LANTERNS

.01

Oil and sweat marked her face as the young woman wiped her brow with a small huff. With rolled up sleeves, Remy's arm were littered with dirt and grime from the job. She placed her tools down and took a seat back down as another person entered the hanger.

"Still workin', Valentine?" The blonde haired woman called out, a grin plastered on her face as she handed Remy a mug. A grunt came as the response as she hit her head against the jet's hull.

"These engines aren't gonna fix themselves! Plus, I've been working on the engine and it does not want to work!" Remy groaned as she thanked the woman before taking a big gulp of the dark, steaming liquid.

Chloe chuckles as she takes a seat beside her best friend, examining the insides of the jet engine that Remy has been working on. Remy has a distasteful look as her eyes wandered to the same engine.

"You're the magic engineer of the infamous Ferris Air!" Chloe joked as she jabbed at her friend's side. Remy smiles as she put down the mug and grabbed a towel from the workbench beside her.

Remy opened her mouth to retort but the sound of that powerful voice immediately shut her up. Of course, that voice belonged to her boss, Carol Ferris.

It seemed as if she was arguing, but the person on the receiving end has to be losing, depending on the anger in her voice.

"Hal, you can't pull a stunt like this again! That fighter jet cost 1.2 billion to make and you destroyed it in 1.2 seconds! This is the last time, Jordan." Carol yelled as she stormed into the hanger, not seeing the engineer and her friend.

Chloe and Remy shared a look, they knew exactly who Carol was fighting. Remy knew because she was the one who tweaked the jet's engine and wings and Chloe was a pilot - like Hal. Remy knew Hal and Chloe were friends but she wasn't notorious for pulling stunts like Hal did today.

"Incoming." Chloe whispered as she quickly pretending as if she was doing something to get out of the blast radius. Remy jumped up and went back to the engine. She threw the towel back down and grabbed a few tools from her box and went back to the engine.

"C'mon, Carol-"

"Not a word, Jordan. Not a word." Carol warned as she stormed off, leaving Hal alone. Hal's shoulders slouched, huffing as he turned around - finding Chloe and Remy watching him beside one of the older jets.

Hal grinned widely, his entire attitude flipping as he walked closer to the two women. Remy quickly turned back to the jet, avoiding his gaze as Chloe smiled back.

"Highball! How ya been?" Chloe greeted as the two shared a handshake. Hal only chuckled, sighing slightly at the end.

"I've been great, but look at you, I haven't seen you since the dinner a few months back! Hangin' out with the mechanics now?" Hal's response triggered something in Remy as she quickly turned around, her face stone.

"A bachelor's in Thermodynamics, masters in Environmental Sciences, graduated top of my class and an internship at Ferris Air from the day I graduated - definitely more than you can say for yourself, Mr. Jordan." Came Remy clipped response as she stuck her hand out. "Remy Valentine, Head of the Engineering Department."

Hal shot Chloe a surprised look before shaking Remy's hand.

"Hal Jordan. Test pilot."

Remy went back to her work with a dismissive expression. "Yeah, I know who you are. You're the one who destroyed my baby. Again."

The blonde haired woman chuckled silently as Hal's jaw dropped. Who was this woman? This is the first time Hal had ever had somebody - let alone a woman - stood him up like this. He look at Chloe and the woman only shrugged.

"Yeah, about that..."

"Save it, you're gonna need it for round two with Ferris. Just next time, at least let some piece of it be salvageable." Remy grabbed a few tools and started messing around with the inside of the engine.

Hal raised a brow, standing there for a moment before grinning widely. He turned to Chloe for the last time, winking in her direction before exiting the hangar and to Carol's office.

After confirming he was actually gone, Chloe laughed. Hard. Remy gave a small smile as Chloe could hardly contain her laughter.

"You- you just stood up Hal Jordan. Oh my god, I'm best friends with a badass, I love it." Chloe said in between laughs.

"I'm not gonna let some snobby rich boy come in my hanger and call me a mechanic." Was Remy's defense, which caused Chloe to start laughing again.

After a few moments of silence, which Remy savored, Chloe stood up and set her mug back down. "You should come over tonight."

"Can't. Busy." Remy replied quickly, hoping her friend would just drop the subject as quickly as possible.

"Uh-huh, if you blow me off for whatever his name is-"

"Will. His name is Will."

"So you are blowing me off for him! We haven't hung out in weeks and I'm starting to feel replaced!" Chloe huffed childishly as she put her hands on her hips. Remy looked up from her work, chuckling.

Chloe's face changed almost immediately as she grinned widely. "Okay, I'm calling everybody - we're hitting the bar. And you can't bail on me."

Remy groaned, knowing this was going to be the longest day of her life. Remy also knew that Chloe was a super lightweight and Remy - let's just say Remy has experience, also known as engineering school.

"I'm taking that as a yes, Valentine!" Chloe yelled as she started walking towards the locker room for the pilots, leaving Remy with a stupid grin on her face.

+

eh, it's a filler but it will have to do.

so tell me what y'all think so far! I'm vvv excited for this book!

Vote and comment!

-Sisi