The Rules Keeping Us Apart

Alaric Browne

Okay. Last day before we go into the catacombs.

It was raining, and I was going to try to finish every book in this house. Binge-reading every book except one, and went in search of it.

I opened the door to my room and found myself glued to the spot. Finn was sitting by the window, a steaming cup of tea on the windowsill and the book sitting beside him, closed and waiting. He must have heard me come in, but he didn't react.

I opened my mouth to ask him for the book, but he interrupted me. "I know you weren't drunk."

I felt like someone punched me in the stomach and my mind was flung into a panic. "I- uh- I don't know what you're talking about."

Finn kept looking at the window, watching rain spit down on the sand. Lighting flashed and his hair brightened into copper. "I think you do," he said finally.

"I don't," I lied, because what else could I say? Uh, yeah, actually ever since I saw you I've been pining for you hopelessly? Over my dead body.

He turned to look at me finally, and it was maybe the first time I'd ever seen him look so calm and relaxed. "Come here. And close the door."

Slowly I pushed the door closed with my foot and sat on the bed, and a comfortable distance away. Surprising me, Finn wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, so my back was against his chest. His voice took on a warning tone (something familiar, relievingly), as he said, "Okay, this stays between us, got it?"

"Y-yeah," I squeaked.

He hummed to me. The sound was soft and simple but held the allure and danger of dark seas and sharp rocks along the coast, the kind that wrecked ships. The constant sound of the rain and thunder took on a lilting, musical rhythm as if Finn's song was shaping the sky. Or maybe the sky was joining in on the chorus. I felt heat rush into my face as Finn delicately rested his head on top of mine, making me feel the song rather than hear it.

The song stopped- the storm dissolved back into chaos. "Ah, there," Finn said, resting his hand against my heart. "The heart is a built-in lie detector, you know. I just had to distract you a bit. Get you comfortable."

"It was a ruse!" I cried. "But...maybe Faerie hearts don't speed up, how about that? I don't know." Shit, I am so dead. Of COURSE Faerie hearts speed up.

"Let's see, then," Finn replied.

Moving his other hand to my hair, he tilted my head and kissed a trail up my neck up to my jaw. He paused and then kissed along my jawline until he was at my lips. After a moment of agonizing tension, he simply smirked and stopped, slowly pulling away. I inhaled sharply, my face burning. "Well, your heart is going pretty fast, Alaric, isn't it?" he murmured into my ear.

I couldn't think, I couldn't move. I wanted to tell him don't stop but I couldn't say anything that made sense. "You- just- you just-"

"Yeah, yeah, shut the fuck up," Finn said, reverting a bit more to his normal self. "Now...you know what I'm talking about, right?"

"No." I felt my heart speed up. Traitor! I would chuck you into the sea if I didn't need you!

"Ah ah," Finn sang. Dammit- I blushed dark red. "You're lying. And...you weren't drunk, were you?"

I felt my heart pump faster even before the lie. "I- I was!"

Finn made a tsksound, sitting up, "You can lie to me with your mouth, but not your heart, Alaric." He sat back against the headboard of the bed with a smirk that was all but forced. "The real question, I guess, is why? Why even? You don't know me."