vanilla twilight

chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Veronica woke up the next morning, with the feeling from last night still lingering. She remembered the peaceful expression on Acxa's face when she carried her to her bed. It was an expression she didn't wear often. The girl had been through so much, in such a short time. Part of Veronica felt bad for her, but another part had the strong desire to protect her. To never let another bad thing happen to her. Although they had only known each other for a couple weeks, Veronica couldn't picture her life without the Acxa. When she first met Acxa, she was constantly angry, acting cold and reserved to try to protect herself. But Veronica finally felt like she was getting to know the real her. The girl who turned her life around. She was so happy to finally connect with someone at the Garrison. The other cadets were nice, but she never really felt as close to any of them. She checked her watch and remembered today was their free day. Nothing really was scheduled to happen today, so they were free to train, relax, or just hang out with friends. She threw on sweatpants and a crop top, and headed out. She knocked on the door to Acxa's room.

"Who is it?" a voice grumbled.

"It's me." Veronica proclaimed.

"Come in." She said. Veronica opened the door to see Acxa sitting up in bed reading a book. It looked like a romance novel. Acxa didn't strike her as the type to read something like that

"Hey," she greeted, looking up from her book and meeting Veronica's gaze.

"Hey! I was wondering if you wanted to train together today, we have a free day."

"Alright, do you want to practice sword fighting?" She questioned.

"Sure." Veronica smiled.

She waited outside while Acxa changed and then they headed over to one of the practice-fighting rooms. She unsheathed her sword and Acxa did the same. They faced each other on opposite corners of the room, until Veronica made the first move. She ran towards Acxa, sword swinging, until she blocked it with the edge of hers. Acxa brought her sword down to her side, and the brunette did the same. The metal of the two swords clinked together, then Veronica quickly pulled her sword out, bringing it over to the side of Acxa's neck, but before she had time to react, the girl knocked the sword out of Veronica's hands. The brunette stood there stunned for a moment, before backing up, realizing how much of an advantage Acxa had. As she backed up, she tripped and landed on the ground, her face reddening in humiliation. She scrambled to get her sword, but Acxa was already on top of her pinning her shoulders to the ground. Her legs were straddling Veronica, further keeping her from moving. Her sword was across Veronica's throat, and beads of sweat were rolling down her face, as she stared down at her. Acxa noticed she was practically sitting on top of the girl and stood up, wiping sweat off her forehead.

"I win." she stated, avoiding eye contact.

Veronica stood up, her face bright red, and walked over to grab her sword. Why was she feeling this? She had just met this girl, but that look in her eyes made Veronica's heart skip a beat. She tried to blame the fact that her heart was in her throat on the adrenaline of the fight. She tried to blame the pink in her cheeks on the embarrassment from losing. But inside, she knew why. This girl had made her feel something she had never felt before.. The spark between them was undeniable, but all Veronica could do was wait. She didn't want to rush anything, and she decided to just let things play out as they would.

-—-------------------------------------------------Acxa POV—---------------------------------------------------------

After she finished practice-fighting with Veronica, they went to get food from the cafeteria. They each grabbed a plate and went back to her room. Veronica was surprisingly good at fighting, enough to leave Acxa exhausted. As she recalled their sparring, she remembered when she had Veronica pinned to the ground. Her breath hitched, picturing the look in her crystal eyes. The way her cheeks flushed red and her breaths were fast and uneven. The intensity of her gaze. Acxa wasn't used to this feeling. What this girl did to her, it was terrifying. But almost in a good way. The way a thought of her could make Acxa blush, and just a touch of their hands made her forget her name. But she couldn't let her guard down. Not yet. Besides, she should focus on the battle at hand.