Chapter 29

The morning sun filtered through the curtains of Nick's room, casting a soft glow on the scene inside. A cup hung suspended in mid-air, defying gravity. Clary and Nick, both in pajamas, stared at it in stunned silence.

"You... really managed to somehow steal a legendary ability?" Clary asked, breaking the silence with a mix of surprise and curiosity in her voice.

Nick laughed as he stared at her. "Hey that sounds sinister, you still have your ability."

Clary's lips curled into a smile. "Looks like you really did copy my powers," she said, trying to keep the conversation light and avoiding the memory of how it happened.

Nick chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm really happy about it, though. It's kind of cool, don't you think?"

Clary nodded sincerely. "I'm happy for you, Nick. Really. I can teach you what I've learned. It'll be just like when we were kids." She grinned, her eyes sparkling with nostalgia. "Remember when I taught you how to knot a tie?"

Nick blushed, the memory making him smile. "Yeah, I remember. You never did shut up about it."

Clary laughed heartily. "And I never will!, You were so cute, trying to get it right. I'm glad to see some things never change."

Clary continued a little more seriously. "So my disciple about this power... do you hear any weird sounds or feel any energy leaving you when you use it?"

Nick shook his head. "No weird sounds, but I definitely feel energy leaving me. It's like a drain, but manageable."

Clary nodded. "Probably the divine will helping you out, the noise starts when your time runs out and continues to get louder until you eventually faint but don't worry you will learn how to manage it eventually ."

"Let's test how long you can hold it," Clary suggested, her curiosity piqued.

Nick focused and threw the cup again, and the cup remained suspended. They watched the seconds tick by on the clock. When a full minute had passed, the cup finally dropped to the floor.

"Whoa, a whole minute!" Clary exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise. "My best time is only 20 seconds."

Nick grinned smugly, puffing out his chest a bit. "Guess I'm just naturally gifted."

Clary rolled her eyes playfully and hit him on the head with a pillow. "Don't get too full of yourself, Mr. Gifted."

"You dare attack a one in a million years prodigy?" He threw himself at her in the bed to her horror.

They laughed and soon found themselves in a playful pillow fight, rolling on the bed as they tried to outdo each other. Feathers flew everywhere, and their laughter filled the room. In the midst of their playful battle, they suddenly found themselves awkwardly close, tangled in the sheets with Clary sitting on top of Nick. Her soft ass on his crotch.

Both froze, their faces inches apart. The playful atmosphere turned tense, but there was still a hint of amusement in their eyes.

"Uh, this is... awkward," Nick said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Clary blushed, her heart racing. "Yeah, just a bit," she replied, her voice equally soft.

For a moment, they just looked at each other, the world around them fading away.

The door to Nick's room suddenly burst open. Adora stood there, her eyes wide with shock and a subtle hint of jealousy and heartbreak in her expression.

"Nick!….. Clary" she exclaimed, trying to compose herself but failing to hide the hurt in her voice. "We're supposed to meet at command central."

Nick and Clary calmly got up, both discomposed as they disentangled themselves. They new where the command central was on the ship, oh yes, a ship, apparently the dragon was an advanced mixture of magic and technology, but the full implications were becoming clearer.

 The Apex Academy was not just a place of ancient magic; it was a hub of futuristic advancements.

Nick straightened his clothes, feeling a knot in his stomach as he glanced at Adora. "Command central? You mean the eye of the dragon ship?"

Adora nodded, her eyes darting between Nick and Clary. "Yes, it's where Selene is waiting for us."

Clary smirked, a playful glint in her eyes. "Well, let's not keep her waiting then."

As they moved to leave the room, Adora stepped in front of Clary, her eyes narrowing with barely concealed hostility. "Nick, go on ahead. I need to have a word with Clary."

Nick hesitated, sensing the tension crackling in the air. "Adora, come on, this isn't the time for—"

Clary interrupted, placing a reassuring hand on Nick's arm. "It's okay, Nick. Go on. We'll be right behind you."

Adora's eyes glinted. "Yeah, Nick, go ahead. I just need to clarify a few things with our dear Clary."

Clary's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Oh, please. If you think a little fighting experience you got as an assassin can help you in a fight against me, then you're dumber than you look."

Nick looked between them, worry etched on his face. "Guys, come on. We're supposed to be a team."

Clary and Adora both turned to him, their expressions softening slightly but still filled with determination.

"We promise not to hurt each other too much," Clary said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Adora nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Yeah, Nick. We'll just... talk."

Nick sighed, feeling helpless as he was ushered out of the room. "Fine, but please... be careful."

As the door closed behind him, Nick's heart pounded in his chest. He knew a confrontation was inevitable, but he hoped it wouldn't tear their fragile unity apart. The stakes were too high, and they needed to stand together now more than ever.

He walked down the corridor towards the command central, his mind racing with worry and uncertainty.

Nick opened the door carefully as he stepped into the room, this was the only place that resembled a high tech ship with the sleekness and design and everything was white.

'Definitely hell to maintain'

He walked into the room and took in the incredible view from the screen, it was like a whole different world the moment the crossed the schools walls.

It was nothing like he ever saw, in fact if he came to the apex just for this view alone it would have been worth it. The school itself was like a city, a high tech city that still managed to incorporate magic into it's system.

There were houses, restaurants, event centers, everything you could ever think of in an actual city you could probably find here. And at the center was the school itself

"This looks like we were shot 500 years into earths future" a girls voice said forcing Nick to turn his head to spot Ava seated on one of the command chairs, it was rather large so it wasn't surprising that he missed her.

"Right" he chuckled as he walked up and took a seat beside her still taking in the view from the dragons eyes. "It's beautiful."He said.

"Speaking of beautiful, where are the girls? I know Katrina is with Selene right now."

"Oh Adora and Clary are kind of fighting now."

"What!" Ava shot up from her seat as she glared at him.

"And you just let them fight!"She pointed at him causing him to sigh in frustration.

"What do you want me to do?"He raised his hands in exasperation, "they were very clear they wanted me gone."

She flicked him on his forehead.

"Hey! What was that for"

"Because you are acting like a baby!"She said simply but those words stung worse than a stinger to the neck.

She still stood huffing in annoyance as she continued to berate him, "Those girls are powerful beautiful women countless men would die to have and you....you just treat them like they are disposable!"

Nick shifted uncomfortably, not sure where this was heading, his best friend had never yelled at him like this before. "Look I know, it wasn't ideal. I just thought they needed to sort things out on their own."

Ava's eyes flashed with a dangerous light. "That's exactly the problem, Nick. You always avoid serious conversations, especially when it comes to love and relationships. You never make things clear."

Nick opened his mouth to respond, but Ava continued, her voice trembling slightly. "Do you have any idea how frustrating it is? You accept every girl that throws herself at you, but you never give any of us a straight answer about where we stand with you."

Nick tried to interject, but Ava's words cut deep, and he realized she wasn't just talking about Adora and Clary. "Ava, I..."He stood up to hug her but she distanced herself.

She began to hit his chest, tears streaming down her face. "Why don't you see me, Nick? Why don't you ever talk to me about how you feel? Do you even like me? Or should I be more like Adora and Clary? Should I be forceful?"

"Ava, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how much this was affecting you." he said pulling her into his hands.

"How would you? When you've got 3 maybe 4 more girls throwing themselves at you, I hate this feeling Nick"She sobbed "I hate feeling like the moment I'm not around another girl could very easily take my place in your life, we've been through so much together!"

"I know….I'm sorry"He said simply as he held her face to his chest allowing out to cry all her frustrations.

He hadn't known she liked him this much, she was usually a tease so he always assumed she was playing with him and just being friendly. He also had a thing for her but had to stuff it down because he simply couldn't risk their relationship souring considering she was still his assistant.

"Do you like me Nick?"She asked not coming out of his embrace.

"I can hear your heartbeat so don't even think of lying to me"

His lips twitched as he heard the threat but he still answered honestly "I do Ava, being your bestfriend was fun but I want to be something more…if you let me"

She came out of his embrace smiling but the tear stains still remained.

"Now was that so hard?"

"Actually yes" He raised his fingers to explain but she rolled her eyes and pushed him out of the room.

"Don't let Adora get hurt because of your bad decisions, settle that fight or die trying, that girl is way too obsessed with you to think straightly"

SLAM

The door was shut behind him.

He sighed as he ran towards the room, what was he thinking leaving those two alone, Adora might be a skilled fighter but the power of time pretty much crushes whatever skill it is thrown at.

"I hope that strong headed girl okay" he said remembering Adora's smile.

He reached the room and pushed the door open to find a chaotic scene.

Furniture lay toppled, papers scattered like leaves in a storm. Clary and Adora stood at opposite ends, both panting and glaring, their faces flushed with anger. Despite the disarray, neither seemed seriously injured, indicating they had held back in their fight.

Clary glanced at Nick first, her expression softening slightly. "Nick, what are you doing back here?" she asked, her voice tinged with surprise and a hint of frustration.

Adora turned her head, her eyes still blazing but curiosity piqued. "Yeah, I thought we made it clear we needed to sort this out ourselves."

Nick took a deep breath, his heart pounding. "I came back because I realized something important," he began, his voice steady but filled with emotion. "This fight... it's my fault."

Both girls blinked, taken aback. They exchanged a glance, their hostility momentarily replaced by confusion.

"What do you mean, Nick?" Clary asked, her tone softer now.

Nick stepped further into the room, feeling the weight of his words. "I've been avoiding this for too long. I care about both of you—about all of you. And I've been too scared to face that, to admit it to myself and to you. But seeing you fight like this... it made me realize how much I've hurt you by not being honest."

Adora's expression softened, the fire in her eyes dimming. "Nick, we just... we just don't know where we stand with you."

Clary nodded, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "It's hard, Nick. I just got you back and I want to be with you, we all want to be with you, but we don't want to keep fighting each other for your attention."

Nick took another step closer, his gaze moving between them. "I love both of you equally," he confessed, his voice breaking slightly. "And I want to be with both of you. I know it sounds complicated, but in our world, it's possible. I'm asking if you'd be willing to try—to date me together."

The room fell silent. Clary and Adora looked at each other, their expressions a mix of surprise, contemplation, and lingering tension. Slowly, the tension in the room began to ebb.

Clary was the first to speak. "I guess... I guess we could try," she said, her voice tentative but hopeful. "I mean, Adora, you're a strong fighter. I respect that."

Adora's lips twitched into a small smile. "Thanks, Clary. And you... you're incredibly powerful. I was holding back because I didn't want to hurt you, but I admire your strength."

Clary nodded, a faint smile playing on her lips as she chuckled. "I was holding back too. Didn't want to hurt you either."

Nick felt a surge of relief and gratitude. He stepped closer, reaching out to both of them. "Thank you," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "Thank you for giving this a chance."