The Real Villian

Year: 4055; Day: 288

{Song of the chapter: Shape of You - Ed Sheeran}

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My hands were coated in a thick layer of artificial dirt. Lake and I had no way of knowing where we were, what time it was, or what to do next. So instead we sat solemnly in the large plains our escape tunnel had led us to, mindlessly picking at various sprouting weeds and GMOs.

Our stomachs were bursting with the cookie cutter, 3D printed sandwiches the tunnel had been lined with. They were kept in air tight glass tanks, which didn't make much sense-- it wasn't as though printed food would suddenly start growing fungi or spoiling.

City life seemed like a distant dream. Or was it a nightmare? Was being Cityless, homeless, community-less so much better than being held in a prison-like center? Though I had Lake by my side, I couldn't shake the sense of an anxiety-fused independence birthed from my desperation to save Lake.

It was idiotic, really.

This situation I was in was precisely why I should have left Lake and never looked back in the first place. He had only been there to boost me into a President's position, snd that was all. Nothing more. Nothing less.

But then why was it that I couldn't seem to abstain from him? Even now, with his rising chest and the increased burden that came with it, why was it that I didn't want to leave?

Maybe, an minsicular voice deep in my mind said, it's because you actually like him.

My lips pursed together. It was a fair point, that much was true, but I liked Cassi, and she didn't seem to pose as large of a problem Lake did. My brother was a different matter, Javi and I were connected not only by blood but by hearts too.

Lake and I weren't like that. He was just an average guy. He was an newly employed instructor, an average job. He had dark brown hair unintentionally styled into neat messy curls, an average look. He had a smooth face like something that could've been crafted at the hands of a famous sculptor, an average-- well, attractiveness wasn't too average. But it was the face of an average model, so that was something.

Then what made him so special?

Was it the way his eyes always had a certain spark in them? The way he always knows how to make things better? The way his arm snakes around my waist, and it just feels right?

A small nudge in the side of my stomach brought me back to my reality. "Hey, what're you thinking about?" asked Lake.

You. "Nothing much," I told him, my lips twitching up a bit.

"Hm," he hummed idly, his head tilting back up towards the falling sun, and the sea of vividly colorful colors.

Repeating his motions, I nudged the side of his stomach. "What are you thinking about?"

His lips quirked into a smile. Not straying his gaze from the sunset for a second, he mumbled, "You."

Blood rushed to my cheeks, despite my efforts to push it back into my system, and I turned away. I didn't care to respond-- even if I wanted to, any words on my tongue were lost and forgotten.

His eyes drifted to my stare. In the dim aglow, his usual bright green eyes were a silken wine bottle green. "You know, the sunset is almost as gorg--"

"If you say the sunset is almost as gorgeous as me, I will leave you here and never look back."

A low chuckle shook his body. "Just trying to brighten the mood, sweetheart," he said.

My eyes averted towards the sunset. In 900 or so seconds, the sun's aurora had shifted from an orange glow into shades of purples and pinks. "It's already brightened," I told him. "We're together, free, and alone."

Lake was quiet for a moment. A hand reached and clutched onto my right one. "Yeah," he murmured, "I suppose so."

The air was dead for moments. It seemed to drag on and on for eras-- and if it did, I would have no way of knowing aside from the falling sun. Our environment was starting to grow dim-- an even darker dim than before, I mean. The slivers of grass between our toes were starting to blend together into dark clumps. Stars above were becoming more apparent, like faded dots on a purple canvas.

"Hey, sweetheart?" A whispering voice broke through our silence.

I turned my head towards Lake. His features were started to overcome with shadows, starting to merge into a dark silhouette. "Hm?"

"What're we supposed to do now?"

I frowned. It was a question I had been dwelling on ever since we found the escape but not one I was too fond of answering-- because quite honestly, I didn't know. "Just rest," I told him. "Rest and get prepared for what's coming."

He grunted. "And what's coming?"

"No idea," I murmured. The grip on my hand tightened.

Lake whispered, "It'll be okay." His voice held little confidence, he was clearly just as fearful as I was, but it was determined nonetheless.

And, despite the lack of any motivation or reassurance in his words, I believed him. Whatever came at us, I'd deal with it. My mind was in scrambles, and I had lost sight of what all of this was for, but we could do it-- whatever it was. We'd push through everything together, just like in the beginning. When lost, they say to go back to your roots, not? Well, he was my root.

"I have no doubt in my mind," I whispered back, a small promise lying underneath my voice. "No doubts at all."

"Really?"

The corners or my mouth curved. I told him, "Yeah. Why? Do you have any doubts?"

With a small snort, he mumbled, "Galaxies. If I had a currency for every doubt in my mind, we wouldn't be dealing with this because I'd be rich anyway."

A small laugh erupted from my chest. "Really?" I asked him, "Would you not do this if you were rich?"

Pause. Then, "That's truly impossible to know."

I shook my head, a grin taking over my face. "But then you wouldn't have met me."

"Hmm," he murmured. "I think we would have found each other." His voice held utmost adoration and softness.

My eyebrows furrowed together. "How?"

As his fingers interlaced with mine, he said, "I think fate would've found a way."

"Fate doesn't exist."

"Sure it does," he said, laughter evident in his tone. "You're just too narrow-minded to see it."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the smile playing my lips. Was it fate? I didn't think so. If situations had been even slightly different, maybe someone else would be sitting in his spot. Or maybe I'd be in bed right now dreaming of a better world without anyway to act on it.

Whatever it was, fate, coincidence, destiny-- I couldn't thank it enough. Although we undoubtedly had a mess of a life in front of us, hope had blossomed in my heart, and I was set to take on whatever stood in our path.

"Hmm," I hummed. "Maybe."

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Cute :)

-K xx