[Xander – 12 years] → begins during Sig's PoV.

  The magics in the box become really happy when I adjust this line over a tenth of an inch for some reason. No more, no less. Doing that reduces the range a little bit, but happier magics make for a better device. This also won't be the final version of the device, so I'll need to see if the adjustment is necessary once I have the right materials or if I can put the line back where it had been.

  While I've only been working on this for about half an hour now, that's half an hour of real time. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to figure out the device so I've been using my version of the temporal acceleration spell. That, in turn, has allowed me to spend over twenty hours of time on it between my swim lesson and lunch.

  Well, and with meeting my teacher for regular classes. He seemed nice, and is apparently an old man who's taught at private schools for over forty years and retired at the end of last school year. When Dad approached him about teaching me this school year, he agreed to it.

  But now I'm working on this, and I want to finish it before lunch. It looks like I have with plenty of time to spare, so I just need to wait for the delivery. That adjustment was all that's left to do.

  Oh! Just in time.

  "Hi, Grandpa Adrian," I greet my great-grandpa, who just appeared in the workshop.

  The fact that he can teleport in despite my improved ward really shows how good he is at this. I should improve it more to see if that'll keep him from being able to teleport directly in.

  That's not me trying to keep him out, he knows I'm improving the ward. It's a challenge he gave me a few weeks ago and I'm doing my best to meet it. Though I did have to remember to adjust it so that Greyson could teleport in as well.

  Excluding him from it was an accident. At least he didn't have a meltdown when he discovered it, that wouldn't have been fun and I would have felt so bad. I still feel a bit bad for it, which is why Greyson has a box of cookies waiting for his next visit.

  Grandpa Adrian appeared outside of my work zone, which makes me happy. Anytime he comes here to drop stuff off, the stuff for me is outside of my zone. There's a chance that he comes into my work zone but I doubt it. Especially since I put up hidden cameras and they haven't shown him entering my zone.

  Unless he's found them… but I don't think so.

  "Hello, Xander," he says. "I know you wanted to buy those materials, but what are they for? Depending on what it is, I can charge it to the company's R and D account."

  Dad already gave me permission to buy materials for a project when I asked him and just told me to let him know how much they'll cost so he can up the limit appropriately.

  It seems Grandpa Adrian either isn't using his magesight or is just asking me to have me explain it for some reason. Or he wants the explanation of why I'm making this. That's the most likely reason why he would want to ask what I'm making.

  "I felt really bad about causing the big panic," I explain. "The one I caused when I accessed the World Memory and leaked all of that mana. And I looked in Greyson's database on how the sensors for Rifts work and… um… they're really inadequate. All they do is sense mana, but they're bad at that. They can really only sense amounts that can be detected by normal people, their advantage over ones which can read smaller large amounts being that it's at a range instead of nearby. Then I saw the Rift that formed over in Nine Springs on Thursday and realized I could make a much more efficient version.

  "As for the box itself," I say. "It's capable of directly detecting Rifts. No need to look at massive mana bursts. That's why I asked you if all Rifts have the same types of energy making them up and if there were other things that had those same patterns. You said they do and there aren't, respectively, which means I just had to design the sensor to be capable of detecting a blend of different magics. Specifically, the ones in a Rift."

  Not all of them, just the major ones. Dimensional magics makes up most of it and there's life magics as well. If I understand what I saw correctly, then they shield those passing through from diseases on the other side while preventing them from bringing diseases through. A few other magics whose types I don't know, along with a "boundary" filter.

  At least, that's the best as I can describe it. That's the part which prevents one side from influencing the other, such as a scorching hot place making a cooler place scorching hot just for being on the other side. Making it able to detect a filter like that while mainly sensing magical aspects was tricky but I managed it.

  "Oh," I look at the box, then back to Grandpa Adrian. "And I know you probably have your reasons for not releasing one, so I was going to ask you for permission first before offering it to the local branch as an apology. You definitely know how to make them for sure so there's probably a good reason you haven't revealed it. But I still wanted to at least make it. It's made me feel better about the accident."

  Though I do hope he grants me permission to gift it to them. That would make me feel even better. If he doesn't, then I'll just install it here for myself.

  "I've been letting them develop technology on their own," he tells me. "For the most part. It's fine for you to gift that to them. You're right, though – you should ask me before attempting to release or gift new tech you develop. There's a chance that it's something I don't want out yet or at all. I take it you wanted these materials to make a final version?"

  "What should be the final version," I nod. "As long as I'm right about how the materials will interact. Um. Was the dimensional orichalcum with a slight life affinity hard to acquire? I'm sure it was really expensive. I tried to reduce the box's size as much as I could, but the magics get unhappy if I make it any smaller than this."

  The current version of it is a cube exactly thirteen inches on each side. I've designed it to be able to have cables plugged into it so that it can send its data to a computer or server or something. Other than that, the box is mostly just dark grey with some faint silver, purple, and gold markings on it. Those ones being visible won't make it something someone could just reverse-engineer as they aren't extremely crucial. They help with the range of the sensor more than anything.

  Inside of the box is the actual magitech that makes it work.

  Hiding the outer markings would only increase the mana cost in enchanting, and I don't want to do that. It also would require making further adjustments to some of the internal systems and the materials used, and that would only make this more expensive.

  I've technically used materials from Xanson Technologies' research and development division for the sensor. That's okay, though, because it can count as research for the company. All sensors currently on the market either detect large quantities of mana or detect mana residue.

  Mine detects magic directly. If Grandpa Adrian allows it to be released, then it can be used to improve quite a few things. Medical scanners and security systems come to mind. This means that while I researched it for a personal thing, the fact that it'll likely be used for the company makes it okay to use the company's resources for the research.

  That's in the binders Grandpa Adrian gave me, specifically in the section on when to know whether I can use company materials or personal materials for my own projects.

  Which is good, because my personal materials allowance wouldn't have been enough in six months to make this sensor and I'm not sure if Dad would let me spend that much money. I can afford it for sure I just don't know if I'd be allowed to.

  "Okay," Grandpa Adrian says. "Have you recorded everything so the R and D costs are known?"

  This is another thing Grandpa Adrian told me to do so I make sure to keep clear records of the amounts of materials I use, time taken, tools used, and so on. The spreadsheet site he created for the company automatically calculates the costs from that based on the current cost amounts.

  "Yeah," I roll my chair over to my laptop and open up the spreadsheet. "The R and D costs are currently just-under eight hundred thousand. The spreadsheet currently puts the sale price at, um… three hundred thousand. Oh. Dollars. Those are both in dollars."

  There's a big difference between eight hundred thousand dollars and eight hundred thousand pennies or cotton balls or jelly beans.

  "I assumed the dollars part," Grandpa Adrian chuckles. "Am I correct in assuming that you were planning on gifting that to just the local base, since they're the ones who had the emergency call because of you?"

  "Yeah," I nod.

  "If they receive it," he tells me. "And confirm it's superior to their own sensors, they'll be interested in buying more of them to cover the rest of the US. Canada will also want to purchase them, as may foreign countries. What's the range on it?"

  "Uh…" I look at the cube. "I think it's about one hundred and fifty miles? But I'm not entirely sure. For selling, um… the pre-profit price is listed as being roughly $230,000. So a profit of around $70,000, or a little more than one-third. That's when factoring in using the materials for the final version."

  "Alright," he says. "How long do you think it'll take you to finish with the new materials?"

  "Maybe ten minutes if I keep using my temporal acceleration spell."

  "Do you mind if I wait here?" He asks as he teleports in a couple of crates. "If you'd like to sell it to help make the country safer, we can do that. I can take it and have it put into production."

  "No, I don't mind," I say. "So I can do that?"

  "You can," he conjures a chair and sits down.

  I pull the crates into my work zone and begin working on the final version of the cube. It takes me eight minutes rather than ten and by the time I'm done, I'm really satisfied with it. My estimates based on what I can see of the magic puts the range at roughly two hundred miles, which is a full third further than the pre-final version.

  "Finished?" Grandpa Adrian asks when I end my temporal acceleration spell.

  "Yeah," I answer, then pick it up and carry it to him. "Here."

  "Thanks," he says. "I'll let them know why you developed this, so they know you're apologizing. And once it's decided how many to order, I'll have them produced and you'll be paid your share. You won't need to make the others."

  Thank goodness. I don't think I have the time and mana to make enough to cover two countries in a reasonable amount of time.

  "Okay," I say. "Hey, Grandpa Adrian?"

  "Yes?"

  "How can you trust the magitech engineers not to share secrets?" I ask. "For the super secret stuff? The ones you can't do patents for and stuff like that? I know that my obfuscation enchantments help conceal things, but the people making them would know."

  "Several ways," he answers. "There are magical contracts with a trace of mind magic which prevents them from sharing secrets. It's done legally, and they consent to being bound with the mind magic to prevent them from sharing. But for the very secret stuff, which I don't want to risk someone using mind magic to break into a worker's mind for? I make them myself using avatars."

  "You use avatars for that?"

  While I don't know the spell, I'm sure it must be really mentally taxing. Even if each avatar acts independently, they're all part of the same mind.

  "I can maintain over one hundred avatars at a time," he smiles. "It's pretty easy for me to do so."

  "Wow…"

  That's impressive. He can split his mind to focus on over one hundred different tasks at once. No wonder he's so powerful.

  "And by the way, Xander?"

  "Yes, Grandpa Adrian?"

  "I didn't actually have something like this," he holds up the cube. "I might be ancient, powerful, and knowledgeable, but there are plenty of things I don't know. Much like your version of a mana battery, this isn't something I ever put thought into making. I helped with the mana residue scanner for medical devices, but that's about it. Rifts have never been a concern of mine."

  "They ain't?"

  "They aren't," he confirms. "I can close them easily enough, but I'd rather let society handle them. It helps them develop their own countermeasures, and they do a lot of research into Rifts."

  "Like in Australia?"

  "Like in Australia," he nods. "They-wait. How do you know about the research facility in Australia? The public knows Australia as a place too infested with powerful monsters to allow for habitation. That it has a high rate of Rifts of both normal and demon varieties. There being a research facility there is top-secret."

  "Oh, right," I feel my face heat up. "Um… I dunno? It's like the research facility at the north pole, I just know it's there. So is me developing this bad? Since it means they weren't able to?"

  "No," Grandpa Adrian answers. "Like I said earlier, let me know if you make anything you want to release or make public. I'll let you know then if it needs to wait or shouldn't go out."

  "Okay."

  "And Xander?"

  "Yes, Grandpa Adrian?"

  "Good job with this," he says. "I'll be going now. You have a good rest of your day."

  "You, too."

  Grandpa Adrian vanishes, and I look back at my worktable. I should clean it up, then decide on what I should do next.

  [Sig – 13 years]

  A knock at the door draws my attention, and I hurry over to find out who's at the door. Connor said he's on his way and Sam and Isaac said they're almost ready to come over. They'll also likely just go to the gate to come in.

  That means that whoever knocked is probably a door-to-door salesman and I can just chase them off. I've heard enough broken Zrebzialan to imitate it well enough to pass as a foreigner, I think.

  "Oh!" I exclaim upon opening the door. "Xander! You decided to come, after all?"

  Xander's standing on the other side of the door, not a salesman. He's dressed in the same outfit he was wearing to make mac and cheese in but with sneakers on as well, and he's looking good in it. His backpack's on his back and he's got on all of his bracelets, including his new ones. Fixed onto his belt on his right hip are two black leather pouches, both with dark grey metal buttons for their flaps and some silver runes.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  The bracelets are visible mostly because he's fidgeting with them, and the pouches are because his shirt's resting on top of them a little. Was he nervous about coming? We did tell him he's always free to join us if he wants.

  Or it could be because he probably expected me to be in just my shorts and that sort of thing makes him uncomfortable. To be fair, I am in just my shorts. Should I put on a shirt to make him more comfortable? I'd rather not since it's a nice day out today, though.

  Ah, crap. I don't think I could keep denying it even if I wanted to, not after the talk with Mr. Fuller yesterday where he sort of forced me to stop. My first thought upon seeing Xander was extreme happiness and noticing how cute he looks, and now I'm considering making myself uncomfortable for him.

  But I'm not going to ask him out. I'm not going to ask anyone out. Not even Connor. I'm not sure I'm ready for it and Xander would probably not be comfortable. Not after what Russell did to him, that jerk.

  "Yeah," his face turns bright red and he fixes his sleeves, dropping his hands down to his sides. "I forgot to say that in the chat, didn't I? I thought I did."

  "Nope!" I say. "You just sent a picture of you making lunch!"

  His face turns even redder.

  "That was a side," he says. "It's for here. Katie said that mac and cheese is a good side to go with many grilled foods. I've got it in stasis so that it'll stay fresh until it's time to eat."

  "Cool!" I say. "Thanks! Come on in! I was just getting ready to bring things out to the yard!"

  "Can I help?"

  "Sure!"

  We move everything out to the deck and I get charcoal in the grill and lit so that they'll be ready for me to grill with soon. Aunt Rachel is out here to supervise, so I don't have to wait on that. Xander seems really nervous as I do this and is fidgeting with his new bracelets again.

  "No worries, Xander!" I say. "I made sure the grill's far enough away from the house it won't catch fire by accident!"

  "I-I don't see an apron," he says. "Or a shirt."

  "Huh?" I ask before realizing. "Oh! I never wear an apron for cooking, it's not necessary. And I mean, I'm usually shirtless around the house. So I cook without one all the time."

  "Then you're very lucky."

  "Huh?"

  "Grease pops can hurt," he says. "And that's just on normal skin. If it pops and hits your chest on more sensitive skin, then that'll hurt even more."

  Small grease pops from cooking stuff on the stove has never hurt me before. I almost never have that happen and when it has, it's only hit my arms. They were small and a quick wipe with a towel pretty much took care of it.

  "More sensitive-" I start to ask before realizing what he's referring to.

  The very thought of a grease burn on a nipple makes me wince. He's right, I've really been lucky so far. The dads usually wear aprons while they're grilling, don't they? But they do wear a shirt half the time, so that can't be all.

  "Also," Xander adds. "The apron helps protect your clothes. That way, you don't get grease splatters on them. Those can stain easily."

  "Right," I say. "I don't have an apron, but I'll go get a shirt real quick."

  "I have spares in my backpack," Xander pulls his backpack off. "If you want one. Um. The aprons are all in blue, green, and black."

  "If you want to lend me one, sure!" I say. "Thanks! Give me, like, two minutes and I'll be back!"

  I head to my room and grab a short-sleeved shirt and pull it on, then head back outside. Once there, I accept a blue apron from Xander, but don't pull it on just yet. Xander seems a little less nervous now.

  So it was definitely the shirt thing.

  "Um, S-Sig?"

  Though he's still nervous about something.

  "Yeah?"

  Xander takes a few massive deep breaths. I guess it's this question that's made him the most nervous so I wait for him to ask it on his own. Mr. Richardson told us that whenever Xander seems anxious about something he said, not to push for him to say it but to give him enough time to do so on his own. Trying to prompt him will only make him more anxious and that will make it more difficult to speak.

  "Will you be my boyfriend?"

  That question makes me freeze up. It's so blunt and just like Xander to ask that directly, but it's also completely unexpected. This means that my friends were right when they teased me about him liking me.

  Was this what he wanted to ask the other week, when he met me outside of my magic lesson? I can't remember if he was dating Russell or not at that time but I don't think they were.

  Xander wanting to go out with me makes me really happy. He's an awesome guy and I'd love to be his boyfriend.

  At the same time, though, I'm still not sure how I feel about all of this. What if I say "yes" and then realize I don't really like him that way? Then I might lose a friend I really like.

  I want to say "yes", though, even if I'm not actually sure what dating really means other than going out to eat or the movies or something.

  Though the rules I was given yesterday state that I can only do that in groups. If not, then Aunt Rachel or Mr. Caldwell has to be present. Well, the rule is the parent or guardian for one of the two of us, which is why it's Mr. Caldwell if Xander and I are on a date.

  Thinking about it, Xander's also got a different perspective on a lot of things. It could be that he means something completely different from what I'm thinking. Better to check first.

  "Before I answer that…" I say, and Xander starts to look disappointed. "What do you mean by 'boyfriend'?"

  "Um," he fidgets a little. "Like… we text each other a lot. Privately, not just in the group chat. And sit beside each other. And if I'm feeling comfortable enough, maybe even touching when sitting. And maybe holding hands. Or hugging. But. Um. If you say 'yes', please don't talk about it on stream. Dad told me I'm not allowed to publicize when I'm in a relationship until I'm older."

  "A reasonable restriction," Aunt Rachel says. "I didn't think about that, Sig. That goes for you, too. Don't talk about your relationships on streams. It's not the world's business and some people might get creepy about it. It's okay to tell close friends but not strangers."

  That makes sense.

  "Got it!" I tell her, then look at Xander again.

  His version of dating is a lot different than I thought. It has a lot fewer expectations. He didn't even mention going on dates, it's just… doing stuff we already do. Just with sitting against each other and hugging. Also adding in more texting, but I'm not sure what that would mean.

  I actually like the sound of doing all of that with him and if that's all dating is, then I'm definitely okay with it.

  "Yeah," I decide. "I'll be your boyfriend."

  Xander makes a little happy noise as he bounces a little, and I find myself smiling.

  "C-can I give you a h-hug?" He asks.

  "Yeah!"

  I give him a hug, and this feels really nice. Our hug lasts for a few moments, then Xander releases me and steps back, looking awkward.

  "I forgot to mention something," he tells me.

  "What's that?" I ask.

  "Um…" his face turns red and he starts taking short but deep breaths for a moment before calming himself down. "So. Um. Thursday, I accidentally shapeshifted while napping. Into a wolfkin, like in anime. I haven't seen anime but I looked up pictures after and I think it's the same thing. I don't get hairy, it's mostly just me growing a tail and my human ears going away while wolf ears grow. And I think my canines kind of become sharper, and my eyes turn gold, and my senses get a little bit stronger.

  "But it's still me," he says. "I'm not being someone else. It's just me still, but with a different form. You can also still recognize me. And Dad had someone tailor some pants and underwear and shorts and swim trunks to accommodate a tail. Grandpa Adrian gave us a page with directions on how to do that for my size, and they got dropped off Thursday before bed. Dad said I can switch into it whenever I want if I feel comfortable. And I sleep in that form now. It's really comfortable."

  "Being able to turn into a wolfkin sounds cool!" I tell him, then realize what he's trying to tell me. It's two things, I think. "Oh! You're worried I don't like that?"

  "Y-yeah."

  "I think it's cool," I tell him. "If you can shapeshift, then you can shapeshift! It's not like I'm your dad or anything. I bet it takes a lot of mana, doesn't it?"

  "Yeah."

  "So getting to do it, myself, is probably a loooong way off," I say. "If ever possible. And… you're worried about tomorrow night, at the sleepover? If you come?"

  "Y-yeah," his voice is really quiet.

  "Nah, man," I say. "You can still do that to sleep in. None of us will be upset or anything. And I promise I won't ask you to shapeshift for me! I mean, I kind of do want to see it, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

  "T-thanks," he fidgets a little. "Connor's here."

  "He is?" I ask.

  "YO!" Connor calls out. "ANYONE HERE?"

  "COMING!" I shout back, then hurry over to the gate to let him in.

  The fence is private, there's no way Xander could have seen him. How did he know he was here?

  Wait. Back to the wolfkin thing… does this mean that Carter got to see his wolfkin form first? Aw! It would've been cool if I got to be the first one to see it!

  I let Connor into the back yard, then make the patties for the burgers. Frozen ones were an option but I like handmade patties over those. It's a good thing Aunt Rachel told me to plan for at least one extra person. She said it's always good to have at least ten to twenty percent extra when planning for a group, and to round it up.

  Connor brought a couple of bags of chips, just as he promised he would, and when Isaac and Sam arrive, they have soda and cookies.

  "And look!" Sam holds up both of his bags to Xander after he pulls them from his backpack. "I kept the ones with chocolate separate from the others, just in case you came!"

  "Thanks," Xander looks both confused and happy.

  "What kind did you get?" I ask as Sam puts the bags on the table.

  "Chocolate-chip and oatmeal raisin," he answers. "So you really are working the grill yourself, huh?"

  "Yup!" I answer. "First time getting to fully grill solo!"

  "Hey, Xander?" Connor asks.

  "Yes, Connor?"

  "Did you bring anything?" He asks. "You aren't required to, so I'm just wondering."

  "Mac and cheese," Xander answers. "It's in my backpack so that it stays in stasis until it's time to eat."

  "Cool!" Connor exclaims.

  "You know," Aunt Rachel is giving me a smug look and I focus on the grill. "It doesn't sound like there's any fruits or veggies in there. And no, potato chips don't count just because they're made from potatoes."

  "I do have the watermelon," I mumble.

  "Oh, right!" Xander says. "I also brought peaches. But I didn't want to just bring peaches since those are easy since I can just pick them from the trees. That's why I wanted to bring another side."

  It's my turn to give a smug look, and Aunt Rachel just snorts.

  "And veggies?" She asks.

  "We've got tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and pickles for the burgers," I tell her. "So those'll have veggies on them!"

  She just rolls her eyes at that, and my friends and I keep chatting until lunch is done. Once it is, I pull off my apron and shirt, and the six of us dig into the food. The burger's not bad, but I think I should have seasoned the patty a little.

  No one complains, though, so that's a win!

  After lunch, we play cards for a bit and snack on the cookies. I really want to wrestle around with my friends but we don't want to exclude Xander from what we're doing. There's no way he'd ever join in on something like that. Going out to the woods isn't really an option for us since the others need to be home around three, too. That really restricts what we can do at the moment.

  Aunt Rachel has flexible hours since she's a self-employed artist, but their dads have more strict schedules and can't just take a morning off. They're going to the schools this afternoon to pick up their packets. Their dads are getting off early today, but not too much early.

  "Don't deal me in," Xander says after half an hour, once the round we're playing ends. "I'm really tired and want a nap, so I'm gonna go home now."

  "Hold on!" I say. "I had a couple of questions for you. Well, question and a request."

  "What?"

  "I was at school earlier," I tell him. "Getting my schedule and supplies list and checking out stuff. The magic training hall had these training orbs with the Xanson Technologies logos. Wasn't Xanson Technologies just a toy company?"

  "Hoverboards ain't toys."

  "Well, yeah," I say. "But they count for a lot. Like bikes. You guys make training tools, too?"

  "I make lots of things," Xander says. "Remember the puzzle orb that uses the location of Errai? The chip that detects its location during the reset isn't a toy. It's also apparently worth a lot of money, which is why it's not in any of the newer ones. Selling those would mean selling them at a loss, and that's when only factoring in material costs and not total value. Total value would be a massive loss, too."

  "Wait!" Sam jumps to his feet, causing Xander to jump a little. "Sorry. That's not a star chart with a calendar? It's an actual piece of the sphere that detects the star's location?"

  "Yeah," Xander nods. "And last Monday, Grandpa Adrian asked if I could make an improved version. A space agency wanted to buy one. I already had one, so he took it and made a new one to sell to them.

  "And with the orbs," he continues. "I made those so I could train my mana control. Understanding magic is one thing, but I'm not an expert in mana control and I wanted to improve. That'll help me with spellcasting speed and efficiency, but also with enchanting when I do it by using my raw mana rather than enchanting tools. Grandpa Adrian saw them last week and asked if I'd make a 'final' version to sell."

  "That's pretty cool!" Isaac says. "So we'll get to use them for training at school?"

  "Yeah," Xander nods. "I think. If your school has them. I didn't know they'd be in schools, I just thought they'd be in stores."

  "It's still cool," I tell him. "And my request had to do with your enchanting. I wanna keep my lanyard from the eighth grade as long as possible. Would you be willing to enchant it for me? And if so, how much would it cost? I haven't looked up yet how much it'd cost for those sorts of enchantments."

  "Don't look it up," Xander shakes his head. "Um. Does $5 sound okay? It should take me less than two minutes."

  The first part of his response confirms that he's severely undercharging me for it. They're probably worth something like $50. That's one or two mowed lawns, depending on how big the yards are. I don't want to use up everything I've earned from the tests as Aunt Rachel wants me putting some away in savings for the future and there's some other stuff I want. Expensive things, like another upgrade to my computer and some new games.

  And even that won't last me forever. That means I'm still going to be mowing lawns, dog-sitting, taking dogs for walks, and stuff like that.

  Even with that, I'd rather still pay a fair price for his work. I charge a fair price for my work, I'll pay a fair price for others'.

  "You're undercharging me, aren't you?" I ask.

  "Um… how about $10?"

  "That's still low, isn't it?" I ask. "And I'm betting it costs more than that in mana cost alone, whichever method you use."

  "The amount of mana I'll use for those enchantments on a school lanyard is significantly lower than what I recover in half an hour," Xander huffs. "I'm basing it on that. And it only takes me, like, two minutes to do at most unless I mess up or get interrupted. Part of what you pay with others is time."

  "And skill," I say. "Pretty sure it takes a lot of skill to lay enchantments with raw magical ability rather than enchanting tools."

  "Yeah, well, charging $10 for it means the hourly rate is over $300," Xander huffs again. "And that's with you getting a friend discount, too."

  That's a fair point. I still think it's got to be worth a lot more than this but he doesn't seem like he's going to budge. It actually seems like he's starting to get annoyed.

  "Alright, alright," I say. "Ten bucks it is!"

  "Can you do ours, too?" Isaac asks. "We all want them, if you're willing."

  Connor and Sam voice agreement to that.

  "Yeah," Xander answers. "Same rate."

  "Cool!"

  "But not right now," Xander covers his mouth as he yawns. "I really wanna lie down for a nap."

  "Alright," I say. "Join us again after if you want!"

  "Okay," Xander opens up his backpack.

  Then starts pulling out boxes of cookies. Three for each of us, including Aunt Rachel. I really want to protest this but he really likes giving them away.

  "Um, Sig?" Xander asks as I peek into one of the boxes for me and find stained glass cookies. "Can-can I give you a hug?"

  "Sure!" I answer, and he gives me a hug. "See you, Xander!"

  "Bye."

  Xander leaves through the gate and after I look back at my friends, they're all giving me confused looks.

  "Xander wanted to hug you?" Connor asks.

  "Oh, um… yeah," my face heats up a little. We didn't tell them, but Xander did say it's fine to tell close friends. "Xander asked me out before you guys arrived, and, um… I said yes."

  Connor narrows his gaze at me. Did I mess up?

  "He was really blunt about it, wasn't he?" He asks.

  "Y-yeah," I chuckle. "It was totally like him to just ask. I-I'm really unsure about this, but I really like him. So I hope it's forever."

  That's a big thing to say and I know I'll get called dumb or childish for it, but I do.

  Before I can say anything else, my phone pings and I check it to find a text from Xander. Not in the group chat, just to me.

  [Xander]: Home.

  [Sig]: Cool! Enjoy your nap!

  [Xander]: Thanks. I hope I do.

  He messaged me to let me know he made it home? I guess that's what he meant by "texting each other more".

  When I look back at my friends, Sam and Isaac are giving each other a weird look. Then they suddenly both give a small nod and look at Connor and me.

  "Um…" Sam says. "We've kind of been hiding it 'cause we weren't really sure how to say it, but Isaac and I are dating, too."

  "Really?" Connor and I ask.

  "Yeah," Isaac nods. "We kind of started back in March. I know we only just met not long before that, but…" he shrugs. "I like snuggling him."

  "And he's a total goof," Sam adds. "Oh, and, um, we think Xander knows. We kind of snuggle a little during the sleepovers, after everyone else falls asleep. Just for a little bit. Not-not doing anything inappropriate, just snuggling. And we think Xander saw us one time when he was going to the bathroom."

  "Thinks?" Isaac snorts. "Pretty sure his comment when he laid back down was because of us. 'You're such a good snuggle buddy', wasn't it?"

  Connor and I both snicker at that. I can see Xander thinking that and not realizing he said it out loud. That was definitely addressed to Mr. Leviathan since he always snuggles the giant plush at night now. Mr. Leviathan does look extremely snuggly, too.

  "What kind of stuff do you do?" Connor asks them.

  "Mostly just hang out," Sam answers. "But our dads won't let us hang out alone if we're not in public. They said we can't do that until we're older. And most of our dates have to have one of them with us."

  Suddenly, a lot of stuff makes sense. They often show up together when joining up with us to hang out. It's probably why when they're driven somewhere, the two of them are almost always driven together by one of their dads. Why they always sit beside each other.

  Though I did kind of already suspect they were gay, so that part isn't surprising. They did meet because of their dads joining a support group for parents struggling with the fact that their kids are or might be gay.

  "Aunt Rachel has those as rules, too," I say. "Except it has to be her or one of his parents. Or hers. I'm not sure if I'm gay or just bi or something. But I really like Xander."

  "And you don't need to try and figure that out," Aunt Rachel speaks up from where she's sitting. "Just make sure to respect the person you're with and if you realize you aren't into them, you let them know immediately. Dragging things out is disrespectful to yourself and to them."

  "Y-yeah," my face heats up at the reminder that my aunt's right here, listening to our discussion. "Um. Do you guys wanna go swimming?"