Will quickly learned that, in addition to being kind and surprisingly down to earth, Edward Ambrose was also incredibly stubborn about sticking to his words. When they began to walk through the store picking out food, Will was extremely hesitant to try to grab anything. First, he tried to decline the offer, saying that he could easily afford it. Edward came to an abrupt halt at that and turned to face Will with a cold look.

“I don’t care if you can afford it or not,” he said. “This is my way of apologizing, and you will accept that.”

Will didn’t dare refuse after that. So he started thinking of the cheapest ways he could get groceries for the week. He picked up a ten-pound log of ground beef but decided not to go with the steaks he’d planned on getting for his first real dinner at home. Edward seemed to notice him looking that way, however, and quickly picked one-off, tossing it into Will’s basket.

“Just accept it,” he growled. Finally, Will capitulated. If he was going to do it right, he had to do it right. “I wouldn’t want this, then.”

He put the steak back and selected a different package. The meat was more firm and had been cut only that day. He demonstrated how he tested the freshness of the meat. “This is newer, and will hold up better.”

Edward seemed highly interested after that, asking him what else he put into the meal. Gradually Will warmed up to the activity and soon went into a lengthy description of how he’d cook the meal. Edward let out a low whistle when he finished.

“None of my family can cook like that,” he said, sounding almost morose. “That’s why I’m getting frozen pizza, not making it myself.”

“That’s a shame,” Will said, not quite thinking his words through. “Your power would be well suited to cooking if you tried.”

In the end, he got enough groceries to last him and his father for two weeks. Edward had continued to offer suggestions to him until finally Will put his foot down and declined any more. When they reached the checkouts, Will half expected Edward to not have to pay. It seemed like the cashier would suggest it, but of course, Edward wouldn’t accept that. So half an hour later, they were back at the car, loading bags of groceries into the trunk.

“Thank you,” Will said quietly, as he put the last bag down. “I honestly didn’t expect today to go the way it did.”

Ambrose held his gaze for a moment or two, then nodded. “You were innocent. I just had to see that footage to prove it.”

They got back into the car. Charlisa looked quizzically at Will as they pulled out of the parking lot as if trying to figure out what had happened inside. Will didn’t feel much like talking at the moment, though, and stared out of the window as they drove down Airport Way. Now that the danger had passed, he couldn’t stop thinking about how extraordinary his day turned out to be. He’d met the Alpha of the Fire Nexus, who had turned out to be a surprisingly calm, thoughtful man. It didn’t match at all with the war-like crusader who had fought in the Nexus War.

The Nexus War. Will felt a chill run down his spine at the thought. His class had learned a lot about it. Edward Ambrose and the leader of the Water Nexus in Florida, Rachel Smith, had gone to war with each other. This was back in 2017, just three years ago, when they both had much larger nexuses, and their war almost destroyed the American Midwest. The war had been so chaotic that it had even drawn in Bai Jian, though the leader of the Wind Nexus had stayed out of it all.

“Hey,” Charlisa spoke, breaking Will out of his deep thoughts. He jumped a little in surprise and turned to look at her. “How’d you do on the finals?”

“I don’t know,” Will said honestly. “I took them early, but I haven’t looked at my results yet. My dad got ‘em, and I didn’t remember when I got back.”

“Oh,” she gave a wistful smile. “I almost failed English and Biology.”

“Really?” Will asked, taken back. “But you always seemed so confident when we had to take the tests.”

Charlisa let out a short laugh. It was easily one of the best things Will had heard. “I’m terrible at those subjects. I wanna go into finances.”

Will gave a little mock-shudder. “I hate math. I like English and Science more.”

“You were always good with words. Remember when we did a book report on The Giver? I saw your report, it was really good.”

“Thanks,” Will said, feeling ridiculously pleased with the small praise. He hoped his face wasn’t as red as it felt. “You placed top of the school for Algebra if I remember.”

“You remember that?” Charlisa seemed just as surprised as he did. She actually flushed, just a bit. “Thanks, I guess.”

She turned to view the passing cars outside the window, her hair falling forward to hide her expression from him. Will continued to look at her for a few more seconds, before glancing up and seeing Edward’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He was staring quite insistently, Will realized, feeling a small thrill of fear run down his spine. He quickly looked out his window, trying not to look too guilty. When he got enough courage to glance back, Ambrose’s eyes were back on the road.

The rest of the ride was completely silent, and Will kept his eyes resolutely on the windows, though he wasn’t paying attention. He wasn’t even thinking about Charlisa, which surprised him. No, his mind was full of what he’d learned today, both about the Fire Nexus and its Alpha. The first Nexian, the one who had attacked him, had more or less fit the image that Will had of the Nexus. Powerful, quick to anger, and fine with killing an innocent bystander. But Edward Ambrose, the most powerful of them all, was… normal.

The car came to a stop, and Will blinked. They were outside his house now. He turned his head to see Edward looking at him again. He roused himself out of his stupor. “Thank you for driving me home, Mr. Ambrose.”

“My pleasure,” Edward said. “Can you manage the bags on your own, or would you like some help?”

Will smiled graciously. “I can handle it. I’m used to carrying the groceries for the family.”

He retrieved his bags from the trunk, and walked to the driver's side window, crouching slightly. Edward had lowered the window, and leaned on the door with one arm, staring up at him. There was a short silence, perhaps three or four seconds, then Edward stuck one hand out of the window. Hesitantly, Will shifted the bags to one arm and took it, shaking firmly.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Will,” he said. “I can tell now that you have the soul of a true Alaskan.”

Will couldn’t help grinning. “It is my home, after all.”

Edward smiled in return, a simple gesture that transformed his face. For just a moment, the stern figure of authority, the scowl of an Alpha, was gone, leaving a simple honest man that Will could relate to. Then he broke the handshake and began to roll up the window. Will took a step back to give him space to pull back into the road. For some reason, he felt a huge swell of anxiety flare up in his chest. This was the kind of chance meeting that he’d never enjoy again, he thought. The Alpha would drive away. In a week, his time with Charlisa would come to an end, and the most extraordinary people he knew would be out of his life forever.

“Can I join the Fire Nexus?”

The question had exploded out of him before he’d meant to ask it. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he had meant to ask it. But it was out in the open now, and the anxiety turned into real fear. Edward froze, the window half raised, a most peculiar expression on his face. Will knew what the question meant. He was asking for power that he had no right to. He was asking to be the first outsider, the first white person, ever, to join the Fire Nexus. He was asking for something impossible. But at that moment, he wanted it more than anything else he’d ever wanted.

An eternity seemed to pass as Edward stared at him, his face stern and inscrutable once more. Even Charlisa was looking at him in shock as if surprised that he’d taken such a drastic option. Will might have just ruined whatever good faith he had built, and Edward was now considering killing him for such an impertinent question. Time refused to move. Then Edward took a deep breath and looked forward, hands on the steering wheel.

“Come to Nexus Hill tomorrow,” he said. “Five o’clock. Don’t be late.”

Before Will could reply, Edward drove off, turning sharply around the confused and elated boy. The car let out a dull roar and sped out of sight around the corner. Will stood, frozen, for what felt like an hour. Had that been a yes? Or was he going to arrive at Nexus Hill only to be ridiculed and punished for his daring? He finally broke out of his thoughts and moved to the door when another car honked loudly, making him jump. He quickly dashed to the sidewalk, watching the driver go past, scowling at him and shaking his head.

His dad’s car was in the driveway, which meant that he’d managed to get out of work early. Will let himself into the house, deciding on the spot to, again, not mention anything to his dad. If he was still alive tomorrow and Edward Ambrose let him in, then he’d share. No point in worrying his dad.

“Welcome home,” his father said. He didn’t seem to realize that Will had gotten back late, but he did glance up and grin at the grocery bags. “You cooking again?”

“Of course.

——————————

“Nexus Hill, please.”

The cab driver turned around quickly in his seat, staring at Will as if he’d misheard him. “Come again?”

“Nexus Hill,” Will said. Then he added, “Please.”

“I’m not going up Nexus Hill,” the driver said at once. “I’m not risking my car.”

“That’s fine,” Will replied. He’d expected this reply. “Just drop me at the bottom of the hill and I’ll go the rest of the way.”

The driver continued to stare at him for a few seconds more, obviously not interested. Will let out a quiet sigh and pulled out his wallet. He still had quite a bit leftover from his trip to Japan, and he pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, thrusting it towards the man. His eyes widened, but the driver snatched the bill and put his car into drive finally. He slipped past the lines of buses leaving the school parking lot and hit Airport Way without a word.

It was a pretty short trip from his high school to the hill where the Fire Nexus was located. Before the Age of the Nexus, it had been known as the College Hill, where a local university was located. The campus fell on hard times, however, and the school was forced to close down, leaving empty property that Edward Ambrose claimed when he grew his Nexus. The hill had been renamed and was now known even outside Fairbanks as Nexus Hill. No sane person went there, Will thought. But here he was, at last.

The driver pulled to the side of the road, just as the incline of the hill started. Here was the decrepit sign that used to announce the college. Beyond it, there was a sturdy metal staircase that climbed up the steepest face of the hill, weaving through the trees to the top of the hill. Will got out of the car on legs that were a little unsteady, hoping he didn’t look too afraid to the driver. The man leaned sideways and looked up the hill.

“I don’t know why you want to go up there, kid,” he said. “People have gone missing there, ya know.”

“I don’t believe in those rumors,” Will said. Then, without another word, he started up the hill.