I FUMBLED the pendant between my fingers as I stared up into the darkness, the ceiling a lighter shade than anything else I could see. 

My body felt exhausted and I realized this was probably because of the training I had signed up for, which I was starting to think I wouldn't keep up with for much longer if exhaustion afterward was this brutal.

I scratched my wrist at the growing irritation beneath the red skin that looked brutal against my dark shade.

The mark that seemed to be throbbing painfully for the last few hours stared back at me.

"Talanda,"

I froze in the darkness at the sound of the quiet mention of my name, like a faraway echo.

My heart began to pound softly.  Eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I miss you."

The gentle pound within me stopped, my ears seemed to tingle for seconds at those words. My breathing was a low misty exhale, sitting up in bed like a robot. For a second everything seemed to be deathly quiet, something that I had not noticed until now.

I knew that voice.

My eyes quickly traveled around the room, almost certain that I would see him here, maybe lurking in the corner.

He seemed to blend well with shadows- but, there was nothing there.

I got out of bed almost on instinct, still convinced I certainly knew that voice, one that often pried itself into my head. It had sounded different this time. Not forced into my mind... It was just as if it had been a shared thought. A quiet statement whispered to me.

The floor was cold as my bare feet trod on it, my heart beginning its soft beat once more the closer I walked toward the window.

Peaking through the thin glass, my breath created a warm mist on the surface as I peered through, into the strangest quietest night.

A mysterious thin layer of ghostly fog hovered above the ground, making it vainly impossible to guarantee sight of anything.

My eyes narrowed down into the darkness, a certain anticipation at the tip of my breath.

I couldn't describe it in its full sense. Part of me WANTED to see SOMETHING there. Something that usually was always there.

I let out a low gasp, goosebumps riding on my skin when I spotted the faint outline of a shadow through the fog, at least I think it was.

My eyebrows arched further, moving even closer to the glass trying to be sure it was him and not the shadow of a tree when the door swung open behind me followed by some giggles causing me to turn abruptly

I was completely startled at the intrusion

Daya and Ellie walked in grinning and giggling amongst themselves. Their eyes met that of mine, only for a second before treating me as if I did not exist in the next second.

My eyes traveled to the floor, glancing one more time at the window, noticing whatever I thought was there didn't appear to be there anymore.

Traveling back to my bed, I slid into my sheets, trying to convince myself I hadn't lost my mind whilst Daya and Ellie laughed their hearts out on her side of the bed.

I, on the other hand, nestled my pendent, staring at the wall.

Why was I so attached to this boy? Even after all of it.

It was not worth lying to myself when I could see judging from my actions. 

I was the one who teleported into the forest because I wanted to be where Harvest was. Miss Almulese said the horn would take me where I desired.

I desired to be where he was, and it was in that forest with him.

Then, I didn't tell Gravis who Harvest was despite everything- I shut my eyes at this thought scolding myself for being so stupid.

And now-

I pursed my lips, unsure if I was ready to admit this.

Probably not. Probably stupid to even do so, but the fact remained. Thu feeling inside me, remained.

I was missing him. He was annoying, he was dangerous, he was everything that I tried so hard to stay away from and here I was hearing his voice in my head.

Telling me he missed me.

And in return, I'm a desperate mess to see him. Despite it all. Despite how unsure I felt. I did not trust him. But that didn't change how I felt.

My breath came out shaky and Ellie laughed at something Daya was saying. I heard my name being passed around but I squashed the sound, trying to focus on my thoughts.

I couldn't let her get under my skin.

I mean- if it was his voice why would he say he missed me? It was him that said he would give me 3 days.

It simply did not make much sense to me. For a boy who was everywhere I looked, close by on moments I preferred him far. He said he was giving me time to think and yet I could see it in his eyes, it was the last thing he wanted me to do.

Because if I let myself think this through, I was unsure if remaining silent was what was best for me. And still, he's giving me time.

My thoughts flashed to that moment. The blue fire, his hand. The look in his eyes.

I paused in the darkness, my eyebrows furrowing when I remembered the last time we spoke.

It was almost like he couldn't come close.

I glanced down at my pendant for a second, wheels turning in my head. Could it be that this tiny little thing could stop him from coming close to me?

But he was so powerful and this- my fingers fumbled with the pendant in the darkness, was simply too small.

I thought back to his pendent.

He said that it protected him from someone too. I would like to think whoever had him hiding was more powerful than him, and if that little thing could stop him from finding Harvest then- well, so could this one.

His hand had been literally on fire and he didn't seem all too pleased by it. 

Slightly scowling into the darkness I hid my pendent beneath my pajamas, frowning at another round of laughter that broke through from Ellie and Daya's side, shutting my eyes.

If it was this pendent, then it was up to me, just how long I wanted to keep him from me.

—————————-

I opened the door and almost got knocked in the face, stepping back just in time from that hard knuckle Lira was aiming.

"Good! For the first time- she's ready," Lira grumbled turning away with folded arms.

Good morning to you too, I thought to myself watching as she walked down the hallway.

Claire sighed glancing at her roommate, before turning to me, "She's in a mood," She whispered lowly and I nodded understandingly.

"She  - also has ears!" Lira fired back over her shoulder as I locked the door.

I moved beside Claire as we trudged behind the stressed Blue.

I noticed her hair was wild and untamed. Her uniform was crinkly, well, crinklier than usual, as Lira wasn't the type to care too much about her appearance.

However today- she looked like she was in one of her "moods."

I glanced at Claire momentarily as she straightened down her skirt whilst I jotted something down, showing it to her.

She glanced over and let out a huff of air, pulling at her bag straps.

"Yep," she continued, her tone low enough so that Lira couldn't quite catch it as she barked at some poor girl in the hallway who brushed shoulders with her.

"She won't admit it, but she's stressed about the match," Claire explained, "Andrew in particular," She whispered even lower and we both froze dead in our footsteps when Lira swung round at precisely that moment and faced us.

I could tell Claire was holding her breath as firmly as I was, hoping she hadn't caught a whiff of what we had been talking about.

"Do you two usually walk this slow? If so, can you pick up the pace? I want to get to Class so we can get to lunch and then the Match, so you know? So we can be done with this stupid day," she grunted, rolling her eyes before turning away once again.

"Not always, but to be fair, you aren't usually this mad either," Claire huffed as we caught up with Lira turning into the main hall where we spotted David coming from the boy's center.

"Can you please grab the other blue so we can go?" Lira grunted at me as she walked out of the door with Claire.

I shook my head for a moment as I watched them, before turning to David as he finally approached, eyes also focused on the door  that Lira and Claire disappeared in with a sigh,

"She's in a mood again?" He huffed.

I nodded and he signed, "I hope Andrew wins or it will be too many weeks of bad Lira."

I could not agree more.

———————---

My eyes had been peeled out for the boy in black since morning, but I had yet to set eyes on him which was strange because from morning till lunch I swore I could feel that heavy gaze on me.

My heart was always in a rapid beat and goosebumps lined my skin and yet there was no sight of those blue prisons anywhere between the scepters and the crown since morning.

To be fair, I hadn't seen any of the Originals.

I guessed Lucas would probably be helping Andrew and the twins were always somewhere doing something but Harvest... where was he?

"How long are you going to stare out of that window?" Lira grumbled shooting her empty lunch pack across the room.

It did not go directly into the bin but comfortably sat in the corner which made her humph. It was obvious she preferred being with Andrew showing him the ropes one last time than being stuck in her room for the next, I checked my watch.

15 minutes.

Had I been staring out of the window for 2hrs? Since lunch?

I glazed through the scene below. Lira and Claire's room faced the direction of the cube and had no view whatsoever of the gardens. But this wasn't nighttime, so I hoped he would be in places that were more on the unrestricted side.

I plopped down in my seat, feeling a bit stalked. I couldn't understand what was going on, how I went from wanting him far to looking out for him.

"10 minutes till the match. We should head out so we can find good seats," David suggested closing his book and tucking it in his bag.

"Nerd," Lira muttered.

"Thank you," he replied with a cheeky smile, to which she could only roll her eyes.

She looked much too miserable for anything else.

"I want middle seats, not too high- not too low, and just right in the center." Claire explained pushing her glasses back up her nose, as she shut her closet, "Oh, no need to carry bags by the way-" she added, David frowning at this.

—————————

When we finally headed out, there were masses of students walking out of the scepters, the crowd only growing as we approached the Crown.

The elevators were full and hot, regulated by students like Daya and some of the other helpers who directed us to go in groups.

Students grumbled to and fro whilst I was squashed between bodies. The hallways leading down to the Arena were the fullest I had ever seen.

I could barely admire the digital artwork that I usually did until we reached the Arena.

Walking in, the sound of voices and chatter across the wide space reached my ears, and the whole arena jammed with people.

I sighed, feeling David pose slightly behind Claire Lira and me.

"I hope he wins," Lira whispered lowly, yet clearly enough for all of us to hear.

The three of us exchanged looks at the blunt sentence, but couldn't get anything in before she led us down to our seats.