The year went faster than I thought it would.
One moment I was the new kid with a reputation for curses, the next it was spring and the courtyard was full of students stretched out in the grass, pretending finals didn't exist. I'd survived my first year, more or less intact.
And I hadn't done it alone.
Enid made sure of that. She dragged me into everything—fencing matches, movie nights, late-night snack raids. She painted my nails twice more (this time silver and midnight blue), left glitter on my desk, and laughed so loud people on the next floor could hear. Somewhere along the way, her noise had become my comfort.
She was the only one who didn't flinch when I practiced music, even when the notes felt heavy, like they were pressing the air around us. Everyone else got unsettled. She just tilted her head and said, "Play something pretty next time."
So I did.
The night before break, she found me on the bleachers again, staring at the half-moon. She plopped down beside me with a bag of gummy worms and tossed one in her mouth.
"You're quiet tonight," she said.
"I'm always quiet."
"Quieter than usual," she pressed. "You're not nervous about going home, are you?"
I shrugged. "There's nothing waiting for me there. Just questions I don't want to answer."
She didn't reply right away. She leaned back, shoulders brushing mine, and for once she didn't try to fill the silence. The moonlight caught in her hair, making the pink streaks glow.
"I'm glad you came here," she said finally, soft but certain.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because now you're my best friend. And…" She hesitated, fiddling with the candy bag. "…maybe more than that."
The words hung between us, heavier than any note I could play.
I turned to look at her, really look. Her smile was nervous for once, not bright and confident. Her hand hovered between us like she wasn't sure if she should reach out.
So I did it for her.
Our fingers laced together awkwardly, warm and shaky, and then she laughed under her breath. "Wow. Took you long enough."
I didn't answer. I just leaned in, pressing my forehead against hers, and for the first time in a long time, the whisper of music in my head went quiet.
We walked back to Ophelia Hall hand in hand. Students watched us from the windows, some whispering, some smirking, but I didn't care.
For once, being the Piper's heir didn't feel like a curse.
It just felt like being Eli.
______________
AN: I know these first chapters were quick but I wanted to get through this first year and establish the main character a little bit so that we could start canon