Interstellar Academy

05: Roger

"Were you… spying on us?" Jim raised his eyebrow, challenging him with his stance. "Awful creepy of you, not gonna lie."

Nova tugged on his unbuttoned shirt sleeve, hoping he'd understand she didn't want any fights tonight.

"Well, at least I'm not breaking all campus rules and regulations by building some type of childish fort on their grounds." Roger took a step forward toward Nova. Jim kept her behind him, protecting her with one arm. "You think you're enough to stop me? Really, Hawkins?"

"Can't we settle this some other night? It's kind of the girl's birthday party."

"From what I saw, the party ended a couple hours ago. And it's Sunday; it's free game, I my opinion."

Roger's hands glowed, and suddenly his skin changed, turning a deep maroon, his eyes going jet black, horns protruding out of his white hair. He lifted his hands, a menacing smile on his face.

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Jim pulled out Morph, he transformed into a flintlock. Jim aimed the pistol at their enemy.

"You don't seem too scared of your demise, James Hawkins." Jim cringed at his name. "Since you've battled space pirates, stopped a mutiny, saved a crew full of people from an exploding and found a legendary planet- and a legendary creature-" he smirked at Nova, who cowered under his gaze- "I imagine nothing phases you."

"You'd be correct, Roger Lander."

"Just step aside. Once you're out of the way, nothing can stop me from marrying the daughter of a king, ruling over the most powerful planet out of all the galaxies."

Jim sighed. "This is what it's about? Power? Typical." He fired at the man, purposefully missing, but the job doing what it needed. He wanted only to scare Roger, long enough so him and Nova- or at least Nova- could run off.

He imagined Nova wouldn't willfully leave him alone with a power hungry psychopath.

"Come with me, Little Sunmaid. And I will spare your friend here."

Nova's gaze never left Roger; she knew there was something wrong with him since day one. She shook her head defiantly.

"Do you want to keep your little Jim safe? Don't you want your planet to finally be at peace with the rest of the worlds? Doesn't that sound more pleasant than useless firearms and possible murder?"

Nova looked up at Jim, whose eyes were only on their enemy ahead. She sighed, reaching for his arm and pushing it down. "Stop, Jim." She stepped around him, head low. "I'm not going to allow you to do this, OK? I don't want anything to happen to you for my sake. I'm not worth it."

"Yes, you are-" Roger interrupted Jim by sending a powerful blast into the boy's stomach, causing to curl into himself.

"She has chosen wisely. No wonder you were so keen of her. Smart cookie." Roger turned into his usual form and forcefully linked arms with Nova, who made no protest. "Come along, my dear. After some time in the public eye, we will definitely have to have some words with your parents, yes?"

Nova didn't respond. In fact, Nova didn't look like herself at all, but like a shell being used as a puppet. Jim watched them walk off, then passed out in the sand.

Jim awoke in the infirmary, his head pounding. When he looked around, Ruse and Stav were beside him, playing thumb wars. This game always frustrated Ruse, since he only had three fingers.

"Uh…" He raised an eyebrow at their little game. "Hello?"

"JIM!" They hollered. "You've been out a whole week! But don't worry; Stav got your homework done for you."

Jim shook his head at their enthusiasm; and at the pounding headache they'd developed. "What day is it…"

"Sunday; it's been about a week since Nova's party."

At that name, many memories of that fateful day came crashing down. A splitting pang went through his head, and he had to physically hold his face in order to keep it in check.

"Hey, get a nurse," Jim heard Ruse say. Stav rushed off, his metal feet making loud clanging noises against the linoleum floor. When they were alone, Ruse couldn't help but ask, carefully, "What happened, man? What happened between you and Nova- and that Roger fellow?"

So Jim spilled everything, the shack, the kiss, the feeling he had when he knew they were being watched, and Roger's forceful attack on Jim before taking Nova away from him.`

"So he's forcing her," Ruse said, sitting back. "That's sick."

"Tell me about it. And it's also so he'd leave me alone. She hates whenever I have enemies; it makes her more nervous."

"So that's why you try to be friendly toward everyone. In all honesty, Jim, that doesn't seem like you, not when I first met you."

"It's not." Jim sighed, burying the back of his head into the hard infirmary pillow. "You do that, though, change for people you care about."

"I know." Ruse leaned his chair back, looking up thoughtfully at the ceiling. "She looks miserable. I knew something had to be up. Glad I know the whole story now."

"I wish I could see her…" Jim bit his lip, looking away.

"You really don't. She looks sick now, and it's only been a week. But whenever she's around him, she holds this ugly little smile- it's really horrible. HE'S really horrible."

After being checked out, Ruse and Stav helped a weak Jim back to their dorm, where the boy lay for several hours, finally falling back to sleep. When he awoke, it was midnight, his roommates long asleep and ready for class the next morning. Jim, however, was not too anxious and unnerved to sleep, and jumped out of bed. Before he realized it, he was in their shack, a figure hunched in the corner almost scaring the skin right off him.

"Who's there…?" he said carefully. All he saw at first was black. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was hair.

HER hair.

She looked back, eyes brimming with tears she refused to cry; sunmaid's tears solidified into pearls whenever they cried. She was taught at a young age that crying would only feed into the "landlubbers" her father disapproved of.

"J-Jim?" She squinted, her eyes puffy and rimmed red. She did look sick, like she was ready to collapse any second. "Jim! Oh, no! I have to go-"

"Wait, Nova!" He cornered her, either hand on the side of her head, his forehead against hers. "What's wrong with you? You need to see a doctor!"

Nova shook her head, trying to shove him aside, but he was simply too strong.

"Please, Jim, I don't want you to get hurt anymore." The tears began to spill, which Nova quickly swatted at them.

"No, not until you tell me what's going on. I hate that you're like this. Ruse says you haven't been yourself."

"Because he doesn't want me to be myself!" she screamed at him. "All the time, it's what he wants. He wants this perfect girlfriend-to-be-wife, and forces me to eat less and makes me wear disgusting itchy clothes and only smile! I can't feel a certain way without his say-so, I HATE HIM." She clutched at her hair, which she now wore down and wavy. "I hate this! I hate everything, I've never felt so angry and upset, never! Not since-" and she choked, dropping to her knees. "When I heard you had woken up, all I wanted to do was see you. But he could tell that's what I wanted and slapped me and told me that if I ever even THOUGHT about seeing you he'd make sure that we'd never have anything to do with each other again!" She was sobbing uncontrollably now, using her weak arms to hold herself together. "I… I'm so sorry-"

"Don't you dare apologize." Jim wrapped his arms gently around her. He'd never seen her this upset before, and his heart was breaking at the sight of it. "None of this is your fault."

She shook his arms off her. "No, Jim, you can't touch me. We shouldn't even be around each other, or he'll-" She bit her lip at her next words. Jim didn't need her to say them; he knew.

"I don't care, Nova. I just can't stand to see you like this anymore. I have to somehow beat Roger. SOMEHOW." Jim thought a moment. They hadn't exchanged many words, but Jim knew one thing- Roger thrived power, and he thrived on the idea of everyone knowing he had power. "Got it."

Nova looked up at Jim, his face full of determination. She rested her head against his chest, heaving a sigh. "I've missed you. This past week was worse than the three months we spent apart."

"I'll get you out of this, Nova. I promise you that." He lifted her chin to face him, making sure she could tell he meant his words.

"I don't approve, but I can't stop you."