Chapter Twenty - Four
"lessons"

❣︎

"Adelaide."

I fasten my pace—

"Adelaide, come on." Gally's fingers wrap around my wrist, pulling me back with such force that I become even more panicked. "We need to talk. You're... you're not thinking straight—"

I hold up my hand to stop him from speaking, but he continues.

"Ever since you came back from the Last City, you've been acting different. You never told me the whole story about what happened between you and Desmia. So tell me. And you don't like me. Not in that way. Trust me, you don't."

'That doesn't make any sense,' I scribble roughly.

"Just hear me out, alright?" He forces me to sit down on a rock near the sea. I clench my teeth at the roughness of it, but don't move, even when he joins my side. "Look. I don't want our friendship to disappear after this... inconvenience." A pause. "Don't look at me like that. It is an inconvenience. You're not really in love with me."

I glance away, too embarrassed to look at him.

"First of all," Gally starts, "when you're in love, you don't just kiss that person out of nowhere, so quickly into knowing each other. Secondly, you think you like me, but you don't. I guess I'm the first person who really pays attention to you, right? Your feelings mix it up, and that's totally understandable. But you're not in love with me. That's not how it... works, I believe."

'Either way, I'm too embarrassed to ever look at you again.'

A chuckle escapes from him at that. "I'm going to drag you around with me anyway. Back in the Glade, I had a few great friends, but it all fell down after that. You're kind of my first real friend, too. So, no matter how awkward this gets, you're stuck with me, alright?"

I chew on the inside of my cheek, hesitating before scribbling, 'I don't want to be stuck with you if it means feeling like an idiot every time I look at you.'

"You're not an idiot, Adelaide. You just... got caught up in everything. And I get it. But I'd rather we figure this out than let it ruin things. I'm not worth losing a friend over."

Fine. I finally scrawl. 'You're right. It was a mistake. Let's just forget it.'

Gally watches me carefully. "And if I catch you overthinking it again, I will... I don't know what I will do, but it will be bad."

Smiling, I nod.

His shoulders relax. "Good. 'Cause if I had to deal with you avoiding me for the rest of our miserable existence, I'd lose my mind."

I roll my eyes, yet the smile stays.

"Alright, good talk," he mutters, pushing himself up from the rock and brushing the sand off his pants. "Let's go find something to do before you get all slimy on me."

'Now you're just feeding your ego.'

"That was needed. I have a low self esteem," he mocks teasingly. I push him to the side. "We could go check if we have desserts left," Gally offers.

I shrug. He takes it as a yes and drags me toward the Bar. Before we even reach it, we see a busy table, full with desserts: Minho, Desmia, Cora, and Frypan.

"Ah-ha." Gally doesn't hesitate to join them. I squish myself between Desmia and Frypan. "There the desserts are."

Desmia rolls her eyes. "Cora, honey, continue telling us what you learned today."

"Eh, the letter A," she says nervously, writing it in the air. "And B."

"Okay." Desmia nods. The jewelry in her hair makes a tingling sound. "What else?"

"Eh..." She glances at Minho, hesitating, and then shyly looks away. "Something about... when people really like each other, and they, um..." a frown appears on her face. "Do stuff."

Silence crashes over the table.

Desmia freezes, a fork halfway to her mouth. Frypan lets out a choking sound. Gally, who had just taken a bite of cake, suddenly looks like he's reconsidering his entire existence.

Minho's eyes wide. He pretends to slash his throat, shaking his head at the little girl.

Desmia is the first to react. She exhales sharply through her nose. "And where, exactly, did you hear that?"

"I just... heard it," Cora insists, her face turning a little pink. "And I think it's kinda like wrestling? But not really?"

Fry lets out a strangled noise. "Okay, nope. I don't like this. Nope, nope, nope." He pushes his plate away like that'll help him escape the conversation.

"That is not something you need to be thinking about right now, Cora."

"I'm sorry," Cora mumbles.

Minho, very suspiciously quiet, shoves a spoonful of dessert into his mouth, looking anywhere but at Desmia.

I narrow my eyes at him.

Desmia notices too. She slowly turns to him. "Minho."

He stops chewing. Freezes. Swallows too fast, nearly chokes, then clears his throat. "Yeah?"

Desmia's stare sharpens. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about where she picked up this information, would you?"

Minho immediately shakes his head, holding up his hands. "Me? No clue. Zero involvement. Completely innocent."

Frypan crosses his arms. "Uh-huh. Sure."

He already gives in when Desmia's gaze intensifies. "Look, it's not my fault that kids have ears, alright?"

She looks ready to strangle him. "You taught her that—"

"I didn't teach her anything!" Minho defends. "She overheard something, probably. Which is not my fault."

Desmia turns to Cora. "Did he teach you that?"

Slowly, with a nervous expression, she nods.

Minho chokes on air.

Desmia slams her forehead onto the table.

I carefully put my pen down, deciding I am absolutely not documenting this conversation.

Minho groans, running a hand down his face. "Okay, first of all, every kid needs that talk. Second of all, what if we all suddenly die and she doesn't know—"

"I'm going to kill you." Desmia stands up. So does Minho.

Cora giggles loudly when she starts chasing Minho around. She pulls her shoe off in the process and throws it as his feet, causing him to face plant into the sand.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Desmia spends the next five minutes hitting Minho with the bottom of her boot, while he squirms on the ground.

Minho yelps and tries to crawl away, but Desmia is relentless. "You're ruining children's minds!" she scolds.

Eventually, she returns. Minho remains lying on the sand for a few more minutes.

"Cora, sweetheart, let's just forget everything Minho said, alright?"

"But I thought—"

"Forget everything."

Cora pouts but nods.

Minho throws his hands up. "Oh, so now we're ignoring valuable life lessons—"

Desmia whips around. "Do you want me to throw my other boot at you?"

He immediately shuts up.

Satisfied, she sits back down onto the bench. "Good." She takes a deep breath, then points her fork at Minho. "If I ever catch you talking to her about anything like this again, I will personally make sure you never wrestle with anyone for the rest of your life."

"What kind of wrestling are we— ow!"

❧

A/n: lol idk what this is

Sorry for the slow update!! I'm trying to think of what to write since I've already written everything I planned.

Adelaide could join the mission but I don't really feel like writing that? Idk, because I do have a great idea that matches with that part of the plot and I wouldn't know what else to write

have a great day!