Night Time Walk

Ahh, Jeez. I always get wander around when i drink. Why do I do this to myself? Oh well, at least I'm not THAT drunk this time. Still.. I didn't think I'd get this far. I'm basically outside of a god damn high school now.

Roughly two hours later, and Nebula had heard back from the cadets. If nothing else, they were certainly speedy operators. Nebula put on her outfit, pulled the hood of her hooded shirt over her head, grabbed her sketchbook and phone, and left her apartment. The cold night air was as usual, but her jacket and hood kept her relatively warm (if a bit shivery). Perhaps it would've been a good idea to bring a scarf or muffler.

During the night, Suzie Q and Vista Square were usually the districts that hogged up all the active populace of the night, which is why the road that connected Sunlake Palms to Seven Stars Academy was practically empty, as usual. Nebula's soft yet solid bootsteps filled the air around her, as if to remind her that she was all alone. To say that she wasn't nervous at the prospect of being mugged or attacked would've been a blatant lie, but it was fine; she needed to do this, and she was going to see it through if it was the last thing she did.

Eventually, she saw it in the distance: Seven Stars Academy. She'd seen it before, but seeing it now in her circumstances was... nervewracking, to say the very least. Her eyes remained posed upon the top of Sibil Tower - towering above the rest of the academy - as she approached the complex; she was so focused on it that she didn't notice the person right in front of her, and promptly bumped into him. Nebula tried to keep her balance, but inevitably dropped to the ground with a small *thud*.

"Oh Jeez, are you alright"??

I feel my face turn bright red as I see the girl on the ground in front of me. I don't know why I didn't notice her, I guess I do have a habit of getting lost in my thoughts. Before she can reply, I immediately burst out

"I'm REALLY sorry! I swear, I didn't mean to knock you down!"

Ahh jeez, I feel so bad. I'm sure not much time has gone by since I knocked her down, maybe a few seconds, but it feels like it's been forever. I guess I should help her up. As I bend slightly over to extend my hand to her, I feel a small gust of wind and lose balance myself!

To make sure I don't fall on top of the girl, I've gotta at least fall backwards! I pivot my back foot to the side and break my fall right beside her, avoiding injuries but probably looking like a complete clutz..

"Well... my name's Chris. Nice to meet you.." I say awkwardly sitting on the ground beside her

Nebula rubbed her head in slight pain and picked up her sketchbook from the ground beside her. Before she could apologize, however, the stranger apologized in her stead. "Why, exactly?" She though. She was the one who bumped into him, so... "I-I'm alright. N-No, I'm sorry, I sh-should've been m-minding where I w-was going." She counter-apologized, clutching her sketchbook close to her chest. She extended her hand to accept the stranger's attempt to lift her off the ground, but watched in mild surprise as he stumbled himself and fell to the ground beside her. The non-sequituur-ity of his introduction following his fall was... funny, to say the least. Nebula held her hand to her mouth so as to hide how it scrunched when she laughed (Or rather, blew air out of her nose repeatedly). She stood up herself, looked down at Chris with her resting face of deep sadness, and offered her hand to help him up. "...N-Nebula." she introduced herself in between her involuntary stuttering.

as I accept her help up, I notice a rather concerned, heavy look on her face.

"Nice to meet you, Nebula. Are you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost."

As I fix my posture and stretch my triceps, I feel a strange sense of warmth in her cold, sad appearance. I can relate to it. It's kind of dangerous for a young woman to be walking around at night alone. Maybe I should offer to walk with her? She was pretty clearly trying her hardest not to laugh at me though.. maybe I should just get out of here before I embarrass myself any more. As I stand in front of her, I notice I can't help but cross my arms and slightly flex. For whatever reason, I feel like I need to stay with her and get to know her. I can't stop staring at her.

"H-Huh?" Nebula was confused. Was he referring to her resting face? She was well aware that whenever she wasn't expressing any kind of emotion, her face usually defaulted to... well, sad. It used to default to happy serene, but then life happened. "Y-Yeah, I'm f-fine. Y-You wouldn't be the first person t-to bring up what's w-wrong with my resting expression." She wasn't fine, she was never truly fine, but Chris had no particular reason to know that, now did he? He seemed really nice and all, but Nebula didn't slip by unaware of the very slightly offputing stare this man was engaged in. Nebula instinctively held her hand up to her face "U-Umm... d-do I have something o-on my face...?"

"Oh... no, theres nothing, sorry". Gah, I'm being an idiot. Still, I should really ask if she needs somebody to walk home with her. It's just the right thing to do, regardless of how strangely alluring she may be. "So uhh.. what are you doing out so late? It's kind of dangerous to be out this late, you know."

I stand there looking awkward, trying hard not to stare, realizing I said that all a little bit too quickly. It was probably hard to even understand. I take a deep breath and start thinking about how its not a big deal.

"U-Ummm..." Would it really be wise to tell Chris that she was on her way to becoming a cadet? They were national heroes and respected by everyone, yes, but she doubted whether it was a good idea to go around flaunting your status like a new hairstyle. Besides, she knew that she was most likely going to be unprepared for his - or anybody else's- reaction. Despite all of this, she was asked a question, and she didn't have it in herself to lie, so... "I-I was on my way t-to Seven Stars ac-cademy. M-My application to the c-cadets got accepted, and m-my initiation is sc-cheduled for tonight." The speed at which they'd responded to her application was astonishing, really. With all the background checks and all that stuff that they had to have gotten done prior to accepting her, two hours was quite a feat.

Man, this must be fate! I've been thinking about joining the cadets so that I can get to the bottom of all this, myself. LUCKY! if I get into the cadets, I'll already have an acquaintance! I try, but fail to hide an excited smile on my face as I briefly imagine a more positive future joining the cadets

"Congratulations! I'm actually in the process of trying to join the cadets myself! You must be so excited! What made you decide to join the cadets, if you don't mind me asking??

As I congratulate her, I feel my face light up as I extend my hand for another handshake. It also makes me feel a bit nervous though. All of a sudden, I care a lot more about what she thinks of me. Oh well, she seems friendly enough!

What had made her decide to join the cadets? "...I-It's... personal..." Whatever this man told her, and whatever heigh her levels of impoliteness might have reached should she have refused to speak, Nebula was not going to tell somebody she was just beginning to befriend her reason for desiring redemption. The very thought of a complete nameless stranger being disgusted by her was torturous enough, but losing potential friendships or already existing friends to her past was an entirely, absolutely, completely and totally soul-crushing thought for the shy young artist. "...B-But I can t-tell you that I a-am pretty excited, I supp-pose..."