Nothing Less than Extraordinary

xx1xx

In a hotel room, I sat with my arms crossed over my knees, looking up with only my eyes. Cheshire nudged me as he sat on the bed beside me.

"So this is how you pick up and leave so easily," he muttered as the door opened and Tyler walked in from the bathroom. I glared over at Cheshire, though, and got up. I reached over to put on my shoes and both boys questioned me. Cheshire however grabbed my arm and connected eyes. He probably thought I was going to leave him...again.

"I'm just going out for some air," I told him and he released me. I got up and walked towards the door and Tyler met me there.

"I'll go with you," he offered as his hair was wet from his shower and there was color to his cheeks. He looked over at Cheshire, who now stood protectively. He was assuming the role of a combination of Zaine and Wilbur, but I didn't need that now. "Nothing will happen."

"How can I—"

"Please," I scoffed and then opened the door to leave. I needed to talk to Tyler. We needed to talk about what happened and everything in between.

=XXX=

"So I guess two years is enough to make people treat you like I would," he forced a laugh.

"Not even two years," I said, emotionless. He leaned his head over.

"But I read your file—"

"Then you read it wrong," I interrupted. "I was sent to the Academy right after I thought you died and I stayed in my dorm with only Wilbur for the majority of those two years, until this past school year started. So all of those people are so close to me because of you and your—"

"I already told you I didn't mean to do anything," he raised his voice and took steps near me.

"Then why did you!?" I yelled back at him because he had never raised his voice at me, so I guess I would return the favor for the first time as well. Suddenly, he grabbed my forearms and placed me between himself and the nearest wall.

"They thought I was dead! I woke up in a coffin in the ground a week later and when I tried getting out, it was Jase tearing a hole in the ground with a good ass excuse to take over some Academy that was the cause of all this. He said he lost his family and life because of the man who created it, and I was laying in that ground alone because the same man had taken you and Wib from me," he ranted. "Do you know how I felt—knowing that the people and life I loved was taken away from me and I couldn't do anything about it?"

"You could've found me," I cried. "You could've found me and Wib and not done any of this—"

"I thought the same thing until Jase came to me one day with this General who had been working against the Academy beforehand," he said, breathing heavily. He had lowered his voice at the sight of my tears. "Then...I don't know. He somehow convinced me to go along with it as if nothing was wrong. I didn't know how he did it, but it happened and led to all of this. Aspen, I'm honestly sorry."

I looked up at him with intolerable judgment.

"And how am I to know you're not the same Chevy from before?" I mumbled. His hazel-green eyes looked back and forth in mine.

"I'm not that stupid guy. I'm just the Tyler you know, who's trying to make things right," he whispered. He was inches from my face and I smelt the same intoxicating scent of him that I had grown up with, but to a different effect.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Because if I didn't mean to make things right...with everyone...I would be pushing you against this wall and kissing you so hard, for my own selfish pleasure, that you would leave that douche bag inside and that's it," he hissed. My lips twitched at the blissful thought of his lips finally being on mine, but it was my brain and my heart knowing better than that. My heart belonged to someone else and my mind belonged to the Academy and thirteen other people I owed strategies to.