A/N This is a Collab between me and Dreamstar (formerly known as Stargazer) Check out her blogs here: Pen Post & FandomClan
Monday morning, Jaiden was rushing around her apartment, stuffing her school supplies into her bag. She walked to school, expecting Aiden to be absent like he had been for the last two weeks.
But to her pleasant surprise, she walked into homeroom to find Aiden whispering something about a car crash to Mr. Theodore. He gave her the smallest of smiles as she passed him to sit at her desk, laying her head down and hoping the car accident story was just Aiden’s cover for his absences and scars.
After a few minutes, Aiden sat down at the desk next to hers, scrawling something on his notebook before ripping it out and quietly placing it on her arm. She heard a few girls behind her giggle as she opened the note, reading Aiden’s messy handwriting.
Jaiden did as he asked, putting the shreds of paper on Aiden’s desk, muttering things like “Disappears for weeks and won’t even tell me where he was. Idiot.” and “Homework help—scoff—like he can play catch-up this time. Boys.”
She crossed her fingers under the desk; it was believable but not overkill. The giggling girls stopped when they heard Jaiden’s mutter. Jaiden hoped they wouldn’t spread rumors.
It was at long-last the end of the school day. Jaiden sighed and started to walk home in the early evening shadows. What am I going to tell Mom and Dad once I’ve packed up to go on the allegiance quest? That I’m going on a school trip? That actually sounded like a good cover story.
Once Jaiden reached home, she said a quick greeting to her mother, who was working on her laptop. Heading to her room, Jaiden threw her backpack aside and surveyed the mess she had made. Her half-filled backpack was on the floor, and possessions were scattered everywhere, even on the windowsill and under the dresser. Her blanket was on the floor, leaving her bed to be covered by more junk. Mom would kill me if she saw all of this. Jaiden remembered the note Aiden had given her. I wonder who Cora is?
The days passed and she started helping Aiden with his catch-up work. A few of their teachers had taken pity on him and gave him a few extra credit assignments he could do instead of completing all the homework he’d missed, but most just told him to ask a friend for notes.
It felt weirdly normal, until Aiden handed her the fake school trip letter she’d asked for. They’d come up with a cover story about a school trip, and Jaiden found it crazy how many details Aiden could add. He somehow made it so if her parents called the school, they’d be connected to Atlantis instead, where someone would feed them fake info. And someone would even be sending them fake letters from ‘Jaiden’ while she was at ‘Camp.’ It was so elaborate it was almost scary.
And then, Wednesday morning, she hugged her parents goodbye, shouldered her rucksack, and walked to their rendezvous point, where Aiden was waiting for her. He was gripping a sand-colored satchel and was obviously scared beyond anything he could tell her, but he still smiled for her benefit.
“Good,” said a voice from the shadows. “Lightning’s finally here.”
Jaiden looked around but didn’t see anyone, until a tall, tan, and muscular girl stepped forward. She had brown hair, and when she spoke there was the slightest hint of an accent. Mexican, maybe. Or Cuban. Something South American, for sure.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” she continued, fixing her deep brown eyes on Jaiden's hazel ones. “Keep your mouth shut and the whining to a minimum, and you might just survive, Princess.”
“I’m the princess? You’re the one hidden away under the sea,” Jaiden replied, keeping her head high and getting all up in Cora’s personal space.
“Ah. That’s what you think.” She turned to Aiden. “Come on, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back.”
Aiden nodded. “Here we go.”
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