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The city buzzed with life as Aurelia, Selena, and Nickolas stepped out of the Elemental Café. The sun hung low in the sky, casting elongated shadows across the cobblestone streets. Their laughter from inside the café still echoed in their ears, but now a subtle tension lingered.
Nickolas adjusted his glasses, avoiding Aurelia’s gaze. He looked down into his phone for some ideas for places to visit. He tried his best to look busy, so the girls didn’t talk to him too much.
“Where are we going next, Aurelia?” asked Selena.
“I was thinking a mall or something…” she replied.
“Any thoughts, Nick?” Selena asked.
“I think he’s busy…” Aurelia said, watching him, engrossed in his phone.
“I don’t think he’d mind going to the mall too much. Besides, Chemical Mall has one of the biggest branches of Radio Active.” Selena added.
“What’s that?”
“A store which sells all kinds of tech. We can get something for both the guys. Trust me - they’ll love it.” Selena answered. “And I personally wanted to go watch a movie. They have a huge theater.”
Aurelia smirked slyly. “You and Gallus could have a movie date.”
“You’re joking, right?” Selena scoffed. “I meant we could all go watch a movie together.”
“If you say so, but we’ll do that tomorrow, after he’s with us. Also,” she added, glancing at Nickolas, head still in his phone. “What happened with him?”
“I don’t know…”
“Try to call him,”
Selena nodded, pulling out her phone. She dialed Nickolas’s number, putting the call on speaker so Aurelia could hear. The phone rang a few times before Nickolas finally picked up.
“Hello?” Nickolas’s voice came through, sounding a bit surprised. “I’m right here, you know, Selena… you didn’t have to call me up.” he replied and cut the call.
Aurelia facepalmed and laughed slightly. “I meant call him as in physically, not over the phone.”
“Oh, my bad… Anyway, does the mall sound fine?”
“Sure, I’m OK with it.” he replied, putting his phone inside.
Selena, seeing the distance between Aurelia and Nickolas, decided to take matters into her own hands. She nudged Aurelia and said, “Why don’t you ask Nick about the tech store? He might have some suggestions on what to buy and stuff.”
Aurelia hesitated for a moment before turning to Nickolas. “Nick, Selena mentioned a tech store at the mall. Do you know anything about it?”
Nickolas looked up from his phone, a bit surprised that she didn’t call him Nicky that time. “Uh, yeah, Radio Active, right? They have some cool stuff. Why do you ask?”
Before Aurelia could respond, Selena interjected, “We thought you might want to check it out. You’re into tech, right?”
Nickolas nodded, “Yeah, sure. That sounds good.”
Despite Selena’s efforts, the conversation didn’t flow as she had hoped. The tension between Aurelia and Nickolas remained, their interactions limited and awkward. Selena sighed inwardly, hoping the situation would improve as the day progressed. Little did they know, the day at the mall would bring about unexpected changes in their dynamics.
The trio arrived at the Chemical Mall, a bustling hub of activity with stores catering to every elemental power. They were awestruck by the mall’s grandeur, with its high ceilings adorned with floating light orbs and walls shimmering with various colors.
Aurelia, Selena, and Nickolas made their way to Radio Active, the tech store, where they marveled at the array of gadgets powered by elemental energies.
Nickolas, for one, was really in his element. He, completely engrossed in the tech wonderland, started exploring the store with an intensity that made him oblivious to his surroundings. His eyes lit up as he moved from one gadget to another, his mind absorbed in the intricate workings of each device. He sometimes wished he had Gallus’ technology related powers, minus francium. But it too, was cool in its own way.
Aurelia and Selena exchanged amused glances as they watched Nickolas, who seemed to have forgotten their existence, lost in his own world of tech fascination.
“So, what do you say? Should we leave him be and explore everything else, or wait for him?” Selena asked. “Maybe we should get Gallus something from here, he’ll definitely enjoy it. You know, considering everything that’s happened, he needs a break.”
“We’ll shop for him, then we leave. Let Nickolas enjoy his little tech world.”
“Nickolas? Haven’t heard that name in ages…” Selena replied. “What happened? Somehow you both seem… disconnected.”
“I’m fine. He, for one, is disconnected from us, and in his element. Let him enjoy himself, you know?”
Selena and Aurelia, after a brief discussion, decided to shop for Gallus while Nickolas was engrossed in the tech store. They browsed through the aisles, picking up various gadgets that they thought Gallus might like. After a while, they found a high-tech gadget that seemed perfect for Gallus. It was a device that could harness elemental energy and convert it into different forms. They decided to buy it, hoping that Gallus would appreciate the thought behind the gift.
With their shopping done, they decided to leave Nickolas to his tech exploration and head out to explore the rest of the mall. They promised to meet him at the food court once he was done, which, considering everything, probably wouldn’t happen in the next few hundred years. As they walked away, Aurelia couldn’t help but glance back at Nickolas, who was still completely absorbed in the tech wonderland. She felt a pang of something she couldn’t quite identify, but she shook it off and focused on the day ahead.
While he was in his element, she was not. It wasn’t the tech store; it was something else. She couldn’t make sense of it and decided not to. Any other day she’d have roasted him ten times at least, but somehow, she couldn’t come up with anything, and felt no motivation to. Not too long ago, she was able to call him Nicky when she was still half-asleep, but now, she just didn’t feel like it.
While separated, Aurelia, Selena, and Nickolas each had their own unique experiences at the mall. Aurelia and Selena, after leaving Radio Active, decided to explore the other stores in the mall. They visited various stores, tried on different outfits, and even indulged in some delicious treats at a local bakery. They also spent some time at a bookstore, where they discovered a few interesting novels that they decided to buy.
On the other hand, Nickolas was completely engrossed in the tech wonderland that was Radio Active. He spent his time exploring the various gadgets and devices powered by elemental energies. He was particularly fascinated by a device that could harness and convert elemental energy into different forms. He spent a considerable amount of time studying its intricate workings. His fascination with technology was evident in the way he meticulously examined each device, completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Despite being physically separated, their experiences at the mall were interconnected in a way. They each had their own adventures, but they were all part of the same story, the story of their day at the Chemical Mall. Their experiences, though different, contributed to the overall narrative of their day, creating memories of their own.
After leaving Radio Active, Nickolas found himself in an open area of the mall. He looks around, his mind still buzzing with thoughts of her. He remembered a conversation about black holes and kitchen appliances the group had, and it brought a small smile to his face. But he also remembered his own unanswered question - whether he could use his power of repulsion to make himself hover in the air.
With a determined look on his face, he decided to put his theory to the test. He didn’t care if it was in the mall, but he did it anyway. He focuses his energy, calculating the exact amount of repulsion needed to defy gravity. Slowly, he felt his feet lift off the ground. He was doing it - he was hovering in the air, just like hydrogen or helium.
Suddenly, a group of mall-goers noticed him floating and started gathering around, pointing and gasping in surprise as he maneuvered through the air as if he’d been doing it his entire life. The sight of Nickolas levitating became the unexpected spectacle of the day, drawing attention and causing quite a stir in the mall.
Meanwhile, Aurelia and Selena, who were enjoying their time at the bookstore nearby, heard the commotion. They rushed over and were surprised to find Nickolas in the center of it all, hovering a few feet above the ground.
Aurelia looked up and gasped in shock. She never knew he could levitate as well. She handed her book to Selena and decided to fly up to him.
Her lift-off was simple and easy. All she had to do was leap a bit, and she could hover in the air. She tried to float up to him, but something seemed to be stopping her. She couldn’t quite place it. It wasn’t her own inhibitions, or her flying. It felt like an invisible wall which repelled her away.
Aurelia hovered in mid-air; her eyes locked on Nickolas. She tried again, pushing against the invisible force that was keeping her at bay. But it was no use. She felt a pang of sadness, thinking that Nickolas was intentionally keeping her away. She didn’t understand that it was his magnetic field creating a barrier between them. She sighed and shook her head. She looked down at Selena, who was watching her with confusion and concern.
She descended slowly, landing softly on the ground next to her friend. She looked up at Nickolas, her eyes filled with a mix of admiration for his newfound ability and disappointment at the invisible distance between them. Selena, sensing her friend’s distress, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Meanwhile, Nickolas, oblivious to Aurelia’s attempts to reach him, was basking in the thrill of his successful experiment. He was so engrossed in his levitation that he didn’t notice Aurelia’s efforts or her subsequent descent. It was only when he finally landed and the crowd started to disperse that he saw Aurelia standing there, a strange, mixed look on her face.
Nickolas was puzzled by Aurelia’s expression, while Aurelia was grappling with her feelings of disappointment and confusion. However, he didn’t want to find out why she looked unhappy, while she didn’t want to find out how he could float.
Selena’s eyes darted between the two of them, as they were looking at each other in confusion. “What happened, guys? Nick, how are you able to fly?”
“I just had to manipulate my powers in such a way that I am repelled slightly from the magnetic field of the Earth.”
“That’s great. And what about you, Aurelia? Why do you look sad?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just tired, is all. You know, first time away from the university and all. Come on, we have to head back to the lab now.” she replied, a look of sadness on her face.
“All right. Come on, Nick,” Selena called.
“Yup…”
As all of them left the mall together, various shopping bags in hand, they each had a different emotion on their faces. Selena was worried about her friends. Aurelia was sad, because Nickolas seemed to be ignoring her. While Nickolas was confused as to why she was sad, and afraid to find out.
[No new chapter image for this one. ConsiDer it a part 2 to the last chapter. Now you finally find out why Aurelia floated up like that]
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