CHAPTER 2
Veronica woke up the next morning, with the feeling from last night still lingering. She remembered the peaceful expression on Acxa's face when she carried her to her bed. It was an expression she didn't wear often. The girl had been through so much, in such a short time. Part of Veronica felt bad for her, but another part had the strong desire to protect her. To never let another bad thing happen to her. Although they had only known each other for a couple weeks, Veronica couldn't picture her life without the Acxa. When she first met Acxa, she was constantly angry, acting cold and reserved to try to protect herself. But Veronica finally felt like she was getting to know the real her. The girl who turned her life around. She was so happy to finally connect with someone at the Garrison. The other cadets were nice, but she never really felt as close to any of them. She checked her watch and remembered today was their free day. Nothing really was scheduled to happen today, so they were free to train, relax, or just hang out with friends. She threw on sweatpants and a crop top, and headed out. She knocked on the door to Acxa's room.
"Who is it?" a voice grumbled.
"It's me." Veronica proclaimed.
"Come in." She said. Veronica opened the door to see Acxa sitting up in bed reading a book. It looked like a romance novel. Acxa didn't strike her as the type to read something like that
"Hey," she greeted, looking up from her book and meeting Veronica's gaze.
"Hey! I was wondering if you wanted to train together today, we have a free day."
"Alright, do you want to practice sword fighting?" She questioned.
"Sure." Veronica smiled.
She waited outside while Acxa changed and then they headed over to one of the practice-fighting rooms. She unsheathed her sword and Acxa did the same. They faced each other on opposite corners of the room, until Veronica made the first move. She ran towards Acxa, sword swinging, until she blocked it with the edge of hers. Acxa brought her sword down to her side, and the brunette did the same. The metal of the two swords clinked together, then Veronica quickly pulled her sword out, bringing it over to the side of Acxa's neck, but before she had time to react, the girl knocked the sword out of Veronica's hands. The brunette stood there stunned for a moment, before backing up, realizing how much of an advantage Acxa had. As she backed up, she tripped and landed on the ground, her face reddening in humiliation. She scrambled to get her sword, but Acxa was already on top of her pinning her shoulders to the ground. Her legs were straddling Veronica, further keeping her from moving. Her sword was across Veronica's throat, and beads of sweat were rolling down her face, as she stared down at her. Acxa noticed she was practically sitting on top of the girl and stood up, wiping sweat off her forehead.
"I win." she stated, avoiding eye contact.
Veronica stood up, her face bright red, and walked over to grab her sword. Why was she feeling this? She had just met this girl, but that look in her eyes made Veronica's heart skip a beat. She tried to blame the fact that her heart was in her throat on the adrenaline of the fight. She tried to blame the pink in her cheeks on the embarrassment from losing. But inside, she knew why. This girl had made her feel something she had never felt before.. The spark between them was undeniable, but all Veronica could do was wait. She didn't want to rush anything, and she decided to just let things play out as they would.
-—-------------------------------------------------Acxa POV—---------------------------------------------------------
After she finished practice-fighting with Veronica, they went to get food from the cafeteria. They each grabbed a plate and went back to her room. Veronica was surprisingly good at fighting, enough to leave Acxa exhausted. As she recalled their sparring, she remembered when she had Veronica pinned to the ground. Her breath hitched, picturing the look in her crystal eyes. The way her cheeks flushed red and her breaths were fast and uneven. The intensity of her gaze. Acxa wasn't used to this feeling. What this girl did to her, it was terrifying. But almost in a good way. The way a thought of her could make Acxa blush, and just a touch of their hands made her forget her name. But she couldn't let her guard down. Not yet. Besides, she should focus on the battle at hand.
"Alright." Veronica said, shaking Acxa out of her thoughts. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know." Acxa replied.
"Did you know there's an ice-skating rink on this? I've never used it before, but I think it would be fun." The brunette suggested.
"Okay." she agreed, hesitantly. She had never gone ice skating before, but she was determined not to fail. They each went back to their dorms and got quick showers, meeting up in the halls. They made their way to it and Acxa was surprised to see that it was big, for being on a ship. It had a rim around it and little lanterns that lit up the walls, and a couple benches dotted around the edges. They put on their skates, and hobbled over to the entrance.
Inside the rink, it was freezing. Acxa took a deep breath, and set foot on the ice. As soon as her foot touched the ground, she slipped and grabbed onto the wall, clutching it with all her might. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Veronica laughing at her attempt. Acxa shot her a glare.
"Fine. You do better." She demanded.
Veronica stepped onto the ice with confidence, and soon enough was gliding around the rink like it was nothing. Acxa watched in awe as she gracefully wove around the rink, adding spins and jumps like it was nothing. She slid back up to where Acxa was struggling to stand.
"I skated a lot back home." She said with a beam.
It couldn't be that hard. She set her other foot on the ice, still clinging to the wall. Slowly, she began to move forward.
"See! You're getting it." Veronica assured her. Acxa looked to see her skating beside her. She gave her a scowl, but accepted it when she offered a hand. Veronica helped her as she moved along the wall, but the feeling of her hand in Acxa's distracted her a little bit. Something about it brought fireworks to her heart. She avoided Veronica's eyes, for fear she might see the blush spread across her cheeks.
"Here," Veronica said, holding out her other hand. "I'll help you stay up." Acxa shakily took her hands off of the wall and grasped Veronica's tightly. Their fingers wove together and Veronica skated around the rink, pulling her along. Acxa looked down and met her gaze. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as they flew around, the cold air biting their cheeks and tugging at their hair. Time stood still when their eyes met, but each quickly looked away in embarrassment. They skated for another hour or so before heading back to their dorms. They sat around and talked for a while until Veronica said something unexpected.
"We should sneak out tonight."
"Sneak out?" Acxa reiterated. "You mean past curfew?" Yes, the Garrison had given them curfew, even though most of them were adults. They wanted to ensure none of the cadets were out and about late so the older staff could get some rest, and save energy.
"Yes." Veronica confirmed.
"Why?" Acxa questioned. "Where would we go?"
"I dunno, for fun. I'm bored. And I have an idea."
Acxa inwardly sighed. This girl was getting to her brain.
"Fine." She agreed. The brunette smiled with excitement.
"Meet me by my door at 10:00!" She said with a grin.
What had Acxa just agreed to?
—----------------------------------------------Veronica POV—------------------------------------------------------
Veronica looked at her watch. 9:57. Acxa should be here soon. She threw on a jacket and waited by her door before she heard a knock. She opened it, and just then, the lights in the halls flickered off. It must be ten now. They crept along the hallway giggling to themselves like rebellious teenagers. Suddenly, they heard a noise. Footsteps walking toward where they were. They couldn't get caught, they had just gotten out! Out of the corner of her eye, Veronica eyed a closet. She grabbed Acxa and dragged her inside, shutting the door with a thud. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could barely make out the girls' figure pushed up against the wall. The closet was really small, causing them to be really close. Their legs brushed against each other as they forgot completely about the sound they heard, lost in each other's eyes. Veronica stared up at Acxa, whose eyes gazed up at her with an unnameable emotion. Tentatively, she reached out, grazing her fingers along the girl's cheek. The hint of blush across her face made Veronica's heart flutter. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and gazed intently up at Acxa, making her face heat up.
"You have beautiful eyes." Veronica blurted. Embarrassment washed over her when she realized how that sounded and she looked at the floor. When she looked back up, Acxa was just looking at her without expression.
"Thank you." She replied.
Just then, the door opened. They both looked up in shock to see an equally as shocked Lance Mcclain staring back at them.
"What are you doing up?" Veronica demanded, pulling away from Acxa's gaze.
"Uh, it doesn't look like you guys are exactly following curfew either." Lance retorted, with a look down the hallway.
Veronica shot him an annoyed glare.
"Well I'll, uh, leave you guys to it." He said with a suggestive smirk, leaving his sister a bright shade of red.
"I'm gonna beat that little-" Veronica muttered, holding up her fist.
Acxa let out a laugh, and they crept out of the closet after figuring the coast was clear.