Chapter 12: Tracked

I remember that trying to step over everyone in an attempt to not wake them up was a difficult challenge. Toadsworth was on the seat across from me (he was more deserving of it), and Toadbert and Kory situated themselves comfortably on the floor in a cozy arrangement. This cozy arrangement kept me from getting to the door though. Not only did I want to step out for some fresh air after that crazy dream of mine, but I also had to tinkle. I swung my legs over the edge of that red, felt seat, and slowly lowered them to the green carpet. Even now I didn't understand Fawful's uncoordinated interior decoration skills, and just thinking about that awful color combination hurts my head.

I stepped up onto my feet and was thankful that the floor didn't creek. Now came the harder part: Stepping over both of them. It took all of my dexterity and finesse to accomplish that feat, especially with Kory's bigger proportions as a human. But in the end it was accomplished and I was proud that I didn't wake anyone. As I closed the door though, I remember hearing someone groaning softly. The click of the door canceled that out in my mind though, and my focus on reaching the bathroom without having an accident took over.

Long story short, I made it. That private bathroom really was convenient. With nothing left to do and with me being awake already, I decided to wander around the train a bit. The back of it, specifically. I reached the caboose area and found a door leading to the little platform outside.

The air was chilled as we chugged along through these grassy plains. I never realized that some of the hills and clouds had eyes, though. That was bizarre to see. I quickly got over it and began to reflect on that dream. I would have done so further, but there was a small noise behind me. A cough. It startled me enough to cause me to jump a bit and spin around, clutching the green hand railing behind me.

Kory stood in the doorway leading back inside.

"You scared me half to death, jeez." I took a moment to breathe and calm myself.

"Sorry about that," he said. "And I'm sorry for earlier, if you were offended in any way."

"What happened…? Oh, that. With the whole me being tired and wet thing. Nah, you're fine." He stepped over to me and joined me at the handrail. I turned back around to the rolling grassy plains. The rhythmic tick-tacking of the train's wheels over the tracks calmed me from his surprise, but I was still wondering what he was doing up.

"What brings you out here though? I thought you were asleep. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, that's okay. I wasn't sleeping anyway." It was an obvious lie, but what could I do about it? "I needed a chance to stretch after being cramped for so long. You?"

"Same." I admitted to him. "I didn't sleep very well. I had a dream about my mother." I sensed he turned his head to me in complete wonderment, eyes bulging and his mouth agape a bit… ya know, the usual things that happen when they hear something they can't seem to believe. "I saw the way she was captured. Mihn was right, she is gone now."

"Hope…" his voice wavered, trying to find that perfect combination of sympathy and empathy. "I… I'm really sorry to hear that." I couldn't think of anything to say to that. My heart sank slightly and I hung my head a little.

"Are you going to be okay? Do you maybe want to talk about it a little?" His offer was kind, but I refused. I believed I could handle it, otherwise I would have poured my soul out to him right then and there. We stared out a little more. The full moon of that night started to come into our view as we progressed forward. The silence between us was surprisingly comforting. We were simply together and that was all that mattered. And then I got to thinking about things other than this little quest for the first time in two whole days.

"Wow, it's weird," I started. "Before any of this, we weren't going to be together much this whole summer because of my being grounded. Now look at where we are. We can't even leave each other's side now that we're in this situation. I'm really glad for all this, Kory."

"Part of the pleasure is mine, Hope. I can't imagine anyone else I'd do something like this with. Part of me wants to thank you for forgetting my backpack, to be honest."

"Well you're more than welcome!" I laughed and he joined in. "As nice as this is though, I know it's going to end at some point. This togetherness I mean. It's unfortunate, but we might as well enjoy the time we have together right now, ya know?"

"Ha ha, yeah…" his voice sank a bit and his eyes gave off a frown. He leaned forward onto the bar a bit.

"And think, in almost a year's time we would have been separated by going to different colleges. It's too bad that your parents hadn't saved up for WooHoo." He said nothing, so I simply dropped the conversation and tried to find a new one.

"Um… how are you enjoying the train ride?"

"It's fine, I guess."

More silence. Now his mood was starting to bug me a bit. He came out to comfort me, and now I was comforting him.

"Kory, is something wrong? Did something I say maybe make you so glum and miserable?"

"Well you got me thinking about us and college and being separated. It's not something I want to have happen to us, ya know? You mean a lot to me."

His being upfront then was slightly unsettling, but not enough for me to feel completely uncomfortable around him. I took it as something he'd say as a friend and continued focusing on the stars in the sky, specifically two that were brighter than most of the other ones. It didn't even phase me that the haze had thinned out enough for us to be able to see the beauty of the stars. The moon was a different story since it was full, but rarely did anyone get to see the stars at night. I came to my senses after losing myself in the beauty of the sky and realized that he was waiting for me to reply to that.

"Uh, thanks Kory. You know you're a dear friend of mine, too. You can count on me." I gave him a genuine smile. I'm guessing he smiled back; my eyes were closed. "I'm early thankful, too, that this whole thing isn't driving us apart… could you imagine if that happened?"

"I'd rather not, Hope."

And that was the moment I need confirmation from him. "We're not being driven apart… are we?"

I finally got some sort of reaction out of him. He turned his body to face me and looked down. His graphite eyes gleamed in the light of the moon and of the back platform. He sent shivers down my spine, but I denied any thoughts their due satisfaction. The click-clacking of the wheels moving along the rails put me in a slight trance that only doubled with Kory's strong gaze.

"Nothing will ever tear us apart, Hope. I promise."

"Not even Fawful?"

"He's only bringing us closer together."

He started leaning in… oh gosh, I remember everything like it was yesterday. I can't help but blush. The sounds changed from underneath the train… we started passing over a tall bridge. My oversensitive body started shivering due to the cold now, but those chills were quickly taken care of as he brought me close to him and in for a kiss. It was so sudden… so bold… and I enjoyed every second of it. He put a lot of passion into that kiss, most of it repressed for so long. Everything came flooding out in that moment. I could see, even with my eyes closed, that in some sort of other astral plane a shooting star flew across the sky. I felt everything all at once, and didn't know which feelings to follow after that.

Satisfied, he pulled back slowly. Without another word, he breathed out and started to head back inside as the rails connected back onto solid ground.

"You should come with me. I know you'll only get colder if you stay out here."

I couldn't say anything… I was still too dazed and dizzy.

"Alright, I know you'll come in when you feel like it." And he shut the door behind him. It would take me many more minutes of silence and staring off into space before I could even begin to feel ready to walk back in and face him without getting all weak inside. He kissed me! I couldn't believe it at all. My oldest and dearest friend… wow, is what I thought for the longest time. And I'll say this for him… it felt like he practiced.