"I think you're the only one who waters these flowers."
Selene jumped, nearly dropping the watering can in her hands. Spinning around on her toes with tense shoulders, her heart pounding fast from the surprise to see who had come up behind her while her mind had wandered away.
"Oliver!" she exclaimed. She placed a hand over her chest, breathing a sigh of relief. "You scared me."
"Need a hand, Empress?" he asked, reaching a hand out. She simply shook her head, turning back towards the witch hazel shrubs she had been tending to prior,
"Not particularly."
Oliver stepped up beside her, watching her as she knelt down. Her fingertips brushing some of the spindly orange flowers.
"I don't believe there are any other members of the gardening club, are there?" he said, observing the witch hazel's branches as they swayed back and forth in the chilly breeze. The morning sun had begun to peek through the overcast sky.
"I don't mind, really," she said softly, standing back up. "After Nathan and the others graduated, it's always kinda just been me. So I'm used to it."
"Aren't you worried this club will die after you leave?"
"Mm… I guess." She tapped her chin, cocking her head. "Maybe I'll try to recruit some underclassmen soon."
Oliver smiled, looking around the fenced-off enclave and Selene moved down the row of wooden boxes to the next set of barely blooming plants. He slowly trailed behind her, humming.
"You know, we never had gardens in the city where I'm from," he mused. "No room."
"Really? I always kinda liked the city, though," Selene replied, shaking her head with a slight smile. "The town I'm from just smells like fish. Fish, fish, fish! All year round."
"Grass is always greener on the other side," he offered.
"Maybe you're right." She hummed and hawed, swaying side to side on her feet as water sprinkled upon one of the odd plants that showed their best colors during the dead of winter. "I guess I like having a garden, so maybe the fishing town isn't so bad."
"That's the spirit," Oliver said, laughing.
"I like plants," she thoughtlessly said as she crouched down before the purple blossoms, checking for any dying leaves poking out from their green stems. Carefully shifting around some fragile leaves and petals, cautiously treading the delicate territory. "I think they can read us. Like you and me read each other."
"Is that so?"
Selene paused, halfway through examining one of the plants. She felt her face flush, realizing she had gone speaking without thinking again. Her mouth running off without her mind's consent at all. Her cheeks burned at the sudden understanding that she must have sounded like a madman to the student council president. She forced out an awkward laugh, tilting her head down so he may not see her undoubtedly red face.
"You probably think that's super weird," she said, trying to play off her statement as a joke.
"No. I think that's quite interesting, actually." Oliver crouched down beside her, peering closely at the purple blossoms before them. "Could you elaborate on what you mean?"
"What? You're actually curious?" she said lightly, weakly laughing.
"Quite so," he responded, serious as ever.
For some reason, Selene felt her face get hotter at his assertion. She turned away from his as subtle as she could possibly be, letting loose chunks of her dark hair fall over her face.
"I don't know. I guess… " she tilted her head, paying intense intention to one particular flower. "They sort of feel like friends. I can talk to them and take care of them, and they do the same for me."
"Interesting," he said, folding his arms atop his knees. "So you have something in your mind then?"
"Maybe."
She expected him to pry, but he didn't. Rather, he simply nodded his head and sat there with her, admiring the flowers. She didn't mind that at all. When people pried too much, it was too much effort. Rather, she preferred the comfortable silence they had at that moment, not saying a single word.
The day seemed to drift in and out of reality, passing in flashes. And though she had won her midterm duel earlier in the day, it felt almost as if it had happened weeks ago. And as Selene Amada walked the hallowed halls of the academy, it seemed as if she was walking without a single direction.
Bumping into someone, Selene had been knocked back a bit. Her books and papers scattered across the floor as the black bag hit the floor. Selene blinked, standing there frozen for a second before she had processed that she had accidentally bumped into someone and her homework was all over the floor. And it took another second before she had realized the figure she had bumped into was one Alexis Rhodes, eyebrows furrowed in concern. And standing beside her a very unamused looking Zane Truesdale, his gaze turned away.
"Oh my gods!" Selene sputtered, fully processing the situation she had put herself in, covering her open mouth with her hands. "I'm so sorry, Alexis!"
"It's alright, Selene!" Alexis said, waving her hands shortly. "It was an accident!"
Selene dropped to the floor, keeping her head down to hide the flush that had filled her face. And to avoid looking at him. She quickly shuffled the scattered papers, her hands trembling when from the corner of her vision she saw him begin to continue to walk down the hallway. Not saying a single word as he strode away.
Alexis crouched down, scooping up some of the books that had slid further away. Stacking them together, she held them out to Selene. Who gratefully took them. Sliding them into her book bag, she glanced around to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
"Thanks for the help, Alexis," Selene said, slowly rising to her feet.
"It's no problem," she replied with a smile, shaking her head. "It was partially my fault, anyways."
Selene glanced down, unsure of what else to say. She wanted to just grip on her book bag and awkwardly speed walk away. Quite honestly, she tried to avoid Alexis when she could. And it wasn't that she was a bad person. Quite the opposite, actually. She just couldn't bring herself to face the sister of the boy she lost. Selene twiddled her fingers, carefully calculating the move she would make next.
Then, as Selene was about to make her daring- yet polite- escape, the underclassman uttered a small, "Uh…" As if to stop Selene from making a sudden move from the situation at hand.
"Hm?"
"Maybe it's not my place to ask," Alexis voiced, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "But what happened between you and Zane?"
Selene stood frozen at the question. She wasn't quite sure what to say. How much Zane had told Alexis was a mystery to her, though it couldn't have been much. Considering Alexis was asking her. She briefly contemplated spilling the whole situation, however took a deep breath and let that thought go into the wind. Selene shook her head, she had to concentrate and not let her mind escape from the moment.
"We just had a difference of opinion, that's all," Selene finally managed to utter, her voice quiet.
"That's all?" Alexis voiced, eyebrows raised.
"Yup."
Selene winced a bit at how curt she must have sounded. She didn't mean to sound so harsh, she just wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible and be able to make her grand escape back to her room where nobody could bother her. As she began to prepare to move away from this conversation, Alexis continued.
"You should go talk to him, Selene."
Selene froze, her feet planted firmly in place on the blue linoleum floors. She knew that Alexis was probably right. The same gentle way her brother would always be right whenever she was being a bit stubborn. It hurt a bit, how similar they were. And yet, a nagging part of Selene's mind pulled at her tongue. How she wanted to yell about what she felt. The thought of the callous way he brushed off her feelings as if they were silly or childish made her tighten her jaw. Pressing her teeth together as these thoughts dashed through her mind.
"Why would I do that? I'll talk to him when he apologizes to me," Selene fumed, shaking her head.
"But-"
"Besides. He doesn't care." The words tumbled out from Selene's throat before she could even think twice about what she was saying. Words that lodged themselves in there for so long poured out like a waterfall. She was tired of being treated like a child. "Never has, never will. He doesn't care about anything except for dueling!"
"You know that's not true, Selene," Alexis pointed out, her tone soft. "Whatever has been going on between you two, it might be none of my business but the way Zane has been handling it…"
Alexis looked down to the ground, fidgeting with her hands. "His temper has gotten shorter and his dueling is messy. He's distracted."
"Yeah, right," the dark-haired girl scoffed, irate. She tapped her heel of her boot impatiently against the cold floors, creating a loud click. "But still beating everyone yeah?"
Dueling, dueling, dueling. That's what everybody always talked about. That's the only thing he ever cared about. Their world was win or lose, sure. But it didn't mean she was fine with it.
"I'm sure if you just talk it out-"
"Talking never got us anywhere."
"He's super upset about whatever happened!" Alexis insisted, much to Selene's own irritation.
"Yeah well you think I'm not?" Selene snapped, stepping around Alexis and starting down the long stretch of hall. "Just leave me alone…"
"Selene-!" Alexis called out before the girl disappeared into the crowd.
"I still can't believe Blair turned out to be a-"
"Son of a-!"
Syrus jumped at the sudden voice which seemed to have come from nowhere. The shouting words echoing across the clearing, seemingly amplifying. Trembling, he jumped close to Jaden, hoping that the brave boy would protect him from the beast that they must have awoken.
"What- what was that?!" Syrus stammered, holding himself tightly against Jaden's arm. His eyes darting back and forth as if to find the source of the voice. "A- a ghost?"
"No… no wait," Jaden murmured, shaking his head. "Wait I know that voice… Selene?"
Jaden took off in a sprint ahead, leaving a puzzled Syrus behind as he suddenly left his grip.
"Jay- wait!" Syrus cried, running after his best friend.
When Jaden finally slowed his pace, a breathless Syrus not far behind.
The brown-haired boy stood there, watching a girl a few years older than him in a small enclave cut off from the rest of the school by their towering fences. Syrus, bent over, catching his breath behind his friend.
Budding vines shot up from the earth packed in tight wooden boxes. Their fragile stems leaning on thin wooden sticks all around the sides of the enclave. The girl sat there, slumped over underneath the shade of the wooden shed overhang. Stacks of fertilizer bags piled up beside her as she stared at the ground. She seemed defeated.
"Don't do this, you should do this. Stop it!" she girl muttered, wiping something from her face with her rolled up sleeve.
She paused, letting out a long, muffled scream into her elbow before letting her voice waved and break. Huffing, her shoulders dropped as her arms fell by her side. Bringing her arms to her face, she sighed, pulling off her left glove.
"I know what I'm doing, I'm not a child," she said, rubbing her eyes as if it would rub the exhaustion away.
Jaden slowly stepped up before her, reaching a hesitant hand outwards. He wanted to help her out with her problems, whatever they were. She was clearly distraught, that much was obvious. About what, he would have to tread carefully around.
"Cece?" he said inquisitively.
She turned her head upwards, seeming surprised to see the two boys before her.
"Jaden? Syrus!"
"Hi, Selene," Syrus quietly greeted with a small wave.
Her tanned face flushed a bright pink, with the realization she had not heard the boys come up towards her while she was muttering to herself like a crazed man.
"How much of that did you hear?" she stammered, her face growing ever more pink.
"Enough," Jaden replied with a shrug. He looked back at her, she seemed so tired.
"Have you been sleeping? You've got these big ol' eye bags."
"I do?" Selene touched her face, lightly tracing her fingers over the crescent underneath her eyes. She thought she covered it up enough with the concealer she had put on that morning, Though it must have rubbed off through the day. "I must've forgotten to put on eye cream."
"I didn't think you cared about that type of stuff."
She merely shrugged her shoulders in response. Folding her arms tight around themselves, she tugged at the elbows of her wrinkled sweater, twisting the fabric in her hands.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"There's not much to talk about." Selene brought her hands in front of her, tightening her open palms into fists. "It's just… I shouldn't be so angry."
"Angry?"
Jaden echoed her words, puzzled. His brow furrowed, he cocked his head in a mixture of curiosity and confusion. What did she mean by "a right"? She was always so cryptic, he didn't understand sometimes. Though, he still tried to be as supportive as possible.
"She was just trying to help," she muttered. "She did it because she cares."
Selene dropped her hands to her sides, looking at the fluffy emerald grass beneath her feet. Her cheeks hurt, in the way how your cheeks hurt before you burst into tears. Biting her lip, she shook her head. Jaden didn't quite understand what she was saying, honestly. But he knew she was upset when he saw it.
So, he changed the subject.
He looked around the enclave. Despite the fact that it was the dead of winter, some green still surrounded them as shoots peeked out from the earth below.
"So… What is this place?"
"This?" Selene looked towards Jaden slowly blinking. She stopped chewing her lip, motioning upwards as if to show off the area. "This is the gardening club. Or what's left of it, anyways."
"What's left?" Syrus piped up, examining the wide enclave around them. It was a garden for sure, but it didn't seem run down like Selene's words implied.
"There were a few other members also." She shrugged, shaking her head. "But they all graduated and went away, so it's just me now."
"This is so cool!" Jaden exclaimed, straightening up. "I didn't even realize we had a garden on campus."
Selene smiled, crossing her arms.
"Where do you think all those fresh veggies for meals come from?"
"So you take care of all this by yourself?" he asked. It was strange to think about, the garden was so large after all.
"Yeah. Usually." She looked up towards the sky, tapping a finger to her lips as if to think. "Miss Dorothy sometimes comes out here too, though. So do the chefs."
"Sounds like her."
Selene brought her hand down, cradling her face in her right palm as she looked off towards some tomato vines encircling sticks she had stuck into the packed earth boxes.
"I like it though," she mused. "It's sort of my getaway from people."
Dropping her hands and head, she let her face hang down for a couple of seconds. Chuckling, she let out a deep sigh before straightening back up. Her lips pressing up into a small smile, she said, "Well, I gotta get back to work."
"Let us help!" Jaden exclaimed, jumping up.
Selene looked to him, perplexed.
"You wanna help?"
"Of course!"
"It's hard work you know."
"Jaden will work hard on anything as long as it's not homework," Syrus muttered indignantly, shaking his head.
"Sy!"
Selene looked back and forth between the two of them. First at Jaden, then Syrus. Then Jaden. Then Syrus. Her puzzled expression stoic before she suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, surprising the two boys. Covering her mouth as her hearty voice filled the area.
"Well- alright!" she said between laughs. "You can start by helping me carry these soil bags. I wanna plant some new stuff before spring hits."
Jaden quickly recovered from his surprise, practically running towards the stacks of potting soil by the shed. Giving her a thumbs up as he dashed by.
"You got it!" he exclaimed as he bent down, wrapping his arms underneath the top most bag.
"Just be careful with those!" she yelled after him as she watched Jaden wobble trying to hold up the ginormous bag. "One time, my friend dropped a bag of potting soil and it burst on impact! The soil flew everywhere."
She felt herself smile thinking back on the memory. The scream he let out in shock as Selene could only raise her arms to defend against the flying bits of dirt was something of a fond time for her. But at the time, she was horrified. For someone who was always so observant, Atticus could be a total goof sometimes.
"I will, I will!" he yelled back, a bit of strain in his voice as he attempted to wobble over from the shed towards the front of the garden.
As they got to work, the sun continued it's journey across the blue sky. Slowly descending down the western horizon, the brilliant blue began to fade into a dusty color.
Selene wiped the sweat from her forehead with her rolled up sleeve, patting down the last of the holes in that box. With a huff, she admired the work in the box as Jaden and Syrus' voices bantered in the background. Though she valued her time alone, sometimes working along with others wasn't too bad, she supposed. Standing up, she placed her hands on her hips with a satisfied smile.
"Hey! Slackers!"
Selene turned around at the sudden voice. Squinting at the source of the shout, she saw two blue clad figures walking towards the entrance of the fenced off enclave. The recognized one of them, pursing her lips a bit. He had said some less than kind things about her before when they thought she was out of earshot.
"Are they talking to us?" Syrus asked, taking a small step away from the approaching Obelisks.
"This can't be good…" Selene muttered, walking towards the entrance.
"You know you shouldn't talk to someone so high ranked like that," the one Selene knew, Cameron, sneered, pushing her to get past.
"Don't you have something better to do, drop outs?" his friend said, laughing.
"H- hey!" Selene managed to stammer out, shipping around towards them. Her arm dully throbbing from when he shoved her"Don't talk to them like that!"
"Huh? Why are you defending these drop-out kids?" Cameron replied, his eyes bulging in before his thin lips contorted into a twisted smile. Oh how she hated his stupid sneer, and how she fantasized about wiping it clean off his face. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Letting the thought go into the wind.
"It's because she's basically the same as them," his friend scoffed.
"You're right. Empress of the Academy?" Cameron stepped back, laughing like a maniac. "Ha! You know, you probably wouldn't be anywhere if you hadn't gotten so buddy-buddy with the Kaiser."
"Empress?" Jaden repeated. He turned towards Selene, beaming. "Cece that's such a cool nickname!"
"Not now, Jaden," Selene hissed, wanting to melt into the ground.
"That's what happens when you're only a pretty face."
"Did he get tired of you riding on his coattails?"
"Or is it after he was done using you, he didn't need her anymore."
Selene clenched her jaw. She wanted to say something back- something witty that would cause them to be embarrassed and turn tail to run. Or really, anything at all. Something between an incomprehensible shout and a sob was caught in her throat as she felt her face get hotter and hotter. She couldn't say anything at all.
Useless.
"Done using her…?" Syrus echoed, his voice etched with disbelief. He looked towards Selene, trembling as her tightened fists turned sheet white.
"That's enough," came a familiar voice. A voice as cold as ice that seemed to suck the heat out of the air, leaving only an empty stillness.
"Huh?!"
Spirits, just let me evaporate on the spot, Selene quietly prayed, closing her eyes. She grabbed Jaden's wrist, squeezing it tightly. He gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder in return as she could only stare at the grass by her feet.
"Kaiser!" Cameron stammered as Selene peeked up at him, standing in the entryway, upright as ever.
"Stay out of this, Zane," she managed to utter, unsure if the words were even audible as she forced them out of her lips. Yet, it felt as if those words weren't hers at all.
"Go," he repeated, his tone ever so slightly firmer.
"But-" Cameron's friend began before being swiftly interrupted.
"I said stay out of it!" she repeated, slightly louder. She watched as for a moment, his eyes briefly shifted towards her, trembling in her pigeon-toed stance. Before quickly turning back towards the two Obelisk boys.
"I will not repeat myself."
Cameron opened his mouth once again before his friend tugged at his blazer, shaking his head. He glanced back at Zane, then the Slifers, then at Selene. With a haughty hmph, the two quickly retreated out of the garden, their noisy footsteps fading into the distance.
A still silence filled the vacuum in the cool air as Selene slightly loosened her grip on Jaden's wrist. She tried to lift her gaze from the ground, yet found it difficult to look up to his face. The lump in her throat began to burn as she felt the temperature in her face rise.
"Awkward-"
"Jaden!" Syrus exclaimed through gritted teeth, giving his friend a smack in the shoulder.
"What was that?" Selene huffed, letting go of Jaden's arm as she took half a step forward. Her terrified expression melting away, replaced by a scowl. "How many times do I have to tell you? Stay out of my business, Zane."
"Selene, you should know better than to fuel a fight."
Syrus looked over to Jaden, his eyes wide as his mouth contorted into a wide O-shape. Selene opened her mouth as if to argue when Jaden spoke up.
"Kaiser- it was my fault!" the Slifer said. The girl looked back towards him, her eyes widening. "She only got into it defending me!"
"Jaden don't-" she said before he continued his speech.
"So don't blame her!" Jaden took a step forward, moving his hands as if to emphasize his words. "She was only protecting me!"
"Is that so?" Zane said, his tone even.
"It's true, big brother!" Syrus replied.
Zane looked between the two first-year boys. For a brief second, he shifted his gaze towards Selene before looking back towards Syrus. Without a word, he turned on his heel and walked out of the enclave. Seeing to take the cold air that filled the area with him. The air was silent for a brief moment that seemed to last an eternity. That is, until Jaden broke it.
"What's his deal?!" he huffed. "He saw what happened! It wasn't your fault!"
"Jaden-" Selene began before being interrupted.
"I mean those guys started it!"
"Jaden-"
"I mean- did he hear any of the things they said about you?! Man and I thought the Kaiser was actually cool-"
"Jaden!"
She hadn't meant to raise her voice, yet it seemed to work as Jaden fell silent. She cast her gaze down, one hand gripping the other.
"He… he's right. They're all right," she murmured, her tone soft without a trace of her earlier fiery spirit. "I don't even deserve the position I'm in. Hah- I can barely stand up for myself without getting others dragged into my business."
A calmer silence fell over the garden. The feelings of frustration and sadness had melted away, leaving only a cold apathy. Syrus looked at the girl, whose expression had contorted into a small smile when he piped up.
"What did they mean by, 'use' you?"
The girl perked up, pursing her lips together seeming the slightest bit surprised at the boy's sudden question. She cocked her head, chewing her bottom lip as if in thought.
"My brother wouldn't just use someone, would he?" the boy with glasses continued, a slight tremble in his voice.
Selene met Syrus' eyes. The nervous furrow of his brow with his lips slightly parted. The sort of desperation he had to disbelieve what he had heard. Tucking some loose strands of dark hair that had fallen loose from her braid, she shook her head. She watched Syrus' tense shoulders fall down, seeming to breath a sigh of relief.
"Of course not. He would never. But…" she sighed, scratching the back of her head as she thought back to just a few years ago. "Believe it or not, Zane wasn't always the top duelist at this academy."
"Really?!" Jaden blurted out, his eyes wide with surprise. Syrus himself straightened up, clearly a bit astounded at this fact. Selene had to prevent herself from letting a smile show on her face, he idolized his brother so much.
"Back when we were first years, it was a boy named Cater." She recalled Cater's cheerful attitude that had a bit of self-righteousness sprinkled in. "Even Zane had trouble beating him."
"Even my brother…?"
"He was good." She recalled sitting on the edge of her seat, right next to Atticus as Zane's life points dropped to zero. Cater's upbeat smile as Selene had noticed the smallest of cracks in Zane's demeanor. She turned towards Syrus, touching her lips in thought. "But nobody's perfect. After all, he had some bad habits on the field. And your brother did too."
The dark-haired girl let out a deep breath. The fuzzy memories of late nights that she spent drawing up diagrams and charts with what Atticus described as, "ferocious intensity." The pages upon pages of notes were scattered around as she crossed out some and circled others. Notes she was sure were still tucked away somewhere, maybe in a cardboard box somewhere in her grandfather's attic.
"All I had to do was help Zane fix his bad habits, and help him use Cater's to his advantage. Next thing everybody knew, Zane was at the top of the school. He became the Kaiser that day, and hasn't stepped down since."
"That's right," Jaden said, looking up . "You did always like to pick out my mistakes whenever we dueled."
"You could do something like that, Selene?" the shorter boy said, seeming a bit bewildered. The Obelisk girl could only give a half-hearted shrug.
"I guess you can say it's my specialty," she answered truthfully. She never liked actual dueling that much, breaking the actions down into its core components is what interested her. Like deconstructing a puzzle only to put it back together, in some odd way. "I like strategy more than anything. It's what got me the title of Empress."
She smiled, her shoulders relaxing. It was ironic, really. For as much as she broke down everything, she had trouble applying those same skills to herself, particularly when she was caught up in the heat of the moment.
"That's awesome!" Jaden blurted out, his eyes sparkling. He pumped both his fists in the air, a spring in his step. "You've gotta teach me sometime!"
Selene, initially, was a little surprised at Jaden's sudden outburst. Then again, he was always an excitable boy. She stifled a bit of laughter, letting come out as a piggish snort.
"I will. Another time, though." She bent down, picking up some of the various smaller tools scattered around her feet. Stuffing as many as she could carry at once underneath her arms. Standing back upright, she let out a large, drawn out yawn, feeling her eyes sting. "I'm really tired, actually. So I'm gonna clean up and go back to the dorm."
"Awh."
Jaden's face fell for a moment, Selene felt a small pang of guilt. But really, after all that had happened she felt a tad too emotionally- and now physically- drained to do anything other than sleep for a hundred years. Maybe more.
"Next time," she promised, starting her march toward the wooden shed.
"Alright! But don't make me wait!"
"Would never dream of it."
Selene let her body carry her all the way back to the dorm. Phasing between concentrating on taking yet another heavy step forward and how much pain her head was in. In a way, it felt as if her soul was just watching her body drag itself aimlessly along all the way back to the girl's dorm. A feat that seemed longer than normal. And yet somehow, the next thing she knew she was standing outside her room door, Fumbling with her keys as she struggled to seem to place it in the right direction. Flipping the key again and again as it jingled helplessly against the metal doorknob.
"Selene!"
Selene looked to the right to Calla, holding her door half open as she watched her neighbor clumsily struggle to unlock her door. That's right, dinner was starting soon.
"Heya Calla," Selene muttered, half looking at the journalist and half trying to unlock her door. With a final shove, the darn key finally slid into the doorknob. She sighed in relief, for a second there she was worried her key had somehow gotten mixed up with someone else's.
"Are you alright?" the blonde girl asked, closing her door. "You look like a ghost."
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"Do you want to go eat? Maybe food will help."
"I'll go later." Selene twisted the key, forcing the heavy door open. "I think I'll go take a nap first."
"Alright." Calla said hesitantly, watching as Selene slid into her room. "Just make sure to eat something eventually. Okay?'
"Of course," she slyly replied before closing the door.
Turning around, she collapsed onto the floor, her back against the door as her legs gave out beneath her. Why was she so tired all of the sudden? Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the wall behind her. She should at least try and make it to her bed before lazing about like a sloth.
Slowly opening her eyes, she realized she was facing the balcony doors. Watching as the sky began to turn into that vibrant orange she loved so much, the clouds lazily floating about transforming into the color of pink cotton candy, she felt her eyes begin to fall. Lulling her into a dreamless sleep.
a/n: wow... this chapter took, a long time to write. like, really long. honestly, i was worried i'd never finish it and just have it sitting in google docs forever. but after lasering enough focus, writing and rewriting, it's finally here! hope you enjoy and see you next chapter :)
