✘ : 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 | 𝐥. 𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 : ➞

05

𝙤𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙞𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚,
𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩?

—

THE GASP THAT leaves my mouth is almost theatrical.

I am standing in-front of Jake Sully.

And I just ran into him like an imbecile.

I instantly take a step back, almost tripping over a desk before I ram into it. "I'm- I'm so sorry, sir, I-"

He cocks a brow as if to tell me to stop talking, and I do. My lips slam shut, and I gulp out of fear.

I look around the room, my eyes landing on about a million more Na'vi. There is Jake and Neytiri, Lo'ak and Kiri and two others I do not recognize.

Then, it hits me.

They snitched.

My gaze changes as my eyes land on Lo'ak and Kiri. Kiri looks away in shame, rubbing the back of her neck, but Lo'ak only stares back and crosses his arms on his chest.

What a prick.

"What did you just say?" Jake says menacingly.

I switch back to fear.

"Nothing, sir. Sorry." I whisper, looking away sheepishly. He seems to hesitate, narrowing his eyes before before turning to Norm.

He inhaled, "A little birdie told me something." He says, "that I think you ought to explain, and fast."

Norm nods, just once. He turns to Max beside him, who gives him a look.

"Come on. Let's talk over here." Norm says, cocking his head to a more private space. Jake nods, looking to Neytiri who gives a sharp look toward me that makes me freeze in my place.

Lo'ak has Neytiri's eyes, and they are both equally as terrifying.

As soon as they've stepped out of the room, I snap my head toward the group at the front-door.

"What the hell?!" I say, stalking toward Lo'ak and Kiri. "I thought you said you weren't gonna snitch!"

"I didn't!" Lo'ak jumps to action, "he did." He points toward a taller, older male beside him.

My head snaps to the Navi beside him. His eyes do not waver when I do.

"I did the right thing." The taller man says, "and I'm not going to apologize for it."

I step forward, "it may have been the right thing in your head, but it wasn't your news to tell. Right thing my ass, it was a shitty thing to do."

I stab my finger at his chest—well, his stomach, but I pretend it is his chest—making him frown.

"Like I said before, I am not going to apologize." He says. He bends down so he is eye-level with me, resting his hands on his thighs to prop himself up. "Is this going to be a problem?"

"Cmon, bro." Lo'ak grabs the males shoulder, pulling him back. "Just lay off of it."

Kiri grabs the males arm, dragging him away from me. "Her whole world just changed, Neteyam." she whispers, yet it's so painfully easy to hear her. "Go easy on her."

Kiri turns to me, giving me a small, sympathetic look before she looks away. That irritates me more than Neteyam's empty threats do.

I am quick to jump to a response. "I don't want your pity." I say, "nor do I need it. I'm not just some pathetic little girl with no friends or something, alright? So, save your pity for someone who really needs it. I'm going to see what they're talking about. When I'm back, I better not see any of you."

No one says anything for a few seconds, and I take that as the end of the conversation. I give a curt nod, spinning on my heel and moving toward the door of the room Norm took Jake and Neytiri.

I slow my steps as I get closer, leaning underneath the window so I am not visible. The voices inside the room are muffled, but I can just barely make out what they are saying.

"-that still doesn't explain everything. Why keep her hidden all these years? I mean, if Spider came out and was accepted by the clan, why wouldn't she?" Jake asks, leaning a leg on the table.

"No," says Neytiri, "no, something is different about her. I can sense it. Something about her feels.. uneasy. Dangerous."

I don't hear what she says next because I am distracted by the commotion beside me. I nearly jump out of my skin as someone appears beside me, tail swishing behind them.

I gasp, before settling when I recognized Lo'aks face. He shrugs, resting a hand against the wall behind me to prop himself up. I try to ignore how his too-large (and too-blue) arm brushes my head.

"Yes. I knew you'd feel that way," Max starts. He stands, running a hand along his chin, "Thats because something is dangerous about her."

My brows furrow with his words.

"Dangerous?" I whisper, mostly to myself before I remember Lo'ak is here. I turn to him, searching his face for a reaction. That's when I realize just how close he is next to me, and I force myself to ignore it.

Why is my heart racing?

It's probably from Max's words. Right?

Jake speaks and cuts me out of my thoughts, "dangerous? What is dangerous supposed to mean?"

"It's a lot to explain. But we need you two to trust us, okay?" Norm says, "and just listen. It will be a lot of information to process at once."

Norm inhales, "Esme, she's.."

It hits me that this is it. This is finally where I figure out what I am, why I was hidden and why I am so different.

Aaaand it also hits me how much of a nuisance the boy beside me is.

Because as he takes a step, he accidentally steps on something sharp. He yelps, clutching his foot as he falls backward, pushing against one of the chairs that flies from the force of the impact and lands into a cart full of science tools.

I wince as all the metal tools come crashing at once, the sound of the metal clashing against each other echoing the room.

"What was that?" Neytiri's voice comes through the window, and everyone comes racing over at once. The door slam open, nearly hitting me but I move back just in time, causing the only impact to be just a gust of wind.

I crawl backward, my back hitting the wall. Norm hears the impact, his head snapping toward me. His eyes change when he sees me. He crosses his arms on his chest, giving me a long glare.

"Really, Esme?" He says. I frown, pushing myself onto my feet and gluing my eyes to them. I refused to look up to see his face of shame.

I sigh, "I was just curious." I say softly. "I'm sorry."

Norm says nothing for a brief moment. "Go to your room." He says coldly.

And I do.