Interstellar Academy

26: Finns

Helena took her rightful place on the top bunk in her old dorm. The reunion was tearful and joyous, but short lived. She had a lot to catch up on, and she was determined to graduate alongside her friends. The end of the semester rolled around, and everyone shifted from one distraction to another.

Parents' week.

Nova pulled at her hair so vigorously lately, Charlotte and/or Jim would physically hold her hands down.

"They're going to take me home, I can feel it!"

Nova had to start wearing long-sleeved shirts because she began clawing at her own skin- and it was noticeable. Thankfully, due to the winter weather, her outfit was appropriate. No one had ever seen her so anxious.

"No, they're not, you need to calm down." Jim didn't bother to touch her; when she began acting this way, and he'd attempt to comfort her, she'd blow up at him. So he kept his comforts strictly verbal, and wouldn't put a hand on her until she began hurting herself.

"BUT THEY ARE SO ANGRY THAT EVERYONE KNOWS."

After the cool down period following the Roger attack, people flocked her with questions: Why did you hide it? Why didn't you tell anyone? What's it like? Are you parents the same? At an assembly, she begged the dean to swear the students to secrecy- and to simply leave her alone. They abided, and as far as she knew, no one had said a word outside of the Academy.

They all sat in the girls' lounge, attempting to study for finals, but failing. It wasn't due to Nova's rampage, but the end-of-semester blues that crept up on everyone.

Though Nova's ranting wasn't helping with their lack of focus.

"Nova, when was the last time you ate something?" Stav asked, scanning her up and down. She looked malnourished, her wrists nothing but bones.

Nova froze and thought, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Yester… Tues…" The girl looked up at the ceiling, as if the blasting heating vent would allow some clarity.

"Come with me." Jim grasped her hand firmly, giving her no option but to follow. He led the way to the cafeteria, still under minor renovation from the Roger fiasco. He found a peeled apple- she hated the skin- and handed it to her. "Start with this."

She looked at the fruit as if confused by it, then munched on it slowly, nodding her appreciation. They sat down at a deserted table, staying quiet until she finished her food.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry. My parents… they make me so nervous."

"Is it the whole 'universe domination' thing or-"

"Jim, I'm serious!" She glared at him, crossing her arms.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding." Cautiously, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. "Everything will be fine. Just take care of yourself. Please?"

She smiled up at him, calming down. "But I like it better when you take care of me-" She ruined their romantic moment- which, even after they'd gotten back together, they hadn't had much of due to school and helping rebuild the academy- and jolted into an upright position. "OH MY GOODNESS."

"Now what?" Jim rolled his eyes, tired of her outbursts.

"They don't know about you." Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, hoping he'd understand her message. Obviously, he didn't. "Jim. MY PARENTS ARE ROYALTY AND THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU."

Now it processed. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me, Nova." He breathed out heavily, throwing his head back frustratingly. "Well, looks like they're gonna."

"I'm sorry! With everything that's happened, and my parents coming, I completely forgot to mention it!" She groaned and rested her face in her hands. "This is going to be the best Parents' Week ever."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

The parents arrived and pushed through the crowds to find their children. People seemed to making a path of some sort, however, for a taller, lean couple, as if they were scared.

The man had wavy black hair streaked with gray that shone blue in the sunlight. His eyes were a hard brown and glared down at anyone who dared walk in his way. He was toned, though sagging in certain places from age. The woman linked to his arm had light brown hair also graying and pale skin, beautiful green eyes shining like gems. Whereas her husband frowned at the people, she welcomed them with her smile.

Nova's parents, King Phoenix and Queen Aurora Finn.

The sunmaid's stomach dropped to the ground; she went to grip her arm, but Charlotte grabbed her hand.

"Ah, our little Supernova." The woman came up and hugged the girl lightly, her English accent thicker than her daughter's. "I heard about your little spat from your father! Glad to see you're safe."

'Spat?' Ruse mouthed, Charlotte elbowing him in the gut to shush up.

"Ah, yes. Thank you, mother." She stepped away. "Hi, daddy."

The man smiled down at his daughter, his intimidation factor dissipating into thin air. He made no move to hug her, but simply pat her on the head. "You've gotten yourself in quite the mess, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I guess." She turned to her friends. "I'm going to show my parents around. I'll see you later." She waved and took off, leading her parents as far away from her posse as possible.

"So… who wants to bet her dad has probably split a man in half?" Helena said, utterly serious. The others stared at her shocked, but she just shrugged. "I'm just sayin'. I'm going to find my mother, harass her a little bit."

"We better find our parents too," Charlotte said, arm and arm with her twin. "Let's go."

Stav went to go find his creators as well, leaving Jim alone for only a few brief moments. Morph took this as an opportunity to fly out of Jim's pocket and search aimlessly for Sarah. The woman stood from the crowd, looking a bit frightened. Jim came up to his mom and hugged her gently before asking, "What's up?"

"Did you see those people! They looked like giants."

"Yeah, they're Nova's parents."

Sarah's mouth dropped, and she quickly shook her head. "Wow. Well, let's hope all's well and ends well, hmm?" She kissed her son's cheek. "Now tell me about school!"

Jim spent the entire afternoon with his mother, walking through the maze, eating lunch in the courtyard, taking her on a brief crash-course through some of his more demanding classes. They entered the cafeteria first, finding a nice seat near the center of the room. Other students swarmed in, and his group of friends and their parents piled onto the same long table. Nova and her parents entered last out of them, and she took a spot near Jim, her parents sitting beside and across from her.

"This place is so big!" Aurora exclaimed, giggling and breaking the ice. The parents began a long and drawn out conversation about how large the campus was, and their children took this as an opportunity to talk amongst themselves.

"So… did you tell your parents?" Charlotte whispered, leaning close to Nova.

Nova shook her head violently at the question, not daring to say a word.

Jim scoffed and leaned away, frustrated.

"Alright, order! Order, now!" The dean stood at a tall podium over looking the crowd, beating the wood with his palm. "Glad to see everyone's excited! I imagine your children has informed you of our recent… mishap."

No one really knew what to call it. Not a lot of people had gotten hurt during the fight, except Nova and Jim. Just a lot of property damage Nova's parents had to pay for. They were furious- and even more so she wasn't careful enough with hiding her secret- but they'd obviously calmed down.

"At any rate, we pulled through that hectic mess and even started fresh! Thanks to all the students and staff who helped rebuild this school!" The crowd cheered then quickly died down. "Onto dinner and some festivities we're holding out doors. It's bonfire night!"

The room roared with conversation then, and the sound of chatty eaters and clanging silverware was nice compared to the yelling and screaming Nova would get from her parents.

Or the yelling and screaming she'd be doing, once they killed her.

They shuffled outside, the parents still talking, the teenagers still awkwardly quiet. There were two bonfires going on, as large as the one they'd seen during freshmen year. They circled around the furthest one- it was less crowded- and the conversations died down.

"Oh, Supernova, let's go by the ocean!" The girl nodded and was pulled away by her mother, her father following close behind. She looked back at Jim, as if she was telling him good-bye.

They were comfortably silent, until Nova let out a heaving sigh.

"You've been looking distracted all day, Supernova," said her father, resting a firm hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? I know we don't talk much, and I know we've been distracted, but you can talk with us. I hope you realize that."

Her father was never this compassionate. So stating this news frightened and disheartened her even more.

"I'll just say it, then." She pressed her lips together, forming the best sentence to break this information. "I'm… seeing someone."

She allowed the words to melt in their heads. Her father's brow lowered dramatically against his forehead.

"I know… that you want a certain husband for me, but you have to realize that I'm seventeen and socializing and it's just-" She groaned. "Look, he's so amazing. And he treats me right, even when I mess up royally- and that's a lot. He cares about me, and he's super smart, like a prodigy, daddy." Her mother she didn't want to appeal to nearly as much as she did her father. "He's sweet and loving, and he was the one… who rescued me. Two years ago, remember?"

Her father couldn't look angry at those words.

"Ah, he's the brown haired one over there. The human?" Her father eyed the boy, who flinched at his gaze. He turned to the ocean, thinking hard.

"I don't approve, I won't lie." Her heart thumped and died in her chest. "However, you are obviously happy with him. And he did save your life. I imagine that the rescue two years ago wasn't the last time?"

Nova's expression softened into something else, something full of love and happiness. "No. He's saved me time and again, even when I don't deserve it. He's truly something else."

At his daughter's expression, he smiled, looking at his wife. The older woman chuckled, holding a hand against her mouth. "Honey, isn't there exceptions to everything?"

The man nodded at his wife, then looked up at Jim again. "Human boy, come here, please!"

"DADDY NO!" Nova attempted- and failed- to hide under her thin arms.

Jim took his place beside Nova, confused and rightfully frightened. "Yes, sir? I mean, your highness- majesty."

"You aren't the type of man I would approve my daughter being with, in the slightest. You are human, which alone makes your relationship stressful. Though… you two don't look distracted by this difference."

The young couple dared a glance at each other, and smiled brightly. Jim turned to her father and said, with all the strength he could muster, "It was never a distraction. When I first met her, it seemed natural. Everything about her is like breathing for me- it's every day yet extraordinary and keeps me going." Jim's gaze fell on his girlfriend lovingly. "SHE keeps me going."

The other's approached the four carefully, their pace slow.

"It's safe," Nova said, having relaxed with Jim at her side.

"I thought I was going to have to plan my son's funeral." Sarah giggled, trying to stifle it when Jim glared back at her.

"MOM," he growled under his breath.

"Oh, no, Ms. Hawkins. Your son wouldn't have been our first choice for our daughter, at the initial glance, but…" His eyes glanced at his wife before he continued. "But there are exceptions to everything."

"OK, enough with this ooey-gooey stuff!" Helena hollered, heading back to the bonfire. "Seriously, I did NOT get out of jail for all this. I don't got time for that!"

"Good old Helena," Charlotte said, linking arms with her twin and her mother. "Ruining everything."

They laughed and headed back to the bonfire, Jim holding Nova in place for just a moment. "Why did you tell them?"

"Because, it wasn't fair to you or them if you were a secret. And… I love you, so I don't want you to be a secret." She blushed, gazing up at the stars sheepishly to avoid his gaze.

His smile went from warm to mischievous, and he leaned in to place a kiss on her lips. She backed away, pressing a hand to his face. "Jim, my PARENTS."

Her dad was glaring at them- mostly Jim- but made no move toward them.

"It was worth a shot, right?"

A/N: Fuck me. I forgot about the Roger fight chapter. Next one, I promise. It's 2:40 am here, and I'm just dog-ass tired. Good night.