Forever In Your Heartbeat

A small boy sat on the curbside, tears streaming down his face. His skin was marred with cuts and bruises, evidence of recent pain. His head hung low until he felt a presence. Looking up, he saw a little girl standing before him, staring down with concern. Quickly, he wiped his tears and turned away, frowning.

"What do you want?" the boy snapped, his voice rough from crying.

"Why are you crying?" the girl asked gently, her eyes full of curiosity.

"I feel sad," the boy mumbled, avoiding her gaze.

"Why?"

"I don't know… people like to hurt me," he admitted, his voice trembling as he nodded to confirm it.

"People hurt you?" the girl asked, her eyes widening in shock.

He nodded again, trying to keep his emotions in check.

The girl thought for a moment before speaking. "You know what my daddy always says helps when you cry?"

The boy's eyes darted to her. "What?"

Without a word, the girl knelt down and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. The boy winced at first, the sudden contact causing him pain. But as her embrace held steady, he slowly relaxed, his muscles unwinding in her arms. When she finally let go, the boy sat back, blinking at her in surprise.

"Better?" she asked with a warm smile.

He stared at her, still in shock. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I want you to be happy."

The boy's lips twitched into a small, soft smile. "Who are you?"

The girl grinned proudly. "My daddy calls me Candy because he says I'm sweet as any sugar."

"I'm Cupid," he replied, his voice shy, "Cupid Draik."

The girl tilted her head, amused. "Your mom must have thought you were an angel of love."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Isn't that what a Cupid is?" she teased. "That's what I'll call you—Angel! It's so much better than Cupid!"

Before he could protest, Candy grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. "Come on! We're gonna be late for school, Angel!"

The boy looked down at their joined hands, a spark of happiness lighting up inside him as Candy dragged him along. *Angel,* he thought, savoring the sound of the name.

Romeo's eyes snapped open at the faint wail of a siren. He frowned, glancing at the alarm on the wall before jumping out of bed. Grabbing his gear, he quickly made his way into the hall, where Felix was hurrying toward him.

"What's going on?" Romeo asked, tension creeping into his voice.

Felix's expression was grim. "The ship is under attack. The Elitist Soldiers found us again. We're surrounded!"

"Have you engaged the ship's defense weapons?" Romeo demanded.

Felix blinked in surprise. "The ship has defense weapons?"

Romeo sighed in disbelief. "Seriously?! How have you guys gotten out of this before?"

Felix shrugged. "Evasive maneuvers and hand-to-hand combat if we had to."

They reached the main deck. Romeo's gaze shot to the monitor, where red dots blinked ominously around their ship. The radio crackled to life.

"Rogue Starduster crew, you are under arrest for high treason and theft from the High Elitist, which is hereby punishable by death! Turn yourselves in now, and we promise you mercy!"

Candy scoffed, a laugh escaping her lips. "Mercy," she echoed sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's a good one," Hero muttered, glancing at the radar. "Jay, can you evade them?"

Jay shook his head. "Hero, seriously? Did you look at this radar? They've got us pinned."

Clementine looked around, worried. "So what are we gonna do?"

Romeo didn't hesitate. "Starduster, engage the force field and deploy weapons. Auto mode. Activate co-piloting to manual mode."

"Of course," Starduster responded coolly.

The crew watched in awe as guns deployed from every corner of the ship, and a blue force field shimmered into place just as the Elitist soldiers opened fire.

Romeo moved to the co-pilot's chair, flipping a series of switches. "Candy, you got this?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you need me to do?"

"We need to flip these switches at the same time. When I tell Starduster to go, we both blast the thrusters. Got it?"

"Got it."

Jay's gaze flicked between them, his face tense.

Romeo braced himself. "Starduster, pedal to the metal."

"Activating warp speed," the AI replied.

Everyone rushed to secure themselves as the ship powered up. The soldiers outside watched in stunned silence as the ship disappeared in a flash of speed.

One soldier hesitated, then turned to the stern figure beside him. "Sir?"

General Xao, with his scarred face, didn't look away from the view. "They have an elite traitor on board. Scan the systems now."

The soldier hurried to comply, typing furiously. Just as his finger hovered over the enter key, the ship vanished from the radar.

"Did you get it?" Xao growled.

The soldier swallowed. "No, sir. It was too—"

A gunshot rang out, and the soldier slumped to the ground. Xao holstered his weapon, his expression cold. "Let this be a lesson to the rest of you maggots. Now, find them!"

The Starduster exited warp speed, the view outside now filled with unfamiliar stars. Romeo unbuckled his seatbelt, flipping a few more switches before turning to see everyone sprawled across the floor.

Hero groaned. "I mean, I like the fact that we escaped and all, but a little more warning would've been nice."

"Sorry," Romeo said, his voice flat. "We were in a race against time."

Hero sat up, stretching. "Well, I guess you can meet the rest of the team." He pointed to each person as he introduced them. "This is Teddi, Graffiti, Roxanne, Summer, Jay, Clementine, Dare, Alexis, and Precious. Guys, this is Candy and Romeo."

A chorus of tired greetings followed.

Romeo nodded. "Hey."

Candy waved shyly. "Hi…"

Clementine leaned forward, grinning. "So… where've you been all our lives?"

Everyone laughed, easing the tension.

They settled into the lounge, lounging on the couches that formed a circle around a large coffee table.

Jay gave Romeo an approving nod. "So, you're the guy who saved us from eating ration bars day and night. I commend you."

Romeo shrugged. "I just activated the ship. No big deal."

Graffiti chuckled. "Man, for real? I'm lovin' this crumpet over here. Didn't even know what that was before!"

Roxanne rolled her eyes, throwing a playful glare at Hero. "Who knew we were sitting on a motherload of food while some people didn't bother to notice?"

Hero feigned innocence. "What?"

The crew shared a laugh.

Summer glanced between Candy and Romeo. "So… you two, together or…?"

Candy immediately shook her head. "Oh heck no."

Romeo raised an eyebrow. "We just—"

Candy cut him off. "He's just there."

Romeo shot her a look, his lips twitching in disbelief.

Summer chuckled. "Oookay…"

Hero nodded, still grinning. "Well, at least we got away. Thanks, guys."

Candy and Romeo replied in unison, "Of course."

Romeo stretched, exhaustion pulling at him. "I'm feeling wiped after that warp drive. You mind if I get some rest?"

Precious waved him off. "Go ahead."

"We're all family here," Hero added with a grin.

Romeo stood up, Candy trailing silently behind him. They walked through the hall in awkward silence, keeping their distance until they reached their rooms. Both tapped the screen to open their sliding doors.

Just as Romeo stepped into his room, Candy's voice cut through the quiet.

"The note… Can I at least read it?"

Romeo paused, his hand lingering on the doorframe. Without a word, he reached into his pocket, pulling out the folded paper. He held it out to her, but when she tried to tug it free, he didn't let go. Their eyes locked for a long, silent moment before Romeo spoke, his voice low.

"We may not be close, Candy. I may not like you, and you may not like me. We may even be enemies, but we've gotta stick together here. Logically, we don't know them, but we know enough about each other to trust that we won't harm each other. At least not physically." He glanced away for a moment, then looked back at her. "We need to communicate for our own safety. You understand?"

Candy looked down, her posture tense. "Yeah, whatever."

Romeo's gaze hardened. "Look me in the eyes and say it."

"I said it. That should be enough."

"It's what Love would've wanted us to do."

With a deep sigh, Candy finally looked up at him, her reluctance evident in her eyes.

Romeo smirked. "Say it so I don't have to look at your stank face for a while. I'll be outta your way, alright?"

Candy rolled her eyes but gave in. "Yeah, okay, I understand."

Satisfied, Romeo let go of the letter, and Candy took it, heading into her room without another word. She closed the door behind her and slid down to the floor, opening the note with trembling hands.

Dear Candy,

If you're reading this, I'm either gone or asleep, 'cause you shouldn't have this otherwise. If I'm not dead, put this down immediately. If I'm asleep, I'll catch you soon. There's a sensor on this note—so if I'm dead, by all means, read on.

Candy chuckled softly, a tear slipping down her cheek as she remembered his sense of humor.

Ready? Aight, so clearly I'm dead or you're just a really sneaky bad girl, but either way, I want you to know this: I love you from the bottom of my heart. I always knew you loved me too, and I wish I could've told you that. Maybe things would've been better for us. It's my fault though, blame me. Slap my skeleton if you want—it might resurrect me, or at least you'll feel better.

But seriously, don't blame yourself. I want you to take care of yourself, live, and be happy. You don't need me to be happy. You've got joy inside you—let it blossom. Have kids, lead the team, and keep everyone going. You and Draik make the perfect team. You'll get everyone to victory.

Oh, and tell Draik he should change his name if he wants a new start. Romeo Heartbreaker has a nice ring to it, right? We could've been like brothers then.

But you, Candy, I love you—head to toe, even the boogers in your nose, girl. Don't forget it. Stay safe. If you ever miss me, listen to the sound of my heartbeat.

With all the corny love and kisses in the galaxy,

Love Heartbreaker

P.S. Don't cry, or I'm gonna haunt you in your gothic dreams.

Candy laughed lightly, her tears flowing freely as she clutched the letter to her chest. Outside her door, Romeo leaned his head against the wall, his expression conflicted. He knocked softly.

"I need that letter now," he called, his voice gentle but firm.

Candy wiped her eyes and stood, opening the door. She held out the letter to him, her face pale from crying.

Candy and Angel stood in the middle of the playground, a light breeze rustling through the nearby trees. A row of swings swayed gently, their seats empty, except for the one they both stood staring at — a worn-out tire swing that hung crookedly to one side.

"Angel, do you like the swings?" Candy asked, her tone light and curious.

Angel shrugged. "Yeah, sometimes."

Candy tilted her head. "Why only sometimes?"

Angel sighed, glancing at the other swings. "Because when I get here, usually everybody always takes all the good ones, and I have to wait forever to have a turn."

Candy's brow furrowed in confusion. "What? You don't have to wait for that. The other one works too!"

Angel shook his head. "But it's a tire, it doesn't go as fast or high. Plus, the tire is broken."

Candy grinned mischievously and grabbed his hand without warning. "Come on, I'll show you!"

He blinked in surprise as she tugged him toward the tire swing. Hesitating at first, Angel followed her, unsure what she had in mind. Once they reached the swing, Candy plopped down on one side of the tire, her legs dangling, and motioned for him to sit on the opposite side. After a moment of hesitation, he climbed on, sitting across from her.

"Now push with your body," Candy instructed, wiggling her hips to demonstrate.

Angel mirrored her, pushing his weight back and forth. Slowly, the tire began to sway, and soon, they were swinging in unison.

Candy giggled, her laughter infectious as she grabbed both of Angel's hands. "See? The broken swing is so much fun when there's two of us!"

Angel's initial skepticism melted away, and he found himself laughing along with her. As the swing picked up speed, spinning them in lazy circles, Angel's heart raced. The wind whipped through their hair, and the world around them blurred.

Angel smiled, his eyes bright with excitement. "Yeah, my heart is going so fast right now."

Romeo stared at her for a long moment before, unexpectedly, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. His heartbeat thudded steadily in her ear, comforting and familiar. Candy closed her eyes, listening to the rhythm of his heart.