Heritage

Heritage (Chapter 17)

Chapter 17 - Stella

"Ouch!"

"Shh!"

"I stubbed my toe!" I exclaim in a whisper, stopping for a moment. It's midnight and Leon and I are just now getting back to the HabMods for the night. We stayed in the storage garage, working tirelessly on the Krakens until both of us noticed the time and decided to pack it in for the night.

"Are you ok?" Leon asks, immediately at my side.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go, we're not far from my module. I'll be fine the rest of the way if you need to get to your—"

"Not a chance, Stells. I'm not leaving you to get busted on your own for curfew. Your HabMod is right up here anyways, I'll be fine," he replies, helping me lift my bag back onto my shoulder and grabbing hold of my hand.

We held hands the whole walk back, and instead of it seeming awkward and fumbling like I thought it might, it felt natural and warm. As we round the corner of Mod Block 7, I retrieve my TAPs device from my pocket and insert my keycard, unlocking my module door.

"Uh, Stella?" Leon says softly.

"Yeah?"

"Well...I was wondering if maybe& well if you're not doing anything that is...uh..." he takes a deep breath and looks directly into my eyes, a piercing green gaze searching for something.

"What is it, Leon?"

"Do you wanna go out with me tomorrow?" he asks me, his gaze not wavering an inch from mine, a clear determination in his voice. My hand is still laced with his and is hanging loosely against my thigh as I try to force down a blush. I stare into his deep green eyes for what seems like hours before my conscious kicks in.

Leon just asked you out! SAY SOMETHING STELLA!

"I'd love to, Leon."

"Great. Uh...how does dinner and a movie sound? In the ship-town, of course. I can probably borrow Dad's Hydra."

"That sounds perfect. I'll...I'll see you tomorrow then," I say to him, standing on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek before shooting him a soft smile and releasing his hand from mine. I give a small wave and turn into the door of my module, shutting it softly.

I can't seem to wipe the smile from my face as I routinely turn the shower on, brush my teeth while the water is warming, and remove my uniform. We didn t even take the time to change into our casual wear earlier, and instead just jumped right into the work on the Krakens.

After getting out of the shower, I quickly brush my hair and towel off, slipping into my nightshirt and setting my alarm. What's a few lost hours of sleep? Especially when the result was me getting to work for hours on end with Leon, getting asked to be his date for the party, and not to mention the fact that tomorrow, he and I will be on our first date in the ship-town.

Does this mean we're dating? Or is it just a date? And how are we going to sneak off the ship on a weekday?! Oh...I'm a Senior Cadet now, so I guess that doesn't make a difference. But Leon's not, so we'll have to be careful.

Senior Cadets have the privilege of visiting the ship-town at their leisure, as long as they don t abuse this right, which most do.

As I crawl under the covers of my bed, I hug my pillow and smile, gazing out of the large window that every module has, looking at the stars and remembering every word, shy smile and touch that we shared.

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"And next week we will be discussing the terrestrial amphibians, starting with the Lanutan species first. For now, I'd like you all to partner up, I don t care who with, and brainstorm for your upcoming Jovian mammal projects. Whoever you pick as your partner today, will be your partner for the project and you both will earn the same grade," Instructor Varns says, sitting back down at her desk.