Two days later and I'm still learning how to harness the shield. Castle says I'm showing progress, Warner is unable to grab hold of my projection and make it his own, we've learned my power negates even his.
Yay.
Maybe I've been distracted. Its just been James and I when we sleep, I train with Kenji and Castle, and I've had no Alia.
She sits far away from everyone, sewing the material for the suits.
Occasionally, we'll lock eyes, but I think she's still uncomfortable from what happened.
"What happened? A few days ago, you guys were inseparable. I thought you might end up....you know" Kenji says.
" ...I'll just give her space, like you did for me" I answer.
"So you like her?" Kenji smiles.
I had a dream last night, well more of a weird memory than a dream. It took place at Omega Point just a few months ago. Juliette and I were sneaking around, looking for a private place to have the perfect moment.
This morning, I've really woken up.
What would Juliette and I ever talk about? Did I know her likes and dislikes? The only thing I know we had in common was that we were two desperate people with tragic pasts, struggling to find something good.
I hardly knew her.
And then I began to question if I know Alia.
I know her favorite artist is Claude Monet, I know her way of standing out is through drawing, I know she could never stay mad at me, I know her heart is bigger than everyone's in this room, I know what her dreams are--to go to New York and paint the city, she wants to learn how to paint a landscape just like Monet, I know she gets disappointed when she realizes she only has a pencil to draw with and no colors, I know what happened to her sister, how she ended up in Omega Point, I know she triple knots her shoelaces, she prefers tea over coffee, her favorite color is blue for a peculiar reason, I always know how she's feeling even when she doesn't yell me, she prefers sadness over anger, we forgive each other through broccoli.
And I wanna know more.
"Um. Yoohoo. Lover boy, what are you looking at?" Kenji asks as he waves a hand in front of me.
"What?" I question.
"I asked if you like Alia" Kenji says.
I grab him by the collar.
"If you say anything, to Alia, to Juliette, or anyone. You're a dead man" I growl.
"Damn, man. I'll take that as a...yes?" Kenji says.
I release him and he shoves me away, then wears a grin on his face.
"Alright, lover boy. You do your thing. Woo her with your lover boy charms. Imma go talk to J, don't worry, I won't tell her anything" he promises.
I've officially shown no progress for today. I've even allowed Warner to train me. I hated every minute of it.
Now its late, dinner's been served, and I watch Juliette enter the elevator with Warner as the doors close behind them.
There's nothing left to do. I've tried avoiding this all day, but its time I say something to her.
I slowly get up and walk to her corner, where she sits, cleaning up her materials.
"Let me help" I softly say as I kneel down beside Alia.
She doesn't stop me.
I help her clean up the sewing supplies and throw away useless material.
"Thank you" she says, without meeting my eyes, when we're done.
" ....I wish I had some broccoli" I awkwardly say and laugh a little as we sit back down on the floor.
She smirks, still not looking at me.
"How's your arm?" I say, eyeing the bandages wrapped around her muscle.
"First degree, its fine" she quietly answers.
Silence.
"I'm sorry" we say simultaneously.
Then we lock eyes.
" ...I missed you" I admit.
She sways forward but immediately pulls herself back.
I smile and pull her into a hug and hold her against my chest. I crave to press my lips against her soft skin and whisper things in her ear that I've never told anyone.
" ...I missed you too" she whispers.
We pull away, my arms fall down to her waist.
"Look, I won't ever make you do that again, okay? I don't care if I learn how to control it or not" I explain to her.
"You sound crazy right now" she laughs.
"Well, at least I got you smiling" I smile back.
" ...you'll get it. You did it before, you can do it again, Adam" she promises me. "You just need to....find a way to clear your stress".
I lean my forehead against hers.
This is what clears my stress. I like having her this close.
"How?" I whisper.
Our heartbeats feel synchronized, both raging and pounding with anxiety. My hands make their way up to her neck. Gently, I lift her chin so that our lips are in proportion.
I look at her eyes for approval, but they're completely blank.
So I lower my mouth to her jaw, leaving the lightest kiss there, careful not to scare her.
Her heart is now beating faster than mine. Shit, I'm scaring her.
I pull away, but keep our foreheads together.
My thumb lightly brushes her bottom lip, and there's this brand new spark that fills my veins with adrenaline and makes my entire body throb, something I've never felt with anyone before.
I lower my mouth to hers.
"Stop" she says and puts a distance between us before our lips touch.
I pull away.
"We won't accomplish anything this way" she then tells me.
Alia takes my hand.
"Come on" she smiles.
"What are we doing?" I ask and we stand.
"Outside" she simply says.
