disclaimer: uhm, no.
notes1: …i don't know. i really don't.
notes2: this was an idea i got like…50 pages in?
notes3: finished it the day after i got the idea. fail? a little.
notes4: so yes, i understand that this isn't really what happened in the book…
fandom:white cat by holly black.
summary: Was he crazy? Most likely. The creepy way her voice kept whispering in his ear was definitely making him think so.
pairing: cassel/lila.
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Cassel…
My eyes shot open. Out of that nightmare — for now. Yes, I wanted to remember how I killed Lila, but not by some crazy dream. I was finally back at Wellingford after my whole sleepwalking affair. Something like that might just make it start back up again.
Cassel…
Okay. I'm positive I'm awake. Why do I keep hearing her call my name? Am I getting worked, like Maura? Starting to hear hallucinations? Maybe it's that memory charm thing that I was thinking about…
Cassel…
I sat up quick, looking around the room; Sam, sprawled out and snoring on the other bed. Our books, scattered haphazardly on our respected desks. The branches throwing beams of moonlight into the dorm room.
Cassel…
Then I felt it. Her breath, cold — ice-ice-ice cold — on my neck, raising hairs up my entire body. An almost-suppressed shudder ran through my spine.
Oh, Cassel…
She ran her ghostly fingertips over my bare shoulders. They felt like winter wind, dancing through willow wisps like a perfect ballerina. Her blond hair stained red with blood fell lightly onto my shoulder, tickling the bare skin.
Oh, Cassel, did it have to end that way, did it?
I let out a shaky breath. If I…talked to her, could she understand me? Was I the only one seeing her? Could — Could Sam see her too, maybe, just to see if I wasn't crazy? I began to stand up, to try to wake up Sam —
Not so fast, Cassel.
Her nails dug hard into my shoulder, so much that I cried out in pain. Her other ghostly hand pressed against my mouth. Her hands were as soft as ever, still feminine despite her natural brashness— despite that fact that she may or may not be a figment of my imagination.
Shh, Cassel, gotta keep quiet, don't we?
I couldn't breathe. It felt like every time I did, I was inhaling her very being, making her slowly drift away from me. She tasted cold, colder than the worst winter night. The air choked my lungs, made me wheeze when I breathed in.
Does it hurt, Cassel?
I wanted to tell her yes, wanted to just be this big baby. Wanted to get out of this nightmare, or whatever the hell it was. What did I do instead? I acted like big, dumb macho guy, like my brothers.
Stupid, I told myself, stupid.
"Not at all," I gritted out, while inside my head, I was screaming.
Oh, really? Cassel, Cassel…
I feel her haunting figure embrace me from behind, her fingernails trailing their way down my cheek. They sting like knives, and even the blood that runs down my face has gone cold.
"What do you want from me?" I ask her harshly, not giving a damn about how loud my voice is. Momentarily, I feel her fingers dig into my face at my volume, leaving bloody half-moon indents.
Oh, Cassel, I want everything from you.
She jerks me up from the bed, and lets me hold her, one hand on her waist, and another encompassed in her ghostly palm.
Let's dance, Cassel.
She hums to a tune that I'm sure doesn't exist, and we rock gently back and forth. She looks almost beautiful, eyes closed against my shoulder. I can see frost on her eyelashes, I can see the blue tint to her lips, almost as if she were human, instead of this phantom before me.
Cassel…
She breathes my name as she stares into my eyes, and I notice that they're ice blue. I don't notice that she'd moved closer to me until I felt her icy lips connect with mine. I can taste her, now, and it's like peppermint and evergreen, all wrapped up in winter frost.
Cassel…
She calls my name once more as we momentarily break apart so I can take a breath, eyes never opening. For some reason, I can't taste enough of her, and her frigid mouth envelopes mine once more, both of us desperate for each other.
Oh, Cassel…
Then, I'm falling, past the brick exterior of the Wellingford dormitories, staring up into the starry night, gazing up at her in my window. She smiles at me, a wicked sight, and just before I hit the ground, I see her mouth,
I love you, Cassel.
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endingnotes: i love creepy things. especially this.