Love Is Just a Word
Aden and Zac headed downstairs in the early afternoon, still sweating from their work outs, their stomachs growling aggressively. The two girls came giggling out of Topaz's bedroom as they were passing the first floor. "Oh yeah, since when did you two become BFF's?" Zac grinned happily at the pair. Aden let his towel fall down over his right shoulder. "We've finally realised that we have more in common than we first thought." Topaz admitted, resting her elbow on Alice's shoulder. "Yeah, we have a lot to learn from each other." Zac and Aden blinked at each other with faces blank in shock. "Well..." Aden mumbled confusedly. "That's a turn up for the books." Zac finished. The two girls looked at each other and grinned before Alice piped up with, "So we're going shopping." Again the boys exchanged blank looks of shock. "You're going shopping?" Aden asked. "With Topaz?" Zac added. The two girls nodded and smiled and once more the boys exchanged a humorous blank look of shock. "Well..." Aden mumbled once again. "We'll be back around dinner-time." Alice said as her and Topaz started walking down the hall towards the stairs where the boys stood. "Yeah, and, make sure you're wearing something nice." Topaz winked at Aden before kissing him swiftly and heading downstairs. Alice followed in an ecstatic bubble with a giggle and a girlie wave. "Since when did that happen?" Zac demanded as soon as the girls had left the house. "I really have no clue." Aden whispered, baffled with his fingers pressed against his lips where Topaz had just kissed him. Zac shook his head half-angry half-confused and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Aden followed in a dazed confusion.
For Topaz the decision to go shopping had been spur-of-the-moment. There she was, pouring her heart out, confessing all her most inner-thoughts to Aden's big sister, when suddenly a thought occurred to her. She needed help. In fact, she needed therapy. Retail therapy. Whenever she was thoroughly depressed, the only way she could pick herself up was to buy clothes. And shoes. Most of which she never got the chance to wear because she was always wearing leather for training or fighting or acting as if she were either training or fighting. Alice was easy to win over after Topaz pointed out the fact that shopping would make them both a lot happier and would also allow Topaz the chance to get Alice round to her way of thinking in the clothing department. Not that Alice's clothes weren't nice, because they were they just lacked in practicality. Long chiffon dresses or just dresses in general weren't good for fighting in. Unless you had a mermaid-silk-cape in your handbag that you could whip out and use to change outfits in five seconds flat. But, only Topaz had one of them, which was now lost forever.
Being back in Ireland was overwhelmingly comforting to Topaz. It was the one place her happy memories revolved around. Back in a time when keeping her family happy was her only goal. They found the shopping centre within an hour; and Topaz's favourite shop within in less than five minutes. "I think this colour suits you more." Topaz said, holding a teal lace body con dress against Alice's torso. The length came to just below her bum. Topaz could see Alice squirm as she took in the low neckline and length. "Hmm, I dunno... It's not really my style..." Topaz raised an eyebrow and folded it over her arm in a size eight. "But you agree you like the colour?" She asked, heading over to the floor-length dresses next. "Yes, I do like the colour." There Topaz picked out several maxi-dresses, keeping away from chiffon and white. Instead she picked out shades of blue, a few black, a red, a dusty rose, and a khaki. "They're all lovely colours..." Alice said from behind the dressing room door. Topaz was filing her nails on the white fabric sofa of the fancy dressing room. Her leather jacket was slung over the back of the sofa beside her and her hair hung in a heavy plait down her back. She meant business. She was determined to find Alice outfits she'd never have dreamt of wearing. She knew their friendship wasn't exactly in the best position to do this; however doing it now would only better it. "I'm just not sure of the styles." Topaz admitted that the dresses were quite short and had daring cut-outs or dipping neck or back-lines, but they were all of high style and price. And all she knew, would suit Alice perfectly if she just had the guts to wear them. "Hurry up Al; we've not even looked at the other clothing departments yet." Topaz sighed emphatically as she paced the luxurious dressing room, members of staff smiling and offering her coffee. "Hmm, I dunno Paz..." Alice's voice sounded nearer and as Topaz turned back to the cubicle Alice was in she realised the Angel was already standing in front of the door, pulling the hem of the teal lace dress, the average neckline the lowest Topaz had ever seen on Alice, showing off the stunning shine of the silver necklace the Angel always seemed to be wearing. "Wow," Topaz grinned, walking over to Alice. "You look hot," Topaz admitted, taking her hands away from the hem and putting them by her sides. "If you paired this with green or black heels, you'd have Zac eating out the palm of your hand!" Alice smiled and turned back towards her cubicle in order to see herself in the full-length mirror. "You think so?" She asked quietly, cocking her head to the side. Topaz smiled and observed the Angel from the back. Topaz could see the white feathered wings folded at the Angels back, draping down from the plunging back-line of the dress, but she knew the Norants wouldn't be able to with the charm she'd dressed Alice in before they'd left her grandmother's house that morning. "I know so." Topaz grinned, looking back at the Angel watching her in the mirror. For a moment Topaz's jealousy consumed her. Alice was the most astonishing Worlder Topaz had ever met. She had blonde curls falling to her waist and a face only an Archangel would be able to create. Topaz knew that Alice had captured her brother's heart, and knew that more than anything else in the world, that she made him happy. And for that, Topaz was eternally grateful.
The Worlders spent a further two hours trying and buying clothes for the Angel. She bought dark coloured short dresses, tight dusty-coloured skirts, denim jeans and matching jackets, bright coloured tops and dark blouses, towering heels and knee-high boots. Everything Alice bought, Topaz vowed to borrow at some point. The girls were of similar clothing sizes, only Alice had a size larger shoe and Topaz had a size larger top. For the age difference the Worlders were remarkably similar, and as they spent the day together they grew more and more aware of this. "So," Alice gushed as her and Topaz threw themselves down onto the plush upholstery of a restaurant at lunch time. "We have a few more hours before the boys expect us back..." Topaz smiled at the Angel over the top of her menu. "What are you suggesting?" Alice grinned. "We've been in four shops and spent over a hundred pounds on clothes for me, not even including the shoes and accessories that we've bought and yet we haven't got you a single thing." Topaz waved her hand. "Nah, that doesn't matter." Alice raised an eyebrow and threw her menu down. "That doesn't matter?" The Angel was baffled. "Topaz Nightingale refusing clothes shopping with me?" Topaz smirked. "Cause I know what you're gonna do..." Alice smiled wickedly. "It's only fair, Paz, c'mon... You decide on my clothes, therefore I decide on your clothes..." Topaz groaned. "No, but, you don't understand, I really can't wear white... It drowns me out because I'm so pale..." Alice smiled. "Well we'll buy fake tan." Topaz raised an eyebrow. "Did you just say to me, what I think you just said to me?" Alice smiled and picked up her menu again as Topaz threw her own down. "Alice I am a mermaid, mermaids can't wear fake tan." Alice smiled. "And I'm an Angel; we can make happen, whatever we want to make happen..." Alice winked at Topaz over the top of her menu and a wave of dread flooded Topaz's stomach. She knew that the Angel was exaggerating to make her point, but she also knew that to a certain extent, Alice was one hundred and ten percent, completely and utterly true.
"Now, Paz, I just need you to sit right down here for me, with all of these... And I'll be right back." Alice laid all the shopping bags on the sofa and the floor as she gently pushed the mermaid onto the sofa in the dressing room of another clothes store. "No, Alice, please, at least let me have a say in this!" Alice grinned and shrugged out of her white leather jacket. "I think not, Paz..." She threw the jacket over the back of the sofa next to Topaz and spun on her heel, her hair swirling over her shoulder. She constructed it into a twisted bun at the side of her head as she waltzed towards the shop assistant in the archway of the dressing rooms. "Hi..." Alice grinned at her. "Hello, are you in need of assistance?" Alice smiled broadly. "Yes..." She told her politely. "Yes I am."
Topaz stood in the doorway of her cubicle with her frown reaching the floor, her hair in a high messy bobble, the pale pink dress reaching her feet. The chiffon layered in lace across her chest which was fully covered for the very first time. Her arms were bare as the chiffon clung to her chest before billowing towards the floor. "I am not wearing this." The mermaid puffed angrily. "Okay..." Alice shrugged, turning to the shop assistant beside her. The pair had taken this very seriously. The white sleeves of Alice's plain white blouse were rolled to her elbows, her expression set and indignant. The shop assistant had her own hair pulled back and twisted, locked into place with a pen. Her pin-striped grey and black shirt sleeves were rolled to her elbows too, and a piece of hair kept falling in front of her face. "Maybe Paz is right, that is a little too... Flowing." Alice finished, sanding her hands. "Keep trying, Paz, we'll go look again." Topaz turned angrily back into the dressing room and slammed the door clothes as the two girls turned back to the store and set off in opposite directions, ready and determined to find Topaz several perfect pale outfits.
"I think we're equal now, don't you?" Alice asked a grinning Topaz as they headed inside the final store in the shopping centre, the mega shoe shop they'd saved until last. "I think we should get two pair of shoes each without the other one's say, just as a final task." Topaz grinned. Alice could tell that from the equal amount of clothing the pair had bought today, they'd bonded in ways they wouldn't have done so otherwise. They'd been angry at each other today, infuriated, irritated, impressed and loving. It was crazy how much their friendship had blossomed in the short amount of time they'd spent together. Alice knew they had to be home within the hour before the boys started to worry, but she didn't mind. She realised with a sharp stab that she liked spending time with Topaz. When she walked beside her, heads turned. Everyone paused to look Topaz. She was an attraction, like carrying a neon sign through a crowded town. Everyone stopped to read it. Alice liked the attention they got when she was with Topaz. Alice was a chameleon; she blended in, she disappeared, she wasn't looked at if she didn't want to be looked at. But with Topaz, invisibility was never an option. And for once in her life, Alice liked that. "You're on." She told the mermaid with a brave grin and a flutter of blonde hair.
"Well I never!" The Irish voice squealed from the neighbouring shoe-stand. "Carlie!" The voice squealed in glee. Alice looked over the stand at Topaz and raised her eyebrows in mockery. Topaz agreed that the volume of this person was a little over the top for a shoe-shop. "Well if it isn't little Miss Nightingale." The voice slurred, swinging round the shoe stand, stopping Topaz in her tracks. "Excuse me?" Topaz snapped territorially. Suddenly Alice was behind her, sneering at the girl also. The girl was small; her pale complexion rather bluish in colour; her hair cropped a magnetic blue to match her large, staring eyes. Long black eyelashes blinked up at the two Worlders excitedly, her blood-red lips grinning gleefully. Suddenly a second short, skinny girl with dark purple hair with matching lipstick and piercing green eyes came hurrying alongside the first girl. The two of them wore bright colours, miss-matching and eccentric. The girl with the purple hair had black dreads randomly sticking out of her hair. She also had a nose ring. Both of her arms were laced with black and red sleeve tattoos. Topaz doubted they were real. Just like she doubted the fact these girls were Norant. "That's right Pazzie, just forget about us, like you forgot about everything else here." The purple-haired girl said. Topaz narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. "Why if it isn't Carlie and Bettie, the little pixie pigeons." The two girls looked at each other before back at Topaz, their excited expressions grinning in happiness. "You know these people?" Alice whispered in complete awe. "You know that chick?" The blue-haired one said, jerking her chin towards Alice. "Yeah I do. And? You know some pretty weird Worlders and you've never heard me judging you for it." That shut her up. Little Bettie Bobkins had dated several other Worlders in the time Topaz had been friends with her. Each of her sexual relationships had only lasted a few weeks before she got bored and moved on. Topaz was shocked that she'd never thought of turning to the Pixie for help before. If there was one person who knew how to hide a forbidden relationship, it was Bettie. "Yeah but never an Angel." Carlie hissed, leaning closer to whisper the word. "They're Worlders?" Alice gasped. The three girls turned to the Angel with disbelieving expressions. "Do they look like Humans?" Topaz asked, jerking her thumb over her shoulder to the girls. Alice cocked her head to the right and shook it. "They're hidden well." She settled on at last. "Yeah, well, we kinda need to be, living in the middle of a Norant city. Anyway, what're you doing back?" Carlie asked as Topaz turned back to the two Pixies. Topaz and Alice shared a panicking look. "You haven't heard?" Alice asked in disbelief. Suddenly a look of dread passed over the pixies expressions. "Of course!" Bettie gasped. "Aw Pazzie we're sorry!" The two pixies threw their arms around Topaz, shocking her still. She hadn't seen these girls in years. Sure she'd called them, but they were the closest thing she had to friends. They'd argued a hell of a lot, but only because they're opposite shapes made it difficult to actually like each other in the first place. "Don't worry about it." Topaz said coldly as the pixies pulled back. "So, you've come for a break, huh?" Bettie asked with a small smile. "Yeah but... If any of my parents' people ask, you haven't seen me in years." The two pixies nodded their heads. "No bother." Bettie said. "Should we be expecting to see many of your parents' people soon?" Carlie asked curiously. "Well... Maybe..." The two pixies looked at each other in curiosity. "You've ran away haven't you?" Bettie settled on at last. Topaz nodded her head. "But I've ran away with Zac, Alice and her brother and we can't be found, under no circumstances." The two pixies nodded. "What about your other brothers?" Carlie asked. "They ran off before we did." Another enthusiastic nod. "Hey, they should come to Bennie's party." Carlie elbowed Bettie who looked up at her with a wide grin. "They totally should," She grinned slowly. "You should definitely come to the party tonight. And bring your little Angel friends." Carlie said, running her hands through her cropped do. "Hmm... I dunno about that... A party isn't exactly the kind of thing we're looking for right now, Paz." Alice said apprehensively. "A party is exactly the thing we're looking for, Al. We need to take our minds off things, and no one knows where we are... No one knows you here and 'sides, no one's going to be expecting us here."
"Exactly, so once word gets out that you're back, your parents' people will be all over this place." Topaz scowled at the Angel who slowly began to cave under those persuasive blue eyes. "C'mon Al, what happened to loosening up a little?" Alice slowly began to smile as she thought of Zac. "Okay. Fine. But you need to convince Zac."
Aden was bored all day. The girls had been out for hours without a call or a text and Zac had been swimming since they'd left. He'd been alone in the house - more or less - for what felt like one hour too long. He threw a ball back and forth against a wall, threw it into the air and caught it over again, worked out a little more, read a book in the library before lying back on the sofa in the TV room and stuck on a movie. He'd switched it off half-way through and was laying back bored when the girls finally came home. He ran down the first set of stairs in his eagerness to see them. As if on cue, Zac came walking out of the kitchen from the cellar at the same time as the girls were walking in through the front door and Aden was hurrying down the final flight of stairs. "Hey!" Topaz grinned at the two boys excitedly as she entered the house carrying a lot of shopping bags. "Oh no." Zac groaned, and put a hand against his forehead. "What the Hell have you done?" He asked in shock as Alice struggled in through the front door wearing nothing but white carrying nothing but a dozen and then some shopping bags. Topaz had more and yet she didn't struggle half as much as Alice. "Good day?" Aden asked apprehensively, looking at the mass of bags as the girls dumped them in the living room doorway. "You betcha." Topaz grinned, shrugging out of her leather jacket and hanging it on the hook by the front door. "Go on then." Alice prodded her, elbowing the mermaid on the arm. "Alright, alright..." Topaz hissed reluctantly, waving the Angel off and twisting her hair into a knot at the back of her head; a sign Aden knew well now as one of nerves. "Go on what?" Zac asked forebodingly as he folded his arms tight against his chest. "Well..." Topaz smiled bashfully. "You'll never guess who we bumped into?" The two boys shared a look of panic before Topaz threw up her hands and said, "Nothing bad, jeeze, just Bettie and Carlie from when we lived here!" Zac blew out a sigh of relief and relaxed before looking at his sister and returning to his previous look of dread. "Well... Basically... Bennie's having this party tonight and... We're all invited."
Zac blinked at Topaz blankly. "A party?" He asked in shock. Topaz nodded her head and smiled sweetly at her big brother. "Think of how great it would be to see everyone again... We haven't seen them all in years, and by the sounds of things they've really missed us, Zac. What we need is a distraction and I think this could be it." Zac thought about it before nodding his head happily. "Yeah I don't see why not." Topaz's mouth fell open in shock. "You're serious?" She asked, the excitement seeping into her tone. "Yeah, I think it's a good idea actually." Topaz turned to Alice standing behind her and stuck her tongue out comically before running to her brother, her heels echoing on the wooden flooring, and throwing her arms around him. "Yey!" She squealed. "This is going to be amazing."
The giggling and music coming from Topaz's bedroom was overwhelming Aden as he paced back and forth down the hallway of the first floor, waiting on the girls to finally come out of the bedroom. As time went on, the fumes began to evaporate out into the hall towards him. The smell of incense burning in candles and the overwhelming power of his sister's perfume mingling with Topaz's began to make him cough and splutter until he went downstairs to join Zac in the living room. "Are they still getting ready?" He asked, impatiently pacing down here too. "It's ridiculous, how long has that been now?" He then asked when Aden nodded in answer to his first question. "Well over an hour. When are we supposed to be there?" Zac shrugged and the pair threw themselves down onto the sofa facing away from the door. "We'll just sit here and play eye-spy until they're ready then shall we?" Zac huffed impatiently. Suddenly the sounds of Topaz's heels clicking down the wooden staircase had Aden's heart pounding. They were ready. He imagined the black dress Topaz wore on the night she took him to the Granger Bar. That night meant something to Aden. It represented the beginning of his attraction to Topaz. Of course that was the first time he'd met the mermaid, but it still stood as a significant revelation of when Aden realised he could fall for anyone. No matter what Shape they took. As Topaz's heels clicked in an irregular pattern across the hall, the pair got to their feet and turned. But as Aden turned he caught sight of a pale pink in the doorway and realised his sister had soundlessly been ahead of Topaz on the way here. It wasn't until Aden had turned completely that his sister then entered the living room, matching the irregular, unsteady pace of Topaz's heels. Then he realised Topaz was the one in the pink, and Alice was the one in who he'd assumed was Topaz's heels. As he took in the sight of Topaz, standing smiling at him in the doorway of the living room, his mouth fell open in complete shock. "Whoa," Zac gushed, taking in Alice who was standing taller than Topaz in the doorway. The girls looked at each other and smiled smugly. "You look..." Zac shook his head. "Opposite." He decided on at last. Alice giggled. "Yeah, we swapped looks for the night." Aden couldn't believe it. He thought he couldn't get more attracted to Topaz. But the way she looked tonight... He realised how wrong he'd been.
Topaz was quiet as she left her grandmother's house, the taxi's horn beeping from outside the gates. Aden hadn't said one word since her and Alice had entered the living room. She'd assumed by his expression that he thought she looked nice. But evidently, when his initial expression had turned hard and dazed she realised her assumption had been wrong. She knew how pale she looked in baby pink and dusty rose. She'd told this to Alice several times as the Angel had curled her black locks. Not that Alice had listened or anything. They'd spent so long working on Topaz's appearance. Alice had perfected her makeup and pinned her hair into a curly up-do, lending her some of her own jewellery and perfume. Alice knew how important Topaz's appearance tonight was to her. She had to tell Aden how she felt, and she thought that tonight would be a good night to attract him, capture him, and then tell him. But evidently that wasn't going to happen. Topaz climbed into the front seat of the taxi beside the driver while the others slid into the back, Alice giggling and flipping her straight hair - Topaz's work - over her shoulder and sliding sensually into the cab. Topaz rolled her eyes and pursed her lips, mumbling the address to the driver and fixing her gaze out her window as they pulled away from her grandmother's house. She wasn't out five minutes and she already wanted to go home.
Climbing out of the taxi in front of the throbbing mansion was an experience Topaz wouldn't forget quickly. The wind raked her chiffon floor-length dress, sending shivers up her spine, blowing the loose curls from her bun across her face, raising the hair on the back of her bare neck, reminding her of why she never had her hair up if necessary outside. She padded up the path of the house silently in the dusty-rose ballet pumps Alice had chosen for her. She hated wearing flat shoes. It meant she was a weapon down. And in Topaz's life, she could never afford that. But the silver bracelets circling her upper-arms were her mothers, and if need be, she could unfurl them and click them into hard rules, using them as daggers. She carried two lipsticks in her dusty-rose clutch. One was the light pink lipstick she wore tonight, and the other a third blade. Unfortunately, the jewellery she wore were all Alice's, which meant the only weapons she carried were the three blades. The front door of the mansion was already opened as Topaz pushed through ahead of her fellow Worlders. She recognised most people drinking as they leaned against the walls and sitting on the floor of the large entrance hall. Beyond that was the drawing room where the music was coming from. But Topaz needed a drink. Badly. In the centre of the room was a wine fountain, but Topaz didn't like wine. She needed something more powerful. She pushed through the people in the short corridor on the way to the kitchen, the memory of this house flooding into her head as she recognised the faces in the pictures hanging on the walls, smelled the familiar scent of the wallpaper, of the furnishings. And she held her breath. She couldn't come back here completely. Not just yet. It was still too soon. She'd wait. Just like she always did. She'd drink first.
Within seconds Aden had lost Topaz amongst the sea of people and throb of music. "She'll have gone to get a drink." Zac shouted over the music. "Where'd that be?" Aden shouted back, Zac's hands on Alice's hips. They were currently stood in the large entryway, and Aden knew that if they veered a little to the left of the house, the music would only get louder. If that was even possible. "Kitchen at the end of the corridor on the right." Zac called, jerking his head towards the corridor on the right of the entryway. Aden nodded and asked them what they'd like to drink. With their orders fresh in his head Aden pushed through the Worlders, all of them looking at Aden in wonder, a drunk curiosity in their eyes. Zac was right, Topaz was inside the kitchen. And she was getting a drink. But she was standing with a tall boy Aden had never met before. Even from here Aden could see the shine of his pink pixie eyes. Leaning against the nearest kitchen counter he watched them together. The pixie was taller than Aden, broader, stronger, handsomer. He had a strength to his jaw Aden didn't think he had, a mischievousness in his eyes Aden could never hold, and a ruffle to his hair Aden knew was styled. He wore a pale blue designer shirt with the short sleeves rolled up to his shoulder-blades hanging over dark blue designer skinny jeans, brown boots half-hidden with the bottom of the jeans. Aden rolled his eyes and folded his arms, tearing his gaze off the handsome pixie and onto the stunning mermaid in front of him. Topaz looked perfect tonight, just like she did every other night. But tonight she'd been styled by an Angel, and it showed astonishingly. Her black hair was curly and pinned in a beautiful flower design at the back of her head with loose curls hanging down around her face, framing the beautiful neutral colours there. The pale pink of her lipstick matched the pale pink of the lace covering her normally-bare chest. A dusty-rose bodess was worn beneath the pale pink lace, covering her chest but not all of it, only visible over half of her torso beneath the lace. When the lace disappeared into the dress, pale pink chiffon matching the top lace of the dress fell to the floor, hiding her dusty-rose ballet pumps, the ribbons lacing up her ankles. The pale colours should've washed her out. Instead, it made her glow, like a bright light entrancing you, her dark hair the only darkness on a beacon of brightness.
"Hi," A voice interrupted Aden's reverie. He looked down and saw a short pixie with blue hair peering up at him. "You must be the Angel boy, hi, I'm Bettie. Nice to meet you." Bettie. That was one of the girls Topaz had mentioned earlier. "Hi," Aden smiled, shaking the pixie's hand. "It's nice to meet you too; Topaz told me all about you." Aden hoped his lie didn't show. "And there was me thinking Angels weren't allowed to lie." Aden smirked. "We all do the things we're not allowed to." The pixie giggled and ran her long skinny fingers through her cropped hair, biting her lip and blinking up at Aden flirtatiously. She was pretty, this little girl. Aden liked her. He didn't remember what Zac had previously told him about pixies. He didn't remember anything.
Topaz had been pouring some pixie punch when someone had covered her eyes. She'd squealed and jumped a little, peeling the hands from her eyes and turning, half expecting to see Aden. Her smile turned into a grin as she took in the pixie in front of her. "Bennie!" She squealed, throwing her arms around him in a hug. The pixie laughed and held her tightly. "Hey beautiful." He laughed in his adoring Irish accent. "How are you? By the Angel it's so good to see you again!" Topaz gushed, pulling back to look at the pixie. He grinned and said, "Well I'm better than how you must be..." Topaz's smile began to fade. "How are you holding up, Pazzie?" He ran the back of the fingers on his right hand over her cheek and tucked a curl behind her studded ear. "I'm..." Topaz struggled for words. "I'm good... Really." Bennie smiled. "Well, that's good... Because it's great to see you too... I've missed you... Things haven't been the same since you left." Topaz looked around the crowded kitchen as Bennie finished pouring her punch. "Really? Because life seems to have continued without me." Bennie gave her one of the looks he usually did when she was being sarcastic. "You know what I meant... And besides, no matter what happens to any of us, life will still continue at the end of the day..." Topaz shrugged and sipped the punch. "As always." Topaz told him. "So... Is it true you're hanging out with Angels now?" Topaz almost choked on her punch. "I'm guessing Bettie and Carlie got to you first huh?" Bennie raised an eyebrow and leaned against the counter beside them. "Don't they always...?" Topaz shrugged. "It's protocol that when one of the leaders of one of the World's die, the other helps in the investigation into their death, no matter how small or large. But there was something wrong in the Light World or something so instead of coming down themselves, the Lightingale's sent their eldest and youngest to investigate on their behalf."
"Eldest and youngest? What?" Topaz nodded. "Alice, she's the same age as Zac. And Aden, he's the same age as us."
"Let me guess, he's an ugly-duckling, right?" Topaz raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is he?"
"Well... Judging by the fact that all of Bettie's prey are normally of same disadvantages, then yes." Topaz frowned in confusion. "I don't understand..." Bennie smiled. "Bettie's prey... I'm guessing this Aden boy is her next meal." Topaz stared at Bennie, blinking blankly. He sighed impatiently and straightened up from the counter and turned Topaz's shoulders gently, pointing across the kitchen near the doorway where Aden and Bettie stood chatting animatedly, Bettie running her hands through her hair and fidgeting with the hems of her floral, flowing blouse. Aden was nodding, but Topaz couldn't see his expression from here. Why hadn't she noticed him before? He's the only Angel, the only blonde in the room! "Oh..." Topaz whispered in shock. "Now, don't tell me he's your next meal too? Am I going to have to separate a bitch-fight?" Topaz looked up and frowned at Bennie. "Why would you say that Bennie?" The pixie grinned. "Don't forget Pazzie," He sighed and twirled a curl of Topaz's hair with his ringed finger. "You used to look at me like that once."
When Aden hadn't returned with their drinks, Zac had merely poured him and Alice some wine from the fountain in the entryway before leading her into the dining room where all the food and older people were chatting animatedly. "So, I'm guessing this Bennie and Topaz have some history?" Alice asked Zac as they snacked on some finger-food. "How did you know that? Did she tell you willingly?" Alice shook her head with a proud grin. "Nope, but you just told me there." Zac mentally cursed himself. "Don't tell her I told you, she'll kill me." Alice grinned and stepped closer to him. "As if I'd be so horrible." Zac heart thudded faster. "Nothing much came of it, but I suppose Paz and Bennie were pretty close the when we were here. They grew up together and along with Bettie and Carlie they were best friends. Bennie and Paz did fool around for a bit, and in a way I suppose he was her first crush. But as far as I know, that's as far as it went." Alice nodded and processed this before saying, "With Topaz, that's never as far as it goes."
As the time dragged on in the dining room, Alice grew closer to Zac until her protruding chest was against his, his hands on her hips, his lips millimetres from her forehead. He loved how her bare legs occasionally bumped against his, how the tanned smoothness of her endless legs were finally on display, how here large chest was emphasized by the plunging neckline of the plum halter-neck dress Topaz had picked out for her. He rubbed his hand up her bare back where the dress dipped to her waist. Her long blonde hair fell straight past her waist tonight, the golden locks lightening with the ferocity of the straightness. "Zac Nightingale, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" A mature Irish voice laughed behind him. He craned his head as the lady rounded into his eye-line. "Winnie!" He grinned at Bennie's mother, moving his hands from Alice's hips to hug the older pixie. "It's so good to see you again." Zac admitted. "Likewise, Zac. I'm so sorry to hear about your parents... It's a sad, sad loss to the Dark World... We've seen many leaders, but your parents were the nicest in a long, long time... I assume you'll be next to lead our World?" Zac felt as if a spotlight had been pressed upon him abruptly. "Well, we haven't come to a decision as yet, Winnie... We're still grieving as well as trying to distinguish who it was exactly who murdered my parents... Once we've got their killers, then a new leader will be elected." Winnie nodded and placed a semi-wrinkling hand on Zac's shoulder. "Of course, forgive my absurdity... I wasn't thinking..." Zac waved the pixie's apology and looked back at Alice. Winnie done the same and grinned. "And you must be Alice Lightingale... It's an honour to have you in our company... We've heard a lot about you." Winnie extended a hand and Alice hurried to shake it. Zac blankly looked from the pixie to the Angel. "You have...?" Alice asked confusedly before clearing her throat and saying, "It's a pleasure to be here, you have an incredible home." Winnie waved off this compliment. "I've seen better," The pixie laughed. "And are you crazy? There isn't a Nighter in this Dark World who hasn't heard about you, young Angel. You're an inspiration to all!" Alice and Zac shared an equally confused look. "I'm sorry... I don't understand..." Winnie smiled patiently between the two Worlders before gesturing between them as she explained, "Well, you're known across the Dark World now, little Angel, as the one who rebelled against her leaders and parents in order to be with the one she loves."
Topaz had set off across the kitchen before she'd even realised it. Within seconds she was standing beside Aden and Bettie and she hadn't the faintest idea why or what she was going to say. "Oh hey Pazzie you didn't tell me Alice's little brother was so attractive." Bennie joined the three Worlders and Topaz narrowed her eyes at Bettie. "Well you didn't ask." Topaz said coldly. Aden looked down at Topaz who felt tiny without her heels. She was used to having height; she was used to being taller; she was used to being closer to Aden's height than Bettie's. "I came looking for you; you disappeared as soon as we got here..." Aden explained innocently. "Yeah I uh, I actually came in here to get a drink, but then Bennie found me," Topaz gestured to the pixie by her side and introduced them. "Aden this is Bennie, this is his party, and Bennie this is Aden." Bennie grinned and extended a hand. "This is the one you were telling me about?" He assumed. Topaz frowned and Aden looked at Topaz questioningly as him and Bennie shook hands. "I wasn't telling you about anybody..." Topaz's cheeks blushed a dark pink. "Sure you were..." The pixie grinned mischievously before sipping some punch. "So it's nice to finally meet you, I've been hearing a lot of promising things about you, and okay, so, some of them were from Topaz, but you're famous now."
"Oh for the Angel's sake!" Topaz groaned before pushing past Bennie. "Hey, whoa, I was joking, where you going?" No one had noticed the fact that Bettie had left. Topaz couldn't remember when. "To the toilet." Topaz snapped, yanking her arm back and storming off.
Aden stared after Topaz in longing, wanting to chase after her, spin her into his arms and kiss her passionately. But he knew he couldn't, not in front of all these people. "Okay so maybe I was lying when I said Topaz was telling me all about you, we hadn't actually been talking all that long before she came over here... If I hadn't of told her you were over here, she would've probably started talking about you." Aden frowned and looked at Bennie. "Really?" His tone was bored, disinterested. "Yeah, you wanna know why?" Aden sighed emphatically and leaned against the counter. "Why?"
"Because believe it or not Angel boy, she likes you. Really likes you. I've always been able to read Topaz better than any book out there. I've known her all my life, and even if did read books, Topaz would still be my favourite thing to read."
"Right okay I get it, you've screwed her, can we change the subject now?" Bennie didn't even blink. "Yeah we have, and your anger is just proving that no matter what I feel for Topaz, how you feel will always be more important, because it's those feelings that aren't allowed."
"You think I don't know that?" Aden snapped. "But that doesn't mean to say you're not going to do anything about it, does it?" Aden raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so, firstly, what would be the point? I only have your word for the fact that Topaz likes me. And a relationship together would be forbidden by everyone. My parents wouldn't stop until they'd successfully killed one or both of us and then what? It all would've been for nothing..." The whole time Bennie sat in complete shock, staring at Aden with his mouth open a little, displaying his perfectly aligned pearly white teeth. "Bloody Hell, why Topaz is attracted to you I'll never know..." The pixie shook his head. "What's life without a little risk, Lightingale? You want Topaz? Show her you're gonna fight for her. Then she'll be yours forever."
Bettie found Alice while her and Zac were still in the dinging room. "Okay, so, basically, your brother is with Topaz in the kitchen and they're both with Bennie... I don't know why but Topaz has stormed off and she looks pretty pissed off..." Alice and Zac shared a look. "She always looks like that Bettie; I thought you would've remembered that at least." Zac said sarcastically. "No, I mean she's stormed right off and locked herself in the bathroom..." Alice and Zac shared another look. "I'll handle this." Alice said, popping her knuckles and turning towards the door. "Alice," Bettie called hurrying after her. "If I were you I'd choose my words carefully... An argument between her, Aden and Bennie wouldn't've went down well I think..." Alice smiled at the little pixie before heading towards the bathroom at the top of the first flight of stairs. "Topaz?" She called through the door, pressing her ear to the wood and knocking lightly. "Topaz it's Alice, can I come in please?" Suddenly the sound of fabric tearing filled Alice's ears and she pulled back suddenly. "Topaz?" She asked confusedly, putting her ear back to the door. "Hold on!" Topaz called impatiently. Alice pulled back and looked over the banister downstairs at the people dancing and drinking and kissing and swaying in the entryway below. It was verging on eight o'clock, the party had been going on for two hours and already people were finding it difficult to stand straight. Alice vowed then not to try the punch. She turned abruptly with the bathroom door opening just then. The sight before her almost hurt to look at.
"What're you waiting for then?" Bennie demanded after Aden had told the pixie all he had to. "Go get her." Aden didn't need to be told twice. He left his recently poured punch in the kitchen and went after Topaz. Albeit she'd been gone a while now and for all Aden knew she was already home by now. He'd just burst trough the crowded corridor leading to the kitchen and was inside the entryway when Topaz came clicking downstairs in a pair of sky-high grey heels, her previously floor-length dress now cropped to above her knees. The previously high-necked lace had been cut so that it dipped in a thick slit down her chest to the bodess. Her hair had been set free from its updo, her curls falling down her back to just above the usual height of her waist. Aden didn't know where the heels had come from. He didn't care either. Aden didn't know why Topaz had done this to her outfit. He didn't care either. And the reason Aden didn't care about these small things was because Topaz was making her way down the stairs smiling at him. Nobody else. He looked around him. There was nobody else Aden knew for Topaz to be smiling at them. The reason Aden didn't care about anything else in the Dark World, was because Topaz was heading straight for him confidently through all the dancing bodies who seemed otherwise oblivious to this moment between Aden and Topaz. Her confidence was glowing, making her so beautiful that it would've hurt Aden to look away. Topaz was smiling crookedly at Aden, showing her dimples as she clicked straight to Aden and grabbed him by the front of his polka-dot t-shirt. She yanked him against her, crushing their mouths together. If that hadn't silenced the whole room enough, the following crash sure did. One minute, Aden's fingers were gripping the skin of Topaz's hips, their mouths moulding each other, their tongues fighting for dominance. And the next the front door was being thrown open against the wall and in walked three boys to shake familiarity deep within Aden. The music stopped from the drawing room, pulling Aden and Topaz apart, shocked. There Aden turned and looked and saw Robbie, Louis and Nate wearing nothing but black. And heading right at Aden and Topaz.
"Robert no!" Zac and Alice pulled apart in the dining room, Topaz's scream reaching them back here. "Robert...?" Zac mumbled in confusion before fleeing from the room. Alice hurried after him, unsteady and unbalanced in her high heels. The entryway was in a state of utter pandemonium. Alice had hurried downstairs to the dining room before Topaz, and found Zac to tell him Topaz's nightmarish makeover. Then, merely a few moments ago, the entryway had been full of Worlders dancing, drinking, kissing and talking animatedly. Now, the Worlders hung back in horror, staring at the bottom corner beside the front door, where three mermaids dressed head-to-toe in black stood staring down at Alice's younger brother, a trickle of blood falling from his nose where Robert had apparently punched him. Blood was smeared over the knuckles of Robert's fisted right hand. Suddenly Topaz punched one of the mermaids square in the face, knocking him to the floor several feet behind him. Zac yelled her name and rushed forward to stop her hitting out at her third brother who Alice presumed was Nate by the height. But it was too late; she'd already leapt on his back and was yanking his hair, her now-short chiffon dress sticking to her with static. "Aden!" Alice yelled, running towards her brother. Unfortunately, the third mermaid was quicker and stuck his foot out, flooring Alice beside Aden against the wall. Aden suddenly came to life, kicking out at the mermaid, knocking him to the floor. "That's my bloody sister you idiot!" Aden yelled, kicking the mermaid across the entryway. And then they realised Topaz had been knocked to the floor while Zac was fighting Louis. "Paz!" Aden roared, running forwards. Alice kicked off her shoes and jumped to her feet, running to help Topaz as Aden began to fight Nate. "Alice!" Topaz called in panic. But Alice was too slow; she'd been so focused on reaching Topaz that she had forgotten to unfurl her wings and protect her back. The alcohol in her system was slowing her reactions down, so that by the time Robert reached her back, her wings were merely half-unfurled. Time began to slow as an itching agony spread throughout Alice's back. Topaz began to scream and then abruptly, Alice was on the floor in agony, screaming, and Zac had a knife pressed against Robert's throat, the entire entryway silent in horror at this bloody drama before them.
"ENOUGH!" Zac roared, his younger brother's throat clenched in his left hand. Aden dropped Louis to the floor at his feet and Topaz snatched her hand out of Nate's hair. "You will leave and you will leave NOW!" Zac bellowed at Nate and Louis. As if programmed to respond to loud volumes, Nate and Louis got to their feet and left obediently without blinking. "Aden, come here." Zac demanded, and with the mermaid not even struggling against the wall, Aden hurried forward. "Keep him here and don't let him go." Zac ordered. The Angel done as he was told without protesting and Zac hurried towards Alice bleeding on the floor, Topaz nowhere to be seen. "Alice, are you okay?" Zac asked clearly, a lump in his throat as the Angel whimpered on the floor. "It's my wings..." She cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's okay..." Zac slowly lifted her onto his lap on the floor and turned her over. Sure as fate the Angels wings were damaged, an ugly gash running down her right wing, folding it in half lazily. "You're alright..." Zac swallowed loudly, his anger boiling in the back of his throat. He turned the Angel back over and held her tight against his chest. "It's just a small cut." He lied with his eyes tight shut. "Zac, move." Topaz demanded, throwing herself to the floor beside the pair. She had her clutch bag in her hand and was emptying the contents onto the floor. "I've got this get out of the way." Topaz demanded. Zac softly moved Alice onto the floor where she laid on her stomach, her broken wing falling on the floor in front of Topaz. For a moment the mermaid was paralysed, staring in horror at the disfigured wing. She then snapped out of her shock and continued assembling the witch's potion. As the onlookers began to realise what was happening, a murmur began throughout the crowd. "Pazzie!" Bennie's voice sounded down the corridor leading to the dining room and kitchen. "Not now!" Topaz yelled angrily. "No, please," Bennie called, hurrying towards her with a tall warlock. "This is Franklin Gregor; he's the best warlock we have in the city." The warlock dropped to his knees, rolling his sleeves and cracking his knuckles. Zac grabbed his elbow. "You'll be gentle?" He told the warlock. "Of course." Franklin told him. Zac slowly got to his feet, his rage quiet and undetected except from those who knew him best. "Zac no..." Topaz whispered as she stared up at her older brother from the floor next to Franklin. "Zac..." Her tone grew more and more anxious as Zac turned slowly towards his younger brother still pressed up against the wall, his face turning purple from the tight grip Aden held on his throat. "Right everyone out NOW! Party's over." Bennie called urgently, opening the front door. As everyone began to hurry out the door, Bennie told them to keep quiet about this situation and Zac flew forward, slamming his fist into Robert's stomach. "You uncaring little prat," Zac sneered, laying into Robert as Aden slowly backed away towards Topaz. "Don't you realise how important she is to me you moron!" Zac roared, kicking his brother to the floor. "Answer me you coward!" He yelled, kicking Robert in the back. "Fight back you coward!" He shouted, kicking the mermaid in the stomach before crouching down beside him. "Or would you rather I dunk you in water and cut off your tail?"
"Zac, no!" Topaz shouted carefully from beside Aden. Robert's eyes flickered to Zac's before his head snapped out and blundered Zac's, knocking him backwards on the floor. Robert jumped on Zac, a leg on either side of his stomach and his hands lashing out at his older brother. "No!" Topaz screamed. But then Robert was off his brother, and lying across the hall, his body slammed against the stairs. Zac sat up in a vague cloud of pain, his face bloody and cut. He looked from his younger brother unconscious by the stairs and turned slowly to see Aden staring angrily at Robert, his foot lowering to the ground.
Aden was a little sheepish about what he'd done. He hated the idea of hurting someone, let alone knocking them out. But he'd saved Zac, and Topaz seemed happy enough by that. Bennie drove the Worlders back to Topaz's grandmother's, and once inside Franklin made sure Alice was safely tucked up in her bed before dealing with the other Worlders' cuts. At some point Topaz had slipped away and changed into a beige trouser-suit with a matching chiffon blouse, something Alice would've been proud of. Topaz entered the drawing room quietly as Franklin was healing Aden's few cuts. "Are you alright?" The warlock asked Topaz. "I'm fine now, thank you," She smiled, sitting down on the sofa beside Aden. "Are you okay?" She asked Aden, a hand on his leg. Aden opened his mouth and the warlock pulled back. "Well he should be now, that's you all finished." Aden smiled. "Thank you."
"It's my pleasure. How is Alice?" Franklin asked Topaz. "She's still sleeping..."
"And your brother?"
"Which one?" Franklin smiled. "Zac?"
"He's fine, he's swimming right now."
"Without Robert I hope?" When Topaz didn't say anything the warlock put his hands in the air. "It isn't my situation to be involved in." Topaz half-smiled and Aden reached out to rub her cheek. It was a gesture he hadn't even intended to do. The mermaid looked over at the Angel and smiled a tearful smile as the warlock stretched and got to his feet. "Well if that'll be all, I'll be on my way." Topaz got to her feet too, and extended her hand. "If there is ever anything we can do for you in the future, please, don't hesitate to ask." The warlock smiled. "To know I have saved the lives of both the Nightingales and the Lightingales, future rulers of both the Light and Dark Worlds, I'll be eternally grateful." Topaz's smile fluttered in confusion at the warlock's mysterious choice of words. "I'll show you out." Is what she chose to say instead, and after leaving the room, Aden headed upstairs to change.
Aden was staring at his unmarked torso in the mirror, staring at the unbroken skin there, at the hard lines of his muscles, at the simplicity of his skin and realising how fortunate he was to bare no scars. Angels were the hardest creatures to scar, the feather of their wings healing them better than any other witch potion or scar-cream. Two quiet knocks sounded on his bedroom door, alerting him to the fact that they were all still in the middle of some preposterous attack. He yanked the grey t-shirt over his head and opened the door. "I came to see if you were okay?" Topaz asked, entering the room sheepishly. "Yeah I'm fine... Just a little dazed." Aden admitted, closing the door behind him and running a hand through his hair. No sooner had that hand slid through his hair before Topaz's arms were around him and her face was shoved into his chest. The Angel was a little startled at first before he wound his arms around the mermaid and pressed his face into her hair.
They stood like that for a long moment, wound in each other's arms and knowing that no matter what happened next, there wouldn't be a more perfect moment to embrace.