"Althea," Warren said, spearing a carrot during dinner a few weeks later.
"Yeah?"
"Tell me something you've never told anyone else," he requested.
Thea scoffed. "Why? So you can feel more special than others?" she asked skeptically.
Warren let out a frustrated sigh. "No, because I want to know things about you."
"You want to know secret things about me," Thea clarified, before taking a bite of her hamburger.
Warren nodded confidently. "I think we've reached that point when we can tell secrets. Can you tell me a secret?"
Thea thought about this for a while as she continued eating her hamburger. She knew what Warren wanted to know about. He wanted to know why she was the way she was, what that traumatic event was. Well, another day perhaps.
"I hate asparagus," Thea said.
Warren's eyes widened with surprise. Clearly he had not expected such a response. "Asparagus?"
"Yep. It's crunchy and mushy at the same time. Why couldn't they just pick one: crunchy or mushy? And those little triangle purple leafy things on the stalk are just weird. It's got an awful taste too."
Warren laughed and shook his head. "Okay…but you know that's not what I meant," he said.
God, why couldn't he just let this go? She fidgeted under his gaze. She hated fidgeting, but she realized she did it quite often when Warren looked at her.
"Yeah," she said uncomfortably.
Warren waited for her to say something more. When he realized she wasn't going to say anything else, he leaned back in his chair and looked at her.
"I meant it when I said I want to be your real friend," Warren said carefully.
Thea kept her eyes off of Warren's face. "I know. But you have to understand that Kitty doesn't even know what you're asking me to tell you."
"Did she ever ask?" Warren asked.
"Yes."
Warren frowned.
"And just because you guys ask doesn't mean I can just do it," Thea snapped, her eyes guarded and cold as she looked at Warren. She realized she sounded like a petulant child.
Warren's frown deepened, and Thea wondered if she had offended him. She hadn't meant to. Warren looked sad and a bit disappointed. Was he disappointed in her? She hadn't meant that to happen either. Why the hell did she even care what he thought?
"Hi, guys, can I join you?" a cheerful voice rang out from Thea's thoughts.
"Hi, Jube," Warren said warmly, all hints that he was upset were gone from his face.
Clearly the sight of Jubilee just made Warren's day. Thea saw him smile at Jube as he pulled out a chair for her to sit with her dinner.
"I was just leaving," Thea said, her voice empty even though she was feeling a mixture of emotions she didn't want to identify. She picked up her plate and headed to the kitchen without a second glance towards the table.
Warren watched her leave and shook his head ever so slightly.
"What's with her?" Jubilee asked.
"I think I made her mad," Warren said, picking at his food with his fork. He wasn't really very hungry anymore.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Jubilee said, stroking Warren's shoulder affectionately.
Of course he worried. He had been at the mansion for four months, and during that time Thea had slowly but surely opened up to him. She let him enter her life, albeit a bit reluctantly at first. But her past…it was like her past was locked away in one of those bulletproof briefcases used to store priceless art and the only one with the combination to get to it was Thea.
"She's always mad," Jubilee reasoned.
Warren shook his head, easily remembering times when she laughed, when he had made her happy. She wasn't always mad, but perhaps making people think that was easier than trying to explain her past. Everyone could just chalk up her behavior to the fact that she was an angry girl and never bother to delve deeper than that. Perhaps Thea liked it that way because it kept questions away.
And then Warren just had to asked questions. He was curious, he couldn't help it. He was curious about her.
Maybe with more time she would open up more. Or maybe her secrets would die with her. Warren didn't know, though he preferred to think that she would eventually let him in.
In the mean time, he had a brilliant idea.
"Sorry, Jube, I need to go," Warren said.
"Oh, that's okay, no worries," Jubilee replied with a big smile.
Warren liked her smile. "See ya around," he said, getting up quickly.
He took the now familiar route to his and Thea's hall. Knocking on her door and hearing her beckon the knocker in, he opened the door.
Thea was sprawled on her bed, reading another fantasy novel. How many of those did she go through a week?
She eyed him carefully. "Jubilee must eat fast," she commented.
"Huh? Oh, no, I excused myself," Warren said.
Thea's eyebrow quirked up. "Oh," she said casually.
"You wanna go for a ride?" Warren asked.
"You have a car?" Thea asked.
"Uh, fly, I meant fly," Warren clarified.
"You serious?" she asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
Warren smiled. "Yeah. C'mon," he said.
Thea leapt off her bed quickly, and Warren laughed at her enthusiasm.
"You never mentioned you wanted to fly," Warren said, as they made their way to the rooftop.
Thea shrugged. "Not my place," she replied.
Warren felt a twinge of guilt. Perhaps it wasn't his place to ask her about her past. She clearly wanted him to take her flying, but never asked. And while she didn't tell him anything about her past, she never asked him to tell her anything about his. He had to admit that she was fair.
Then again, perhaps she just didn't care about him and his past like he cared about hers. That was a morbid thought.
When they reached the rooftop, the sun had already set. The sky had lost its bright oranges to shadows of purples. Soon it would be dark.
"Is this going to work?" Thea asked, looking over the edge of the rooftop.
"Sure. I just need to carry you," Warren said confidently.
Thea gave Warren a skeptical look. "I'm heavier than I look. This," she said pointing to her thighs, "this is all muscle. None of that lightweight fat."
Warren laughed as he walked over to her, getting a bit into her personal space. "Just trust me," he said softly into her ear.
She looked at Warren warily, but nodded. That was a good sign, Warren thought. He leaned down to pick her up around the back of her knees with one arm, as the other one supported her back. Soon her feet were off the roof. Thea wasn't light, but she wasn't heavy either. In any case, she was much lighter than Warren's father.
Thea wrapped her arms around his neck, and Warren liked her nearness. Her body was at first stiff, but soon she relaxed a bit against his wool sweater they had remodeled together.
"See, easy," Warren said.
"And the flying part?" Thea asked, a twinge of uncertainty seeping into her voice.
"Just as easy," Warren assured. He walked to the edge of the rooftop. He could feel a small breeze, which would be good. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Warren felt her hold around his neck tighten. He couldn't help but smile.
He jumped off the roof, extended his wings, and flapped them a few times to gain altitude.
"Oh shit! Oh shit!" Thea screamed excitedly.
It felt like a rollercoaster but without that confined feeling against your chest from those annoying shoulder harnesses. The roar of air that attacked Thea's ears made her realize how fast they were going. Granted it wasn't very fast, but it was fast enough so that her eyes were drying out from the night air they were passing through. Her hair occasionally whipped her face stingingly, but honestly, she didn't care.
She was in the air! The ride was jostling at first because each flap of Warren's wings sent vibrations through his shoulders and arms, which eventually she felt. He picked up a few air currents so he didn't need to flap as frequently, and that made the ride significantly smoother.
She didn't feel weightless without a care in the world but instead felt very aware of her surroundings. Once the initial shock of being in the air was over, Thea realized her life was in Warren's arms, quite literally. She rather liked the idea of being on the brink of danger yet not stepping over the edge.
"Let go," Warren said loudly.
"What?" Thea asked.
"Let go," he repeated.
"I heard what you said the first time. I just think you're crazy," she said. She looked down to see they were flying over a well-forested area. Letting go over this stuff? She had no desire to fall and be impaled by a tree branch.
"I'm not. Do it," Warren said.
Thea thought about it for a moment. He sounded so damn commanding but his tone insinuated he was letting her in on a secret. She tentatively loosened her grip around his warm neck and eventually slid her hands down to rest on her lap.
Warren lowered his arm that was supported her back, so that now it was supporting the area right above the small of her back. The shift jarred Thea's balance. She felt like she was going to flip over and fall down the hundred feet or so they were above.
"Warren!" she screamed, scrabbling to grasp his neck again.
Warren laughed, probably very amused by her shrieking. "Lean back, you're okay, I've got you," he reassured.
She looked deeply into his eyes. His blue eyes held no trace of dishonesty but instead looked very confident and pretty. If she fell from his grip, she would scold herself on the way down for choosing to believe him because she thought his eyes were pretty.
Thea released Warren's neck once again and leaned back, waiting for him to tell her to stop leaning, but he didn't say anything until her back was literally parallel with the ground below.
"How's the view?" he asked her.
At first she thought he was talking about the view of his face as he leaned over her to speak. She was going to make an annoyed retort, but his face cleared from her view and instead she saw bunches of stars in the sky.
She wasn't much of a fan of stars, she didn't know any of the constellations besides Orion's Belt, but she had to admit that they looked nicer higher up. Above the lights from the cities that usually washed them out, the stars looked stronger - like something that should be acknowledged and admired rather than just a clichéd simile she heard too often in pop music. C'mon, no one's eyes looked like shining stars. And no girl was as brilliant as a star. In both instances, looking at the person would probably result in blindness.
"It'll do," Thea said carelessly, though the huge smile on her face indicated her true feelings.
Warren laughed and continued flying. Thea stretched her arms out, trusting her well-being to Warren completely. She continued to watch the sky's star composition shift as Warren flew. She even spotted Orion's Belt.
They flew around in silence for a long time. Her mind rested from its incessant thinking as she took in the stars' beauty. Thea hadn't known how long they were out there until she shivered. Her face and hands were freezing.
"You cold?" Warren asked, looking down.
Thea nodded. "Aren't you?"
Warren shrugged, which jostled Thea a bit in his arms. "No. Geez, Althea, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm part bird?" he answered with his usual cockiness. "Let's go back though."
He adjusted his arms and Thea moved so that she was grasping Warren's neck once again. The blood rushed from her head and she felt dizzy for a moment. She rested her forehead in the junction of Warren's shoulder and neck.
"Shit, you are cold," Warren said.
Thea chuckled. "Don't mind me as I leech off your warmth."
Warren grumbled but did not make a distinguishable reply. Thea nestled into that junction and closed her eyes. She could feel his heartbeat through her forehead, which was a bit odd. It was strong and steady and lulled her to relax.
Warren was good to her. Despite his annoying behavior and somewhat cocky nature, overall, he treated her very well. She couldn't deny that. But she denied everything else.
She cleared her head easily and dozed.
"Althea?" Warren said softly.
She opened her eyes. Only then did she realize the cold wind was no longer hitting her face and she did not feel the rhythmic flapping of Warren's wings beneath her fingertips.
"We're back."
Her heart sank a bit. That whole flying gig was pretty sweet.
"Oh," she said.
He lowered her to the ground, but she held onto his neck a little longer than she needed to. She knew this, and she wondered if he did. He gave no indication. She attributed her action to the fact that she hadn't been so close to a man in a long, long time, and Warren did reek of sexy after all.
"Thanks," she said quietly, rubbing her cold hands together. "That was…God…that was awesome," she gushed, unable to control her toothy smile. She hadn't felt that happy or that free or that peaceful since before she cared to remember.
Warren smiled and reached down for her hands. He placed them on the sides of his neck, covering them with his own hands to warm them. This was the first time he ever initiated any type of unnecessary physical contact with her, besides nudging.
"Glad you liked it," he said quietly. "I'm sorry about before, you know. I mean to pry, but only because…"
Thea had a hard time processing his words because the feeling of his warm neck and hands sandwiching her small hands was distracting. She could easily pull away, she should theoretically pull away, but she didn't want to.
"Because…" Thea prompted after a long pause.
"Well, you know…I care," Warren said ineloquently.
Thea knew she should scoff at him and make some sort of sarcastic comment about him being an idiot for saying something like that. Maybe it was the stereotypical romantic setting of a rooftop at night under hypnotic stars, or the uncertain tone of voice Warren had when he expressed his feelings, or the warmth that radiated from her hands and went straight to her cheeks, but Thea had no desire to make fun of him at that moment. Instead she wanted to confess things to him, secret things. Yep, somewhere along the line the mood shifted to one of comfortable nearness. This realization shocked and scared her.
So, she forced out a typical Thea response.
"Are you getting all touchy-feely on me now?" she asked, a sarcastic edge to her voice that, to her, sounded unnatural.
Warren laughed, and Thea could feel him swallow through her hands. "I'm already touching and feeling," he said in a smug tone.
And just like that things were back to normal.
She laughed and jerked her warm hands away from him. He let go easily and she swatted him playfully on the shoulder. He laughed loudly as she chased him into the mansion.
Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the support, again! Your generous comments make me so happy that I blush! I'm glad you like the gradualness and that you guys are so pumped at seeing updates. It's more than I expected or could ever ask for. I'm going to be gone for a week, so I won't be updating during that time, which is why I posted this chapter so quickly. I hope you like it! Please review and let me know what you think. And as always, thanks!
