Ember (#Wattys2015)

Chapter Four - We're going down down in an earlier round

We're going down, down in an earlier round
And Sugar, we're going down swinging
I'll be your number one with a bullet
A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it

Sugar, we're going down - Fall Out Boy

~EMBER~

When I gain consciousness, the room is dark. I stretch my cramped fingers and hear the knuckles pop. My left hand is curled up like someone was holding it but then let go. No one else is in the medical shelter and I feel lonely. I swing my feet out of bed and hear my back crunch. Man, how long was I out? I feel like I've slept for years. You know the feeling where you sleep for hours but aren't any more revitalised than you were when you fell asleep? Yeah, I feel like that but with a fiery achey patch on my back where I was unfortunate enough to be blasted with flames. I'm regretting my name choice at the moment.

On the bedside table I find a note directing me not to do any exercise. I sigh, I was planning on training with River after we got back from the fireworks. Using the bed for stability, I move my way by touch across the room to the wide door. It stands ajar, creating a thin line of light through the door. I can hear things banging in the distance and make my way through the stone hallway. The noises are louder now, it must be feast time. I love feasts, all the great delicacies and it's so nice to have something a little different to eat every once and a while.

As soon as I stepped foot in the hall, I bend back like a whip to avoid an airborne piece of arrowfruit, cringing at the pain in my back. A warm hand tickled my back as it steadied me and I came face to face with a boy made up of inviting icy irises and mossy curls.

"Calcite?" I mutter in the noise. He nods and leads me to the third years table. River is looking down drearily at her pinenut salad, munching like it was a chore. "River!" I yelp as she wraps her arms around me. Ash and Candy give me a wave and continue eating.

"Where have you been?" Uhm, in the hospital wing? "Wait, where have you been?" River gestures to Calcite and I.

What.

"What do you mean, where have we been?" River smirks and shakes her head. I see Calcite blush slightly. What the heck is going on? River better tell me or I'll kill her. Well, maybe I'll have to resort to hiding her charms again, although last time that happened they needed to rebuild a turret.

~CALCITE~

"What? Tell me!" Nolan was being a complete twat. He and Jack are being idiots. They keep laughing about something and won't tell me what the heck it is. Nolan looks at me again and cracks up. I return him a stern look. He knows what I can do.

"Okay, okay!" He holds out his phone. "I really don't know why you couldn't tell what we were laughing at, I mean a dragon in love with his rider? You know that's against the rules,"

I swipe through his photos, lots of them of me and Ember at the infirmary. Me holding her hand at the infirmary. Me catching her at the feast.

"I am not in love, so you have nothing to worry about. And secondly, I was told to keep an eye on her so you mind your own god damn business," I yell, slamming the door to the dormitory and throwing Nolan's phone out the window into the lake.

I needed something to punch, and fast. Of course I knew it wasn't allowed, but if I wasn't in love with her, why did it bother me so much? Gah, I really needed to get her out of my head. Thank god is the only thought that runs through my head as the straw dummies come into view. They're kinda old and falling apart, we really need new ones. But they never do replace them until they're torn to shreds. I can help them in that department.