Chapter 10

~Aurora~

On the day of the actual field trip, everyone was busy conversing with each other about exploring the ruins. Not many of them were the same for the history behind it though. It was nice to know that some were curious about the distant past.

Every time I would come close to collecting the star pieces, there was always a tremor in my chest. I keep thinking that the star piece wouldn't be there and somewhere else instead. But when I do find one, it feels as if I've accomplished something. And I would have. I would have gotten closer to saving the universe.

The star piece was not guaranteed to be at the ruins since my map wasn't giving clear coordinates, but there was a high chance it would be there. It still would be a great adventure even if the fragment wasn't there.

Mixed students were allowed on the buses, as long as the teachers had roll call before departing. Therefore, I went on the bus with Nadia. I hadn't expected Carter or Zayne to be there as well, but I should have. Nadia is Carter's significant other after all.

I took my seat next to Zayne behind the couple and he had yet to notice me. The bus suddenly moved, scaring him a little. He looked around wearily before his eyes landed on me.

"Oh, hey Aurora," he smiled with sleepy eyes. Zayne covered his mouth to yawn before continuing to speak. "Are you excited to get the stone from the ruins? I know I am."

"I am excited indeed, but I'm not sure if there will be one at the ruins." He turns away to yawn again, resting his head on his fist beside the window. "Did you get any sleep? You look awful."

Zayne blinked multiple times, attempting to focus his eyes on the seat in front of him while trying to stay awake. "Not much. I couldn't stop thinking about it."

My smile was hidden under the surface. Since I arrived on Earth, no one, but one person, had ever found out my secret. The reason was because of how I had thought they would've reacted; staying away from me, reporting me to the government, or even attempting to kill me again, once and for all.

Even though Zayne was a bit spooked at the beginning, he learned about the reason I was there and wanted to help me save our homes. I was so elated by the help he was offering. It eased my mind to know that I got the most dangerous fragments out of the way at least. He wouldn't have to risk his life.

I wanted to turn his offer down for his protection. But when I looked into his navy blue eyes that were filled with an urge for adventure, I couldn't say no. He told me that it was possibly God's plan for both of us, and I couldn't say no to that either. I simply had to take responsibility for keeping him safe ad sound.

"Get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us," I smiled.

He hummed in response. My eyes slowly drifted to look at him, seeing him sleeping tensely on his hand against the window. His head kept lightly bumping the window which caused his eyebrows to furrow. I gently moved his head to my shoulder to give him the least bit of ease.

Zayne looked more relaxed, even moving a little less. I knew I could've helped him get his energy back up using my ability. Yet, I chose not to. I should just let him rest for a while. If he had still been drowsy by the time we reached, I would've helped him out.

◇◇◇

Finally, we have reached the ruins. There was a small hike through the woods, but it was manageable. As the teachers give a brief history of the ruins, my eyes scanned the area, looking for where the stone could be. I knew it was there. I could've felt its faint presence.

Soon the teachers allowed us to explore. We could have climbed the ruins, looked at different types of rocks, or even taken a dip in the nearby river. Fortunately for me, that was optional. To look for the piece, Zayne and I had a plan; start from the left, work towards the right, and then near the river. I had to stay with him since he had no idea what the star pieces looked like, and I couldn't risk him accidentally dropping one.

We were looking on the left from the entry, just out of earshot from everyone else. The teachers kept their eyes on everyone to make sure that nothing bad was happening as we looked among the stones. When I looked around, I saw Carter and Nadia gazing at mossy writings on an overgrown wall.

I kept my eyes on Nadia, finding her not paying much attention to Carter. He seemed so intrigued as he tried to decipher the ancient writings while she looked around everywhere else as if she was searching for someone. Before Carter noticed, she suddenly turned back with a smile and gave a suggestion of what the odd characters could've said.

Just the look on Nadia's face before she turned to Carter told me she was unhappy. But what was she unhappy about? Was it her relationship with Carter? No, it didn't fit. She was always happy whenever she looked at him. Sometimes even staring at him for minutes without him realizing it.

"Hello?" Zayne's hand waved in front of my face. "Human to angel, are you responsive?"

I smiled at his question. "Sorry, I was just distracted."

"Watching Carter? Don't you know he's Nadia's-"

"Boyfriend, I know. I was actually looking at her." I looked in front of me, seeing Zayne holding multiple slightly coloured stones. He went through them carefully to find one that looks different from the rest. "I'm uneasy about her," I said.

"Nadia? Why? She's great," Zayne said, putting the shaded stones back in their places. "I'm not seeing anything that looks important."

"There are so many here," I muttered, scanning the area. "Nadia wasn't always looking at him. She was thinking about something, but she's too far away for me to hear it properly. I suspect she's hiding something, but she only plans to keep it to herself."

Zayne gave me a look showing confusion but also surprise. "You got all that from a look?"

I shrugged. "Enhanced senses."

He shook his head and went back to searching. "If she wants to talk about it, then she will. I respect that, and no doubt Carter does too."

I hummed in agreement, glancing at Nadia for the last time. I was concerned about her. I didn't want her to be hurting.

Over time, we moved closer to the couple, still searching for the stones. Although Zayne could not hear them, I heard their conversation loud and clear. I felt guilty as I listened to them discuss why Nadia was being distracted. Even if I wanted to, I just couldn't tune them out.

"Will you please tell me why you keep looking around so nervously?" Carter pleaded to her.

"It's..." She took one look at him and sighed. "It's Aurora I'm worried about."

As I grew more curious, Carter cocked his head to the side in response. "Why are you worried about her? She's here, safe, out of harm-"

"I mean," she interrupted, " when she's around Zayne."

Carter took a moment before he knew what she was talking about. "Oh," he said.

"You know his game. He could do it at any moment. And Aurora's too nice for it." She looked around and spotted me looking at stones with Zayne. "I'm scared he tries it on her and scares her away."

With a reassuring smile, Carter held onto her shoulders with a light squeeze. "Aurora's smart. I'm sure she would notice the signs. Plus, she's a great people person, so maybe she'll get in his head." Nadia cracked a smile at his small joke. "Who knows! Maybe she'll get him to smile more often."

Nadia burst out into small giggles, trying to refrain from catching attention. It made me smile watching the young couple laugh together. "Maybe you're right," Nadia noted, "but I'm still worried."

"Alright, I'll talk to him, if it makes you feel better."

"It does, thank you," Nadia flashed a smile.

Carter gave her a small smile before scanning the area. Once he spotted Zayne, he walked over to us. He snatched him away before Carter thought I noticed.

"Dude, what is your-"

"I see you're staying around Aurora for a while," Carter began.

Zayne scoffed. "Only because you and Nadia keep being all lovey-dovey and ticklish. What am I supposed to do? Hover around you and be that creepy third wheel?"

"Wait, calm down," Carter raised his palms. "Nadia's worried you'll play your game on Aurora. And to be frank, I do too." He looked at Zayne with a stern gaze. "Please don't do anything dumb.

Zayne stared at Carter. "We were looking at rocks. Lit-er-al-ly."

"Well, whatever," Carter shook his head, "after what happened with Mason and both of you in that janitor's closet, all of that is weird on its own. Just please promise me you won't try anything."

"Alright, dad, I won't do anything dumb," Zayne rolled his eyes.

"I mean it, Zayne."

"Or what?" he smirked in response.

I looked up and around me. I heard enough. "Zayne?" I called, pretending I didn't see Carter pull him away.

"I'm here," Zayne responded as he walked back to me. "Did you find it?"

"No, not yet," I trailed off. He probably didn't realize I heard them I decided to keep it that way. "This is harder than I thought."

"Maybe it's near the river," Zayne suggested.

Suddenly, a nearby ear-splitting scream echoed through the ruins, alerting everyone in the area. We looked in the direction of the scream. "Get it off me get it off me get it off me!" a girl repeated frantically. There was a lizard on her shoulder, while her friend was busy laughing.

No one went to help her out. She kept squealing until Zayne got tired of it. He got up and quickly but gently picked the lizard from her shoulder and lightly stroked its head. "Ew ew ew~ that was disgusting!" The girl yelled out, dusting her shoulder harshly.

"It's just a harmless lizard, calm down," Zayne said before setting it down into the forest.

The girl shot a glare at Zayne. "Calm down? I get you're a pain in the ass, but a lizard just rubbed its slimy germs on my shoulder! I can't just calm down!"

"Now who's the pain in the ass?" Zayne questioned.

Soon, a teacher came by and sorted out the issue. The girl was ensured that she can shower when everyone goes back to the hotel. She threw a fit about it, but the teacher handled her. She was placed in one of the buses with her friend to keep her safe from the innocuous small creatures.

As everything calmed down, Zayne and I went back to searching. Unfortunately, we went back to the hotel empty-handed.