I tried not to think too much about Gaelen's strange behavior after he touched me. My imagination was notorious for going wild already. With a fine expert finesse, I mastered the fine art of jumping to conclusions due to living in colony. Because whatever something happened, we'd all think of the worst scenario that could happen; and when aliens were involved everyone in the colony knew even the most far fetch horrible outcome would most likely happen. So, collectively when things went wrong it became a sadistic game of guessing what horror would ensue. Also not having options for anything in life, meant that dreaming was our only escape. Matthais and I did this often growing up. We would sneak up to the tops of the factories and look over the city. While laying on the black tar roof, we escaped together into our imaginations where the world pre-Eclipse or post-Eclipse didn't exist. I was easy to just dream of a better world.
I must have been daydreaming because Lance came up to me making me literally jump out of my skin.
"Hey there?" He beamed with a bright smile like the sun and plopped down next to me, already setting my books that sat on my lap aside. He wanted my attention.
I was already known in my program as the bookworm and as Gaelen often called me Bookmouse, others had started to adopt the pet name because I was so standoffish and always studying which I thought was the purpose for going to college, apparently not as much as socializing in the alien world.
"How are you doing Lance?"
He sat back on his hands, "Phew, I am so glad that test is over. Why would he give us such a hard test this close to the festival, its as if he wants us to focus."
"I suppose that is a mark of a good professor."
"Yeah, Professor Windsor, the big league in campus academia has no qualms about making college the most nose to the grindstone experience a student can have." I only smiled, not know how to respond. "So how did you do?"
I blushed and just shock my head, "That well huh? Your modesty is very adorable, Kiowa."
Lance leaned in towards me and then reached up to push my long braids over my shoulder. He smelt like spice. But then he sighed and leaned away from me.
I just pawed at my skirt in silence as we watched the students on the quad toss frisbees or gossip with each other sitting close surrounded by a campfire like pile of bookbags, notebook and books.
"i just wanted to say that I like dancing with you on Saturday," I said.
"Then we should do it again." Again, Lance smiled and leaned closer to me after his shoulders settled in a perfect square. "Do you have a date to the festivities?"
The festivities.
The word itself became an echo in my mind so many times it became a lump in my throat. I mumbled incoherently even to myself but then everyone on the quad stopped their personal activities with a collective gasp, the frisbee hung in mid-air, spinning like a ufo, the pile of books, notebooks and backpack floated into the air also hovering, anything that wasn't nailed down or alien (me included), was hovering in the air with a loud resonate boom. Gaelen stormed across the quad towards me, as he passed the flying objects fell to the ground.
Was he doing this?
"Hey what they heck man?!" A frisbee guy yelled at Gaelen.
Yes he was forcing everyones entertainment the a halt - literally
He stopped in front of me, green eyes blazing like an unearthy couldron of mad magic. I gulped. This was another new side to Gaelen. I was discovering more about him in a short 24 hours that I had ever learned about anyone else in my life.
"Hey Gaelen, what's up," I squeaked.
"I flunked his fucking test!" He eyes were a tempest.
"Hey you win some, you lose some," Lance shrugged. "No need to go alien warlord on the quad man."
Alien warlord? Wow, I didn't realize that everyone knew that Gaelen came from a military family.
"Can I talk to you?" Gaelen hissed and then narrowed his eyes at Lance. "Alone."
"Um?" I mumbled unsure what this was leading to.
"She doesn't have to go anywhere with you." Lance stood up chest to chest to Gaelen.
"You." Gaelen's voice sizzled. I was surprised Lance didnt inch back from Gaelen. Some kind of masculine silent exchange was happening that I've only witness happen over the popular girls in the colony. "I told you Saladin this afternoon. Back off." Lance only stood taller and puffed his chest as much as his lanky body allowed. Gaelen could easily beat up Lance, he was lean but had mostly muscle. "Kiowa, you coming or not?"
"Sure," I stuttered and then scrambled to my feet.
Gaelen had already started leading the way before I could even join his side. I decided leaving my stuff behind with Lance was a sure bet to ensure he check on me to see that I remained in one molecular piece after my chat with Warlord Gaelen Borgias.
Gaelen pulled my arm, pinching it tightly as he led me behind the library which led to the woods.
"Hey, don't get so testy with me! It's not my fault you didn't pass your test," I snapped my arm away from him as soon as we were alone.
He sighed showing the vulnerable Gaelen for a second but then straightened his back into commanding warlord Gaelen. "Professor Windsor pulled me into his office after class. He gave me a long lecture about how I, coming from my family, should be the first one in his class to excel and that he and everyone else on this campus expects a lot more out of me."
"What are you talking about Gaelen. You aren't going to... what rule The Realm one day."
His eyes narrowed on me again and his face turned red as if I insulted him.
