In The Spotlight

... and landing on the moon

Florida is different than New York in a multitude of ways. For one, it doesn't snow. Ever. But definitely not in March.

It doesn't usually even rain in the winter, which made the current downpour feel quite peculiar. It was uncomfortable to Bubble, and although she'd gone her whole life long living and loving the rain, it was making her feel sad.

No, hollow.

This stupid paper didn't want to be written. The only person who wanted that was her professor. She had no problem getting her schooling done when she was in the city, but now her schedule was a lot tighter, and her motivation was a lot gone.

Her fingers tapped on her leg while she tried to decide what next to do. God she was lonely. She wished she could be a kid again and curl up in her mom's arms.

She called her mother, who did not pick up the phone. So she left a voicemail.

"I think I told you I got back here yesterday, but, uh, I miss you. Maybe we can do one of our girls' nights? You know, like when we were younger? I would drive all the way back to St. Augustine if that means I can have that same ice cream again. Anyway, I love you."

And then, again, all she heard was the rain.

Pin wanted nothing more than to run. Not out of fear, but out of a want for freedom. She recognized the feeling. She had it a lot back in high school- she'd actually been on the cross country team- but it was amplified now. The sights and sounds of such a beautiful place, it made her want to see it all, now.

But she couldn't. And she knew that. For one, she was with someone right now, Coiny, who probably wasn't content with her bolting off like a maniac. And beyond that, she hadn't run in years. There were the occasional about-to-miss-my-flight moments or a bathroom emergency here and there, but actually going for a run? Not for a good long while.

After being thoroughly annoyed by the cruel joke the world played on her, he and she started walking around.

She decided that a stroll might not be so bad.

While they admired the beauty of Brooklyn, the buzz of her phone interrupted. She recognized that group chat. That was the streaming service group chat. Good news must be coming!

"Did you just get that text? It's from the streaming people!" She cheered.

"Yeah. You know, both times this has happened, we've been together." He looked down at his phone.

"Maybe you're good luck!" They both opened the text and simultaneously, their expressions started to turn.

"Or bad luck..." he mumbled, an unblinking stare fixed on the message.

They wanted an 'episode-a-day' format. They'd all be leaving much sooner than expected.

"Well, shit." Pin said.

Apparently her want to see it all immediately had been warranted.

The TV was quiet, but Leafy liked it that way. A peaceful hum of background noise.

Puffball, who upon entering the room turned up the volume, evidently did not.

The weatherman was talking about a front coming in from the south. There seemed to be a good chance of precipitation. Snow, not rain, if Leafy had any luck. It wasn't that she particularly liked snow, but she didn't get it that often. The weather in Cali is not exactly perfect for that sort of thing.

Puffball's phone played a little wind chime like notification sound, and she whipped it out so fast Leafy half expected it to go flying.

Through a bite of a protein bar, she said "They want us to film every day now."

Leafy just groaned. It barely phased her at this point. She supposed that meant more walking in the rain. Or snow.

She called Firey and they tried to discuss this, but they got side tracked very fast.

It sure had been a weird time period in her life.

4 and X, and them alone, were overjoyed at the news.

They popped champagne and sat down to discuss.

"Is this where you thought you'd be in life?" X pushed his blond hair away from his eyes, trying to create a snapshot of this time. An unblocked memory-photo.

"Hell no. But I'm glad I'm here," said 4, taking a sip.

X cocked his head, trying to remember something from long ago. "You know, when I was in, 3rd or 4th grade, there was this giant quote on the wall."

"What was it?"

"Something along the lines of 'Shoot for the stars, you might not end up there, but if you don't, you might land on the moon." X smiled while he recited it.

4 had heard it before. X had said it backwards.

Still, 4 decided it was even more eloquent that way.

(A/N: Hey y'all, sorry for the late update. I had a really bad mental health day. My boyfriend (the longest relationship I've ever had and the first person I fell in love with) broke up with me yesterday! And I've barely had the motivation to do anything. I'm not sure how I managed to write this chapter, but I think I need a short break. I don't know how long, maybe a month, or I could be back next week. So sorry for this, but it's really messing me up.

TL;DR- Got dumped, need a break.

816 words)