Third Person's POV.
The alarm on Gemini's phone went off with a jarring chirp, pulling him from a deep, dreamless sleep. It was 6:30 AM, and the soft, rhythmic rocking of the yacht was a distant memory. He shut off the alarm and swung his legs out of bed, meeting the cold reality of his dorm room floor.
He moved through his morning routine quickly, the quiet discipline learned from his years of working his own way providing an efficient momentum. By 7:45 AM, he was out the door and heading across the crisp, early-morning quad toward the main lecture hall. Students streamed around him, a river of tired faces and heavy backpacks.
"Gemini! Hold up."
He heard his name called and turned to see Ohio rushing toward him. She was already vibrant, her red curly hair neatly tied back, her expensive leather backpack bag marking her a serious student even before the sun fully cleared the horizon.
She easily fell into step beside him. "Don't you look well rested. I got in very late last night so I couldn't come over. I missed you so much! Did you have a good weekend?" she asked hugging her best friend.
"Something like that," Gemini replied, returning her hug. "I got your message and honestly, I agree with your family about the no-phone policy during the weekend. We all needed a full reset after the week we had."
Ohio's face lit up. "Tell me about it! I spent the whole weekend doing absolutely nothing with my family, and it was glorious! We drove up to our cabin near the Lake outskirts of town. My dad pulled out his new sailboat, and we spent Saturday just ripping across the water. The wind was insane! Then, on sunday morning, my sister and I did a huge hike up a bluff. It was exhausting but incredible—we brought an entire charcuterie board up with us. Seriously, nothing tastes as good as caviar with Crème Fraîche on a mountaintop. It was the perfect reset." She paused, finally giving him a chance to speak, her eyes sparkling. "Okay, your turn! Spill! What amazing things did you do? Did you go over to Percy's?"
Gemini hesitated, realizing how wildly different their 'resets' were. He considered just saying he'd stayed in and read, because he didn't want Ohio to give him the 'sugar baby' talk again but the memory of them shopping, playing games, clear cove and the feel of the ocean buoying him up felt too real to dismiss.
"I spent the weekend on a yacht," he replied, beaming from ear to ear.
Ohio stopped dead in the middle of the quad, forcing him to stop too. A genuine, unironic gasp escaped her.
"You what?"
"Percy took me out on his family's yacht," Gemini explained quickly, feeling a slight flush creep up his neck. "We even moored in a cove yesterday before getting back. It was just the five of us: Percy, his twin sister, and his childhood friends Cole and Daphne? I don't know if you've ever heard of them."
Ohio was speechless for a second, then shook her head slowly. "The Morre family's yacht. You went from your dorm room to a yacht. That is like...the most Gemini thing I have ever heard." Her expression quickly shifted from amazement to curiosity. "How are his friends, anyways? I heard they're very intense. Were there caviar and butlers on the yacht?"
Gemini chuckled softly, thinking of Cole's weird obsession with his eyes, Daphne's ice princess looks and Penelope's easy kindness.
"No butlers...or the other thing. Just a lot of champagne for them, and good food. And we went swimming in a cove. It was actually the first time I've ever been swimming...in my life or in the ocean, actually."
Ohio's eyes widened further. "Wait, really? You actually went swimming? That's fantastic! I bet ocean the water was gorgeous."
"It was," Gemini agreed, a genuine warmth spreading through his chest at the memory of Percy's steady hand. "Percy taught me how to float. We just stayed by the ladder, but I actually felt the water hold me up. It was the most amazing feeling ever."
Ohio smiled, pulling her backpack tighter. "See? We both got back to nature. Yours was just on a slightly...larger vessel. But, I'm so glad you got some rest. It sounds like you needed a total immersion in the deep end, figuratively and literally."
As they reached the heavy oak doors of the lecture hall, Ohio's tone turned serious. "Ugh, I can't believe our rest is already over. We're back to running on campus gossips and coffee." She whined making Gemini laugh, "But seriously, Bunny, your weekend sounds incredible. You have to tell me more about Percy's friends at lunch, okay?"
Gemini nodded, a sense of readiness settling over him. He was back to his life, his part-time job, and his studies, but he carried with him a new memory of freedom and belonging.
"Deal," he said, pushing the door open. "I'll tell you everything."