Revamped!

[Kaider shippers, get excited!]

Winter's Melting: Part Eight

Cinder lies flat on her bed with her eyes closed and her mind wide open. Through the vents, she can hear Levana's meeting with some town's officials including the mayor. Cinder can't exactly hear what they're saying but she doesn't care. She rolls onto her side and sees her bedroom window and its many possibilities that lie just past those curtains. She could go to the Rampion again, maybe bring Winter along for the ride but knows that Levana would be ticked if she found out Winter left again (especially if Cinder suggested it).

Cinder stands to open her curtains and her window. She climbs out and is more successful when it comes to shimmying across and down the tree. Practice makes perfect. Once Cinder's feet hit the ground, she thinks of calling Thorne to see if he would join her but realizes that she left her phone in her room. Cinder groans since she isn't up for climbing back up into her room to get it. She plans to roam around the city on her own, maybe stop at The Rampion to see if Scarlet and Thorne are there, she'll see.

Cinder walks along the side of her house and once she reaches the main sidewalk, she sees a boy standing in her driveway, already looking at her. Cinder pauses, not recognizing who that is in the dark or why he's there. She takes a few steps closer and the boy shifts into a street light. Cinder pauses, immediately knowing who it is.

"Mayor's son?" Cinder questions although she knows it's him and she knows his name.

"Mechanic?" Kai responds in the same way with a grin.

"What are you doing here?" They ask each other at the same time.

Kai clears his throat. "My dad is meeting with Ms. Blackburn and I just stepped out for some air."

Cinder nods slowly. She should've known that since she knows the mayor's inside. "I live here."

That surprises Kai at first. "Live in or breaking out of?"

Cinder laughs a little. "Both, but all jokes aside, Levana is my aunt."

Cinder takes in Kai's shock as a compliment. For some reason, people tend to be more surprised by the fact that Levana is her aunt than Levana being Winter's stepmother. Maybe it was the wicked taboo that came with fairytale stepmothers. Cinder could believe that since Levana was everything that came with being wicked.

The two of them stand awkwardly, shuffling their feet with their hands in their pockets and eyes looking at the ground.

"Hey, do you want to hang out somewhere?" Cinder asks him.

Kai nods eagerly. "I think I know a place you'd like."

Cinder smiles a little. "Lead the way."

-o-

At The Rampion, Scarlet refills the straw dispenser as her kind-of-least-favourite customer walks in and takes a seat on the other side of the counter. He gives her his charming grin as she makes him a milkshake probably for some sexual innuendo. Scarlet didn't bother to comment on his charm although he knows she doesn't care much for it.

He sips his milkshake and raises an eyebrow at Scarlet.

"What?" Scarlet asks, knowing that Thorne wants to say something.

"I'm proud of you for valiantly saving Winter," Thorne compliments.

"Oh, please," Scarlet says modestly, "you would've probably done the same thing if you were there."

Thorne nods. Scarlet eyes him as she leans on their shared counter space because she knows exactly why Thorne wasn't there. Her eyes meet Thorne's and he could tell that she was about to ask him a serious question.

"Is The Wolf Pack still hunting your dear ace down?" Scarlet asks him.

"Nah," Thorne responds with a fake confidence, "they're on hibernation."

"Really? I think they're just lurking in the shadows ready to bite your face off. Are you scared of them?"

Thorne scoffs with a small grin as he stirs his milkshake with his straw. "Are you afraid of the big bad Wolf?"

Scarlet smirks before shaking her head, not even needing to think of her answer. "Wolf is nothing more than an overgrown puppy."

"One you threatened to shoot."

Still smiling, Scarlet can't argue that point.

-o-

Winter hums to herself as she finally comes around to unpacking her boxes from the move. She puts books on her shelf, organizing them by colour for that aesthetic look. She picks up a photo album and opens the front cover, beginning to leaf through the photos of her and Cinder's final days in Artemisia. All the candids, all the selfies, and all the friends left behind.

"Ew! I look so bad in that one!"

"Shut up! You always look good in them! Geez, Winter, tell me your selfie-taking secrets."

"I have no secrets. What filter is that?"

"I didn't even use a filter!"

So many good memories now separated by an ocean between the two countries.

Winter looks at a particular photo and finds herself staring at it way too long. It has her laughing with a wide smile and squinted eyes. One of her arms is wrapped around the broad shoulders of a blond boy whose face is hidden in her wild curls as he kisses her cheek. Winter's focus is primarily on her face. Her joyous, non-punctured face.

"I love you, Winter, don't forget that I'll always be the complimenting guard to your princess." His voice echoes in her head. She isn't sure if it hurts her or brings her a bittersweet joy. Could it be both? She didn't even check her phone or respond to any of his messages. He's definitely worried about her but, surely, he contacted Cinder and she would've told him. Still, her heart aches at leaving him behind.

Winter looks over at her bed and sees a box cutter that she used to unpack. She grips it tightly, hovering it over her smooth cheek in the photo as if she's inflicting herself. Once the scars appeared on her face, her album stopped filling up with photos. Her mind fills with flashbacks about getting the scars and she drops the knife and the photo.

-o-

Kai leads Cinder to the city's junkyard. He's disgusted with this site but seeing Cinder's entire face open in raw admiration for this place changes his opinion on it. He may see useless automotive parts but she sees parts with potential. She sees something she could fix or build. Cinder takes a few steps into the soft dirt as she admires the sights around her, spinning on her toes to make sure she gets a look at everything as Kai trails her behind, making sure not to trip on anything.

"This is beautiful," Cinder says with every breath in her. "Kai, this is just amazing."

"I'm not surprised you say so," Kai responds. "I figured that since you like fixing cars and did a wonderful job on Nainsi, I should show you this place."

Cinder raises an eyebrow. "I like the name Nainsi for your car. It suits her. She looks like a Nainsi."

Kai laughs casually and Cinder joins in a little. He takes a step closer and takes a piece of her bangs between his thumb and pointer finger. He wasn't doing that to be romantic but because he found a stray bolt in her hair not knowing how it got there and didn't think asking would answer that question. Still, Cinder didn't stop him.

"I saw Winter the night you moved in," Kai states. "I was at the party."

"Right," Cinder says, taking a step back. She knows where this conversation is going and shrugs. "She's basically my sister and yet I feel like I don't know her as I should. She feels like a different person now, someone damaged. You see, when a car is damaged, you'd just change the oil, replace the battery, or just fix whatever is the problem with a couple of tools. You can't do that with people since they're not repairable machines. I hate seeing people so broken when there's nothing I can do to fix it, especially the person I'd consider myself closest."

Kai looks at her differently than when he saw her as the mechanic or when he found a bolt in her hair. Her love and passion don't only apply to items because she tries to put those same morals into people. His eyes and face are softer, sympathizing with her. Cinder looks deep into his copper eyes, their lips suddenly mere inches apart from each other. Kai closes his eyes, about to pull her in. Then, an idea pops into Cinder's mind and she mutters something inaudible.

Kai's eyes open and he notices Cinder's mind somewhere else.

"What is it?" Kai asks.

"Jacin!" Cinder exclaims.

"Who?"

"I have to get Jacin! I forgot to answer his texts! Holy spades he's worried sick!"

Kai is confused as to what just happened but as he sees Cinder running off, he follows. Along the way, Kai stumbles over something. He looks back and sees that it's Cinder's shoe. Kai picks it up and calls out to Cinder to get her shoe back on, but her mind has something much more important to do than put on a shoe.

[Way to be a cockblock, Jacin, way to go!]