Divulging Thoughts

Chapter 11-2

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"Don't push her; try lifting her legs and I'll lift her arms," I heard a voice say. I sighed sleepily, attempting to roll over my side but was stopped by a pair of arms.

"See? She'll fall straight off this stupid rock if we do that," whispered someone I recognized to be Luke.

"Stop it," I muttered, just like I normally would in any dream. I could hear the waves and wondered how I could conjure the sound so perfectly.

"She can sleep talk?" Frans' muffled voice started up my lulled heart and I could imagine his perfect face smiling at me and offering me sweet words.

"Frans," I whispered, attempting to curl up but I was immobile again. Alarmed, my eyes shot open and I was again face to face with none other than Frans himself, whose arms were clutching the side I had attempted to roll with.

"Oh!" I cried and in my attempt to right myself up, I ended up nearly falling over, if it weren't for Frans whose arms curled around me with such strength and he lifted me up with ease.

Luke scoffed and from his expression I could see that he was annoyed.

Frans was smiling at me, pulling me to my feet and then took a step back. I wobbled once, feeling the vertigo effects and wagged my finger at him. I knew at the back of my mind that I was drunk with sleep but that did not deter me for long.

"Frans I'm sorry for earlier," I said and I could hear my voice come out in a garbled sigh. I didn't even know if he could fully understand me.

"I understand you," he replied and I smiled.

"You can hear me?" I asked, taking a step toward him and wobbled slightly again. He caught me before I could fall and my heart sped up at his touch.

I belatedly realized I was wearing Luke's brown sweater and the sleeves were much too long; they hid my hands that craved to touch Frans' face and see whether it was as smooth as it looked.

"You can touch it if you want," Frans' voice was light and carefree, his expression amused.

As more seconds passed, my consciousness returned and I could feel my face getting hotter. I struggled out of Frans' arms but he held me fast, leaning in until his face was mere inches from mine.

Holy cow he's so close!

"Indeed I am," Frans replied and leaned even closer, stopping only to lock his gaze with mine before he closed his eyes and so did I.

I felt the pressure of his lips...

On my forehead. My eyes shot open and he had leaned away, letting me go and laughing so loudly, I was afraid the whole campus would wake up.

"You should have seen your face!" he cackled and doubled over in laughter.

Yet I could hear him saying something in an entirely different voice.

That was close, Violet. What are you doing to me?

"What I'm doing to you?" I asked aloud and he stopped laughing, locking gazes with me again.

"Ah," he said resigned. "I forgot you can hear me too."

"Hear you too?" I asked incredulously.

Frans nodded once. "I can hear people's thoughts as Luke's probably told you." At the mention of Luke's name, I turned round, my hazel eyes searching for him but he was gone. I turned to look at Frans again. "The only person I have trouble hearing is you. I can only hear you when you think of me, or your thoughts are directed to me. I can't hear you when you're overly emotional; like earlier when you were angry enough to kill me," he smiled at that and I hung my head, ashamed.

"You are also telepathic, although your abilities seem limited," he said and his voice became curious. "You seem to only hear me, and only when I'm specifically thinking about you."

"That's ridiculous," I muttered but my mind went over all the times I thought Frans was a ventriloquist and how sometimes he spoke but with no words at all.

Can you hear me, Violet?

He spoke in a voice I now recognized as his inner one, crazy as that sounded.

I like you.

It was as if my whole life had crashed down on me.

As if he could read all the screams in my frantic thoughts, Frans smiled softly at me, looking like he  actually meant it.