Stand By Me (sequel to Kiss me Goodbye)

22.

Keith's POV
     Now that Lance got me an ID card I can go to and from the dorm whenever I want. It's an amazing feeling to have freedom. I add another entry to my journal and strut out of the dorm. I walk to the science wing of the ship and meet up with Dutch who's working on tests to see if roses will be able to grow on Arus. I peek into the room and see him in the corner with large protective goggles on, which surprisingly make him look even more attractive. Dutch is a small crush, Lance means a lot more than that to me. "Hey." I enter the room, startling Dutch. He jumps and turns to face me.
    "Oh, it's just you." He adjusts his goggles and continues looking at a rose petal sample from earth. "So, what brings you down here?" He asks over his shoulder. I walk around the room looking at different nametags on tubes and on notebooks.
     "You know, plant stuff." Dutch chuckles and I see a slight smile appear on his face.
     "Plant stuff? Meaning what exactly?" I hop up on the counter in front of him and watch as his hands swiftly write notes down about the rose.
     "Cross breeding plants, creating ones that can survive on Arus. Like what you're doing with roses." Dutch looks up and makes eye contact with me. He takes off his goggles and smiles.
     "It's funny, I didn't even think about breeding the roses with other components. You're smart Kogane." He rips a few pages out of his notebook and starts scribbling formulas down. I come down from the counter and stride out of the room. "Thanks Keith!" Dutch calls to me.

     I smile and skip down the hall to meet up with Honey in the portable garden. I tap on the door to the garden then walk in. Plants are hanging from the ceiling and are scattered all over the floor. I see Honey watering a bunch of potted plants of all shapes, colors, and sizes. She has her back to me; I crouch down attempting to sneak and scare her. I stand up, ready to scare her, but she quickly turns around and gives me a death glare.
     "Try that again Kogane, and next time you won't be able to react." I take a giant step back, holding my hands up in defense. Honey's glare fades to a soft smile and she goes back to tending to the plants.
     "Need any help?" I offer, still standing a few feet behind her. Honey faces me and hands me a bright yellow water can that matches her dress perfectly then points to a group of  Tiger Lilies.
     "Go feed them." Feed them? I sniff the water can and smell an extremely familiar scent.
     "Honey, what exactly is in this plant fertilizer?" She raises her eyebrow.
     "Water and lilac. Why do you ask?" I take another whiff of the can and get a nostalgic feeling. I take it over to the flowers and start watering them.
     "The lilac. It reminds me of something but I'm not sure what."

     Honey hums to herself as we water the plants silently until Odette bursts through the doors. I look up and see she's sweaty and has a mad look plastered to her face. She runs up, grabs me by my wrist and drags me out of the room. "Uh, bye Honey!" I call back as Odette pulls me down the hallways. She slams me up against a wall and digs in my pockets; Once she finds what she's looking for, she turns her back to me. I step forward to see what she took but she swiftly turns around and pins me to the wall again with only one arm. I now see what she was so desperate to take, my ID card. Odette reads over the card and flips it over, she looks up at me then back down. "I can ex-" Odette clamps her hand over my mouth.
     "You're busted."
_____________________
School is almost over in less then a month😁✨