Spoilers from Revealed. I own neither the characters or the book series, that goes to PC and Kristen Cast. I only own my words. This is based after the kiss shared between Shaylin and Nicole. Hope you enjoy :D
Shaylin had been asleep when Nicole awoke. She had carefully tip-toed around the cute girl, the girl's light breathing igniting a warmth in her chest as she heard the gentle waves of it come and pass. Nicole had to carefully sneak pass fledgling after fledgling, but the good news was that they were all red, and so they would be out like a light until Stevie Rae had woken up and hassled the rest of them awake. Nicole could probably kick one of them and still be safe.
She exited the red's basement, feeling the cool air of the early night hit her, intoxicate her, and she gave a sigh of relief. That basement was either direly cold or too stuffy and hot - there was never an in-between. It was a good feeling to enter the comfort of the night with nothing but her own thoughts - no cramped spaces, no other people, no heat. She reached into her pocket, pulling out an electronic cigarette and taking a long drag of it. It tasted like strawberry in her mouth, and she was incredibly thankful that it didn't taste like crap, as most electronic cigarettes did.
"You smoke?"
Her voice had Nicole whipping her head around so fast she could have gotten whiplash. "No." she quickly retorted, examining the small girl in front of her. "I mean, I used to. I'm trying to quit. Ever since I returned to the House of Night and I helped Lenobia with her horses, I just didn't see the sense in it. Besides, vampires have strict rules against it for fledglings, so it was either stop or face their wrath."
Shaylin smiled at Nicole, taking an uncertain step forward. "Well, I think you made the right choice." The two stood in silence for a moment, just looking at each other as Nicole smoked her fake cigarette. After a while, Shaylin gestured to the electronic cigarette. "Can I try some?"
Nicole, flustered, gave a nod, her hand slipping forward and clumsily passing Shaylin the cigarette. She gave a quick "Of course." as her feet stumbled towards the girl.
Shaylin took in a smaller drag than Nicole, her gaze never leaving the blonde's. She'd had no idea that the other girl used to smoke, but Shaylin supposed that if she had ever had the freedom Nicole had once grasped, she would have tried a cigarette, too. Her parents had been especially clingy because of Shaylin's disability, and she'd had next to no freedom when she lived with them. Her freedom was more lenient now, being a fledgling, than it ever was as a blind girl. Shaylin released her drag, passing the electronic cigarette back to Nicole. "Tastes okay." Shaylin replied. "Probably a lot better than an actual cigarette."
Nicole nodded, shoving the thing back in her pocket and calming her nerves. She still felt as if kissing Shaylin was a stupid, stupid move, and if anything, Shaylin's nonchalant attitude only increased Nicole's tension towards her. "It's sure as hell a lot healthier than a cigarette too." Nicole replied. "Besides, I like strawberry. It's the best fruit."
"Can't argue with that." Shaylin replied, and as Nicole leant against the wall, Shaylin examining her every move, she spoke again, her eyes quizzical. "So, why are you awake? I never see you getting up before Stevie Rae."
"I never usually do." Nicole said, staring out into the night. She let her head gently fall back and hit the brick of the wall, her eyes staring up at the stars. "Though, I could ask you the same question."
Shaylin crossed her arms as she stared at Nicole. The girl was beautiful but annoyingly stubborn. "I'm always up this early." she answered, following Nicole's gaze up into the sky. "Stevie Rae's been under a lot of pressure recently, so I told her she could sleep in and that I'd wake her every morning. I've always been an early riser."
Shaylin made her way over to the bench not far from where to two girls stood and took a seat. Nicole, curious, pushed herself off of the wall and made her way over to the girl. Shaylin was beautiful, calm, and wise, and although she was new to everything fledgling, she was keeping a level head even through all the 'end of the world' drama. Nicole thought she was curious. She found her intoxicating and strong, and that was why Nicole had found it so easy to slip in that moment of weakness and kiss her. "You've always been an early riser?" she echoed, taking a seat next to her. "But you're a new red fledgling. The fact you're managing to get up so early is incredible."
Shaylin shrugged. "I don't know why I can do it; I just can." she stayed silent for a moment, Nicole staring at her with a light thumping in her chest that pulsed to her ears. She was insanely attracted to Shaylin - body and mind. But as Shaylin stared out into the night, something shifted, and all of a sudden the conversation had Nicole listening intently, Shaylin's gentle words like butter. "I love the first stroke of day. I remember waking up every morning as the sun was rising. I would sneak out of my room and into the garden, and I'd hear the beautiful chirps of morning birds, and find solace in the sounds of my garden pond - the running water was constant, gentle, and assured. It was relaxing. I remember I would feel the warmth of the sun as it peaked over my fence, hitting my face for the first time that day. I remember feeling alone as the world began to wake. The animals, the people, the sun. I remember the feel of the water against my feet, the trickling of the pond as I sat at the waters edge and dipped them in, feeling like I didn't have a care in the world as I sat there. I was always alone. Always blind. But I never felt lonely. I never felt blind. I felt like I could see better than any normal person. The morning, to me, was like a fire place, met with a warm blanket and a hot chocolate at night. It was perfect and isolated. Every day I'd go out there, and I'd feel at peace and happy."
Nicole's whole chest felt warm with love and beauty. Shaylin was a beautiful girl. She was a perfect girl. She'd had her share of demons and she'd fought through them with poise and beauty, only to emerge more perfect than when she had started. Nicole couldn't imagine someone more gorgeous and pensive, than the girl sat next to her - the girl she was staring at, who still seemed stuck in place, like she was still in a dream world.
But then Shaylin's eyes snapped to Nicole's, and Nicole felt her heart stop. "I remember the only other time I felt so safe and tranquil was when I would sneak out at night - usually about midnight - and I'd be met with the cool breeze and crisp air. I could walk and walk and walk, without someone ever offering to help me or guide me, without anyone bugging me and interrupting my thoughts. I could just ... be. The last time I took that walk, I was Marked by Erik, and my life changed." she lifted a hand to her mark hesitantly before placing it back in her lap. "I love that I can see again, I absolutely love it beyond recognition, but if being blind has taught me anything, it's that although beauty can be seen, it is sometimes deceptive. Beauty is not in the sight, but the thing itself." Shaylin shuffled closer to Nicole, and Nicole felt her heart pump just that bit louder in her chest. "When you kissed me that night, I realised that you made me feel like the break of dawn or the depth of night. You made me feel like nothing else. That kiss woke me from the trance I didn't know I was in - the trance of sight. You're a girl, and, seeing that, my brain closed down on you. But the fact that you're a girl, I've now realised, doesn't matter to me. But you matter to me. I care about you, Nicole."
Shaylin grabbed one of Nicole's hands in her own, and Nicole felt the tingle of her touch and the ignition of her beating heart, the pounding and warmth, and the feeling of, somehow, a great weight yet an absolute weightlessness in her chest. Shaylin continued talking. "I know we've both been kind of evading the subject of what happened between us, but I just can't. You remind me of late nights when I'd sit in my garden and hear the hoot of an owl. I mean, just - listen..."
Nicole turned her eyes away from Shaylin and listened. There was silence. The only noises were leaves rustling in the breeze, the pounding of her nervous heart, the loud, calming breaths of the horses around them. But then, into the night came a single hoot, the soothing melody of an owl that assured the warming of Nicole's heart. Nicole turned her gaze back to Shaylin, a gentle smile painted on both of their faces. "I won't fight this." Shaylin said. "I want to be with you."
Nicole said nothing. She'd been listening, and she had heard everything she'd ever needed to hear. She closed the tiny distance between the both of them, joining their lips in a harmony of gracefulness and love. Shaylin wrapped her arms around Nicole's neck, pulling the girl closer to her as Nicole bit Shaylin's lip and tried to elicit a moan from the girl's throat. It worked, and Nicole felt her heart flutter at the sound. Only when the two needed air did they part, but still they remained close, the beating of their hearts fast and as one, their foreheads pressed together.
"You don't know how much I've wanted to do that." Shaylin mumbled, her eyes staring deeply into the others.
"Oh, yes I do." Nicole replied. She stroked a lock of hair out of Shaylin's face and smiled. "I simply listened."