𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙄𝙑𝙀
—𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵—

BEXLEY COULDN'T STAND her classes that day. Poe walked her to and from all three of them, but Bexley didn't seem to pay attention to anything he was saying to her. It was as if she had gone deaf; when in fact, she had only tried to tune out her stress and the noise surrounding her.

And by the time lunch rolled around, Poe wasn't sure if he should take her to her room and bring lunch to her, or if he should urge her to join the other recruits. But Bexley had made the decision for him, and silently led him to the cafeteria.

"What's wrong with you today?" Poe stops her before they enter, grasping her arm lightly so that the girl would turn to face him.

The moment his skin touches hers, Bexley's arm grows warm, and sparks seem to travel through her veins. Poe feels it too, dropping his hand as his expression stays composed. The two shrug it off, keeping focus on the topic at hand.

"Nothing," the blonde insists, her eyes finding his. "Lets go."

"Not until you tell me what's going on," he shakes his head, concern flashing in his eyes, before it disappears. "You can lie all you want, but I know something isn't right."

"Poe, I'm fine, I swear-"

"Please," he cuts her off, hoping that she would open up to him. "Just tell me."

Bexley stares into his eyes, wanting to deny him again. But she couldn't, it didn't seem right to keep shoving her stress away.

"I'm just worried about tomorrow," she sighs, running her fingers through her hair. "You're not going to be here to help me, and it just adds to my stress."

"What did I tell you about stress?" Poe questions. "You don't need to worry about anything. Tomorrow night, when I get back, I'll bring your books down so you can read. And you can do it as many nights as you want this week until you finish your books."

"You'll be exhausted, don't worry about it," she shakes her head, her heart growing warm at his offer to help her every night he could. "I'd rather you get some rest, and we can start the night after."

"I'd rather be exhausted than put you through another night of misery," he states. "Now, you need to stop worrying. Go have some time with your friends, and I'll be back to get you in half an hour, okay?"

Bexley can't help but give into the smile that forces its way onto her lips, nodding at his words. "Okay. Thank you, Poe."

"Anytime," he smiles back at her, his chocolate brown eyes growing soft. "I'll see you later."

---

"There she is," Dawn grins, gesturing to Bexley from their lunch table. "Where were you yesterday?"

"Stressing out over every possible thing," Bexley says honestly, glancing to both Heath and Spencer. "Did you guys have fun without me?"

"Of course not," Heath rolls his eyes. "But I enjoyed our little match. Why didn't you train today?"

"My worrying levels are through the roof at the moment," the girl shakes her head. "I was reading, and Poe came to get me before lunch started."

"So he's okay with you skipping training?" Dawn raises an eyebrow, her eyes finding Bexley's. "The two of you have been spending an awful lot of time together lately."

"He has orders from General Organa to watch out for me," Bexley informs them, picking at the food on her tray. "He makes sure that I'm careful with my decisions. I guess they want me to succeed as much as I do."

"Yeah, but don't you think that would just be checking in on you every now and then?" Dawn presses. "All I'm saying is that you've been really close to him, and vice versa. Even if it's just a mentorship, no one spends that much time together."

"He takes his job pretty seriously," Bexley shrugs, leaning back in her seat. "We had a conversation about it recently, and he hinted that the only reason he was around me was because of orders."

"Or maybe it's a cover up . . . " the other girl trails off, her eyes focused on something in the distance. "Well, anyway . . . how are your classes?"

"Unbearable," the blonde says bluntly. "But I have Spencer in them, so that's a plus."

Bexley shoots the quiet boy a smile, and he returns it. Dawn nods along with Bexley's words, tapping her fingernails against the table.

"I've been working closer to General Organa lately," Dawn tells them. "She's already planning confidential missions, and is going to send me with some others to Takodana sometime this week."

"What's happening in Takodana?" Heath enters the conversation.

"Apparently there have been more bombings lately, and General Organa wants us to investigate the scenes for a source of evidence," she explains. "There are witnesses and survivors, but all they've reported is a ship with the same description."

"The First Order?" Bexley questions. "What would they want with Takodana?"

"Weapons were stolen from them a couple of weeks back, so the general believes they're doing it for vengeance."

"There's no way someone from Takodana could get to their ship, let alone break into it," the blonde shakes her head. "There's too much security. Maybe someone's spreading lies to cover up something bigger."

"Or maybe the First Order just wants to destroy the planet," Heath suggests as Spencer stays silent.

"They'd do it quicker; with a bigger weapon," Spencer states. "It would be cleaner to just take them out all at once."

"But what if they're looking for something that isn't clean?" Heath asks, leaning forward. "As a distraction, so we'll focus on saving the people before it's too late."

"That's a good point," Dawn narrows her eyes at the floor. "Maybe I should tell General Organa about this."

"The quicker, the better," Heath nods. "She needs to have spies on the First Order as soon as possible."

The table goes silent for a moment, all of them lost in thought.

Bexley knew her father was safe; she was in Takodana when the explosion happened. None had taken place near her home, nor were there any in the past two days. She was filled with relief, but worry too. If Heath were right, her father and friends could be in trouble.

Standing from her seat, she bids goodbye to her friends, and sets off to her room. She needed to get her mind off of the conversation, and just so happened to have books still assigned for her to read. Luckily for Bexley, she only had a few pages of the first book to read, before she could start on a new one.

"Bexley!"

The girl hears her name being called from behind her. Bexley turns, her eyes finding Poe's as he moves towards her.

"What are you doing here?" Bexley furrows her eyebrows, staring at him as he reaches her side.

"You were supposed to wait for me," Poe says.

"Oh- I'm sorry," she sighs, running her fingers through her blonde waves. "I guess I just got so distracted, and I completely forgot."

"Distracted by what?"

The two begin walking side-by-side down the hall, keeping a slow pace. "Dawn was just telling us about her mission. We just got caught up in it, and I wasn't thinking when I left early. But I need the extra time for reading anyway."

"How far along are you in your first book?" he asks, not questioning the mention of Dawn's newfound mission.

"I have around four pages," Bexley replies, smiling in the slightest. "So, when are you leaving in the morning?"

"As soon as the sun rises," he replies steadily, his eyes on the short girl. "I should be back before dark, just in time to drop your books off."

"Wouldn't it just be easier to drop them off tonight?"

"You and I both know that you wouldn't sleep if I did," Poe shakes his head with a chuckle that warms Bexley's heart. "You'll just have to wait a bit later. I'm sure you'll make it."

As the two reach Bexley's room, they stop walking, and Bexley turns to face Poe. His brown curls frame his face, the light of the hall shining bright behind him. Bexley tries not to stare, breaking the silence as she speaks.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course," he nods, his eyes not wavering from her.

"Be safe tomorrow," she says softly. "You know that I'd flip out if you weren't here to help me."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you liked my company," Poe says jokingly, a grin forming on his lips. "I'm always safe, there's no need to worry about it."

Without thinking twice, Bexley wraps her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest. She closes her eyes, hoping that he would be okay. There was always a risk.

"You better be careful," she states into his chest. "Or I'll punch you when you get back."

Poe is taken aback at her actions, and stares down at her for a moment at a loss of words. But he then finds himself relaxing at her touch, wrapping his arms around her, too.

They stay there for a long moment, wrapped in one another's embrace. Poe couldn't help but notice that sparks erupted in his veins, and his heart sped up at her touch. Bexley's pulse raced, but she shoved it away as he spoke gently.

"I'll always come back."

_______