The Last Dragon’s Baby

6. Rescuing Burbus

Alma

Arriving at Niki’s place, I went straight to bed, to her bed. My head was spinning and my eyes cursed the daylight.

Niki lived in a two-room apartment, so we only had her bedroom and a tiny living room attached to the kitchen. A counter separated the kitchen and the living room, which only fitted a two places sofa, a bookshelf, and a television.

“Hey sleepyhead, I made some coffee! Come on, you have to put something down your stomach or you’ll feel worse.”

I woke up hesitantly. To be honest, if she didn’t mention coffee I would probably have stayed in bed. But I couldn’t resist the best morning potion ever invented!

We took a seat on her purple sofa and Niki made me tell her everything about my night over the large mug of coffee with soy milk and aspirin.

I sighed and looked at the steamy drink in my hand.

I was still in a haze, lost between remembering-dreaming about him and not believing in what I did.

“Hey, don’t overthink! You very much needed it!” She laughed. “Besides, I didn’t know human guys could be so good! You know, I still dream about finding an alpha wolf to claim me and make me moan until I lose my voice!”

It was my turn to chuckle. Niki has wanted a werewolf boyfriend since we started at the Academy.

“You know well that there aren’t werewolves in Europe,” I shook my head at her idea.

“Maybe I can travel to North America or he can travel here. A girl can dream, right?” She shuddered, eating a cookie.

“Oh, yes. We can,” I smiled, my thoughts roaming to my own dreams. 

I had to go to the School Dorm to get Burbus, my cat. He was alone in our about-to-become former room. I was relieved that I left enough food before I decided to wander around the city and ended up in a club, in his arms for the night. Besides that, all my things and my clothes were at the Academy. I was so dizzy after getting my scroll yesterday that I forgot that I had to move and empty the room soon. So, my hangovered-self had to go to one of the last places I wanted to be, The Potion and Herbology Academy.

Niki offered to lend me some clothes, but couldn’t do it to her. She already shared her bed with me, I couldn’t allow her to share her clothes with me too. It was way too much!

“Are you sure you want to go there now? We will end up meeting someone at the hall and you know how those people talk,” Niki huffed, frowning at the thought of it.

“Want is a very strong word. But I have to do it sooner or later, better sooner, so I don’t have to worry about it anymore. Burbus is there and he needs to eat.” I shrugged, flashing her a half-smile.

Arriving at the academy, we went through the surprisingly crowded hall. I could hear whispers, people looking at me and chuckling. I was right, I became the academy joke in no time, almost like an internet celebrity, an unwilling one!

“Don’t mind them, they have nothing better to do!” Niki said out loud, her hazel eyes throwing daggers at the people.

They only chuckled hard.

“Are you monkeys? Do you just know how to giggle? If so, I’m pretty sure you can find some bananas around!” She snapped.

Niki kept frowning at everyone in the way like a grumpy cat herself. I heard music and it was getting louder as we went further into the academy. 

Techno music in the afternoon? 

When we crossed the main hall we found a full-fledged party. Booze, witches, and wizards dancing and even a drunk shirtless guy singing while standing on the top of a table.

He turned around and I recognised him. He was Garret, Niki’s date, or something like that.

“He didn’t invite me, whatever...” my friend muttered under her breath.

When the party people saw me, they started whispering and even squealing. I could hear some of them even thoughthe loud music. 

“I didn’t know someone could fail potion school.” I heard a giggling girl.

“Is she even a witch? Can she do anything, right?” Another girl said.

“I heard that every time she was in class, something exploded. She’s a natural disaster,” A guy replied.

They weren’t even trying to hide their mean comments.

I sighed, my head was pounding and I could feel tears forming in my eyes. When I looked at my right side, I realised Niki wasn’t there anymore. She was yelling at someone who bad-talked me.

“How did you manage to fail? You are a legend! How can someone be this bad?” A visibly drunk chick asked, taking a few steps closer to me. 

“I...You can’t...” I started when a familiar voice cut me off.

“Chill, ginger!” Oliver chuckled.

I really didn’t like this nickname. He knew it, but he still called me as such and I ended up deciding to let it slide.

What was he even doing here? He was an Elementary, he could manipulate the wind and had even a bit of skill in manipulating the water. He was very talented and he never failed to boast about it to everyone.

So, he was rarely here at the potion crafting academy.

“Oliver,” I gasped in surprise, looking at my ex. 

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and handed me a glass of vodka. My head was still throbbing a little from my hangover and the smell of alcohol alone made me low-key cringe.

“No.” I pushed it away.

“Come with me,” he took me by the hand to a small room beside the hall before I had time to react.

I was still in a post-alcoholic slow-motion mode.

This room brought me a deja-vu feeling of my first time with Oliver. Of my first time in general. It was during a party that he took me to a back room and slid my underwear down. I sighed at the memory.

Oliver pushed me against a wall and tried to kiss me, but I moved fast and pushed him away, my palms against his chest kept him away firmly.

“No. What are you doing?”

He raised a questioning brow and flashed me a cocky smirk.

“I’m parting! Enjoying myself, it’s not because you failed ’cooking school’ that you should stop being fun!” He exclaimed

Once again he made fun of potion makers, of me. I wasn’t even a potion maker anymore, neither an aspirant.

“I don’t want to party with you!” I put emphasis on the word party and frowned at him.

This man was more toxic than snake fang potion!

I wouldn’t let him have his way with me. Even though I was the academy’s joke and a failure, I knew that I, and any other woman, deserved much better than this.

“Ginger, don’t play hard to get!” He smirked, brushing a strand of hair from my face and taking one of my hands off his chest.

He thought I was playing? Couldn’t he see that I didn’t want it, that I didn’t want him at all? One day I want to have the self-esteem of an Elementary Wizard. It was just magic! Beyond magic!

“I’m not playing anything. I don’t want it! We are not together anymore, Oliver!” I pushed him away once again.

“Alma, we were never together!” He laughed.

I didn’t need it! I didn’t need him!

“I’m leaving!” I motioned to go away, but he grabbed my wrist, keeping me in place.

“Wait, Alma…”

“What do you want?” I asked with a huff, my lips clenching tightly.

“I-I… to talk,” he mumbled, confusedly. I guess he didn’t expect my reaction.

I also didn’t know I could do something like that, but somehow getting to know real pleasure, feeling free in my pleasure, and the experience of being with a real man empowered me to set myself completely free from Oliver’s dead weight.

“We have nothing to talk about, Oliver. Shouldn’t you get over the potion maker that couldn’t even complete potion school?” I raised an angry eyebrow at him, narrowing my eyes. Sarcasm dripped in my voice.

“How about us? How about what we had going on?” He asked once again looking lost in surprise.

“We were never together, remember?” The sweet smile of irony arised on my face.

“Stop with this Alma! We were together. Is that what you want me to say? You want me to call you my girlfriend and hold your hand as if I was your high school sweetheart?” He joked, holding my arms down and pressing me against the cold wall once again.

My stomach was churning in protest. How was I ever into this guy? Now I couldn’t find him anything other than gross. He was good-looking, but it wasn’t enough to have to put up with his attitude. I guess when we are young and insecure we make bad choices. But after this new surge of security that I could feel burning inside me, I felt strong enough to push him away. Literally and metaphorically. But he overpowered me, pressing me tightly against the stone surface behind me.

“Or do you want this?” He asked, crashing his lips on mine and keeping my struggling body in place forcefully.

I turned my face away with all my might, dreading the taste of his lips. 

“Let me go, you i***t!” I growled.

I did what I should have done a long time ago, kicked him straight on his family jewels and freed myself from his forceful grasp. I might be a failure, but I wouldn’t let anyone treat me like this!

I wouldn’t humiliate myself further. It was ridiculous!

When I turned around I saw Niki flashing me a proud smile.

“That’s my girl!” She almost squeaked, “now you are officially part of the kicking a*sses team, I mean kicking d*cks!” she laughed before she moved her gaze to Oliver, who was still bending down, cringing in pain and cursing underneath his breath.

“It’s not even like you can use it well,” Nike said, smirking and looking at his manly parts and making me crack a laugh

“Let’s leave, Niki!”

We went straight to my room and I took Burbus in my arms, kissing his orange-furried head. We almost had the same hair color.

I organised my things, placed him in his cat bag, and looked at Niki.

“So, do you want to try the back door? See if it’s open?” She asked, throwing me a gaze of sympathy.

It was a good idea, but you know what, scr*w it! I would face shame and all the talk, holding my head high.

“No, we are going through the front door, we are facing it! They can say whatever they want, am I a failure? Yes! But I won’t be a coward as well!“

Niki smiled, “that night-stand did good things for you. You should do it more often.” She chucked

I rolled my eyes at her, “it’s a hard pass. Besides, I have to put myself and my life together now, figure out what to do. Guys only make things more complicated.”

She smiled back.

I didn’t think any one-night stand or anyone could be like him. He probably ruined s*x for me.

I just knew, somehow, that from now on, any guy that could come into my life wouldn’t be able to hold a light to the delicious fire that was Egan.

A fire dream.

***

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