The Sun Never Sets on Sokeefe

Understanding

(Dex's POV)

          I stood there awkwardly as everyone began to talk to their partners. Out of all the people that I could have paired with, why did I have to get Marella. I snuck a look at her, only to see her watching me coyly. I turned away so she wouldn't see me wince. The fact that she liked me was obvious, however, I didn't want to hurt her feeling by telling her that I wasn't ready to be in a relationship. After I got rejected by Sophie, it had taken a long time for me to get used to the idea of liking someone else. And I knew I wasn't ready to confirm my feeling with anyone else.

          "Hey Dex," Marella's voice broke into my thoughts. "We should probably figure out where we are going to go, especially as everyone has already left!"

          "Okay," I mumbled trying to think of places Sophie might have gone. She would want to go to someplace safe, and somewhere she wouldn't seem out of place."

          "What about Foxfire?" Marella suggested. "She could have gone to the healing center, and nobody would even think to ask her why she was there. She practically lives there!"

          "Sure," I replied, not thinking of anything better. "How are we going to get there though?"

Marella pulled out a long string of leaping crystals and smirked when she saw my confused expression. 

          "Do you not know carry around emergency crystals?" She asked teasingly. 

I just shook my head, not even sure how to respond to that.

"Well, come on!" Marella exclaimed, holding up a crystal to the light. "Did you forget we are trying to find Sophie?"

I wordlessly stepped over to her, and into the light. When the glass pyramid finally sparkled into view, I began to walk towards the school,  only pausing when he saw I wasn't following him. 

(Dex's POV)

When the glass pyramid finally sparkled into view, Dex instantly started walking towards the school, only pausing when he saw I wasn't following him. 

          "Well come on," he said in the same tone I had used. "Did you forget we are trying to find Sophie?"

I didn't move, my face devoid of the usual smile. I could't keep doing this. 

"Dex, wait," I sounded deadly serious. "I need to know what's going on. I feel like sometimes we are great friends and everything is normal, but other times you barely even talk to me. I have never hid how I felt about you, but you can't just keep stringing me around, it's not fair to me." 

Dex seemed lost for words. He kicked the ground with him shoe, and we stood there for a couple of minutes before he finally started to talk.

          "Marella," his voice broke. "I'm sorry that I treated you this way. I just... I just needed a little of time to figure myself out. I really like you, but I don't believe I am ready for a relationship yet."

I felt my heart break a little bit, but I know that if I really liked him, I would have to respect his decisions. I tried to figure out what to say, and eventually settled for, "It's okay if you aren't ready to be in a relationship, but you can't just ice me out."

          "I know," Dex replied miserably as he hung his head. "I'm really sorry."

          "What about this," I moved a little closer. "I'll wait for you to be ready, and the moment you are... then we'll see how it goes." 

          "Sounds good to me," Dex smiled gratefully. "Now, we have a Sophie to find."

As we began to walk to the glass pyramid, we fell into a comfortable rhythm, chatting about whatever we thought about in the moment. After searching the school for a while, we were forced to admit that Sophie wasn't there. Just as we were about to try a new place, Dex's imparter lit up. It was a call from Fitz.

          "You guys have to come quickly," Fitz's eyes looked wild, and he appeared to be shaking. "It's Linh."