Hey guys! I'm back with more chapters. I'm replacing my first chapters with botticelli's so don't freak if they don't show up. I think we all owe the biggest freaking thank you ever to botticelli for being kind enough to give her chapters. This is her first chapter obviously.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own chapters.
What We Are
Chapter 1: Seeing Things Differently
Zoey POV
I groaned to myself as I flopped onto my bed. It had been one hell of a day. Those creepy raven mockers had targeted my Grandma and now they were cawing away outside; probably gloating about their victory. I stuffed a pillow over my head so I didn't have to listen to them. That meant I didn't hear the knock on the door or hear it opening and closing. So you can imagine my shock when somebody placed their hand on mine. Stiffening, I slithered out from under the pillow just enough so I could see who was there. It was Aphrodite. And even more disturbing was her expression. She looked concerned. Now for all of you who haven't had the, dubious, pleasure of meeting Aphrodite lets set one thing straight. She doesn't do concern or empathy, in fact she is practically allergic to the whole spectrum of human emotions apart from possibly contempt and disgust. As soon as she saw my face, the concern melted and was replaced with a sneer of sarcasm I knew and hated.
"Zoey, even your makeup isn't that bad"
I just stared at her. My grandma was lying in hospital, in a coma. I wasn't capable of processing any of Aphrodite's wise-ass comments. I put the pillow back over my head and gave it a punch before curling up in a ball and hoping that Aphrodite got the message and left. I should be so lucky. Instead of her leaving, I felt the mattress dip and a warm body sit down next to me. I just carried on ignoring her but then she started playing with my hair. It was the kind of absent minded fiddle that people did when they were thinking. I was going to be here a long time then. Wait, that's not fair. Aphrodite may be way annoying at times but she's not dumb. She's actually really smart and I suppose now that I look back at it, her comment was kind-of-maybe-possibly funny. I removed the pillow for long enough so that I could say
"Sorry". The hands playing with my hair stopped for a moment and just for a moment I wished she'd continue playing. It was…restful, in a weird way.
"Sorry for what? The make-up disaster?" she asked.
"No, I'm sorry for overreacting" I muttered through the pillow.
"What was that? I didn't quite catch what you said through the pillow" Aphrodite said while using the tone reserved for people with hearing impairments and pulling at the pillow to make her point. I tried to fight back but darn it, she's stronger than she looks and soon she had claimed my pillow. I glared at her and tried to grab my pillow but she held me down quite effectively.
"I'll give you the pillow back if you repeat what you said" Aphrodite was grinning at me. I debated fighting her but then decided she would win so it was with a sigh of defeat I mumbled,
"I'm sorry for overreacting" A flash of surprise crossed her face but she handed me the pillow back and let me curl up again.
"I'm surprised you didn't put up more of a fight" Her hands continued to play with my hair but they were moving closer to my head, tucking hairs behind my ears and pulling out the hair that had amassed around my face because of the pillow-hugging. She was very gentle and her movements lulled me into a kind of half-sleep. My grip on the pillow slackened and I let it fall away, unconsciously moving closer to Aphrodite. I watched her long and elegant fingers and as they danced closer to my face, I could feel her pulse and smell that beautiful scent of blood just a centimetre away from my face. It was with difficulty that I turned over and looked at her. She was leaning casually on one elbow, blond hair falling down in a mass of waves and her eyes were watching me intently. She was beautiful. I mean, I knew she was beautiful before but this was a different type of beauty. The kind of beauty that makes me want to reach out and touch her to see if she was real. I know this is going to sound crazy, especially since this is Aphrodite I'm talking about here, but in that moment of time, she looked like some kind of angel. My brain must have been even fuzzier than usual because the next thing I knew, I was snuggling into her even more than before until my head was by her elbow and her face was above me. She didn't even flinch. She just kept dancing her fingers along me and even my bloodlust faded in that peaceful bubble of calm. I tried to stay awake but sleep claimed me and Aphrodite's face was the last thing I focused on before the darkness surrounded me.
