[A/N: Chapter soundtrack: Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out]
"What do you mean, 'where did it go?' It's right-"
"No, it's gone!" Mai shook her head, frustrated at Hio. "It's gone! Look down there! Look!"
Hio peered over the edge as Mai risked a pointed finger below. As Hio looked down, his jaw dropped.
His eyes darted from left to right wildly.
The monster was gone.
Its massive maw, its enormous eye sockets staring up at the falling masses, completely gone.
And there was nothing in sight, just an unnerving and unsettling dark, empty space.
Looking across him, he could see Mai was starting to panic. He was too.
Just to make sure, he looked down again, as if expecting the monster to reappear in a blink.
"It was right there a second ago... what the hell? How does something like that just disappear?"
"What do you mean, 'How does something like that just "disappear?"' How do you expect me to answer that question?! It was right there. Now it's not."
Heart pounding in his chest, a bead of cold sweat trickled down Hio's forehead.
"So what now?" Mai's question was blunt.
He laughed nervously, completely dumbfounded. "Well, we're safe for the moment. This is the best scenario I could imagine. As for the future, however, I'll have to get back to you on that."
Feeling frustrated, Mai's shoulders slumped. "This is the best scenario you can imagine?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"Isn't it obvious? The monster is gone. Now we can... do... whatever we want. We don't have to be eaten. We can find a way out of here. Hell," he shrugged.
"We could just let go and you know, see what happens. There's nothing but air below us. It really doesn't matter now."
"See what happens? Let go and see what happens?!" Pinching her brows together in frustration, Mai looked at Hio.
I can't believe he's actually considering jumping and returning to that hell!
Hio came to his own defense. "Well we can't find a way out of here hanging around forever!"
"Nothing is off the table to you, is it?"
"And it should be the same for you."
With a sharp exhale, she thought about Hio's words. It sounded pretty crazy.
No, it is crazy. 'There's nothing but air below us.' How does he know? How can we possibly know that?
"Look. We can't stay here." Hio began. "The shard is bound to come apart at some point, we'll be falling on our asses anyway."
Mai sighed. "I'll be honest. I'm getting tired of all this recklessness. I mean, it's like you have a death wish or something. You just want to jump out into the air with no plan whatsoever. It's stupid. You're stupid."
She turned her head toward Hio, her eyes narrowed. "And it's also a bit suspicious too. Why 'we?' Don't get me involved with you. I'm not going anywhere with you at this point. I'm staying right here."
Eyes wide, Hio took offense. "What do you mean, suspicious?"
"You think I planned this?" He raised a questioning brow and let out an incredulous laugh.
"Seriously, do you think I've trapped you with me on a glass shard, high up above an apocalyptic void, just so I could what?" He scoffed. "Make a move on you?"
"A move on me?" Rolling her eyes, Mai tilted her head to the side. "Wow. What a weirdo."
"I'm... I'm a weirdo?" Hio blinked in surprise as her gaze shifted sideways to meet his. "Yeah, you're pretty weird. You don't even know me and yet you keep following me."
"Following you?" Hio scoffed again. "Are you that full of yourself!?"
"Gah!" Mai scrunched up her face like she'd just tasted something sour. "You're just everywhere!"
"We're on the same glass! Where else am I supposed to go!?" Hio shot back.
Releasing a long and drawn out sigh, she glanced sideways at him again.
"You're supposed to think rationally and stay up here with me not try to make me let go of this glass with you. So yeah, you're a weirdo that I don't trust."
Eyes lowered, Mai spoke with more seriousness: "This isn't a game. You could die. I've... I've seen things... things that I didn't particularly want to see."
"Okay, fine." Letting out a resigned sigh, Hio looked up, eyes locked on a boy in a spotless white uniform, flailing around as he desperately tried to stay balanced on his shard.
"I see how it is. You don't trust me. That's cool. I'm not offended." He turned his head slightly, casting a quick glance at Mai before looking back up.
"We're in a pretty rough situation." Hio continued.
"It's natural to feel nervous, especially when there's so much uncertainty, and we really do have every reason not to trust one another. So," he lowered his head facing Mai.
"Let's just put it all out there and get this whole thing over with."
Mai blinked.
She was surprised.
I didn't expect him to be so... direct.
She was even more surprised at how honest he seemed, not to mention his straightforward way of speaking. And for some reason, her cheeks puffed slightly...
"Bwahahaha~ Put it all out there? What does that even mean?"
"It means what I said." Hio shrugged, his expression serious, looking directly at Mai.
"I'm not gonna sugar-coat it. I'm a bit of a mess." Sparing one hand, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"And you're probably one too." He gestured his head at her. "We have a lot in common and we should just get all of our cards out on the table."
"Cards on the table?... Like, cards as in poker? Or do you mean like cards as in tarot cards?"
"I'm talking about cards as in... wait a minute, did you just ask me if I meant cards as in cards?"
Mai stared blankly into his face. "Yeah, I guess I did."
"Are you serious right now? No!" Hio shouted, "I don't mean literal cards like poker, or cards like tarot cards!"
Mai was still staring at Hio, unable to tear her eyes away from him. "Just tell me what you mean by cards then."
Eyes narrowing, he shot Mai an irritated look. "Stop messing with me! Does it even matter!? Wait, actually..." Pausing, a thoughtful look crossed his face.
"Cards as in poker, yeah."
"See?" This was just another case of her brain working faster than he could react to it.
"Yeah, yeah." Hio rolled his eyes. "I have no clue where you got the idea that I would refer to the tarot, though."
Closing her eyes, Mai took a slow breath as she opened them. She looked at her reflection in the glass.
Her ponytail had come undone making her dark hair a mess, falling into her eyes.
Skin not fairing any better, she looked pale and bruised from all the strain of hanging on so tightly.
Her golden eyes stared back at her, reflecting the light of the glowing shards around.
Now that I think about it. The light of the shards... Biting her lower lip, her mind raced.
It's the only reason I didn't notice that thing was gone earlier. So...
Absentmindedly, her finger began to tap against the glass.
"Where did the shards come from then?"
Hio looked at Mai blankly. "Um, what?" He asked, a bit thrown off.
He was just ranting about getting to know each other and now, out of nowhere, she was asking about something else.
"I mean think about it, the shards don't look or feel natural."
Hio looked to his side at the shards.
"Well, I guess... I dunno, the sky?" He shrugged. "They don't have to have some kind of backstory. They just happened, right?"
"No." Mai shook her head.
"It can't be that simple. And they don't look like they grew here somehow, either. They just look like... shards, like fragments of something bigger. That loud crash from earlier..." Mai placed her hand on her chin in deep thought.
"As if someone just..."
"Smashed up a huge glass art installation?" A strangers voice offered.
To Be Continued...