CHAPTER 27
Miraculously - Neteyam and Erìhe had stumbled home before Neytiri and Jake had arrived and they survived from the night without any form of scolding. Surprisingly Lo'ak had managed to put Tuk to sleep - though more realistically it was probably Kiri or Tsireya who had done that.
The next morning Neteyam realized that Erìhe was acting weird. A hangover was to be expected, but it wasn't that kind of weird.
During breakfast she sat directly next to Tsireya and had told Lo'ak to go fuck himself when he'd tried to squeeze in between them. Her saying that was not the odd part though. The odd part was that she had not let him get between them.
It was as if she'd been clinging to Tsireya for protection or something.
Tsireya seemed confused too, but she did not make it too obvious.
Ao'nung had been watching Erìhe during the entire time they sat in that circle eating. Neteyam did not find this weird - Ao'nung often stared at the girl. But he found the way that she responded to be rather odd. Erìhe would just smile timidly before looking away again whenever she met Ao'nung's eyes.
Neteyam knew that Ao'nung was looking for a chance to speak to Erìhe, but even when she left breakfast she stuck to Tsireya. As if her being around his sister would keep him away.
Neteyam could not lie - he was happy that Erìhe seemed to be avoiding all kind of interaction with Ao'nung.
But it also made him wonder what Ao'nung could have done wrong that caused her to avoid him in the first place.
As Erìhe was walking toward their pod, arms linked with Tsireya, Neteyam walked up to them and started walking beside them in silence. He did not know what to say with Tsireya there with them. He wanted to talk to Erìhe about why she was obvious avoiding Ao'nung but he never found a chance.
They all came to a stop in front of the Sully pod and Tsireya turned to Erìhe, "It will be just fine," she told her with a comforting smile as she hugged her goodbye.
Neteyam frowned. What would be just fine? Had he interrupted a conversation when he'd come over to them?
Erìhe nodded hesitantly, "Yeah - you're right."
Her and Neteyam watched as Tsireya started walking toward her home. As the girl disappeared from sight, Neteyam turned to look at the very tired Erìhe beside him. "Are you alright? What was that about?"
Erìhe looked up at him and he could see her guilty expression. She glanced over her shoulder back at the pod and saw Jake and Neytiri inside. She sighed before grabbing his hand, starting to walk away from the home.
"Where are we going?" Neteyam asked as he wrapped his hand around hers. Holding her hand made him nervous - but it also made him happy. Of course.
He noticed as her eyes darted around in all directions as they walked. Apparently she was still trying to steer clear of Ao'nung.
"I don't know," Erìhe replied to his question after a moment of silence. "Somewhere to talk?"
Neteyam nodded as his heart started beating quicker. She wanted to talk to him - she was leading him somewhere while holding his hand. He did not wish to get his own hopes up but he also could not help it. "Let's go this way," Neteyam quickened his pace to walk in front of her, his hand still in hers.
He lead them into the forest near the shore, near a small clearing that he had noticed once when he'd been wandering around alone.
When they came to a stop Erìhe looked around. The trees provided shadow from the sun and some cover from the shore. Though if someone looked in their direction, they would be seen. It didn't matter - she just needed to talk to him.
"What is it?" Neteyam asked as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him.
Erìhe looked into his eyes as he tilted his head down to be in her eye line. Neteyam saw the guilty frown she wore and he barely managed to resist the urge to smooth out the wrinkle that formed between her brows. "It's-" Erìhe seemed to be struggling to find the words.
Neteyam glanced around before sitting down on the sand, guiding her to do the same. They now sat opposite of each other with both their hands in each other's. "Is it something bad?" He frowned slightly as he leaned forward, trying to make her look at him.
Erìhe had kept her eyes on their hands. She almost smiled at how he held her so gently, his thumb ever so lightly tracing patterns in the back of her palm. He had become so nice in just a few weeks. It was nothing like what he'd been like before.
She nodded, "It is bad," she whispered.
"Did Ao'nung do something?"
Erìhe's eyes widened and she finally met his eyes.
Neteyam took that as a yes. "What did he do? Did he hurt you yesterday?"
"No, no, no," Erìhe shook her head violently, "It's nothing like that - it's just.." she fell silent again.
"Look, if he did something, we should tell the adults-" Neteyam got ready to stand up but Erìhe tugged on his hands, making it impossible for him to tear himself away.
"I kissed him," Erìhe blurted.
Neteyam froze. His expression went blank and his hands went limp in her hands.
Erìhe was concerned by his response. Or rather - the lack of a response. "Or he kissed me," she hurried to add, "I'm not sure.. well, he kissed me but I kissed him back." When she fell quiet once more she looked at him expectantly - waiting for his response with baited breath.
A moment passed in which none of them spoke. Neteyam's eyebrows were furrowed as he tried to make out if she was joking or not. Finally coming to the conclusion that she was in fact serious, he let go of her hands and leaned back as he sucked in a deep breath.
Honestly he wanted to cry.
"Well," he at last said when Erìhe thought she'd go crazy waiting for him to speak. "When did that happen?"
"At the party," Erìhe responded. Her voice was quiet and she looked bashful as she spoke.
"At the party?" Neteyam repeated with disbelief.
He had been up in that tree, watching her almost the entire time. He had precisely chosen to get on that branch so that he could admire her from afar. Maybe it sounded creepy - but he could not stand being in Ao'nung's presence. Turns out that's exactly where he'd gone wrong. Neteyam now believed that if he'd instead stuck to her side, this kiss would not have happened.
Erìhe nodded slowly.
Neteyam stared. "Do you like him? Why did you kiss him?"
"I don't like him."
Neteyam found that hard to believe.
"He was leaning in and I was drunk - you saw how drunk I was - and then I just kissed him," Erìhe hung her head, peeking up at him through her lashes.
"You just - kissed him?" Neteyam almost scoffed. "Without having any feelings for him whatsoever?"
"Yes," Erìhe admitted, "I know it sounds bad-"
"It is bad!" Neteyam threw his hands over his head. He did not want to overreact right now but would anyone expect anything less from him? He liked her. The last thing he'd wished to hear from her was that she'd kissed some other guy. Ao'nung out of everyone.
"Do you think he likes me?" Erìhe grimaced.
Neteyam did not want to reply to the question, but he did it anyways. "Yes," he said honestly, "Yes, of course he likes you! Who wouldn't when you talk to them like that - and laugh and smile and-"
Erìhe frowned but only looked down at her hands in her lap. She fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist. "What do I do?"
Neteyam sighed and his expression softened. He was furious - but he did not believe he really had the right to be. Erìhe was stressed about this situation. He swept his braids out of his face, "I don't know. You tell him, I guess."
A look of horror crossed her face. "I can't do that!"
"You kind of have to," Neteyam told her, "Unless you wish to date him or something."
"No!" Erìhe's eyes widened, "Never," she said more quietly.
"What else is there to do?" Neteyam asked.
Erìhe rubbed her eyes and rested her head in her palms, hiding her face, "I don't know."
Neteyam sighed again as he looked at her. The two braids that she had on either side of her face swung lightly from side to side - almost hypnotizingly. He reached out toward her, pulling her hands away from her face and using his hold on her arms to pull her closer.
Erìhe leaned into his chest as he brought her into a hug. Her arms lifted to wrap themselves around his neck as his hand cradled her head, holding her close while his other hand was placed gently on her back.
Erìhe turned her head to look up at him. Neteyam peered down at her. "Can you tell him instead?" She asked in a voice so sweet that he had a hard time refusing.
"You have to do that yourself," he nudged the side of her face with his chin.
Erìhe sighed dramatically as she buried her face into his neck again. "I'm never drinking again."
"I'll remind you about that," Neteyam chuckled quietly. Another moment of silence rolled by, and Neteyam kept thinking about the situation. He came to the conclusion that he would have to try harder to gain her attention. Then he spoke, "So? How was the kiss?" It took so much effort to force himself to tease her about this. In reality he was only moments away from a breakdown.
Erìhe groaned as she leaned back, simultaneously pushing him away. "Fuck off. I hate you."
Neteyam laughed - no matter how much he hated to.
-
A/n:
Idk if this is exam stress or what but everything annoys me rn - like we have a perfect word for it in my mums language which is "vitutus" and it doesn't have a translation in English but it's something like the feeling of "fuck this, fuck you, fuck everyone and everything"
That is my state of mind rn
Also I try not to say shit like "I really hate this chapter" cause idk I feel like it could make you guys view the chapters in a negative light as well but I really truly do hate this chapter <33