Chapter 42

Aero sighed, shutting the door to his dorm, a sense of defeat welling up inside of him. After the class had ended, he had gone to try and get to know Raelin a bit more. He had spent two hours trying to converse with her or find out anything she liked. The end result was...nothing. The girl hadn't spoken a single word to him, or barely even acknowledged him for that matter. It felt like he had spent his entire time talking to a brick wall.

"Aw, what's wrong?" Nora asked, noticing her teammate's sullen expression. "You get rejected by Yang?"

"What?" Aero gave her a puzzled expression. "No. It's just, my partner does not seem to want to speak to me, and I don't have the faintest clue why."

"Hmmm." The girl scratched her chin. "Maybe she just doesn't like you?"

"Do you really think so?"

"Nora..." Ren frowned at her, shaking his head. "That's not helpful."

"OH!" Nora sprang to her feet. "Let's ask Ren! He's almost always quiet, maybe he knows what's going on!"

Aero shrugged. "It could not hurt my situation to try. Do you have any insights you could possibly share with me?"

"Huh?" The woman wrinkled her brows at this. "Are you alright?"

"I suppose I am decently so, why do you ask?"

"I dunno, you're acting a little...different." Nora titled her head, seeming to scrutinize Aero. "I haven't heard you make a single sarcastic remark all day." She shrugged. "Anyway, Ren, can you give us your silent sage wisdom?"

Ren shook his head. "Everyone is different, what works for one person might not for another. Besides..." He smiled at Nora. "I think you do plenty of talking for the two of us."

"Hehe...well, sorry Aero, looks like you're just gonna have to keep trying.

"I will, I'll try harder next time. She is bound to eventually acknowledge my efforts if I keep at it right? Persistence is key." Aero said nodding to himself and pulling out his homework. He was a bit glad to have a distraction from how he was going to bond with Raelin. Finishing his work after an hour, and heading to bed.

.

.

"Huh?" I found myself once more in the strange empty void I had experienced last night. "This again? Just what is going on!?" Contrary to last time, instead of being face to face with my own body, I found myself looking at Aero's body hovering several feet from me. He wore a similarly confused expression, looking me up and down. "Are you...Aero?" I asked. "The real Aero?"

The person in front of me blinked in surprise before nodding his head. "I am. Going by your question, would that make you Nathaniel then?"

"Yes! It's you!" Finally! I don't know what was going on, but I had had so many things I wanted to talk to him about! I paused, looking at our surroundings. "Let's hurry and not waste a moment. Last time we spent too long gawking at each other and this opportunity ended."

"Agreed." Aero's brows furrowed. "Time passes quickly in a dream. First, I want to ask you. Do you know why this is happening to us?"

"You...you don't know?" I could feel my heart sinking into my chest. "I was going to ask you the same thing...so much for that."

"Mmm, I had a feeling that was the case, I just wanted to confirm it." His expression softened. "I'm sorry that you got caught up in my mess, it couldn't have been easy surviving Beacon's exam."

"It really wasn't..." I muttered. "Still, it's not like you could predict we'd suddenly switch bodies. And to be honest, I envy your side. You can make a difference in so many people's lives. You're someone who actually matters."

Aero shook his head. "This life wasn't one I chose for myself. I envy YOU."

"Me?" Why on earth would Aero be jealous of me?

"You can do whatever you want. You have so many options available to you, even if you don't know it. Though I've only lived your life for a month, it's been a liberating experience."

"That's my line..." Aero and I looked at each other for a moment, before the two of us laughed. Suddenly there was a tug on my body as I was being pulled back. "W-what?"

"Seems we're out of time again." The distance between the two of us started to widen as we were both pulled in different directions.

Twenty feet.

"Wait! Aero! I need you to give Cameron a message from me! Please!"

Forty feet.

"I need you to tell Cameron..." The two of us were so far, it was hard to see him.

Eighty feet.

I shouted my message to him, desperately trying to fight against the invisible force. I waited in silence, hoping he heard me, the seconds feeling like hours.

Two-hundred feet.

"I got it..." I could just barely hear the faintest response in the empty space. However, it was enough to wash away my fears. At this point, Aero was barely even a speck in the distance, before vanishing from sight. The empty white void around me was suddenly plunged into darkness, leaving me alone.

"...up."

"Huh?" I could hear a familiar voice faintly echoing. For some reason, I couldn't breathe, the air refusing to enter my lungs. Beginning to panic, I struggled to get air.

"Wake up!"

At once, the darkness was gone and a familiar red-headed girl with short hair entered my view. Her hand was pinched over my nose preventing me from breathing. Slapping away her hand, I gasped for air, my chest heaving in and out. "Hey, it worked!" Nora seemed oblivious to my plight, innocently smiling. "Guys he's up!"

"N-Nora?"