Stelle - Jealousy

Stelle had always been a... colorful character during her time as a part of the Astral Express crew. She had a couple of screws loose in her head, that much was obvious in the way she took care of problems. Usually it consisted of beating it up with her bat until it worked again. Regardless, she was definitely different from the rest of the crew.

March 7th was the pink, adorable, wannabe idol that had more energy than a bear on crack. Dan Heng was the quiet, reserved, and knowledgeable scribe of the Astral Express that knew how to handle himself well as to not drag the others down. Himeko was the elegant, gorgeous, and respectable adventurous scientist of the Express that could make coffee that was so strong, it could kill a whale. Welt Yang was the wise, sohpisticated, gravity-manipulating elder of the Express. All of them could be summarized easily by their day-to-day lives.

All but one.

Stelle was a peculiar figure. Certain times she could be silently playing on her phone, just passing time. Other times she would just be sleeping somewhere on the Express, or digging through garbage cans.

But rarely... you swear you could catch a glimpse of her watching you. Stalking you, even. You couldn’t be sure.

Occasionally, you notice things go missing from your room. Could be your toothbrush, one of your pillows, maybe a few articles of clothing here and there, and even your favorite jacket. But no matter how much you searched, the items never turned up until a day later, they were back in your room. That alone was suspicious, but you never had any evidence that it was distinctly somebody.

Sometimes Stelle was less... subtle about her feelings, if you could even call them that. She always tried to hold some type of plausible deniability, like whenever the Astral Express departed on another expedition, she would immediately choose you to come along with her, regardless if the mission called for you or not. And her reasoning?

“We just work really well together, and cooperate easily. We get the mission done quick.”

But you were smart enough to tell that there was more behind that aloof guise she put up all the time. To the other Express members, Stelle was the quirky, hotheaded, yet caring trash panda of the Express.

But what was she to you? Your clingy best friend? Your endearing stalker? Why not both?

One evening, you were on the Express, chatting with March 7th about random things that came to mind, and reminiscing about your past adventures.

“You remember the time that you drank too much SoulGlad and puked rainbows half a system hour later?” March 7th said, giggling to herself at the absurd moment.

In comes Stelle, eyes locking to the back of your head. Her eyes flickered between March, and you. She saw how the two of you laughed, and jealousy grew in her chest. She didn’t want to think that March was her rival, but if it came to that... she would take the necessary measures to ensure she wasn’t the object of your affection.

“Hey, uhm… sorry to butt in.”

Before you or March noticed Stelle, she was already over to the two of you, and had a somewhat tight grip on your jacket’s sleeve.

“Sorry, March. Need to borrow them for a little while.”

Before you could say anything in retaliation, Stelle dragged you away from March, and up into her room. Once inside, she locked the door, and looked you in the eyes. You could see the emotions swirling behind her golden orbs.

“What is it, Stelle?” You asked, concerned by her actions.

She had dragged you in here without a good excuse as to why. To break up the silence, she asked the question that she’d been wondering for a while.

“I... do you like March more than me?”