007

Rebecca, Ken, Ravi and I all sit in the cafeteria eating breakfast. When I woke up this morning, the first I noticed was how people were bustling about, and it seemed like more government personnel were present on the residential quarters than usual. That’s definitely relevant right now, the cafeteria is packed with people, and I feel someone bump into my side as I go to peel an orange. Murmurs of conversation ripple through the room as a wave of employees exit, soon replaced by another swarm of people.

Ravi seems extra grumpy, and his eyes shoot daggers when a woman stumbles into his back, making him drop his bagel. Next to him, Rebecca looks worn down, and I wonder if she and Ravi are on better terms.

The tv monitor next to my head is blaring and I can practically feel my ears starting to bleed. Seeing my expression, Ken reaches to turn it off before the news anchor switches reports and I motion for him to leave it on.

“...After the severe lightning storm that left almost all of Seoul with no electricity, countless businesses and the government alike have been reported to have lost precious data. Riots have broken out across the city as Seoul lays divided between Augments and the people.”

“‘The people,’” Ravi echoes from behind me and scoffs, “turn that off,”

I ignore him, eyes glued to the news anchor as she continues.

“A complicated and extremely intricate virus has also been found in these confidential databases, raising concerns on whether this was a planned breach of security. This virus is said to have a relation to-”

Her voice cuts out and the screen shatters, the image blinking off as Ravi hurls his glass against the monitor. I whip my head back to reprimand him when the words lodge themselves back down into my throat.

Ravi towers over the three of us, all six foot lean, hard muscle. His lip is curled into a snarl and his eyes flash electric teal as he scowls at me. My body turns rigid under his gaze, cold sweat pearling at the small of my back. Never have I ever seen Ravi like this.

“I told you to turn it off,” he snaps. The entire cafeteria is silent. Rebecca’s chair scrapes against the linoleum floor and she grabs him roughly by the arm, dragging him out of the room.

“You good?” Ken asks me shortly after we leave as well in order to avoid the continuous stares.

I nod, “I guess people like throwing glasses when I’m around, I don’t know.”

Ken brushes it off with a laugh, but in truth, my brain is rattling like a swarm of angry bees inside my head. The fact that Ravi and Rebecca have been arguing is definitely out of the norm, but physical violence?

I feel sick at the thought of him putting his hands on Rebecca. Before, the possibility would have never crossed my mind, but in the last few days, Ravi has demonstrated how much more powerful he is than ordinary humans, and it worries me that he could try and hurt Rebecca if pushed far enough.

I look to Ken walking beside me and wonder if he feels the same way. They’ve been friends since high school, so it had to be that I wasn’t the only one noticing the changes in Ravi’s behavior, right?

“Mari? Hey, you ok?”

I’m jolted out of my thoughts as Ken lays a hand on my shoulder. He’s stopped walking and he’s looking at me like he’s waiting for an answer.

“Sorry,” I shake my head, “I spaced out. What did you say?”

He smiles and I mentally thank him for being so patient with me.

“I was just saying how you shouldn’t worry about Ravi.”

Was this guy psychic or something?

“How did you know?”

Ken glances off to the side before motioning me closer.

“He’s had episodes like this in the past.” he murmurs into my ear.

“Really?” the words almost make me take a step back in shock, but I remain where I am as Ken continues.

“Yeah. Once or twice when he first got out of the procedures. I visited him right before he moved here, and he freaked. He was screaming about how he didn’t feel like himself, and how it was my fault for not talking him out of it.”

A feeling of remorse washes over me as I picture Ravi in that situation, and a horrid thought pops into my mind.

“Do you think he meant it?” my voice is soft, barely above a whisper, “do you think he ever regrets getting Augmented?”

“No,” says Ken, but his eyes are empty. “It hurt a lot to hear him say that it was my fault though, I won’t lie. I mean, he called me every night for half a year explaining to me how this was something he wanted to do for Rebecca’s sake. I think he was overwhelmed with stress and adjusting to everything all over again, but it still scared the out of me.”

I chew my lip, “Yeah. I’m sorry he said that, especially considering how close you are.”

Ken nods and rubs the back of his head, ruffling his hair a bit, “Don’t pay too much attention to what he does, sometimes he’s just an .” he says the last part with a laugh and I mockingly roll my eyes.

The two of us continue down the hallway before he guides me toward one of the large windows overlooking the city.

“Looks like it’s going to be a clear night tonight,” Ken murmurs, eyes glancing skyward. I follow his gaze above the tops of the towering buildings. He’s right, the clouds seem to be splitting over the evening sky, and the first few winks of stars have started to twinkle above the city.

My heart suddenly starts clobbering in my chest as the realization comes to me as to why he’s pointing this out. The observatory.

“Uh-huh,” I say stupidly and almost face palm myself. I peak at Ken from the corner of my eye. He leans cooly against the glass railing, arms folded and head cocked to one side as he continues to survey the heavens.

 “D-do you want to..uh...should we-I mean,” my face heats up and I can feel my hands starting to tremble, “would you like to meet me in the observatory tonight?” I try to keep my voice from wavering but it sounds more like a demand than a question.

 Ken tilts his head in my direction, and a smile crosses his lips.

 “I’d love to,”

 Butterflies erupt out of nowhere in my stomach and I have to bite my lower lip to keep from grinning like an idiot. Suddenly, Ken takes two strides toward me and I feel his lips against my ear.

“I’ll see you at midnight, then?”

It takes all my willpower just to nod and I hear him chuckle as he walks down the hall to his room.

~~

“A midnight rendezvous?” Rebecca squeals when I tell her the news, “that’s so adorable~”

She dodges my jab to her arm, shielding herself with a pillow as she rolls away from my punches. The two of us sit in my apartment, winding down the hours together until the witching hour.

In order to cope with my nervousness, Rebecca decides to help me get ready. After taking a shower, she dries my hair and throws it into soft curls, picking out an elegant, yet casual cream colored dress to complete the look. I do my own makeup in front of the mirror, brushing on subtle tones of bronzer, eye shadow and mascara to keep everything looking as natural as possible.

“Make sure not to overdo the lipstick,” Rebecca sing-songs from behind me and I almost throw my shoe at her. She cackles and continues to fuss over me.

By the time she’s done, the sky is black ink, pinpricks of light glimmering softly. She asks ERRI for the time and urges me to hurry when she realizes I’m going to be late, and my pulse hammers in my throat as she scoots me out the door.

“Wh- Rebecca, you can’t kick me out of my own-”

“Bye!” she laughs and slams the door in my face.

I let out a pent up sigh and walk slowly towards the elevator, my feet wobbling slightly as I press the button with shaky fingers.

~~

I honestly feel like I’m going to faint as I make my way to the observatory. The thought of Ken alone makes my head spin, and the fact that he’s asking me to meet him after curfew in a secluded place has me drunk on exhilaration.

I push open the doors with my shoulder, surprised to find the room pitch black, the blinking dots of the city reflecting back from outside. The last slivers of light from the hallway disappear as the door shuts quickly behind me, plunging me into darkness.

“Ken?” I call out, feeling my hand along the wall for the switch.

The room is suddenly illuminated as the lights flicker back on, but not by me.

Ken stands in the middle of the room, looking sharp in a white dress shirt, the first button undone tastefully at his adam’s apple. Next to him, I’m surprised to see a table cloth laid down on the floor, along with numerous delicious looking dishes and a bottle of what I presume to be wine.

“Oh, wow. Ken, you..didn’t have to do all this,” I murmur as I take in everything he had prepared, he even has a few candles lined up against the windowsills, flames wavering against the glass.

“You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”

I shake my head shyly. “No, I was too nervous to eat anything.”

He looks slightly amused as he sits.

“Me too.”

    The food is delightful, Ken describes how he had gone into town to find a restaurant to cater to us, which has me blushing at the thought of him going to such lengths for a simple night.

“I can’t cook to save my life,” he laughs and takes a sip of wine, “I burn toast. It’s pathetic.”

    We easily polish off the rest of the dishes as the two of us start to relax. After neatly stacking away the plates, I lead Ken to the huge telescope at the far end of the room. At the push of a button, the walls start to sink away, leaving a large glass dome as the only separation between us and the night sky.

    “Wow,” I hear Ken murmur from beside me.

    Wow indeed. Even on my nights up here with Rebecca, seeing a sky this clear is rare.

    The moon is a floating, glowing orb in the sky, radiating silver light like the sun itself. Sitting against an onyx backdrop, the stars glisten like diamonds. The harsh, neon light pollution from Seoul didn’t even matter tonight; for the first time in months, a majority of the constellations could be seen with the eye. Even most of the Milky Way.

    “That’s Altair, up there,” Ken points to out to me, and I’m mentally proud of myself for being able to identify the star as well.

    “And there’s Vega,” I say and he makes a face like he’s disappointed he couldn’t say it first, and he laughs.

    “It’s said they’re lovers that can only meet once a year,”

    I turn to him with a look of surprise, “Didn’t you say you’re studying to become an engineer? How do you know so much about astrology?”

    Ken shrugs, “It’s a hobby of mine,” and he grins so wide that his eyes twinkle more than the stars in the sky.

    What he says is true, Altair and Vega are said to be deities that were separated because of the amount of time they spent together. However, they are allowed one day a year to see each other again, to which they cross the Milky Way and their love is reunited.

    I gaze into the telescope and I’m amazed at the clarity of the stars, seeming to flow on forever like a river.

    “It’s so sad, imagine getting only one day to see someone you care for so much,” I say with a frown and push the lense over to Ken for him to see. He stays completely still and I glance at him to see what’s the matter.

He’s looking at me with a strange, focused expression and he takes a step toward me. He’s so close that the sweet, sensual scent of his cologne fills my nose and his chest brushes mine. I have to tilt my head back slightly to look at him, his full lashes defined perfectly. His mouth parts ever so slightly and I see his eyes glance quickly down to my lips before meeting them again.

“Good thing I get to see you more than that,” he breathes and my pulse starts battering so hard I think my ribs might bruise. He takes a slow breath before speaking, pursing his lips in thought.

“I’ve been thinking about kissing you ever since you walked through that door, so is it alright if I do? Can I kiss you right now?”

    I feel my eyes widen and I try to keep myself from looking too surprised. Ken chuckles.

     “Y-yeah..I mean, yes. Yes. You can...y-you can kiss me, if you want,”

    His mouth curves into a smirk before he closes the distance between us and my eyes flutter shut.

    Warm lips gently press against my own and a hand comes to cradle my cheek and another on my waist, pulling me closer. I wrap my arms around his neck in order to keep myself upright as our lips continue to move in unison. Fingers move from my jaw to thread themselves in my hair and I hear him sigh against my ear, his breath more ragged as his mouth moves to to my neck.

    “I’m sorry,” he laughs as he pulls himself back slowly, his hands still cupping my face, “I got carried away,”

    “No, don’t be sorry,” I say and glance down at my shoes in embarrassment, “that was..nice.”

    Ken places a kiss on my forehead and takes me by the hand back to where we had our meal, pouring two more glasses of wine.

~~

“Maybe finishing the bottle wasn’t the smartest thing ever,” Ken says with a groan. His face is flushed a rosy pink, his lips parted slightly and I have to remind myself not to stare, “my head is killing me,”

“Let me head downstairs to get some carbonated water, or something,” I suggest as he scrunches up his face in pain, “maybe that’ll help?”

“M’kay, don’t take too long,”

“Wow, you’re really drunk,”

“No, I’m not.” he retorts and sticks out his lower lip in a pout, “but I’m serious though, hurry back.”

I exit the observatory and press my back against the doors, the feeling of Ken’s kiss still lingering on my lips and my heart soars once more. Filled with a somewhat childish glee, I almost skip down the hallway to take the elevator downstairs.

“Everything going well, Mari?” ERRI asks me as I click open the door to my apartment, and for once I don’t give her .

“It’s going great, thanks for asking.”

I rummage the fridge until I find two bottles of water and close the door with my hip. Twisting off the cap, I gulp down a mouthful as the pain of a slight hangover starts to press at the back of my eyes. Checking my reflection in the mirror, I switch off the lights and make my way back upstairs when I suddenly stop in my tracks.

Rebecca walks past down the hall in front of me, eyes red and swollen, and she’s hugging herself how she does when she’s upset. Why is she wandering around Skypeak at such a late hour, hadn’t she gone home?

I decide to follow her, slipping behind potted plants and hiding in empty doorways as she continues to falter past the rooms and offices, head bowed.

I quickly duck behind a corner as I see her knock on an office door. It opens with a click, and my heart catches in my throat as the person answering it steps out into the hallway.

N.

“What’re you doing here? You know what Ravi’ll do if he catches you with me!” N whispers harshly.

“I don’t care anymore,” Rebecca snaps back, her voice thick with tears and she hiccups, arms crossed tightly over herself. N lets out a soft sigh and brings her into his chest, arms wrapping around her protectively and kisses the top of her head. She buries her face into his shirt, trembling slightly.

“Hey, don’t cry,” he murmurs, holding her chin between his thumb and forefinger, “I know what’ll make you feel better, ok?”

I watch in horror as she nods and N takes her hand, leading her into his office, followed by the undeniable switch of a lock as the door shuts.

The ground was spinning and it definitely wasn’t the alcohol.

What the hell?

Since when had Rebecca taken such an interest in N? Ravi obviously didn’t know about their affair, judging how N had reacted. Hurt and betrayal seep into my system, and it feels like spiders are scurrying around in my stomach. After how Ken had described how much pain Ravi had gone through to ensure he could protect Rebecca, how could she throw it all away like that? Didn’t she understand how Ravi had permanently altered himself for her?

I shake my head to keep from conjuring up more questions. With a heavy heart, I quietly tiptoe back down the hallway and call down the elevator.

A/N: sorry for the wacky formating toward the end idk what happened

WOW SO MUCH FLUFF IN THIS CHAPTER do people even drink wine on a first date lol probably not I just needed an excuse for Mari to go downstairs OTL

so yEAH REBECCA AND N HMMmmmMMMmMMMMM WHATS UP WITH THEM??? As always, sub if you enjoyed C:

xoxo Sahara