You won't know what's ahead, but thank me at the end.

Play It Cress-cendo: Part Nine

Winter: No fair! I've always wanted to go to the #AsteroidBelt!

Jacin: It's not worth it. I've sobered up and regretted it even more than when I was hammered.

Winter: Drunk You and Sober You aren't even that different.

Winter: Both broody, moody, uninterested in everything and everyone. Drunk You would just fail a Breathalyzer.

Jacin: Fair.

Winter: Bet it'd be more fun with me there ;)

Jacin: Stars, no. You'd make me take pictures with you. Or you'd be posing with Iko.

Winter: Exactly. More fun.

-o-

The sun is starting to set but that didn't stop anyone at the #AsteroidBelt. Lanterns hanging from trees, neon lights from the stage, glow-stick bracelets, and even glow-in-the-dark makeup light the way.

Jacin squints his eyes as he turns up the brightness on his phone. After walking around all day in the sun and listening to music that numbed his brain while helping Iko take people's photos for money, he sat down at the base of a palm tree to text Winter. His brain is fried to calculate the time difference but he figures that Winter is at the beach considering all the photos he's sending. He smiles as he scrolls through them, even some dudes passing by him from behind whistle when they glance down at Winter's beach photo on his phone.

Jacin ignores them as he leaves his chat with Winter and checks his email. Nothing. When he logs onto his application for early admission for pre-med at the University of Artemisia, he sees that it's still being processed.

If he doesn't get in, even during regular admission, then he'll probably do a general science and either transfer into pre-med, do something else semi-related to medicine, or wound up serving in the army. Following the path made for him before he was born. It wouldn't be the end of the world if he wounds up as a soldier. It's not that he doesn't want it … he just wants something else first, preferably a middle ground.

In the best-case scenario, he's a doctor for the military. Worst case scenario? Unthinkable.

Iko and Kinney, like most of the other cadets at Andromeda Academy, don't have to worry about admissions. All cadets are granted automatic acceptance for any undergraduate as long as they participate in a co-op program where they'll have a placement with the military because they'll serve afterwards. It's a transitionary period. Jacin isn't sure if he could balance pre-med with co-op. He's looked into it on online forums and many alums don't recommend it. They suggest picking one or the other (or even none of the above).

Which is kind of drawing him more towards it.

Speaking of Iko and Kinney, he lost them. Jacin looks up from his phone and everything looks distorted as his eyes adjust from staring at his phone's brightness to the dark festival with popping lights around him. He glances at his phone to see if Iko and Kinney might've messaged or called him, but nothing.

Jacin gets up and starts walking. He pushes past crowds, peering over and trying to get a good look at people's blurry faces. He isn't sure how to find Kinney since he isn't wearing anything to stand out so he tries looking for Iko's glitter or blue braids. He'd look for camera flashes but those are everywhere.

Jacin thinks they're probably with each other and fine. Maybe Kinney's helping Iko take a photo of some girlfriends giving each other piggybacks.

Jacin thinks he'll just sit in the car and wait, charge his phone and continue texting Winter until Kinney and Iko show up ready to go. Earlier when Jacin sobered up and said he wasn't having any more drinks, he told Kinney he'd drive them home so he got his car keys.

Jacin heads into the parking lot where some partygoers settle by their cars getting high or taking some last selfies before going into the night. He searches around for Kinney's car and instead of fighting it, he spots Iko's blue braids sitting on the back trunk. Jacin notices that she's very close with a boy standing in front of her. The boy stands between her legs with his hands just reaching into the hem of her skirt at her hips, kissing her passionately. Iko has her hands wrapped around his neck, her elbows pulling him closer to her. When the boy's head moves to the crook of Iko's shoulder, that's when Jacin sees his face and freezes.

Jacin blinks, needing to rub his eyes because he isn't sure if he's seeing this right. Is he still drunk? Possibly high?

Iko is making out with Kinney. On the back of his car. Kinney is making out with Iko. On the back of his car.

Stars, if Kinney had his keys, then they would've been in the backseat. It would've be so much more awkward if Jacin walked in on that because all he wanted to do was to charge his phone.

Jacin wants to look away but he's confused. He believes or wants to believe that Iko and Kinney are drunk or high, potentially both, but what if they were secretly hooking up the whole time? A part of him believes it since they seem like they know what they're doing with each other … but being intoxicated and not infatuation can do that too, right?

Either way, that image is forever burned into his mind.

Jacin turns around and waits, not wanting to wake up to the car and ruin their moment. He sits on the curb, hiding behind someone's car as he takes out his phone to see an unanswered text from Winter.

Winter: So, what's happening now? Still at the #AsteroidBelt?

Jacin pauses, thumbs hovering over the keyboard. If only Winter sent him some more beach pics or videos of Cinder failing at her swim lesson so he could talk and laugh about that instead. He isn't sure what to say since all he could think about is whatever Iko and Kinney have going on and he doesn't even know what it is. And he doesn't know if they even know what they're doing and if he should tell Winter.

Winter: What are you doing?

Jacin: I can't explain it even if I tried.

Winter: Try me ;)

Jacin hesitates over the keyboard. It's times like this when he wonders if honesty is the best policy.

Jacin: Drugs.

Jacin doesn't know why he typed that but it made him grin. It sounded more believable than Iko and Kinney making out on his car.

Winter: Okay, okay, what about Iko and Kinney? What are they doing?

It's almost as if Winter knows. Jacin is so tempted to type each other just for the sake of typing it … and to get Winter's reaction.

Jacin: Each other.

Jacin doesn't regret it. He watches in anticipation as her speech bubble dots appear and reappear. Jacin can almost picture Winter sitting under an umbrella at the beach, staring at her screen in confusion. She types something out and then erases it, possibly calls over Cinder to show her. Cinder probably laughs in disbelief before saying he's pulling your spades since Iko and Kinney would never. Jacin scoffs a laugh at the thought.

Winter: Yeah right.

That's why he doesn't regret it. She thinks he's joking but jokes on her since he doesn't have a sense of humour.

Stars, if only she knew what he saw.

You know I just had to hint at Iko/Kinney.