“Ah, Zora, you are so naive," the fire fairy said with a hearty chuckle. "You have no idea what happened to them, do you? You have no clue as to what happened to your parents.”

“So you aren’t going to tell me what just happened?” I deduced. The fact was clearly readable across his face.He looked me over again and sighed. “Just be careful in the future,” he said.“How can I be careful when I have no idea why this just happened? Water grabbed me!” I cried, gesturing with my hands toward the side of the bridge where I once lay. “How is that possible?”When he didn’t respond to my questions, I probed him further, trying to get him to answer me. “What about you, with the mud and the rock and the crazy out-of-thin-air thing? What was that?” I demanded to know.“It was saving your life,” he said, a hint of petulance creeping into his tone. “Be careful in the future, Ramsey.”Then he took off running, and after a few seconds, he was gone from my sight...”

“My Zora senses are tingling," I said.Nathan looked at me blankly."Right, you don't know anything about Spiderman," I remembered."Spider who?" he asked.”

“I'm scared, all right?" I said. I could feel my stomach churn as my gaze rested on the wooden trunk.Nathan turned my chin, looking at me with an expression of utter sincerity. "You don't have to be. I'm here.”

“I'm sorry I ruined your homecoming."He kissed me once more and then shook his head. "The only thing that could ruin this is not being with you.”

“Nothing is more important to me than keeping you safe." - Nathan”

“Then I wondered, what if?What if he kissed me? What if he told me I was beautiful? What if he told me he loved me?What would I say in return?”