Acceleration

Chapter 24: I'm Hypersonic

The couple sat on the roof of the lab. Liz stared at the stars.

"So when Waxer Willy pulled into the classroom, you ran from behind me, stopped him, then ran back?"

Erin nodded. He was still in the suit, but the mask was pulled off his head. It hung around his neck like a hood.

"Are you mad?"

"A little," Liz contemplated, "But I kept my thing from you so it's only fair you kept something from me."

Erin's face fell, the reminder of her imminent doom saddened him.

"So, you really think Charlie is Revnid?"

"Every motivation lines up," Erin shrugged.

"Ew, I have to sit next to him in two classes."

The thought of it made Erin chuckle. He felt Liz's hand rest on top of his.

"I assume friends with benefits are off the table?" He said jokingly.

"Would you catch feelings?"

"I already did."

"Then yes. Also, I wouldn't want to kiss you without knowing we're exclusive."

"That's fair, maybe I'll go hit on Ashley."

Liz belly laughed, falling backward and onto the ground. Erin helped her up.

"So... best friends?" he asked

She nodded and hugged him.

"Best friends destined not to be together no matter how much they like each other."

"You don't have to make it so depressing."

She laughed as they walked down the stairwell.

***

Gray clouds and crunchy leaves were the first signs October had arrived. Erin's favorite holiday, Halloween, was descending. He'd made it through the school day with a decent attitude and climbed into Elizabeth's car to the dismay of Ashley and Charlie.

"You look happy, class must've been pretty good."

He shrugged, pulling his jacket off, "Only twenty-nine days until my favorite holiday, I'm always in a good mood this month."

Elizabeth grabbed his arm and squeezed.

"Damn, where do you hide this stuff?"

Erin yanked his arm away, "Hey, not dating, no muscle touching."

She rolled her eyes, "You share your superhero identity with me but I can't acknowledge your sleeper build?"

Erin shook his head, "No relationship, that was the agreement."

Elizabeth mocked what he said in a high-pitched voice and pulled the car out of the parking lot.

"Why do you drive home with me anyway? You could just run there."

"I like driving with you," Erin smiled, "And if I showed up the moment school got out my Mom would be pretty suspicious."

"Awww you like driving with little old me?" She joked, but Erin could see her cheeks turning red.

"I already asked you out, you know the answer to that."

Despite the flirty attitude he could finally hold with her, Erin felt a deep pit of sorrow in his body. A lingering thought that one day, he wouldn't be able to be with her anymore. The thought terrified Erin. He'd known her for only a few months, yet she felt like someone he'd been close to for decades.