Revamped!

[To the beautiful guest who left those kind reviews (you know who you are), I'm posting this for you :)]

Burned to Cinder: Part Ten

As her last hours in Artemisia come ticking down and the stars start flickering in the night sky, Winter lies on the roof of what is now their old home. For the longest time, Winter thought that this was the closest she would be to the sky until she realizes that she would be on a plane in a few hours. And it wasn't her first plane ride. Everything is sparkling and pretty. Despite lying on the roof, Winter feels as if everything is at her feet and she can do anything, be anything. A part of her regrets asking Levana to move but although Artemisia is the place with her friends and boyfriend, she still feels heavy here, as if the roof would collapse under her due. She wants to be up there in the stars and fly away but at the same time, be grounded.

A vibration on the roof makes her heart jump. For a moment, she thought that the roof would collapse but it was just her phone. Winter picks it up and holds it above her face, needing to lower the brightness so she wouldn't have to squint her eyes so much.

Jacin Bae: When can I see you?

Winter: You can come over whenever you want.

Jacin Bae: Good cause I'm already here.

Winter sits and sees Jacin climbing through the window she used to get here. She smiles as he takes a few quick steps to get to where she is, ignoring her yells for him to slow down so he wouldn't slip, fall, and break his neck, before he nestles down next to her. He exhales before moving so close to her that Winter could smell his scent of fresh soap and light cologne on his t-shirt which she loves and will desperately miss the moment she drives off this property.

They sit silently, trying to avoid the inevitable conversation they've been dragging on until this very last minute.

Winter huffs. "This is happening. Tonight. No matter what."

"I know," Jacin replies.

"We need to figure out what to do."

"Right, but -"

"No." Winter lies on her side, hoisting herself up on her elbow to get a better look at Jacin. "No more talking because we digress and that gets us nowhere. We still don't know whether to stay together or break up."

Jacin nods and the two of them are left in silence. They've known for a month that they would have to part ways. No matter what they decide - stay together or break up - they wouldn't favour either. Both endings would be played out as poignant and inevitable: a single tear, a sorrowful hug, and a brave goodbye.

Jacin sits a little, using his elbows as support. Winter looks down at him, unsure whether she should rest her head on his shoulder or if that will have a butterfly effect and drastically change the whole course of reality. She wants to do so and he wants her to do it, but neither of them moves.

"There's no bad time to tell someone you love them," Winter whispers to Jacin, slightly leaning in closer to him.

The tips of Winter's hair brush against his face as Jacin inhales. He looks up at the stars before meeting Winter's eyes, seeing much brighter lights in there. They sparkle a little more since she can't remember if Jacin ever said he loved her even if it wasn't direct. It was better than nothing since he wasn't good with this emotional fluff.

"If I didn't love you so much, I'd be hurt you were leaving," Jacin replies. "Let me tell you this, Winter, even if we're not together, we're together. I'm in love with your strange because my heart is drawn to your crazy."

Winter can't help but smile although unavoidable tears of joy fall down her face. "Crazy is the new sane."

Jacin laughs a little bit but stops himself since Winter is still going to leave. Winter lies back down, staying on her side and keeping her eyes on him. She slowly takes his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. Jacin glances down at their joint hands and holds them up against the stars.

"If you kiss me now," Winter starts as she admires their hands. "I might explode into a million pieces of shimmering, glimmering light. Your kisses or even hickeys are like Hallmark Cards."

Deeply flattered and smitten by this girl, Jacin grins before leaning over on top of Winter, cupping her face with his free hand as he kisses the stars out of her. He kisses her with an intensity that is new to her. Winter runs and twists her free hand through his blond hair as his kisses travel from her face down to her neck and collarbone, and she pants heavily. When he returns to her mouth, their tongues tangle together. This kiss is something more urgent, something more desperate; he then pressed his lips hard against hers and she leans back in, kissing back until they part.

"Jacin…" Winter mutters, tears forming in her eyes this time.

"Shh…" Jacin whispers back, his lips lightly brush against hers.

Winter chokes on a sob so Jacin leans down again to take the sob from her and they're kissing again. It's passionate and loving again but a little sad this time since it plays as a glue to keep them both together. The beautiful bond between them will take some work to keep in its precious condition, but with their love, they'll be fine.

-o-

The days leading up to the move, Cinder has been poring over articles about Commonwealth, trying to get a clearer picture of what her life will soon look like. She eventually stopped when they have been too much or when they were only catering to tourists. Cinder wouldn't be a tourist, she would be an immigrant with a new life there. Winter didn't bother reading anything since it was all going to be a surprise to her anyways. Cinder didn't want to agree but she conceded. It was one thing to read someone else's opinions and thoughts about a place and it was another to set foot in that place and make it your own.

Cinder, Winter, Jacin, Iko, and Kinney circle outside in the now-former Blackburn driveway, feeling the full weight of the moment as they share their bottled sodas. The time has come to say goodbye but the words haven't caught up yet. They haven't seen each other as much compared to the weeks before. The ones staying in Luna still have to focus on school since Andromeda Academy is becoming stricter as they get older and the ones leaving were packing.

A breeze shifts through the branches of the trees that lean close to what's now their old house and a few leaves twirl down. The realtor's sign with the word "sold" in big block letters across it flaps back and forth, reminding them that this is the last day. Cinder and Winter can't help but think that this is the last time for a while that they'll be with their best friends.

"In Commonwealth, it snows," Kinney comments to get a conversation going.

"That's the only thing I'm waiting for," Winter says with a small shrug as she wiggles her toes in her sandals. She notes that when it snows, she has to change her footwear.

"Still," Iko says, "I hate that you're both leaving. Seriously, it's the worst. Life's full of spades, no matter how you cut it."

"We'll miss you," Jacin tells them. "Even you, Cinder."

"I for you, Jacin," Cinder says back.

Everyone follows suit, lifting their bottles and clinking them together.

"Cheers," Jacin says, "to us."

"To us," Winter echoes.

"But mostly to me," Iko says, breaking the spell and everyone gives her an exasperated look. "What? I deserve the most cheers. I'll be lonely here except for those two losers."

"You're not a perfect friend," Winter tells Iko before looking at the others, "but you're real ones. My life might have been weird or screwy or glamorous or imperfect or damaged or whatever, but it has never seemed better to me."

Everyone gives Iko her wish and overemphasize their cheers this time with small yells and Winter's statement. Iko points her bottle directly at Jacin and Kinney, spilling a little out from the neck with a small laugh. The two boys sip theirs liberally, having the same feeling from their end since they'll be stuck with Iko. They weren't happy yet they weren't unhappy either. There's an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would say that they were conspiring together. It was times like this that their secret life together in Artemisia burst together like stars upon their memories.

"If I don't come back," Cinder whispers, leaning in closer into the circle. "Just remember that Levana brought me there."

"Be careful in Commonwealth," Kinney tells them. "I don't know much about it except for that snow thing but someone might throw a straitjacket on you and it's hard to hit people back in those things."

Cinder gives Kinney a strange look and Winter nods her head grateful for the advice no matter how strange yet useful it sounded.

"Your wiring may be basic but you shouldn't be either," Jacin says to Cinder.

Cinder rolls her eyes at what may be the last cyborg joke she'll hear for a while. She glances at Iko and sees her friend with a watery smile before she lunges at her, throwing her arms around her neck. Winter gives Jacin a last kiss before she goes to hug Kinney tightly. Iko gives Winter a bear-hug as Jacin tucks Cinder under his arm and Kinney messed up her already-messy hair until it resembles a bird's nest.

Cinder and Winter look at each other, taking deep breaths before linking arms. They march prominently to the car and get in, already seeing Levana in the front seat with her sunglasses on and applying a fresh coat of dark lipstick. The driver starts the engine and Cinder already feels carsick.

As they pull out of the driveway, leaving behind the three figures in the dark, each lifting a hand to say goodbye. As the Blackburns wind their way out of Artemisia, nobody in the car says anything. Cinder swallows a few times, trying not to fall apart unlike Winter who already has. Due to the salinity of her tears and the fact that her scars haven't scabbed over, she has to apply fresh bandages to prevent stinging and infection. Cinder did that task. As she seals them, she shakes as she meets Winter's eyes. Cinder holds Winter's head and rests it on her shoulder, holding her hand.

If someone has to stay sane, it would be here. One person losing their mind on a flight was one too many. If this was the start to their life in Commonwealth and they haven't even left Artemisia yet, what would their life in the new town, the new country be like?

[And that concludes Cinder's arc. It was honestly one of my favourites to write so far. The next arcs will go back into the present and until then, guess who the next one will be about.]