𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐲𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 ~ 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐀𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫

Cleo's eyes widened. "Cheese on bread,"

"Cleo?" I whispered, barely believing that it was her.

Her shocked expression morphed into a smile. "Aspyn..."

I jumped forward, pulling her into a hug, unable to contain the happy tears that welled in my eyes.

"I thought I'd never see you again," I said, stepping back.

She chuckled, wiping her eyes. "Guess we can't get rid of each other that easily,"

I had never seen her in such an emotional state. She was the type of person that never really showed that side of herself. Sort of like me.

I grabbed her hands, holding them tight. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you,"

"I could say the same thing, A," She smiled, placing a hand on my cheek, the other wrapping around my waist.

She pulled me close and leaned in, about to press her lips against mine. Admittedly, I waited a moment before gently pulling away, only moving at the very last second.

"C..." I sighed, removing her hand from my waist. "I have a boyfriend now,"

"A boyfriend?" She muttered. "Oh my God,"

She ran into the back, disappearing into the darkness.

"Cleo?!" I called.

"Give me a second!" She replied.

A few moments went by before not one, but two silhouettes appeared. I gasped as they emerged from the smoke.

"This him?" She asked, gesturing to Pope.

"Baby!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around him.

"Hey," He replied softly, resting his head on mine. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm okay, but listen, Ward's alive,"

His eyes widened. "What?!"

I nodded. "I know it sounds crazy but he is!"

"Holy shit," He worried. "We've gotta find John B,"

"What? He's here?" I asked.

He nodded. "So are Kie and JJ. We snuck into one of the shipping containers,"

"Okay, wait, I'm confused. How'd you two find each other then?" I asked, gesturing between the two of them.

"Well, I was trying to find the weapons and ended up running into Cleo," He explained. "Who then pulled a knife on me..."

I stifled a laugh. That's my girl.

"She asked me why I was here and I told her that my girlfriend and my friend's girlfriend were being held hostage on this ship," Pope continued.

"I didn't believe him until he said y'alls names. Only then did I agree to help him," Cleo spoke up. "We were about to leave, but that's when you came in. I thought you were a crew member so I told Pope to hide. Then, I realized it was you, you told me you had a boyfriend, and everything clicked,"

"Oh, so, that's how you knew?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Just put the pieces together, you know?"

I sighed, grabbing her hand, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm happy for you guys,"

I smiled. "Thanks, C,"

"Now come on, let's go find John B!"  She said, leading the way.

-

We were able to find him pretty quickly, coming up behind him. "Hey," Pope said, grabbing John B's shoulder.