It turns out that James wasn't as capable of finding my room as he first assumed.

    "I was certain it would be down there!" James sighed, as we walked towards the dining hall for breakfast.

    Since we were up past midnight last night because...someone couldn't find my room, James offered to walk me to breakfast as a path towards reconciliation. Though truly, the whole "walking to breakfast" with James' situation was unavoidable to start with considering that it got so late last night, he eventually just gave me the room that was connected to his. With locks; of course.

    "I'm sure you were." I smirked, pausing to lean against the wall, and stare up at him expectantly.

    "I was," groaned James, his hand sliding across his face as he sighed.

    I crossed my arms over my body and smiled up at him.

    "Really, I don't understand why you still feel the need to apologize. It's not as if I lost a limb because of you."

    "I know," he frowned. "It's just, I was sure it would be in the guest wing. It doesn't make any sense."

    "Well..." I started, "You didn't exactly know where my room was."

    "I suppose, but it still doesn't make any sense. I will have Conner look into it later."

    I froze in place at the sound of the familiar name.

    "Conner?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

    A mixture of warmth and respect washed over his face.

    "Do you know Conner?" He rubbed his chin questioningly. "It is definitely possible, but there are so many Conners aboard this vessel, it would be hard to distinguish whether we are talking about the same man."

    "Last names, perhaps," I suggested, taking the liberty to step away from the wall and continue our venture towards the dining hall.

    James quickly caught up to my pace, and resumed his position walking beside me, with the slightest inch of a lead. It was no secret that I had absolutely no idea where we were going; last night only confirmed that.

    "Last names?" James cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Isn't that an Earth Human thing?"

    My eyes nearly burst from their sockets.

    "What the heck is an 'Earth Human' thing?" I grimaced, scrunching my nose as the last words left my tongue.

    James chuckled, holding his side so he didn't bend over in laughter.

    "Phenomenons such as naming a child twice surely fall under the realm of Earth Humans. It is so much more efficient to use numbers! Surely the thought of using last names is ludicrous! Especially when two completely unrelated families can share the last name, who would want the chaos and confusion that come along with that?"

    Pursing my lips, I childishly turned my head away so I didn't have to look at James. I hated that he was right. But most of all, I hated that I hated he was right because it made no sense to me. Why would I care about what I think about him?

    "Are you alright? You're being strangely quiet," James said in a warm tone that was laced with concern.

    "I'm fine." I muttered sarcastically.

    "Are you friends with Earth Humans?" James wondered curiously as we turned a corner into the dining hall.

    "Yes," I said, intentionally passing him. "I am."

    I wandered the lengths of the grandiose room that was filled to the brim with people, weaving my way through tables and crowds, attempting to lose James.

    I wasn't that lucky.

    James lightly pulled my wrist, so I was forced to face him, and I frowned.

    "Where are you going?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

    "To get food," I snapped, avoiding his soft gazed as I tried to pull away unsuccessfully.

    "That's unnecessary, Elena. We aren't eating here," he murmured softly.

    I raised my eyebrows suspiciously.

    "What do you mean 'we aren't eating here'? Minutes ago you said we were going to the dining hall for food?" I pushed my voice to be harsh and annoyed, but instead, it came out sounding far too soft and genuinely confused.

    "We are eating in a dining hall. Just not this one. If you would follow me," he said in an oddly casual voice, gesturing for me to follow him into a small hallway that branched off of the main dining hall.

    I didn't have much of a choice, but to follow him, and it wasn't just because of my growling stomach. I was truly curious about the strange boy with dark tousled hair and piercing grey eyes.

    James led me into a much smaller dining hall with under a quarter of the number of tables that the previous one held. As he led me towards a small table in the very back of the room, away from prying eyes, he gently placed a hand on my shoulder, lightly guiding me through the few number of occupied tables towards our table

The table was a small rectangle that was accented with lines of silver twisted into a complex design of flowers and swirls. It was lit beautifully with three tall candles that sat in the center of the table, and it was fully stocked with everything ranging from scones to a high stack of blueberry pancakes with a side of syrup.

"I didn't know what you liked...so I ordered a bit of...everything?" James said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

I smiled widely at the breakfast mini-feast and peered up at James.

"It's beautiful. Thank you," I said softly.

"So...all is forgiven?" He asked with a quirk to his smile.

"All is forgiven," I said confidently, my lips curling up into a small smile.

***

The best part about flying in a spaceship in the middle of a sea of stars is hands down blueberry muffins doused in powdered sugar.

I thought it was crazy, honestly who puts powdered sugar on a blueberry muffin? But once James practically shoved the sugary bread down my throat, I was a goner. Never again will I eat a blueberry muffin without powdered sugar. Never.

"I'm full," I sadly groaned after finishing my third blueberry muffin.

"Already? You didn't even try the chocolate crepes," James teased as he shoved a spoonful of an omelet into his mouth.

"You're going to kill me," I whined. "You're going to feed me so much delicious food that eventually I am going to explode and die."

James chuckled and wiped off his mouth with a handkerchief he pulled from his back pocket

"I can guarantee you that that will never happen," he said, pausing carefully to stare curiously into my eyes. "Also, no offense, but I'm reasonably certain that it is impossible for you to explode from eating too many muffins. I sincerely apologize."

"You do not!" I playfully shouted, throwing my unused napkin at his chest, before breaking out into a wide, smug grin.

James easily surrendered, throwing his hands in the air, and cracking a brilliant smirk.

"You're right, I don't apologize for your inability to die from eating too many blueberry muffins."

I reached over to grab Jame's unused napkin and throw it at his chest, again. He groaned when it hit his chest, though I was certain it didn't hurt. After all, it was only fabric.

"But," he said loudly, making me pause to look at him suspiciously. "I do sincerely apologize for upsetting you."

Curiously peering up into his light grey eyes, I allowed myself to smile.

"You really like to apologize, don't you?" I asked softly.

He smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Would I be a gentleman if I didn't?"

I shook my head and grinned.

"I never realized you were trying," I told him honestly.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know, I haven't really given it much thought," I said frowning.

"I suppose I can't expect you to. I have only known you for what...nine hours?"

"Sounds about right," I nodded absentmindedly.

"Well what do you say about finding that room of yours?" He asked softly with an encouraging smile.

"When do we leave?"

He frowned and searched the table as if he was looking for something. Eventually he looked back towards me.

"Are you done?"

I laughed at his ludicrous statement.

"I thought we already established that answer after the blueberry muffin discussion."

"Really?" He teased. "You would call that a discussion? Typically discussions are much longer and more personal than the subject of a rather plain food."

"Plain?!" I gasped, shocked that he could call such a delicacy plain.

"Relax, Elena," he sighed. "I was kidding, or at least partially kidding anyway. Anna's blueberry muffins are by far the best I've ever tasted, however, there are many more...interesting delicacies that I prefer in their place."

I was about to open my mouth to protest, but James stopped me before I could.

"It was just small talk, Elena. No need to get offended. Either way, you will get the chance to challenge my opinion once you taste the delicacies for yourself with lunch."

Before I could nod my head in compliance, appeased by James' offer, I caught myself frowning, feeling confused for the first time since I met James.

"Lunch?" I asked in an octave higher than my normal voice.

"Yes...I assumed that finding your room would take awhile," he stated, obviously confused by my previous statement, with a small frown pulling on the corner of his lips.

"Of course," I said quickly, strangely desperate to wipe the frown off of his face. "I had just assumed that after breakfast we would be parting ways," I muttered awkwardly.

An: "Oh," slipped from James' tongue.

"Why would you think that?" He pondered curiously.

I twisted my fingers together and stared at the silver pattern curling around the edges of the table.

"It just made the most sense," I admitted. "We're only here in the first place because I was too drunk last night to find my room coherently."

James shook his head and stared deeply into my eyes as if they held some untainted secret, before allowing a small smile to pass his face.

"No, we're here because I offered to help you find your room," he said seriously in his soothing voice. "No amount of drunkenness played into my decision." He said, smirking on the word "drunkenness."

"Promise?" I said with a laugh.

"Promise," he said confidently. "Now what do you say about finding that room?"

"What are we waiting for?" I smiled, feeling genuinely happy for the first time since my parent's deaths.