Aphelion

by L. J. Higgins

  “Ky, mind if I join you?” Justin appeared beside me, running his hand through his thick black hair.

  “Go for it. If you think you can keep up,” I replied.

  I pressed start and pedalled to warm up.

  “So, what’s the deal with you and Reece?” he asked, pedalling himself.

  “He’s my hunting partner. I’m training him.”

  “And…” He drew the word out expectantly.

  “And nothing. I guess we’re friends too.”

  “That’s it? Nothing romantic?”

  I cocked my eyebrow at him. “No. Romance isn’t my thing.”

  “That’s a shame. I happen to be a romantic kind of guy,” he replied.

  My gut clenched at his words. I shot him an awkward grin and faced the front. Please let him go away.

  “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime,” he asked, sending my stomach up into my throat. “I could ask Commander Kane for permission to take you out, or we could just hang out in my room?”

  I swallowed my stomach back down. Oh god, this was happening. “No offense, Justin, but you’re not my type.” I caught sight of Reece across the room and attempted to catch his attention with a weird facial expression.

  “You’re into girls? Crap, sorry. Steve thought you might be, but…”

  “No, that’s not what I mean. I don’t have a type. Male, female. I’m not interested in anyone,” I said, still trying to get Reece’s attention.

  Reece finally looked up, and we locked eyes. I widened mine, trying to beckon him to come rescue me. Could he not see how awkward my situation was? I may as well have been yelling ‘save me’ across the room.

  “What do you mean?” asked Justin.

  Reece shot me a confused look, his eyebrows creasing in the middle. He shrugged. I was on my own. Thanks for the back-up, partner.

  I faced Justin. “What I mean is, I don’t date. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’ve kept to myself for the past two years. I’ve only just decided to have something that resembles a friend. Give me another two years before I contemplate dating.”

  “Hey Justin, what’s happening?” Reece appeared in front of us and I couldn’t help but sigh in relief. He’d finally gotten the message.

  “About to go do some weights. Want to spot me?” Justin asked Reece.

  “I’ve just finished. I might steal your bike though, if you’re done.”

  “It’s all yours. See you later, Ky. Let me know if you ever change your mind.”

  “Bye.” My shoulders relaxed as Justin walked away.

  Reece climbed onto the bike beside me. “What was that all about? I thought your eyeballs were going to pop out of your head, you looked so freaked out.”

  “Justin just… No, it doesn’t matter.”

  “What did he do?” Reece raised his eyebrows.

  “It doesn’t matter. I sorted it out.”

  Reece smirked. “Your face is bright red. What did he do? He asked you out, didn’t he?”

  “Not exactly. Well, yes. Okay, he asked me out,” I said, unable to look him in the eye.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said no, of course. I only just learnt how to be nice to friends. Could you imagine me with a boyfriend? Why would he want to take me on a date, anyway?”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Not in the slightest.”

  “You’re mysterious. You’re sassy. And you’re beautiful.”

  My throat tightened again at his compliment, and I felt my cheeks heat. “Very funny.”

  “I’m not trying to be funny. I’m being honest.”

  “All this talking and honesty isn’t helping us stay fit, is it? I might go use the treadmill for a while.”

  Reece’s smirk made me scowl as I hopped off the bike and scurried away from him. I stumbled over my own feet, eliciting a laugh from Reece. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of turning around. Instead, I stepped onto the treadmill and ran off my embarrassment.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Poking my head around the corner of the mess hall I caught sight of Reece sitting with Justin, Steve, and Natalie. I wasn’t ready to face Justin again after our earlier conversation in the gym, but my stomach grumbled after missing breakfast. Lucky for me, Justin sat with his back to the doorway beside Steve. Natalie sat next to Reece.

  Reece said something, and Natalie tilted her head back and laughed, touching him on the shoulder. My teeth clenched tight as he shot her a wide grin, and I shook off the weird feeling hardening in my stomach. They were friends, that’s all. And what did I care anyway?

  Natalie looked up, saw me peeking around the corner, and shot me a curious look. I raised a finger to my mouth and pointed to Reece. She leant closer to him, whispering in his ear. My stomach tightened even more before he turned his gaze to me. I waved him over before ducking back behind the wall, hoping he’d understand and ignoring the strange way my body was behaving. Just when I thought he’d chosen to ignore the strange girl waving at him from the doorway, he stepped through it into the hall.

  “Are you serious?” he asked.

  “What?” I stayed pressed up against the wall.

  “You’re avoiding Justin, aren’t you?”

  “No. I just didn’t get a chance to have a shower and I don’t want to stink the whole room up. No one wants to smell sweaty gym bodies while they’re eating.”

  “You’re a terrible liar,” he said with more than a hint of smugness.

  He was right. Damn him. “Okay, so I’m avoiding him. Can you blame me? It’s just… weird. I was hoping you could grab me some food and I’ll go eat it in my room.”

  “I thought Commander Kane said you had to eat in the mess hall like everyone else?”

  “I’ll tell him I was sick. One time won’t hurt. I’ll build the courage by dinner.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince myself or him.

  “Courage? You’ll go out and hunt aliens, but you’re scared of Justin?” He chuckled. “You’ve met the guy, right? The scariest thing about him is the way he wolfs down his food.

  “I get it, it’s stupid. Now, can you please go get me some food before my stomach eats itself?” That had to be the reason for my stomach’s strange behaviour… didn’t it?

  “What do I get in return?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “You get to know I didn’t starve. You’ll know you’re a good person.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’ll be back in a minute. Extra pickles?”

  “Hilarious. No pickles, unless you want your ass kicked. And no mayonnaise, that stuff makes me want to vomit.”

  “Any other demands, Princess?”

  “No that will do,” I replied.

  “Got it.” He shook his head as he left me standing against the wall. He returned two minutes later bearing two plates. “Lunch is served, Your Highness.” He even threw in an exaggerated bow.

  “Two plates? I’m not that hungry.”

  “One’s mine. I’m going to keep you company. Justin keeps asking questions about you, and now I feel awkward. Thanks for that, by the way.”

  “How is it my fault?” I asked.

  “You dragged me into your weird relationship.”

  “There is no relationship between Justin and me. He’s your friend, not mine.” I took one plate from him, and we headed for the elevator.

  “What sort of questions was he asking, anyway?” I picked a piece of ham off my plate and took a bite.

  “What you’re into. Favourite song, stuff like that. I don’t think he gets how boring you really are.”

  “I’m not boring.”

  The door to the elevator opened and we stepped inside. Reece pressed my floor number.

  “To a normal civilian, you probably aren’t. They’d think it was pretty exciting, even scary, hunting aliens. But to an alien hunter… yeah, you’re like watching grass grow.”

  “You aren’t exactly the life of the party,” I retorted.

&n
bsp; “I know how to have a good time. But I have to admit, it’s been a while since I let my hair down.”

  The door opened, and we made our way to my room. We settled on the rug and began eating our lunch.

  “What were you like before Skywatchers?” Reece asked.

  I shrugged. “Pretty quiet. I was more fun before my parents died, but after that I was more than happy to hang out with my brother Tyson at home. I had a friend who’d drag me out to parties and shopping sometimes, though. She was the only thing stopping me from becoming a hermit. Now I do everything I can to go out. How about you?”

  “Before the aliens arrived, all I cared about were girls and partying. I guess losing your family puts things into perspective. It forced me to grow up.”

  “I can’t imagine you being a partying ladies’ man.” I eyed him over. He was a good-looking guy, true, so I guess girls would be attracted to him. Natalie obviously thought he was hot.

  “I’ll have you know the ladies didn’t mind a little bit of Reece.”

  I almost choked on my sandwich fighting back a laugh. “I think I just vomited a little bit of ham sandwich into my mouth.”

  His face reddened. “Yeah, well… I’m definitely not that guy anymore.”

  I decided to spare him further embarrassment. “What else did Justin want to know?”

  “Are you asking because you might actually be interested in him?”

  “Not a chance. It’s just you’re right. Apart from the fact I hunt aliens, I’m pretty boring. What type of music do you listen to?”

  “It’s been a while since I listened to any, but I used to listen to rock music mostly.”

  “Me too.”

  “What’s your favourite colour?”

  “It used to be yellow. But now I guess it’s black.”

  “Yup, they definitely have a theme happening here. Mine was blue.”

  I laughed. “Look at us playing twenty-one questions like teenage girls at a sleepover. Do you want me to braid your hair?”

  “See, this is what we’ve been reduced to,” he groaned. “I’m getting a bit stir crazy not going out on missions.”

  “That’s a no to braiding your hair then?”

  He shot me a glare.

  A knock sounded at the door, and I rose to answer it. In the hallway stood Ricko.

  “Great, I thought Reece might be here,” He held out a white envelope. “I have something the both of you will be excited about.”

  “A mission?” I asked, eyes wide.

  “Sure is.”

  “Yes!” I snatched it from his hands, letting him follow me inside the room and I sat back on the rug in front of Reece. “You want to open it?”

  “Sure.” Reece took it from my hands and tore it open. “We’ll be taking out Mr. Joseph Crank.” He scrunched his nose up. “Crank? For real? He should be shot just for picking that name.”

  “True.” I beamed. “We better head up to IT and see what they can tell us about him. Thank you, Ricko. This is exactly what we needed.”

  “There’s a catch though,” said Ricko.

  Why was I not surprised? “And that is?”

  “I have to come with you. Commander Kane wants me to be a hundred percent sure you’re both capable of taking out the alien. If everything goes well, you two can go on your own next time.”

  I looked at Reece, gauging his reaction.

  He swallowed hard. “That’s fine with me. I just want out of here. Staring at the walls all day is driving me nuts.”

  “Me too,” I added.

  “Well you two best get down to the shooting gallery and warm up after you’re done at IT. We’ll head out tonight.”

  Ricko left, closing the door behind him.

  “I can’t believe we’re finally getting back out in the field,” I said.

  “You’re not nervous about having Agent Rickson breathing down our necks?” asked Reece.

  “Ricko’s a great trainer. You’ll learn a lot having him there.”

  “The last time I left Skywatchers with him, I ended up covered in bruises.”

  “True, but this time you might get the chance to finally kill your first alien.”

  Reece swallowed hard again.

  “That’s what we do this for, right?” I asked him.

  “Of course it is. It’s just a bit nerve-wracking when you’ve never killed something before,” he confessed.

  I placed my hand on his arm. “You’ve got this, Reece. You’ve trained hard and have proved to Commander Kane and Ricko that you deserve to be here. Killing your first alien will be the icing on the cake.”

  He nodded to himself before speaking. “No matter what happens, I want you to know how happy I am that you gave me the chance to get close to you. You’ve spent a long time keeping people out, but I’m grateful you decided I was worth taking a chance on.”

  His meaningful words took me aback. I wasn’t sure how to reply.

  “You mean a lot to me Ky. I’d hate to lose you.”

  My face grew warm as his deep blue eyes held on to mine. The sincerity in his words made all my walls crumble. “You mean a lot to me too.”

  He leaned forward, lifting his hand to tentatively brush my cheek as though measuring whether or not I’d let him touch me. My head told me to pull away but the allure of his gaze had me leaning closer. He brought my face close to his and pressed his soft lips against mine. Relieved to find there was no embarrassment or anger building inside of me my shoulders relaxed. My arm snaked around his neck as he deepened the kiss spreading warmth through my body.

  Our lips parted and he leaned his forehead against mine for a moment, both of us catching our breath. I was giddy with happiness and struggled to keep myself from smiling wide. What was it about this boy that enabled him to break down my walls? It was as though he could see right into my soul, cutting through the layers of sarcasm and coldness.

  He sat back from me with a smile. “I hope that was okay.”

  I released a breath. “It was…” My brain was fuzzy, making it hard to form words, and my body had gone tingly.

  “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lost for words,” he said, his voice gentle and soothing. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  His joke put a smile on my lips and broke any remaining awkwardness between us.

  “In my defence, that did sort of come out of nowhere,” I said.

  “You ready to head to IT and see what they have on our target?” he asked.

  “Sure am.” I was thankful he didn’t make the moment awkward, even though heat still crept through my cheeks.

  We rose to our feet and made our way to the door.

  Before I opened it I turned to Reece. “Can we keep what happened between us, well, between us?”

  “You going to threaten to kill me again if I don’t?”

  “No. I just don’t want to cop crap from Ricko, not until I know what ‘this’ even is.” I pointed between us.

  Reece smiled. “Not a problem. My lips are sealed.”

  After visiting Olivia in IT, Reece and I made our way to the shooting gallery to get in some practice before our mission. Riding the elevator down, Reece’s eyes kept meeting mine, sending warmth through my cheeks. Just being beside him sent a buzz through me that I’d never experienced before.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Just excited about getting out of here for a few hours.”

  “So the colour in your cheeks has nothing to do with our kiss then?”

  I attempted to glare, but it didn’t have the same sass behind it. “I guess it was okay.”

  “Right, that’s why you’ve barely said a word since. I’m sorry if I freaked you out. I wasn’t trying to make this weird.”

  “I’m not freaked out, and it’s not weird. I’m just trying not to let it distract me from our mission tonight. You’re still my responsibility out in the field, and its important when we head out there that you know the difference between work and play.”

&nbs
p; “Wow, you sounded just like Agent Rickson then.”

  This time my glare worked.

  “But, you’re right. I promise I won’t let our relationship get in the way of our duty. In training and on the field, you’re my superior.”

  Relief spread through me. If we were going to be… whatever we were, we needed boundaries when it came to alien hunting.

  I spent my time at the gallery forcing back the happiness that tugged at the corners of my lips, forcing myself to concentrate on the targets and the task at hand.

  Yes, I was happy. For the first time in two years, I not only had a friend but maybe something more. But I was still an alien hunter, and even if I was all giddy over Reece, I couldn’t let it affect me out in the field. Our lives could be at stake, as could the mission and our future as hunters.

  By dinner, excitement and anxiety were racing through my veins. We sat at our usual table with Justin, Steve, and Natalie, who were just as excited that we were finally getting back out in the field.

  “We’re going to have a babysitter, though,” I said. “Agent Rickson’s coming to keep an eye on us.”

  “Agent Rickson? I didn’t think he went out in the field anymore,” said Natalie.

  “It’s been a while, but he took me out a few weeks ago,” I replied.

  “You? Why’s he keeping such a close eye on you?” Justin asked. “I thought you were the pride of Skywatchers.”

  “He was worried I was getting too cocky. But after tonight, he’ll know we’re fine and everything should go back to normal.”

  “So, you’re going to start eating meals back in your room and pretending no one else exists again?” asked Natalie with a note of concern.

  “Except for that. I’ve decided I kind of like eating down here.” I grinned. “But don’t tell anyone else that.”

  She pretended to zip her mouth shut. “My lips are sealed. We’d miss you if you left us.”

  Laughing and talking with them helped me forget about my anxiety for a while, and the whole time I could sense Reece beside me. It was like his energy was reaching out and touching me so I knew he was there. How could one kiss change so much? Why I was surprised, I had no idea. The first and last time I’d kissed a guy, aliens invaded Earth and my life changed forever.