Separate Entities//Miss Peregrine AU

Chapter Thirteen

I kept telling myself that I only stayed because I didn't want to catch a fever. I knew that wasn't the only reason why, though. Jacob had to stay, which practically guilt tripped me into staying. He was the only connection between their world and ours, through Abe's bloodline.

After the confrontation, Miss Peregrine sent Jake off to see the children then offered to prepare me some tea to calm down. Of course, I burnt my tongue as I took my first sip, as I had had only a few experiences with tea and had no idea how long to wait before it was the right temperature. Burning my tongue on Miss Peregrine's chamomile tea, however, was a much better experience than Kev's too bitter coffee.

It wasn't until after dinnertime that I finally moved from the kitchen. I had fallen asleep for about an hour in between Miss Peregrine's departure from the room and dinner, and by the time I'd woken up - fifteen minutes before dinner was served, my tea was cold. I was fine with it, though - at least it would sooth my aching tongue. Millard seemed to have made a habit of sitting next to me, and I was in no place to object. I was surprised I was receiving any hospitality at all after my outburst. I was immensely grateful, to say the least.

After dinner, Millard asked me to join him in the study, where I'd painted his portrait. Instead, I suggested the small spare room with the piano in it, as I was hoping to lighten the somber mood with some half-assed piano playing. As I expected, he didn't object. We walked there in silence, though somewhere along the way our hands managed to bump and tangle themselves together - not that either of us minded.

As soon as we arrived, I nearly ran to the piano, then sat down and ran my fingers over the perfect ivory keys. Millard chuckled a little at my enthusiasm, but I didn't care. I rather loved the piano - I'd always had a fascination with them, and the music they produced was always so beautiful - well, except if the person playing was a shitty pianist. Without any more delay, I began playing.

"You may remember this one," I said as I played the first few notes, simple as they were. Millard's eyes brightened immediately as he recognized the tune, and he began to sing.

"Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run run. Bang, bang, bang goes the farmer's gun. He'll get by without his rabbit pie so run rabbit, run rabbit, run!" We both laughed as I plunked out the last few notes, ending the song. He leaned against the piano, just near enough that we both could have spoken in whispers and heard each other fine.

"You've got a great voice," I commented. "If only you knew the rest of the songs I can play."

Millard smiled and looked down, perhaps because he might have been uncomfortable with the praise. "Thank you, Kallie, though I'd much rather express my talent of writing. I find my voice quite sub-par, actually." At his words, my eyes widened.

"Are you kidding me? You're better than me, that's no doubt. I mean, you're better than half the singers in my time. Though I suppose I'm biased, 'cause I only really like classic rock, and I happen to really like-" I cut myself off, realizing what I was about to say.

"You happen to really like what?" Millard inquired, and I was sure he knew what I was really going to say - I really like him.

There was no denying the fact that lately, I'd been feeling something other than general likeness for him. I had gotten defensive whenever anyone mentioned us being more than friends; like when Olive and Claire were teasing me, or when Jacob commented on our squabble about my foul mouth. Maybe I wanted to avoid those feelings?

Well of course I did! The guy was basically seventy years older than me, so, of course, I was going to try not to feel anything like that for him. But it was so damn hard. His passion about his book and his thirst for knowledge were things I wasn't usually attracted to, but those traits were admirable in him, to say the least. Not to mention his charming tone and pleasing aesthetics. I knew there was a lot he could teach me, and I was always open to learning - learning was fun when I didn't have a mandatory test every week. I suppose I really did like him...