Home – Just After the Departure
The door clicked shut behind Olivia as she stepped into the stillness of her home. The silence settled around her like a weight—dense, unmoving. Her bag slipped from her shoulder with a soft thud, but she barely noticed. Her arms felt heavier than they should. Her chest... tighter than she wanted to admit.
She'd managed to hold it together at the spaceport—barely. She smiled through the ache. Waved as Mason boarded the transport, disappearing behind cold, metal doors. She'd even stayed to watch the ship burn skyward, a streak of fire against the morning until it vanished.
But now?
Now, the emptiness hit.
She wandered into the kitchen without purpose—just movement, just inertia. She poured a glass of water and stared through it like the refraction might shift reality somehow.
Gone. Just like that.
She hadn't cried. Not yet. But the pressure was there—behind her eyes, tightening her throat. She set the glass down before her hands started to shake.
Across the room, her tablet blinked to life on the end table, casting pale light across the dim living room.
She ignored it at first.
Then blinked.
The screen flashed again:
[Admissions Division – CMSC Academy]
Subject: Updated Status – Olivia Compostal
Her heart skipped. No. That had to be a mistake. Some kind of cruel error.
Hands trembling, she crossed the room and tapped the screen. The message opened instantly.
Dear Ms. Compostal,
Due to a recent vacancy caused by a candidate withdrawal, we are pleased to inform you that your application to the Corven Military Space Corp Academy has been reconsidered and accepted.
Your rapid background clearance, academic record, and submitted intent to attend have met provisional standards. A shuttle ticket has been auto-generated and uploaded to your ID account.
Departure from Skrylimpo-7 scheduled in 48 hours.
Please confirm receipt within the next 12 hours to secure your position.
Welcome to the CMSC.
She didn't breathe.
Her knees hit the couch before she even realized she was sitting. One hand pressed over her mouth. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
She read it again. Then again. Each pass revealing new meaning, new possibilities.
She was in.
She could go.
She could find Mason.
The tears broke—finally—not from grief, but from the flood behind the dam. She laughed through them, a choked, trembling sound. Half shock. Half disbelief. All release.
"I'm going to Corven," she whispered, voice unsteady. "I'm really going."
She stood abruptly and paced, adrenaline flooding her limbs. Her thoughts crashed in sparks. What would she pack? Would Mason already know? Could she surprise him? Would they be in the same division?
She didn't care.
She was going—chasing a future she thought had already left without her.
The Next Morning
Olivia hadn't slept.
The academy message burned in her mind like a dream she couldn't wake from. Morning light crept across her room, landing on her half-zipped bag. Clothes covered the bed. A datapad blinked gently on her pillow.
She was leaving. For real.
Forty-two hours.
Downstairs, the scent of coffee and breakfast broke the fog. Her parents stood in the kitchen—her mom humming as she flipped something in a pan, her dad buried in a news brief. For a moment, Olivia just watched them. They looked so... normal.
So unaware that everything had just changed.
"Morning," she said, trying for casual, though her voice gave her away.
Her mom looked up. "Morning, sweetheart. Hungry?"
"Yeah. But, um..." She shifted on her feet. "I have news."
Her dad lowered his screen. Both of them focused on her.
"I got in," Olivia said, breathless. "The CMSC Academy. Someone dropped. They offered me the spot. I leave in two days."
A beat of silence.
Her mom blinked. "What?"
Her dad sat forward. "You got into the academy?"
She nodded. "I'm going to Corven."
Her mom stepped around the counter, arms stiff like she didn't know whether to hug or hold herself. "But the deadline—?"
"I know. It passed. But they reopened it last night. I got the message—I checked it a dozen times."
Her dad rubbed his jaw. "That's incredible. Just... fast. You sure?"
"I have to go," she said, steady now. "You know what this means. And Mason's already there. He left yesterday."
Her mom finally pulled her into a hug. Tight. Trembling. "I didn't think it would happen so fast," she whispered. "We're proud of you. Just... stay in touch."
"I will," Olivia murmured into her shoulder. "Every chance I get."
Later – Her Bedroom
She sat at her desk with her tablet open, staring at the half-typed message:
You're never going to believe this but—
Her fingers hovered.
She hesitated.
Then, slowly, she smiled—soft and secret.
No. She wanted to see his face. Wanted that moment—real and unfiltered. A surprise.
She saved the message to drafts.
And closed the screen.
Outside, daylight gleamed faintly off distant stars. Somewhere out there, Mason was already in motion.
"I'm coming too," she whispered.
The Day Before Departure
Her room was chaos—but the organized kind. Folded clothes, sorted gear, blinking datapads with CMSC onboarding checklists.
Olivia sat cross-legged, flipping through her itinerary:
Corven Academy of the Corvenian Military Space Corp – Accepted.
Departure Shuttle: Gate 7, Solivipad Spaceport. Boarding: 0800 local time.
Status: Confirmed.
She tapped the confirmation and exhaled. The weight settled in. No more planning.
It was real now.
A knock came.
"Come in," she said, already knowing the rhythm.
Her mom entered with two mugs of lavender tea. Her dad followed, settling into the desk chair backward.
"We've got to ask you something," he said, casually.
Olivia raised a brow. "Okay..."
Her mom smiled. "It's about Mason."
She almost choked. "W-What?"
Her dad raised his hands. "Don't pretend. You know exactly what."
"I don't," she lied poorly.
Her mom gave her the look. "You two have been inseparable. You text constantly. When he left, I thought you'd follow him right out the door."
"I just—he's my best friend."
Her dad grinned. "Right. And that's why you haven't told him you're coming. You want to see the look on his face."
Olivia's lips twitched. "I just want to surprise him."
Her mom softened. "Sweetheart, we're not teasing. We just want you to be honest with yourself. Because everything about how you look at him says something else."
Olivia stared at her mug. "It's not like he feels the same. And even if he did... it's not the time."
"Maybe not," her dad said gently. "But hearts don't wait for perfect timing. And Mason?" He made a face. "That boy probably doesn't even realize he's halfway in love with you already."
"Mom!"
Her mother just laughed. "When you know, you know."
Olivia didn't answer. Just stared into her tea as the steam curled across her cheek.
She did know.
But Mason was still healing. Chasing ghosts. Trying to rebuild what he'd lost. And Olivia? She just wanted to be there.
"I just want to be someone he can count on," she said quietly. "Like always."
Her dad smiled, proud. "You already are."
Solivipad Spaceport – Departure Day
Morning mist curled across the synthetic pavement as Olivia stepped from the transport. Solivipad Spaceport loomed before her—a glass and alloy monolith humming with energy. Ships rose and fell like arrows fired from a quiver.
She paused, clutching the handle of her suitcase. Her duffel hung over one shoulder. The sun gleamed off her copper-red hair.
Her parents stood beside her—quiet now. Everything had already been said.
"You're sure you don't want to message him?" her mom asked, gently.
"No," Olivia said. "I want to see his face."
Her dad chuckled. "Poor guy won't know what hit him."
The doors whispered open. Olivia turned to them one last time.
"Guess this is it."
They didn't make it harder than it had to be. One last hug. One final smile.
"Go show them what a Compostal is made of," her dad said.
Then the doors shut behind her.
En Route to Corven
The academy vessel was quiet. Almost too quiet.
Olivia sat by the viewport, hands folded, watching as Skrylimpo-4 shrank behind her. Stars stretched ahead—brilliant, distant, indifferent.
Around her, cadets murmured and laughed. Some already wore pristine uniforms. Others looked just as stunned as she felt.
She said nothing.
She hadn't imagined herself here. Not really. Structure, uniforms, rules—that wasn't her.
But Mason had imagined it. Had dreamed of it. Had chased it.
And somehow... she'd followed.
Because when he left, something inside her shifted. The gravity that held her steady collapsed.
Now she was here.
Not for glory. Not for pride.
For him.
He might never know that. She might never say it aloud.
But it didn't matter.
Where Mason went, she would follow—even if it meant marching into a world she didn't yet believe in. Even if the uniform didn't quite fit. She'd make it fit.
Because the only thing she feared more than falling behind...
...was living a life without him in it.