Space Cadette

3

It was a rainy cold morning.. or atleast it felt like a morning, the sun was still gone.

Every one was crowded around a map summer pointed to the space station while she drank her coffee.

"This is where lots of people escaped to the fall out planet, theres about a thousand to maybe a million escape ships I'm sure there should be some for us. You can fit 3 people in each pod. The station is across the city the plan is to pack what ever we need and go in Dan's car but we need to be quick and quiet, these infected are attracted to anything that moves.. we are in a relatively safe part of the city but where we are going there will be hoards..." summer said in a serious tone.

"What do they look like?" Ben poked in.

"Dont look human.. they look severely deformed.. like somthing youd see in a horror film." Dan said.

"We're gonna die." Ben said with a deadpanned face.

"Dont say thaaaat." Sera slapped Ben's arms.

While ben and sera squabble leon looks over to cadette shivering in her seat trying to keep her hands warm.
She was only wearing a thin looking long sleeved cardigan type of shirt.

He removed his black hoodie and handed it over to her.

"Here." He Said smiling.

She ignored him sighing in response.

"....yknow..eventually you're gonna have to trust me.."

She glanced at him, swallowing her pride she shyly accepted the hoodie.

She put it on, it was like a blanket over her body since she is much smaller than him and it... smelled nice even after it was in alien slime and ocean water.

He already had a warm sweater underneath the hoodie so he didnt worry much about the cold.

"We leave tomorrow." Summer announced.

"What do we do in the mean time." Ben asked looking bored already.

"We usually tell each other stories." Dan said sitting on a lawn chair infront of the heater.

"Oh fun!" Sera said dragging a seat next to him.
Soon every one was in the circle.
It was mostly dan, summer, and sera telling stories ben just listened looking entertained.

Cadette sat on a knocked over shelf eating some chocolate.
Leon was wondering the store.

After a few hours leon came back with a guitar in his hands and sat next to cadette.

Every one gasped in amazement waking cadette up from her day dream.

"Oh honey you can play guitar??" Asked dan looking intently at the amber brown wood of the guitar.

"Sure can." He laughed charismaticly.

He ran a hand through his blood orange hair before positioning the guitar and tweaking with the chords.

"Any requests?" He smiled with his rosy cheeks.

"Dont tell me you can sing too I'll fall in love." Dan exhaled cigarette smoke through his nose as he melted in his chair.

"Can you play the moon song?" Asked summer.

"Mhm." Leon nodded and began to strum the guitar.

Cadette felt a little smile tug at her lips
She stared at him as he sang, her eyes locking with his for a moment, she looked away hoping no one saw.

She did not want to be intoxicated with his charm like ever one else does.

After every one finished their lunch sera sat next to cadette.
"So? How are you getting along with leon." She smirked and playfully shoved her.

"We woke up in an invader ship got dumped into the ocean and theres alien infected roaming around but that's what you're concerned about right now?" Cadette asked stabbing her fork into the can of spaghetti in her hands.

"Ish camander.. you're head over heels." She laughed.

" I'm not" cadette looks down at her boots.

"I wonder if mom made it to one of those escape pods.." cadette said with a tone of sadness.

"I'm sure she did hon.." summer said sitting next to cadette.

Cadette held back her tears and tried to change the subject.

"How did you and dan end up here?" Cadette turned to summer.

"Well believe it or not but dan and I were strangers, when the invasion began to take place I was rushing to the space station to get to the escape pods but the invaders were everywhere, I ran into this store locking my self in, I met dan when I heard him getting chased by an infected." Summer talked on about her story.

"Ugh dont tell her about that embarrassing day I'll kill you." Dan huffed.

"Alright" summer put her hands up to her shoulders.

"We've been carefully planning the escape ever since." Summmer finished.

"Especially since we dont have all the time in the world heh we'll get erased." Dan chuckled lighting up a cigarette.

"What do you mean?" Asked sera.

"I mean we're gonna die in 7 days if we dont get off this rock." Says dan.

"Funny." Cadette rolls her eyes at dan.

"Oh no we are, summer didnt want me to tell you all cause she thinks you guys will freak out, in a week every major city is getting bombed to chase off the invaders and kill the infected."

"How do you two know that?" Cadette questioned.

"One of her close friends worked for the government."

"Yeah just go ahead and tell them everything dick head." Summer crossed her arms.

"Wait so theres bombs under the city just sitting there?" Sera gasped.

"You can probably guess why they never made the public aware of that "
Laughed summer.

Soon every one got back into their own make shift bed.

Cadette felt restless thinking of all that could go wrong while trying to escape.

"Cant sleep huh." Leon said laying next to cadette.

"Nope." She replied staring at the tile ceiling of the store.

"If I didnt get that title then I'd be a disappointment to my family.. it's hard for me to explain but I couldn't stand being hated by the people I love.. I knew what it ment to you but I had to choose my family or someone I didnt know very much.. I apologize... you deserve it more than I do.."
Leon handed the supreme fighter pilot pin to cadette.

She grabbed it and looked at it in the dim light. She sighed and shook her head. "It.. doesnt matter any more really.. but.. thank you." She turned her head to leon locking eyes, her heart beat seemed to begin to race at the realization that he isnt as horrible as she made herself believe.