Chapter 8

Luckily the girls eventually cooled down and started treating Cordelia more or less normal again. Cordelia buried herself in work, hardly leaving her office and barely joining the girls in activities anymore. But she liked that she got things done and felt like she had regained control.
Also she approved of her council taking care of Misty more often, hoping that she would feel safe and secure with them, too. Misty still seemed to take her work as a teacher very seriously, and although some students complained that the lessons were not that fun anymore, she always showed up well prepared.
It still hurt her to see Misty mostly tired and gloomy, but she was convinced that that would soon change and that the girl just needed time to adjust.
She blamed the fact that she herself barely slept on the many work-related things she had on her mind. When she did sleep, she woke up in the morning, feeling lost and cold and the bed seemed three times bigger than it actually was. Those silent moments were the only occasions when she would allow herself to feel something like loss or pain. But as soon as she got up and stood under the shower she came to her senses and put her mask back on.

About a week into this new kind of routine, she spotted Misty in the green house, showing Lily and Sally some flowers and smiling and laughing with them. A spark of hope inflamed in Cordelia and she had the feeling that things would finally turn for the better.
The hopeful mood carried her through the day and for the first time in a long while she was sincerely good-tempered.
In fact, she was so motivated, that she decided to go for a run after work. And coming back, being all pumped, she actually thought about finally returning that one reporter's call, who had been trying to ask her out since forever. To top it all off, she finally slept for more than three hours that night and woke up with that feeling of improvement again. Things weren't half bad.

Just a little later, making her way to the bathroom, she caught sight of Misty, coming out of Madison's room. Cordelia frowned and stopped to watch Misty - in her nightgown - being called back by Madison shouting:"Hey weirdo, you forgot your croc-tooth."
Madison appeared in the doorway and handed her the necklace that she always wore and Misty said, smiling: "It's a gator tooth silly, not a crocodile's!"
"Yeah yeah, whatves" Madison waved her away, laughing and then spotting Cordelia, called over to her: "Mornin' Delia".
Seeing the Supreme's irritated look, she wrinkled her forehead and then something flickered in her eyes and Cordelia could tell that she was up to no good.
Misty just shyly smiled, unaware of the looks the women exchanged and unaware of how the whole situation could have been interpreted.
Madison smirked and seemed to finally have found her words of torture. Leaning over to Misty, almost touching her ear with her lips, Madison murmured, but loudly enough for Cordelia to hear: "I'll see you tonight", and winked at her in a suggestive manner. Misty confused and not sure what to make of Madison's weird behavior - but never having felt the need to understand everything and everyone (especially not Madison) - just smiled, gave Cordelia a greeting nod and trotted off to her room.
Cordelia, her face flushed with anger, approached the smirking arrogant young woman and, ignoring Madison's silly little act, hissed at her:" Do you think I am making her sleep by herself because I want to hurt or harm her? There is a reason for my decision and you are certainly not helping by taking her in, like a lost orphan. She is strong enough to be on her own…."
She was not done, but Madison, cut her off, firing back at her angrily: "Oh yeah? Is she? Then let me tell you what I have to listen to every night, making it impossible for me to sleep, because my room, unlike yours, is right next to hers. You don't have to hear her whining and moaning and crying all night long. I took her over here - yes - because she is calmer here. She doesn't really sleep, but at least I get to sleep. Even though she smells like earth and greens a little too much for my liking, but better than the wailing all night long… "I'm not finished" she huffed out, to stop Cordelia, who was about to protest.
"So tell me again, how she can cope and how she can sleep on her own! And yes, you do have your reasons for kicking her out, but it sure as hell is not Misty's well-being! It's just your stuck-up attitude and your cowardice! What the hell are you afraid of? That girl adores you! Like crazy! For whatever reasons - beats me!" Without even awaiting an answer Madison turned around and slammed the door, leaving Cordelia standing there like a fool that she was. Tears were stinging in her eyes and she had a huge lump in her throat, her heart was beating wildly and her ears were ringing, from the blood rushing through her veins

"I didn't mean to cause you any trouble" she heard Misty's drawl behind her and Cordelia calmed down instantly.
'This kind and beautiful and pure and good, through and through good being' - was all that she could think, and all that she could feel. It suddenly was all so clear! She closed her eyes for just a second, causing a tear to drip from her eye and run down her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, turned around to face Misty and let out a sound - half chuckle, half moan. Overcome by a different kind of excitement, she swiftly stepped towards Misty, who was standing lost in her doorway, her eyes filled with sorrow and affection. With one smooth movement Cordelia grabbed her hand, pulled her into the room and pushed her against the shut door. Still barefoot she had to stretch to reach Misty's lips with her own, but her hands found Misty's neck and she pulled her into the kiss. They melted into each other and Cordelia was barely able to stand upright, as all her functions seemed to have ceased to work. All there was was Misty! Her lips, her smell, her taste, her skin, her warmth - and Cordelia's stormy longing, raging through her boiling blood. When she felt Misty's tongue against her lips, slipping into her mouth and then finding her own tongue, a moan, so deep, it seemed to be coming from lightyears away, escaped her mouth and she was dizzy with pleasure. 'She tastes like life, like the universe, like the stars' - her mind went blank, her body had taken charge and she pushed herself closer against Misty, both starting to breathe heavily. Misty's hands slipping under Cordelia's shirt and touching her bare back caused another hot flash of desire ripping through her, erupting from her core, making her feel desperate for more. More touch, more skin, more closeness, more Misty. Startled by her own fierce passion, her voice of reasoning crept back into her conscience and she pulled away panting, still holding on tight to Misty. Scared of what she would find in Misty's face she slowly raised her eyes to meet Misty's and a wave of warmth and pleasure ran through her when she found fire in Misty's gaze - her eyes reflecting, what Cordelia felt. Their chests heaving in sync, they just looked at each other, mirroring each others expression of passion and wonder. But the stillness and the silence of the moment pulled Cordelia back into reality and she was suddenly filled with doubt and fear. She drew away from Misty hastily and started to apologize. "I…I'm so sorry Misty, that was…I don't know what I thought…I didn't mean to…I …I was out of line…" she stuttered, not able to form a coherent sentence. A knock at the door interrupted her stammering and both women jumped, startled by the sudden noise. Misty confusedly touched her own lips as if in a trance and didn't seem to be able to move or react, so they both just silently stood and waited - using, needing the time to calm down and to come to their senses.
"Misty, it's Lily, I need some help with my homework. It's for Miss Cordelia's history class and I need to hand it in today" they heard the kid's muffled voice through the door.
Misty hesitated another moment, trying to collect herself and quickly looked over to Cordelia, who slightly nodded, then she opened the door.
Lily, the whirlwind that she was, entered babbling excitedly - how she knew how last minute this was and how she would be toast, if she didn't hand in that homework and… She stopped mid-sentence , finally seeing Cordelia standing in the corner of the room and the little witch's eyes widened in panic. She blushed horribly and stammered, trying to come up with several apologies. Cordelia just softly smiled at her, walked by her, patted her shoulder to take her worries and left the room without another word.

Back in her room, Cordelia ,overwhelmed and petrified, just stared into emptiness, her mind blank, her heart still racing. Coming to the conclusion that that would not improve her state at all, she threw herself onto the bed and screamed into her pillow in despair and frustration.
The alarm clock on her nightstand caught her eye and she grumpily realized that she had to hurry to not be late for a meeting with a parent of one of her students.
She pulled herself together and made her way to the bathroom, hoping not to run into anyone. She didn't, and when a minute later, the warm water ran over her body, she felt a little better already. She was just shampooing her hair, when all of a sudden someone banged at the door loudly. "Cordelia, come quickly, you gotta see this!" She heard Zoe's voice and alarmed by the girl's urgent tone and wild manner, she stepped out of the shower immediately. All wet and her hair still foaming, she just wiggled herself into a pair of jeans and pulled over the grey t-shirt that she had slept in, the fabric of the shirt soaking up the water and clinging to her bare skin. She quickly grabbed a towel and ran down the stairs, trying to rub some of the shampoo off her hair.

The commotion seemed to be coming from the greenhouse, she heard voices, mumbling and excited talking and when she finally reached the source of the mayhem she was surprised to find half the young residents of the house gathered in front of the greenhouse entrance.
"What's going on? Is everything o.." her words got stuck in her throat, following the witches' gaze and finding the reason for all the fuss and turmoil. If she hadn't for a fact already known that there was such a thing as magic, this would have turned her into a believer. Misty was dancing and twirling in the middle of the greenhouse, countless bees, beetles, bugs and butterflies surrounding her, flying around her as if she was the sun, the light, the energy - giving them life! Life! She had never seen anything so full of life. Even the colors around her seemed brighter, more vibrant and the air was buzzing and filled with vigor. Cordelia was completely taken in by the enchanting spectacle and couldn't help but feel an insane joy and pride swell up inside her chest. Hardly able or willing to move and take her eyes off of the scenery she stepped next to Queenie and the others, who were watching in awe, mouths open or smiling broadly.
"She did it!" Queenie whispered, without turning away from Misty.
Finally the swamp witch stopped twirling and approached them, beaming like a kid on Christmas morning. She held something in her hand. A lady bug. It was crawling from her palm towards her wrist, opening its wings to set off into the air. "I brought that one back!" she exclaimed in pure joy, looked Cordelia in the eyes and took both her hands in hers. "You knew! You told me! And you were right, Delia!" Overwhelmed with happiness she hugged Cordelia tightly, to then pick her up and swirl and spin her around in the air, making Cordelia feel like she was flying herself, both of them laughing out joyously and savoring the moment in all of its essence . Misty put her down and let go off their embrace too quickly and Cordelia, not only dizzy from the spinning, but from Misty's touch and the closeness, wished herself back into her arms. Misty smiled at Cordelia one more time - a smile just for her, she knew - then she leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, making Cordelia blush.
"I have so much to do!" Misty bursted out happily and wandered off, towards the back yard. Cordelia giggled and followed her with her eyes until she was gone.
"That was awesome!" Kyle shouted out and kind of woke everyone up from their daze. Cordelia caught Zoe's eye, winking at her conspiratorially. And Queenie, looking Cordelia up and down, frowned and then mockingly said: "Nice outfit, Delia!" The others followed her gaze and Cordelia - suddenly aware that her shirt, from the water, had turned almost see through - blushed, quickly gripped her shirt to loosen it from her wet skin and excused herself. Walking through the crowd of curious girls, she told them to scatter and get ready for school, causing them to groan in protest. "How come Misty can do magic again?" Lily tucked on the Supreme's shirt, a big question mark on her face. Before Cordelia could answer, Madison was suddenly by her side and chimed in: "Yeah, Delia, how come?"she smiled at her mischievously and - not really needing an answer - she marched off into the kitchen.
Cordelia, too happy to care, just rolled her eyes, quickly asked Queenie to go greet Mrs Winters - her appointment - at the door for her and ran up to her room to get dressed properly.
Lily, still answerless huffed out sulkily: "Man, I wished I was flamboyant!"
Queenie, standing next to her, bursted out laughing and corrected the girl in amusement: "It's clairvoyant, Lily - and believe me, you don't always wanna know what's on people's minds."