After spending 2 more days in the medshack I was released and instantly got called into a meeting tonight, where my actions would be discussed.

For now, I was stuck with Noa for the rest of the day. Watching him build stuff as I sat on the ground.

A piece of wood gets thrown in front of me.

'Sand this for me.' 'Please,' I add.
'Sand this for me oh beautiful lady,' Flock adds dramatically.
'Fine.' 'Don't bully her.'
'It's fine,' I mumble.

Before I knew it, the boy placed himself down next to me.

'Are you alright?' 'No.'

I take the piece of wood and aggressively move the sandpaper up and down the piece as Noa places his hands over mine stopping me.

'What's on your mind? Are you afraid of tonight?' 'Nah I'll be fine they're just going to discuss whatever punishment I get from running into the woods. Of course, I'm scared!' I scoff.

'Do you want to take a walk and I'll walk you through what will happen so you can prepare?' 'Don't you have to work?' I ask.

I hear a laugh coming from one of the guys.

'Don't worry Grace, he's ditched us so much that we're not even surprised anymore when he just doesn't show up. We'll be alright.'
'See they love me,' Noa states as he stands up.

I hold out my hand as he takes it helping me stand up and giving me a few minutes to regain strength before we start walking off.

He takes me to a pier by a lake where we sit down again.

'So, the trial starts by the court sitting down in half a circle with you on the opposite side, so everyone can see you,' he starts.
'And who is "the court"?' I ask.
'Oh right uh, Ace, me, Rasat, Echo, Odin and Tiros. So, you should be fine, only Ace and Tiros don't like you. I'll make sure you'll get the lowest possible consequence.'

'No,' I start, 'No you're going to show what great of a leader you can be by not going easy on me.' 'But..' 'No, you need to regain Ace's trust, definitely before we suggest the.. thing for the program,' I explain.

He nods as he continues explaining what will happen.

'They'll ask you to name your offences and you must be honest here.'
'So I say I ran into the woods?' I ask. 'Don't forget the stealing, in theory, you stole those knives.'

I hum waiting for the next step.

'We'll then discuss what consequences you should face and you're not allowed to say a word until you're asked to explain your actions. It'll end in a last discussion and a conclusion,' he explains quickly.

I pick at my lips as I think about his words.

'What should I expect?' I ask. 'What?' 'As punishment,' I add.
'Oh right uh, since you're still recovering probably a few days in the box on nothing but bread and water.'

'Without my beautiful roommate?' I joke.
'That sounds so hard for you to deal with,' he jokes back.
'I think I might die without a snoring background noise!'

He gives me a soft push on my shoulder. 'Stop saying I snore.'
I playfully push him back.
'You do snore though.'

I bite down on my cheek as he places his knees down at the sides of my tights and towers over me. I look up at the grinning boy and take my chance to attack his stomach with quick tickles, but he doesn't budge at all.

'Oh, come on.'

He laughs as he lays down his hands on my cheeks looking right into my eyes.

'Has anyone ever told you how absolutely beautiful your eyes are?' He asks.
'Can't remember, memory issues.'

He presses down a quick kiss on my forehead before releasing me from his grasp. He still has his knees next to my legs.

'You're all red Grace.' 'Shut up.'

It was true though, every time Noa touched me my cheeks would burn up and most of the time he would call me out for it.

'Are you sure you don't want me to defend you to death during the trial?' 'It's for the best, I won't blame you,' I reassure him.
'I apologise in advance.'

I chuckle as I pull the boy into an embrace. Maybe we were moving too fast and maybe I forgave him too fast, but in a place like this you needed to be greedy and all I want is someone to care for and feel safe with. And Noa's arms are safe.

'Now what would your consequence be for me if you could decide all on your own?' 'Hmm.. I would probably ask the beautiful lady for a kiss,' he says.

I place my hand down on the back of his neck as I push his head closer to mine.

'I say you're the leader for this minute,' I joke.

He leans in closer as I close my eyes waiting for his lips to collapse with mine.

Butterflies fill my stomach as my lips follow his movements. This was only the second kiss we shared as we mostly cuddled up at night.

A soft smile is plastered on my face as we pull away. This time we didn't get interrupted by the medboys.

'I think I would cause a lot of mayhem if you're actually in the lead,' I state as he laughs.