I jolted awake, immediately aware that some time had passed since I was knocked out.
I expected to wake up in Allegra's office, possibly surrounded by a few guards. She would show me the three-strike system list and cheerily cross out that I had indeed, gained three strikes. One from attacking someone on my first day, two from attacking someone in the pool, and three for sneaking out of my room at night and breaking into someone else's room from the outside window.
Instead, I woke up to see the most relieving sight I had ever seen. Dane stood above me, his shirt off. Was this a dream? A cold touch on my eye told me that what was happening was not in my imagination.
I winced.
"Hey, you're up," he said calmly. He had a wad of cotton in his fingers and was dipping it into a bowl of water. When he brought the water to the skin around my eye, it was moist and freezing, like ice. It stung around my eye for some reason.
"What happened?" I sat up groggily, wiping my eyes. I was in a dormitory room, one that was quite similar to mine. A clock on the bedside table told me that the time was 1:30. It had been an hour since I snuck out. I remembered that much.
"I punched you in the eye, is what happened," He said back, laughing softly. At first this unnerved me, then I remembered what had happened just 30 minutes earlier. I remembered running out onto the balcony, hanging onto the edge of the roof, and swinging into a window. I remembered landing on somebody in their bed only to be punched moments later, unluckily.
Luckily for me, that person was Dane. I trusted him, and I knew he wouldn't report me for being out after hours. After all, he had caught me already outside. However, last time I saw him after hours, our friendship wasn't in a bad state. Right now, our friendship was definitely not in a place where he would make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for me, let alone kiss me.
I was surprised at his kindness, healing my eye like this. I couldn't stop staring at his shirtless body. I felt heat rise to my cheeks.
"Could you put on a shirt?" I asked. He smiled, that perfect smile that he hadn't shown me since that night.
"You're in my room, you know," He told me, but still pulled on a shirt anyway. "What are you doing here, by the way?" I didn't want to tell him for fear he would judge me or tell somebody. Although I knew he would never violate our trust like that, our recent falling out left me wondering if we were in a trusting place or not.
"I came in through the window and fell on you." I said, deadpan.
"Well, I know that."
"And then you punched me."
He gently dabbed more cotton onto my eye. I put my hand to the skin, which hurt to the touch. I couldn't see myself, but I could assume that it was swelled and dark purple. I'd never gotten a black eye before, but when I was a kid, I thought they were the coolest things in the world. My opinion had changed tonight.
"Hey, I thought you were attacking me in my sleep. You can't exactly blame me." I felt guilty. He still thought that I was the one who spread those sexual rumors about him. I had to tell him.
Before I could explain that Madison was behind the manipulation, a different question came out my mouth instead.
"Why don't you have a roommate?" Although this wasn't what I meant to ask, I still wanted an answer.
He went into the bathroom and emptied the bowl of water.
"I did, but he graduated," He said from the bathroom. I looked around his room while he was still in the bathroom. It was nicer than mine, a little bigger, too. He had two walls of windows, instead of just one, like I was. I suppose that meant he had a corner room. It wasn't as neat as mine, but not enough to give someone a headache.
He came out of the bathroom, now wearing a sweater. Even though I asked him to cover up, I secretly didn't want him to. But I had to be respectful; I'd already crashed into his window. That was enough for one night.
He sat on his chair, putting his foot up on his desk awkwardly. It felt wrong, me on his bed and him sitting oddly, like he was the one that didn't belong here. I sat up despite my discomfort.
"I wanted to tell you something," I could barely meet his eyes. He looked calm, understanding. I was mad at him for being so understanding, despite what he thought of me. "I know why you were mad at me."
He coughed. "I just heard the rumor about us," I said to him. He raised his eyebrows. I could tell that he was confused.
"I thought you were the one that made it up," He leaned forward, his eyebrows furrowed. I shook my head.
"That was Madison," I told him, and a heavy weight was lifted off of my shoulders. He paused, cradled his chin in his hands. He was pondering, thinking something over. I almost felt like he was going to expose me in a lie, as though I actually had manipulated him.
"Oh," he finally said. I was relieved. Everything would be OK with us again. He sat on the bed next to me. He was probably relieved now that he knew what had really happened and felt comfortable being near me again. His foot wasn't up awkwardly, I wasn't sitting uncomfortably. Everything seemed to be right in the world again. Besides the fact that I was still at this school.
"So," I started, our conversation more light-hearted. "How does one exactly graduate this school?"
"Academy," he corrected, in a joking tone. I pushed him playfully. "Well, all I know, really, from Tyler—that was my roommate's name—is that you have to finish taking all of your classes, and then you complete some sort of--"
"--Exam," I interrupted. I already knew the end of what he was going to say, and it haunted me. I would feel fine, even elated, if the exam consisted of filling in bubbles, but ever since I saw the three-strike list, my worst fear had been confirmed. The only way, besides running away, to get out of this place, was the exam. All I knew about this exam was that one aspect of it was to kidnap other people, and it terrified me.
Dane could almost see the fear in my eyes, but I began talking more to distract him.
"Ooh, ominous," I said, slightly ironically. I wish I had told him what I saw on the list, how the exam was violent, whatever It was, that it ruined lives. He deserved to know at least that much.
Dane scooted a little closer to me. I could feel his energy pulsing in the air around me. Warm, bright, a little excited.
"Are you every gonna tell me what you were doing out after hours? More importantly, why you were on the side of the academy and jumped into my room?" It sounded crazy when he said it aloud. It was crazy, what I had done tonight.
I breathed in, breathed out. I could tell him, right? I looked down at how close he was to me, just inches. How sweet he smelled, the depth of his chocolate eyes. I would tell him. I owed him that much.
So I told him. About how I was walking down the stairs when I saw a guard, and I had to go out onto the balcony. I told him about how I was forced to crawl onto the edge, so I wouldn't be spotted, and how I jumped into his window to prevent my six-story fall. His eyes widened with amazement and that satisfied me, to know that he was impressed with what I had done, and to see physical proof.
"It would have been a perfect escape if I hadn't punched you in the face," He said in response. He held my face in his left hand and caressed my black eye. This was the moment, I thought. This was right for him to kiss me.
But we didn't kiss. Instead, he asked one more question.
"Why were you out in the first place?" I was about to answer when he stopped me. "And I know you weren't sneaking out to get food, so there's no point in lying." I wondered if I should tell him my real reason for sneaking out. I wondered if it was worth him knowing when me and my sisters' lives were on the line. I made a decision.
"I was trying to get my phone back," I admitted and looked down, a little embarrassed.
"Why?" was the only thing he could say in response.
I looked into his eyes. "Because I saw my mother die in front of my eyes. I saw my little brother, crying on the floor as me and my sisters were taken away. Because I haven't seen my sisters in too long." His eyes filled with sympathy, a reminder that he was trustworthy.
"What are you going to do with the phone when you get it? -- If you get it?" He seemed to be genuinely curious. I was silent. I hadn't exactly thought about the plan, but I knew that my phone would help me out in more ways than one, if I got it back.
"I'm going to call the police to get me out of here—to get everyone who doesn't want to be here, out of here." I was determined. "I'll get you out of here, too." He frowned unexpectedly.
"What happens if you get caught? Don't you already have three strikes?" Oof. This was one thing I hadn't thought of. Of course, I knew what would happen if I was seen with my phone, and it didn't involve a reunion with Stevie and Cassie.
His ears perked up boyishly. "I have an idea." From his enthusiasm, one would have thought he came up with the cure for Cancer. "I'll steal the phone."
"No, no, no," I insisted. I wouldn't let him risk his life for me. I couldn't drag an innocent person into my troubles, no matter how screwed up it was.
"No, you don't understand," he resumed. "You have two strikes. If you get caught, it's game over for you." It was clear where he was going. "I have one strike. If I get caught, it's simply a warning."
I knew he was right. It was true, he could attempt to get my phone for me, and if worst came to worst, he would get a quick slap on the wrist. But I still felt guilty.
"I don't know," I sighed. He looked deep into my eyes and leaned in. At first, I didn't know what he was doing, it was so sudden, but when I felt his soft, warm lips on mine, I knew we had shared our first kiss. And it was so much better than I could have expected.
He pulled back, a million years too soon, and I made eye contact with those eyes of his. His hair was messy. His deep voice echoed.
"I trust you, Rhiannon."
I nodded. He would get my phone, and in no time, I would be out of here.
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