Loving You to the Stars and Back // Keith x OC //

The Unrequited Realization

12

~Keith~

Athena 's tears subsided as she leaned against my chest. My arms wrapped tightly around her body as she sniffled. It was happening again. Ever since we arrived on Arus, Athena had been experiencing dizzy spells that would either cause her to falter or daze out for a couple of minutes. It made me worry, primarily when she has been acting strange around me, avoiding me or only making small talk. Athena was never like this before. In fact, she was a chatterbox, always having conversations with others and myself.

I continued to pat her back, calming her down. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what's going on with me," Athena sounded afraid, confused and lost as she confessed. I was already concerned about her behavior, but this made me more alert about what she was going through. I wanted to be there for Athena, but she hasn't confided in me about anything, and that left me feeling useless.

"Whenever you're ready to tell me, I'll be here," I whispered as I reached out for the back of her head, pulling her closer. Gradually, Athena's body stopped shaking as I held her; her body grows limp, moving closer to me. Her hiccups had died down as well as I brushed my fingers through her golden locks. 

I slowly pulled back to look at her face, only to see that Athena had fallen asleep. "I can't leave you out here, can I?" I chuckled as I reached out to wipe away the tears before getting ready to pick her up.

With Athena in my arms, I slowly made my way down the boulder, jumping off once I was closer to the ground. I took a quick look at Athena making sure my jump didn't wake her up. I guess she was exhausted and crying just made her more susceptible to slumber.

Seeing the peaceful look on her face as she slept made my heart skip a beat. I always thought she was cute, but seeing Athena like this made me want to hold her like this for a little while longer.

Ever since Athena started attending the Galaxy Garrison, I never thought a girl like her would give me a time of day. She was always upbeat, sociable, and kind unlike me, who was the complete opposite. It was Shiro who put up with my rebellious behavior and looked after me like his brother, but for Athena, she was the one who became my best friend by wanting to know me better.

A lot of the other kids didn't really like playing with me as I was growing up. I always pushed them away because I wanted to be alone, thus leading them not to invite me to play with them. It was lonely, but I didn't mind. I also got into a lot of fights with other kids who would pick on me for being a loner, but it was Shiro who stood up for me and taught me better.

When Athena started talking to me, I was afraid that other students might think of her as weird. Strangely, I liked her company, but I had to push her away too, knowing that the other kids might avoid hanging out with her. Athena was a ray of sunshine if I had to describe her personality. Unlike many of the other girls at the garrison, Athena was brave, confident, and not afraid to get her hands dirty if it was necessary. Most of all, she reached out to me like I wasn't an outcast. She was like the light in the darkness that I was in. 

I found myself in the hall where our rooms were, opening the door to Athena's room. Opening the doors revealed the neatly furnished apartment just like everyone else's, but she had a few decorations hung around like small fairy lights and foreign antiques. I assume she found them while being the castle while the rest of us were out training.

I walked to Athena's bedside, letting her sit upright as I pulled off the blanket. Slowly, I laid her head down on the pillow and positioned her so that she was lying on her back. I took the sheet and tucked Athena in as if she was a child. The peaceful expression still remained on Athena's face as I looked at her and sat at her bedside.