Apex Academy

Part 10

A few days had passed at the Apex Academy leaving a few people wondering why life went by so fast and why it had to be so cruel. 

Renee hadn't spoken with Natalie in a few days and hadn't seen her hanging out with the group either and was beginning to worry for her best friend. Elliot was finally on the mend and had been given a full check-up and some broken ribs had been mended by the school nurse who had praised A.Jay on her medical skills. 

Renee rushed through the corridors and into the lounge as she heard the familiar voice of her favourite French girl. "Natalie! I thought you had died." She stated and pulled her into a hug surprising a few of their friends, They had known Renee to not be a hugger or one for physical contact of any kind. Renee moved backwards to release the smaller female but she found that she was being held in place. 

"Natalie, Is everything alright?" She mumbled and gently pulled Natalie to the side and out of hearing range. She sensed something was going on with her. She could feel her friend shaking slightly. "Nat, Speak to me." She spoke gently and placed a hand on the other cheek and wiped away a tear that had spilt from her eye. 

Natalie was surprised when Renee had entered the room and pulled her into a hug, That warm and comforting hug was enough to send her into a breakdown. She had been holding herself together in front of her other friends but once her best friend entered the room her illusion broke. "Tae and I broke up, I tried to get him to open up to me more and he just gave up on the whole relationship." She muttered and wiped away her tears. 

Renee felt her heartache for the sobbing girl and pulled her into another hug before guiding her back to the comfy seats that the rest of the group was sitting at. Anita was the first to notice that something was off with Natalie when she had entered the room but hadn't wanted to be rude and upset the delicate girl. She was relieved that Renee had been able to console her and coax what was happening out of her. 

"Everything alright?" Anita questioned causing Loba and Makoa to glance over at their normally cheerful friend. Natalie sniffed and shifted closer to the stern woman in a search for comfort. Anita gladly complied and pulled Natalie into a warm embrace and let her nestle into her lap. Anita had been one of the first people to realise that Natalie had a form of Autism and was one of the first people to offer her comfort when it was needed. "Hey, Hey, It is alright." She hummed and looked over at Renee. "Want to explain?" 

Renee explained what Natalie had told her and Anita looked furious. "He is always hiding things from everyone, I have dark secrets but I still shared them with Loba because she is the love of my life." She shook her head angrily not noticing the dark blush that had formed on Loba's face. "So he just didn't even try?" She questioned in an annoyed tone and scoffed. "You'd be better off without that tool." She stated in a stern tone. "Anyone but him." 

Natalie looked up at Anita with watery eyes and wiped her nose on her sleeve and sniffed. "I guess but we had something special." She responded and sighed. "I just wasn't feeling like I had much worth." Anita frowned "Boo, You are more than enough, He is just blind and will figure out what he is missing."  The group nodded in agreement and tried their best to cheer her up. 

"How is Elliot doing?" Natalie questioned and moved away from Anita's embrace and crawled over to Renee who looked deep in thought. "Renee?" She prodded her slightly catching the other woman's attention. Renee shrugged. "Honestly, He is acting as if everything is fine when his world is slowly breaking apart." She sighed. "He is putting on an act and I feel like I am the only person who can see past it." 

Loba glanced up from her brief conversation with Makoa and hummed before leaning over to Renee. "Darling, If you can see that he is breaking then you are looking closer than the rest of us are...You can be the one who fixes him again." She shrugged and moved back in her seat and began looking at her nails as if they were suddenly interesting. Loba wasn't one for giving helpful advice when it came to Renee, The two had once been close friends until Loba caught Renee and Caleb hanging out and now she is holding grudges against her. 

Natalie stood and politely excused herself from the conversation and headed back towards her dorm. She wanted to check in on Elliot but knew that he would be needing to be left alone and rest yet she didn't want to head back to her dorm in case Tae came looking for her, A student had said that they had seen him hanging around her corridor. It made her strangely nervous. She pushed away from her thoughts about her ex-lover and mindlessly began walking through the college and ended up outside. 

"Fancy seeing you around." 

Natalie looked up from the ground and met the icy cold eyes of Caleb Cross, Somebody she was strangely happy to see. "Caleb, What a pleasant surprise!" She exclaimed joyfully feeling her mood lift. She had found his presence somewhat soothing and enjoyable and felt as if she had judged him too harshly when they had first met. Caleb tilted his head like a lost puppy before blinking and scoffing. "We go to the same college Natalie, What are you doing outside in this weather?" He questioned and motioned towards the dark clouds that had begun to drag across the sky bringing a cold wind with them. Natalie looked up at the sky with a small smile gracing her soft lips. "I merely stepped outside for some fresh air and you?" She responded softly and let her eyes flicker back towards the male. 

Caleb shrugged and found himself taking in the younger girls appearance. It was like he was finally seeing her for the first time as if he had been drowning in his sorrow for so long and she had come along and given him a chance to breathe, A chance to come up for air. He took in her blonde pixie hair cut, Her bright blue eyes that seemed to dazzle in any lighting and the red tint that shaded her cheeks and her calming voice. She had chosen to wear a soft oversized orange hoodie, The sleeves hung off of her arms and the bottom ended at her knees, It was obvious that the hoodie belonged to someone else. She had soft white cotton knee-length socks on and bright yellow trainers. He would've once laughed at the appearance of the woman but now he found it enticing. "I came out to clear my mind." He shrugged and glanced back towards the sky.

Natalie pondered with a thought in her mind and absentmindedly began playing with the sleeves of her hoodie before blurting out the question. "Would you maybe like to head of campus for a while?" Caleb looked over at her with a raised eyebrow before shrugging. "I don't see why not, I could use the time away from this shithole."

Natalie gasped loudly as she heard him use foul words and glared up at him playfully. He sent her a smirk in response. "What? Don't tell me you've never swore before." He teased and began walking towards the exit of the campus and slowed his pace so that her little legs could keep up with him. She shook her head and pouted and he couldn't help but laugh. 

"This is going to be fun."