Chapter 11

~Zayne Beckett~

The mission was a success. Although it was a lot more anti-climatic than I thought, I was just relieved Aurora found it. She knew it was there on site but she was overwhelmed by the endless amount of stones scattered about. Once she picked up a unique yellow pebble, she felt its aura. It just confused me but I decided to not pay attention to it. Maybe she would tell me later on.

Even so, I found a small, yet beautiful carving made out of pure rock. It was sculpted into the shape of a scarab beetle, holding a beautiful brown crystal. As soon as it caught my eye, my mother came to mind. I would've brought it back as the souvenir she had asked for. It would've suited her perfectly.

The relic needed a little cleaning from the mud, so I washed it off in the river, allowing it to reveal a few patches of yellow. I didn't have anything to get the dirt out of the little creases so I would've taken it home for better and more thorough cleaning.

That same night I was wide awake. It bothered me that we found the stone but it wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be. Would it always be like that? So boring? If I knew that, I wouldn't have decided to do the mission. But then again, how could I just abandon the fate of the universe?

I decided to take a midnight swim in the pool to clear my mind. Quietly, I put on some shorts, grabbed a towel and snuck out of the room, being extra careful not to wake Carter. A Carter without sleep is something no one would ever want to see.

Not even Nadia.

I had reached the empty pool, seeing its blue glow from the lights below. It made the water look beautiful, calming, and perfect. I took off my shirt and dived in, which I immediately regretted as my body hit the water. It was freezing. That only woke me up more. My head popped out to the surface and my teeth chattered at how cold it was.

Unfortunately, the pool didn't come with a jacuzzi or a hot tub, so I worked with want I got. After swimming around for a bit, my body temperature began rising from the exercise. I didn't feel the cold anymore but I was definitely more awake than before.

Awake enough to see Aurora walking around with a blanket around her shoulders. I opened my mouth to call her but instead splashed water in her direction. She noticed me before walking toward the pool.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" she asked.

"Aren't you?" I responded, swimming next to her as she walked.

"I don't sleep," she smiled and shrugged. "What are you doing out here?"

"I can't sleep."

"You do know that you're just waking yourself up more, right?"

"Yes, I found that out the hard way," I chuckled lightly.

Aurora smiled as she adjusted her blanket. She sat down on the edge of the shallow part of the pool with half of her legs in the water. "I didn't realize it was this cold."

I raised a brow. "Aren't you immune to the temperature?"

"I'm in my human form which isn't immune to temperature."

I hummed and drifted around. "Why don't you change to your angel form or whatever?"

"Any human can pass by and know I'm anything but human."

I shrugged before ducking underwater for a second. Keeping my nose above the surface, I stared at her as her hair flew with the cold wind. She gazed longingly at the water. Her eyes reflected the small tint of blue. How could someone seem so perfect?

The longer I looked at her, the more I thought about her abnormal features. "What made you decide to dye your hair pink?" I questioned thoughtlessly to get her wings out of my head.

She giggled lightly. "I was brought into Heaven with pink hair. I'm not sure why it was pink, but I never really wanted to know."

I opened my mouth to ask her another question, but she beat me to it.

"I'm not wearing contact lenses either."

I smiled sheepishly. It completely slipped my mind that she could've read me. Her abilities just wouldn't stick with me. But her giggles made me forget about it. When they died down, she gazed back at the water.

"Care to join me?" I asked.

Aurora glanced my way. "No, thank you."

I leaned on the edge and stared at her. "Why not? A little water won't hurt."

She chewed on her bottom lip. "I have thalassophobia - the fear of large bodies of water. Like oceans, lakes, pools..." She paused with a sigh. "Something keeps me back from swimming. It's not God though. It's more like... instinct. I'm not sure what it is, but it isn't a nice feeling."

It ached me to know about her phobia. She seemed to be upset over the fact. Seeing her look so hurt was so strange. It didn't feel right to see her not smiling.

"Mountain peaks are covered with snow," I began. "Are you afraid of that?"

Aurora smiled sweetly once again. "No, Zayne."

"But snow is basically frozen water. And a mountain peak is basically covered in water."

She giggled at my jokes. "I'm not afraid of snow."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she giggled more.

As the air released the depressing tension, I kept my gaze on her. A smile made its way to my lips just admiring hers. I felt the genuineness in her happy expression and it simply just lit me up. Anyone who saw it would've smiled as well.

I noticed a corner of the blanket was about to touch the water. I raised it up and draped it over her arm. "If you were coming outside, you should've put on warmer clothes."

"Says the same guy who's swimming in ice-cold water," she smiled.

I stood up with my feet flat on the bottom of the pool. In the shallow, I just almost towered over her. "Maybe I'm immune to the cold, unlike the angel in a human body."

"I'm pretty sure you're not," her lips tightened, staying up with the smile.

A sudden wave of confidence washed over me. At that moment, I wasn't ashamed of anything. I rested my hands on each side of her and she leaned back. "Maybe it's the opposite," I smirked.

"You're immune to heat?"

"Exactly."

"That's not true either," she giggled again. "Hey, you're wetting my blanket."

"Really?" My chin tilted slightly upward. "Maybe you shouldn't have brought it out."

She kept her smile and stared at me. "I know what you're doing."

I leaned in closer. "Yeah? What am I doing?"

She grinned. "You're playing your game."

Her words sent an icy cold chill throughout my entire body, colder than the temperature of the water. "How did you-" I stopped, remembering her enhanced senses. She must've heard Carter talking to me about it. I groaned and sank back into the water, submerging my head completely.

When I didn't come up after a few seconds, she kicked in the water to get my attention. I rose up with my nose above the surface and looked at her. "I'm sorry. Please don't drown," she requested.

I stared at her. "I'm not trying to."

Aurora exhaled heavily. I argued with myself for subconsciously trying to make moves on her, but I still couldn't peel my eyes away from her.

"How did you know I was doing it?" I asked her.

"Let's just say," she got to her feet and wrapped herself in her slightly wet hotel blanket. "I spent a lot of time in Heaven. Goodnight Zayne."

As she walked away, I wondered if she knew exactly how to play the game. If she spent a lot of time in heaven, then she must have known every step. "Aurora," I called out.

She turned.

"I'm sorry."

She smiled genuinely. "It's okay."

Aurora turned back and continued walking. She looked like a cute marshmallow. I smiled, completely forgetting why I couldn't sleep that night and why I was mad at myself. Maybe she really would be part of our friend group.