Have a great day everyone! Sorry this got posted late :( Have to run and play tennis now, I'll try to respond to any comments/questions when I get back.
Hope you enjoy this chapter! ;)
Chapter Thirty
~Thea's POV~
We walk back to the hotel room, where I take some of the pain medication. It does help a little, but if I run my fingers over my wrist, I can still feel the split in the tiny bones, and see the bruising that's swelling around it. I remember how Loki had broken it with a single jerk of his hand, with a single snap, and I shudder.
Since CVS, Angelique has been extremely flustered, partially because of the incident of Videl and partially because she is fretting over me.
"Are you okay?" she asks over and over, "Is the medicine working?"
Every time Angelique asks this question, Videl, who is doing his normal lounge-dramatically-on-the-couch-and-have-a-pity-party says, "She's fiiiine." At about the fifth time, I privately wonder if Angelique is just trying to get Videl to respond.
Eventually, Angelique asks flatly, "So what are we going to do? Live here forever?"
"We," says Videl, "Are going to stay here until I get energized enough to get us out of here, or until Loki arrives to kill us, whichever comes first."
Angelique glowers at him.
Videl turns away so that his back is to Angelique and me.
"You're acting like a toddler," I inform him.
He lets out a noncommittal grunt and covers his face with a pillow. I twist my non broken wrist, and the pillow flies off of his head and onto the ground.
Videl swears.
"You should be grateful that I didn't set it on fire," I say.
Videl sits up on his elbows and glares at me. "And you should be grateful that you are in possession of your life."
"How about we go out and walk around?" asks Angelique, evidently sensing the tension, "It's a beautiful day."
"Okay," I say, mostly because I don't want to stay in one spot for very long anyway.
"That's a great idea," says Videl, "You and Thea leave."
"Nope," says Angelique, pulling her hair up into a ponytail, "You need to come with us. What happens if...someone shows up, and you have to get us out of here?"
"Then I suspect you'll die."
Angelique makes a face at him, and then gestures to me, "C'mon Thea. Or are you in too much pain, can you-"
"I feel fine," I say at the precise moment that Videl snaps, "You're NOT GOING ANYWHERE."
"Evidently we are," says Angelique cheerfully, putting her purse strap over her shoulder, "See you later."
"Fine, you can leave, Thea, you stay right where you are," orders Videl.
"No, I don't think I will," I say, getting up off of the chair and walking after Angelique towards the door. I make sure to pocket my ruby knife so that the hilt is underneath my shirt, hiding it.
Angelique stay in the hallway and wait about five seconds, until Videl comes through the door. We exchange triumphant smiles.
"If you're going to leave, then leave," Videl stalks down the hallway. Still grinning, I follow him, with Angelique in my stead.
"Let's get ice cream," says Angelique as we emerge onto the street. It's a little more crowded now, which I don't mind. It means I can hide. A bus roars past us, and Videl wrinkles his nose at the exhaust fumes.
"What the hell is ice cream?" asks Videl, "And the answer is no."
"Ice cream is a delightful, cooling treat," says Angelique, "And the answer is yes if I say it is yes, because I make my own decisions, thank you very much."
"I can see that," says Videl, his fangs hanging over his lips.
"Can you like, retract your teeth?" I ask, "You're going to scare people."
"Good," says Videl.
Apparently, nobody notices Videl's fangs, but several girls notice him anyway. As we walk down Main Street, several lock their gazes on them, and whisper to each other, giggling. Videl, who unfortunately does look sort of attractive with his messy golden curls, his chiseled face, and his glittering nose ring, is either extremely oblivious to this, or he doesn't care. Regardless, his gaze only falls on a couple of them in half-interest before eventually returning to Angelique.
I look at Angelique. She is pretty, definitely pretty, but not typically pretty. She has an unusual facial structure and a sharp nose, but her dark eyes and hair are beautiful, and her body extremely feminine. I'm jealous, to be honest.
The Ben and Jerry's is crowded with kids, although none look like they've been at school today, which is sort of weird. It reminds me of when Andrew, Jack and I had gone for ice cream before I went to Asgard. And then, as the chattering of excited people surrounds me, my shoulders fall as I remember Asgard, only a couple of months ago. I remember the beautiful clothes, the open sky, the towering columns. But mostly, I remember Loki. How he had held me when I was scared, letting me cry out my anguish. How he had lifted me on Stjarna and spun me around at the festival. How he had been trembling when he had saw me dead in his dream. And-
"Thea."
I jerk my head up. Videl is peering at me through his glittering, liquid amber eyes. His brow is furrowed, and his nostrils flaring from all the unfamiliar smells around him. "Are you all right, Thea? Angelique asked you something, pay attention."
"Uh," I say, putting my hands behind my back and fiddling with my fingers. "Sorry, what?"
"You're okay," says Angelique, who is sniffing the air appreciatively, "What were you thinking about?"
I open my mouth and then close it. My chest feels dull again.
Angelique changes the topic, although Videl is giving me a half-annoyed, half-knowing look, "Anyway, I was asking what ice cream flavor you wanted."
"I don't need any," I say, which isn't true, but I don't want Angelique to buy me anything else.
"No you don't," agrees Videl.
Angelique rolls her eyes, "Well then wait here with Videl while I get something."
She has left my side for precisely two and a half seconds when Videl leans in and says, "You were thinking about your father, weren't you?"
My shoulders fall, and I focus my attention on watching Angelique's bobbing head walk through the crowd towards the counter. "At least I haven't been thinking about having sex with Angelique."
"What did you just say?" he demands.
"Just leave me alone, Videl," I say and slouch against the wall, my back to him. I hear him shifting behind me, but doesn't say anything. I realize I had been holding my breath for him to apologize to me, but why would he apologize for hurting my feelings when he hasn't even apologized for killing my baby sister?
"Thea, why are you crying?" exclaims Angelique a few minutes later. She is carrying two cups of ice cream, spoons perched at the tops of them. "Here, hold these," she puts the ice cream cups in Videl's hands without asking first, and then says to me,"Are you okay? What did he do to you?"
"He didn't do anything to me," I say, glaring at Videl, who is looking at me with his eyebrow raised. But there is something else in his eyes, something I can't place. A flicker of sadness, maybe, but I've never known Videl to have that feeling, except when his father died.
Videl clears his throat, "What is this stuff anyway?"
"I already told you," says Angelique, looking seriously annoyed now, "It's ice cream."
I hastily wipe my face, ashamed of my tears. I realize that I probably look like a total mess right now. Then, clearing my throat, I say in a croaky voice, "You didn't have to get me anything."
"Yes I did," says Angelique, "And I know you like chocolate, so here you go." She takes one of the cups from Videl and hands it to me. It's some sort of brownie ice cream, with M&Ms on top. I hold it delicately in my injured hand, but the ice cream isn't that heavy, so it only causes minor discomfort.
"How did you know I liked chocolate?" I ask, taking a bite of the ice cream. It's delicious, and the brownie is delectably chewy and chocolate-y.
She smiles from where she's mixing together some of her sprinkles in her mint-chocolate ice cream, "Last time we worked together, you had a stash of Hershey's Kisses in your drawer."
"Oh yeah," I say, "I stole those from Kyle."
"What's a Hershey's Kiss?" asks Videl.
"It's a lot better than blood," I say.
"But why would you want to eat a kiss, that's what I ask asking, idiot."
Angelique laughs, and I snort back my own giggles.
"It's chocolate," I say, "But it's called a Hershey's Kiss."
"That's ridiculous," says Videl.
"You're ridiculous."
He narrows his eyes to me as if to say, Really?
"Have you ever eaten human food?" asks Angelique as we walk back out into the sunshine, which is surprisingly intense for the end of November.
"No," says Videl. He's walking between Angelique and me, his eyes darting around the street, his nostrils flaring. I know what he's doing. He's trying to scent Loki, if and when Loki shows up.
"Can you eat human food?" asks Angelique.
"Technically," says Videl, "But I've never had the ambition. Some Velah train themselves to eat only human food instead of drinking blood. But most are considered traitors in our empire."
"Well," Angelique stops walking and takes her spoon and scoops out a bit of her green ice cream, dotted with chocolate chips and sprinkles, "One way to find out if you like it."
He wrinkles his nose, but it twitches; he's smelling it, and curiously. But his voice is annoyed, "No."
"Oh c'mon, don't be a pussycat. You're probably bad-tempered all the time because you've never had ice cream."
I cough surreptitiously and fake-whisper, "Or because it's in his blood. Get it? Bl-"
"Yes, yes, it's hilarious," says Videl, regarding the ice cream-filled spoon as if afraid that it will bite him.
"I bet he's scared," says Angelique to me, but she's looking up at Videl, right into his cat-like eyes.
He raises an eyebrow, and then bends down, enveloping his mouth around the spoon, looking at Angelique the whole time through his long lashes. He holds her gaze as he stands up, and then licks his lips.
"Well?" asks Angelique, clearing her throat, "How good is it?"
One corner of his mouth twitches up, so that one fang sticks out. "Delicious."
Angelique flushes. I gag, which prompts Videl to lightly punch my shoulder when Angelique turns away hurriedly.
"Will there be blood on her spoon now?" I ask curiously, "And no, you're not getting any of mine."
"No, there won't," says Videl as Angelique squawks and looks at her spoon in horror, "We're equipped with self-cleaning on our tongues and teeth. It stops the disease. And I don't want yours. The one was nasty enough."
"You told Angelique that it was delicious," I point out.
Videl looks back at Angelique, who is doing her best to appear normal as we continue walking down the street. He smirks again, and then says quietly, "I wasn't talking about the ice cream."
Angelique widens her eyes, which Videl cannot see because I am in between them.
"You're so lame," I say, taking note of how both Angelique and Videl are flushing.
"I am not," says Videl, "I'm perfect. And you have ice cream on your face." He reaches forward and swipes the side of my mouth, then licks his fingers. He makes a face of disgust, but I'm about ninety percent sure that he thinks the chocolate tastes good.
"Angelique probably has some on her lips," I say innocently, "How about you get that off of her too?"
Angelique chokes and looks down at the ground. Videl glares at me and pulls my hair.
We walk across the street, towards the Presbyterian Church that is also on the Davidson College campus. It's almost completely empty, so our only company are a couple squirrels that go running when they see Videl, and the occasional bird that flies across our path. The brick paths are lined with oak trees and fallen leaves skirt around us. It's tranquil, and as I continue eating my ice cream, I feel a little bit peaceful inside.
"I love this church," Angelique says as we approach the sanctuary doors, a dark pair that are open to the long line of pews inside. "I used to come every Sunday when I went to school here."
Videl glances at the wooden cross hanging on the wall next to the entrance, "I don't see why you would bother. It seems dismal to me."
"It's not," says Angelique with an edge to her voice, "My faith gives me something to live for. What do you live for?"
"Myself," says Videl punctually.
"Well that explains why you're so miserable," says Angelique casually. As she turns away, walking into the church, Videl stares after her, his eyes wide.
"What happened to your silver tongue?" I whisper as I follow Angelique inside. I hear Videl mutter something and then walk after me.
The sanctuary is basic, but somehow powerful because of it. Alongside the long white sides and white columns, stained glass allows light to filter into the empty room with all sorts of colors. There are rows and rows of dark, mahogany pews that face the pupil, which has a purple cloth hanging over the side, and the stage. There is a giant golden cross hanging on the wall in front of us, facing the pews.
"It's beautiful," I whisper, feeling like I shouldn't talk out loud. From beside me, Videl raises an eyebrow, but at least doesn't say anything.
"'Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life,'" murmurs Angelique, "'He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'"
"What's that from?" Videl asks, stopping in front of the altar, next to Angelique, his head cocked.
"The Bible," says Angelique, her eyes fixated on the cross. I notice for the first time that she wears a silver cross around her neck, with swirling designs, "The book of Romans. It's beautiful too."
Something about Angelique's recitation has made my stomach churn, "What do you think it must be like for people who live forever? Like...like Loki?"
Videl immediately turns away from where he has been looking at Angelique, and says, "Loki can die in battle."
"I know," I say, "But he and Thor and everyone have to watch everyone the love die who is mortal."
"I think the only person that Loki cares about that is mortal is you," says Angelique quietly.
"Not always," I say, "He loved someone else once too, fifteen years ago."
"Your mother," says Angelique. "What do you think happened?"
My shoulders fall, "I happened. I wonder what would have happened...what would have happened if I hadn't happened? Maybe they would have stayed together. Maybe they would have been happy."
To the surprise of both Angelique and myself, Videl answers. He puts his hand on my shoulder and says in his drawling voice, "You can't think like that, you can't think about the 'if's in life. You can only think about the things that you can change, idiot."
I hide my surprise at his momentary lapse of concern before asking, "What about immortality? How can there be any good in that?"
"Immortality?" Videl snorts, "Immortality steals all the joy in life. It makes you take things for granted too. Being close to death is when I am most alive. Besides, being immortal means having to watch the world go by slowly. I get to watch the world go by at a brilliantly rapid pace. Which would you rather be, the tortoise or the hare?"
"The tortoise wins the race," I say dully. Angelique is staring at Videl as if she has never seen him before. I recall that she actually hasn't seen him act any way besides mean and cranky.
"But the hare has time to enjoy himself," replies Videl.
Angelique has closed her eyes, and is muttering something under her breath. Her fingers are wrapped around her cross necklace, her chin held up as if reaching toward Heaven.
Videl bends down and says to me in a hushed voice, "What is she doing?"
"I think she's praying," I say, looking at her.
"I am praying," says Angelique quietly, and then reaches behind her to take my hand, "Do you want to join me?"
I consider this. My mother had been religious, and had raised my family that way. Of the three kids, I had been the least into it. I don't know why, but ever since Leah had died, I had been less than interested. I know people all around me who believe in God and Jesus, even besides my family. Kyle, for all his cockiness and foul-mouthedness, always wears a cross around his neck, like Angelique. I know that Emmaline is spiritual, and that's why Kyle had finally convinced himself that she was the right girl for him. I've wondered before what religion Loki and Thor follow, if they follow any at all. But I consider myself not worthy, even though I know I could be.
"Maybe later," I say.
Angelique squeezes my shoulder, the one that does not have Videl's hand still on it. I eventually shake Videl's hand off and turn away from the altar, but the golden cross is still fixed at the back of my head.
*
The afternoon passes surprisingly pleasantly. Angelique, Videl and I spend our time walking around the college campus and up and down the streets. I realize that the absence of after-school kids is because today is the day before Thanksgiving. I wonder to myself what I would have been doing for Thanksgiving back in New York.
For dinner, Angelique and I eat at the Soda Shop, a quaint little place with checkered black, red, and white tablecloths, while Videl vanishes to go hunting. She continuously asks me how my wrist is doing, and I say that it's fine, which is only partially true. The painkiller had done some good for it, but it still throbs enough so that I have a hard time eating. I shake the discomfort off- I have other things to think about.
We meet Videl back at the hotel. He's in the shower, but while hunting, he had brought back some Davidson College pajamas for Angelique, which are lying on one of the beds. It's a remarkably and weirdly thoughtful gesture of his.
Angelique tells me that she's going to skip the shower for now, so she puts me in charge of standing in front of the bathroom door while she changes. It would have gone completely fine if I hadn't lost my train of thought, and Videl had walked right out of the bathroom.
"THEA, YOU HAD ONE JOB!" yelps Angelique. Thankfully, Videl only gets a glimpse of Angelique in a bra, before she turns away quickly. She is also thankfully already wearing the pajama pants.
Videl, as it turns out, is shirtless. His hair is partially wet still, and the curls stick to his forehead, but his eyes immediately dart to Angelique, where he can still see her almost bare back- the bra straps and her long hair hide most of her skin, but not enough for Videl's eyes to widen ever so slightly.
I push Videl back into the bathroom, "AND PUT A SHIRT ON!"
"Thea!" implores Angelique when the door shuts (I swear, I can hear Videl snorting back laughter from the other side, but I don't dare mention this out loud.).
"I'm sorry!" I exclaim, "I didn't mean for that to happen!"
Angelique, still in her bra, which doesn't completely contain her full bust, collapses on one of the beds and groans. "Is there a reason that the only hot ones are also the asses?"
"SH! He can hear what you're saying!"
"Nobody can hear that well," mutters Angelique.
Laughter comes from the bathroom, and Angelique lets out a squeak of humiliation.
"Don't you dare come out of there!" I yell in the direction of the shut door, "I'm about to change too!"
"As if I have any desire to see you unclothed!" Videl calls back, mirth in his voice.
I can't tell if that's an insult to me or a comment directed at Angelique.
"Oh dear God," moans Angelique in humiliation as she pulls on her shirt. I suspect she wants to say more, but doesn't dare say it out loud.
"Just ignore him," I say, taking off my own clothes and going through my backpack, looking for the pajamas from Vancouver. I don't have a bra (as if I need one), so I quickly pull on my shirt, "He's just annoying and that's all there is too it. And he's also as vain as a peacock."
"I am not as vain as a peacock!" comes the muffled shout from the bathroom. "I am as vain as three peacocks. And I can hear you, you know."
"I know you can," I say, smirking at Angelique, "That's why I said it."
By the time I'm done changing, Angelique is sprawled out on the right bed, flicking through the television channels, and so I jump on the left one. The blankets are soft and the pillows very fluffy, and I close my eyes in contentment. I hear Videl as he eventually does come out of the bathroom, and then squeal as a weight falls across my back, smushing my face into the pillow.
"VIDEL!"
"You're on my bed," says Videl placidly. He sounds very pleased with himself.
"I...mmpph...can't....breathe."
"You won't hear me complaining," says Videl, casually shifting so that his leg is heavily
resting on my back.
"VIDEL!" I scrabble up, trying to push him off me and also trying to breathe. "You're too
heavy!"
"Don't insult my weight," says Videl, "It's extremely rude."
"Get off of her," says Angelique in an extremely dignified voice.
"What's the magic word?" asks Videl. I can practically hear the dare in his voice.
"I don't know about the magic word," says Angelique, "But the magic phrase is 'Get off of her before I hurt you.'"
"I'd love to see you try," he doesn't try to hide his smirk. But he does get off of me, and I have precisely two seconds to gasp before he pushes me off the bed. I almost bang my head on the nightstand. "Off."
"You bully," I say.
Angelique shifts, and pats the spot on the mattress next to her, "You can come over here. I'm much more generous with sharing my bed with people, unlike some."
"Really?" asks Videl with dramatic curiosity, "Does that mean you'll share your bed with me too?"
Angelique's mouth drops open and I give Videl the finger when Angelique isn't looking. Videl just keeps smirking at me and then rests his head back on the pillow and closes his eyes. Eyes still shut, he says to me, that devilish smile still on his lips, "Manners, Thea."
"You're one to talk," I retort.
*
Eventually, I fall asleep as Angelique continues to watch TV, probably to distract herself from having to talk to Videl, and my dreams are filled with visions of Loki trying to kill me.
About halfway through the night, someone shakes me awake, when I have tears running down my cheeks, and I think it's Angelique. But it's not. It's Videl.
"Are you all right?" he says quietly, sitting at the edge of the bed. From beside me, Angelique is still sleeping peacefully, although she shifts a little. She must be a heavy sleeper.
"I'm fine," I say, swiping my eyes.
He raises an eyebrow. "All right then," he says, his voice a whisper "But come over here so you won't wake up Angelique."
At first, I think that he's talking about the couch in front of the television. But then, I realize that he's gesturing to his own bed, the one he had pushed me off earlier.
I lie down next to Videl, comforted by his breathing next to me. He's still awake, and I wonder if he's been sleeping at all, since Velah don't need much sleep. But he doesn't say a word, and neither do I. I hear an owl calling from beyond the window, its hooting bringing me comfort.
So I guess I give in to my exhaustion and worry with Videl beside me and Wairua singing me too sleep.
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