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“You. Are. Awesome.” I flopped down on the couch next to Simon and ruffled his hair.
He ducked away from me and held up his hands, laughing. “I know, but why in particular?”
“You seriously need to ask me that?” I countered, raising my eyebrows. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
Today, Simon had helped Sam turn her arm – just her arm and keep it that way for ten minutes straight, without turning into a full-blown killer machine or anything. He hadn’t even needed Eros’ compulsion to do it. Milford could now turn his left arm without any help, and when Simon stepped in he could turn his feet as well.
Eros had been practicing on Sam and Milford and he’d made great progress. He’d been working on Simon too, even though he was immune now. Eros couldn’t break through, but he’d been giving Simon a hard time keeping up the barrier that prevented the mind control from working. The reason they were still going at it even though Eros now had two guinea pigs to practice with, was that Simon though Eros should get a feel for the barrier. Understanding how Simon fought against him might help him keep himself in check. It sounded logical enough: Eros could in time learn to draw up a wall around his own mind, keeping the mind control firmly inside.
The progress Sam, Milford and Eros were all making had made Simon more confident. He’d become our leader, so to speak. Of course Eros still teased him and Sam was her usual snappy self, but when Simon said something needed to be done, they all did it without hesitation. I was a very proud friend.
“Oh, I need your advice on something!” I veered up and faced Simon. “I’ve gotten your dad two gift cards. The first is for a vegetarian restaurant and the second gift is for the Burger King. I was wondering if he’ll be able to laugh about his daughter-in law, the vegetarian vampire, trying to get him to enjoy a meat-free meal… you know, while making up for it by giving him the chance to eat a greasy burger afterwards. You think he’ll like it?”
No reaction. Simon was staring at me with wide eyes, not responding.
“Sime, you okay?”
“W-why did you get my dad anything?” he stuttered.
I rolled my eyes. “Because his birthday this weekend and I’m invited, remember. I can hardly go empty handed, now can I?”
“You’re still going with me?”
I couldn’t believe he’d thought I’d let him down so easily. “Of course! Your parents finally believe you’re not gay. We can hardly tell them you broke up with me already, they might change their minds and try to set you up with guys again!” I shook my head and nudged him. “I take it you haven’t filled them in on everything that went down with us since we saw them?”
“Of course not,” he shot back. “But I didn’t expect you to… after what happened… I figured…”
“Yeah well, you figured wrong.” I put a hand on his arm and smiled. “I’m your friend, Sime. I’d do anything for you, you know that.”
His eyes were brimming with unshed tears, causing me to throw my arms around him and hold him close. He hugged me back, burying his face in my hair. He wasn’t really crying, but there was some sniffling involved.
“I love you,” he mumbled in my hair, making me shiver. “I love you so much, Demona.”
I pulled back a little and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek. “I love you too, Simon.”
I moved my lips to his mouth without thought, but the moment we touched he jerked away from me.
“I’m sorry…” He grimaced. “I didn’t mean to… you still can’t…”
“I know,” I replied through gritted teeth. Anger was bubbling up inside me. “Maybe think about what you mean and what you want before you tell me you love me. Kinda gives the wrong impression.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Dem.”
I got up from the couch, moving away from him. I couldn’t do this right now. One moment, he was seeking comfort in my arms, telling me what I wanted to hear most in the world and the next he was telling me he couldn’t kiss me. Rejecting me.
“Where are you going?”
I could tell he didn’t want me to leave, but I just couldn’t be here right now. “I think I need a good long run and a hot shower. And well, to be away from you for a while.”
“So, Eros again.” Hurt and resentment colored his voice.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “At least with him I always know where I stand.”
“Look, Dem…” He looked down at his feet. “You’ve been spending so much time with him the past weeks… And I get it, I really do, but did you ever stop to think how it makes me feel?”
I laughed harshly. “You really want to go there, Sime? After you dumped me? How did you think that made me feel? How do you think it makes me feel to see you look at me and Eros with jealousy written all over you, yet you won’t do anything about it? To have you tell me you love me, yet blaming me for wanting to kiss you? Did you ever stop to think about that?”
“Dem-”
“No, I won’t listen to you anymore. I’ve got a right to be mad at you, at least for tonight.” I turned my back on him. “Don’t worry, I’ll go with you to your dad this weekend. I’m not a bad friend. But for now, I really don’t want to see your face.”
“Dem, I’m s-”
But I was already out the room, refusing to listen. Harsh maybe, but it was what I needed. I’d done nothing wrong and he’d been the one to start talking about love and stuff. Not me. I was sick and tired of being told I couldn’t kiss him. The least he could do was avoid putting me in a situation where the only reasonable thing I could do was move my lips to his.
While I was changing into my sport outfit, I texted Eros to be ready in five. Almost immediately, a surge of adrenaline shot though me – his way of letting me know he was looking forward to it. With a little smile, I fastened my shoe laces and headed to his dorm. In about ten minutes, my mind would be completely blank: just what I needed.
I nervously flipped from my right to my left leg. My palms were so sweaty I was almost losing my grip on the two gift boxes I was holding. I straightened my very decent white blouse and wiped some imaginary hairs off my knee-length black skirt. I felt like I’d dressed up as a librarian for Halloween or something. To feel at least a little like myself, I was wearing big red loops in my ears and I’d let my hair hang loose.
“You look great,” Simon complimented when he joined me on the school grounds.
“What is it?” I asked, feeling distressed by his lingering stare.
He smiled a little and then reached for me, moving his hands toward my breasts. I gasped, but stayed perfectly still otherwise. What was he going to do?
“Relax,” he mused, buttoning my blouse a little higher. I shivered when his hands brushed my collar bone. “My cousin Pete is a real perv – wouldn’t want him to look down you shirt, now would we?”
I laughed. “You sound like Eros. Except he’d probably be the perv other cousins warn their girlfriends about.”
Simon tensed up at the word girlfriend, placing the whole day in perspective again. Sure, I was going to my supposed family-in-law, but I’d only be pretending to belong. I was single, no longer part of a happy we, but a very sad little just me walking next to her ex-boyfriend.
“Pete will pick us up around here,” Simon announced when we reached the parking lot my mother had dropped me off on my very first day at boarding school. “He should’ve been here b-”
On cue, a battered old blue car came at a screeching halt in front of us. A cute black-haired guy with a slightly Indonesian appearance was leaning out of the window.
“Sy!” he yelled. “Is this hot chick your girlfriend?”
Simon grinned and opened the door for me. “Nice to see you too, Pete.”
I got into the car, which wasn’t easy since there was a spare tire stuffed between the backseat and the passenger seat in the front, which meant there was little room for me in the back. Simon took shut gun, chatting to Pete about some family members that had been fighting recently but had now reconciled because of Simon’s dad’s birthday.
“Uh – hello, guys?” I asked when Simon was halfway through an excited story about their next door neighbor. “Do you always ignore the girl in the back that’s being suffocated by your crap?” It was great to see Simon so happy and… natural really, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed being ignored completely.
“Oh, right,” Pete chuckled. “Sorry. By the way, I could stay away from the tire if I were you. It’s kinda dirty.”
“What!” I exclaimed, looking down on my now stained white blouse. “It’s impossible to stay away from that thing! It’s bigger than I am!”
“Jeez, you really know how to pick them, Sy,” Pete commented dryly. “Nag nag nag – she sounds like my mom. Nice tits though.”
I gritted my teeth, waiting for Simon to defend my honor or something like that, but he just laughed and shot me an apologetic look. Not good enough.
When we reached Simon’s home after almost four hours in that awful car, I was pissed and tired. My skirt was wrinkled, my blouse completely ruined. I was sick to my stomach because of my motion sickness and my hair was in tangles. Simon tried to put his arm around me when we walked to the front door, but I shrugged him off.
“You stick me in the back of a fitly car and now you want to play nice for your parents?” I snapped. “Seriously? You suck, Simon Summers, you really do.”
Before Simon could say anything the door opened and his dad’s booming laugh sounded from the threshold.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” He slammed me on my shoulder, still laughing. “You look like crap, kid. Simon, you didn’t let her ride in the back of Pete’s car, now did you?”
“Yeah, he did,” I grunted in response. “No offence, sir, but your son’s in danger of being murdered by his girlfriend.”
“And for good reason!” A man that faintly resembled Simon’s father had stepped into the hallway and was shaking his head at the three of us. “Pete, didn’t your mom tell you to clean your car before picking up Simon and his girl?”
“I did, dad!” Pete protested. “Not my fault she pressed her body all up against my spare tire. Maybe car parts give her the hots or something.”
Without further ado I stepped forwards and gave Pete a knee in the groin. “I’ve been wanting to do that for four hours straight.” I smirked.
Simon’s dad and his brother burst out laughing. Simon looked shocked, but even he couldn’t keep a little smile off his face. Pete was grunting and whimpering like a baby, making me feel a little better.
“What’s happening out here?” Simon’s mother joined us, looking at the scene in disgust. “Pete dear, are you okay?”
“He’s being punished for being a dick,” Pete’s dad explained, taking a handful off Pete’s hair and pulling him into the living room.
“Oh, well…” Mrs. Summers shrugged it off. “Demona, honey! How nice to see you again!” She opened her arms to embrace me, but stopped short when she saw the state I was in. “Oh dear, what happened to you?”
“Pete’s car did,” I grunted in response, failing to keep the venom out of my voice.
“I see…” She scratched her neck and sighed. “Well, we’ll just have to make do. You can change into something clean soon, I’ll lean you something.”
Before I could thank her, I was whisked into the living room and presented to the entire family. I was hugged and stared at a lot and everyone asked me what happened to me, of course. The family was way bigger than mine, of course, since I had no one but my mother. Mom had no brothers or sisters and her parents had died many years ago. About my dad’s family I knew nothing whatsoever.
Simon’s family consisted of his parents, two uncles, three ants and six cousins. There was Perv Pete of course, and his brother Michael and sister Adele. Their parents were John and Mary, funny and loving people who cursed whenever they felt like it. Mary was from Indonesia, which explained Pete’s looks. John was Mr. Summers brother. Their sister Paola wasn’t married, but she had twins: Caroline and Murry, two very cute four year old girls. Mrs. Summers had a sister, Eve. She was married to the very tall plastic surgeon Harold. Their beautiful daughter Lucinda was about my age.
Everyone was very nice to me, especially when Simon told them I’d hurt Pete for being rude to me. Adele, Pete’s ten year old sister, actually high fived me when she heard about my reaction to her brother’s obnoxiousness.
“I should’ve done that years ago,” Lucinda agreed with Adele. “But dad’s always talking about how expensive it would be to fix my face if someone hurt me back.”
“Daddy’s a plastic doll!” Little Caroline chimed in.
“A plastic surgeon,” her older sister corrected. “Not a doll.”
“Demona dear, follow me,” Mrs. Summers interrupted my conversation with Simon’s cousins. “We need to get you some clean clothes dear.”
Right – I’d completely forgotten I was still wearing my now ruined meet the parents outfit. So far for cleaning up nicely for the in-laws.
“I’m sorry about all the fuss, dear,” Mrs. Summers said apologetic, handing me a plain brown skirt and a blue Tee. “It must be quite distressing for you to meet the entire family at once…”
I smiled and answered politely. “Not at all, Mrs. Summers, they’re all very nice.”
Simon’s mother was being so perfectly nice to me I had the feeling she was trying to make up for last time, when she hadn’t been so welcoming. Well, I’d take the overly-sweet Pauline Summers over the shock-stricken women anytime.
“Sy, pass me the potatoes, will you?” Pete asked from the other side of the table.
“You’re allowed to talk to me, you know,” I replied, handing him the bowl right next to me. “I won’t bite.”
“Maybe not, but I’d rather avoid any other attacks on my treasure,” Pete replied dryly.
“Your treasure, really?” I grinned. “Didn’t feel big enough to deserve such a name.”
“Oh snap!” Lucinda giggled and nudged her mother. “She should’ve been added to this family way sooner.”
Simon put his arm around me then and pressed a kiss to my temple. “You fit right in,” he whispered.
It was true, I did feel like I belonged here. There was a continuing stream of friendly banter buzzing around at all times, which made me feel like I was amongst friends. Everyone had been doing their best to involve me in their conversations from the start and Mrs. Summers had eventually dropped the overly careful sweetness and just accepted the fact that I was there with her son.
The best thing about today wasn’t fitting in with Simon’s family though, no matter how great. The best part about the day was the way Simon was acting around me. He’d been hugging me a lot and every time he pressed his lips to my cheek, temple or forehead I could barely suppress a pleasant shiver. He didn’t really kiss me, but it was better than nothing. Way better.
“Demona?”
I looked up to see Simon’s dad grinning at me from across the table.
“I’m sorry.”
Before I could ask him what he needed to apologize for, there were mashed potatoes all over my face. I screamed, but soon recovered. I dragged a hand across my face to gather as much mush as I could. With a battle cry, I hurled it straight at Mr. Summers. A second later I’d emptied my entire glass of water in his lap.
“What the-” Simon’s dad jumped up, dripping. “How in hell-”
“Language, dear,” Mrs. Summers reprimanded her husband, fighting to keep a straight face.
The others didn’t even try to keep from laughing. Uncle John was banging his fists on the table, his rumbling laugh overshadowing everyone else’s.
I knew I should probably say I was sorry, since he was my boyfriend’s father and everything, but I just couldn’t. He’d thrown mashed potatoes in my face after all. My pride wouldn’t allow me to act contrite about repaying him.
“Why did you do that?” Simon asked his father indignantly. “Are you insane?’ He picked up a napkin and started wiping the sticky stuff off my face.
“She threw it back at me!” Mr. Summers hollowed. “I’ve never-”
“That’s what you get for messing with a Hollow,” I shot back, keeping a level tone. “Why did you throw food in my face anyway?”
“It’s a stupid Summers’ family tradition,” Ant Paola explained when her brother kept muttering about how he’d never expected me to throw something in his face. “When a family member takes home a boyfriend or girlfriend, we throw mashed potatoes in their face.”
“Why?” I asked incredulously while Simon finished cleaning my face.
“To see what you’re made of,” Uncle John replied. “Obviously, you’re not one to be messed with.”
“So it’s a test,” I realized. “That’s...” I could barely keep myself from saying ‘really stupid’. “What’s supposed to be the right response?”
“There’s not just one way to pass,” Aunt Eve explained. “The only way to fail is to leave the room.”
“When they threw it in my face,” John’s wife started, “I just pretended nothing had happened. I just kept eating, completely horrified, yet determined to not give them the satisfaction of seeing me crack.”
“Pauline managed to duck,” Mr. Summers said with a fond look at his wife. There was still bit of mush in his hair and his pants were dripping wet. “And then she started cleaning the stains the potatoes had made on my parent’s rug. But never…” His eyes locked with mine. “…never has anyone thrown something back.”
“Yeah well…” I shrugged. “After watching me take on Pete you should’ve known better than to target me.”
“Seriously, Sy,” Lucinda exclaimed. “Where did you find this girl? She’s more fun than you’ve ever been.”
“That’s not very nice,” I replied, but I couldn’t help but laugh.
I looked next to me then, at Simon’s red face. He’d obviously forgotten all about the family tradition, or he’d have surely warned me. I was glad he hadn’t, this was way more fun. When our gazes locked and I put a hand on his leg to convey to him that I was fine, something unexpected happened. Simon placed a hand on either side of my face and bent down so that our faces were pressed close together.
“Screw it,” he mumbled.
Before I could figure out what he meant, his lips were on mine and all thoughts were gone. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but that was enough. This was what I’d needed for weeks now: for him to kiss me. After all the times he’d told me I couldn’t kiss him I’d started to doubt whether he really wanted me. I knew he did, of course, since the bond told me that much. But to know and to believe are two vastly different things.
While we kept staring at each other, completely ignoring Pete’s obnoxious comments, I felt Eros trying to get as far away from me as possible. He was trying to make the connection between us as thin as possible. There was no anger, no screaming inside my head. Just sadness and… I almost couldn’t believe it, but it felt like he was happy for me. The hurt overruled it, but still. I could tell he was glad about my happiness.
Sighing, I looked away from my fake boyfriend and inwardly reached out for my friend. For Eros. Somehow, getting Simon back was getting more complicated every day, and not just because Simon didn’t want to…
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