Porcelain Face | HIATUS |

Chapter 12: Playing Hero

"Sparrow, how could you not know how to cook scrambled eggs!?" screamed Lara, Sparrow's friend she made in high school.

"Do I look like the type of person to get off my butt and actually do something!?" screeched Sparrow, furiously trying to mix the scrambled eggs.

Katie, Sparrow's old friend from middle school, was searching around the cabinets, opening each and every one of them. "Where do you keep your baking soda, Sparrow?" she asked.

Sparrow stopped her mixing. "... What's baking soda?"

The two friends of Sparrow groaned, facepalming. This lady never learned to cook, didn't she?

Katie searched around her bag, pulling out a box of baking soda. "No worries, I brought some just in case."

The three were in Sparrow's apartment, trying to teach Sparrow how to cook in her own God damn place.

Sparrow was put in charge of the eggs, as scrambled eggs are one of the easiest dishes you could make. But apparently, the girl was never technically experienced with those either.

As Lara was desperately trying to teach Sparrow how even beat the eggs, the doorbell rang. Sparrow took the chance of getting out of cooking by being the polite host and opening the door. In front of her, was... awkward tension.

Tord and his old friends had arrived at the same time, tensely staring at each other before looking away. Sparrow somewhat shuffled away. "Uh... you guys can sit on the couch... we're almost done with dinner." said Sparrow, leading them to the center of the room, where the living room was.

"Hah! It'll be done already if Sparrow only knew how to beat the eggs!" yelled Lara from the kitchen. Sparrow scowled.

"It's not my fault I never learned how to cook!" she screeched back. She turned back the four men, giving them a crap-eating grin. "I'll be right back."

Sparrow speed-walked towards her friends, scolding that they have guests in the house. Tord slowly sat down on the couch farthest away from the group, keeping his distance about 6 feet. The group decided to sit down on a plush white sofa, trying their best not to make eye contact with Tord.

It was a long silence, sometimes abruptly disturbed by the screeches and yells coming from the kitchen. Finally, the three ladies stumbled out of the kitchen, with several dishes in hand.

The girls gave everybody their food, then proceeded to sit down the other available chairs and sofas, eating their food.

Sparrow eyed Tord and his old friends. She was for at least one of them to talk, or even make eye contact with one another.

At last, when everyone was finished with their food, Tord spoke up. "... I see that you arranged this so my old friends and I can... talk."

Sparrow nodded her head. "You boys need to sort things over. Do you think I haven't overheard what went down in your office yesterday, Tord?" she said, picking up all the plates and placing them to the kitchen. As soon she came out, Sparrow sat down, wanting to continue the conversation.

Edd shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, sighing. "She's right... we can't possibly live like this forever, avoiding each other, hoping that things will die down." Edd finally made eye contact with Tord. "We do need to talk."

"About what?" Tord said, crossing his arms. "About how such a terrible person I am?"

"About everything." Matt jumps into the conversation. "We used to be so close, Tord, " he shakes his head. "What happened?"

Pressing his back further into the couch, Tord mumbles, "I thought I already told you that."

The air had gotten thicker and colder. The tension between the four men thickens, filling up the room. The oxygen in their lungs felt heavier, and for some reason, the silence became loud.

Tom huffed and looked away from Tord, his mood never changing towards his old enemy. "I don't see why do we have to talk to him." Tom snarled. "I say, once a villain, always a villain."

Tord tensed at those words, the atmosphere around him suddenly stirred up to a furious aura. He gripped the fabric of his pants, almost visibly shaking if he wasn't trying to make his voice as firm as possible. "And what are you? The hero?" he growled.

He hated when people call someone the villain. Like what does that name make them? A hero? They never saw what's it like in the villain's perspective. And in all seriousness, the villain may as well perceive the role of the hero.

That's why he absolutely hates it when someone calls another a villain. Because... if everyone sees each other the hero, then who's the actual villain?

The sudden change in Tord's mood disturbed Tom. Never before he had seen Tord this mad. But, his shock slowly melted away, reforming into a hostile aura. His back arched in a menacing way, his fists clenching each other tightly. "Well, yes." Tom said. "We were doing just fine before you dared to step foot into our house again. You hurt us, Tord. And we stopped you before you hurt anyone else."

The Norwegian sharply stood up. "Well, thank you for that." he said bitterly. "You changed me, that's for sure..." through his bangs, his silver-grey eyes turned into a mini thunderstorm in his eyes, flashing dangerously with lighting. "But you are not the hero."

Tom also stood up as well, glaring at him. "So what if I'm not? At least I'm not the sinner—"

"Are we really going into this!?" screamed Tord. "Are we really going to get caught in your religion?" Tord stormed over to Tom, their bodies only a few inches apart. "Because get this, Thomas." using Tom's real name, he jabbed a finger into his chest. "I may not be a saint..." he pushed Tom back into the sofa. "But you're not one either!"

There came the waves of shock that crashed onto the group. Tord was on the verge of tears, but he wouldn't let the group see it. "I get it! I did bad things! I hurt, I killed, I ruined your God damn lives!" Tord yelled. "But I'm trying, you guys, to fix what I've done, and Sparrow probably thought me talking to you will be the next step. But it's not." stumbling back, he fell to his knees. "I know, I hurt you guys... I made so many sins..." his voice cracked. "But if you stopped counting my sins... you would see I'm not a bad person anymore!"

Sparrow rushed towards Tord, embracing him tightly as if she was trying to keep Tord from actually breaking into pieces. "I get it's fun pretending to be the hero..." Tord finally sobbed, releasing all of his pent up tears. "B-But playing hero isn't fun if you're not saving everyone..." more tears feel down his cheeks. "I-It isn't fun when you see the villain never being saved by the one who's supposed to save everyone."

Edd tried to get closer to Tord, but Sparrow pushed him away. "I think it's time for you to leave..." she said, patting Tord's back. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

Lara and Katie lead the group out the door, the group giving Tord one last look before leaving the apartment. They thought after that, they'd never see Tord again.

But oh boy, that was not the case.