Although West didn’t believe it was possible to like someone so quickly, he still decided to console her.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. That’s not true."
She looked up at him.
"You’re smart, kind, and honestly? Anyone would be lucky to have you. If bad things happen around you, that just means you’re too powerful for boring reality."
Elina froze as her face went red.
"...You really think so?"
West mentally realized that silver tongue had kicked in. He only wanted to console her and yet he said a bunch of buttering things that he didn’t really intend to say.
"Uh—yeah," he said quickly. "I mean—statistically speaking."
She smiled and then she scooted closer.
West let her.
They ended up staying there for a bit, enjoying each other’s company and chatting for some time before deciding on one last adventure before the day ended.
They found their way to one of the resort’s futuristic amusement zones. It was a massive structure of lights, rails, and high-speed rides.
They immediately boarded a fast-track ride together.
The cart locked in and the countdown began.
Elina grabbed his arm. "I’m kind of scared."
West smiled. "I’ve got you."
The ride launched extremely fast.
Wind roared past them as the cart climbed higher and higher.
It dashed across tracks, taking them up, around and through tunnels that were crafted to look like ruins.
It was quite the exhilarating experience.
West could see makeshift ruin creatures but it made him chuckle because they didn’t seem nearly half as scary as the ones in the residential ruins.
They soon cut out of there and now the cart was heading higher up...
It was closing in on the highest point when the tracks ahead suddenly vanished.
They were at least seventy feet up and just like that the tracks up front were gone.
West’s eyes widened while Elina screamed.
"...That’s not supposed to happen," West muttered.
The moment the track vanished, everything happened at once...
The cart lurched forward, carrying them with powerfully momentum straight toward empty air.
West didn’t even think... his body moved before his mind caught up.
He wrapped one arm around Elina’s waist and launched himself sideways.
The world tilted as their figures cut across the air.
Wind howled past West’s ears as he stretched out toward a massive tree that grew unnaturally close to the ride’s structure.
"Hold on tight!" West shouted.
Elina did exactly that, wrapping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes.
West’s hands slammed into a thick branch with bone-jarring force. The bark tore at his palms, but he held, suspending himself and Elina in mid air.
From there, he didn’t stop.
He swung, dropping through the air and caught another branch lower down.
He proceeded to drop again like his body had already calculated every possible angle before he even committed to the leap.
He caught another branch and people below screamed. Resort alarms began blaring.
When there were no more branches beneath them, West bent his knees and let go.
They fell over thirty feet across the air.
Elina squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for a rough landing... but it never came.
West hit the ground and absorbed the impact with a deep bend of his legs and one hand touching down to steady himself.
The recoil rippled through his body and then vanished like nothing.
Elina opened one eye... and then the other.
"...We’re alive?"
West exhaled slowly while dropping her gently. "Yeah."
She pulled back just enough to stare at him properly.
Her eyes widened.
"You didn’t even flinch."
West winced internally.
"...Adrenaline?"
She didn’t buy it.
Elina stepped back, looking at him differently now... The way his eyes were calm despite what just happened.
Then it clicked.
Everything clicked.
The accidents he had saved her from...
The cyclone.
The way he moved.
The way he caught her mid-air.
"You’re awakened," she whispered.
West froze for half a second.
Then he smiled, lifted a finger to his lips, and winked.
"Shush. Our little secret."
Her mouth fell open.
"...Seriously?"
He nodded once. "Just don’t tell anyone."
Her shock quickly morphed into excitement, awe and curiosity all tangled together.
"That’s insane," she breathed. "Do you know how cool that is?"
West chuckled. "It mostly just means I attract trouble."
She laughed finally free of the tension from earlier.
They made their way back toward the main paths as the sun dipped lower, painting the resort in gold and orange. Elina wouldn’t stop talking now... but this time it wasn’t nervous rambling. It was questions.
"What tier are you?"
"Are you in a gang?"
"Did you awaken recently?"
"Is that why you were so calm earlier?"
West answered carefully. Vaguely. Dodging specifics like a seasoned politician.
"Not in a gang," he said. "And I’d prefer to keep it that way."
She nodded solemnly. "Your secret’s safe with me. I promise."
By the time they reached the restaurant where Mark had been waiting, the evening crowd had gathered.
Mark looked up and smiled when he saw them. "There you are. I was starting to wonder if you fell into an alternate dimension."
West smirked. "Only a minor one."
Elina’s family was there too and her parents were chatting with Mark while her brother was sulking in a chair with crossed arms like he’d been personally wronged by existence.
Dinner turned into a group affair, and by the time Mark suggested they all catch a movie at the resort cinema, no one objected.
The theater was dark, cool, and packed.
Elina sat besides West the whole time...
And at first, nothing happened...
Then, slowly, underneath the blanket of darkness, surround sound and flickering light, her fingers brushed his hand.
Once...
Twice...
Then she held it...
West glanced at her. She didn’t look at him... she just kept her eyes glued to the screen. If West could see her cheeks now, he’d spot the faint shade of pink.
Later, she leaned closer and whispered, "Thanks... for saving me today."
"You’re welcome," he murmured back.
She hesitated, then added softly, "I want to thank you properly."
Before he could respond, she guided his hand gently towards her chest...