Ultramarine -- REWRITTEN

Twenty Two. [c.h.] -- REWRITTEN

          "Who knew you could look worse than when I last saw you," Leon joked, pulling away from his Commissioner's grasps to run up to me. He had the ability since he was much stronger than I was, but because he had the ability, he needed more than one Commissioner to hold him. Harry's grip loosened on my arm and I pulled away, outstretching my arms and wrapping them around Leon. He held me tightly, easily lifting my feet off of the ground as I smiled into his shoulder, closing my eyes. We were surrounded so the Commissioners allowed our embrace while we waited for Aria. His Commissioners had their guns in their hands in case we tried to pull anything. "You're a stick now! Do you even eat?"

          "Their food is nasty."

          "You don't have to tell me twice. The few days I've been here have sucked. But you have to eat."

          "I do eat." He set me down, letting out a hum as he grabbed my arm, wrapping his hand around it and squeezing the muscle. He looked down at me with unconvinced eyes.

          "Barely."

          "I haven't been able to properly work out," I grumbled, pulling my arm away from him. "What did they do to you?" I questioned, reaching up and touching his black eye.

          "I kept punching and kicking Tom and Jerry over here, so they punched me back." I huffed and crossed my arms, a smile forming on my face.

          "Are their names really Tom and Jerry? You use those names for anyone you don't know." He grinned.

          "What are your names?" he questioned, turning around to look at his Commissioners. They stood still, glaring at Leon. I began to smile and he spun back around, motioning behind him. "Like I said, Tom and Jerry." I chuckled as he peered behind me, eyeing Harry. "You know his name, right?" Leon joked. I grinned and rolled my eyes, glancing back at Harry with attention drawn to his lips. When I found his eyes again, he had stolen a glance at my lips as well. Our conversations had felt awkward since the kiss, knowing we both wanted more than what we promised each other. But it was too dangerous, too distracting, and wrong in every way. Warren was waiting for me back home and I had betrayed him in the worst possible way. In the moment it had felt right, helping me forget about all of my worries for a brief second, until Warren popped into my mind. Guilt sat in my pores like sweat. I turned back to Leon.

          "Unlike you, I remember names."

          Clicking from down the hall interrupted the two of us. I turned to see Aria approaching us, disgust boiling in my stomach like sour food.

          "You're coming back with me, right?" Leon asked.

          "Of course," I lied, unable to face him with the false words dripping from my lips. The two Commissioners stepped forward to grab Leon's arms, and Harry did the same. Soon, my words wouldn't be a lie.

          We all followed Aria to the airtrain, Leon and I making meaningless conversation to fill the silence. I paid extra attention to my surroundings, memorizing the trees, the birds, and the ground that we walked along. Even when Harry held me back, the open air didn't feel confining like the air in the courtyard. We all hiked up the steps to the airtrain, the sleek white and gray bullet waiting to propel us over the ocean.

          Leon and I sat next to each other on one of the long seats against the window. Harry perched himself next to me, and both of Leon's Commissioners sat on the other side of him. All of the Commissioners stared ahead as Aria sat on the other side of the airtrain, looking directly at all of us.

          "Are you excited to go home?"

          I only nodded and smiled, my heart sinking in my chest. I'd be so close, yet so far. "I'm just excited that you'll take over again, I hate being in charge," he admitted, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair.