OVERLOOKED ㅤkotlc

063

We sit together at a Neverseen meeting.

We've been deemed decent at fighting by the lady Gisela herself, so that means we're gonna be included for battle plans.

I vaguely remember Tam telling me about an attack. On the Black Swan, was it? It's only a little while longer before it begins.

I've caught Koray looking at me, in curiosity, four times now. Namely whenever Gisela talks about my role in the battle. I'm not sure why, but I don't wanna concern Rosaleen.

"Take one, pass it down," Gisela says, sliding a stack of papers to Vespera, who sits at her right.

The words are so reminiscent of a classroom that I almost snort. As if seeing my internal struggle, Gisela raises an eyebrow in my direction. That shuts me up.

The stack of papers go around the glass table.

I count heads to make time tick faster.

There's almost a hundred people in this room. That's not even counting other rooms, or other bases.

A sense of what did I get myself into? passes over me. The Black Swan and the Neverseen each have hundreds of agents, this is terrifying.

Across the table, Melia sends me a questioning look. You good? she mouths.

I tilt my head in an unsure yes. She takes it with a small thumbs-up and smile.

The papers take its time reaching Rosaleen and me. She gets the stack first, and she takes one quickly, her eyes already flitting over the words.

I take one, too, then pass it to my left.

Jaelynn and Glimmer are across us too, together of course. Glimmer is using an impromptu sign language on Rosaleen, who looks up and laughs softly, in clear confusion.

Jaelynn's smiling at her girlfriend's antics. She mouths words I don't catch, but Rosaleen seems to understand. She writes in the air, and Jaelynn nods.

Glimmer teasingly rolls her eyes, as if to say Of course you understand Jae and not me!

Maybe Rosaleen feels my attention, because she turns to me and whispers, "They were asking what I wanted for dinner."

I smile at that, and Rosaleen looks back to Glimmer and Jaelynn.

I can tell they're close. (One day, Rosaleen and I might share the feeling of missing this damned place.)

The paper stack empties into thin air. In true teacher manner, Gisela says, "Take a look at the paper. It has the plan for the battle."

It tells me, in an anticlimatic Arial font, that the attack is on January 30. It's January 11 today, so about two-and-a-half weeks from now.

There's more, but right now, imagining blood and violence won't end well for my stomach. I swallow and flip the paper over.

Rosaleen glances my way. She leans in, her body brushing against mine, to quietly ask if I'm okay.

How are there more people here who look at me and ask that?

I don't voice this. Instead, I whisper back, "I'm okay." She studies me, then squeezes my hand. Gisela draws her gaze, but her hand stays on mine.

We're there for an hour and by the end of it, I've retained absolutely nothing. Rosaleen has, though, and I love her for that, because I'd been sat there, slightly panicking.

It's only when Gisela dismisses us do I notice Ruy's attention. He waves me over, and I touch Rosaleen's arm to let her know that I'm parting ways.

"Hey Dex!" he says. There's an easy smile on his blurred lips. His eyes wander to Rosaleen, and easy turns to knowing.

I can't help but smile, relieved to be in a safer spot by him. "Stop that," I tease. "She's gonna think you're creepy or something, man."

"We're placing bets soon." He stays stubborn. "I have to get a head start."

I laugh, shaking my head. "You're whipped."

"Mhm," Ruy says, then turns back to me. "Wanna take a walk today?"

"Now?"

"Do you have plans?" he says. "Cuddling with a certain somebody, perha—"

"No, let's go!" I interrupt, timing it just right so that we laugh. We walk, and I let him take the lead. "Moving on now, how's Alvar's love life?"

Ruy laughs again. "Kore's promising."

"She is?"

"They might like him back."

"How do you know?"

"She looks at him a lot, they're close, their dynamic with each other's pretty cool."

I hum in thought. "Maybe Melia knows if they like him back?"

"Kore and Melia aren't the closest," Ruy says, in amusing disappointment. "Kore normally keeps to themself, unfortunately."

I can't help but laugh. "Unfortunately?"

He makes a noise to say you know what I mean! "Well, point is, she might like Alv back, and she's cool and nice and all."

"You're like his mom."

"What?"

"Deciding if they're the right girl and all."

He gets it, and his eyes light up as he laughs. Ruy points at me. "Shut up," he says, teasingly.

"Wagging your finger now, too? Are you a mother or older brother, choose one."

Ruy gives in, switches roles, and plays along. "That's a hard one," he jokes. "I'm a kinnie of both."

"If you're indecisive, you might as well be Talentless," I say, as if being Talentless is like being human. After all, who am I if not someone who mocks what the nobility's set in stone?

He laughs at that. If Ruy found that funny, he probably has the same humor as Dad and me.

We find ourselves in the Sunroom. I look at him in curiosity. "Where are we going?"

"You remember the Recruitment Point?" he asks.

Of course I do, so I nod. It was teeming with the blooming dead.

"I can introduce you to... them." Ruy suddenly sounds almost shy, like we've breached something personal to the Neverseen; something that I know I shouldn't see.

But I inhumanely say, "Sure—if you're okay with it," because I can't bring myself to say anything else.

Ruy looks relieved. He holds a crystal to the light, and he touches my shoulder as we step in, grounding me in light that rips me apart.

˚ ༘ 🌷 ── author's note!

is it possible to click w/ someone u dont have much in common with, or is this just the phase of getting to know each other until u have nothing else to say?? asking for a friend

but also aa im breaching a point where school doesnt feel as exciting anymore, cant my brain continue to romnticize this is if i have to deal w/ this for like years

aha anyways howre u guys doing! i hope ur doing well :D 

ur very swaggy and i think ur cool!! see u on monday! <3 <3