Water and Fire

Chapter 5

When Lena had left this morning all the doors in the house had been closed. During her classes she had kept an eye on the door, but no matter how often it had opened, Maria and Brian had not walked in. Lena had read about the headaches after a night of drinking, she had read about the sickness and the inability to get out of bed. Deep down she had not expected them to show up, but a part of her had hoped that she had been wrong.

"Brian? Maria?" Lena put her backpack on the table in the kitchen and she sighed when she noticed that the dishes, she had wanted to do yesterday, were still in the sink. Since she wasn't getting an answer from her roommates, she refused to call them friends at this point, she decided to make up for her lack of responsibly.

"Could you do whatever you're doing a little less loud?" Maria leaned against the doorpost leading towards her room. Her eyes looked sleepy and she was still wearing her pajamas. She had not removed her make up and her hair was a mess. 

"I'm already doing this as quietly as I can." Lena sounded a little bitter and she had to fight the urge to walk over to the girl to shake her up, telling her that she had such a great future ahead of her if she wouldn't just throw it away by drinking too much and going to parties instead of attending classes.

"Then just stop doing it", Maria yelled and turned around, slamming with her door. 

Not that Lena would listen to her. Just because Maria and Brian liked to get wasted and spent the entire day in their beds, it didn't mean that Lena had to do the same. 

It was almost evening. There was no reason for them to complain about her doing the dishes.

"Looks like not everyone can handle parties."

Lena turned her head towards Brian, noticing how he walked into the kitchen wearing nothing but his pants. She rolled her eyes and focussed on the plates again, although she had already cleaned them. Twice. 

"Did we miss anything important in class?", asked Brian as if he didn't notice that Lena was ignoring him. 

"I've made notes. You can use them", answered Lena, without turning around. She had been the only one in class taking notes and she had been wondering why she was even doing it. If she wouldn't watch out, she would end up being the student doing everyone else's work. She had been warned for that. She had been warned for a lot of things and still she didn't managed to prevent them from happening. 

"You're too good for this world." Brian's chest was touching her back while he grabbed one of the glasses she had just dried. "I would let us rot in hell", he whispered, smiling. 

Lena was starting to get used to the amused smile that always seemed to play on his lips. It was as if all of this was nothing but a game for him. It was as if she was nothing but a game for him. 

"Well, luckily for you I'm not you." She shrugged her shoulders and acted as if she wasn't bothered by him being this close to her while he filled his glass with water.

"The angel has got a bite", Brian whispered, while his lips were almost touching her ear. "I like it." He turned around and walked away again, closing the door of his room behind him.

He kept on calling her angel and for some reason it was making her angry. 

Not because she wasn't proud that she was an angel, not because she was ashamed that she was one. But because it made her feel even more horrible than she already felt right now.

How did humans call this again? Homesickness? 

She missed home. She missed her parents and the friends she had. She missed being praised for not going to parties. She missed no one talking about alcohol. She missed feeling like she belonged, like she was good enough.