Wings | ✓

8. a compliment

"what are you doing here again?" i managed to ask without stuttering my face off. hav sat in the corner of my room, the book that he claimed was his in his hands. he didn't look up from the page that he was on when he replied.

"i like this book."

"i can tell," i replied, pursing my lips. it was nighttime again, and i was awoken by the sound of the door opening and closing. hav walked into the room as if he owned it, grabbed the book right off my table and snuggled into the corner without a word.

"it's a good book," he continued. "and it's mine. so i'd like to read it."

"look, that book is mine. the nurses gave it to me," i explained, a twinge of annoyance entering my tone.

"nuh-uh. they took it from me because they know how much i like this book and they hate me," he scoffed his reply, turning a page of the book.

"are you talking about the nurses?" i asked curiously, frowning slightly. that can't be right. they, along with greg, are so nice.

"you mean the evil ladies that try to shove medicine down my throat every night? yup," he replied sardonically. he lifted his head slightly, just enough for me to see his purple eyes glint.

"that's not true," i mumbled. "they're really nice. they're my friends."

hav paused, setting the book down on the floor, turning his head towards me.

"no one here has friends, ava. only themselves and time," he muttered cynically.

"time?" i repeated, cocking my head to one side.

"yeah. everybody has time. although most of us here are a little short of that, too." and then he picked up the book and began to read again.

a part of me was itching to get up and switch on the lights in the room so i can have a clearer look at hav, but i was way too tired and too weak to even stand up, much less walk.

"what do you look like?" i blurted out curiously.

"nothing special," he replied in a bored tone.

"i don't think so. your eyes are purple," i stated. "and they glow like the stars on my walls."

"so you know my eyes are weird," he sighed,  flipping the page. i bit my lip, wondering if he took offence to that.

"they're not weird," i mumbled. "i think they're really cool."

hav stopped, lifting his head up to face me. his face was still shrouded with darkness, giving no clue about how he really looked like. his purple eyes glowed as he stared at me with unnerving intensity. 

"you're strange," he finally muttered, and the tone of his voice gave nothing away about whether what he said was a good thing or not.

i bit my lip and frowned, swallowing thickly. that doesn't really sound like a compliment. even though i've been here for years, and i don't really get to talk to other people, i know being 'strange' isn't really something you should be proud of.

"stop over thinking, ava," hav finally said, breaking the silence. "being strange is a good thing."