Silver Lining - The Host fanfiction

Chapter 61 The Wallflower

Mrs. Darling was the loveliest lady in Bloomsbury,
with a mocking mouth that had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get.
Though there I was, perfectly conspicuous
on the right hand corner.

 

-Peter Pan

 

Blake

 

I think we were ten or twelve when we first met. We were at a beneficial of some kind. I don’t even remember.

She was dressed up like a princess, but her eyes held an uncomfortable look, as if she didn’t want to be there at all.

I think that’s why I noticed her, because she was an average girl where looks came in. The only reason I paid her any attention was because she seemed to be enjoying herself just as much as I, which was far below zero.

I remember leaning against the wall across the room, my shirt only half tugged into my pants, which I knew annoyed my father, but even then I did not care.

She was standing with her parents, but her eyes were searching for the nearest exit and she seemed to debate whether or not to make a run for it.

I studied her for a  while, curious. I’m not sure how I ended up talking to her, but ever since then it became a habit.

I’d talk to her, she’d get annoyed with me, and we continued like that over the next few years.

She was always the quiet type, preferring to let others take the spotlight.

No matter how often we argued, well she argued, we got along rather well, even if we didn’t have a lot in common.

I was surprised when we found her in the Canyon. No matter how well I liked her, she didn’t seem like the surviving type.

“You’ve changed,” she says.

I frown. Have I? I don’t think there’s much difference from who I used to be. “No I haven’t.”  I look at her. “You just decided you didn’t like me before ever talking to me.”

She casts her eyes down. “That’s not true,” she whispers.

I study her for a moment. She has certainly changed. She’s more assertive than before. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s not Emma anymore. But I’ve seen her eyes and her earlier outbursts are too much like the Emma I remember. And she’s still a bit awkward.

It’s just like her to date an alien.

I sigh. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I did change.” I suppose we have all changed in one way or the other. The end of the world tends to do that to people. “Maybe I’m finally able to be myself instead of who my parents wanted me to be.”

There is something sad in her eyes now. She must know how that feels. I know her parents didn’t want her to go to art school. They wanted her to pursue a more prestigious career. It’s a shame though. I’ve seen some of her drawings. She’s really good. One of her murals won a prize once. They displayed it in the city library.