It rained heavily the days after Xaiden and his friends found the bunker, so they hadn't been able to return to investigate further. The awkward tension between Xaiden and Jax continued as the group met long enough to decide to wait out the rain on their own.
Xaiden passed the time by working on his web novel during class and studying at home while he worked out or played games on his imprint. Eliana called it slacking off, but he learned better this way. He needed to be a little distracted to truly absorb seemingly useless information. With the rain showing no signs of letting up and most of the group still avoiding each other, the weekend approached monotonously.
It was Friday when Jax broke the ice by commenting on Xaiden's latest issue. "Sick, dude!" Two words ended the feud between friends and they returned to chatting and goofing around without ever talking about that argument from the bunker. Xaiden wondered if Jax had told Eliana about it, but he never asked.
Things with Ewen hadn't ever been different, Ewen spent as little time at school as possible, and the time he was there, he had his hoodie up and his face down on his desk. Xaiden and Jax had tried to include him when they hung out between classes or at meal breaks, but Ewen asked to be left alone while they were at school. It was rare for him to set a clear boundary with them, so they tried to respect his wishes.
It's no surprise that Xaiden would have no reason to see Eliana outside of their "Study Group", so things felt calm for him again once Jax let it go. It was already awkward before, so who cares if she is even more angsty than usual when we go back out next. Xaiden thought dismissively.
"Yo, wanna plan for this weekend if the rain gives?" Jax asked after their last classes finished.
"Sure, let me know if the others are down." Xaiden agreed, more excited to work on the new mystery than worried about their group dynamics at this point. "And get to praying this rain stops! I know it's the rainy season, but still!"
"I will!" Jax responded, then joked, "You should ask your great grand to tilt us just a bit for tomorrow! Use that last name for something, you know?"
"Ha! We'll have a better chance asking God, trust me." Xaiden responded good-naturedly. There wasn't anyone at school who didn't know by now that Xaiden was far from favored by his royal bloodline. There were many theories and rumors, but Xaiden never commented on it or cleared the air, not even to Jax.
Thankfully, the rain did clear on Sunday morning, and the forecast for the day was promising. Planting rains tended to stir up unexpectedly and last quite a while, but with skies as clear as this, they had a bit of time at least. The gang met at the fence line and made their way to their base like usual.
"Did they fill you in on everything, Eliana?" Xaiden asked good-naturedly.