“How’s your morning been?” Trista said casually, leaning over and fetching a plate full of the most appealing foods. She presented the plate to Anthem, his eyes popping once he got a better look at it. Savior, her cooking gets me everytime.
“It’s been okay.” Anthem grinned, and grabbed the plate, already feeling his mouth water. That rice looks so well seasoned, and that chicken looks so... so saucy!
“You look at my food like you look at Jesse, for republic’s sake.” Trista rolled her eyes and gave him a funny look. She turned around, walking off towards somewhere, probably the balcony. Trista tossed her hands up and let out a sigh. “I’ll never understand that about you.” She motioned for Anthem to follow her. “Men.” She grumbled under her breath.
Anthem followed behind her, sharply inhaling the divine smell of the dish. It smelled of foreign spices, and rich meat. And apparently, Trista said it smelled like home. If her home smelled, and tasted like that, he’d want to live there too.
“I also made Grater Cake for later.” She said, making Anthem’s stomach grumble. He felt spoiled because of this, but oh well. Even though she would never admit it, even if spilling her secret would save her life, she enjoyed spoiling Anthem.
Anthem mumbled a thank you, and followed her up the staircase, leading to her large balcony.
“I made extra, knowing you’d share them with Jesse.”
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“So, what’s on your mind?” Trista asked, leaning back into her pristine chair and crossing her legs. There was something about meeting with Trista that felt like meeting with a psychologist, if the psychologist was more irritable, and snarky. Maybe it was because she always discussed his thoughts with him, and gave him advice, that he sometimes followed. Sasha pursed her thick lips together, pretending to think about it, as if she didn’t know his mind like the back of her hand. “Let me guess, work, Jesse, the usual.”
Anthem nodded, his mouth full of savory chicken. He’d speak, but he was busy chewing on edible heaven. The meat exploded with the tangiest sauces on his tongue, and it tasted like euphoria.
“Thought so.” She sighed, folding her hands over her stomach. She shook her head, the dark curls jiggling with it. “It’s always him.” There was a tone of mock-disgust in her voice, clearly showing she was sick of his constant yearning. They were too old for silly romances and crushes. “Jesse, Jesse, Jesse.” She pressed her hands to her chest, and looked up with hazy eyes, clearly mocking Anthem. She let out a lovesick sigh, making him scoff. He rolled his eyes, she did that often. Apparently, his admiration of one of his best friends was funny. “Is there anything else interesting that’s bothering you? I want to hear something that’s not you ridiculously swooning over your friend.”
Anthem shrugged. He swallowed the food, and put the fork back on the plate, ignoring the half-eaten meal for a second. Well, there was something else. Ever since Sasha told him about those threats, he’s been interested in that.
“Lucky for you, there is something vaguely interesting.” Anthem said, and Trista mouthed a “finally,", making him chuckle. “Last night you told me about the Caribbean getting attacks from some country called Dystopa?” Trista nodded, her lips curved into a frown. “I don’t know, that’s been bothering me.”
Trista ran a hand through a dark, curly strand of hair. She shifted a little, showing discomfort. Whenever someone mentioned the attacks, she felt a sinking pain deep in her stomach, and something in her instinct told her that this issue would grow into a larger problem. She knew she sounded crazy, but war sometimes came to her mind when she thought of it.
“Me too.” She said, her tone growing more serious. She folded her hands in her lap, and glanced around, showing an air of nervousness. Sure, Trista could be concerned over things, but she was never nervous. “I don’t know, but I’m scared that these attacks will actually come to the Union.” Anthem nodded, before shoveling a bunch of delicious fried rice in his mouth. He looked past the glass railing of the balcony, and down at the shimmering, long pool below them. “You may think I’m overthinking it, but when I think about this problem, an incoming war comes to mind.” She shook her head again, trying to get the morbid idea out of her mind. The idea of war was enough to make her go crazy. Sure, she was born after the Great Destruction, but another war? There was too much to lose, especially with the weakened republic.
Anthem thought in a similar way too, he feared that these attacks would become a true threat to the Union, and that they may be forced to fight in another war. But, unlike her, that was the least of his worries. There was a little chance that this would grow into war, so why should he worry? He had too many problems to deal with already, like Jesse, for example, or the secret he’s been keeping from everyone except Trista.
“I guess so.” Anthem replied, his words hard to understand, because he was speaking with his mouth full. “I don’t really think about war, the chances are slim, but it’s pretty sickening.”
When Trista looked into Anthem’s dazzling forest eyes, her heart shattered like thin glass. This was the reason she was so worried about the possible war, if it got ugly enough, it could destroy Anthem. If the Union declared war, when the time arose, since their base was located right on the border of the country, they would be on the front lines. And, a young man like Anthem would be the perfect candidate for the battlefield. Just, he was too young - they were too young - for war. Hopefully, it’d never happen. But who was she kidding? It would happen. Maybe, she should make like Anthem and just pretend it's not a big deal.
“Yeah, let’s change the subject. I hate to admit it, but this is actually pretty boring.” Trista lied, and Anthem nodded in agreement. Discussing this was almost too painful. The darkness of her mind kept on telling her war, war, war, and it was driving her off the brink of sanity. “What else has been troubling you?”
Trista mentally dismissed the subject entirely, not wanting to think about it for a long time. The idea of a possible upcoming battle was nauseating. She wanted to lay it off until it truly became a problem.
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“Last night, at Patriot’s, I noticed a lot of romantic tension between you both.” Trista said, her foot tapping on the stark white floor of the balcony. She looked out, the early afternoon sun giving her dark eyes a just tint of gold. “I mean, it’s annoying, the two of you. Savior, every single time I see you blush, or see you stare at Jesse with those ridiculous eyes, I get closer to just losing it, or vomiting. I swear to faith, the both of you make me sick. I’m confused on whether I want to kill the both of you, or lock two of you in a room until things are sorted out.” Talking about Anthem’s naivety, and about his emotional stupidity, was irritating, of course it was, but it was better than talking about what could become war. Anyway, that was what Anthem was used to talking about with her; Trista yelling at him about how he should just confess, and him coming up with some ridiculous excuse about why he shouldn’t, it was always the same.
Anthem rarely talked about Jesse, unless if Trista brought it up, and she was almost always complaining about them. He knew she was just bringing up the subject she supposedly despised, just to keep her focus away from the Caribbean’s dilemma. It was hurting her and she was already irritable enough, so he didn’t want to take it any further. Plus, if there was something dangerous going on his home country, he wouldn’t want to talk about it either, knowing he was too far from home to help.
“What do you mean, more tension?” Anthem said, putting his almost completed plate on the small, clear table in between them. “There’s never any tension. Yeah, I caught myself blushing a few times, but that’s it. If there’s any tension, it’s all coming from me.”
Trista laughed, and looked at Anthem, as if she knew something he didn’t, and she definitely did. He’s such a slowbrain! That, or he must be blind. Trista wanted to blurt it out sometimes, scream it in his ear until it bled, or yell the truth in the base’s speaker system for all to hear, that Jesse returned his feelings. Couldn’t he see it? Seriously. This wasn’t just Anthem she was dealing with, it was the same with Jesse. They both whined to her about how their little crush doesn’t like them back, like two twelve year old girls. But, she held each other’s truths over their stupid heads, hoping, praying, that they’d find out themselves. Plus, she had more important things, like her homeland, that’s being attacked, to deal with, and a country to serve.
“Is that so?” She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Well then, I must’ve been seeing, or feeling double. Who knows, I was half-awake the whole damn time.” She waved away at an invisible object, as if saying “oh, nevermind,”, and Anthem raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant. Does that mean Jesse returns my feelings for him? He wondered, hoping she was right. Part of him argued that he was just being silly, and that there was a slim chance of that happening. “Anyway, that’s none of my business. But, it makes me wonder, why are you so scared of telling him how you feel? There’s a chance he feels the same way, you know. Well, who knows, Jesse may not be attracted to idiots.”
Anthem shrugged, unsure of how to answer her question. Whenever she asked him it, he never knew what to say. He wasn’t sure, there were so many things he was worried about. Sure, he was definitely ready for a relationship, and wasn’t afraid, but there was always something. The main reason he held back was because of that reason, and was afraid that Jesse would take advantage of him if he knew, and like him solely because of that. Anthem didn’t like to talk about his experiences, but he met a few men that were shallow. Also, he was pretty sure Jesse was interested in some other girl, or even a guy, in his squadron instead of him.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Trista grumbled, glaring at him. It was no use, talking about love, with that damn idea of war still on her mind. They were polar opposites. She tried harder to focus on something else, like the current conversation topic. “You need to put that part behind you. You accepted it long ago, right? I mean, how old were you? 10?” She threw her hands in the air. “Well, then Jesse will most definitely accept it too. I’ve told you this billions of times, but you’ve got to man up and tell him. You’re a grown man, you are a soldier!” She raised her voice, and pointed a stern finger at Anthem, scolding him. “I am a Lieutenant Colonel, and here I am, giving relationship advice to my comrade!”
Anthem nodded and licked his lips. Maybe Jesse would accept that part of him. Jesse was a kind man, so he would definitely accept him. Why was he thinking about this?
Trista was right, Anthem was being immature. In fact, he was being really childish. He just needed to strap on his bravery and tell him, just, he’s been too afraid of nothing to tell him for years. Anthem knew that sounded cliche, but it was true. He was fretting over nothing.
“Trista, you’re right.” Anthem said, looking down at his lap. “You’ve been telling me the same advice for-like seven years, if not, more, but I’ve been too scared to listen. I need to grow up.” He felt his stomach sink when he admitted his stupidity. He felt guilty for some reason, like a suspect admitting they did the murder. Maybe he felt guilty for being a total idiot. “You know what, I know what to do now. Why don’t we talk about something more interesting than this stressing topic?”
“Why not? Despite what others say, talking about boys gets boring after a while.”
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Now that Anthem left, she had absolutely nothing to do. All of her Grater Cake was gone, Anthem was so greedy, and she was out of cooking ingredients, so a nice meal wasn’t an option. She could eat her leftovers, but spicy, Caribbean chicken was rather boring to her, since it was something she ate often.
Sighing, she walked into her spacious living room, and collapsed onto her milky couch. She needed a nice glass of a Hybridia Cocktail, she was stressed. But when she drank, her mind would race with all sorts of thoughts, and she couldn’t afford that.
Spending time with her best friend was relaxing, but Anthem was Anthem, and even though he was pretty, sweet, and one of the greatest guys she’s ever met, he could get on her nerves in a matter of seconds. Plus, she felt more like his mother than his friend, or maybe an over protective aunt. He probably thought of her like he did of his Aunt, Eliyah, another supporting, loving mother figure. Still, she wished he stayed longer, because now it was just her and her thoughts, and she did not want to deal with them right now. There was already enough negativity in her life, and her home suffering, and the slim chance of her country being forced to fight another war was crippling.
Maybe, she could watch a holovid, or rent a holofilm. Well, there was that new holovid she could watch, Intergalactic Destiny. But at the same time, fiction wouldn’t divert her buzzing mind.
The only good way to wipe her memory clean for a few hours, that didn’t involve getting inebriated, was to take a nap.
So, that’s just what she did.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvd45N5kQVY
