Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-32987979-20190112205632/@comment-32987979-20190113222206

Chapter Two

~

''     What did I get myself into? ''Stina thought, groaning. She scanned her bedroom for the fifth time, trying to think of something, anything to bring to school tomorrow to show Dex. Wanting to give him something was only an excuse. In reality, she just felt bad about how her parents had reacted and wanted to make it up to him. Being an Empath, Stina could feel how disappointed he'd been by Timkin's lackluster response, and how downright rude Vika had been.

Stina pulled herself out of bed, rummaging through her satchel. It was so hard to be mean when you were an Empath, especially to someone as well-meaning as Dex. She sighed, pulling out her Imparter. He was a Technopath, after all. Closing her eyes, she tossed it on the ground, watching pieces fall off. Maybe it'd seem rude to bring him something to fix, but it was her last resort.

"Stina! Are you okay? I heard a crash." The call came from Timkin outside her bedroom door. Stina cringed. Of course he'd be near her room right as she'd purposefully broken her Imparter.

"I just dropped something! Nothing broke!" She lied, scooping up the Imparter and testing it out. The screen was warped and glitchy. Stina held her breath, silently praying for her father to go away. As much as she loved her parents, this was not something she was eager about sharing with them. Besides, she didn't really have anything to share. She just wanted to apologize to Dex. It was just easier this way.

"Be careful in there." Timkin responded. Stina could hear his footsteps fade away from outside. She sighed, flopping down onto her bed again. This is going to be an awkward time, Stina told herself, yet she didn't really dread it. If anything, she was excited to see what would happen. There was one thing Stina knew for sure: tomorrow couldn't come any sooner.

~

     Where is he? Stina tapped her foot impatiently, arms folded. The school day had just ended and Stinastood near the front door where he could see her. She felt inside her satchel, reassured that the broken Imparter was still there. She'd only been waiting for a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. What's taking him so long? The girl wondered, before spotting a tall, strawberry blond-haired boy making his way through the crowd.

She could tell Dex was speaking with Sophie and someone else. It was hard not to be jealous. She was with Fitz now, after all. Stina frowned at Dex, who made eye contact and signaled for her to hold on. He said something to Sophie before making his way over.

"You said you wanted to show me something?" Dex said in a rather hurried voice.

Stina looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, we should go somewhere quieter." She said quietly. "Maybe we could go around back?"

"Why? Worried your friends will see you with me?" Though Stina wasn't actually making contact with him, she could tell Dex was irritated.

"No. I just... don't care to be surrounded by a crowd." Stina looked away. Of course she didn't want her friends to see her. "Well, are you coming or not?"

Dex sighed. "Yes, I'm coming. What was it you wanted to show me?" Stina hesitated before pulling out the broken device, a bashful smile on her face.

"You drag me out here so I can fix your stuff? How'd you even break it like this?" Dex stared at the cracked, bent Imparter. "You'd be better off just buying a new one."

"But this one has all of my contacts. Wait!" Stina said as Dex turned to leave. "Hang on, I still wanted to talk to you." So far this meeting had been very rocky. Still, she was determined to have a real conversation. "I wanted to thank you for the Panakes blossoms. My mom wouldn't ever admit it, but they'll really come in handy if one of the horses get sick." She rummaged through her bag, pulling out a box of Prattles. "This is for you."

Dex turned back to her, leaning against the wall of the school. "You don't need to give me anything. The flowers were a gift."

"It's not a gift if the receiver doesn't appreciate it. Just take the candy!" Stina put her arm out again, insisting that he took it, which Dex hesitantly did. "What took you so long?"

"What do you mean? I came right out as soon as school was dismissed. I wouldn't just leave you." Dex added. "I don't like to break promises."

"What about when you promised to make me a hair-growing elixir after you turned me bald?" Stina retorted, though her voice was humorous. Dex smirked.

"I made you the elixir- it just worked better than I intended." Dex said innocently. "And you relayed me with a muskog in my locker, so you can't even complain!"

Stina leaned against the wall. "Wanna know something? The muskog was kind of meant as a gift. I was worried you'd like it!"

"I'd totally keep a pet muskog! Just, not in my locker." Dex laughed. Relief rushed over Stina. The encounter had gone smoother than she'd planned. "Next time, warn me before you wanna dump a swamp monster on me?"

Stina reached out her hand. "Only if you promise not to add balding serum to my lush berry juice again." At that moment, she realized how much she'd missed pulling those pranks on him. Of course, they were never friendly, but it was nice to think about him. Now they hardly interacted at all. It's my fault for being so mean to him, Stina thought regretfully. "No hard feelings?"

Dex looked down at his feet, shaking her hand. "When did you become nice?" If she hadn't felt such surprise and amusement from him, Stina might've been offended.

"It's... the Empath training." Stina admitted. She'd considered making a joke, but was tired of keeping it bottled up. "Every amount of hurt I inflict on others I can feel, even if I'm not making contact. I've been taught to study emotions to understand them better, and... well, I don't like being the cause of so many people's pain." She gave him a sidelong glance. "I've tried making it up to Sophie. I was hoping we could start over, too."

"You're serious? This isn't a prank?" She looked down when Dex hesitated. "I... I'm willing to try if you are." He straightened up, glancing at her satchel. "I can get your Imparter fixed by tomorrow morning, but I need to know how it broke."

Stina shuffled her feet, wondering which lie to tell. ''It accidentally fell off my desk. It fell out of my bag when I was riding a pegasus.'' "I threw it on the ground. I needed and excuse to see you." She looked back up at Dex. "It just bothered me, the way Mom spoke to you. I could tell you were just being nice. Like I said, she always thinks everyone is pulling tricks on her."

"Don't worry about it. My parents would be wary if you came by trying to give us gifts." Dex reassured her, though she doubted it was true. His family was always so nice. "You wanna stop by the Slurps and Burps after school again tomorrow? We could go shopping around Mysterium, or..."

"Why don't you come to my place?" Stina said, summoning up all of her courage. "I could show you our newest unicorn. She's really pretty, but distrusting, but I'm sure she'll like you. My parents won't be home." She added. "They're still working on getting Dad into the Nobility."

Dex smiled. "That could be fun. I'll need to come up with an excuse, though. Maybe I can say I'm working on homework at Havenfield." Stina stiffened at the mention of Sophie's house, but she knew it was a good lie. And she was okay with keeping her newfound friendship secret. For now.

"Sounds good." She agreed. "I guess I'll meet you then! Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me that you trust me enough."

"Well, I'd better get to Rimeshire. But I look forward to it!" Dex grinned at her before leaping away. Stina returned the grinned, feeling better than she had in weeks.'' He looks forward to it. ''Stina would have to make sure he wouldn't be disappointed. She couldn't wait. For once in her life, everything seemed right. Perhaps for now the worst is really behind us.