Blood and Love
A Story of Hannibal Lecter
The Stannery was full of people. Despite myself I found myself looking for one face in particular...
"Regan! Over here." A voice trilled from the other side of the room. My best friend from high school, Loleia, waved at me from the other side of the room. She had died her hair black and cut it in a rock-chick kind of look. She had traded her Paramore t-shirts for a smart blouse and black trousers. Feeling betrayed, my heart lightened when I saw her converses peeking out under the smart trousers. Smiling, I made my way over to her. Somehow I managed to make my way through the crowds of people sitting in their chairs, past the crowded area near the vending machine, all the way to where she was sitting, without spilling anything on my tray. She pulled out the chair next to her and pointed to it.
"Sit." She said in a stern voice. I laughed, remembering one of many jokes from high school. When Loleia and I realised we were going to the same university, we decided to make the most of our time together in high school. That meant a lot of jokes and funny times to talk about when we finally got here.
"How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!" she said, smiling broadly. I set my tray down and sat down beside her.
"Yeah, I tried to email you, but I just got so busy." I replied, trying to make my voice and expression as apologetic as possible. She laughed.
"That's fine. I wasn't really in any position to check my inbox." She winked at me, a coy smile on her face. I took a deep breath as I prepared for the worst.
"Right...your secret admirer. Tell me everything!" I demanded.
"Not such a secret admirer by the end of the month..."
After a very detailed step-by-step account of her summer with her new boyfriend Tomas, an hour had gone by and it was nearly time for my philosophy lecture. We had spent so much time talking I'd barely picked at my food n front of me. Suddenly the salad in front of me seemed very appetizing. I picked up my fork and speared a piece of tomato and popped in my mouth. I realised how hungry I was and how little time I had left.
"I feel awful! I've been talking about Tom the whole time and not once have I had the chance to pry in to your private life." She put a strawberry on her spoon and nibbled at it, and evil grin protruding her lips. "Anything going on with you?" Suddenly I ached to tell her about everything. From being scared stiff of the student building alone to last night's encounter with my new roommate.
"Nothing much." I shrugged. Well, I'd never been one for sharing.
"...another idea is that God is as real as in what miraculous as in what is not." Professor Logan droned on about Christian views. I could have taken notes, but I was so distracted what I had managed to scribble down wouldn't have made any sense to Hume himself. It was only ten minutes into the lecture, so I had time to gather my thoughts and stop day dreaming. The thing that annoyed me was that I couldn't muster any desire to come back to reality. How could one person affect my mood so much after only one encounter? It didn't seem real.
As I walked out of the lecture hall I could have sworn I saw a figure with black hair and a leather jacket, but I dismissed it as imagination. That or wishful thinking.
After a rather full day I decided to go back to my room and unpack. Decorating was my number one priority. If I had to look at the plain white walls for one moment longer, I would die from lack of colour.
I stumbled through the door, disappointed to find it empty. On second thought I realised that this was a blessing. It meant that I could have a second away from the crowds of people. I could finally think clearly.
It took me only fifteen minutes to unpack my two holdalls into one of the two dressers. I hung my coat and jackets in the wardrobe on the opposite side of his leather jacket. As I was doing this, my fingertips brushed lightly over the tan sleeve. Oddly, I blushed, even though there was no one else in the room. It bothered me how even his clothes sparked such a reaction in me.
I was busy hanging up some posters on the space above my bed, when I heard a key in the lock. As I was balanced on one foot on my bed, I was glad he'd remembered his key. When I heard the door opening I twisted my head around to look at him. He was just wearing his black turtle-neck with his sleeves rolled up. He was holding his keys by the chain with his little finger, in both hands he carried a polystyrene box, two plastic coffee cups protruding. He smiled at me shyly, most likely embarrassed about last night's escapade.
"Hey." I said casually, smiling at him. Understandably, he was very polite, but not icy. His smile was genuine, but something was missing.
"Good afternoon." He shut the door with his foot and gestured towards the tray. "I brought coffee. And err...donut?" I laughed at his expression.
"You make it sound like a question." I stated. He grimaced slightly.
"I've never heard of them before. But that's what everyone in the shop was buying, so I thought, 'Why not'?"
Due to our lack of a table, we sat on the floor opposite each other. I laughed at his expression when he pulled his donut out of the bag. He held it in between his fingers, a rather disgusted look on his face. Slowly, he pulled it to his lips and nibbled on the edge.
"No, no, no. It's like this. I ripped my donut in half, letting some of the jam run down my thumb. Precariously holding each piece in one hand, I licked the red oozing liquid off of my thumb, not missing where it had pooled at the base. I felt his dark eyes watching my every move, but I tried to keep it casual. I bit of a chunk and chewed it, letting my eyes rest on his face. His expression was curious, and it sent chills down my spine. I just hoped he didn't think I was trying to seduce him. My skin burned at the thought.
"Hey, don't make me the pig here. Try it." I encouraged him. He did the same, although he was much less messy. Personally I thought that it took away half the reason for buying a donut at all. When we were finished, we sipped at our coffees.
"I see you've been decorating already." He noted, inclining his head. I nodded.
"Yeah, the plain white was driving me mad!" I laughed. "Besides, a place like this needed to feel a bit more familiar." I glanced at his side of the room. It surprised me that I'd barely noticed his contribution.
He must have seen me looking.
"Yes, I have to agree." He said, turning his head to look. He had hung up some browning sheets of paper, with carefully sketched drawings. Mainly of men, whose faces I didn't have a hope of recognising. Several were landscapes; a field by a river, a market place...and a huge castle surrounded by a forest. The corner of each picture was intricately detailed with what appeared to be a family crest. The design fascinated me. All the pieces seemed to fit together, except for a large M that seemed to dominate the whole thing.
"They're very good. You're an amazing artist." I said, the awe evident I my voice. He just smiled back shyly.
"When I was in the orphanage I had a lot of time on my hands." He said, with a hint of sadness in his tone. My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to pry, but I decided against it. What happened to his parents? Somehow it made me even more drawn to him. Not in the physical way...but just to find out more about him.
"What's all this in aid of anyway?" I asked him as we threw our empty cups and jammy wrappers away. He came to stand beside me.
"It's just to thank you for last night." He looked me in the eyes, making me catch my breath. "Not just for last night, but for not saying anything to anyone. Especially that Samuels girl." I gasped.
"You know Loleia?"
"Not well. I heard you talking in The Stannery." He looked suddenly sheepish. "I apologise for listening, but I was a little worried."
"Perfectly understandable." I spluttered, shocked. He smirked slightly.
The night had only lasted for two hours before the screaming started again.
"Mischa! Mischa!" he started to shout in a foreign language that I didn't recognise. Possibly German? I leapt out of bed as quickly as my sleepy legs could manage. Two nights in a row? This was not normal. Although I was prepared I certainly wasn't expecting it.
I grabbed the flannel from the bowl of water that I had set out last night. Gently I pressed it to his forehead, no longer able to blame my boldness on alcohol. His lip was bleeding again. As soon as his eyes flew open, I pulled him up.
"Come on, you'd better let me fix that." I said, taking him by the hand.
We sat cross-legged on the floor as I dabbed at his bleeding lip. He didn't even wince. It made me wonder how often he'd been hurt before to be so immune. I was very aware that I was in a t-shirt and underwear. The blood rushed to every inch of my body. Suddenly he leaned forward as if to kiss me.
"You don't need to be so protective." He whispered. I could feel his breath on my cheek. He put his hand on my bare shoulder and pulled me close. His cheek brushed against mine as he whispered in my ear.
"If you only let someone in, you could be so much more." When he pulled away I stood up and climbed back into bed.
"Thank you." I said.
"Thank you." He contradicted.
In the morning, he had already gone...again. Whether that was because he was embarrassed, or because he had early lectures, I didn't know. He hadn't left me a note this time, but I left him one of my own, in case he came back later before I saw him.
Don't worry about last night. My brother had nightmares as well.
I'll be going down to the sports hall tonight, around 5, and
I'll be there till half six. Hopefully you'll find time to come down?
Bring some sports shoes. :)
R x
On second thought, I scribbled out the kiss and hoped he wouldn't notice it. I didn't want him thinking unsavoury thoughts.
Finally it's finished! I've had so much on recently, it's a miracle I even managed to start it! I've had loads of good reviews and favourites and yadda yadda yadda....I've even had a few threats! I'm honestly not good enough to deserve all of this. Lol. I actually really enjoy doing this! I can't wait for some of the gore. That's going to be interesting to write. :D Reviews please!