4. Pyromania!
Together, Trinity and Knight came up with a plan. It was a very simple plan. First, she would call Rorie into the kitchen to help her with dinner. Then, once Daye was alone, Knight would corner him and deliver their message. It wasn't a threat, exactly. Trinity and Knight agreed that 'threat' was a bad word. It was more of a promise. That they'd be watching him. And if he stepped out of line, or even thought about stepping out of line, there would be consequences.
They called it, "Operation Eclipse" (though if anyone asked them, they'd deny ever doing something as lame as naming their plan).
Knight convinced himself that he wasn't doing it for selfish reasons. He was doing it for Rorie. And for Trin, who was the real mastermind of Operation Eclipse. She had every right to lay down the law as far as her daughter was concerned, and Knight could not say no to his commanding officer.
They took turns swigging from a bottle of cooking wine before going to work. "Hurry up, before Neo gets here," she said. "Or you'll never get a moment alone with him."
"You think he'll accuse Daye of being gay, too?"
"Oh, shut up and go." Then she hollered more loudly, "Rorie! Will you come and help me in the kitchen, please? Alone?"
Moments later, Rorie left her bedroom with Daye a step behind her. Knight's blood boiled at the thought that they'd been in there, alone, together. What had they been doing? They looked guilty of something. Had he kissed her? Had he touched her? Knight tried to catch Rorie's attention as she walked past him to the kitchen, but she wouldn't even spare him a glance. It was like he didn't exist. It was her way of sending him a message. She had moved on. She wanted someone else.
It was then Knight asked himself, what if she really did want someone else? How would he respond to that? What kind of man would he be? Would he be the type to stand in her way, to sabotage her relationships out of spite and jealousy? Surely, he was better than that. Surely, he wanted her to be happy. And if Daye made her happy…
"Dude. You okay?"
Knight frowned. "I need to talk to you."
"Knight, look, I'm sorry about what I said about your Halloween costume…"
"That isn't it. It's about Rorie."
"Oh, no. Look, before you say anything to me, maybe you should talk to Rorie."
Knight smirked and led Daye to the far side of the room. "I assure you, Rorie and I are always on the same page," he murmured. "We're very close. So whatever you think I should talk to Rorie about, I promise you, we've already talked about it. Probably more than once. Probably, we talk about it all the time."
"…Ok."
"My point is, I know Rorie a lot better than you do. I know what she's been though these past few days. She's in a vulnerable place right now, and I don't want to see anybody take advantage of that."
"…Ok."
"Trinity and I have talked about it, and we've decided that it's probably not a good idea for you to get any ideas, is what I mean. Oh, and stop calling her Trin. Only I can do that. Oh, and Neo. But mostly, me."
"…Ok."
"Stop saying Ok."
"O… Alright."
"Rorie's really important to me, and if anything happens to her… you know, I'm in the army. Trin's in the army, too. And we're not saying we'll hurt you… but… we are stronglyimplying that we'll hurt you."
"You're in love with her, aren't you?"
"… What? With Trin? No!"
"Ew. I was talking about Rorie."
"Oh. No!"
"Look, I don't want to get in the middle of this. Maybe it's better if I just leave. Tell Rorie I'm sorry I couldn't stay."
Daye turned to leave but Knight grabbed him by the arm. "What? No, you're not going anywhere!"
"Huh?"
"Nobody, and I mean nobody ditches Rorie on a date. Do you have any idea who she is!? That's the Daughter of The One in there!"
"Knight, you've got this all wrong."
Knight shushed him, and led them both further into the corner. "Alright, alright," he hissed. "Look, I'll come clean with you. Yes, yes… I might have feelings for her. Who wouldn't? She's beautiful. She's smart. She's sweet. She's….but… she obviously doesn't feel that way about me. So there's no reason why she needs to know. And if you tell her I'll friggin' kill you."
"But what I'm trying to tell you is--"
"No, listen. Look, I might not want you here. It might be killing me to see you with her. But if you leave, Rorie is going to be really disappointed, and I won't be responsible for that. So I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going be a gentleman and show her a good time. You're going to treat her like the goddess that she is, because that's what she deserves. Understand?"
Daye sighed. Knight could tell by the expression on The Loser's face that he'd made his point. "Alright, you win, Knight. I'll stay," Daye said.
The conversation trailed off as a key turned in the front door, and Neo walked through carrying two bags of groceries. Behind him on the catwalk, a few cultists were waving dolls. "Yes, bless you. Bless you," he said indulgently, before slamming the door shut. "God, I hate my life."
"Good afternoon, sir."
"Knight." Neo put the parcels down, and nodded at the third party. "Who's this?"
"This is Daye," said Knight.
"With an 'E,'" Daye clarified. "I'm here on a date."
"Oh, well." Neo smiled awkwardly, looking from one young man to the other. "Well, you two are very… nice together. Daye and Knight. Like Ying and Yang. Very romantic. Very Zen."
Daye scowled. "… Excuse me?"
"He's on a date with Rorie," Knight growled through clenched teeth.
Neo's expression was priceless. "He'd better not be."
It was at this point that Daye decided he had had enough. This was officially the worst date he'd ever been on! The girl didn't even like him, the mother and best friend wanted to kill him but wouldn't let him leave, and the father thought he was gay. It couldn't possibly get any worse.
Then, Trinity screamed. Glasses shattered. Rorie ran from the kitchen and announced, "Pyro's gone crazy!"
Trinity was up on a chair. "Kill it!" she yelled, pointing to the spider. "Kill it now! Knight!"
"Mom, no!" Rorie tried to catch Pyro but she was too fast. "Knight, please, don't hurt her."
It a flagrant display of ego and exhibitionism, Knight pulled off his shirt and tried to use the fabric as a net. Trinity's screams were so insistent that he only posed-and-flexed briefly before chasing the spider across the floor and up onto the countertop.
"I've got you now," he said as the spider backed into the space between the toaster and the fridge. Pyro hissed at him, her fangs glistening in the light. Knight hissed back, "You're mine."
He lunged forward with his shirt but missed, and Pyro buried herself in the mess of electrical work that ran behind the counters. Knight reached after her, determined not to be made a fool of, reaching his hand down as far as it would go.
The sudden rush of pain was unbelievable. At first he thought she'd bitten him and he tried to yank his hand back, but he had no control over his body. He jerked backward and thrashed to the side before finally flying through the air, against the opposite wall.
Rorie screamed, and Trinity leapt off her chair to turn over his body. "Oh, God," she gasped, feeling for a pulse. "Oh, God, no. Knight!" She leaned in to check his breathing. "Knight!"
Nobody spoke or moved as Trinity delivered CPR. After a second round of compressions Rorie started to sob. Trinity started to yell. "Call the medics! Goddamn it, hurry!"
0000000
Later, the paramedics would agree that they had never treated a patient before who was so happy to have been electrocuted. "Are you sure I was dead?" Knight asked eagerly. "Technically, really, dead?"
"Yes, sir. Dead as a doornail."
"Excellent!" he smacked his hands together. "Perfect! It's all going according to plan!"
"Are you sure he hasn't suffered any brain damage?" Trinity asked, genuinely concerned. She stood by his bedside at fleet medical and checked his chart for the third time. "Maybe you missed something."
"No, ma'am. How he is now… well, this is the way he was before the accident. Hard to believe, but true."
Trinity folded her arms and frowned the doctors out of the room. "I'm going to call for a second opinion," she said. "They're idiots."
"Trin, I'm okay." Knight smiled dreamily. "In fact, I'm better than okay. I'm on my second life. A whole new lifetime. Just like Rorie."
"Yes, thank you for reminding me that I've nearly lost both of you in the past twenty four hours."
"No, you don't understand. The Oracle told me that something I asked about wouldn't happen in this lifetime. But that was last lifetime. Now it's a whole new lifetime, which means I've got a shot."
"A shot at what?"
"I'd better not say. If I say, it won't come true."
"That's the birthday wish. Prophecies are different."
"Sorry, I'm not taking any chances. It's too important."
Trinity rolled her eyes. "Well, I hope whatever it is, it was worth being electrocuted for."
"Yup."
"And scaring me to death for."
"Definitely worth it." Trinity gave him an even stare, prompting Knight to wipe the smile off his face. "Sorry, Trin."
"That's better." She nodded and stood up. "Well, I'm going to get going. Let you sleep. You going to be alright here, by yourself tonight?"
"Oh, you know, it'll be pretty lonely without just anyone sharing my bed."
"Hm." She grinned. "I'll send a few nurses in."
"Nice. Make sure they're just any nurses. Blindfold yourself before picking them, will you?"
"All right. That'll do." Trinity fussed with his blankets, tucking them under the mattress, and then shut off the light. "Goodnight."
"Night." He leaned back on the pillow and listened to her footsteps retreat. At the last minute he said a quick 'thank you' to her. Trinity didn't answer, but she paused for a moment before leaving.
Moments later, the door opened again. "That was quick," he said. "How many nurses did you find?"
"It's just me."
"Oh! Rorie." Knight sat up and reached for the lamp. "Hey."
"Hey. I sort of… snuck in. Mom didn't want anyone to bother you."
"You're not bothering me."
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean, I know that you are but… I wanted to see."
"Uhm, I want to clarify. What I said earlier, about the nurses… I don't really want any nurses. That was just a joke."
"Huh? I don't—what nurses? Do you need a nurse?"
"Never mind. Just forget it. It's nothing."
Rorie sat in the chair next to his bed. She had changed out of her dress and into sweatpants and a T shirt, but, significantly, she was still wearing the earrings. Knight couldn't keep himself from staring at her. He was amazed by how different she was; in a matter of days, she was transformed. The change was entirely in himself, he realized, a projection of his more tender feelings. But at the same time, he couldn't imagine having ever seen anything less. She was so beautiful. He looked and looked.
The entire time, Rorie kept her eyes glued to the wall.
"Sorry I ruined your date," he said after awhile.
"Oh?" She shook her head. "That wasn't… I mean, I think it was ruined before you got electrocuted."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, I don't think it's going to work out between Daye and me." She shrugged. "Didn't feel right I guess."
"I'm sorry."
"You are?"
She finally looked at him, and he didn't want to lie. He wanted to tell her, tell her that he was jealous and she'd hurt him, and that he'd do anything to make her happy if she'd give him a chance. "Not really," was all he could say. "I mean, if it wasn't right. I want it to be right for you."
"You do?"
"Yes, of course."
Rorie looked down at her hands and then back at him. "The thing is, Knight… I don't think I'm ready. At least, not yet. I need time to decide. To think about it. It takes me time to decide these things. And I don't have any experience… you know, I'm not like you."
"Yeah… I uhm, I've been told that."
"I don't know if you understand what I mean. Maybe I'm making an idiot of myself… I want to think that we understand each other. That you know that I need time. We must be very careful, if..."
"If?"
Rorie shook her head and smiled. Wouldn't answer him. Instead, she looked up at his hair, which was a dense ball of blonde fuzz, not unlike an afro. She reached out and played with it, quizzically poking into the mess with two fingers. Unable to stop himself, Knight caught her wrist, gently. When he released his grip, her hand fell into his - palm to palm, and their fingers laced together.
"Something's happened, hasn't it?" she whispered.
"Yes."
"So fast. So suddenly."
"Yes."
"Knight, I need time."
"I need you."
Rorie caught her breath at the declaration, and Knight, who was amazed that he'd had the courage to say it, waited. Rorie tried to pull her hand back but he hung on insistently.
"Knight, please."
"You invited Daye to hurt me? To make me crazy?"
She looked at him a good while before answering, "Yes. I think so."
"He doesn't mean anything. Say he doesn't."
She whispered, barely audible, "He doesn't mean anything,"
"Rorie-"
"I need time. I can't do this now. Not here. Knight, please, let me go. Just give me time to figure this out."
"I'd wait for you forever." For the second time, she tried to pull her hand away, but he held it for a moment longer. "I swear it," he said. "You must believe me."
"I do." Knight stared into her eyes, desperate to get something more. "I do," was all she'd say.
A second later and she was gone. Knight didn't try to stop her, even though he thought it was the cruellest thing imaginable, for her to leave him again, to make him suffer. For the second night in a row, he would hardly sleep. He would think of her. He would wait. He would entertain fleeting hopes that she'd come back and reconsider. And finally, Knight would dream of what might happen if and when she actually did.
