"So Eva, Valentine's days coming up. Any plans?" Anna asked, smiling slightly at her classmate.
Eva started slightly. "Valentine's day?" She blinked, then smiled innocently. "I thought it was Singles Awareness day. Oops?"
As her classmates laughed, conversation moved onto who was going where with who on the fabled day of romance. It wasn't until school ended that Eva allowed herself to think about it. Her plans for Valentine's day were the same as every other Monday, helping out at the track, either with mechanics or administration, then home for dinner.
She'd never had a boyfriend. At boarding school, romance of any kind was next to impossible, especially for 'permanent boarders' like herself. There really weren't that many opportunities to leave the school, and even if someone found a way to get a romance started, if it ended badly there was nowhere to escape to, no way to avoid your ex. There'd been a few boys she'd thought attractive, but nothing was worth the extra scrutiny from the teachers, so nothing had come of it, even when she'd known they thought the same.
She'd carried the same principles into the race, although she hadn't noticed at the time. There'd been two guys, two great guys, and for the most part, she hadn't even noticed their interest, or passed it off as her being the only girl around who wasn't completely alien to them.
She'd had a crush on Aikka pretty much from the get-go. He was exotic, well-mannered, and he'd been nice to her when the earth team had been of the opinion she should have stayed home, with Jordan and Don Wei being the most vocal against her. Then he'd saved her and Jordan from Groor, and given her good advice
However, he'd had a race to win, an alliance to uphold, a people to obey. He'd also had a temper to rival hers, although he showed it in cutting words rather than a raised voice. It'd taken him until Oban to forgive her for Jordan trying to shoot him, despite her best efforts to stop him.
Jordan... had sort of crept up on her. At first, he'd been a jerk, then a co-conspirator in the re-match against Groor, and he'd continued wavering between the two until the playoffs, when he blamed her for losing to Toros, and then for their loss against Aikka.
After her first day of coaching from Rick, Jordan had made some lame excuse regarding the bruise on his face, and they'd become firm friends over the next two races, to the point that Jordan was more worried about her actions during the race against Spirit than angry she'd cost them another victory.
And then... Oban. Where they'd shared a room, and she'd realized that Jordan could be cute, despite (or maybe because of) the snoring, slight drooling and pillow-hugging. And with pretty much nowhere to go, and little to do in the Module, they'd become closer as friends, talking about almost everything. She'd never talked about her own family, but Jordan hadn't pushed.
She'd been perfectly happy with the situation, until the day she'd realised that Jordan was hot. She could barely think it without blushing, so there was no way she was going to act on it... At least, not until she was certain she could avoid Jordan for a few days if it went wrong.
Something that would have been pretty difficult to do when they slept two steps away from each other.
Except she'd never got the chance, even when it turned out that he loved her.
She shook her head violently. 'Bad Eva! No depressing thoughts!' She scolded herself. She heard the flap of wings and automatically looked up. From below, the seagull reminded her of the Creatures on Alwas.
Shaking her head, she continued walking home. As she was passing the corner shop, the display caught her eye.
Smiling, she stepped in. 'I wonder if the Avatar would like a Valentine? I wonder if the Prince knows about Valentines?'