Worlds Apart

Chapter 8

Emma's POV

"Will you shut up for once in your life?" I snapped at Crystal for the third time in a half hour. I was crabby for some strange reason, but Crystal didn't know that. She shrank away and ran off to find the Doctor. I called after her, "No I'm sorry come back." But she didn't. I sighed and turned back to Ender's Game. I had the peace I wanted, but hurt Crystal in the process. I was comfortable where I was, sprawled on a couch, fire warming me, Dragon asleep on my shoulder. A pillow and a good book completed my comfortableness.

Unfortunately, as soon as I shooed away Crystal, I was interrupted by no other than-

"How come you always hang out by yourself?" Mortivia asked. I glared at her over the top of the book, but didn't answer. She tried again. "Come on, you should be hanging out with people, having fun, doing stuff-no?"

I shook my head. "I'm just reading. If you're gonna ask me something, get to the point before I die of old age, which if that did happen, congrats on being able to talk so long. What is it?"

"Oh, nothing. Have you seen Anna rose?" Mortivia asked.

"No, and I don't care either. She could've fallen in a hole leading to lava and piranhas for all I care," I continued reading, but found it hard to concentrate when Mortivia was right there. I tried my hardest, though.

"Silly girl, piranhas can't survive in lava. They're fish."

As if I didn't know.  I didn't say that, however, I said, "I'm seeing you more than I want to. This is getting on my nerves. How can I be in love with the Doctor when you're always there?"

I had stumped her. While she was trying to figure out what I was saying, I went off to find Crystal.

I didn't find her, instead, I found Clara. I asked her, "Did you see Crystal by any chance?"

She shook her head. "No idea where she is."

"How about the Doctor?" I pressed.

"Sounds urgent. Can you tell me?" Clara leaned on the wall.

"It's not, and no. I don't know why- okay, well, I do. Mortivia keeps bothering me and now she can't find her demon of a daughter. And I need to apologize to Crystal for snapping at her." This all came out in a rush, but I couldn't help it. I needed to escape Mortivia, but I didn't want to be alone.

"I think he's with Crystal," Crystal said.

"Well, that's no help," I huffed and stomped away. Unfortunately, I didn't stomp far enough when I ran into Jenna. "You're looking for someone, aren't you?" Jenna said it like a statement. I nodded.

"Your sister is in her room," Jenna looked at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just Mortivia's here and I need to apologize to Crystal," I said, and took off up the stairs two at a time. I was out of breath when I reached the room. I entered without knocking. Crystal was curled up in a ball on the bed, staring into space. I sat down next to her. "Hey."

She didn't acknowledge me. I cleared my throat and continued. "Sorry for snapping. It's just-"

"You don't like being interrupted," finished Crystal. I nodded. She rolled onto her back and looked up at me. "Meh."

I cracked a smile. "Meh is right."

Outside, it had began to pour. I hopped up. "I need to check something."

"Outside?" Crystal groaned.

"You're not coming. Sorry," I grabbed my coat and said, "Go find the Doctor or Clara. Don't lock yourself away and mope!"

Crystal mumbled something under her breath but got up. I told her, "Watch over Dragon for me, okay?"

"Alright," Crystal took the sleeping taragoon from my hands. He opened his eyes and saw Crystal, then went back to sleep. I decided I didn't need Athena.

In the lobby, I ran into the Doctor. I told him, "Crystal's looking for you by the way."

He nodded. I opened up the door and stepped in the rain.

I was drenched in five seconds, but I continued walking. It was amazing how much rain fell on this asteroid. I knew for a fact that in the city, there was a building controlling the weather and the gravity. This was because the asteroid was too small to have enough gravity to hold an atmosphere. Still, it was amazing, and because of these two tiny details, it was easy to forget that we weren't on Earth. But I had places to be. I walked to the bus stop and waited for my bus to come. I had to go to the city. Crystal, the Doctor, and Clara knew this. I had left some important instructions in case I was gone over night. Mainly, if Crystal got scared of something, or had one of her nightmares, she should go to Jenna, Clara, or the Doctor. Knowing her, she'd go to the Doctor. Which was why I purposely didn't tell the Doctor.

Ten minutes after arriving at the bus stop, my ride arrived. By then, I was already thinking about ditching my idea and going back to the hotel and having a nice cup of hot cocoa-I wasn't much of a tea drinker- and cuddling under a warm blanket with my book. I was almost done, sadly, but I could always reread. I climbed onto the bus and enjoyed an hour and a half ride to the other side of the asteroid.

Doctor's POV

Clara and Crystal were playing a game of Mario Kart on the Wii in the living room when I came in. Crystal was horrible at the game, she was in twelve place and still on her first lap while the others were on their second or third, and she was backwards when I sat down next to her. Clara, meanwhile, was in first place, and approaching the finish line. I asked them, "Did Emma leave?"

Crystal nodded, still trying to figure out how to turn around. I shrugged and sat down next to her. By then, the game had ended, leaving Crystal even more confused than ever. I guess she was trying so hard to turn around, she wasn't paying attention. Dragon was asleep in her lap.

After awhile, I said, "Did Emma tell you why she went to the city?"

They shook their heads. Clara turned off the TV and faced me. "Do you?"

"Why would I ask if I knew?"

Clara shrugged.

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Sorry for the extremely BORING chapter! I'm struggling with ideas and I don't want to repeat anything. So yeah!