Following the sisters' argument, while Daniela went to go meet up with her boyfriend, Kath stormed down to the kitchen, her anger fuelling her hunger.
When she arrived she found the kitchen occupied - she had been hoping it would be empty. But the other person there was Piotr.
Despite the sisters' argument being about him, or at least involving him, Kath felt relieved to see him. "Hi Piotr."
"Hi Kath." He didn't return her smile, just sipped his tea quietly.
She could instantly tell something was off. He wasn't himself. "You okay?"
"Okay, da."
"Okay, good." She was in the middle of preparing herself some cheese and crackers when he spoke again.
"Kath, on my way to kitchen, I couldn't help but overhear you and Daniela arguing."
"Oh..."
"Is everything okay between you two?"
She was flooded by relief. "Oh, yeah, we were just disagreeing on something - again."
"I heard you say that you - well, that you like me..."
The relief she had been feeling vanished just like that. Shit - he'd overheard that? How loud had they been speaking? They had been having a heated argument...
Kath felt her cheeks go a red as Wanda's favourite leather jacket. "Oh, Piotr-"
"Is it true?"
Well, she was in it now, trapped. And it was her own damn fault. "Yes, it is..."
"But you don't love me?"
"Sorry?"
"You said you didn't love me."
Yes, she had said that, hadn't she. "I don't love him, Daniela! Like him, yeah, sure, but I'm not in love with him..."
"I understand. I knew it was a long shot to hope you felt the same." He stood, downing the rest of his tea and placing the empty cup in the sink.
"Goodnight, Kath." He didn't look at her as he left.
---------------------------
"I love you, you know."
Warren whirled around, eyes wide, jaw dropped, wings stopping mid-flutter.
Daniela sat up in bed and couldn't help but chuckle at his flabbergasted expression. "Oh, come on, don't look so surprised. You knew it. It's obvious, isn't it?"
"Um, well..." Now Warren was avoiding eye-contact and running his hand through his hair. He cleared his throat a few times, unable to speak.
"Warren?"
"I just, I - you surprised me, is all."
"But I thought it was obvious, that I was being obvious, about how I felt."
"Yeah, no, it's obvious you care-"
"Of course I care. Because I love you." Then it hit, suddenly, like a slap in the face and just as painful. "But you don't feel the same..." Her heart started to sink, and for a moment it felt like it would never stop.
"No! That's not what I'm saying!" Warren cried. "I just, I, I'm not, I don't, I don't know-"
"No, it's exactly what you're saying." Hot tears were coming on fast, so Daniela got out of bed, threw on her clothes, not caring how messy they looked, and headed for the door.
"Yela, wait, where are you going?"
Daniela ignored him, brushing past him and opening the door. Both she and Kurt jumped, finding each other on either side of the door they were both trying to go through.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!" cried Kurt, looking between both her and Warren.
"Don't be sorry, Kurt," Daniela said, not bothering to hide her tears. "You weren't interrupting anything." With that, she left.
-------------------------------
"So he loves you?"
"I, I guess... That's what it sounded like he was implying..." Kath kept repeating her brief yet intense conversation with Piotr over and over again in her head. She buried her face in her hands. "So now I've gone and screwed up that." She was in the middle of sharing what had happened with Wanda.
"I wouldn't say 'totally screwed up'," Wanda said.
Well, that was certainly how it felt.
"I had no idea he had feelings for me, let alone..." He loved her, Piotr loved her.
"Love you," Wanda said, as though reading her mind, though Kath knew she wasn't using her powers. "And you love him?"
"I, I - I said I didn't, but maybe I..." This was all so confusing and sudden. Did she really love him? Had she loved him all this time? Had she just ruined any chance she might have with him?
This type of dorm was two bedrooms on either side of a bathroom, so one could hear through the bathroom to the other side. That was when the sisters heard a curse and crying from Daniela's side of the dorm.
Exchanging a glance, the two cut through the bathroom and peeked into Daniela's room to find her crying in her pyjamas.
"Yela, what's wrong?" cried Wanda.
"Warren doesn't love me back."
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
Daniela ignored Wanda's apology and looked at Kath. "Oh don't look so satisfied."
Kath scoffed. "I wasn't! I'm sorry to hear that."
"No you're not."
"Yela-"
"Do you want to talk?" Wanda broke in, which was probably a good thing.
"Yeah, but right now I've got to get changed and go to work. So later."
"Of course, later."
"Later. Thanks Wanda." She didn't say anything to Kath.
---------------------------
Daniela had been feeling crappy all day, and she assumed it was her heartache. Now it was early afternoon and she felt even worse.
And even worse when a frantic angel arrived in the shop.
"Daniela!" Warren cried. "I was worried!"
"You know I have work today."
"Yeah, I know, but - can I talk to you, please?" He appeared very sheepish when he usually seemed so confident and bold.
"I need to work."
"When's your break?"
"I just had one a little while ago."
"When's your next one?"
"Half an hour."
"Okay, I'll wait then."
When her break rolled around he came back over to the counter.
She sighed. "Fine, talk."
"Not here. Could we go somewhere else?"
"I don't have very long-"
"I know. How about the park down the block?"
"I guess."
They walked in silence the one block to the park - it was awful, they were never this quiet around each other. Unusual tension hung heavy between them.
When they reached the park Daniela sat down on a bench, not feeling any better.
Warren began pacing before her, head down in concentration. "Look, I'm sorry for the way I reacted - I was just surprised was all. You said it so suddenly."
"It didn't feel that sudden."
"To me it did."
"I'm sorry." She squeezed her eyes shut; her head had begun to spin.
"Don't be. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, I just didn't know what to say in the moment. I froze, couldn't say anything - Yela, are you okay?" Now he was crouched before her, she looking rather pale all the sudden.
"I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling well..." She held her head in her hands. "I think I should get back to work."
"Okay, here I'll walk with you." They walked back, he with his hand hovering by the small of her back for support. They agreed to finish talking later that evening when she was back at the mansion, and with that he left and she continued her shift.
"Are you okay?" her boss asked her a short while later. "You don't look so good."
"I think so... I think I just need to lie down when I get home."
"No, now. Go home early, I'll cover the rest of your shift. Take it easy, Daniela."
Her head hurt and her stomach felt queasy as she waited for the bus. She soon gave up and went to the nearest phone booth, calling Kurt at the mansion. He was there in seconds and a few seconds more they were home.
"Are you alright?" he asked her. He had teleported them right outside her room.
"I think so... I'm just going to go lie down, so if anyone asks, that's where I'll be."
"Okay, I hope you feel better soon."
"Thanks, Kurt."
"Warren was asking if you'd like him to come check on you later?"
"No, that's fine. I'm sure I'll be fine."
She felt into bed wondering what the hell had come over her, and why so suddenly.
------------------------------
Kath had barely seen Piotr all day - she would go as far as say he was avoiding her. She had also spent the whole day questioning her feelings for him.
She was pondering said feelings further when there came a knock at her door.
When she opened it, Daniela looked panicked.
Any anger she still felt towards her sister vanished. "Yela, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Though she clearly wasn't.
Daniela looked on the verge of tears. "I'm pregnant."
(Wasn't expecting to finish that chapter so soon, but I was on a role with writing!
Whew, lots happened this chapter! And lots more to come! ;)
Thank you all so much for the amazing 500+ reads! :D Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))