"So where did you run off to yesterday?" Finn looked intently up at her from his plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon pancakes.
"Hmmm?" She replied absentmindedly.
"What happened to you? You were whisked away by some dark-looking stranger, and miss your detention-which I narrowly managed to get you out of- and then you show up at my doorstep in some ripped party dress, looking like a drunken prom queen, and ask me if you can make me breakfast. Not that I mind or anything..." He added hastily, glancing up bashfully at her from her perch in elevated kitchen.
She had resumed her dreamy gaze out the window onto the foggy city line, not seeming to hear his words.
"I just wished you had at least sent me a text or gave me a call telling me you were okay."
That made her snap from her daydream, and glance down at the bunny phone that sat guiltily next to her hand on the marble countertop. She pressed the home button, which lit up, and revealed 12 Missed Calls from Finn, and 3 texts asking "Are U ok?".
"I know I should have called you, but things sort of got out of hand last night, and I didn't have great reception in the storm." She lied. She hoped it was convincing. It must have been because Finn nodded seeming to accept her lousy excuse and return to his breakfast.
"I just don't want anything bad to happen to you Fi." He whispered as he stuck his fork into another mound of scrambled eggs, and shoved it into his mouth.
She stopped stirring the now burning eggs in the skillet on the gas grill, and peered thoughtfully at Finn, who embarrassed about the nature of his confession, avoided her gaze.
"Finn..." She set the spatula down, turned off the heat to the skillet, whipped her hands in her apron, and gracefully descended the three steps that led into the dining room, and kneeled down before him, staring at him, seemingly almost into him, and grasping at his retreating feelings that he kept hidden under tight lock and key.
"Finn." She repeated. Placing her hand on his cheek, making him shutter. His reply sent her spiraling back into the memories of the night before. Bernabon. Laying in bed with Bernabon. Seeing his naked torso, the roaring wind outside. Then, she was awake, her head bumping along in an odd position, and the sensation of being buckled snuggly in, as she came to in the car, the driver silently dropped her off at the lobby entrance to her penthouse... She didn't know where to go, what to do. Cake was gone. She went to the only person who had provided her comfort in her absence. He looked at her with wide, unbelieving eyes.
"I'm sorry... What was I thinking..."
She began to pull her hand away from his cheek, not fully understanding why she had placed her hand so lovingly on his cheek in the first place. She was so mixed up inside. Her mind swirling with thoughts of getting home, had now made room for the new people in her life and the tangled lives they led in the budding metropolis full of wealth and unimaginable power she now found herself in. This was not home, she didn't want it to be her home, but she was beginning to take root, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Nothing in her power but watch the life she had once had slowly fade from view and be replaced with vibrant and complex relationships with people who were willing to care for her, to lover her.
I never asked for any of this...
Her shoulders shook uncontrollably, and her knees began to buckle beneath her. Finn, still sitting in the chair, grabbed her by the waist and kept her slightly raised from the ground as he took her hand in his once again and pressed it back to his cheek. He turned his nose to the palm of her hand and inhaled deeply then rubbed her hand against his rough, unshaven cheek.
Her blush deepened.
He continued to nuzzle her hand. She couldn't look directly at him, but she also didn't look away. So she settled on concentrating on only parts of him, first it was his smooth eyebrows and forehead, then it was his strong, gently sloping nose that ended in a soft point. His hair pulled back in a tiny pony, keeping it out of his face. Then his soft lips and perfectly formed cupid's bow that hinted at a smirk in the corners as he rubbed his cheek against her hand. Then, finally, she met his eyes, which lazily peered up at her, sending another chill down her spine.
They seemed so different now. She had always known they were blue, but she had never taken the time before to peer more deeply into them as she did in that moment. His eyes looked so lonely. They reminded her of a forgotten stream near her treehouse back in Aaaa, one that rolled carelessly along. Seeming to care for nothing. It was not so much that the stream was not willing to house guests, but that no one was interested in being a guest within. No frogs swam through, or fish glided by, and soon the stream was forgotten by the world. So the stream moved on, it forgot what it was like to be lonely, to be sad. The stream simply carried on, bubbling and croaking until one day she dipped her toes into it as a child, and giggled as the stream seemed to grow alive again and welcome its visitor, lap at her feet. Finn's eyes, the same color as the stream, the same deep, clear gray-blue. Lit up and came alive like the stream had at her touch, and now she couldn't pull away as easily as she had when she was a child.
"Fiona..." He dropped her hand, and cupped her cheek in his hand. It was even softer than he imagined. Once again, her mind flashed back to the night before, and now she pulled away. But Finn did not pursue her cheek as Bernabon had done. No, Finn was still unsure of his feelings, or maybe he was just more sure of hers. He seemed to understand her like no one else had since she had arrived, not even Cake could read her so openly. He always seemed to know, and that is why she couldn't hurt him. No, she wouldn't lead him on with soft caresses and affectionate whispers like she had unwittingly done with the others. It wasn't fair. He deserved so much better than her.
Then there was a knock at her door.
She glanced quickly down at him as she stood back up, but he was still staring at her. Not with anger or remorse, but with the same longing hum she had felt when she stood by the stream back in Aaaa. The promise to be a companion, if only given the chance to prove itself. It sent another icy shiver up her spine.
She walked over to the main hallway and clicked on the live video surveillance footage that served as an overcomplicated peep hole. The feed revealed a tall, messy-haired figure leaning against the wall parallel to the entrance. The figure wore an oversized black leather jacket and long red scarf.
"Marshall...?" She hissed.
The figure looked up at the surveillance camera, as if hearing her whisper, and winked at the screen.
"Oh. My. Glob. How did he find me?" She whispered mortified.
"Who's that?" Finn peered over her shoulder, standing a little too close to her. She could smell the remnants of the fragrant cologne from earlier on his skin.
"Oh it's..."
"Wait, I know who that is! That's Marshall Lee, isn't it?" He shot an accusative look down at her.
She shrugged innocently.
"Oh Ms. Fion-n-n-aaaaa" A voice sang off key from the audio control of the security panel. "I know you're there. Don't worry, I won't bite... That much!" Marshall chuckled to himself.
"Don't you dare let him in." Finn raised an eyebrow.
"I have to. He won't leave until I let him in." She hissed. Stealing a quick glance back down at the monitor before meeting Finn's threatening gaze with her own.
"No you don't..." Finn began as she turned away from him and reached for the doorknob.
His hand closed around hers as she gripped it. "Please Fiona, be reasonable. Who knows what he will do."
She took a deep breath and flipped her bangs back from her eyes. "I have to."
"Then you should..." He began.
"And that is why I am letting him inside." She cut him off. "Because if I don't do it now, then he will get more obnoxious and use every tool at his disposal to get inside this penthouse, let it be legal or otherwise."
Finn searched her eyes for a moment, searching for her real reason, before releasing his grip and letting her turn the knob.
"I really like what you have done with the place." Marshall grinned as he sunk down into the chair opposite Finn at the dining table.
Finn shot her another accusatory glance as she retreated into the kitchen to 'clean' leaving Marshall with Finn.
"He's joking Finn!" She called exasperatedly. No doubt rolling her eyes at his comment.
"No I'm not." Marshall replied in a husky whisper. Staring at Finn and licking his lips hungrily.
Finn went a little pale. Thinking about what Marshall had just implied. It was one thing to think about 'Tier 15' when thinking of Jake and Rain... But Fiona? It made him blush.
"I have pictures..." He continued pulling out his cell phone from the inside pocket of his jacket and beginning to unlock it.
"NO HE DOESN'T FINN! DON'T LISTEN TO ANYTHING DRACULA SAYS!" Fiona raged.
"Yeah, she's right. I don't." Marshall confessed with a moan and shook his head. Then he leaned over the table, so he was only a few inches away from Finn and whispered to him so Fiona couldn't hear him. "Well, at least I don't have them yet, but I will." He winked at Finn, who became a deep scarlet and mumbled something incomprehensible under his breath. Marshall settled back in his chair and smirked. Amused with Finn's reaction.
"Please remind me again why you are here?" Fiona appeared from the shelter of the kitchen, drying a plate, trying hard to appear completely uninterested with his answer.
"Oh Fi, please don't tease me and pretend that you don't remember when you invited me over last night." Marshall replied mellow dramatically, throwing a hand over his brow and slumping back in the chair.
"What are you talking about? I don't remember any such..." She was gripping tightly onto the dish in her hands. She didn't care if she broke it.
"Oh you really must lay off the sauce Fi, don't you remember how I escorted you from..." He began.
Suddenly a foggy memory of being carried from her place beside Bernabon by a tall, shadowy figure flowed back to her.
"But I thought you were... I mean... you were just so similar to..." She choked, now understanding that the man in her dreams was indeed a 'Marshall', but not her Marshall.
Marshall raised an eyebrow. Seeing that the cogs were beginning to turn in her head. How cute...
"What is it Fi? Bat got your tongue?" He smirked as he leaned back in the chair and rested one arm on the head, and propped the other on the table, using his fist to support his cheek. He was watching her with such delight, as if she were the character in a saturday morning cartoon.
Finn, completely lost. Glanced anxiously between both of them.
"I mean you probably don't remember that you invited me... You were pretty sleepy when I picked you up from Ber..."
Finn's ears pricked up.
She dashed for Marshall and cupped her hand over his mouth. He didn't fight her, but glanced slyly up at her. She could feel the smirk pressed against her hand grow into a wide, toothy grin.
"Bedroom. Now." She hissed at him, then looked worriedly up at Finn, who continued to look bewildered.
Well at least he isn't catching on...
She grabbed Marshall briskly by his red scarf and drug him in the direction of the bedroom.
"Well maybe you will get to see those pictures after all." Marshall winked to Finn as he was tugged forcefully down the hallway.
Finn blushed again, and looked away from the two and focused his attention out the windows. Pretending he didn't see them. Or had heard Marshall's teasing
She slammed the door shut behind them and pushed Marshall up against the wall, as far away from her as she could while still being in the same room.
"What is your problem?" She hissed.
Marshall shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Last time I checked, Good Little Girl, I wasn't the one toying with boy's emotions." He took a step away from the wall, and she took another step back.
"What are you even talking about?" She glared.
Marshall was quiet for a moment, as if her words hurt him. Then, he finally spoke. "At least you don't have to find the person you are in love with in bed with another man." He was looking down at the floor, his dark bangs covering his eyes.
"You know I could tell Bernabon you are..." She began intending to use his 'butler' status as ammo.
"But you won't." He interrupted, meeting her gaze.
"And why not?" She snarled and put her hands defiantly on her hips.
"Because of this." He said with more control than she had expected as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and offered it to her.
She took several cautious steps towards him before snatching the glowing screen from his outstretched palm, and retreating back to the door. She glared at him once more before examining what the screen offered.
She gasped.
It was a picture of her sleeping next to Bernabon, cuddling up against his back. She swiped the screen, the next picture was Bernabon wrapping his arms around her waist as she slept, she didn't remember that part. The last picture was taken in a different bed, and Bernabon's slim, girlish frame had been replaced with Marshall's iconic smirk. Marshall had taken a picture of himself lying next to her. Her ripped ball gown pulled down a little more to reveal a sizable about of cleavage as she nuzzled next to him.
"And don't even think about trying to delete them..." He threatened.
"And why not?" She hissed.
"Because I have programmed a virus to run the moment one of those pictures are deleted from my phone. And this virus has been programmed to send ten thousand copies of each picture to every student and faculty member at VA via email." He smiled deviously at her.
Her eyes grew wide as her thumb hovered over the icon of a garbage can in the corner of the screen. "What do you want?" She asked with a shaky breath.
He walked towards her, but she was now too frightened to move or even look away. Panic filled her body, seemed to ease from her pores. She was frozen.
He stopped before her and bent towards her face, whispering "I want you Fiona."
Her blood ran cold. He continued. "I want you to be mine and mine alone. I want you to be by my side every moment of every day. I want your mind to be filled with thoughts of no one else but me, but I also know that none of this was possible... Without a little... personal intervention." He slipped the phone carefully from her hand, and waved it in front of her.
"Go ahead. Do it. See what I care?" She hissed.
He smiled and caressed her face. "And that is why I am so drawn to you, it is that spark that you have that makes my blood boil."
"No one will believe you."
"Yes, I guess you are right." He peered out the window, then continued. "So I guess that I will do is scare people into believing me. Believing that the pure transfer student is sleeping around campus so soon after arriving... Think of the gossip. The intrigue. The precious little life you know and love will cease to exist. Your aunt will lose her position on the board, and I doubt she will be hired by any decent company once word leaks that her family member is a tasteless class climber."
She slapped him. Hard.
He was quiet again for another moment and nursed his aching cheek, looking out the window.
"You think you can scare me into submission?"
"I am the future head of a major crime ring, might as well cut my teeth on this whole 'blackmail' thing now... I will be using it in the future after all. I want to get a head start now don't I?" His hand ran up her leg and he continued. "So my answer is yes. Yes I do. Do you know why? Because you are so busy thinking about what other people think about you. People like Finn and Bubba think about you, that people like you push people like me aside, say I am nothing..."
She shook her head. "Marshall. I have never cared about what anyone has thought about me. This is why I hate this world. You people are so wrapped up in your little squabbles that you think everyone is exactly like you, that everyone out there in the world is trying to hurt you..."
He blinked at her and rubbed his cheek with speechless admiration.
"Marshall Lee, I am not a possession to be had. I am not meant to be held in your hands, to be your plaything. You may do whatever you want to me, but I will suffer through it. Because I am a Warrior of Aaaa, an Adventuress."
He stared at her stupefied.
"Fiona... I..."
"I want you out of my house. How dare you try to threaten and blackmail me into being yours?"
She pushed him out of the way and walked towards the door. He tried to block her path, but she kneed him in the groin causing him to fall to the ground and curl up into a ball. She opened the door before glancing back at him. "I am going to be in the shower. I expect you gone by the time I get out. If you're not, I will have Finn personally escort you out."
He looked momentarily from his fetal position on the floor and smirked. "Am I at least invited into that shower?"
She stuck her tongue out at him, stepped out into the hallway, and slammed the door shut with all her power, making the hallways vibrate with the force.
"Well someone is testy..." Finn stated. Staring at her from the clearly visible living room, cross-legged, sipping a cup of what smelled to be camomile tea.
She rolled her eyes and stormed to the very opposite end of the hallway, where the bathroom was. She shot Finn a threatening gaze as she closed the door, but he hardly seemed disturbed by it, he could tell when she was serious or not, and right now she was angry, but not enough so to kick him out.
I wonder what happened in there... He thought to himself as he brought the cup up to his lips and slurped the warm, steamy liquid.
She turned the knobs of he faucet, letting steamy hot water burst from the tap, and quickly fill up the bathtub. She had planned on taking a shower, but her mind was so full of emotion she felt dizzy, and knew it was very unlikely she would be able to stand. With her last ounces of strength she lit some candles and dove into the deep bath, letting the water splash over the sides and run on to the floor.
I will dry it up once I get out of the tub...
Images of three very different faces filled her mind. Bernabon, the Broken Prince, Marshall, the Rocker with Blue Blood coursing through his veins, and Finn, the Silent Knight. All so different, but all seemed to express interest in one common thing: her.
She sunk deeper into the bubbly water, letting the overflow reach out and exterminate the flames from a few of the candles that surrounded the tub.
"What am I going to do?"
She emerged from the bath and wrapped her hair up with a towel. Still unable to decipher her emotions, but at least she was clean and in her own home again... Well, somewhat... She thought, opening the door, and letting the remaining steam escape from the damp room, along with her ghostly figure appearing in the doorway. She scurried over to her door, hearing the faint sound of murmurs echoing from down the hall, in her living room.
I swear to glob, if Marshall is still there when I am done changing... She thought, already going back on her pervious threat of asking Finn to 'escort' him out by the time she got out of the bath. But she was still too shy to let them see her in only a robe, so she decided to change first, and then request Finn's services.
She changed into a dark pair of jeans and a loose sweat shirt, not even knowing what it said, before taking her hair out of the towel, and throwing on her bunny hat for good measure.
She opened the door and heard the echo of unfamiliar laugher.
"Oh Marshall Lee, you are going to get it." She hissed as her feet, now cushioned with fuzzy, striped socks, slapped angrily down the hallway towards the living room.
She was astounded to find that it wasn't the sound of Marshall, but Finn, who was laughing so hard he had doubled over from his perch on the couch, and was gasping for air. Marshall sat across from him on the opposite couch, resting his cheek against his knuckles, and smirking. The earlier atmosphere from earlier had completely disappeared, and was now replaced with something that could almost be called "friendly".
Oh she could have hit him, but the color in Finn's cheeks, the deep breaths he gulped down, beginning to realized they were no longer alone.
"Oh Fiona..." Finn chuckled as he wiped a tear from his eye.
She glared angrily at Marshall, who in turn shrugged at her and motioned with his eyes back towards Finn.
"What's so funny?' She inquired testily.
She hadn't meant to, but as she said this, the color and spark from Finn's eyes began to fade. It was the same glimmer that appeared when he was fencing with her, or when he was joking with Jake.
True happiness, that's what lit them up. But now she was responsible for stealing away one of those rare moments for him. She could have kicked herself for doing that to him.
Finn didn't seem to blame her. "Oh Fiona, Marshall Lee just told me the best joke. You have to hear it."
"Well then let's hear it." She hissed, turning her attention towards Marshall, who was still sitting in her penthouse, after she had asked him to leave.
The audacity... But then again... He has been the only one to make Finn erupt into peels of laughter like that. So maybe he is not that... Oh SNAP OUT OF IT GIRL! He just tried to blackmail you into dating him, he must be evil.
Marshall shook his head 'no'. "Maybe some other time..." He winked at her.
"Oh but Mr. Lee..." Finn whined.
"Oh please, just call me Marshall." He smiled at Finn, and for a second, it almost looked genuine, but Fiona didn't trust him.
Finn nodded. His eyes grew wide, he was obviously thrilled that someone so 'cool' as Marshall Lee would hang out with them, let alone tell him that he could call him by his first name.
She rolled her eyes again.
He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets, and walked over to her. "What I really want to talk about is that awesome sweatshirt you are wearing."
She glanced down at it. Shit...
She hadn't the faintest idea to how or why it was in her room, but Finn's Scream Kings shirt had somehow ended up in there, and she had unwittingly pulled it on, not even bothering to look in the mirror to primp herself before barreling out to kick Marshall out. She could have kicked herself for being so stupid. She hated how Marshall could get under her skin like he was doing this moment.
I better just play it stupid...
"What are you talking about?" She replied sweetly.
He looked at her a moment, cautious of her sudden shift in mood. "What I mean is I didn't know you liked the Scream Kings." He ventured.
"Well you know me, full of surprises!" She shrugged and took a step backwards, which he immediately followed by taking another step forward. Finn stared speechless at both of them. Unsure of what to do.
"I could get you tickets if you wanted, I do know someone in the band." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, knowing all too well what he meant.
"Well I would love to, but you see, I wouldn't want to go without Finn." She smiled. "He's the true fan."
Marshall shifted his gaze towards Finn for a moment, glaring at him with the look of a feral beast stocking its witless pray, before once again resuming his oily charm, and walking over to Finn, and standing behind him from where he sat on the couch, and grabbing Finn's shoulders.
"Oh Finny, if I had known you and Fi were such big fans, I would have hooked you guys up with tickets much sooner." He squeezed Finn's shoulders tightly, making him wince. All the while never breaking eye contact with Fiona.
Finn smiled, completely unaware of the dangerous aura emanating off of Marshall behind him. "Well I would call myself a bit of a fan..." He confessed.
"Perfect!" Marshall spun in a tight circle and clapped his hands. "Let me just make a few calls." He strutted over towards Fiona as he pulled his phone from his pocket, flashing her the 'last' picture- the one of them together- at her, which he had no doubt set as his home screen, as he passed by and walked towards the kitchen for a bit of privacy.
Her blood ran cold again for a moment before she sighed, and flopped down next to Finn on the couch. She rubbing at her temples.
"A 'bit of a fan'?" She hissed.
Finn shrugged innocently. "What were you doing in my sweatshirt in the first place?"
She slid lower into the couch. "I have no idea, I just grabbed the first thing in my room. I didn't even check to see what I had put on." She confessed. "I was preoccupied with the fact that Marshall was still in my house."
"He's really not all that bad, I mean..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "When people talk about him, they say how dangerous he is, and never to cross his path in the hallways... But I mean, here he is, giving us free tickets to one of the most popular bands in the area!"
Oh believe me, nothing Marshall Lee does is 'for free'...
She nodded, knowing she couldn't tell Finn... It was too embarrassing, also, if she told him about Marshall's connection, Marshall could be sure to make he life miserable for spilling his biggest secret... Well... One of them.
They heard the steps squeak as Marshall returned to them, slipping his phone back into his inside pocket. "Well it's all set kiddies! Front row tickets with backstage access for next friday!"
"Woah! Really? You mean the show at the Cube?" Finn inquired excitedly.
"The one and only!" Marshall nodded proudly.
"Oh man, I am going to have to tell Jake about this!" Finn stood up and hurried towards the door. "I left my phone back in the apartment. I will be back in a moment!" He called as he let the door close behind him.
She watched the door shut behind him, it seemed like eons passed before it finally clicked shut.
And for the second time that week, Fiona was left in a room with a dangerous Marshall Lee...
I really need to stop getting myself into these messes...