Kat turned off the machine and woke Astrid up right away. Astrid woke up breathing heavily and with her chest in pain. Thankfully she wasn't under for so long, so her body wasn't in that much pain. "How are you feeling?" Kat asked.
"Tired." Astrid asked.
"Did you see anything?" Katie asked.
"Same dream I had last time. If everything that happened in my dream is so accurate, than whatever they hid must be gone by now. Like they said, galaxies away. Shouldn't Gruumm be looking somewhere else."
"True. Maybe if I tried searching a bit further, maybe we could find something then. That's only if you're okay with doing this again."
"I'm fine with that."
Kat glanced at the door. "I was sure Bridge would have been here. I guess it didn't alert him. I should call him over here."
"No!" Astrid said in a panic. "I feel fine. Plus, maybe he's probably busy training or something. I'd hate to bother him."
Kat gave an awkward nod. "Alright. Would you like to rest in here?"
"No thanks. I'd prefer to go back to my room. I'll see you later."
Astrid stood up from the bed and started making her way back to her room. As she exited out of the lab, she could see Bridge walking in the other direction. Before he could turn around, Astrid quickly left back to her room.
Astrid eventually made it back and immediately fell onto her bed. She let out a breath of air as she went to lay on her back.
As suspected, things became awkward after his confession. Neither of them had said much to each other. She had also been avoiding the others in fear of running into him. She was still questioning everything. Questioning how she felt, and questioning why he liked her.
What in his right mind made him fall for a dying girl? What about Astrid did he find attractive?
It was a mistake to tell him about this secret. She should have just kept it to herself.
A knock from her door brought her out of her thoughts. They didn't even bother to wait for a response before opening the doors. Astrid let our a groan and sat up on her bed. "You look like you're dying." Z commented.
"Thanks. That's what I was going for." Astrid said sarcastically.
"What's got you all grumpy?" Z asked. She walked to Astrid and sat right next to her.
"Nothing, really. I've just been working with Kat a lot recently." Astrid said. It wasn't the truth, but it also wasn't a lie.
"I could tell. Neither of us have seen you lately. I think even Bridge is missing you." Z teased.
"Is that so." Astrid sighed awkwardly.
"You seem tense. Did something else happen?"
"No, not at all. I'm just hungry. And also really tired." Astrid lied.
"We were all planning on going out and getting some burgers. Did you want to come with us?"
"I'm fine. I think I'll just take a nap and then go get something to eat here."
"Alright. I'll come check on you later. I'll bring you back a burger as well." Z stood up and started making her way out the door, but Astrid grabbed her arm. Z turned around feeling confused, but that quickly turned into concern when she saw Astrid frowning. "Is everything alright?"
Astrid nodded. "Have I ever told you how thankful I am of you? How you saved me almost ten years ago. And that you've become like a sister to me."
Z sat back down and smiled, then pulling Astrid into a tight hug. "You're also like a sister to me. You and Jack mean the world to me. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."
Astrid didn't smile. "Same goes for me." She mumbled.
The two pulled away, Astrid then giving her a fake grin. "See you later." Z waved.
Astrid waved back as the doors closed behind Z. She was dreading the day she'd have to say goodbye to all of them. She so badly just wanted to run away from all her problems, but it wasn't possible for that to work like other times.
~
Bridge waited at a table while the rest went to go order their food. He rested his head on the table while looking at the numbers on his morpher. Thankfully they were back to normal, he just hoped that she was feeling okay.
What Astrid didn't know was that Bridge was standing outside the lab while they did the experiment again. He so badly wanted to run in there and comfort her. But with the awkward tension going on between them, he knew he would make her feel uncomfortable. That was the last thing he wanted for her.
It had been about three days since his confession. And things were still awkward, and there was still not answer. He so badly wanted an answer already. But at the same time he didn't in fear of being rejected. And not just that, he didn't want anything to change between them. But it already felt like things already have.
"What's with that frown, Bridge? And why are you staring at your morpher?" Jack asked.
"Huh, oh, nothing." Bridge said. He closed up the morpher and put it back in his pocket. "I see the food is all ready."
"Yup. You smell that? It's the sweet smell of this juicy burger that's about to end up in my stomach."
"Can you not talk like that when we're about to eat?" Syd pleaded.
"Sorry." Jack apologized. "What's with the extra burger, Z"
"It's for Astrid. I plan to bring it back for her later." Z said.
"Won't it be cold by the time it get's to her?" Sky asked.
"She can heat it up."
"I haven't talked to her in a while. Do you think somethings up?" Syd asked.
Bridge knew, but he wasn't going to tell.
"I don't know. Something seemed off with her when I went to talk to her earlier. I wonder if something happened."
"Yeah, I also wonder." Bridge spoke up awkwardly, his voice slightly squeaking in the process.
All heads turned to him. He realized that he probably never should have said anything.
"Bridge, is there something you're not telling us?" Sky questioned.
"I confessed to Astrid!" He quickly used his hands to cover his mouth.
Everyones jaws dropped and their eyes widened in shock. Bridge felt even more stupid than before. He just made things worse for himself.
"You what!?" They all said in unison.
Bridge slowly uncovered his mouth. "I told Astrid that I liked her." He smiled awkwardly.
"Well what did she say?" Z and Syd asked in unison.
"She never got the chance. I told her to take her time to answer. That was three days ago."
They all finally put two and two together of how distant Astrid was the whole week. "No wonder why she's being secretive. She's too shy." Syd said.
"I bet she feels awkward to be around us since Bridge is here." Sky laughed.
"Don't remind me." Bridge pouted, laying his head back on the table.
"Don't be so stressed about it. Astrid doesn't have any experience with dating. She's only ever been around Jack and I. I'm sure she's questioning what to do." Z assured.
"Hey, who knows, things might not turn out so bad. We're rooting for you, Bridge." Syd patted his back.
"I can't imagine having to wait three whole days. It must be killing you." Sky smirked.
"Tell me about it. I don't want to be pushy, but at the same time, it's really is killing me. And I don't know how to handle it."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll be getting an answer soon." Jack assured.
"I hope so." Bridge mumbled. He really wanted to believe that. But it was so hard to tell with Astrid.
~
Since the other's were out at the moment, Astrid decided to go to the common room. Other's came and went, but now she was finally alone. She wasn't even doing anything other then staring out the window to keep a lookout if they came back. She just hated being cooped up in her room the whole time.
She looked down in confusion when she say Syd coming back. But she was all by herself. Astrid let it go and went back to her thinking.
But not longer later Syd came into the common room. "I knew you were here." She said.
"You knew I was here?" Astrid questioned.
"Yeah. I thought it was weird when you weren't answering the door to your room. So I assumed you were hanging out in here." Syd explained. She sat down next to Astrid and handed her a paper bag. "Here."
"What's this?"
"A burger from Z. She told me to bring it back for you."
"Why'd you come back alone?" Astrid asked.
"I got cold." Syd said. Astrid let out a slight laugh. "You look like you have a lot on your mind. Everything alright?"
Astrid let out a sigh. She looked away from the window and down at her lap. Unfortunately the nervousness she had felt all week had not went away. She hoped that being here would help it, but it didn't it. And it was so obvious that she wasn't in the right state of mind. Everyone could see it. Kat, Z, and even Syd.
She only wished to know how Bridge was feeling. Him having to wait this long was probably killing him.
"Have you ever liked someone?" Astrid asked.
"Of course. The last person I liked ended up dropping out of the academy to study abroad. That was a year ago. But why do you ask?"
"I've never really had experience with dating, let alone having feelings for someone. What exactly is supposed to happen if you do suddenly feel like that for someone?"
Syd took a second to think, but the answer quickly came to her. "I think that depends on what the relationship is like, it always differs. But I know that if the feelings are mutual, things will always be okay. You'd want to be happy around them. And you'd also want to make them just as happy. You would spend a lot of your time together. And you would do anything to be as close to them as possible."
Astrid didn't care about getting closer to Bridge. And neither did she care about trying to make him happy. But going a whole three days without talking to him or being near him was definitely a bit miserable.
"But you also don't want to do anything that could possibly hurt them. Hurting the person you like is that last thing you'd want to do."
Hurting Bridge was the last thing she wanted to do. If she accepted his feelings, he'd be happy, but for how long would that last? And if she rejected him, he'd definitely be sad. But he'd get over her in time. But the friendship that the two have would end up changing.
"Dang it." Astrid mumbled. It didn't take a mad scientist to figure the kind of feelings she was having, so why was it so hard figure out? But finding an answer for Bridge still felt impossible.
"Thanks, Syd. I think I'm going to head back to my room. But I'll talk to you later."
"Feel free to ask my anything else."
Astrid gave her a small grin and a nod. She then stood up and started making her way back to her room. She looked out the windows while walking down the hall. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the others making their way back.
She looked down at Bridge. He seemed fine as he walked with them. He let out a laugh when Sky put an arm around him. He already seemed happy. Astrid didn't want to ruin that.
She looked away and and started making her way back to her room. It was there did she realized what her answer was.
~
It was starting to get dark outside. The sun had finally set and the stars were coming out. Looking at them just kept reminding her of how unlucky she was. If that interaction with that doctor never happened, maybe Astrid would be able to live the rest of her life peacefully without knowing of her soon to be death. She'd much rather have that than to live with all these questions running in her head.
The wind blew into her room, causing her to shiver. She closed the window and grabbed a sweater from her closet. Someone knocked on the door. She let them in, expecting it to be Z since she said she would check on her later. But it wasn't.
"Hey." Bridge greeted awkwardly.
Astrid turned around confused. "Hi?"
"I'm guessing I'm not the person you were expecting."
Astrid shook her head. "I was expecting Z." She admitted.
"Sorry I ruined that. I just wanted to check on you."
"To check on me?"
Bridge nodded. "Kat told me about your second experiment. I heard it didn't turn out so well."
"Yeah, didn't go so great. But I'm okay."
The awkward silence came back, but much stronger than before. Bridge wanted to say something, he just didn't know what.
"I have my answer." Astrid spoke.
"You do?"
Astrid nodded her head. She sat down on her bed. Her hands rested on her legs, they then bawled into fists from feeling so nervous. But Bridge was ten times more nervous than she was. He leaned against the doors and started scratching his arm. Thankfully the gloves prevented him from hurting himself.
"You were such a bubbly person when we first met. But you still are like that. And despite us being the complete opposite of each other, we made a great friendship. And I'll always cherish it. You were always there at my worst, and I was always able to trust you when I needed you most. You're basically my hero. You're always there to make sure I'm alright.
Bridge smiled at himself. He was happy to make her feel that way. Happy that she thought of him in that way.
"But I can't accept your feelings."
Bridge's smile dropped into a frown. He felt his heart slightly shatter. He was definitely going to walk out of here sad. "That's alright. I didn't really expect you to return them anyways. I just think a little part of me really hoped you did feel the same way."
Astrid frowned at his response. She knew that she had hurt him and that things would change from here. But what else was there to do?
"I have one more favor to ask you." She spoke. Bridge lifted his head back to her, giving her a simple nod. Astrid let out a large sigh as she looked down at the floor. "I think it would be best if you stop wasting your time on me. No more with the experiments. I'm sorry to say, but there's no saving me from this."
Bridge's lips turned into a frown. "Is this the reason why you're rejecting me? Because of your heart-"
"Yes." Astrid cut off. "There's no point in trying to save me. I'm going to die. And that's that."
Bridge shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I'm still going to keep trying."
"And I said no." Astrid said sternly. "You've gotten your hopes up. Whatever reason you have for liking me, just forget about them. It wouldn't last long anyways."
"I never really thought of it that way. And I know that you didn't have a lot of hope since the beginning, but I always did. And you said it yourself that I should keep trying."
"Well I'm telling you to give up now." Astrid stood up and gave him an annoyed stare. He just didn't know how to stop. "No matter what you do, it won't work. This heart is going to kill me eventually. Who knows how long I have. Three years, two years, one year, maybe even less than that."
He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards Astrid. "Then why did you tell me all this? Why did you let me try to help you if you were just going to end up telling me to stop?" He asked.
"You think I haven't realized that mistake already? The reason it led up to this is my fault. I never should have accepted Kat's offer to work here. I never should have told you my secret. I never should have let you get close to me. Because if I never let that happen, we wouldn't be here like this. Instead, I got you into thinking you could save me and then you stupidly ended up falling for a dying girl."
She turned around and brushed the hair away from her face in frustration. She thought that looking away from him would make this easier. "Falling for me was a mistake. And you're dreaming if you really think you can save me. Just give up while you can. I'm dying, and there's nothing you could possibly do to stop it."
Her hands balled into fist. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying. "I should have ran when I had the chance." She sighed.
"Astrid-"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone right now. Please."
Bridge gave a sad nod. "Okay." He mumbled.
He turned around to leave. But as the doors opened up, he was shocked to see the rest of his friends standing right in front of him. All of them with different expressions reading from anger to shock. "Hey, guys?" He greeted awkwardly.
"Astrid, what's going on?" Sky asked.
"What do you mean your heart will kill you?" Jack questioned angrily.
Her breathing hitched when she heard their voices. Scared to turn around to face them, she kept looking out the window. But even then, she could already tell that they weren't happy.
Even from their whole conversation, Bridge tried to make an excuse for her. "It's nothing. She was kidding about-"
"Forget it, Bridge. You don't have to keep the secret anymore There's no point in hiding it." Astrid cut off. Even in a moment like this, he was still willing to lie for her. Astrid turned around to face them. The anger, confusion, and sadness written all over them was heartbreaking. But she couldn't fix it. "It's like you heard. My heart is too much for me to handle and it'll end up killing me soon. For all I know, I probably have a year left." She said with a stone cold face.
"How long have you known this?" Z asked.
Astrid brought her arms up to hug herself. But she ended up just squeezing her arm. "When you took me to see that doctor ten years ago." Astrid confessed.
Z let out a scoff. "And you never bothered to tell us."
"I was planning to-"
"Yeah, right." Jack cut her off.
"I was. But the longer it took the harder it got. So I gave up."
Z stared angrily, then started walking towards Astrid. But Bridge grabbed her arm incase something were to happen. Astrid didn't flinch. "And what were you going to do when that time came? Run away from us?"
Astrid went dead silent. She looked at anything that wasn't her friends.
Z scoffed again. "You were, weren't you? Running away from your problems yet again."
"Yes. I've been planning it for years. But even that became hard."
"And why is that?" Jack questioned.
"Because I grew attached to you, that's why." Astrid admitted. "It was hard trying to leave the only family I ever had."
"You kept this secret for ten years and never bothered to tell us. I thought we were friends." Jack spoke.
"We are friends."
"Well you're not acting like one. Friends aren't supposed to keep secrets from each other. They're supposed to tell each other everything. Especially stuff like this."
"Well the secret's out now. Are you happy?" Astrid said sarcastically. She was good at lying. She was good at keeping in her emotions. So acting like nothing bothered her was usually a walk in the park. But it had never felt so difficult.
"You were really going to throw us away as if the past ten years meant nothing to you? What a real friend you are." Jack mocked.
Astrid didn't respond. Even if that's not how she intended it, there was no point in arguing anymore. She preferred it if they all hated her anyways. It meant that it would make it easier for her to leave.
"How long have you known about this, Bridge?" Z asked angrily.
Bridge froze when all the attention was turned to him. "I-"
"The day after I had my first breakdown here. I told him to keep it a secret." Astrid responded. "My mistake."
She mumbled the last part, but Bridge heard it. His head dropped in sadness, his heart breaking even more.
"If you don't mind, I need some air." Astrid let out out a sigh as she walked right past them, accidentally bumping into Bridge in the process.
Bridge so badly wanted to follow her. But he knew that she didn't want to see anyone. That she needed to be alone. He knew she needed comforting, but she would just end up rejecting it.
Hope you enjoyed!
Updates every Friday and Monday!