Page 52 of The Pushy Pixies Are Going Down
Right. I guess this wasn’t exactly a social call, but I couldn’t help but worry about the kid. “Alright. We’ll see you at seven for dinner. Send Lyric to us when they get here, please.”
“Will do.” He gave me a nod, then waved us toward the door overly dramatically.
Miles laughed a little, but once we were through the doors, he sighed. “I think something’s wrong with the kids.”
“Yeah, I got that impression too.”
“Do you think… do you think they’re not going to school or something? He avoided all my questions about school too when you were on the phone.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“How do we help them?”
“I don’t know that either.”
He was quiet for a moment as we walked over to the first exhibit and stared at the skeleton of a gremlin. It was kind of surreal after saving some gremlins last week.
Finally, he said, “Do you think we could sit them down and talk to them about things? Maybe… ask them what’s going on and tell them we want to help?”
“I… I’m not sure. Chaos clams up so easily, but… it might be worth a try. But not until after we take care of the pixies. Maybe we can take them out to dinner or something, talk to them when they’re not working a job.”
He took a deep breath. “Yeah… let’s try that. But maybe we can get more out of Ace today.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Aeson was obviously busy touring a group at the moment, so we had to entertain ourselves for a bit while we waited, but that gave Lyric enough time to arrive. I clocked them as soon as they walked in.
They grinned when I waved, and when they reached us, they pulled me into a hug before standing in front of Miles. I knew it was hard for Lyric not to hug Miles whenever they saw him—my best friend was a huge hugger—but they respected the fact it was difficult for him and respected his boundaries with ease.
Miles held out his fist, and with a wide grin, Lyric fist-bumped him—that was a good compromise they’d come up with because Miles always wore gloves, and he knew Lyric was a hugger.
I also knew there was a big part of Miles that wanted to accept that affection from them, but he was scared of what emotions he’d feel from them. He’d been disappointed and hurt by so many people in his life that he was afraid Lyric didn’t actually like him. He’d never said that out loud, but after hearing so many things about the way his own family treated him, the wayhe knew his parents were disgusted by him, I’d put two and two together.
I really wished I could take away his hurt, but learning to accept the love and friendship of other people would take time.
“Thanks for coming,” Miles said with a genuine grin as Lyric greeted Sola with a few pets. He might’ve been afraid that Lyric didn’t truly like him, but it was clear that he really did like them.
“Of course. Chaos told me a little bit about what’s going on with the pixies. Crazy stuff.” They gave a shiver. “This place is overloaded with magic. Like… so much fucking magic.”
I held my hand out to them, and they took it without hesitation, letting out a sigh when my null-ness made it all go away.
“That’s so much better.”
Miles was frowning at them, and for one second, I thought he was mad they were holding my hand, but then he said, “If searching for cursed objects is going to be too much, maybe you should wait outside or something. I don’t want you getting a headache or anything.” Miles would understand all too well how too much magic could overwhelm a person.
Lyric shot him a grin. “I’ll be okay as long as Win lets me take breaks.” They shot him a wink. “And you don’t mind me holding onto yourboyfriend.”
I sighed, and Miles turned pink. Of course I’d told Lyric all about the boyfriend thing and about seeing my sister and all of that. It was the whole reason I’d invited them over to our cookout this Friday night.
“Of course I don’t mind,” Miles said, pinkening further and making me grin at him. “Do whatever you need to stay comfortable.”
Lyric’s gaze softened, and they turned a fond smile my way. They really liked Miles for me, and I had to agree. I grinned back.
“Hey! You came!”
I turned toward the happy voice with a smile of my own. “Ace!”
To my surprise, the teen moved in for a quick hug before stopping in front of Miles. I could tell he wanted to hug him too, but he didn’t because he knew how much that could affect an empath.
