Revamped!

[Guys, I hate school and I didn't realize this chapter took place at school.] [2020: *in quarantine* Girl you'll be wishing you were going to school this year.]

[Ah, yes, this arc now belongs to Cress. I love the name of it.]

Beyond the Crescent Moon: Part One

One morning before school, Cinder and Kai walk through the hallways, passing the time before class starts with each other. Ever since their almost-kiss in the junkyard, Cinder and Kai have been inseparable friends with an obvious chemistry at school. It was hard for them to have time together after school since they're both busy with their part-time jobs (Cinder being a mechanic and Kai working at the information desk at city hall) and their families. School would be the only time they could be together with the only interruption being class. It benefitted more when they shared a class.

"I could visit you at your work," Kai offers. "We could take Nainsi through the car wash."

"Interesting," Cinder comments.

"Or we could both just step out for a couple of minutes and go through some drive-thrus," Kai suggests. "I could show you that Commonwealth is more than just The Rampion and Lunar Academy."

"Those take forever," Cinder whines. "It's almost as if you want to be locked in a car with me."

Kai shrugs. "Maybe. That's just so you can't run off."

Cinder laughs a little. "Oh my stars, that was one time."

"You run so fast!"

"Learn to catch up."

-o-

Across the hall, Scarlet walks towards her locker with Wolf trailing her. Their appearance as a couple along with the slow disappearance of The Wolf Pack silenced the school. At first, nobody knew what to think since it seemed so odd and sudden for a bit but when people saw that they lasted for more than a week and the endless spew of Wolf's forced selfies that Scarlet wanted, the rumours died out and people saw them as relationship goals. The two of them became each other's best friends and lovers in such a short amount of time.

"Scarlet, your shoe's untied," Wolf tells her.

Scarlet stops and looks down at her untied tennis shoe.

"Could you tie it?" Scarlet asks him.

"Tie your own shoe," Wolf replies.

"You just want me to bend over in my skirt so you could see my butt."

Wolf pauses. He raises a brow as he grins at her. "...I didn't even think of that until now."

Scarlet turns around and sees Wolf raising his eyebrows at her. She rolls her eyes. Scarlet lifts her foot and puts it on his leg. Wolf looks at it. He then sees Scarlet gesturing towards him and her untied shoe. He rolls his eyes before tying it extra tight purposely but taking his time to see how long Scarlet can keep her balance like that.

-o-

Cress is in the middle of all the romance, leaning against a classroom door waiting for class to start. Kai and Cinder chat at one end while Wolf ties Scarlet's shoe at the other one. Cress smiles, only because she's picturing those moments happening between herself and Thorne. The harsh reality of it all is that the only place those will happen is her mind.

Since The Wolf Pack dissolved and Thorne was a free man, he went back to forgetting her which she expected since she's just Cress. She's almost entirely unremarkable: long blonde hair that goes down to her waist, blue eyes, short, and quiet. She's ordinary so she blends into the walls which never bothered her. That's why she often thinks that a boy like Carswell Thorne wouldn't know or care that she exists.

Speaking of the devilish boy, here he is now striding through the halls. With his irresistible charm, he greets everyone as if he owns the place. Scarlet tries to trip him with her newly-tied shoe but he jumps over it flawlessly. Then, Thorne spins around to rub it in her face until he bumps into Wolf.

"Hey, Wolf!" Thorne exclaims. "How are ya?"

Wolf isn't amused by this. "We're not friends."

Thorne lightly punches Wolf's arm. "We could be besties."

Wolf glares at him. Thorne winks at him before heading down his way. Cress notices Thorne coming her way but she looks down at her phone avoid seeing him. She would love to look at Thorne since he's the most beautiful boy she's ever seen but there's the chance that Thorne wouldn't see her and she would rather be wondering whether Thorne spared her a look than know for sure that he didn't see her. Oh, if only her and Thorne were besties … she would love that.

"Why are you sad?"

Cress breaks from her daydream and sees Winter standing in front of her. She has no idea how long Winter has been standing there. From how relaxed Winter looks, Cress guesses that it's been at least five minutes.

"Everyone's in love and my fantasy relationship is one-sided," Cress admits.

Winter sighs, pitying Cress and putting a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Cress says, just assuming that someone like Winter has a boyfriend. She has to, right? She's so beautiful.

"He's a cadet in Andromeda Academy," Winter replies proudly. "Wanna see him?"

"Sure."

Winter pulls out her phone and opens her camera roll. "His name is Jacin."

Winter scrolls through pictures which are mostly selfies containing her and Jacin. Winter is smiling and making weird faces in one corner of the picture while Jacin is in the background. There's one where he's on his phone not paying attention, one where he finally notices, one where he covers his face, then he's trying to push her phone away which doesn't work, one where he's glaring as she's puckering her lips for a kiss and he's just staring at her, and there's finally the kiss.

"Jacin hates selfies but I love them," Winter says, continuing to look at the selfies. "He calls them humanity's breaking point but I believe he doesn't know how to take them."

Stars, Cress loves this. She doesn't know Jacin but she does know that Andromeda Academy is in Luna so the fact that they're long-distance makes them even cuter. Even looking at Winter beam as she scrolls through the endless selfies makes her look happier, highlighting her beauty even more. Cress didn't think was possible.

Cress sighs. "Of course a beautiful girl like you is dating a cadet. Are you a secret princess or something because you're like a princess dating her guard."

"I thought I was when I was a kid and my dad went along with it." Winter puts a hand on Cress's shoulder. "Don't worry, Cress, Thorne will notice you. You're too beautiful for him not to come to his senses. Thorne always notices beautiful girls."

Cress stares at her stunned. "How did you know I liked Thorne?"

Winter smirks. "Come with me."

Keeping her camera on, Winter skips through school and Cress lightly jogs to keep up. Cress isn't sure what Winter has planned nor does she know where they're going. Eventually, Winter resorts back to a walk when she hears Cress panting for air since she's exhausted. Cress catches up and sees that they're in the football field where the school's team is getting an early morning practice before classes.

"You need to have more confidence in yourself," Winter says. "You need to believe that you can get Thorne so you can get him."

"Then why are we here?" Cress asks.

"Follow my lead."

Before Cress could ask, Winter walks right through the middle of the practice while holding Cress's hand. Football players are rushing past them, just missing Winter and Cress as they get tackled to the ground by their teammates. Some scream at them, the coach yells at them, and Cress just cowers behind Winter. This is scary for her but not as scary as being in a car with Wolf. Nothing will ever beat that moment. Winter doesn't even bat a lash as she walks through the game. She has her eyes looking at the other end of the field where her goal is. Even when the ball skims their heads, Winter has no reaction. Cress, on the other hand, screams a little. Then, they reach the other end of the field and Cress acts as if that was the longest walk of her life.

"What's wrong with you?" Cress asks, her voice a little higher-pitched than usual. She's currently shaking.

"Nothing," Winter replies casually. "I'm just being confident."

[In all honesty, Winter seems like that friend who just knows everything about everyone.]