PROJECT: CAYRO

Star Zaraki:

August 18, 2025

16:23 EST

Sky-Car 02

15 miles from the Bracton House.

Staring at Cayro, I felt a rush of confusion and frustration. Why was he so upset? Didn’t he understand that this was just how things were for us? I had known about my situation for years; it wasn’t something new or shocking anymore. My so-called father had explained it to me when I was twelve—though "explained" might be too generous a word. It was more like a passing comment between his missions, a reminder that I was something broken he was trying to fix, in between saving the world or whatever it was he actually did. But Cayro... he was acting like this was some fresh wound, and that somehow, I was the one rubbing salt into it.

I leaned back in my seat, letting my gaze drift out the front windshield, though I couldn’t help but watch him out of the corner of my eye as he crumbled. Part of me wanted to comfort him, to say something that might ease his pain. But what could I say? Why would I even want to? I didn’t know him—hell, I wasn’t sure I even liked him. He had no right to be angry at me. If anyone had a right to be upset, it was me. I’d known about this ticking time bomb inside me for years. I didn’t want to die, but I’d accepted it as a possibility long ago. What else could I do? Life is fragile—especially mine.

I turned my focus back to piloting the skycar, trying to push down the unease that was growing in my chest. We were about ten minutes from the Bracton home, and I needed to concentrate. But my thoughts kept circling back to that accidental touch before takeoff. When our skin brushed together, something… strange happened. Memories—or what I think were memories—flashed through my mind. But they were too quick to grasp, just fragments of light and dark, followed by a sharp pain that made me wince. I’d been careful not to let Cayro notice.

For as long as I can remember, there’s been a gap in my mind, a block on any memories before I was eleven. The Captain—who was practically my father in all but name—refused to explain why. Whenever I asked, he’d change the subject or brush it off, leaving me to piece together whatever fragments I could. But touching Cayro had stirred something, and that terrified me. I knew who Cayro was. The Captain and my actual father—my lip curled at the thought of him—had told me about him. We were the only survivors of Project Cayro, the only two left. Yet, I had no memory of him.

And still, something about him felt… right. Safe, even. How could that be? I had never felt safe around anyone except Mrs. Tiffany, who had practically raised me. But with Cayro, it was like I’d known him forever, like he was supposed to be here beside me. Was this what people meant by attraction? I had read plenty of romance novels, enough to think I understood attraction. But this was different—stronger and stranger, more like a pull than anything else. Maybe I should talk to Mrs. Tiffany about it. She would understand. Unlike the Captain, who would probably just laugh and tease me like he always did whenever boys showed interest in me.

Taking a deep breath, I glanced at the GPS on the control panel, checking how much longer we had before reaching our destination. My eyes flicked over to Cayro, who hadn't moved from his position, still staring out the side window as if lost in another world. He wasn’t here with me—he was somewhere deep in his own head, probably wrestling with everything he’d just learned. I could sense the tension between us, a silence that was growing heavier by the second. Truthfully, I wanted to break it, if only to hear his smooth baritone voice again.

“Hey, Cayro,” I said softly, trying not to sound too eager.

“What…” he growled back. The sound sent an unexpected shiver down my spine, making my heart skip a beat. What in the hell was that? A simple growl, and here I was, shivering like a fool. I huffed quietly, trying to calm my racing heart before responding.

“We’ll be landing in a few minutes,” I managed to say, keeping my tone even.

He quickly sat up, glancing out the windshield as we flew past the coastline. Then he turned to face me, his expression confused.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my brows knitting together as I watched him.

“Where are we landing? There’s no runway or landing strip,” he pointed out, clearly puzzled.

“We don’t need a runway or landing strip for a skycar. It’s designed for vertical take-off and landing,” I explained, adjusting a few parameters and engaging the landing gear on my console.

Switching the display to the undercarriage camera feed, I saw his expression shift to one of amazement as we hovered about two hundred feet above his house. I carefully guided the vehicle down, landing smoothly in the driveway with a soft bump. Quickly, I went through the shutdown procedures before stepping out to meet the Captain, who had just landed perfectly behind me. As I stood, I glanced over the top of the skycar at Cayro, flashing him my biggest smile.

“See, just like that,” I said, hoping to share a bit of my excitement.

“Yeah, cool…” he replied, shrugging indifferently, as if he wasn’t impressed at all.

Seriously? I could feel my temper flare. What was with this guy? One moment he was excited and amazed, the next he was acting like a total jerk. What was his problem? I had been nothing but nice to him since he came aboard, and now that he knew the truth, he was acting like this? Throwing up my arms in frustration, I stormed over to the Captain, crossing my arms and glaring up at him with my back turned firmly toward Cayro. The Captain gave me a curious look, then glanced at Cayro, who had his back turned as well.

“I take it the flight didn’t go so well?” he asked quietly, clearly reading the situation.

“No,” I bit off, my voice tight with irritation.

“Hmm…” he hummed thoughtfully before speaking again. “Well, at least say goodbye.”

Reluctantly, I turned to Mr. Bracton, forcing a polite smile. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Bracton. Hopefully, the Captain will get this mess sorted out soon.”

“I do too, Star,” Mr. Bracton agreed, giving me a kind nod. “It was nice to meet you as well. I wish you safe travels.”

“Thank you, sir,” I replied, nodding respectfully before stalking back to my skycar. I went through the take-off procedures as quickly as I could, still fuming. Just before I took off, I looked up and saw Cayro staring at me. Our eyes locked for a moment, and I shot him a glare before taking off, my eyes burning into him the entire time he was in my sight. Jerk…