Don't Look Down

Chapter Nine: Signs

The next day was real training, so I arrived at the locker room to change into my flight suit around the same time as Halo and Nat. They immediately bombarded me with questions.

    "So, what happened between you and Rooster yesterday? Anything juicy?" Nat asked first. Halo stared at me and waited for an answer.

    "Not much... at least not what you're thinking. We talked. I told him my trauma, he told me his. Then we... well we may have kissed a little," I said and blushed as the other two cheered me on.

    I gave out the simple details and felt so happy, as if I were at a sleepover and we were up late talking about the boys we had crushes on. It was an odd feeling, but I never got that experience growing up, so I was glad to have it now.

    "I swear, if he hurts you, I'm hurting him," Nat said.

    "We'll attack in the night- he'll never know what hit him," Halo added, flexing for emphasis. I just laughed at the two. They were some of the best friends I could've had. "Do you guys... well, are you guys gonna keep going? Like, you know..."

    My already light pink face turned a darker shade of red at her implication. "Oh my god Halo you didn't just imply that," I said, fighting for my life to hope we move on.

    Instead, Nat sauntered up beside me and put and arm around my shoulders. "Aww but it's a valid question! We're your best friends, I think you can spare us a few details," she said, finishing with a wink.

    My face got even redder. "Oh you two are the worst I swear," I mumbled.

    Natasha laughed and just replied, "No you don't!" This caused all of us to laugh at what she meant. I mean, she wasn't wrong. "It's more like a promise with you, not a swear."

    I shrugged. "Promises are more genuine anyway."

    "Sure, fair point. But don't forget we deserve to know the details considering we helped get you guys to finally start you beautiful romance," Natasha joked. I laughed, along with Halo.

    Once we had calmed down and were finished getting ready, the other two made their way to the door. "Wait," I said, causing them to pause and turn back towards me. I swallowed and kept steady eye contact with the ground as I spoke. "I think I really do like him, you know? More than just a little thing..."

    Nat would have loved to take the opportunity to tease me, and I expected it to happen. Instead, she walked over and pulled me into a hug. "That's so great, Lia. Really. And I'm positive he feels that way, too. Once this mission is done and over with, hoping we're here for a bit longer, the two of you should really go for it."

    She released me from the hug and I smiled at her, glad for her genuine thoughts right now. "Thanks, Nat. Now we should probably head in there, I'd rather not be late today."

    We all walked out of the locker room, a comfortable silence a blanket over our trio. Once in the room, we went to our respective seats and joined in on conversations. For me, I didn't have one to join. Instead it was like Rooster had been waiting for me to arrive before being social.

    "Hey," I said, a bright smile on my face.

    He smiled back. "Hey." Once I sat down, Rooster cleared his throat and got ready to speak again but was interrupted.

    "Attention!" Everyone hauled themselves out of their seats, myself included, as we stood at attention.

    Warlock came to the podium and gave us a nod. We all sat down as he got ready to speak. "Good morning." His greeting was met with some scattered replies and hums of acknowledgment. "The uranium enrichment plant that is your target will be operation earlier than expected. Raw uranium will be delivered to the plant in ten days' time."