Apex Rising

An unexpected Christmas suprise

Echo was in a deep sleep when he heard a banging at his dorm. He looked at his phone. 4:25. Christmas Day. Echo thought to himself "Who in the world is at my dorm at 4:25 in the morning on Christmas? Isn't it like snowing and freezing outside?" He didn't even have time to finish his thoughts before the banging came back again. "Calm down already!! I'm coming!" He didn't even make it to the door before it flew open, letting all the cold air from outside, into his dorm. Echo just stood there, with no emotion, since again, it was 4:25 in the morning. Sky walked in the room in her pajamas, still half asleep. "What's going on oniisan?" She asked. Echo picked her up. "I don't really know Sky, its 4 in the morning and to early for this." He responded. Right as he was taking Sky back into her room, five people walked into his dorm and slammed the door closed. "Really?" Said Echo. "Now there is snow inside my place, and its cold." When he turned on the lights to see who it was, he was shocked to see: Amber, Ruby, Aqua, Glacier, and his best mate, Cody. "How did you even get in here?" Asked Echo, completely confused on how these people found him. "Papa, who are these strange people?" Asked Sky, still half asleep. "Wake up Sky, and go get your sister." Said Echo, really tired and cold. 

A few minutes later, Moon and Sky walked in the room, both still in their pajamas. "OH MY GOODNESS, ECHO, I DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD SISTERS!!!!" Shouted Amber, Aqua and Ruby. "They aren't my sisters, and I'm not their dad, Sky is exhausted, and its 4:30 in the morning." Sighed Echo. "And why are you guys here anyway? I didn't know that we were friends. Except for Cody, I've known him for forever." "We came to see you baby." Said Aqua, making both Echo and Ruby blush. "Wait what!?!" Exclaimed Echo. "I don't remember saying that we were dating, and I don't really like anyone....since nobody likes me." "That's not true." Said Glacier and Moon, both at the same time. "We all like you...just some of us more than the others." Said Glacier, as all the other girls in the room started blushing. Cody started laughing. "Dude, how do all these girls like you?" He asked. "Weren't you like, the person that nobody wanted to be around?" "I was." Replied Echo. "But apparently, people like me, since two of the most popular girls at the academy are hanging with me on Christmas, when they could be with some other guys." "Awww, thanks!!" Said Aqua, as she walked over to Echo and kissed him on the cheek, which made Ruby blush even more. "THIS ISN'T FAIR!!!" shouted Ruby. "How come, all these girls get to have your attention, but when I try to get yours, you ignore me!?!?" "What are you talking about?" Asked Echo, completely bamboozled at what was going on. And of course, Cody was being no help, just watching all of this happen. "Maybe its because you waited too long to say something" said Amber. "I mean, you were trying to be secretive about it, instead of just saying it to him directly." "Or maybe, because Echo just thought that you two were just friends, since nobody has ever liked him." Said Glacier, as she was the only one who was approaching the problem calmly. Aqua was about to say something, when she looked over at Echo in the corner of the couch. He had been sitting calmly, with the neko Moon curled up next to him, and the other one, Sky, sitting on his lap, swishing her tail back and forth in front of him. Aqua could see, that Echo looked like he was perfectly content with not having a special power, and being different from everybody else. This made her smile, knowing that no matter how hard other people tried to make him upset, she would never leave his side, not even if he was about to die. She would stay with him forever.

After the whole fiasco with Ruby not getting attention form Echo, Cody had announced that they had a special suprise for Echo. He said that they had done this because it would be the first Christmas that Echo would spend with his friends. Glacier and Amber tried to convince Echo that they wanted to show it to him right then, he persuaded them to come  back in a few hours, since it was 6 in the morning, and Echo, Moon,  and especially Sky, were still tired, and wanted to sleep for a few more hours. As the group was leaving, Ruby stopped Echo before she walked out the door. "Echo, I love you, and I have since the 5th grade." She said. Then she kissed him on the cheek and said that she would talk to him later, leaving Echo even more bamboozled than before. 

As Echo was about to fall asleep,  he felt something climb onto his bed. A few seconds later, he felt that thing climb on top of his chest. He opened his eyes to see Sky, laying on him, staring at him with her blue eyes. "What are you thinking about in that beautiful head of yours oniisan?" She asked. "Nothing really Sky. Just wondering how all these people like me all of a sudden. It's kind of weird." He replied. "Maybe its because they know something that you don't." She said. "Me and Moon have been hearing people talk about you more than usual. It might just be because a lot of popular people are hanging out around you." She paused and looked in the direction of her room, where her sister was. "But we will look out for you. After all, you saved us from a terrible place and we are still trying to repay you for it." Echo sat up and looked at her quizzically. "Repay me for what?" He asked. "I promised that i would save you guys, and I kept my promise. You don't have to pay me back for anything." He said, as he smiled at her. "Now get some sleep, we are probably going to be out for the rest of the day doing fun stuff in the snow." "Ok Echo-kun, but can I sleep in here?" She asked. "It's a lot warmer in here, and I want to be with you right now." "You can stay in here Sky, I don't mind. See you a little bit later."