Cinder and Scarlet stood in the doorway with distasteful looks on their faces.
Cress sighed from inside the room, "What?"
"How can you watch garbage like that?" Scarlet said, her lip curling.
Cress's face paled, and she sputtered out, "'Beyond our Stars' is not garbage. It's a tale of adventure, destiny, betrayal, and lost love."
"I have to agree with Scar, it's just another net drama about a pretty-faced damsel in distress who doesn't have any good traits and is completely dependent on a hot guy."
Cress's face turned bright red. "It is not just another story. If you are just going to insult "Beyond Our Stars" without even watching it first you can just leave me to my emotional roller coaster."
Iko joined Cinder and Scarlet in the doorway.
"Oh my stars! Is that "Beyond Our Stars"! I just finished that episode. Alejandro just melts my main frame. I'm over-heating just thinking about him."
The less than impressed girls walked away from the Cress and Iko. Cress shouted at them, saying, "At least Iko will watch the show with me!"
Scarlet yelled back, "That's not saying much. Iko will watch anything with a male character."
Iko responded, "That's not true! Well, not entirely."
Cress frowned and blocked out the drama in her reality to gaze back at the drama on her portscreen.
🌜🌌 ✵Two weeks later✵ 🌌🌛
Scarlet and Cinder were on the edge of of their seats. Christian, the Emperor of Mars, was about to propose to Katarina, the Duchess of Venus, but little did he know she was having an affair with his best friend, Alejandro, the weapons master of Mars.
The two had been secretly watching "Beyond Our Stars" for the past two weeks. They watched one episode ironically, in order to make fun of it, but not even Scarlet or Cinder could escape the black hole of adventure, destiny, betrayal, and lost love. The plot enticed them, the characters were so complex, the relationships were delightfully convoluted, and it was impossible to predict what would happen next in the drama. They simply had to keep watching it. In merely one week, Scarlet and Cinder were already caught up to the latest episode.
They were crouched in the corner of a dark room, holding a portscreen playing "Beyond Our Stars" between them. It was the season finale, and Katarina was about to confess her love to Alejandro, when they saw a familiar face appear on the screen.
Cinder and Scarlet screamed.
Cress and Iko were shrieking a few rooms over.
Winter had just stepped onto the screen, speaking to Alejandro in a coy tone, "Honey, are you ready for dinner?"
Katarina took a step back from Alejandro. "Who are you?"
Winter lightly laughed, "Oh, how rude of me. I'm Jemina, Alejandro's fiancée."
The screen went black.
Iko could be heard screaming from the other room, "STARS ABOVE WHAT WAS THAT! WINTER, GET YOUR ROYAL BUTT OUT HERE."
Iko, Cress, Cinder, and Scarlet all met out in the hallway to confront Winter. Cress didn't know why Cinder and Scarlet were standing outside Winter's room, but she has her sneaking suspicions.
Winter opened the door with a grand smile. "And to what do I owe this honor, my friends?"
Iko practically broke the sound barrier, "YOU WERE ON "BEYOND OUR STARS" AND DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL US? TELL ME! HOW? WHO DOES KATARINA END UP WITH? HAVE YOU KISSED ALEJANDRO? WHAT DOES JACIN THINK ABOUT ALL THIS?"
Winter tittered, "I was asked a few months ago to star in a role for "Beyond Our Stars". I assumed they wanted a celebrity attraction. I agreed, and went out for the shooting with Jacin a couple of weeks ago. It was quite the experience."
"I'd say," Iko grumbled to herself. "Why didn't they asked me to be Alejandro's fiancée?"
For the rest of the day, the four girls bombarded Winter with question after question about the drama, the actors and actresses, and the plot. Cress interrogated Scarlet and Cinder about them watching the show, and after Scar and Cinder revealed their secret love for the net drama, Cress felt extremely smug.
It became a tradition to watch "Beyond Our Stars" every weekend. The girls curled up with blankets and hot chocolate as they became mesmerized by the drama. It was good for all of them to be able relax, even if for just an hour a week, and forget about their responsibilities. They lost themselves in the show and let the abundant weights on their shoulders deteriorate away. The countries and people that solely depended on them weren't able to crush them with their heavy loads. The revolutionaries were just like any other group of friends trying to find solace in a fantasy world.