Out Of Orbit

Chapter 24

REBECCA

"Good job, Victoria."

Victoria's cheeks blushed red at Riley's compliment. Rebecca giggled but cut it short as Victoria glared at her.

"What's so funny?"

"Only the fact that every time Riley looks at you I could fry an egg on your cheeks."

Rebecca laughed again as the blush reappeared. Victoria waved a hand at her, trying to get her to stop laughing. Brian and Riley stopped talking for a moment to watch them, only making Victoria blush more and Rebecca laugh harder.

"Ok, ok! Just...don't talk so loud."

Rebecca reined in her laughter with difficulty and stepped closer to Victoria.

"Why don't you say something?"

"Like what? Hey, I know I'm 10 years younger than you and a different species but do you want to go on a date before we go to war and possibly death!?"

Victoria clapped her hands over her face and let out an exasperated sound.

"You know he's only 8 years older than you."

Victoria shot Rebecca another glare.

"Thanks. That makes it so much better. You're really not helping." She stalked past Rebecca and flopped onto the grass, leaning back against the wooden fencing.

"This is crazy." She added.

Rebecca bit the inside of her cheek and moved over to join her.

"It's not crazy. Riley's an amazing guy."

"An amazing alien. He's an amazing alien." Victoria corrected her.

Rebecca shrugged.

"Does it really matter?" Rebecca took a deep breath, waiting for Victoria to argue with her. Seeing her simply drop he head onto her knees, she continued.

"If you love him, and if he loves you, why should that make a difference? It's not like he has tentacles and bug eyes."

Rebecca sent her a smile that she hoped was encouraging. From the corner of her eye, she saw Riley send them a worried look. While he had never admitted it outright, she'd noticed how often he looked at Victoria and the smile that appeared on his face whenever he did.

"I don't even know how he feels about me."

Rebecca pulled her attention back to Victoria and smiled wider.

"Trust me. He cares about you. He's just too much of a gentleman to do anything about it."

The beginnings of a smile appeared on Victoria's face, but quickly dissolved into uncertainty again.

"Then this whole thing is hopeless anyway. If he's never going to make a move..."

"Then you'll have to."

"Me?" Victoria's shocked exclamation brought curious gazes from Brian and Riley, and she quickly lowered her voice.

"Are you insane? I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Rebecca challenged her. "What do you have to lose?"

"My dignity?" Victoria hissed back, peeking at Riley over Rebecca's shoulder. "What if he rejects me? What if he doesn't think it's a good idea?"

"What if he feels the same way? You won't know until you try." Rebecca shot back. "Besides, no guy in his right mind would reject you."

Victoria sent her a small smile but shook her head.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but...I don't know. If I said something and it didn't work out...I don't think I'd be able to face him again."

"You're going to have to take a chance sometime," Rebecca argued, "You could be missing out on something amazing."

"Fine." Victoria's expression changed and Rebecca frowned as she turned on her. "What about you, then?"

"Me?" Rebecca swallowed hard and tried to push the image of Jarryd out of her mind.

"Yes. You and Jarryd. Why don't you say something to him?"

"It's...complicated." Rebecca mumbled.

"As complicated as an 8 year age gap and species barrier?"

Despite her confused state of mind, Rebecca couldn't help but giggle.

"It's a different kind of complicated. It's not like Jarryd met me and fell for me like Riley." Rebecca ignored Victoria rolling her eyes and continued, "The only reason he even noticed me is because of the crash. And the only reason he ever spent any time with me is because I'm one of only 4 other humans on the planet."

Victoria opened her mouth to argue but Rebecca cut her off.

"Say what you like, Tor. But the truth is that there's no way he would like me for me. He might think he likes me, but that's only because I'm the only choice he has left."

"I think you're wrong."

Rebecca pulled a face and pulled out a blade of grass at her feet, starting to strip it down to the bright blue piece at its centre.

"Maybe being stuck on an alien planet together was a contributing factor, but if Jarryd had ever really gotten to know you, even on Earth, he would have fallen for you. Why do you think he was so against you fighting, Becca? He cares about you, even if he doesn't know it yet."

Rebecca pictured the look in his eyes in that moment in the mess hall and couldn't stop the blush from spreading along her cheeks.

Victoria sighed.

"You know none of this matters, right?"

Rebecca shrugged. Two days. Two days until the army marched. She'd been trying not to think about it too much. It still seemed unreal. Like it was all happening to someone else.

"It matters," she finally replied, "It matters more because of what's coming."