1Blue Bloods and its characters are the property of Melissa De La Cruz
Oliver couldn't figure out why they had come here, but Schuyler had insisted that they trade the familiar comfort of The Bank to go to Block 122. When he tried to convince her they would never get in, that it was members only, she merely laughed. Of course they walked through the door effortlessly, no questions asked. The bouncer stood aside, dazed by her obvious abuse of the glom.
Oliver grabbed her hand and headed straight for the bar, ordered up a round of shots and drinks for both of them. The place was packed. A who's who of socialites and movie stars from wall to wall and from where they sat he could see Mimi Force and her entourage. In the past two months Schuyler had made it clear that she couldn't stand to be around Mimi. Her endless cackling about the bonding made Sky physically ill.
Thankfully, Jack was no where to be seen. It was well known that he didn't go out much anymore. He spent all of his time at committee meetings and with his father. Ever since the attack on the conclave he was consumed with vengeance.
Oliver knew that Sky had not chosen him over Jack. Instead, her all encompassing love for Jack Force had made her strong enough to leave him. If she believed their being together wouldn't hurt him, she never would have done it. Oliver knew she would never love him the way she loved Jack, but he didn't care. He would love her enough for both of them.
Some horrible, teen, pop princess song came on, and Schyuler hopped off of her stool.
"Come on," she said. "I want to dance."
He looked at her in disbelief. "Sky, I'm not dancing to this crap."
She smiled and looked towards the DJ. The music screeched to a stop and suddenly The Veronica's "Untouched" was playing.
Using the glom again? What is with her?
She wore her customary smoky eye make-up and pale lips. Her long black hair was down and very straight. She had been wearing a long wool coat and only now did she remove it to reveal her extremely short, skintight, black tube dress. Oliver stared at her shock.
"What are you wearing?"
She rolled her eyes. "Ollie, I walk down the runway all the time wearing a lot less than this. Don't start playing the overprotective boyfriend part now."
The coldness in her tone cut him. She had been acting strangely all day, using her powers, snapping at him with rude, biting, comments.
"If you won't dance with me, I'm sure someone else will." She turned to the guy behind her and tapped him on his shoulder. "Excuse me, apparently my date doesn't dance. Do you dance?"
"With you? Definitely."
Oliver didn't like the way this random guy put his hands on her waist, or the way he was looking at her for that matter. But he didn't stop them from going to the dance floor. He didn't know what had gotten into her but he wasn't going to be a possessive creep.
He watched her dancing, slinking around the dance floor. The way she was acting he would have thought she was drunk. But Schuyler could drink all night and never feel the slightest affects. As he continued to consider her strange behavior he could feel someone's glare on him. It was then that he locked eyes with Jack, staring at him from across the room. Great. Of all nights he could choose to go out it had to be the night they came here.
Although it was hard to look away from the contempt on Jack's face, he was distracted by a second guy joining Schuyler and her dancing partner on the floor. He had seen enough. As Oliver walked towards them he realized that a crowd had been forming around them and when he got closer he could hear why. Schuyler was singing. Her voice was beautiful, perfectly in tune with the song, and ringing out over the crowd. She was the center of attention.
Oliver had a pit in his stomach. Something was really wrong with her. Sky didn't want to be in the spotlight. She shied away from anything and everything like this. Even modeling was a stretch for her. He turned back towards Jack who was watching her in disbelief. The song ended and the crowd exploded into applause. She looked at Oliver, smiled and then collapsed to the floor.
Before Oliver could even react Jack had picked her up off the floor and carried her out to the lobby. When Oliver made his way out through the crowd he saw her sprawled out on a couch. Jack kneeling by her side and staring at her in horror. The blue veins in her arms were glowing and pulsing as if they might explode. Blue veins were showing on her face, lips and the whites of her eyes. Her breath was ragged and he could tell by the erratic rise and fall of her chest that she was laboring to breathe. What was happening?
Jack looked up at him with piercing hate-filled eyes. "When was the last time she had blood!?"
The pit in Oliver's stomach seemed to quadruple in size. Ever since she had broke things off with Jack she had refused to have any blood. "It's been almost two months. But she just kept saying that she was fine, that she wasn't using any of her powers so she didn't need ..."
His voice just trailed off. He felt foolish. The lack of blood would explain her behavior. Similar to being drunk she would have felt woozy and uninhibited. He should have made her, he should have known she needed it.
Schuyler's eyes never left Jack. She stared at him as if he might disappear. She opened her mouth as if to speak and a blue smoke escaped her lips.
"NO!" Jack snapped at her.
"What's happening? You need to tell me!" Oliver refused to be left in the dark any longer. "What is that smoke?"
Jack was gasping for air, tears streaming down his face. "It's her soul. This is what happened to Allegra ... why she wont wake up"
Schuyler gave him a weak smile. "I want you to have it, it's yours already. It always was." Her words were breathy and low, and as she spoke the smoke left her mouth and made a trail to his.
Oliver understood. She was dying. He could only stare, he could only watch. He felt useless.
"No, no, no, no, no. Schuyler, listen to me, you are not going to die. Fight!" Jack cradled her in his arms, and pressed his lips to her hair. Then as if someone had whispered the answer in his ear he jumped to his feet. He moved with quick deliberate actions. He pulled a knife from his pocket, flipped it open and slashed his wrist.
Jack tried to press his wrist to her lips but she resisted. "Just let me go," she pleaded. "When you are bonded with Mimi tomorrow, I'll die anyway. Just let me go."
"Damnit, Schuyler, drink!" His voice echoed throughout the room, and again he pressed his wrist to her mouth. When the blood touched her lips she could no longer refuse him. Just as it happened with Mimi in the blood trial, she saw all of his memories. The way his heart broke the night she left him, the way he tried to pretend to be in love with Mimi, the jealous rage he felt every time he saw her with Oliver, and the torture of this moment, believing she might die.
Oliver stood silent, just watching. Schuyler laid on the couch. Jack kneeling by her side bent over her, their foreheads pressed together, eyes closed. It was more intimate than anything Oliver had ever seen or experienced. Both of them ready to die for the other. As she drank he could see it was working. The blue veins seemed to fade, and her breathing became more regular. She released Jack's arm and he slumped slightly to the ground. They stared at each other with unparalleled intensity.
Only when Oliver turned to leave did he realize they had an audience. Mimi had been standing aside, waiting patiently, but she would no longer be ignored.