49 Chapter Forty-Nine (1/2)
”Bang bang bang!” Romeo called out happily as bolts of lightning shot out from his palms. The majority of them missed their targets and dispersed into the air, but he smiled happily nevertheless.
”Lovejoy, try slower, more accurate shots,” Eryn called out. ”And straighten out your posture. You need to breathe properly to channel your magic effectively.”
It had taken him the better part of three weeks, but Eryn had finally dropped the Mr. from Romeo's name. He was still working on getting her to call him Romeo though. He figured he could convince her within the week.
Romeo flashed Eryn a grin and fired off another rapid series of bolts. ”But this is more fun! It's like a thunderstorm. Don't you think that's cool? Besides, the slower I go the stronger the charge gets and it gets harder to control it.”
Eryn shook her head. ”That is exactly why you should practice it.”
”Fine, fine, I will.” Romeo said with a suddenly gasp as the rapid use of magic abruptly drained away his energy. His hand came up to clutch at his chest.
Eryn shook her head and walked over to him. She tossed him a water bottle. He greedily drained half of it and poured the rest over the top of his head.
”Man, this is tiring,” Romeo yawned as he pushed his wet hair from his face. ”I get why Cross was always bitching about not wanting to train.”
”You've mentioned that name before,” Eryn said. ”Along with another, I believe.”
”Cross and Lexi? Yeah, they're both mages, were able to use their powers before this whole magic resurgence thing. Lexi has some spooky shadow magic and Cross is a clairvoyant.”
”A real one?”
”Pretty sure. Never really thought to ask though. I already know my future is gonna be golden.” Romeo stretched his arms out. ”Lexi had some crazy skill with her powers even before. Nothing like she can do now, probably, but more than I ever saw anyone else manage. She trained like every day until she was practically unconscious.”
”Imagine where you could be if you shared her ethic,” Eryn said.
”I know, right? Probably pretty good. Though I think I've been pretty good for the last few days”
Eryn smiled. ”I suppose you have.”
”Exactly.” Romeo said, his gaze suddenly moving to a trio of girls that were walking by. ”Excuse me for a moment.”
Eryn watched with a darkening expression as Romeo bounded over to the group. Even though his voice was loud she couldn't quite make out what he said. It must have been something particularly amusing, however, as one of the women let out a loud laugh before nodding and taking Romeo's hand. Romeo brought it to his lips before bowing deeply and giving the others cheery wave.
He returned to Eryn with a serene smile on his face.
”Do you just have… no shame?” Eryn asked as Romeo stared in the direction the girls had gone off.
”Not really.” Romeo shrugged as he created a ball of light between his palms. He idly began to toss the ball of energy back and forth. ”I don't really get the point of 'shame'. Never did. Why should I feel shame?”
”Just, how can you be so confident?” Eryn sighed. Over the past few weeks she had seen Romeo strike up conversation with just about any female in his vicinity, and it did not seem to matter to him whether or not those conversations went particularly well or not.
”Well I mean, why not, right?” Romeo said, throwing the ball high into the air. It hung for a moment before dispersing into the air. ”At the very least, I know I'm good looking. Maybe not to everyone, but I am to myself. So that is my base and it is rock solid! Actually, if I think about it, I'm just pretty awesome all around. As long as I know that as a fact… well, then everything else will just kinda fall into place around me.”
Eryn stared at him blankly and Romeo took it as an opportunity to continue speaking.
”It's not that I don't get what you're saying though, I think. I just think people shouldn't be so afraid.”
”Afraid?”
”Yeah. I think people would be a lot happier if they weren't always so scared of failure, you know? I mean, it may not be entirely fair for me to say that, just because of who I am. Failure is kind of hard for me, but still, I think, at least with love, you should put yourself out there. I want to fall in love and that's not going to happen if I don't go looking. Can't sit around waiting forever, you know?”
”…And if you get hurt?”
”Being alone is going to hurt too. I'd rather be hurt at least trying than sit around waiting for the pain to come to me, you know?”
Eryn stared at him for a long time. ”I'm not certain if that is a rather sage way of approaching life, or completely stupid and something you made up just now.”