Star-Crossed

Part 32

I arrive to the park, and as I approach the big weeping willow, I see Niko sitting there strumming on a guitar, lazily humming the words to one of our favorite songs.

"We don't have to be ordinary, make your best mistakes," he sings. "'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry, so baby be the life of the party."

When he sees me, he looks up and continues to strum and sing, "I'm telling you to take your shot - it might be scary, hearts are gonna break."

I sit down next to him and join in. Together, we sing, "'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry, so baby be the life of the party."

He stops strumming and I clap and shout, "Whooo hoooo!"

We both laugh.

"That was awesome," I say. "But when did you learn how to play the guitar?"

Niko never had a guitar on Dard. None of us owned or had access to anything remotely fun. It's really weird that he's suddenly so good at it.

"Yeah, uh, I guess I learn fast," he responds, a hair of hesitation in his voice. "It's great to see you, Kishmish."

He grabs my hand and squeezes it hard. His hand is oddly cold.

"Niko," I say. "What's going on? Have you been alive this entire time?"

He looks at me with those big, beautiful emerald-colored eyes of his, but something feels sort of hollow to me. There's something missing. That sparkle in his eyes is gone.

He takes a deep breath. "Yes," he finally answers.

I look at him, shell-shocked.

"Why didn't you contact me this entire time?!" I scream. "Do you even know what you put me through?"

A few tears begin to roll down my cheeks. I'm so angry.

"I'm so sorry K," he responds. "I had to do what Xeno told me to do."

"How can I even believe what you're saying to me right now?" I snap. "You realize that none of this makes any sense at all, right?"

I get up from where we're both sitting and begin to pace back-and-forth. I feel like throwing something. I can't believe he's been alive this entire time.

"Kish," Niko begins. "I know. I'm sorry."

He stands up and walks over to me, wrapping me in a huge bear hug with his arms. He wipes the tears from my face. I want so badly to melt into the comfort of his touch. But, his embrace is just a little too tight. And all of his gestures feel a bit too mechanical.

"I never really died in the first place," he explains, letting go of me. "That person, eh thing you saw on stage...it was a droid. It wasn't me."

I wipe my eyes and look at him, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Remember that rustling we heard in the forest, after we had finished eating?" asks Niko.

"Yeah of course," I answer.

"It was Xeno," says Niko.

"He told me that he had been formulating a plan for  Recruitment Day for a while," adds Niko. "He said that if I listened to exactly what he told me to do, both you and I would be accepted into the Squad."

"But, why didn't you tell me?" I ask. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"There was no time," answers Niko. "I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that, so I just did whatever Xeno told me to do."

"But why did he choose you and not me?" I ask.

"Well, you really were - eh, are - my greatest attachment," he answers, blushing.

He looks at me to see how I react, but I don't know what to say, so I look away.

After a moment, Niko adds, "We needed a situation where we would be pitted against each other, so we could both be on stage at the same time."

"But why?" I ask. "Why couldn't Xeno have just chosen both of us separately for the lottery?"

"Xeno told me that your attachment was too complicated to be presented truthfully on stage," answers Niko. "That's all I know."

I take a deep breath. In and out. My family...my parents...my dad.

"Niko," I begin. "I'm really glad you're here. I've missed you."

He grabs my hand and walks me back to the spot that we were just sitting at, under the tree, a few moments ago.

He sits down and motions for me to rest in his lap so he can cuddle me in his arms. He leans back against the tree, and I lean back against him. I am a little pea and he is my pod.

He's gotten unusually buff since the last time I was with him. It's kinda hot, but sort of weird at the same time. We both sit in silence for a while, gazing at the stars.

"Did you see that?" he asks. "A shooting star!"

"I missed it," I say. "Did you make a wish?"

"My wish is coming true right now," he answers.

I turn around and look back at him. Everything in my body wants to kiss him. But something in my mind tells me to hold off for now.

I can't tell if something is off about Niko. He just seems...different. Maybe I feel sort of guilty about Zayn. Or maybe it's a combination of both?

Then, Niko grabs my face and pulls it close to his. He holds me there, our lips lightly touching each other's, and stares deep into my eyes. I feel like he's looking into my soul.

"You're shaking a little bit," he says. "Are you cold?"

"No," I answer. "I think I'm nervous."

He smiles and then kisses me. A thousand soft kisses. And then, more slowly, we linger a bit more, each kiss a bit longer and deeper. I start to feel really hot.

First, I take off my jacket, and then Niko takes off his.

"We don't have to do this, Kish," he says. "Right here, right now."

"I want to," I whisper back. "I want to feel this with you."

He spreads his jacket out on the ground and then lays me down on my back, so that I'm facing up at him as he leans over me. He smiles.

"I've been dreaming about this moment for a long time," he says. "Karina Ishma, you are beautiful."

He leans in and starts kissing me.

Then, I hear some leaves crunching, and look up. The crunching noise stops. I don't see anyone. Then, I hear it again and see a shadowy figure in the distance, running out of the park.

"It's probably just some perv," Niko says. "Don't worry. No one saw anything."

"Yeah, I guess," I respond, feeling nervous about who that might have been.

I turn to my side so that Niko can't kiss me anymore. Something just feels sort of off. I have to trust my gut. Who was that in the bushes, anyway?

All of the sudden, I feel really uncomfortable.

"What time is it?" I ask, rummaging around, trying to find my watch. I find it and gasp, "It's almost 9:00 - I promised Rex I'd stop by her brother's party! It started an hour ago!"

I jump up and grab my jacket and put it back on. Niko sits there and stares at me, a look of disappointment on his face. Then, he too puts on his jacket.

"Let me walk you to the party, then?" Niko asks. "I kinda wanna check it out, too."

He grabs my hand and pulls me close to him. I give him a quick kiss on the cheek and then pull myself away.

"Um...ok - sure," I answer. "But, I'll probably be talking to Rex the whole time."

"Don't worry," grins Niko. "Do your thing. I probably won't stay for very long anyway."

We get up and head over to the party together. I can't put my finger on exactly why I feel different around Niko, but something has definitely changed.