A Beautiful Reflection From Firework Eyes

Can You Hear Me Now?

I grab his arm as we enter the showers, yanking him with me toward the first stall, turning on the water. Cold water splashes over both of us, soaking us through.

"Let go of me." He tries to tug his arm away, but I grip him tighter. "Vic, please." I let him go as soon as I pull the curtain shut, turning to face him, blocking the entrance so he can't leave.

"I really need to talk to you," I say.

"I don't want to talk to you," he spits.

"I didn't want to drag you into all of this," I plead.

"I almost died," he says. Guilt digs into my stomach. It's true—he almost did.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I'm so sorry for keeping everything from you. Kellin, please. Just hear me out, okay?"

Kellin holds my gaze for a minute before dropping it. "You didn't tell me you were planning an escape?" he asks. I wince at the hurt in his voice. "Did you just not want me to come? Were you just gonna—"

"We weren't going to leave you behind," I say quickly. I guiltily remember how he said he hates being alone.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" he asks. "You've been meeting with Jack and Alex for a while. Why didn't you tell me?"

I sigh. "It's complicated."

He just looks at me for a few moments before pushing away from the wall. "I'm gonna go," he mutters.

"No," I grab his arm, forcing him to look at me. "Kells, I just didn't want you to get your hopes up. I wanted to make sure you were safe, even if Jack, Alex, and I were caught. It's just that—I know what could happen. There's a lot I haven't told you about my past."

He looks confused. "What do you mean?" he asks.

"Because I tried once and it didn't end well."

Kellin's eyes go wide, and he seems to put two and two together. "Your roommate," he breathes.

I nod, biting my lip. Tears spring into my eyes, but they're hidden under the spray of the water.

"I'm sorry," he says.

"It's okay," I take a deep breath. "It was six months ago."

"You don't have to tell me," Kellin says.

"No. You deserve to know. So that you know what we're getting into if you want to try to escape with us. I've kept too much from you." I take a deep breath, wiping the water out of my face before continuing. "It started when they tried to make me kill someone." Kellin's eyes go wide, and I hurry on. "I refused, and they got mad. Like the maddest I've ever seen them. I don't exactly remember what happened, but I was stabbed."

"Holy shit," Kellin whispers. His hand slides into mine, squeezing my hand gently.

"I almost died. Jaime, he is—was my old roommate—tried to heal me the best that he could, but obviously, I was going to die. So we decided to make a break for it. He had been there for a year, and he had been preparing for an escape, even before I came. We tried to run. Jaime knocked out the cameras—he had electricity powers, and we were going as fast as we could." My voice breaks, and Kellin squeezes my hand again. "I was slowing us down. And we got caught." Pain floods me as I remember that night, tears rolling down my cheeks. "He—he told them I had nothing to do with it, and he had been taking me as a hostage. He saved my life."

Kellin doesn't say a word, and for a moment, I fear he's horrified by me. Then he moves, wrapping his arms around my neck. He doesn't say anything, but his presence alone comforts me. I put my arms around his shoulders gingerly, waiting for him to move back. When he doesn't, I pull him closer, letting his head rest against my shoulder. I can feel his heart beating, light and fast against my chest as I trail my fingers up and down his back as I calm down. Kellin is shivering slightly—probably from the frigid water, but he doesn't complain, leaning in closer to me.

"I know I shouldn't have," I whisper. "I just—I don't think I could see another person dying because of me. Especially not you. I needed to keep you safe. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Kellin says. "I forgive you."

"Thank you," I whisper, but I'm not sure he hears me.

"So, whatcha doing in there?" Jack's voice calls out. Kellin and I jump away from each other in surprise, my shoulder hitting against the wall of the shower stall. Jack shimmers into appearance in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. He raises an eyebrow at me, prompting me to answer.

"Talking," I say, exasperated. "Go away."

"Ooo, okay," Jack says. He makes a kissy face at me. I know Kellin can't see him, but my face still goes red.

"You're annoying, did you know that?" I sigh.

"Well, I came to tell you," Jack says. "That I disabled the microphones in your room."

"What?" I gasp. "How?"

"Wasn't that hard," Jack says. "We just snuck in and turned them off. Broke a few things and all. Hopefully, they won't notice."

"Hopefully?" I groan. "You mean they will find out in two hours?"

"Do you have that little trust in us?" Jack asks, pretending to be offended. "We were sneaky. I promise."

"Well, thanks," I say. "Really. You didn't have to." After so long, it's a strange feeling to know that we're not being listened to every second of the day.

"Wouldn't want them listening on the stuff you two are doing," Jack smirks at me as I glare at him.

"Shut up," I try to push him away but he ducks, sliding just out of reach.

"Hey! I did you a favor," Jack exclaims. "How am I still annoying?"

"I don't think you can stop being annoying," I say. "Though I wish you could."

"So Rian's gone?" Jack asks, ignoring my comment completely. I slipped them a note last night after I talked to Rian.

I nod. "He left." Kellin looks confused so I elaborate. "Rian was a guard here. He helped us develop the plan."

"That's good," Jack says. "At least he got out okay. They would've said something if he ran, right?"

"That's what I thought," I say. "He must've convinced Mr. Styles to let him go."

"Wish it were that easy for us," Kellin says.

"We haven't formally met, have we?" Jack asks. "Hi Kellin. I'm Jack. Thanks, by the way. You saved my life."

"No problem," Kellin responds. "Anyone would have."

"You can thank us by getting out of our faces," I say. The timer clicks behind us, the water spluttering. Any moment, the spray will shut off.

Of course, Jack ignores me, choosing instead to slide into the already cramped stall and leaning against the wall next to me.

"Meet us tonight," he whispers. "I think I might have found a way."