Villain at Night *Third Book To Hero by Day

Chapter 8 - Shadows in his head

"We're in a Die Hard movie with bees."

~ Felicity Smoak (Overwatch)

:Elise:

As much as I loved studying for my exams, hanging out with Olly was much more fun.

Who am I kidding? The only reason I was here was to hang out with Olly.

Oliver was reluctant at first to bring me over to his place when we started dating. I was assuming it had to do with the fact that his house was not as big as mine. The huge house I owned was due to my parents' success, and it made me look like another rich girl. But, I thought it was all a bit much. Oliver's apartment was the size of my parents' master bedroom, so you can see why he was always too embarrassed to bring me over.

I, for one, didn't matter what his place looked like, as long I was there with him.

Now that his mom was getting married, they moved in with her fiancé, Oliver's boss. His apartment was much bigger than Oliver's, but Olly still didn't want to bring me there either. I guess it just didn't feel like home to him.

So, we were 'studying' down in the Man Cave instead.

In reality, we weren't doing much actual studying. It was more like the occasional glance at the textbook with a lot more kissing.

What can I say? We didn't have time to go one dates nowadays.

"So, what is sin30?" He asked.

I shrugged and leaned in close, "I don't know, you tell me, Mr. Smart Guy."

He laughed and kissed the tip of my nose. "We have to get some actual studying in, Elise."

I pouted. "We totally have. Now I know how to pass the pre-calculus test. All I'll have to do is steal the answers from you."

He chuckled and put the textbook down on his lap. "Cheating is not a good strategy for getting through high school."

I frowned and propped my head up on my arms, "So, since I am really looking forward to wasting the time, how was that meet up you and Aden had the other day? I heard about that villain girl, Midnight. How was she like?"

Oliver suddenly tensed up and sat straighter. His eyes glossed over and his fingers tightened around his pencil. "She was interesting."

I narrowed my eyes and sat straighter myself. Oliver wasn't telling me something.

"What did she do?"

He looked down.

"She scared the crowd and caught the attention of Aden and I early on. She started rambling about how she used to worship me, like all the other teens there at the meet up, and how stupid she had been to do that. Then she got dark and talked about how I had betrayed her – killed her emotionally even. Then she sent an army of shadow monsters at the crowd."

"As far as Detective Pearson, Aden, and I can figure, she can literally control the shadows and the darkness. Her shadow monsters were harmless physically, and they easily dissipated when I electrocuted them, but they had a strange effect on the crowd. It was like they literally spread fear. And, when they touched you . . ."

He took a deep breath. Obviously he had experienced firsthand what the shadows were capable of. And they were definitely not candy and rainbows.

"They were made of complete and utter darkness. When it ran into me, that darkness spread throughout my entire body. That darkness included every dark feeling you've ever had, every upsetting thought or offhand idea. I was engulfed by every doubt and fear in my mind, and they were increased by tenfold. I felt like my heart was going to explode. And, then, when I finally broke away from the shadows, Midnight brung down a wave of darkness onto me. I suddenly couldn't breath and my chest felt like someone stabbed me right through the heart and right as I was about to die, the thoughts came back. I really believed I was going to die engulfed by horrible thoughts of everyone I loved."