In a world where everything is perfect, nothing is.
Everyone follows, leaving invisible authorities to take the lead. Leave it to them, they say, to make all the decisions we can't.
But what happens when a person decides otherwise?
They f...
She was the most interesting person Acadia had met in a while. Enthusiastic, passionate, Kit was genuinely nice person.
"So, I have a proposition," Wade called out, silencing any other conversation.
"I think..." He stood up. "... That it would be a great idea if me, Kit, and Dai joined you."
Acadia could only stare at him.
But then her gaze turned to the others in the room. Her group had the exact same expression as her, except for Greyson, who looked a little bit exited with his surprise. Kit looked a bit taken aback too, like she didn't know what was going on, and a little bit betrayed.
"Excuh-USE me?"
Jess' sassy voice came through the crowd.
"We should join forces." He practically beamed, oblivious to the shock around him.
"Uhm, yeah, no thank you," Acadia stepped in.
"Come on, you have to at least think about it!" He was growing desperate.
But why is this so important to him?
She glanced at Noel, who shot a look at Jess, who looked at Greyson, who's gaze returned to Acadia.
Noel furrowed his brow.
"Well, I guess we could think about it," he suggested.
"Great! Then we'll join up!" In reality, Wade was quite a persistent person.
Jess put a palm to her forehead.
"No that's not what we- I didn't mean- nevermind."
An awkward silence ensued.
"Now let's eat!" Kit called out, slicing through the tension in the room like the knife for cutting strawberries.
•••
The coffee that they brought was amazing. It was from Victorillion, which produces some of the best beans you can get now of days.
Everyone was helping to prepare breakfast, but Jess and Acadia were drinking their coffee and talking with Dai.
"So, anyways, I wanna know the gossip from Victorillion," Acadia gushed, and Jess rolled her eyes. Some people never change, she fondly thought.
It turned out that she was from the south side of Victorillion, the same city that the four of them were from before they were shipped off to finishing school. That only happens when there are students that are exceptional at their primary schools, and, everyone but The three of them were. Apparently Kit was close, though, but a unexpected death in the family kept her. That's the kind of thing you don't hear about anymore, even hundreds of years ago when the Union was not even established.
"Well, was Crescent Darnell and Carswell Thorne there when you were?" Dai continued.
"Yeah, they were totally all over each other and would not admit it!" Acadia was totally into this conversation.
"Well, he gave her a promise ring! It's the one item that she's keeping before she moves to third stage."
"Wait so like, she already found a partner? In the first half of the second stage?"
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"Apparently."
"Woah," Jess joined in.
"And here I am, three years away from third stage, and only dated one guy," Acadia rolled her eyes.
The three of them giggled.
Oh, the irony.
•••
After they finished their coffees, Acadia and Jess moved to help out with breakfast.
They had pancake mix, and Acadia was volen-told to go get some wild strawberries to go with it. So, her and Wade tentatively crept out of the cave, praying that the wolf-borgs were gone.
"All clear," Wade called out from ahead.
She slipped through the hole, and Wade took her hand to help her up.
"You good?" He asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, yeah." She looked down, at Wade still holding her hand, then back up, and he curtly dropped it.
Running her hands along her jeans, she said, "right, so we better get started."
"Yeah." He nervously laughed.
They made their way out of the cave and into the blinding early-morning sun.
You don't realize how dark the cave is until you go outside.
"Alright, so we should probably split up," Wade suggested.
"Sounds good." Her voice sounded distant, even to her.
He gave a little thumbs-up and disappeared around the corner.
Acadia started looking for the wild strawberries that usually dot the forest's paths. Eventually she came across the muddy footprints of last night's midnight adventure. She could pick out the print of her shoes; size 10 boots, Jess' boots; itty bitty hiking booties, and Noel and Greyson's; hard to tell apart but the standard dorm boots in two different sizes.
Acadia strolled further down the path, hoping to find more than the three tiny strawberries she had already found. She followed their previous prints until she came across something unfamiliar.
A fourth shoeprint?
It was between Noel and Greyson's, thick-treaded and fresher than the rest.
The footprints went all along theirs, turning just before the cave and then seemingly vanishing into thin air.
Acadia cautiously approached the stone wall, where the prints ended. There was a slight crack in the wall that formed a rectangle. But... How? She thought. She placed her hand on the rectangle, where the stone was worn from constant use.
The rectangle suddenly made a bunch of whirs and beeps, then receded into the cliff.
The jagged boulder cracked, then slid downwards. A faint blue light shone through the base of a metal door.
Acadia stepped forward and hesitantly pushed it open.
Oh... My... God...
•
"Wade! Wade!"
Acadia slid around the bend, full speed ahead and crashed into him.
"What? What?!" He was anxious, and you could hear it in his voice.
"There was- I saw- you gotta- come on!" Her sentences jammed into one another, just like a hover car entrance.
"Slow down!" He chuckled. Damn, she looked adorable in her yellow pajamas. God, he had to stop thinking about her like this.
"Ok," she composed herself. "SotherewasthisbuttonandIpresseditanditturnedintoadoorandalonghallwayamdthereisntsupposedtobeonethereandCOMEON!"
"Are you okay?"
"Of course I am! Why would I not be?! You gotta come see!"
"Just calm down, we should go tell the others."
All he wanted to do was hold her so that she she calmed down. Whisper 'it's okay now, I've got you,' in her ear. But he knew she wouldn't let him.
And that scared him more than what she saw.
•••
I'm going to upload a map FR this time...
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If you didn't catch it I totally fangirled over Cresswell! I just finished winter and am waiting to buy stars above 😍