Crow Hokkaido
Ari was just starting to stretch out when I walked into the gym. I could tell from the light mist of perspiration on her face that she'd been training long before I'd come around. In the past few days, these meetings had become an unspoken routine. Neither of us knew when it had become so regular, it had just happened.
"Aria." I muttered.
"Crow." Aria sank down into a split and I gulped, wincing a little. She twisted her hips and turned into a side split. I raised my eyebrows a bit.
"That's gotta hurt."
Ari shook her head and a grin spread across her face. I blinked. It was the first time I'd seen her smile. It was...kind of cute.
"You never do that."
"What?"
I dropped my gaze. "Smile." I muttered.
Aria gave no reply. Only stood up and re-tied her ponytail, obviously ready to go back at it. I took a look out the window. The moon was high out in the middle of the sky.
"How long have you been here?"
Aria checked the clock. "Three hours."
I shook my head. "Why are you working so hard to get the upper hand?"
Aria's face hardened the way it did when the subject of Evangeline was brought up. "I have to beat her. I will beat her."
But she was able to do that just fine before she started training like this. So what exactly is she up to?
Aria continued. "I need your help."
I looked up at her curiously. I could see it in her face. She had a plan.
“I’m putting together a group of people. A rebellion. If we train them and organize properly, we can take her down. If we can get little miss priss off her throne, this school will belong to the students again, not any one person.”
A rebellion... I felt my stomach twist and I ran a finger under the cuffs of me gloves. Could she know?
"I'm in." I agreed. I have the experience. And she needs my help. "But caution is necessary."
Ari nodded. She turned to a table of weights and began looking over them. "That's why I'm working so hard." She picked up two weights with a small black 180 printed on the ends. I stood, watching her lift the weights. She'll burn herself out at this rate.
"You need sleep."
Ari didn't even look up. "I don't care." She continued to lift the weights. I grabbed them as she brought them up again, holding them in place. Ari scowled a little, tugging at the weights and stepping closer to me. My heart twisted in my chest. I gripped the weights tighter. Ari looked up at me.
"Why did you fight for me yesterday?" I whispered, I felt strange. Like I'd been running for the past few minutes instead of sitting on the gym floor.
Ari didn't answer. She tugged the wights again, not taking her eyes off me. The expressionless mask melted away and I saw the young girl again. I felt my knees begin to shake a little.
"Let go." She breathed. I held on tighter. All at once, I saw everything. I saw the little streaks of blonde in her red hair, and the tiny flecks of grey in her eyes that I'd never noticed before. I saw her lean build, gentle curves, and delicate face. The picture I drew of the angel rose up in my minds eye.
I couldn't have told you what happened next, because my mind stopped working as soon as she pressed her lips to mine. The only thing I noticed for what felt like a long time was how warm her lips were, that my hands fit almost perfectly where they rested on her hips. The weights fell with a thud and her arms were around my neck. Her fingers were tangled in my hair. I could feel all my walls crumbling to nothing, and...I didn't care. One person had torn down every defense I had built in one moment, and suddenly it didn't matter anymore. The feeling snapped everything back into focus. Without those walls, I was nothing. I pulled away. What happened? I thought no one could do that. I ran my fingers though my hair, feeling the path Aria's fingers had made there. I turned abruptly and hurried from the gym and through the courtyard. Energy was still pulsing through my body. I walked faster, headed for the lofty safety of the tree. No. No, no, no, no, no!
"Crow. Crow, I'm sorry." Aria grabbed my wrists and turned me around. Her eyes were still full of emotion. “I don’t know why but I’m beginning to like you. I don’t know anything about you but it’s like you’re always just… there. You drew a picture of me when I was in the hospital and it felt like you were the only person who saw a girl, not just a fighting machine. You see things that I don’t and I can’t-”
I quickly pulled away. "No, Aria. I can't" The emotion in her eyes changed. She took a step back, seeming to deflate. Guilt stabbed through me like one of Lakewood's knives. I turned again and ran toward the bunks. flying through the door and quietly shutting it behind me. I sat heavily down on my bunk, burying my head in my hands. I felt so many different emotions roiling inside my mind that I couldn't tell one from the other. I sat like that for a long time as I re-built myself. Setting my walls back up. I took a deep breath and sat up straight again. My cheeks were wet. I touched the streaks of moisture, almost to make sure they were actually there. I can't remember the last time I'd cried. There had been so many times when I'd wanted to, and couldn't. But now...
I smiled to myself. I'm strong after all.
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