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Jordan woke up with a cramped arm. Marie had fallen asleep on their arm last night and was still passed out on there when they woke up. With their free arm Jordan pulled out their phone to check the time. It was 7:08, much earlier than they typically would have woken up. They turned to face Marie, a warm feeling was spreading through their stomach. She looked like an angel. Honestly Jordan could probably spend the rest of the day watching her sleep so peacefully, creepy as that sounded. The sound of a thud across the room caused Jordan to look away. It was Emma, sitting on the floor one foot in the air, struggling to put on their boots.
“Hey Jordan.” She whispers sheepishly. It’s clear she had been trying not to wake either of them up. She had a small bag packed to the brim with snacks. It seems she was not heading out for early morning lectures.
“Morning Emma, off to see Sam again.” Jordan quipped. A sly smile appeared on their face. Now if it wasn’t so early in the morning, or had Jordan been a morning person, they would have realised that they were throwing a stone in a house made of glass.
“Hmm. I hope that’s not smugness I hear in your voice. Not when you’ve slept over here every day this week already.” She picks up her bag and turns to the mirror.
“I walked right into that one.” Jordan admits.
“Yes, you did.” She finishes applying her Queen Maeve, pride edition lip gloss. “What are your plans for today?” She asks, only half paying attention to them.
“Marie finally has an off day so I’m gonna take her to the training grounds in a bit.” Jordan responds. “It’s gotten too dangerous around here.” They glance down at Marie who is still snoozing beside them. Her Starlight pyjamas and matching silk bonnet were so adorable. She had mentioned they were the only gift she had received from Leigh, the caretaker at Red River. Jordan’s heart breaks a little every time they thought about what Marie had gone through. The memory of standing in Marie’s parents' blood haunts them from what they witnessed in Cate’s head, they can’t imagine how much worse it must be for Marie. The overwhelming need to protect her was flooding their system.
“Yeah, Sam and I were actually speaking about that.” Emma says, standing by the door now. “Have either of you heard from Cate? I know not to expect any kind of update from Andre about her, but you two are closer to her than we are.”
“She’s been keeping her distance from us since we found out about her mind wiping us, I think she’s just trying to give us some space. Every time she sees me she looks like a hurt puppy.” Jordan scoffs. “It makes me feel sad for her even though I’m fucking upset. We have every right to be mad at her and I don’t think I’ll truly be able to trust her ever again. But she’s a victim of manipulation too you know.”
“I see Marie’s empathy is rubbing off on you” Emma chuckles. “The situation is fucked but I’m hoping all the secrets are out in the air now, so things can finally start calming down a bit. Anyways, I’ll be back around 9:00, probably.” Emma says as she leaves the room. Jordan noticed her fingers were crossed behind her back when she made that statement. They chuckle to themselves.
They wiggle their arm out from under Marie and sit upright in the bed. It’s too small for sharing and they really should start suggesting Marie stay over at their much bigger room instead. They get out of the bed and pull the covers over her before picking up their clothes from the table it’s neatly folded on. As they bend down to get their shirt they spot Marie’s red crop top on the floor. They decide to wear that instead, quickly shifting into their fem form before grabbing the key to their dorm room off the bedside table and heading out the door.
On their way to their room they see Cate standing by the elevator. She looks weak, she probably hasn’t recovered from their whole ‘getting trapped in her mind’ ordeal from a couple days ago. Jordan stands beside her, impatiently pressing the upward arrow on the elevator, even though it was already lit up. Cate’s entire demeanour changes. “Um, hi.” She says.
Jordan internally debates whether to ignore her or respond. As they do, the elevator finally opens. Cate enters and practically pushes herself against the wall furthest away from them. Jordan scoffs. “I’m not going to bite you.” They say nonchalantly.
“Oh, ok.” Cate steps closer. “How have you guys been since, you know…” Cate trails off.
“Since you mind wiped us against our will several times?” Jordan stares daggers into her. “It’s been great, thanks for asking!” They reply sarcastically. An awkward silence fills the space. Cate’s wearing the yellow sweater Jordan had bought for her shortly after they had become friends. It brings back fond memories, of a time where hard days could be improved drastically by simply speaking to her.
“I-I’m so sorry, like truly from the bottom of my-” Cate stutters.
“I know you are.” Jordan cuts her off. Their eyes soften. Maybe it’s the tremble in Cate’s hands or the fact that they can hear Marie’s voice in their head reminding them to have more compassion. “It’s just gonna take a bit more time to get over what you've done.” The elevator opens and they step out and face each other. “But I don’t want you neglecting your health just because we’re mad at you right now. When was the last time you ate?” Jordan steps closer, placing a hand on Cate’s arm. “We’re all hurt and angry, but we still care about you, you know that right?”
Cate nods, a small smile hesitantly makes its way to her face, it reaches her eyes. Jordan against their better judgment wraps their arms around her. She hears Cate gasp. They stand there embracing as other kids stare at them with strange looks as they step around them to enter the elevator. “Thank you.” She says shakily.
Jordan pulls away, but doesn’t step back. “Ok, enough crying, no more serious talk. Are you going to come to the training ground later today, to watch Marie and I?” They continue walking towards their room.
“I’m not sure Andre would want me there, and I need to go to the library anyways, I’m so behind on literally everything.” Cate says. They’re standing outside Jordan’s room now. Jordan’s phone chimes in their hand. They look down and see an alert from Marie, they can’t stop the big smile that’s on their face. “That’s Marie isn’t it.” Cate says, a cheeky look on her face. “I fucking called it.”
“You probably just read my mind, that doesn’t count!” Jordan interjects, unlocking their door. Cate has the widest shit-eating grin on her face as she plops down on the bed. Things almost feel normal, Jordan wishes so badly that they were. That there wasn't a chasm forming between them and Cate, that Luke was still alive and they were all none the wiser. A fucked up part of them even wishes that Professor Brink was still alive.
“I don’t have to read your mind to see what has so clearly been written on your face for weeks now. On both your faces.” Cate’s alarm goes off and they stand up quickly. "You already know this but I think you two really are cute together. I hope things work out for you guys, you deserve that kind of happiness." A solemn look hides just below the surface when she says that last line. She's thinking about her and Andre, how their situation has a crow sitting on its shoulder - a mark of the end. Jordan wants to respond but Cate is out the door before they can. They make quick work of grabbing their wallet, brushing and grabbing a bag with their training gear. They sprint to Jitter Bean and grab a coffee for themself and Marie and power walk back to her dorm.
Marie is sitting up on her bed with her training clothes on when Jordan arrives. The light from the window framing her, giving the appearance that she’s on fire, so stunning. Jordan stands by the door staring at her with the two cups of coffee in their hand. “Are you just gonna stand there staring at me?” Marie asks grinning. Jordan crosses the room and holds the coffee out to her. Right as she reaches to take it, Jordan pulls back and leans down planting a kiss on her forehead instead. Marie giggles and grabs their face, she looks at Jordan with so much fondness Jordan could melt into a puddle on the floor right then and there. “Thanks for bringing me coffee, simp.” Marie whispers. Jordan is dangerously close to derailing all their plans for the day and spending the rest of the day right here, in Marie’s arms. But there’s too much at stake right now.
“You’re welcome.” They say, pulling her up from the bed. “If we don’t head out now, we’ll be training under the blazing sun.” Marie takes her training bag from the floor, her coffee in one hand, she holds her other hand out for Jordan to hold. When they walk down to the training ground hand-in-hand, they look like an ordinary couple. Just two normal college students who, by the looks on their faces, are having a really great day. No one around them knows the weight of the secrets they carry. The Woods are right under their noses and no one is safe, but right now they are happy. Just being in each other’s company, strolling on campus cracking stupid jokes about trivial things. They’ve become a safe space for one another. The world can burn around them, but that’s alright, they will keep each other safe.