ianto scoffed derisively. “Sometimes I wish it just would and get it over with!”

“Don't say that!” Thomas burst out emotionally. “I would hate it if you died!”

Ianto sighed morosely. “I warned you when we first became friends that it was going to happen sooner or later.”

“I know...” Thomas muttered unhappily.

Ianto clutched his chest. “I'd better get inside and take my medication.”

“Does it hurt a lot?” Thomas wondered morbidly.

“Yes and no,” Ianto replied with a shrug. “It probably would feel a lot worse if I weren't so used to it.”

“See you tomorrow,” Thomas stated.

“See ya!” Ianto called out as he opened the door and got out of the car.

Thomas watched Ianto go into his house, and then drove home. After he parked and turned off the car, he rested his head on his arms on the steering wheel. “Why him?!” He demanded of no one in particular.

He spent a long time thinking, tempted to cry. He may well have fallen asleep and spent the night in the car, but a text came from his sister. I swear I heard you come home a while ago, but you're not in the house. Where are you?

He sighed and pushed his sadness aside. One thing he had promised Ianto when they first became friends was that he would never tell anyone Ianto's secret. It was important to him that people not treat him like a someone who was dying and Thomas could understand that.

He texted his sister: Still in the car. I guess I'm a lot more tired than I thought because I almost fell asleep after I got home. I'll be in in a minute.

When he walked in the house, he saw his sister watching him from around the corner. “Hey! Don't push yourself too hard! If you really need to study that much, then maybe you should just give up and accept bad grades!”

“I do not get bad grades!” Thomas shouted as he shook a fist at her.

Seeing that he wasn't as exhausted as he had implied, she mentally sighed in relief and smiled at him. “Well, I suppose that means that your studying pays off.”

Unwilling to tell her that he really didn't need to study so much, he just shook his head and grumbled. “Yeah yeah, go to bed already!”

“You go to bed! I personally don't really care if I fall asleep during class!” Sarita stated with a smirk, and then walked back to her room.

Thomas followed her with a huge yawn. The only reason that he didn't bicker with or tease her was that he really was too tired. He noticed her watching him from her bedroom door.

“Hey... Do you love Ianto?” He asked.

“Yep!” Sarita replied without any hesitation. She grinned and sighed dreamily. “Ianto...” Without warning, Liam popped into her mind. She pushed him away with a confused frown. “Uh... why do you ask?”

“No reason,” he lied, and then shook his head. “I just need to know how serious you two are about each other. It's weird sometimes, you know?”

“I guess,” Sarita responded.

“But if you love him, then I suppose I can try to keep my mouth shut and look the other way...” Thomas grumbled.

With a smile, Sarita walked over and kissed him on the cheek. Suddenly, she tilted her head and looked like she had just discovered a puzzle. “Wait... Is it me that you don't want kissing him, or him that you don't want kissing me?”

“What do you mean?!” Thomas demanded with a blush. He tried to hide this by looking away.

“Ah... it's him that you don't want kissing me, and I know it's true because you're not teasing me about it,” she informed him. With a smile, she gave her brother a hug.

“Oh go to bed already!” Thomas roared, trying to push her away.

“Okay,” Sarita acquiesced. “Goodnight.”

“Night,” Thomas grudgingly bade before slamming his door shut. How does she understand what I'm feeling so easily? With a sigh, he flopped on his bed.

Go To Chapter 7 

Wish - Chapter 5

V

Sarita smiled at her dad as he cooked dinner. His cooking was always excellent. In fact, he was pretty good at all the little skills that mothers were usually suppose to know – such as sewing. He'd once told her that he felt like it was only right for him to learn those things so that she wouldn't miss out as she grew up. He'd made all of her Halloween costumes until she was eight. After that, Talya had taken over simply because she loved making costumes.

“I feel bad that I'm going on another business trip so soon,” he blurted out.

“It's okay dad,” Sarita assured him. “We'll be fine.”

“Yeah, but I've had a lot of trips this year. This will make the 4^th one since January and it's only March!”

“Dad,” Sarita murmured. “Don't worry so much. We know that your job is important.”

He sighed. “Yeah... but if things keep going like this, I'll get promoted and be gone even more!”

Sarita laughed. “You make that sound like a bad thing. Being promoted, I mean.”

He grinned at her. “Well, the good thing about a promotion is that I'll get a lot more vacation time, so that would be nice.”

“We can maybe go to a beach this summer,” Sarita suggested.

“That would be nice,” her dad murmured vaguely. He had a far away look on his face that Sarita usually associated with her mother. He shook it away and smiled at her. “I just don't like leaving you two alone so often.”

Sarita shrugged. “We work well together when you are gone.”

“And I am not entirely sure that I am comfortable with Ianto spending the night with Thomas now that you two have been going out for so long. At first, I thought that it was a simple phase and you'd break up soon enough, but you two seem pretty serious. Only the fact that I know Ianto is a good kid prevents me from forbidding him from coming over at all when I'm gone.”

“Dad!” Sarita groaned with a blush. “You shouldn't think like that! When Ianto comes over to study with Thomas, I barely see him. We certainly aren't doing anything. And besides, Thomas has told us both more than once that he would kill Ianto is we did do anything!”

Her dad laughed. “I know he doesn't actually mean that, but I'm glad that he's looking out for you.” He ruffled her hair. “Do you hope to do anything?”

She blushed and looked down. “Just... just kiss...”

“Hmm,” he murmured. “That sounds about right for your age, if I remember correctly. Your mom and I were at the kissing stage when she was your age, and I'm a little more older than her than Ianto is to you.”

“Wait, so you were going out with mom when you two were our ages?” Sarita asked incredulously. “I knew that she got pregnant with Thomas at 17, but I didn't know that you had been a couple for a long time at that point.”

“Yeah,” he admitted with a sigh. “We were together since she was 13 and I was 17. We were very much like best friends for years though, and then one day, we were ready to be more. We thought that her modeling career would be over when she got pregnant, but it turned out that she was the right look for a maternity magazine. Then we got married when she turned 18, and I took care of Thomas while she did her modeling. I got in with a good company, and she took a break from modeling when she got pregnant with you.”

He smiled and ruffled her hair again. “Things were working out pretty well for us until the accident...” He looked over at the nearest picture of her mother. “My beautiful Nadia...”

“Dad...” Sarita murmured sympathetically.

“So anyway, while I really am not comfortable thinking about you in a relationship already, I trust that you'll wait for certain things until you are ready for them.”

Sarita hugged her dad. “Sometimes I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have such a wonderful father!”

“Try having you for a daughter,” he joked lightly, and then chuckled. “You even managed to find a cat I could be around without sneezing!”

Indigo was basically ignoring them as they hugged, but now he stood up and rubbed his head against her dad's hand. He purred to let them know that he was happy by their affection. He wasn't purposely keeping the fact that he could talk a secret, but neither had he just come out and started chatting either. Neither familiar nor girl was quite sure whether or not to tell her father about her power.

From time to time, Sarita would try to tell him, but she was so afraid that he wouldn't believe her and call her stupid or crazy. It seemed like a better idea to just avoid the topic. Even so, she had never kept a secret from him before.

“Hey dad...?” Sarita began timidly.

“What?” He wondered curiously, sensing that it was something important.

“What if...” Sarita faltered. “I...”

“What?” He prompted patiently. Hugging her again. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“Well...” Sarita took a deep breath. “What if I...”

The front door opened to admit a loudly laughing Thomas and Ianto.

“Nevermind!” Sarita squeaked before running out of the kitchen. She ran all the way to her room, shut the door, then ran into her closet and shut herself in so that she could hide under a voluminously fluffy skirt. “I almost told my dad!” She blurted out to Indigo.

“I think he would understand,” Indigo responded with a soft purr.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Thomas gave his dad a funny look. “Why do you look like you can't decide whether you want to laugh or cry?”

“Your sister was about to tell me something really important, but you scared her away.”

Thomas tilted his head to look up at the ceiling in thought. Ianto pointed to the hallway to indicate that he was going to go say hi to Sarita. After he left the room, Thomas shrugged.

“She probably wanted to tell you that she has magic,” Thomas stated. From as far back as he could remember, he had always been able to see and hear things like ghosts. Both his mom and his dad had acted like this was perfectly normal, so he had no reason to think that his dad would be surprised by this news.

“She does? Nadia wasn't quite sure, but she thought that Sarita might have inherited her gift.”

“So you knew it was possible?” Thomas asked, a bit incredulous. “I was sure surprised! The morning of her 13^th birthday, she suddenly glowed like a small sun, and that cat of hers has a glow about him too. I had no idea what to think, so I just avoided talking about it.”

“Hmm...” his dad hummed in thought. “I think I'll rehearse a speech or something to reassure her.” He then sighed morosely. “But it'll have to wait until I get back from my trip.”

“Don't worry so much,” Thomas suggested. “I'm pretty sure that Talya knows, so she has both her best friend and her cat to talk to about it.”

“The cat talks?!” His dad blurted out in surprise.

“Well,” Thomas shrugged. “At least I think he does. She can have entire conversations when it's just the two of them in there. Although considering that I can hear ghosts, maybe she is talking to one of them.”

“Wouldn't that be weird though? She has always seemed so afraid of ghosts. Just last week, I was watching a scary movie with her, and when a ghost came on, she shrieked and clung to me in near terror.”

Thomas nodded, knowing that Sarita really didn't like ghosts. “That's true; it would be weird. It must be the cat then.”

His dad laughed. “You could always ask her.”

“I don't think she wants me to know,” Thomas stated with another shrug.

“That's only because you are always teasing her,” his dad replied with a smirk. “She probably thinks that you'd just make fun of her.”

“Maybe,” Thomas grunted, unwilling to confirm or deny the fact that he teased his sister all the time.

“Ianto has been in her room a rather long time now, don't you think?”

Thomas laughed. “Don't worry about that either! I am certain that the two of them haven't even kissed yet. To tell you the truth, I really think that Ianto's gay.”

His dad was surprised all over again. “He is?! Then why is he going out with Sarita?”

“I think it's because he hasn't figured it out himself yet,” Thomas answered. “He has something else really big on his mind, and I don't think it leaves much room for him to think about things such as whether he is gay or straight.”

“That must be something huge if it takes up that much of his mind!” Now that dinner was done, his dad focused on dishing it up. Suddenly a thought occurred to him that made him look at his son with suspicion. “Wait... You like him!”

“What?!” Thomas blurted out with an expression like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I – uh – wh-what makes you think that?”

His dad gave him a look akin to duh! “It just makes sense when I think about it. You have a girlfriend that I know you fool around with – you do use protection, right?”

“Of course,” Thomas stated with a tone like he thought his dad was stupid for asking.

“But she's older than you and you two never really go out on dates. She just calls you over when she is in the mood, and you go because you have nothing better to do.”

“I didn't think you knew quite so much!” Thomas blurted out in astonishment.

His dad smirked again. “But he's over here as often as possible. I know you're pretty smart – just like your sister – so you don't need to study nearly as much as you do, but you do it to be near him.”

Thomas looked down and away, not quite ready to admit that his father might be completely right.

“That must be awkward now that he's going out with your sister,” his dad remarked. His tone made Thomas feel better because there was no judgment in it.

“Actually, I suggested it. I was fairly certain that the two of them would spend ages in the first stage of a relationship before gathering up the courage to move forward, and so far, I've been right,” Thomas explained.

“Ah...” his dad murmured in understanding. “You figured that if they focused their lovey dovey attention on each other – where it's safe – you wouldn't have to worry about either finding someone else that might not be so safe.”

Thomas was tempted to walk out of the room without a word, but settled for giving his dad a grumpy expression. “How can you know what I'm thinking like that?”

“You're fairly easy for me to read because we think a lot alike,” his dad replied with an amused smirk. “Sarita – on the other hand – she's a bit like a book written in a foreign language that I do know, but not fluently at all. Your mother was the same.” He laughed, blowing a kiss to her picture. “I studied the book as much as possible, but I'm still thrown for a loop from time to time.”

Thomas snorted. “I feel the same way! That's one of the reasons I worry about her so much! She's not like all the other girls...”

“Well... try not to worry too much. She'll be just fine... especially since she has magic!”

Thomas sighed, deciding not to say that he had been trying not to worry about her too much for years!

***

Ianto had knocked on Sarita's door lightly before entering. Usually he waited for an invitation, but she didn't say anything. It almost sounded like she wasn't even in her room.

“Sarita? Are you playing hide and seek with me?” He called out. When again there was no answer, he scrunched up his body so he could look under her bed. “Sarita?”

He searched her room in silence for a few minutes before finally finding her hiding in her closet. “What are you doing in here?” He asked with a laugh.

“At first, I was a little embarrassed by my conversation with my dad, but then...” Sarita blushed and buried her face in the skirt she'd been hiding under.

“What?” Ianto wondered.

“I couldn't stop thinking about...” Sarita fell silent, unable to say the rest out loud.

“What?” Ianto asked patiently. A second later, he added his secret weapon. “I promise I won't laugh.”

Sarita studied her nails intently for a long time. Ianto was ready to admit that she didn't have to tell him if she didn't want to, but before he could, she surprised him by flinging her arms around his neck.

“This...” she whispered softly before pressing her lips to his.

Ianto was so shocked that he didn't do anything at all for a long moment. Then he wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss. When he had another moment to think about it, he pushed her away slightly.

“I don't think we should be doing this right now,” he whispered. “This might look bad if they came looking for us.”

“You're right,” Sarita admitted softly, disappointed that he had stopped her.

“Hey...” Ianto murmured in concern. “I didn't mean to imply that I didn't like it. I did!”

Sarita felt much better and smiled at him. “I liked it too.”

Ianto chuckled and ruffled her hair. “You're so adorable right now!”

Sarita rolled her eyes, then a thought occurred to her that made her look to the floor.

“What?” Ianto wondered, finding it funny how easily he could read her moods.

Sarita sighed, absently picking at her nails so that she didn't have to look him in the eye. “Is it really okay if we only kiss?”

“Why wouldn't it be okay?” Ianto questioned in confusion.

“Well... you're already 16... If you weren't going out with me, you could have a girlfriend who wants to go all the way. Like Thomas has,” Sarita explained.

“Hey,” Ianto murmured softly, cupping her face with a hand. “This is my first kiss too. I'm not ready for all the way yet either.”

“You're not?” Sarita asked, clearly hoping that it was true.

“Nope,” Ianto confirmed. He slowly tilted his head toward hers, an insane urge to kiss her again making it impossible to think about anything else. He pressed his lips to hers softly, his hands shaking from nervousness.

Sarita squealed happily, flinging herself into his arms again. This had the effect of knocking him over. They tumbled to the floor – half in and half out of her closet – laughing from the silliness of it. Sarita felt bad about interrupting his kiss, so she kissed him again.

Ianto inhaled a gasp and rolled her off him so that he could sit up. “Perhaps laying down while kissing is a bit too advanced for us right now.”

Sarita blushed as she realized that he was right; her body had been laying on top of his! Helping her to her feet, Ianto decided to make sure she knew he wasn't upset or anything, so he kissed her once more. She sighed happily, melting into him. A moment later, he ended the kiss and pointed to her stereo.

“You want to listen to some music? I have a song on my MP3 player that would be perfect right about now.”

Sarita smiled, tempted to purr like Indigo often did. “That sounds good to me.”

Ianto smiled at her, dug his MP3 player out of his pocket, and then walked over to her stereo to connect them. A beautiful classical tune began just as Sarita sat in a chair next to her table. Ianto chuckled at the irony since he naturally wanted to ask her to dance.

A knock on her door announced Thomas, who didn't wait before opening the door. “Dad says dinner is ready... What happened?”

“What do you mean?” Sarita asked with a frown.

Thomas narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You have a bit of that invisible glow you were talking about once upon a time ago.”

“N-n-n-nothing...” Sarita lied.

“Riiight...” Thomas drawled in disbelief. He half glared at Ianto. “You kissed her, didn't you?”

Ianto chuckled wryly, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “You really do have a sister complex!”

“Well, that was a bit faster than I thought it'd take,” Thomas muttered under his breath, and then gestured for them to follow him. “Come on, let's go eat dinner.”

They followed him, holding hands and smiling at each other.

Go To Chapter 6 

Wish - Chapter 4

IV

“Why does it have to be so cold?” Sarita grumbled as she trudged into school.

Talya chuckled. “Cheer up, winter's almost over!” She leaned over to whisper in Sarita's ear. “Have you granted any wishes lately?”

Sarita shook her head, unconsciously petting an invisible Indigo where he sat on her shoulder. Even after six months, he still insisted on going everywhere with her. He returned her affection by purring and licking her neck.

“There haven't been any true wishes in over a month,” Sarita bemoaned. “My power is starting to feel heavy because of it.”

“Maybe someone will wish for winter to be over already!” Talya suggested with a laugh. “I'm sure you'd love to grant that one!”

They walked into their classroom just then. A moment later, the bell rang to signal the start of class.

“Take your seats everyone! I'd like to introduce a new student!” The teacher called out.

The kids were mostly seated already, only a few loitering around checking their phones. Sarita and Talya quickly took their seats in the front. When they were settled, the teacher continued.

“Everyone, this is Liam. He just moved here from Ireland. I want you all to make him feel welcome.”

Liam looked around the classroom, and then settled his gaze on Sarita. He stared at her a bit intently for a few moments while the teacher rummaged through his seating chart.

“Looks like Kellie is out sick today, so why don't you use her desk. I'll have another one brought in by tomorrow.”

Liam looked to where the teacher was pointing to find him pointing at the desk right behind Sarita.

“And that works out pretty well. Sarita and Talya will be able to help you if you need it.”

Sarita waited until he was seated, and then turned around to smile at him. “I'm Sarita and that's Talya. Let us know if you need help with anything.”

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, and then shrugged.

Sarita took this as a yes and turned back to face the teacher. Mildly concerned about the new kid's self-confidence, the teacher focused on his lesson for the day. He trusted that Sarita was nice enough to look after him.

At lunch time, Sarita, Talya, and their friends decided to eat out on the lawn between the middle and high schools.

“Liam sure is cute!” One of the girls stated with a giggle. The rest of them giggled along with her, except Sarita.

“He's cute enough, but Ianto's cuter,” Sarita insisted, blushing as she pictured her boyfriend.

As if summoned, Ianto playfully covered her eyes. “I am? Cuter than who?”

“Ianto!” Sarita cried out happily, turning to face him. In the background, she noticed Liam sitting under a tree watching her.

Ianto kissed her cheek. “You mind if I eat lunch with you and your friends? Thomas had to run an errand...”

Sarita looked around in concern, worried that her friends would be upset by his intrusion.

“So this is the boyfriend you talk so much about!” One of her friends stated with a smirk. “Please join us, we've all been dying to meet you!”

Talya waved hi to Ianto to remind the other girls that she actually had met him before. Ianto returned her wave with a smile. He then settled himself next to Sarita, who promptly rested her head on his shoulder.

In the six months that they had been going out, she had gotten fairly comfortable with him. Comfortable enough that she'd stopped blushing every time he held her hand or kissed her cheek. Though she was still tempted to squeal whenever she thought about it.

Throughout lunch, the conversation revolved around their various classes and homework assignments. This was mostly because the girls felt they couldn't really talk about other boys with Ianto around. He didn't mind though, feeling that it was cute to see his girlfriend around her friends.

The high school rang a warning bell.

“Uh-oh, I have to go,” Ianto lamented, kissing Sarita on the cheek again. “I'll see you after school since I'm coming over with Thomas.”

Sarita gave him her most brilliant smile. “Great! I'll bake some brownies if you want!”

He laughed. “At this rate, I'm going to gain weight! But I really love brownies, so I look forward to eating them.”

Sarita waved to him, and then watched him go with a dreamy sigh. Her friends all giggled mercilessly. Each nudged her playfully.

“You're right, he is cute!”

“Have you kissed yet?”

“Have you...?”

Sarita blushed profusely. “No! I mean he does kiss me on the cheek all the time, but other than that, no. I'm not ready for... that...”

Talya slung an arm around her shoulder. “I keep telling you, there are levels. You can kiss and make out without going all the way.”

“I know,” Sarita admitted shyly. “And I'll admit that I like thinking about kissing him, but I don't want to be a tease. I don't want him to think that I'm just trying to frustrate him on purpose.”

Her friends all rolled their eyes. “Boys are just as nervous as we girls are. If you tell him that all you want is kissing, then he'll know you're not trying to tease him.”

“Are you sure about that?” Sarita asked with a frown. She had heard somewhere that boys hated it when girls wouldn't go all the way while making out.

“We're sure!” They insisted.

“Ask Thomas,” Talya suggested. “He would be able to reassure you that it's not teasing if you set clear boundaries.”

Sarita thought about this for a moment. Talya had a point, Thomas would know the answers to her questions. On the other hand, Thomas was Ianto's best friend and might not want to think about her kissing him. Before she could say anything about it, a girl caught her attention.

“Aaaaargh!” She roared in frustration, throwing her phone across the lawn. “I just wish they would get along!”

“That sounds serious,” Sarita murmured. She took Talya's hand and squeezed it for a moment. “I'm going to go talk to her.”

Talya nodded sagely. “Yes, she probably needs someone to listen to her.”

Their friends were all staring at the girl in concern. Each glanced at Sarita as if she had lost her mind, but shrugged it off. They all knew that she was a super nice person who wanted to help everyone she could.

Sarita lightly ran over to the girl, picking up her tossed phone on the way. The girl saw her coming and growled. Tears were pouring from her eyes.

“Just leave me alone!” She shouted at Sarita.

Sarita said nothing as she held out the girl's phone. The girl sighed in frustration, and then wiped her tears. She took a step forward, hesitated, and then took another. After that, she took back her phone.

“Thanks...”

“I'm sorry about whatever's wrong,” Sarita sympathized.

The girl sighed heavily. “It's my parents. They're supposed to come to my recital tonight, but they're too busy arguing. They always argue...” She ended with another sigh.

Sarita put a hand on her shoulder. “I'm sorry. I'll come to your recital if you want.”

“Thanks, but it wouldn't be the same,” she declined. “I just wish they would stop fighting and get along.”

Sarita felt her magic flow softly in her veins. This was one of those times when it was a true wish, but not an urgent one. Even so, Sarita wanted to grant it. She pretended to rummage through a bag at her side for a moment so that she could give Indigo time to jump into her hands and then reappear.

“Could you hold him a moment?” Sarita asked, handing Indigo to the girl.

“What's his name?” The girl asked softly as she stroked Indigo's super soft blue gray fur. As a familiar, he was still the size of a kitten, although he looked a bit more mature – like a miniature adult cat.

“Indigo,” Sarita informed her.

“He's beautiful!” She whispered in awe. “I'm Mary, by the way.”

“Hi Mary,” Sarita said with a warm smile. “I really hope that your parents resolve their differences soon.”

Mary smiled at her. “Thanks...”

Indigo purred as he snuggled into Mary's arms. His purring was soothing as she petted him. Soon, Mary was almost purring herself.

A bell rang in the middle school, alerting the students that it was almost time for the next class.

“Oh no! I have to run!” Mary exclaimed in dismay. She carefully handed Indigo back to Sarita. “Thank you so much for listening to me. I feel much better now.”

“You're welcome,” Sarita murmured with a pleased blush. She stroked Indigo's head, loving how soft he was. She didn't care in the slightest if she might be late for class.

Mary ran off, waving behind her at Sarita. As she left, Liam looked like he was stomping in her direction. Sarita watched him approach with a frown. A glance over to where Talya and the others had been proved that they had also rushed off to class.

“How can you do that in public?!” Liam demanded angrily.

“What?” Sarita wondered in confusion. “Pet my cat?”

“No!” Liam growled even as he narrowed his eyes at Indigo. “And how can you just let her? What if she got caught?”

“Wait what?!” Sarita blurted out, a sinking suspicion leading her to believe that he might be referring to her magic.

“I'm not exactly sure what it is you did, but I could clearly see your magic power flow into that girl. It looked to me like you cast a spell over her. If anyone found out that you're a witch, there could be big trouble!” Liam shouted, then winced and looked around to see if anyone had heard him.

When he saw that no one was out on the lawn anymore, he sighed in relief. “Sorry, I almost outed you.”

Sarita laughed, petting Indigo all the more. “I'm not a witch, and I don't think that anyone who didn't have magic themselves could see me using it.”

“That's true,” Indigo murmured softly so that only Sarita should have heard him.

“You're holding your familiar after having performed a spell, and you want me to believe that you're not a witch,” Liam muttered sarcastically. “Riiight... I could see your power surrounding you from the moment I walked into class. It's as clear as day! In fact, it's so bright that I'm surprised that others don't see it too!”

“I didn't cast a spell,” Sarita insisted, and then muttered: “Oh never mind. So... Does that mean that you're a witch too?”

Liam tilted his head side to side and made a thinking sound. “Well, yes and no. I'm an Irish witch, so my path is more like that of a druid. In fact, I'd call myself a druid before I'd call me a witch.”

“Oh...” Sarita murmured, not really knowing the difference. “You know, here in America, lots of people claim to be witches. Yes it can cause them problems with certain religious groups, but I don't think I have to avoid using my magic in public or anything. Like I said before, no one would even notice unless they had magic themselves.”

“Wouldn't the spell you're incanting tip them off?” Liam wondered in confusion.

“I don't cast spells,” Sarita said, and then shrugged. “Or at least I don't think I do. Indigo?”

“No...” Indigo replied. “As I've explained, your power doesn't really work by using spells like a witch does. Although I suppose that since you technically use words to tell your magic what to do, it could be considered a spell.”

“Wow! Your familiar can talk even in that form!” Liam exclaimed in surprise. “Our family familiar is a tree that can't really talk to us out loud... and it's back in Ireland...”

“So... why did you move to America?” Sarita wondered.

Liam shrugged. “It's not forever. Me mam had a prophetic dream in which she saw me right here, in this school in America. So she sent me here with my uncle.”

“Wow, seriously?” Sarita blurted out in shock. “I can't imagine my dad sending me to a different country just because of a dream!”

“My mom is just like that,” Liam stated with a shrug. “She's the leader of our family, so she had to stay behind with my sisters and cousins, but she felt strongly that my destiny is here. For now...”

“Hmm...” Sarita hummed in thought. “That's actually kind of cool when I think about it.”

Indigo climbed back up to her shoulder and settled himself comfortably. “Lots of people who grow up in magical families are encouraged to follow their destiny. As a former witch, what's strange to me is that most people aren't expected to seek out their purpose in life.”

“Hey!” A teacher called out from a doorway. “Aren't you two supposed to be in class?!”

Sarita gestured for Liam to follow her, Indigo becoming invisible before the teacher could see him. When they stood before the teacher, Sarita smiled at him.

“I'm sorry Mr. Thompson. Liam is new here and he had a lot of questions, and I promised that I would help him with everything.”

“That's certainly understandable, Sarita,” Mr. Thompson replied with a soft frown. “But this is class time.”

“I'll just help him find his class, and then I'll go to mine,” Sarita assured him.

He smiled at her. “Here, I'll write you both an excuse for being late.”

“Thank you!” Sarita exclaimed with a happy smile.

Liam was quiet until they reached his classroom. “Thanks,” he murmured.

“No problem,” Sarita whispered, looking down with a soft blush. “Helping people is my reason for being.”

Liam hesitated before opening the door to the class. He looked around to see if anyone was around. Seeing no one, he looked to the floor with a light blush.

“Who was that guy you were eating lunch with?” Liam asked.

“My boyfriend, Ianto,” Sarita replied softly, looking dreamy.

“Boyfriend, huh?” Liam muttered in disappointment.

“Oh...” Sarita murmured in understanding. “You think he's cute...”

Liam blushed at least ten shades of red. “N-n-n-no! I-I-I-I j-j-just – !”

“It's okay,” Sarita stated, placing a hand on his shoulder and stopping him before he got too flustered. “I don't mind if you like him.”

Liam took a deep breath and sighed. “I'm trying to tell you, I don't think it's that. I usually like girls. It's just that when I saw him, I felt really warm.”

“That's probably because Ianto is such a kind person,” Sarita suggested with a smile. “I always feel like everyone loves him.”

“Hmm,” Liam harrumphed softly. Abruptly, he opened the door to the class and walked in.

Sarita shrugged and turned to walk to her own class. As she went, she spotted Mary in the hall outside a different classroom. Mary looked slightly dazed until she looked up and saw Sarita.

“Hey!” Mary cried out softly so she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. “Good news, my parents both called to tell me that they're coming to my recital tonight!” She then laughed a bit nervously. “That's why I'm out in the hall. I got in trouble for having my phone on.”

“I'm so happy for you,” Sarita replied with a joyous smile.

Mary blushed and waved goodbye to Sarita as she walked past. Whispering, she added: “If I see you around sometime, I'll let you know how my recital went!”

“I look forward to hearing all about it,” Sarita whispered in return, and then waved as she finally decided that she'd better get to class before it was over.

Go To Chapter 5