A/N: Sorry i haven't updated. . .i've been away! But thank you for all of the reviews! It made my day to come home and see so many!
This may not be the best written chapter, but I think you'll all be pleased with it ;)
Skye woke up into the darkness gradually, pulling herself out of sleep. Glimpses of her dream ran across her mind, but she couldn't remember what it was.
Instinctively she ran her fingers through her hair, and looked around the cabin. Shadows of taped up maps and blueprints graced the walls. Someone had left their laptop on, and it emitted a faint glow. The moon shone through the window, falling right on the title "the Fabric of the Cosmos." 'Cosmos' she thought. She tiptoed to the window, and looked out.
The moon was just barely more than a sliver. Millions of stars were visible, typical for a summer night.
So she slipped into some shorts, and threw on a t-shirt. She left her hair the way it was, untangled and down. Quietly, so as not to wake her siblings, she crept across the room and picked up her tripod telescope, heading toward the door. She only bumped something once, the leg if a chair, but no one awoke. Finally, she managed to get it outside.
Earlier that day, Chiron had learned of her keen interest in space. He had also learned that she owned a telescope. So he told her she could star-gaze whenever she wanted, as long as she stayed within the camp boundaries. He instructed the harpies to ignore her, and anyone accompanying her, when she did. So she knew she would be safe from them.
She lugged the bulky scope over to the beach, and set it down. The sand was soft beneath her bare feet, and she squished it between her toes as she looked up at the sky.
Stars twinkled, first bright, then brighter. To her left, the moon, glowing. Overhead, a long strip of glittering stars:the Milky Way. She searched her right for the Big Dipper. She found it instantly. Then, she crossed from the handle to Arcturus, the shining golden star. Then, down Spica, glowing a whitish blue. Then, finally, to the yellow orb above it: Saturn.
Ithad taken her weeks on Gardam street to locate the planet. Iantha had refused to help, believing that she would get the mostout of it by finding it herself. So Skye went out every clear night, battling mosquitoes and fatigue, searching the sky with her telescope. It was especially frustrating, because she saw it in the sky, but when she looked into the lens, she saw only a yellowy disc. no rings. Nothing. Eventually, after many nights of coming into the house crestfallen, she ean inside calling "I am victorious!" Everyone had rushed outside to see if her claim was true, and sure enough, when they looked into the scope, one after the other, they saw Saturn and it's rings.
She adjusted the scope until she had the planet in her gaze. She stared at it for a while. Saturn never failed to mesmerize her. Suddenly, a tap on her shoulder caused her to whip around, pulling out her knife.
"Wait, it's just me!" a voice said, but she was already sheathing her knife. She'd know that figure anywhere, even in the dark: tall, lithe, messy hair.
"I was looking out my window when I saw you come out of your cabin," Jeffery said. "I'm not tired, so I decided to follow you."
She grinned, oddly grateful for the sudden company. "C'mere." She pulled him over to the telescope, and ordered him to look inside.
"Wow," he breathed in wonder. "Its really Saturn."
"What? You thought I couldn't even find a near by planet?" she asked indignantly.
"Well, you couldn't," Jeffery pointed out, grinning. "For like, a mounth. Jane told me."
Skye scowled and bent her head to the lens. "Want to see Venus too?"
"Sure," he replied. Once she found it, her mild anger had disappeared, replaced with wonder and excitement. "Here it is!" she said.
"Awesome!" Jeffery whispered as he peered at the planet.
Skye looked up at the stars, flung her hands out, and twirled around, suddenly giddy with happiness. "I love night time," she said, stopping to look at Jeffery. Her voice grew softer. "When it's night, I feel like I'm the only one. Like I have the world to myself."
Jeffery gazed at her.
"What?" Skye asked, coming out of her trance.
He shook his head. "Good" he said, grinning evilly. "Then there'll be no one there to help you when I do this!" He lunged at her, tickling her stomach. She shrieked with laughter, and begged him to stop. He kept going mercilessly, until she managed to tickle him back. Finally, they collapsed on their backs, panting heavily.
"The only constellations I know are the Big Dipper, and Orion," Jeffery said once he recovered.
"Well," Skye said. "There's Draco." She pointed to the long line of stars. "And there's Virgo, the one with Spica."
She pointed from constellation to constellation. She then explained that the stars they were looking at might not even exist any more, because in the time it took for the light to travel there, the star could have burned out. Jeffery listened patiently, keeping silent to hear her explanation. He remembered every constellation she showed him.
They fell into a companionable silence, just looking at the stars.
Suddenly, he grabbed her hand, and pointed. "Look!" he exclaimed. "A shooting star!" Skye looked up and saw it flying across the sky, a white streak in a sky of dots. "Beautiful," she whispered, though 'beautiful' wasn't a word she used often. They fell once again into silence.
Neither of them let go of the others hand.
"Skye," Jeffery said after a while. "Do you like it here?"
Skye suddenly felt heavy. She did like it. It was new and wondrous. But she missed Gardam Street, and the summer she had planned to have.
"It's…different," she said. "I love having all of these challenges-"
"I hear you already conquered the rock wall," Jeffery interrupted, grinning.
"Yeah, see thats what I mean. New challenges."
"But you miss your family." Jeffery said.
Skye sat up, and hugged her knees, unconsciously detangling her fingers from his. "I miss them. And I miss the way it was."
Jeffery sat up too. "You mean your family?"
She nodded. "Before," she said, after a few moments. "Before, I lived…in a family where..everyone was different. We all had our own roles, you know? Batty was the creativity and innocence. And Jane was the light and flamboyancy, I was the brains and the boldness, and Rosalind was kind of the glue that held us all together. Here, it's different." She ean her fingers through her hair. "I like my siblings. They're nice and everything. And they're all extremely smart. But that's the thing." She took a deep breath. She wasn't used to saying so much at once. "Back home, in Cameron, I was…kind of…remarkable. I was known for being really smart. I was special. Here, I'm still known for being really smart…but so are a dozen other kids." She looked up, across the water. "I dont mean to sound bitter. Its just… when I walk into my cabin, Im surrounded by geniuses. And it wouldn't make a difference whether I was there or not." Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat to keep going. "I used to make a difference," she said quietly. "Here I don't. Here, I feel…I just feel….…unspecial."
Jeffery turned his head to look at her. "Skye," he said firmly. She turned toward him, and noticed that her face was just inches from his. "You're special," he whispered, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "To me, you're special."
He leaned toward her. When their lips touched, a spark flew through Skye that she had never felt before, and an ache grew deep in her chest. Jeffery deepened the kiss, and she kissed him back willingly. One hand was in her hair, the other lightly cradling her jaw. Hers were on the back of his neck. They broke apart. They stared at each other, both shocked and pleased with what had just happened.
"Look," Skye whispered, her gaze behind him. "A shooting star."
He turned around just in time to see the tail disappearing into the inky sky.
It was kind of awkward to write, but otherwise, i liked it. You?