Aphmau's POV

     I shifted in bed. Why can't this be a dream? I am scared. I sat up and looked around. The sun hasn't even risen yet. I sighed and got up. I walked down out of the area we were all staying in Phoenix Drop. This is stressful. I walked around Phoenix Drop aimlessly when I saw Aaron. He looked at me and walked towards me.

     "Why are you awake?" He asked.

     "I could ask you the same thing," I said.

     "True. I wake up before the sun some days. What's your reasoning?" He asked with a sigh.

     "I couldn't fall asleep," I looked down at the ground.

     "Oh? Any reason?" He asked. 

     "Just... I'm stressed with the whole O'Khasis being invaded. And some... other things," I shook my head. 

     "Is it the same thing you didn't want to talk to about a week ago?" He said after a second. I nodded.

     "Yeah, it's about Laurence. He's being jealous of y- someone..." I sighed.

     "Ah, I see," He nodded. 

     "What do you normally do when you wake up in the morning this early?" I laughed.

     "I... I just think about things. It isn't always the best idea," He sighed.

     "Oh. If I do that I'm gonna go insane," I smiled.

     "Yeah, sometimes I feel that way," He shook his head.

     "I see," I nodded.

     "You know, I said I would help you with wielding your sword. If you don't have anything to do we can do it now," He offered.

     "Ooh, ok," I smiled. The two of us walked back to where he would often spend most of his time. We both pulled out our swords. 

     "I won't go easy on you," He smirked. I nodded. I took a deep breath and we both took our stances. We sparred a bit when he was able to knock me to the ground. "Come on. I know you're better than that." He reached his hand out to me. I sighed and he helped me up. We continued sparring.

     "W-Woah," I lost my balance and fell into his arms. We both blushed.

     "A-Are you ok?" He asked. I blushed and nodded. He let go of me and I looked down shyly. "L-Let's continue sparring," He said. I nodded and we kept going. 

     "Why can't I beat you?" I groaned after we had sparred for about half an hour.

     "I said I wasn't going easy on you," He smirked. I sighed. 

     Aaron's POV

     I continued clashing swords with Aphmau. She was out of breath and I couldn't help but chuckle.

     "What?" She asked.

     "You shouldn't be panting already," I chuckled.

     "Are you making fun of me?" She laughed.

     "Yes, I am," I said.

     "Oh, I'm gonna beat you now," She giggled. I smirked and she charged at me. I blocked it and we kept going. I have to admit. She is very skilled with a sword. But, I would say I'm a bit more skilled. As we were sparring I pinned her to a tree. My face was close to hers.

     "What did you say earlier?" I asked. She rolled her eyes. I looked down at her adorable small face. Her caramel eyes shone in the early morning light. We both stood silently looking at each other's faces. As she looked up at me she suddenly blushed. 

     Aphmau's POV

     I blushed and admired his face from this close. He had a sharp jawline and just a well shaped face in general. His stunning midnight eyes stood out to me. He also had a cute smile. I wanted to run my fingers through his dark hair. Suddenly he backed up.

     "Come on. You can do this. Try again," He smiled. "Hold on." I sighed and nodded. He slid his jacket off and I couldn't help but stare at his muscular arms. He just had a chiseled body in general. I bit my lip as I looked at him. His abs looked moist with sweat. He looked good. He threw his jacket off to the side. I saw him blush as he noticed me checking him out. After a second of looking at each other. Then we resumed our sparring. After a little bit I was able to knock him to the ground and had my sword pointing down to his throat. 

     "Well, this gives me flashbacks," I laughed.

     "This is a little intimidating even in the daylight. And with you being a cute younger girl," He chuckled. I blushed a bit. 

     "I feel much more dominant when I'm the one holding the sword to your throat," I smiled. He sat up and I reached my hand out to him. He stood up and sighed.

     "The sun's already up. We should get back to the village," He said walking over to grab his jacket. I let a small sigh escape my lips as he slipped it back on. He looked at me and we both turned red. I put my sword away and looked away from him. We walked towards the village. We walked in the village laughing and talking. When we got there I saw Laurence with his arms crossed looking at us. Aaron noticed and glanced over at me. 

     "What's wrong with him?" He asked.

     "You know how I said he's jealous of someone?" I asked.

     "Yeah," Aaron said.

     "H-He's jealous of you," I sighed.

     "Me? Why?" He asked. 

     "Apparently when I came up to you to make sure you were alright in the forest I was too friendly. And he didn't like me being close to you," I sighed.

     "O-Oh," He said, "You better go talk to him." 

     "Alright, I'll talk to you later," I smiled. He nodded and I walked towards Laurence.

     "Hey, Aphmau... You were gone this morning... With Aaron I see," He said. I sighed.

     "Yes, Aaron and I were sparring. Do you have a problem with that?" I asked.

     "Yes. I don't like you being close with him. You know that. But I also don't like you and him alone. He's a lot stronger than you and could easily overpower you to get his way, if you know what I mean," Laurence said.

     "Aaron would never do that. That's disgusting that you would think that of him," I crossed my arms. 

     "I'm just saying it can always happen. Even with people you trust," It was almost creepy the way he said it. I shivered. 

     "O-Ok. I'm going to go... Do stuff," I slowly said. He smirked and I left. I immediately walked to Aaron who hadn't gone far since I walked away from him. 

     "You look... Uncomfortable," Aaron chuckled.

     "Y-Yeah," I said. 

     "What's wrong?" He asked.

     "Laurence is wrong," I sighed.

     "Oh?" Aaron questioned.

     "Yeah, he just... Said something to me. It's nothing," I sighed.

     "It seems like something," Aaron said.

     "It's really nothing," I said.

     "You sure?" He asked. I just nodded. We went on with our day.