Chapter Text
After the long walk back to the fields, One had carved a small hole into the ground with her newfound power, just big enough for her to fit. She lies in the makeshift "bed", feeling more comfortable than ever before.
"Night One," Three calls out, tone hushed in order to not wake up the others sleeping nearby.
"Night," She almost mumbles as she looked up at the night sky.
The very sky that brought the strange meteor that not only gave her powers, but someone she could call a friend. Someone to hang out with. She smiles to herself, her excitement draining away as sleep wraps its warm embrace around her.
That night she dreamed of the moments shared on top of that mountain, figuring out how to use their powers together, as a duo. How she wished that it lasted longer. The joy, the laughter, the excitement shared. She could never tear her eyes away from the red number in front of her. As she woke up, the only fragment she could recover from the dream was the smile of a friend.
Shaking the remnants of any form of tiredness, she stepped out of the hole to look around her. Nine's skateboard appears to have been fixed, as it was nowhere to be found. Voices in the distance told her that the others are nearby; maybe she could show off or maybe do all the amazing things she could now do, finally getting the attention she craved.
Six was being a menace as per usual, tripping Ten and snickering when they took a mouthful of dirt. Seven was somehow listening to music of all things, how they were even able to wear headphones in the first place baffles her. Nine seemed to have went off to find something "radical" to do. Four and X were still at the Equation Playground, likely still trying to help X figure out his value.
Then, there was Five and Three, doing the same thing they were yesterday, throwing an orange ball to each other. She couldn't help but pause and watch as Three tripped and missed the ball, laughing after as if it never bothered her. Dear Math, she is amazing.
..At being a friend, of course! When she approached, Three quickly took notice.
"One! How are you doing?" She asks as she dusted herself off, wearing a slightly amused and surprised expression.
She ignored how her pulse jumped. It's not everyday she was noticed, after all! "Well, I saw you trip and was going to ask if you were okay!" One plays it off casually, and nearly failing in the process as she kicked the ball over.
"D'awh, you're too kind," Three picked up the ball and waves to Five before tossing it over. "Do you want to join us?"
She froze for a good second. Someone was inviting her to play? She might just faint on the spot. Despite what happened last night, she half expected for Three to ignore her. "Wh.. Well, maybe," she began to frown. "But what about my lack of, ahem, arms?"
"Don't you-" The red number paused, thinking. "I'm sure we can find a way!"
"Really?" Dear Math, this might be the best day of her life! "I mean, I'd love to!"
Three catches the ball as it was thrown back, tossing it to One as it bounced off of her. "One!" She sighs with a stupidly stunning smirk as she plucked the ball from the ground effortlessly, "you're supposed to bounce it back to me!"
"Oh! Sorry!" She answers, thinking about using her new powers to play.
It seemed like Three was thinking about it too, as she leaned in close and whispered "aren't the powers supposed to be a secret?"
Ignoring how her mind began to reel at the closed distance, she blinks and hums. "Oh, right. Yeah."
No matter how tempting it was, maybe the powers could be a secret between them both. As the game continued, One did her best to contribute, bouncing the ball to Three and occasionally Five using her feet and her body as a whole. Despite how tiring it started to become, it was so fun! Sometimes other Algebraliens like Nine and Seven would chip in, but it mostly stayed between the three of them.
By the time the sun set, Four and X has returned, no closer to figuring out X's true value. Three reassures them saying that they'll find out one day. As they all began to sleep for the night, One felt a tap at her side right as she was about to fall back into the hole of her "bed".
The red number smiles, "you know, maybe we should go back up there, to figure out these powers more," she whispers, almost like a siren's call.
One remembers the events of last night, and nods. "Why not?" She whispers back, stepping away from the hole and walking in the direction of the mountain "what are we waiting for? Let's go!"