United We Stand

19. Boyfriend

I immediately stand up and make the plants crawl back into me. My heart beats faster. The Gabriel Nukka is standing before me. The one who made all of these buildings possible.

Mr Nukka's smile falters. "Why'd you do that, my dear? It was amazing." He says. My knees buckle. Jade walks over to me, chuckling. She places her designed hand on my shoulder. "Skylar, when someone is talking to you it is polite to answer." Jade mutters into my ear.

That pulls me back into reality. "Oh, yeah o-of course. I-I was just thinking—"

Mr Nukka chuckles, shaking his head. "Calm down, dear. It's just me." My eyebrows shoot up. "J-just you? You're the Mr Nukka—"

"Call me Gabe." He cuts my stuttering off again. I try to inhale some air but I freeze again. Jade smirks. "If you excuse us for a moment." She says, winking at Mr— I mean Gabe- and pulling me away. "Why'd you do that!" I whisper shout. Jade laughs, her shoulders jostling around.

She should do that more often, makes her look less scary. "I got him here, to see your amazing work. You've got potential. You're a level six, Skylar. How couldn't I call him?" She asks. I look around, the training room looking empty now without my plants.

"Why didn't I hear you then?" I ask. Jade stops laughing. "Either because you were so into your power. Or I'm just too stealthy." Jade muses. I roll my eyes. "Okay."

"Go to him. He'll probably want to talk to you. Go. And meet me here every morning at the same time. Make sure you eat something. Good luck." Jade says before pushing me towards Gabe. I grab my phone and slip it under my waist band. Then I put on my shoes and walk up to Gabe. Keep it cool.

"Hello, I'm Skylar. Nice to meet you." I say, sticking out my hand. Gabe chuckles. "None of that." He says as he pulls me into a hug. I gasp in surprise. I hug him back.

Gabe nods towards the doors. "Lets walk, shall we?" Gabe asks. No choice. I nod. We both walk outside of the training room. Liam appears in the hallway looking around frantically.

He stops dead in his tracks when he spots me. He thrusts his pointer finger at me. "Where have you been? I've been calling you and you've been ignoring me! Why—"

His mouth shuts immediately when he sees Gabe. I put on my poker face. "Oh. Hello. I didn't see you there." Liam chuckles nervously. I roll my eyes. Gabe nods a hello at Liam. "If you excuse us, we'll be going now." Gabe says. We continue walking to the entrance doors of the building.

Liam stays frozen in shock behind us. "Old friend, yes?" Gabe asks. I purse my lips. "Yeah sure. Old. Gone. Not anymore." I say. Gabe smirks. "May I ask, what happened?" He says. I look down at my shoes, not having the energy to talk about it. "Um, Gabe. With all due and respect. May you proceed on what you were going to talk to me about." I say.

Gabe tries to hide his smile. "Of course." He pauses, stopping in front of a tree. The tree is off to the side of the building. "Would you mind?" He asks. I stare at him, then back at the tree. Back and forth until it clicks what he's talking about. Music. That's my trigger word, as Jade had said.

I don't bother extending my hands out. I imagine the tree's thick branches dipping lowly enough for us to sit on. They obey my commands and stretch downwards, creating a type of staircase. Gabe smiles proudly. "You are fantastic." He says as he lays down on the branches. I blush, knowing the Gabe just complemented me.

A higher branch lowers down right beside Gabe, stopping a foot off the ground. I plop myself on the branch. "How is the concentration going?" Gabe asks me. I shrug.

"It's okay. Much easier. I guess the walls have come down." I say. Gabe nods approvingly. "Okay, that's good news. Are you staying here permanently?" I smile. "Yeah. This place is amazing." I say. Gabe shifts, looking at me with his soft brown eyes.