𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣: 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼 𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 ~

"Fei, I didn't know you were watching!" Sloane sighed. "I have eyes everywhere, Slo. You should know that by now," Fei smirked before stepping into the room. She gestured for Astrid to slowly turn to see if anything was out of place. But after a second spin, Fei nodded her head approvingly. She said nothing further as she walked out of the room and back down the hall, which made a few shivers run down both of the women's spines.

As the day continued, Astrid and Sloane's not-so-secret romance carried on. No longer having to hide it, they were able to roam around freely. They spent most of their time either in the gym, working out on the treadmills, or spending some time in the Zen Garden taking care of the plants. "Ast! Come look at this!" Sloane gestured, her gaze mere inches away from a budding strawberry plant.

"What is it?" the Shadow Girl questioned, scanning the green leaves for anything eye-catching. Sloane gently pulled back some of them to reveal three light red strawberries the size of a ladybug hanging from the leaves. They stared at them in amazement, checking the other fruit plants for any signs of budding fruits. But next to the blooming raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries, none of them compared to the beauty of the baby strawberries.

"Spring is coming, Astrid! And maybe once this kugelmess is over, we can watch them grow and pick them when they ripen!" Sloane smiled. They walked outside the greenhouse just as the sun was about to set over some of the smoking skyscrapers. They had never seen such a haze like this one. The sky looked a mixture of both friendly, but also "Don't come near me," as the smoke continued rising into the air. It wasn't powerful enough for them to start coughing and hacking yet, but enough to catch the smell once in a while.

They sat against one of the larger trees, bodies pressed together as they wrapped around each other's arms. Sloane's hand brushed through Astrid's hair as her girlfriend rested her head in the center of her chest. Astrid's hand wrapped around Sloane's side, resting against the small of her back. "Thank you," The gravity girl whispered, kissing her girlfriend's temple.

Astrid slightly lifted her head, confused by what she was being thanked for. Sloane rested a hand against her cheeks, a loving look in her eyes as she said. "For coming in and making my life better," The blonde turned pink in the face at the flattering comment, but she did her best to hide it. While Sloane said nothing about it, she could still see the glow in her lover's cheeks. But just before either of them decided to fill the space between them, a loud bang and whoosh of air blew past them, making them quickly stand up and look out into the city.

"That was a kugelwave, right?" Sloane questioned. "Yeah. One blew through the hotel last night," Astrid nodded, tightly grabbing her hand in case either of them were pulled apart by the wave. At least if it was the end for either of them, their last moments together would consist of holding hands. But as they tightly closed their eyes, feeling the wave return to the kugelblitz in the basement, they were relieved to still be alive.

But soon after, they could hear a car driving angrily down the street towards the Academy. Now that Kugelblitz had taken almost everyone in the city and most likely all over the world, Astrid had a feeling about who might be in that car. "Shit... it's Allison!" She gasped, catching a glimpse from the tinted windshield. As the vehicle pulled to a stop near the sidewalk, Sloane and Astrid dashed down the stairs to see what was going on. Fei, Christopher, and Ben also heard the angry screeching of tires and joined them outside the Academy.