Rising Shards

Having more determination and less social anxiety than I did, Lillia was able to corner Kalei and finally ask her to talk as soon as we got back from the school trip. My stomach felt all queasy, this was immediately more tense than I wanted it to be.

"I'm...really beat, I had beam chasers this morning, and..." Kalei said, scratching her head. This was pretty on brand for our last few attempts to find out what was going on. Usually I gave up and just let it go, but this time Lillia didn't budge.

"It's important," Her voice was both stern and kind, an impressive feat in my opinion.

Kalei looked at Marmalade, who nodded. I had a thought that they were going to tell us they were dating now or something, but that didn't really line up with all the weirdness surrounding her. Then as we tried to find a place to talk, Marmalade herself left, so the chances of them announcing they were dating faded away. So what was Kalei gonna say, then? We stopped at a picnic table, and we all sat down.

"I know I've asked before, and I know you said nothing's going on, but clearly there is," Lillia said. "Anastasia told us that something really is going on with you, and that it's your business to tell us."

"With whatever is going on with these imps, we're worried about you," Oka said. "We've figured it's something with you, Aira, Syval, and Marmalade."

"We won't be mad if it's like a polycule and there's a guy in it," I said, half-joking to try and lighten the mood.

"Mostly not mad about that," Oka said.

"No, not mad, it's fine if that's what it is," Lillia said. "We know that Caeda and Chickadee are plotting something as well, but I'm not sure you're involved in that."

"Definitely not," Kalei answered easily. "I have nothing to do with whatever the hell Chickadee is doing."

"And if you hate us now, you can just tell us," I said.

Kalei made a small noise, one sadder than I'd ever heard from her, like the idea of her hating us stung. 

"I don't hate you," Kalei said, voice soft and vulnerable. "I could never hate you three."

"That's...oh," I said.

"Huh?" Kalei said, noticing after we all did that a tear streaked down her cheek. "Oh..."

Lillia was next to Kalei, and put a supportive hand on her back. "You can tell us anything, we're here for you."

"I..." Kalei said.

This was starting to get really concerning. I tried to not freak out, but my instincts were telling me I needed to just run away. But I had to be there for Kalei, no matter what was going on with her.

"I...I'm OK," Kalei said. "I'm OK, and Marms and Aira and Syval and I are OK. And it's not a polycule, like, obviously it'd be fine if it was, but it's not. We're just...busy with something. Something I can't explain right now, because it's complicated and it's stressful and I don't want you three involved. But we're OK, and I'll be OK, and I could never ever hate you three. Got that?"

"This...sounds scary," I said. That made sense with everything going on, but like...what? What was she even saying?

"It's not, don't worry," Kalei said. "It's complicated. It's just complicated. I'll tell you, I promise. But..."

Kalei went quiet for a while, scowling. We all just let her build up to what she wanted to say.

"I'm not ready to tell you," Kalei said. "Not yet. I'll tell you...after the prom. Is that alright? Just wait until after then and I'll have it all taken care of. So don't worry."

Lillia, Oka, and I exchanged looks. What could we do here? Press her for more info until she finally told us? At least she finally admitted something was going on, but would pressing her further really help?

"And if things do get bad, I'll drop everything and come tell you," Kalei said. "But I'm fine, and things are fine. I know this sucks, and I know I probably sound like I'm telling you the most terrifying vague story here, but it's not that big, it's just complicated. Please just...all I ask is that you keep it between us for right now. I promise I'll explain everything, and that it'll all be OK."

Another long, agonizing pause followed. My hands were anxiously clamped together. I still wanted to move, but my body was stiff, like I was freezing in place to avoid a predator. I figured Lillia would go full scorched earth trying to get this info, but she just patted Kalei's back again.

"If you're not ready, you're not ready," Lillia said. "I'll hold you to your promise, and we won't tell anyone."

"Are you sure?" Oka said.

"I'm sure," Lillia said.

Oka and I nodded to each other. "Then we're sure, too."

"Just know we always have your back," Lillia said.

"Always," I said.

Oka and I got up, hugging Kalei, hoping we could convey through a hug what I was struggling to with words. Lillia joined in as well, then Kalei walked away, shoulders slouched, like a heavy burden was still on her. We were all quiet as we watched her leave.

"So what are we thinking?" Oka said. "I personally think her getting mad at us about secret keeping forever ago, then keeping one herself is total bunk."

"I guess...but...this is scary," I said.

"That too," Oka sighed. "What do we do, Lillia?"

Lillia hadn't taken her eyes off of Kalei.

"Just what we said we'd do," she said. "She'll tell us after prom, we just have to trust her."

We supposed that was the best we could do. Exhausted after this long, bizarre day, we all went back to our rooms, needing to just lie down for a while.

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