"Can you help me mend this?" I asked bashfully. Candy, or Candice, the girl who had helped Ely and I escape from the Officers, was mending torn clothes. She was using a needle and a thread, and I was kind of intrigued by it. In the City if something is broken we just throw it into the disposal, and that's the end of it. Here, the Bohemians couldn't afford to be so wasteful, and had to mend broken clothes. Ely's shirt, he told me, had been mended 14 times, but until he pointed that out I hadn't noticed.
She looked up at me and smiled warmly.
"Of course I can," she answered. "You're Amber, right? The girl Ely's fallen for?"
"He's what?" I spluttered, taken aback. Candy laughed, her cheeks flushing.
"Oh, nothing," she stammered. We were interrupted by the door opening, and a friendly 'hullo' from an increasingly familar voice. Roger was grinning as he practically bounded up to Candy. Candy's everpresent smile grew even wider. I smiled at Candy.
"I missed you," Roger told Candy, planting a whiskery-looking kiss on her cheek,
"I missed you too," she answered, as he draped an arm around her waist. They were polar opposites in appearance. He was tall and sturdily built, whereas she was small and delicate looking. Candy had a caramel complexion, and soft hazel eyes. She was clean, and tidy, in stark comparison to Roger.
I was certain Candy could have fit in the palm of Roger's hands.
"Amber, what brings you to my beloved wife's work shop?" Roger asked. I hoped that when I grew older I was Joined to someone who I loved as dearly as these two love each other.
"My shirt got torn the other night," I answered. "I was asking if Candy could fix it."
Roger smiled and nodded. "And can she?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but Candy interrupted.
"You know I can," she said, smiling. Roger smiled.
"Oh, before I forget, Ely was looking for you earlier," Roger said. I nodded, and Candy shot me a mischeviously knowing look. "And we leave tomorrow morning, so get a good night's sleep."
I felt my cheeks darken, and I nodded. "I, uh, I'll go find him," I said, looking at the ground.
"I"ll have your shirt fixed A.S.A.P," Candy said, as I walked out the door. The door swung shut.
"What did I say?" I heard Roger ask, confused. I lingered outside the door, listening.
"I might've let slip that our Ely has fallen for her," Candy answered. Their voices were muffled, and I heard Roger stifle a laugh. It sounded a bit like he was choking.
I left quickly, my cheeks darkening by the second.
Ely had fallen for me?
"Amber!" I heard Ely call out, and I turned around. He ran up to me, smiling.
"I was looking for you," he said, and I gave him a small smile.
"I was with Candy. I wanted to know if she could fix my shirt," I replied.
"What happened to your shirt?"
"It tore when we were fighting the Officers the other day. I didn't notice until this morning when Maggie pointed it out as I was getting changed," I said. Maggie was a girl a few years younger than me.There are two change rooms in the Underground network, the girls change room and the boys changeroom.
"You didn't get hurt, did you?" he asked, his voice concerned. He put a hand on my arm, and my pulse sped up slightly.
"Nothing too bad. Just a couple of scrapes and bruises. I've had worse," I told him, smiling, uncomfortably aware of Candy's earlier statement. I was only telling him a half truth, I had scraped my stomach and arms, but Maggie had helped me tend to it in the first day I had been here.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded. "You worry too much," I said cheerfully. "I am quite capable of receiving a few bruises."
"Really?" he asked, mischeviously. I nodded.
"Good. Because I'm going to teach you how to fight."
"Do I have to learn how to fight?" I groaned, sitting up. Ely had just made me fall again, and even though we were training on mats, it had still winded me.
"Yes. If you're going to be a part of this, you're going to have to know how to defend yourself, and how to fight," Ely said, giving me a sympathetic smile. I stuck my tongue out at him, and fell back down.
"How about we go through some of the best places to hit?" Ely asked. I made an incoherent noise of agreement.
"In a fight, if you want to disorientate your opponent, cup your hand, and, with a loose arm, bring it towards your opponents ear, before tensing at the last moment," ELy instructed. "Practice on that dummy over there."
He held out his hand, and I took it. He pulled me to my feet swiftly, and we stood, toe to toe, only a few inches apart.
And then I smiled, and pushed him over. He lost his balance as he fell, and, still holding my hand, pulled me down with him. We landed with a combined 'oof' and I laughed.
"Good work," Ely gasped, trying to catch his breath. "Fighting dirty."
I was ignoring Candy's earlier comment, hoping she had just mis-interpreted Ely's behaviour.
At least, I was trying to ignore it.
I gave him a wry grin. "I hadn't really planned much more than pushing you over. I wasn't expecting you to pull me down with you," I told him. Ely laughed, and his whole chest vibrated, and I could feel his laughter shaking my body.
His strong arms wrapped around my body, and my breath caught in my throat.
"Amber," Ely whispered, staring into my eyes.
"Yes?" I stammered, my voice shaking, desperately blocking out Candy's earlier comment. Ely opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it abruptly.
And then Ely cupped his hand around the back of my head, and crushed his lips to mine.
