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Perhaps it was wrong to want this. Just what was the matter with her?
Stelle stared at the ceiling in her bedroom within the Astral Express. The train was still comfortably parked in front of Penacony, the land of dreams. “Dreams…,” she whispered to herself, absent-mindedly moving her gaze from the ceiling to the window, catching sight of the Reverie's exterior.
This was the fifth time this week that she had dreamt of him. His dreams always had the annoying tendency to sneak right up on her mind, after pleasant dream sequences. Like, for instance, the dream she just had before his tonight, where she was fighting side-by-side with Captain Raccoon against a particularly evil space squirrel with an eyepatch, who wanted to overthrow a city. Of course, her and Captain Raccoon saved the day. Stelle smiled to herself like the little gremlin she was. “Good shit, that dream,” she quietly mused.
But oh no, then he just had to show up in her dream. It was always a different scenario in the beginning, but it ended similarly every time. He would suddenly show up, clapping his hands, wearing his fancy rosé glasses and his luxurious coat. He’d tilt his head, smiling in an almost mocking manner, and he’d say to her: “Miss Stellaron, fancy seeing you here.” As if he wasn’t the one intruding on her cinematic dreams in the first place.
He’d stroll up to her like a stray cat, shoulder gently brushing against hers, as he moved around her. To be honest, she didn't always remember what he was saying in that part of the dream, when he was approaching her. Stelle merely noticed his voice always gained an almost melodic, seductive tone that made her heart race. He was flirting with her. At least she thought he was flirting, given how he moved and spoke to her. She wasn’t always super good in understanding when people were giving her attention and when not. Understanding people, their motives and intentions, was complicated.
Now that she was thinking about it, the way Aventurine moved in her dreams also reminded her of that one nature documentary, she recently watched with Dan Heng. There had been one particular scene, where a male peacock danced around a female peacock, showing off his bright, colourful feathers to gain the bird's attention. Imagining Aventurine with peacock feathers, doing a silly dance to impress her, made Stelle giggle so hard that her eyes grew teary. “Lmao” she mumbled to herself, shit-eating grin on her face and her hands resting on her stomach above the blanket.
She’d have to share this mental image at breakfast with the other crewmembers of the Express. She could already hear March yelling, “why did you have to put that thought into my head, you goblin?!”
For a moment, the thought of March yelling at her, made her so happy that she almost forgot about the dream, she just had of Aventurine. But then she remembered how it felt when his lips had brushed against her neck in the dream. How his gloved hands had delicately touched hers to intertwine their fingers.
Strangely … and to her own surprise … in the dream, she did not mind him doing this? How curious. It really did make her pause. Why did she like Aventurine taking off his glasses to look into her eyes with his, as he was whispering sweet nothings and leaned forward? Why did it feel so good when his breath touched her wetted lips? Just thinking about it again, made her stomach feel very warm and sent a rush through her body. Her fingers craved to bury themselves in his blonde hair, to pull him to her and kiss him. She cursed herself. What was she thinking about? How embarrassing! This was the worst!
There was one thing, he always repeated in the dreams, that she could not forget. The one constant. It was what he said before finally kissing her on the lips. “We’re the same, you and me, you may not see it now, but we are …”
She stretched out her hand toward the ceiling, looking at her fingers and finished the sentence aloud that she was reminiscing about. “… two sides of one lucky coin.”
There was a yearning in her heart, she could not properly explain. It felt strange and foreign to her. It made her think of that one romance anime, she had been forced to watch with March during one of their many sleepovers. Dan Heng had excused himself by saying, he would rather jump off a building than watch that particular anime again. It seemed like he was relieved March had finally found a replacement for her sleepovers that involved romance anime and girl talks.
They had been sitting on the carpet in March’s room, wearing face masks and painting their nails neon colours, while the protagonists of the anime were fighting for their love. Stelle remembered vaguely, how the girl had said to the, rather handsome, villain in a dramatic manner: “We would simply be too powerful if we joined forces, no, we can’t.” That was rad, she had to admit. March was more interested in the magical ballroom scene with the prince that followed.
Maybe Stelle was going crazy. Yeah, that had to be it. Maybe her brain was a little damaged after the whole Sunday-Penacony-Event. That made sense. She was confused and had brain damage. Hah. She knew it. There was no way, she liked Aventurine. No way. No way ...
Stelle had no idea how long she laid there, staring a hole into the ceiling, before she grabbed her phone from the nightstand with such sudden force, that she almost dropped it on the floor. Her impulse control was gone and she did something really stupid. She texted Aventurine.
♠
Aventurine was sitting at a bar by himself on a spaceship. Soft jazz music was being expertly played on a grand, white piano in the background. People in expensive clothes and jewels were idly chatting with each other, some were gambling, others were slowdancing on the dancefloor. His unique eyes, their colours a mix of pastel purple and blue, glanced around. Nothing escaped his sight. There was a gay couple making out in the back, thinking no one noticed them, there was a waitress receiving a far too generous tip from one of the men at the casino table and there was a woman in a blue dress, who was lamenting to her best friend over a Cosmopolitan that all men she was into, weren't interested in her.
He was heading back to the IPC’s headquarters and had chosen the most fitting way of travelling for his lavish taste. First class suite on one of the most expensive spaceships the galaxy had to offer. Only the best of the best for him. The crème de la crème. Besides, who knew how much time he still had left, given the pending meeting with the other stonehearts. His fate was yet to be decided. Aventurine wasn’t nervous but he was also not naïve enough to believe that everything would end in his favour. He emptied his Old Fashioned, gently placing the empty glass down, when the phone in his pocket vibrated. He arched an eyebrow in irritation. Who was texting him at this time? He was almost bitter enough to ignore it, wanting to further dwell in his own pool of thoughts, but it had to be important for someone to contact him this late at night. With an annoyed sigh, he got out his phone and stared in slight disbelief, when he saw who had texted him. What the - … Why was she texting him? Or rather – what did she want from him? With curiosity overcoming him, he opened their chat.
Miss Stellaron: “Yo, still awake?”
He blinked, then smiled a little. What a surprise. His fingers quickly moved over the keyboard.
Aventurine: “Miss Stellaron, how lucky I am to receive a text from you and at such an hour. Why are you still awake? Can’t sleep?”
Miss Stellaron: “I have a favour to ask”
A favour? Instantly, his eyebrows furrowed, and he grew wary. What business was this about? And this suddenly? Wait. He paused. Maybe she had reconsidered the job offer he had made to her during his checkout at the Reviere. No, she wouldn’t join the IPC. Then again, people changed their mind all the time. Especially when he was involved. But what else could it be? Did she need credits?
Aventurine: “Of course, ask ahead.”
Her next reply would render him speechless.
Miss Stellaron: “I would really appreciate it if you could stay out of my dreams. Thank you. Good night.”
Aventurine blinked, staring at the message. Then suddenly, he broke out into laughter, a look of disbelief crossing his face. No, no, no. He had to know what she meant by that. But not over text. He instantly called her without any hesitation, getting up smoothly from his barstool and paying the bartender more than the drink cost. He waited for her to pick up as he walked through the crowds of the bar and headed toward the elevators.
♠
When Stelle heard her phone ring and saw his name, she bit her lip, unsure whether to answer it or let it be. Anxiety churned in her stomach. Maybe texting Aventurine had been a bad idea. What could he possibly want to talk about now? But if she didn’t respond, that would also be mean of her. After all, it was her that reached out to him. She groaned and finally, with hesitance, accepted his call after the sixth ring. “Yes? Hello?”
“Miss Stellaron” His suave voice on the other side of the call, made her heart flutter for a reason she did not understand. “I must say, I am deeply surprised but delighted. Here I was, sitting all by myself at this lousy bar, enjoying a drink and drowning in boredom and suddenly I receive such a cute little text and from none other than yourself. And now I am curious, no, I am dying to know just what my role was in that dream of yours? I must have taken the grand stage as usual, hm?”
Her first impulse was to immediately end the call, grab a hammer and smash her phone. Instead, she remained silent for a moment, unsure what to answer. What the hell was going on with her? Shit. Was he flirting? Making fun of her? Was he not? People confused her! This was a stupid idea. He seemed to sense her awkwardness, for he charmingly added:
“Miss Stellaron, there is no need to be shy with me. After all, hey, we’re friends, aren’t we? Why, you can tell me anything.” She could just picture the arrogant, smug smile he wore on his face. The way he said that, sounded eerily like a cat speaking to the mouse it was about to devour. It gave her goosebumps.
Stelle felt embarrassed and overwhelmed with the situation. Since when did he make her this flustered? Stupid dreams. Stupid Aventurine. “I-I can’t tell you, sorry.”
“Then I guess, I’ll just have to imagine what we did in your dream,” he taunted her with a sweet voice and dramatic sigh, “and my imagination is already running wild, I can tell you …”
Stelle felt a cold shiver run down her spine and she panicked. She quickly sat up in bed, cheeks burning. “Okay, we kissed, happy?” It just blurted out of her. Her stomach felt as if she was sitting on a roller coaster and her heart painfully raced in her chest. Aventurine was quiet for a moment on the other side of the line, and she feared that she may have made an even worse mistake by admitting that truth to him.
To her utter surprise, he suddenly chuckled. “Did you like it?”
Stelle blinked dumbfounded. “Huh? What?”
“The kiss. Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked her.
Why was he asking her something like this? This guy – He was so infuriating. Were all guys like this? No, this was probably just an Aventurine thing.
“Maybe,” she admitted quietly, her mind spinning. Well, now she was definitely on edge.
“Good. Though, it’s a pity I had to leave Penacony so soon ... because had you called me, while I was still nearby, I could have shown you that the real deal is even better than any dream could ever be,” he said, sounding a little full of himself.
Stelle grimaced. Why did she text him again? Hell, no, why did she even dream of him again? Why did it have to be him?
“But,” he then added, “the offer I made at the Reverie still stands, Miss Stellaron.”
What offer? She rummaged her mind for a clue of what he was talking about. Then she remembered the argument he had with Topaz over who should recruit Stelle back at the hotel. As if Stelle would ever join the IPC. They had to be delusional at this point.
“Ever the businessman. I told you and Topaz before, that I am not joining the IPC,” she sighed, slightly annoyed with the direction this conversation was headed. They were always trying to recruit her.
“Not even if you could get kisses from me every day in office?” he said in a soft, alluring voice. “I would spoil you rotten as my little project manager, you know? Only make you dress in the most stylish uniform, designed just for you. Naturally, you’d also have a big office with the best view and, of course, right next to mine … Dinner at the most exclusive restaurants that people would die to dine in for … Director Topaz could never compete with me on that …”
While he kept talking, listing all the benefits she’d have as his project manager, his words blurred into the background. Stelle was too focused on trying to imagine herself in a fancy, sparkling grey uniform with a trashcan pin attached to the left side of her chest, striking a confident pose on a stage. But instead of IPC workers, she saw a legion of trashcans just waiting for her command. Next to her Aventurine, who was also dressed in the most luxurious grey suit, his hair wild and his eyes full of determination as they held hands and raised them toward the sky. The trashcans went ballistic over their two leaders. Cries of happiness and chants of “All for the Trash Lord” could be heard.
“Miss Stellaron?” He finally asked after she had been quiet for a little too long.
This brought her back to reality. She coughed. “I am sure that romantic relationships in office are forbidden or something,” Stelle mumbled, then thought of that romance anime, March had forced her to watch. “Besides,” her voice grew more dramatic to sound like the female protagonist in the anime, “I think we would just go mad from power, if we joined forces.”
“Wait, what?” This seemed to throw him off guard from his usual game of words.
In this moment, Stelle heard something scratching at her door. She gasped, realizing who it was.
“Oh, I think Bubbles needs to use the restroom. I have to go, bye!” She hung up before he could say another word and quickly crawled out of bed. It was indeed the little warp trotter that lived with them ever since her and March had won the Aetherium Wars Challenge. It oinked at her, relieved that at least someone on the Express was awake and could help, as it jumped around in distress. It really had to go and quick.
“Now, now, no worries, we’ll be there in no time.” She led the way and Bubbles followed quickly with an oink. Stelle's mind had not calmed down at all and her heart was still racing, but she had to admit that hearing Aventurine’s voice was nice. Really nice. Her stomach felt strange, too. Almost as if there were butterflies trapped within it. Maybe she did like him slightly too much. Who knows why we dream the things we dream of, after all.
♠
Aventurine was back in his room, staring at the phone in surprise. Now that he was by himself entirely and could let his confident mask drop, his head started spinning. He covered his mouth with his gloved hand. What the hell. Did she really like him? But why? Of course, he knew he was attractive. His handsome face had opened him doors and hearts before to all sorts of people of all types. But her? Ah, he forgot to ask her if she liked his gifts, he suddenly realized. She must have. His legs moved toward his bed on their own accord, and he fell backwards onto the mattress. His forehead grew feverishly hot as he remembered the sound of her sweet voice and went over each and every word he had said to her during this phone call. Aeons, he was such a fool. Just running his mouth without thinking, trying to sound charming.
“It’s the alcohol, you must be tipsy.” No, he was never tipsy and never off his guard. Always on top, always in control. He was just lying to himself because the truth was unacceptable.
“A romantic relationship,” he whispered. She had said relationship. And not only that but romantic relationship. He hadn’t even thought that far. A kiss meant nothing after all. Everybody enjoyed a little making-out with no ties and strings attached, right? Besides, he was not the relationship guy at all. Wasn’t he? But the thought of waking up next to her in the morning and the smell of breakfast, the gentle touch of a kiss on the forehead, movie nights, whispers of love, his real name coming from her lips and silly vows of forevers, hugs… suddenly made him feel so lonely that it hurt his chest. Kakavasha groaned, his hands covering his eyes, then burying themselves into his hair in frustration.
If only he hadn’t called her. Then he wouldn’t have to feel like this right now. Shit.
This was the first night, he would find himself dreaming of Stelle. But by far not the last.