Author's note:

A short chapter, I know, but I just had to post this! The final scene might even be able to melt your heart, I hope. Just read!

Chapter 11: Sunset Shine

The bell rang, and I and Andrea sat down in our class. After a week things had started to calm down, but she still received some glares from the girls. Andrea her knowledge also didn't help, because she had started to turn into the favourite student of our class.

"Today, class, we will be having it about the physics of gravity and space." Our physics teacher announced, a few groans coming from the class. Andrea seemed a bit interested, and I also had the strange feeling that what we would learn today would be very important.

"-And so, gravity could have an influence on the fabric of space, causing a dent, if you will, in the space-time." Our teacher was going very far into things, as usual, but now he seemed to be reaching an interesting part.

"Many believe that, if space and time can be bend with gravity, a powerful force of gravity could lead to a crack in space, allowing one to pass through to other locations in space, or even reach worlds that could lie beyond our level of space-time!" That made me think. If gravity would allow these 'fractures', then maybe The Organization was using some sort of machine to create these, allowing access to worlds like Minecraft!

"Mister Romanos, pay attention if you will!" The teacher bellowed, causing my to snap back. Some had a few smiles on their face, but both Andrea and Sky seemed to understand why I had wandered of into a daydream.

'RING!'

Lunch-break had finally come, and I couldn't put the thought from Physics behind me. We all gathered at our normal table, a few doing some small-talk about school.

"You think that that of Physics could mean anything." I tuned in, causing some to give me puzzled looks. Andrea and Sky seemed to understand what I meant, and the latter seemed to get what I meant completely.

"That with 'gravity can create breaks that can lead to other worlds', right?" Sky said, causing some to look even more confused. Erin seemed to catch up, though. I nodded, looking with a bit of concern to my plate. If I guessed right, then that Organization would be very advanced!

"So, they would need something powerful enough to break space using gravity?" Erin joined in, making me nod. But what would be so powerful?

"A black hole, maybe? Those things are super-massive!" Tyler said, causing my mind to reach a conclusion that wasn't nice.

"If they would use a black hole, then couldn't it endanger the whole world?" I asked. Tyler and Erin both nodded, and I could see that Andrea was getting scared.

"I don't know. I don't think we should talk about it today, though. Let's just enjoy the peace." Erin said, taking a bite from her mac 'n cheese. We all nodded, understanding her completely. We did lack some quiet after all that has been going on. We turned to finish our lunch and kept the conversations light-hearted and nice.

'RING!'

The bel went, indicating lunch-break is over. We left from our table and parted to our respective classes, Andrea gulping a bit as she notices who is sitting near her... Again.

"Why doesn't he leave us alone?" I murmured to myself. Andrea seemed to agree, because she clasped to my arm when we entered class. Calus gave Andrea a mischievous smile, and I could feel my fists clench together. I gave him a daring glare, and he turned away, a small sign of fear on his expression. I placed myself between him and Andrea (once again) and turned to the teacher.

Andrea suddenly found a piece of paper in between a book of hers. She opened it and her hand reached to her mouth, a horrific expression on her face. I noticed this and turned to grab the paper from her hands, reading it through thoroughly.

"Hey, you want to meet at the back of school after the last bell? I want to pleasure you like heck! -Calus-"

I could feel the blood in my veins boil, a massive scowl reaching my face. I turned to the boy, who seemed to catch on this. He noticed the paper in my hands, and I could see how his face spoke the emotion 'fear'. I scrambled the paper together and put it in my pocket, turning back to the lesson. 'I'm sure to show you what I think, Calus!'

'RING! Ring, ring!'

The bell for the ending of school rang, and everyone filled out of the school-building. I told everyone to follow me, but Rayleigh and Sky had to pass: Their mom insisted they came back home after school. The rest followed me to a private spot on the school-ground. I grabbed the piece of paper and handed it to the others. Their expressions spoke for themselves!

"Calus gave this to Andrea?! Now he went to far!" Tyler spoke first, his face showing pure anger. Erin could only nod, her fists together. Andrea was sitting at the roots of a tree, her face resting on her knees. I walked over and grabbed her hand. She looked up, her face showing her thoughts.

'Why doesn't he leave me alone?'

"You think he's waiting there?" Tyler asked, pointing at the back-section of the school. I wasn't sure at first, but I decided to take a glance. I quickly reached the back and, I swear, I couldn't get anymore angrier!

Calus was waiting there, hands in his pockets, whistling a little tune!

I went to the others and told them what I had found. I could sense Andrea's fear. No, really, I could feel it! I turned to her and saw her eyes were now fixated at the back of school, her pupils smaller then normal. She was scared.

"What now?" Erin asked, trying her best not to go crazy on this.

"I only know one thing." I said before I went back to the back. Erin and Tyler called after me, but I zoned them out, now fixated on one thing.

Making Calus pay!

I reached the back and quickly walked from my hiding spot, Calus noticing me.

"H-hey Archer!" He said, a gulp following his words. I could feel the anger inside me growing, every step closing in on my goal.

"Hey, lest just settle this peacefully, huh?" He tried to defend himself, but I had enough. I walked just a bit closer before taking a sprint, reaching him in a split-second. I planted my hand straight in his face, leaving him with a bleeding nose and a few bruises. He fell down, his face in utter despair. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up, throwing him into the back-wall of school. He landed on the ground, groaning. He reached for his arm, and I could see a few red spots appearing on the sleeve. I didn't care for anything but beating the shit out of him! I hissed, unbelievably enough, and grabbed him, preparing to throw him into the ground.

"ARCHER!"

I snapped out of my anger and turned to the source of the call, looking at a half-shocked Andrea and a baffled Erin and Tyler. It took a moment before I realized what had happened.

I had my very first anger-outburst!

I dropped Calus, who scrambled to the wall, groaning of pain. I tried to say something, but couldn't. I couldn't. Andrea reached me, and I was sure she would break up with me here and now, but instead she gave Calus a scowl before taking my hand and pulling me away from the scene.

"Andrea, I-I... "I couldn't muster a word, but instead she pulled me behind the tree and planted a kiss right there on my mouth. I was dazed for a moment, but gathered myself together and now was very confused.

"Don't take me wrong, what you did wasn't so good, but I'm glad you stood up for me. Thanks, Archer." Andrea said, a small blush on her face. I tried to register everything, but in the end gave up and embraced Andrea, who I'm sure was now steaming red!

"Thank you."

We came back from behind the tree and Andrea lied she had given me a slap. Erin nodded at that and passed me a quick scowl, but Tyler tried to defend for me. In the end we left it on a cold note and left school, discovering that the bus was already gone.

I lied to the others I was going to grab something from the post office and left, whispering to Andrea to already get ready for our date. She blushed a bit and nodded, following Tyler and Erin, who seemed a bit surprised she was still going to go on a date with after... It.

I made sure to go in the direction of the post-office and that they were out of sight before I detoured to the jewelry-store. I had secretly grabbed Mom's spare-bank card, on which I was sure there was enough money for what I wanted to buy. I reached the store quickly and went inside, noticing the place fairly empty. The man behind the countered noticed me and I could already remember who he was.

"Good to see you, Mr Revia."

Perspective: Andrea

I was nervous.

Heck, I was nervous! I could feel the sweat flowing down my body. This was my first date. Well, if you count the semi-date from last week out. But still!

We arrived at Tyler's house, the guy having offered me to help with my style. I wasn't sure what he meant until we reached his house. Inside, in the hallways between a storage-room and the bathroom, Tyler came out of the first room with all sorts of clothes, many in different shades of purple, black and white.

"Stand still!" Tyler ordered, using a measuring-tape to take my sizes. I was already embarrassed enough that Erin was watching and that Tyler had even dared to take my breast-size! I could feel my face flustered, but tried to withstand it. 'For Archer.'

After he was finally done he started taking all the clothes out, literal racks of clothes! A gulp passed my throat, and I was sure I would die of the blush I had! He started taking all sorts of clothes in front of me, humming or groaning sometimes. At one point, I could see a sparkle in his eyes and he turned me to face the mirror in the bathroom. He held the clothes in front of me, and I relaxed. He had gone for something casual, but still nice. I wasn't sure about the deep cleavage though, but he insisted on it, making me blush more, if that was even possible!

After I was sure an hour I walked out of the bathroom, giving a small twirl to show my clothes. Erin beamed at me, and I could see that Tyler was pleased with himself. I couldn't deny it, I did look good.

I had a purple t-shirt that had black edgings. On the shirt was a light-purple star, but I was still uncertain about the cleavage. My skirt was a dark-purple with a few lines of lighter-purple and black I had a small ribbon tied at my shirt, colored a bright-gold. The collar was a gray-white, and my hair was a bit more puffed out. I still had my original boots on, and my over-sized hoodie was still tied around my hips, but it went well with the colors.

"Perfect." Tyler said, a bright smile on his face. I could feel a blush rising but stopped myself, already sure I would blush on the date itself! Erin asked if she should escort me, but Tyler took that as bad and decided to bring me himself. After all...

"You don't know your way around town yet!"

Perspective: Archer.

I had hurried myself home to get myself in some proper clothes. I decided on a pair of dark-gray pants, a green vest and a black over-shirt with a few dark-green lines on the bottom. I brushed my hair, taking out a series of knots and stuff, and almost bumped into Darren and Hailey, who seemed to smell an awful lot to each other. I made sure my little 'present' was wrapped up and quickly dashed of to the town, reaching the restaurant in record time!

My grandpa was working at the bar, giving me a gleeful smile. I had told him over the phone (impressed to find he actually has a phone!) about the date, and he had assured that the chef would make the best food for us and the seats at the window were free. I was surprised to find a white cloth draped across the table, a single candle in the middle. I made a mental note to thank my grandfather afterwards.

"Hey!" I heard Tyler call, and was surprised to find him escorting Andrea to me. And Andrea, well...

I didn't have the words to describe her! The dress already made her more beautiful then she already is of nature, and the light of the young autumn sun only made her more beautiful. I found myself staring at her before she reached me, an obvious blush on her cheeks. I gathered myself together and offered her an assuring smile, Andrea relaxing a bit. Tyler waved us goodbye, teasing us a little about our date. We waved him of and we turned to enter the restaurant, reaching the well-kept table.

The waiter quickly brought us the menus and asked us what we wanted to drink. We both took a lemonade and he left, leaving us to decide on our meal.

"I think I'm taking the Spanish salad and a small dame-Blanche as dessert. Andrea?" I said, putting down the menu to look at the Endergirl. I could see she was a bit clueless on what to pick, but I saw her eyes glitter as she seemed to have found something.

The waiter arrived with our drinks. I gave him my order and Andrea passed him the menus before stating her choice.

"I'll take the Pasta Special and some Margarita Bars."

The waiter eyed Andrea a bit, surprised at her dessert-choice. To be fair, I was surprised to, having heard that those desserts are almost half-alcohol. He decided to not question her and left with our order.

We just talked about things, taking a few sips from our drinks. Some time later the waiter returned with our food. I had to say, even after having had some of the things I ordered before, these plates seemed even better then usual. I shrugged it of and went to eat, Andrea already ahead of me.

I finished scooping the last bit of ice-cream from the bowl it was in. Andrea was still nibbling on her last Margarita Bar. I was surprised she didn't show a single sign of being even close to tipsy.

"How come you're not drunk yet? Those things are filled with alcohol." I said, really curious to why.

"Hybrids have faster metabolism, remember? Well, that made me realize we're also almost immune to alcohol. I would need a barrel full to get drunk." Andrea said, finishing her final Bar. I nodded, not really that surprised. We payed for the food, me giving the waiter a small tip. I walked over to the bar and thanked my Grandpa for the help. He said it was the best he could do, knowing he doesn't have much time left. I hugged the old man and left with Andrea, who seemed to have a few tears in her eyes after watching the emotional moment.

We walked through the streets of town, the lights going on. The sun was starting to set, and I knew that this was the best moment. I grabbed Andrea by the hand and dragged her along, passing houses and stores, until we reached a road that ended in a dirt-path going up a hill.

We walked up the path, Andrea amazed with the view on the town as we reached higher, and I dared myself to grab her hand. She noticed, blushing a bit, but she didn't pull away, instead she squeezed my hand a bit. After a moment we reached the top of the hill, a sight like anything else before us.

The sun was setting, the light shining across the canopies of the houses and through the treetops. The light from the town was beautiful, and then, it happened.

The sun reached a certain spot, and the light suddenly bathed everything in a shimmering glow, the sky coloring perfect. I could see that Andrea was stunned, but I to was amazed by the beauty of the view.

"My Mom told me about that. She said it was the most amazing thing she ever saw, along with my father. I-I wanted to show it to you." I said, rubbing my neck a bit. I had planned this quite a bit, but I was still nervous as heck!

"Why?" Andrea asked, stroking away a few hairs that had ended up in front of her face. I could feel myself blush, but kept my cool.

"Because... I think you're just as beautiful, no, even more beautiful then that sunset."

I could feel my face fluster, and Andrea also seemed redder. She squeezed me hand a bit more, but I could feel it was of affection. Of love.

We turned to each other as the sun kept going down, the light drowning away. And I couldn't have imagined a better moment then now. We inched closer and soon we were kissing. I could feel the passion, the love. I let go of Andrea's hands and placed them around her waist, grabbing her and pulling her closer. We were chest-to-chest, kissing, only stopping when we needed to breath, before kissing again.

After at least a few dozen kisses we stopped, as the sun had set and the moon was starting to reach the sky, starts appearing. I grabbed the small 'gift' from my pocket and handed it to Andrea. Her hand reached to her mouth, and a few tears appeared, but I knew they were of happiness.

"Open it."

Andrea nodded and she unwrapped the small gift. Under the wrapping was a wooden case, a golden trim along the sides. Fake-gold, sure, but it was still nice. I urged her to open it. She hesitated, but when she opened it, she let out a gasp, losing balance a bit.

In the case was a ring. It was made of gilded steel, but the gem that was on top was pure. An amethyst, around the size of a knot. I had bought it in the jewelry store, the owner even having been so free to lower the price when hearing for what it was!

"I still wanted to make it official, so... Andrea, would y-you like to be my... Girlfriend?" I spoke the words I thought I'd never say, and at that moment nothing seemed to be able to go wrong.

"Oh, Archer. Of course!" Andrea grabbed me in a hug and planted a small kiss on my lips before taking the ring from the casing. I offered her to put it around her finger myself, and Andrea her face turned a cute tint of pink and red. I took the ring and gently slid it on her ring-finger, making it official. I grabbed her in a warm hug, whispering.

"I love you."

"I love you too." she whispered back, and that made my day whole.