Ella had got back from the hospital a little over an hour ago where her father had been taken (against his will mostly) to go get checked out after a rock had hit him on the head. He seemed fine but they wouldn't discharge him incase he had concussion. The twin's mother had opted to stay with Ron and sent them back to school to sleep, only who could sleep at a time like this?

Unable to stay in her bedroom, Ella had found herself sat in King's Hall, gaining a little comfort from the headmaster's words. She zoned out once the angry questions began to barrage Mr. Sato. It was awfully unfair, it wasn't his fault. Looking around glumly, there was a familiar figure wandering the hall, and leaping out of the chair Ella ran over to Hendrix. "You're okay!" she gasped and wrapped her arms around his middle.

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Hendrix had been wandering around the campus since the explosion and after running around with Julian. He hadn't gone back to his room at all but he had stubbornly gone to get patched up by the school doctor. His shirt was torn and bloodied at the shoulder but he didn't mind at all. He still hadn't found the twins until Ella was wrapped around his middle. "Ella!" he said, relief washing over him.

He picked her up and squished her to his chest, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "Are you okay? Is Jenny okay? What about your parents?" he questioned her.

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Ella could feel tears welling up just from everything that had happened and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "We're all fine! Well, dad's in hospital but he's okay. We had to go straight there and I didn't have time to find you and I didn't have my phone and I think Jenny is looking for Sera" Ella blurted out, clinging tightly to the back of Hendrix's shirt. Looking up at him her eyes drifted to his torn shirt.

"You're hurt!" she cried.

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"Good, good," he said still holding her tight. "What happened to him? Should we go looking for Jenny and Sera?" he reminded himself to keep the panic out of his voice and took a deep breath.

"Oh! I'm fine! I just took a piece of car to my shoulder I think," he winced a little at the thought. "I'm okay now though. Doctor Lisi stitched me up I just..." he sighed. "I was so worried," his eyes grew big, he didn't even want to think about it. He just pushed a piece of blonde hair back from her face and smiled. "We're all okay though."

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Ella bit her lip and looked around for her sister. She couldn't see her, maybe her and Sera needed to be alone. It was true that the crowds in the hall were making her hypersensitive, anyway. "She'll ring me when she's ready" Ella said, her phone clenched tightly in her hand, like it had been all day.

"You're like Superman" Ella winced too and managed a wobbly smile back. "Mr. Sato says no one was seriously injured. It's like a miracle" she whispered, her eyes shining.

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"Okay," he nodded. He didn't even think that they might need some private time. Hendrix didn't even pay attention to the fact that this was the longest and the closest he had ever been to another person.

He laughed a bit. "Nah, nothin' like him, well... except for maybe the helping old lady's across the street thin," he said suddenly shy. "It really is a miracle though," he said quietly. "We're lucky."

His head was already swimming with things that they would need to do to prevent another attack. "I can only hope this won't happen again."

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"It can't happen again!" Ella looked imploringly at Hendrix. "It was so scary and mom's already talking about taking us out of school! I don't wanna leave."

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"No! No, of course not! We'll make sure it won't," he said rushing to sooth her. "We will do something to prevent it," he reassured her. "Maybe we should get the students together and... and..." he had to wonder what they could do differently. "We will be okay, you are safer here because I..." can take care of you. "We," he corrected himself. "We are all together and we can take care of each other."

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Hendrix's words calmed her nerves and she planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Strength in numbers" she murmured in agreement. "So it really was a bomb then" Ella said quietly. The way Headmaster Sato was going on about it it seemed confirmed. The thought made her nauseous.

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He felt himself growing warmer after she kissed his cheek. Inappropriate timing Hendrix, he chastised himself for getting all goofy at absolutely the wrong time. "Yes, exactly," he said quietly.

"It seems it," he nodded. "Attached to a car most likely," his earlier ponderings with Julian looked to be wrong. "They'll catch the culprit though," he reassured her. "They just... they have to." The thought that someone would intentionally strap a bomb to a car in a school parking lot had him sick to his stomach.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" he asked.

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"That's so... dangerous!" Ella spluttered.

She looked around the hall as he suggested leaving. She didn't think she could sit and watch Mr. Sato get torn apart, or hear anymore shouting. "Let's go back to my room. I need to change my clothes" she admitted. Hers smelled strongly of smoke, and she hadn't even seen Maurey except a quick peek round the door earlier.

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He just nodded, keeping his arm still around her. "People just don't think," he said evenly.

Hendrix felt bad for the poor headmaster, he had done the best anyone could do in the situation. "Okay," he nodded, already leading her toward the exit. "I'll make you some chicken nuggets," he suggested sweetly.

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"You will?!" Ella marvelled at Hendrix's ability to solve any problem, and her belly rumbled as if on cue. "You're the best, Hen."

The walk back to Quirank was thankfully uneventful. The car in the parking lot had been put out and the campus was quiet. Ella felt a little guilty at deserting all the people, but what help was she going to be anyway? Everything was under control. At least her room was the same. Still Jenny's immaculate side next to her messy side, still Maurey wagging his tail from his dog bed. Grinning, she scooped him up and cuddled him. It was odd that she felt tears prickling her eyes again and clearing her throat she grabbed whatever was off the floor and nodded towards the bathroom.

"I'll just go change" she said to Hen, leaving Maurey to keep watch over the boy.

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"Of course," he said warmly. "What can't chicken nuggets fix?" It was one of the small comforts that they could enjoy for now.

It was eerily quiet as they walked through campus and he kept Ella close to his side. They had done as much as anyone could. The campus was safe and secure for now but Hendrix had a lingering suspicion that things were not as calm on the inside as they were on the outside. He took quick strides and was glad to be inside Quirank.

He scratched behind Maurey's ears absently while Ella picked up some clothes. "Okay," he said lightly. He sat down on the edge of her bed when the door was shut and tried to put his thoughts together. Might as well start at the easy part. He stood up and peeled his sticky shirt off and held it in front of himself. "This is disgustin," he said pulling a face.

He dug his wand out of his back pocket and held it in front of his shirt. A siphoning spell would do to get the blood off but he would just have to deal with the light smell of smoke. At least he could still smell the cologne he had sprayed that morning. Now for a mending spell...

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Hendrix couldn't help but giggle a little at the dog's understanding. "He's wicked smart," he grinned.

"Yeah," he said rubbing the back of his neck. "Though with you it would end up being more like a slumber party," he laughed gently. "Sleeping bags and all."

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Ella gasped and clapped her hands. "A huge slumber party! Wouldn't that be the coolest? We could build forts and it would be like a little village with all different houses. You can come live with me and Jenny and Maurey. It'd be totally fun!"

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"It would be!" he said brightly. "And we could make popcorn and tell silly ghost stories!" he went on brightly. He wasn't sure the rest of the school would take the same approach to being forced into King's Hall for a mandatory slumber party, but he could always count on Ella to cheer him up.

"We'd have the best tent village ever though, no one's tent village could compare to ours," he grinned.

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"But not too scary!" Ella pleaded. "Nothing about aliens, they totally freak me out!" She finished the rest of her nuggets and felt better for it. Everything was going to be okay, things were already getting back to normal.

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"I can... I can hold your hand for the scary parts," he said blushing all over again. "And like... I'll make sure all the scary stories end on a goofy note, like... the ghost ends up being Maurey trying to nestle up in a sheet," he grinned.

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Ella smiled broadly, especially as he started blushing. "I'd like that! Holding my hand, I mean. And the goofy endings! Otherwise I'd probably end up sharing Jen's bed for the night" she joked.

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"Okay!" he said enthusiastically. Then embarrassed by himself he bit his bottom lip and hid his face briefly in his hands. Scooting back a little on her bed, he leaned his shoulders against the wall and sighed. "I mean... I've always got your back," he said sweetly.

"Wait... sharing one of these beds?" he asked. "I can barely fit on my own," he joked. "Two people in one of these bad boys would take some maneuvering!"

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"Well not everyone is as gigantic as you!" Ella laughed, cuddling up to Hen, her head resting on his chest. "Besides, you just have to slot together. Anyone can do it" she explained. "I mean, making sure your elbows don't stick out, not you know.. slotting in."

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His arms automatically wrapped around her again as she snuggled up to him and he laughed. "That's true," he grinned. "Mom says she might just nail a foot rest to the end of my bed," he joked. "That way they won't hang over the edge."

Hendrix tried not to snort but he just couldn't help it. "Yeah," he giggled nervously. "Like... don't want to end up jabbing someone in the back... with your elbow!" he added on nervously at the end.

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"Have you tried sort of lying diagonally? That could work" Ella advised, nodding.

She stiffened at his mistake, what was with them? Had the explosion rattled their brains? "A knee is the worst" Ella rushed to say. "Waking up to one of those in your spine gives you a limp for the whole day!"

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He laughed a little. "I never thought of that," he said. "Maybe I should try that," he pondered aloud.

He winced a little, feeling silly got all the unintentional innuendo that was going on. He had to wonder if it really had to take a small explosion to get him to admit his attraction to Ella, even if it was just to himself. "Oh yeah! That would be the worst, though admittedly I've never woken up with a knee in my back," he laughed.

"I have woken up to brothers and sisters jumping on me though," he laughed. "Being a big brother has so few perks," he joked, trying to break some of the tension.

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