A Complicated Wish

Part 3

Cress walked from school to Mikey's. She decided if she got there early enough that she could do her homework and then give Thorne all her attention when he got there. She ordered a green tea and bagel while she waited.

It ended up taking her longer to do her homework, having done it up until 4:45. Cress looked around for him. Maybe he was stuck in traffic. She ordered a sweets dish for them to share for when he got there.

5:00.

"Hey are you using this chair?" A girl asked her.

"Yeah, my boyfriend is coming." Cress smiled sweetly.

"Oh, okay." The girl walked off.

Cress pulled out her computer and started working on a code that she needed to finish by next week. This particular one not only had to be done mostly by scratch but if there were codes already in there they were extremely messed up. But it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She took a donut from the platter that appeared before her and got to work.

By the time she finished the code, that according to her teacher 'was hard and is going to take you all week to do it and you probably won't even finish it then', she had gone through three donuts, five cups of water (she stopped after three green teas), and the chair was gone...

She looked down at her phone. 6:30, and no texts...

She shook her head and packed her things, she already tried to not look like she did not get stood up, but she could only code for so long. She thought about starting a new book, but decided that going home to read it was the best option. She looked up from her bag when she heard a jingle from the bell at the top of the entrance.

Thorne came barreling in. "I am so sorry!" He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

"Where were you?" She pushed herself back.

"The coach got mad at a couple of boys and made us do two hours of stadiums and then normal practice."

"You could have texted me." She whispered, trying not to make a scene.

"You know how the coaches feel about phones- ugh okay, I know you're right." He sighed. "I'll communicate better next time."

"Promise?" Cress asked.

"I promise." He smiled at her.

"Okay," Cress smiled before shoving a donut in his mouth. "Now eat you must be hungry."

He laughed and picked up her bag. "I'll drive you home."

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Cress collapsed in her bed after Thorne dropped her off. She looked over at Arol's note again. Would he do something like that to her, if they were to meet again? Cress smacked herself for even having the thought. It was one mistake, she knew that. But why did she still have this nagging feeling like something bad was going to happen.

She turned over in her bed and groaned. Maybe she could call Tauri. She picked up her phone and clicked Tauri's icon and pressed FaceTime. It rang for a while, Cress awkwardly stared at her face waiting for her sister to pick up.

Nothing. Figures.

She looked up at her ceiling, letting sleep slowly claim her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I find the entire system kinda stupid." Thorne shrugged as they walked towards the career center.

"Its supposed to help us look good on college resumes." Cress laughed.

"And I get that, but I don't plan on going to college. At least not yet."

"And I think that going into the military is a fantastic idea, I just think you should try to keep your options open." Cress said as she pulled him towards Cinder and Iko.

"Hey guys!" Iko chirped.

"Hey!" Cress hugged both girls. "What organization are you guys picking?"

"Pawsitive outlook." Cinder shrugged. "We get to work with dogs."

"What about you?" Iko asked finishing the sentence with a pop from her gum.

"We are doing Rampion Clean Up." Thorne smiles and pulled Cress towards him.

"Um, I thought we were doing Artemisia-view?" Cress looked up at Thorne.

"But Rampion Clean Up will be an easy A." Thorne whined to her.

"This isn't for a grade," she laughed. "I thought we would do something together, but I guess not." She shrugged.

Cress tried keeping it light but she couldn't help but have an edge to her voice.

Cinder looked between them and then started to pull Iko away, "I think we should go and see if we have to grab anything for the dogs."

"Yeah." Iko dragged out the word as she was pulled away.

"Oh gosh," Cress rolled her eyes.

"Now they think we're fighting." He said exasperated the girl's way.

"I guess we didn't discuss it." Cress shrugged. She looked back at Artemisia-View, then back at Thorne. "I guess we must go our separate ways, it was nice knowing you good sir."

Thorne laughed at her antics, "Indeed we must, my damsel."

"I'll see you later." Cress pulled him down for a kiss before walking away.

A/N
It's short and long over due. I am working on the next chapter now, I just don't know when I'll have it published. Anyway, enjoy?