"No way,"
It was about fifteen minutes 'til sunrise and Kingsley wanted to take me into the tunnels with him.
"C'mon. It'll be fun," he laughed and I glared at him.
"No way," I repeated.
Kingsley grinned, lunging towards me and grabbing my arm.
I screamed, losing my balance on the tunnel's wet entrance, almost falling flat on my face.
Which I didn't.
Somebody caught me from behind and I struggled in their grip to face them.
Kingsley.
Our faces were only inches apart, and I caught myself staring into his eyes.
"Enjoying the view?" he asked, smirking and I pulled away, brushing the moment off.
God!
I refused to let myself indulge in any weird fantasies he was planting in my brain.
"I can't see a thing Kingsley," I grumbled and I heard him laugh from somewhere in front of me.
"Should've brought a flashlight," he replied and I huffed.
"I did. It's missing,"
"You sure about that?"
Something hard hit my face and I recoiled in shock and pain.
Bending down in the dim light to pick it up, I growled.
My flashlight.
"Ow!" I cried, though the pain was already dulling.
"Found it," Kingsley spoke in a sing-song tone.
"I can't believe you," I hissed.
"Really? Cos I can,"
"Whatever," I grumbled, walking faster now.
The end of the tunnel was coming into view, much to my delight, though if Kingsley walked any slower he was risking being burned to a crisp.
"Training for the Olympics there Carpenter?" he asked and I glanced behind me.
"What?" I replied testily and he laughed softly.
"What's got you all twisted? Speed walking. You could win gold at that pace,"
I rolled my eyes at the comment though I couldn't help but smile a little.
Its not like he could see me...right?
The rest of the walk was quiet and after a few minutes we had fallen into step with each other.
Which made me angry.
Definitely.
Ugh.
"Here we are," Kingsley announced, leading us out of the tunnel.
"Thank God," I grumbled and he smirked.
"You cant tell me you didn't enjoy yourself tonight,"
I felt my cheeks heat up, though I prayed he didn't notice.
"Watch me. I. Did. Not. Enjoy. Myself,"
He rolled his eyes, still grinning.
"Liar,"
"I'm not lying! You're the most self-confident, irritating...ugh loser of a guy I've ever met!" I exclaimed.
His smile dropped for a second and hurt flashed through both of us.
"Sorry," I mumbled.
"No. Its fine. Cos you're the most obnoxious, short-tempered, know-it-all I've ever met!" he cried.
For once there was no hint of teasing in his voice.
I looked down.
"We should go inside. The sun's about to come up," I mumbled.
"Why do you care?" Kingsley asked, raising an eyebrow.
I paused, my gaze flicking between his eyes and...his lips.
"I don't know,"
Turning away, I entered the building without another word, the sun beginning to glow across the early morning sky.
My fingers faltered on the lock, wondering whether I should leave him out there or not.
I wanted to.
At least, I told myself I did.
But I couldn't.
So instead, I shut the door behind me, leaving it unlocked.
"Hey," I mumbled, greeting the others inside.
"Where's Emiel?" Cordelia asked.
"Outside still," I replied.
"The sun's coming up! He could die!" Wesley exclaimed.
I shrugged, sitting down on the sofa.
"He knows,"
"Is he okay?" Cordelia asked.
I met her gaze with another shrug.
"I don't know,"
The sound of the door opening echoed from upstairs and I breathed a secret sigh of relief.
Why did I care so much about him?
"Greetings and salutations," Kingsley announced, joining us downstairs.
"You're alive!" Cordelia exclaimed and he smiled.
"Yep. I'm glad that someone's glad to see me,"
She pulled a face.
"I wouldn't say glad," she spoke and he laughed, though it seemed almost half-hearted.
I had hurt him, I thought.
So what?, cried my brain.
You know exactly so what, my heart whispered back.
"Shut up!" I exclaimed and the others turned to stare at me.
"Sorry. Um, talking to myself," I mumbled and Cordelia raised her eyebrows before turning away.
"Where's Angel?" I asked, hastily trying to change the subject.
"Oh goodness, Angel!" Wesley cried and he and Cordelia exchanged a panicked glance.
"I'll go find him," I offered, wanting to get out of there, as far away from Kingsley as possible.
"No, I'll go," Wesley replied and Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"You don't need to be Mr. Hero Man this time ya know," she told him and he sighed.
"Yes I do,"
"Wesley, really its fine," I spoke but he shrugged it off with a flick of his hand.
"Nonsense. I'm going and there's nothing any of you can do to stop me," Wesley replied and the three of us exchanged a look.
"Okay," I shrugged and he nodded in satisfaction before leaving the room.
"Do you think he's okay?" I asked, not looking up from the carpet.
"Oh, he's Angel. He'll be fine. He's always fine," Cordelia said, though it sounded very much like she was trying to convince herself of that.
"Not if he's in the sun he won't be," Kingsley remarked and she sighed.
"Positive thinking, Emiel," she snapped and he grinned.
I mean, I think he grinned.
I definitely wasn't sneaking glances out of the corner of my eye.
Why should I care what he looked like?
"What do we do now?" I asked, my question met with silence.
"We wait, Carpenter. I figured you'd be good at that, security guard and all. Isn't your job just standing around all day?" Kingsley replied after a moment.
Rolling my eyes, I finally glanced up at him and met his gaze...but instead of arguing the point I smiled a little.
"Something like that," I replied.
He grinned and I noticed a sparkle in his dark, swirling brown eyes.
God!
What is wrong with me?!
(A/N: Mwhahahahahahaha- Stay safe and totally tubular and I'll see you in the next one! xx)