His Rival

Keep Your Friends Close

Hello everyone, Jess here!

As my rising action progresses and tensions rise, my chapters may be growing again in length (40.2 pages/ 13,572 words). So be sure to take breaks as needed.         

If you have any questions or comments about this chapter, let me know; I'd like to hear from you!             

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Hello sleepy head!" Pidge exclaimed, jostling you awake as she sprang upon your mattress. You grunted as the vibration coursed through you, glaring at her sprawled form through half-lidded eyes.

"Pidge, what are you doing here at this hour?" From a quick glance at the bedside holographic display, it was freakin five am! So why the heck was she in your room, disturbing your slumber?

"To discuss strategy with you, Miss Mastermind." Despite the daggers you were shooting her way, her knees continued to flutter like butterfly wings as she sat cross-legged on the bed, beaming with the same energy. But it did little to disperse the dark clouds obscuring your mind, groaning as you turned away and shuffled back under the covers.

"Give me another thirty doboshes..."

"(Y/n)? What's the matter?" Her voice softened as she crawled closer, casting aside the grey comforter over your head.

"It's just... everything" you raised a hand to your forehead with that exasperated mumble, suddenly feeling somewhat lightheaded as all of yesterday's baggage came spiraling back. "It's all a mess. Nothing's going as planned, and it's all out of my control. Before I could even think about setting any plans in motion, James and the Garrison had Keith handcuffed and shoved in the back of the vehicle I was in."

"Wait-oh that's what Kilo-Three-India means!" Her pitch heightened at that, emphasizing the significance of the realization that had just clicked together in her mind. "I should've pieced that together before."

"What do you mean?" You raised a brow, sitting up to face her. It was still way too early for the sort of strategy planning she had in mind, but it wasn't like she was giving you much of a choice either.

"The Garrison's a militaral organization to some degree, so it'd just make sense for them to communicate through the phonetic alphabet! In that system of code, 'Kilo' stands for the letter 'K' and 'India' stands for the letter 'I'. Apart, they don't mean much, but when you put it all together..."

"It spells K-3-I, the K-3 Incident!" Your mouth fell agape at that connection as it continued to set off synapses throughout your mind. "Keith was sector one because he was seen as the antagonist, while I was three because I was observing it further away as a bystander!"

"See (Y/n), you still got your touch!" But her cheers only deepened your frown. How could such a thing be praised after all the harm your negligence had caused?

"I wouldn't' be too sure about it. Even if I was able to figure that out, what good does it do when that storm's already past?"

"You know better now (Y/n), you'll be able to learn from that mistake and use that heightened sense of awareness to ensure that your mission was a success later on." She wasn't wrong, but that positivity still felt under deserved, clutching your knees to your chest.

"That doesn't change the fact that I failed Keith, after everything he's done for me. He took a freakin six-foot spear through the stomach for me, and I couldn't save him from being captured! Heck, I couldn't do anything about the situation, even when they had him knocked to his knees.