So the goal for this chapter was to get across how Patch's happy parade was rained on by Nora's attempt at recon.

Chapter Ten

I was working overtime at The Borderline, covering for poor Benji. He was out sick, and I sort of liked the guy so I didn't mind covering for him. He was olive-skinned, with dark hair and he eerily resembled a younger, smaller me, but with the opposite temperament. I always felt like he noticed more about me than he let on, but he was smart and kept quiet. If he weren't so normal, he could have probably been a friend. To be honest, his patience reminded me of an old friend of mine, Nehemiah, from Heaven. Oh well. Shaking off thoughts of the past, I wiped up the table, and I walked into the kitchen.

One of the waitresses was on her way out, and at seeing me she blushed and stumbled. I caught the tray before she dropped it, and she smiled in relief.

"T-thank you!"

I smiled and went on my way. Like Benji, I rarely spoke; the girls I worked with already seemed to fall into pieces around me without me saying much. Why can't Nora be like this?

You wouldn't like her as much if she weren't so controlled. Besides, she does, she just refuses to show it.

Yet, I corrected myself, smiling. Placing the dishes in the sinks, I walked back out with the tray to clean some more tables. On my way past the bar, I noticed this really odd-looking female sitting at the bar, talking to the bartender. Her platinum hair was slightly skewed; a wig, then. Ew. She was wearing a miniskirt, and although her hair was weird, I had to admit she had very nice legs. She was still trying too hard. I continued on. Wiping my next table, I overheard some familiar voices talking.

"So what's been up with Nora lately? She's been awful suspicious. Everything okay?" Elliot said. His mouth showed a smile, but his eyes showed something sinister. It was something I'd seen before; the eyes of someone with an agenda. He wouldn't be working any of those plans on Nora if I had anything to do with it.

"She's fine. Just nerves. She's been really worried about me, that's all." Vee responded, waving it off.

"Where is she now?"

"Bathroom. Throwing up a lot lately."

Nora is here, and she's not feeling well? She hadn't come to the party on Sunday, nor called, so I had been a little worried for her while I wasn't at school. I should go check on her. How could I have missed… I grew excited, then paused. Wait a minute. I would have noticed her here; she'd have walked past and I'd have seen her hair… Something clicked. Slowly, I turned back to the bar. The female with the platinum wig…the legs…

Oh my god.

This shit surely couldn't be what I thought it was.

And here I thought she was controlled.

I made myself invisible to all eyes as I walked into the women's bathroom. Luckily it was empty. I would finally have her alone again, and I wasn't even remotely interested in finishing what we'd started in her kitchen. In fact, I was a little pissed off and insulted. I didn't like people trying to pry into my life. And in her case, I would have preferred her to ask me any question she had. Because I could easily tell that's what this was; reconnaissance. She was supposed to be trusting me. Maybe I'd overestimated our for her "disguise", it had Vee written all over it. It really was stooping beneath herself. I suppose I couldn't be upset at the insult of my skills. As an amateur (and a terrible liar), she wouldn't know that I'd mastered the art of dissembling, among many other tricks of the trade that was getting information.

Finally, Nora came into the bathroom, locked it, and washed her face in the sink. When she looked in the mirror, I saw that she seemed stressed. Quickly, she saw me reflected in it and jumped, swinging around.

"What are you doing here?"

"I work here." I'm not the one busted wearing a tacky wig, snooping for info.

"I mean here. Can't you read? The sign on the door—"

Enough. I cut across her. "I'm starting to think you're following me. Every time I turn around, there you are." I let the irony pour from my voice; she couldn't have missed it. I watched as she fished for an excuse, flustered.

"I wanted to take Vee out. She's been in the hospital. I never dreamt I'd run into you. It's supposed to be your night off. And what are you talking about? Every time I turn around, there you are!" Her body language oscillated between sheepish and indignant, and it shook under my disapproving gaze.

Right. First, I needed her to take that thing off. "Want to explain the tacky hair?"

She threw off the wig and threw it on the counter, her red hair emerging.

"Want to explain where you've been? You missed the last two days of school." She demanded.

Worried about my attendance? Obviously not.

"Playing paintball." It was the truth; the truth which I would have told had she simply asked me. "What were you doing at the bar?" Why did she think it would work? The bartender would have told me about what happened.

"Talking to the bartender. Is that a crime?" As she answered, she bent over to take off her heels.

Hm…those shoes aren't bad on legs like that…

Suddenly, a notepad slipped from her shirt, and before she could move I'd already grabbed it. She tried to take it back, but I held her back while I read it.

Does Patch have a restraining order against him? Is Patch a felon? No, and it wouldn't stop me if they did. And technically yes, but really, who could prove it?

"'Does Patch have a restraining order against him?' 'Is Patch a felon?'" I repeated out loud. I wanted her to hear how silly her questions sounded out loud.

"Give—me—that!" she hissed, clawing at my hands. I kept reading, and I chuckled.

"'Does Patch have a girlfriend?'" I couldn't help but soften at the question.

An entire list composed of things involving danger, and she included that on there. So, the thought of being mine was equated with dangerous. I couldn't even be upset anymore by her snooping; now that I'd seen the amateurish style that she'd gone through to find information, I didn't have to worry. She'd never find anything worth knowing unless she asked me or the Delphic underworld, who also couldn't tell her much. I placed the notepad in my back pocket, and I watched, amused, as she almost jerked forward to grab it. I leaned back on the counter, looking her in her eyes.

"If you're going to dig around for information, I'd prefer that you ask me." I wanted her to know that, should I choose to answer, I'd answer her as honestly as I needed to. She was also one of two people that I'd ever give that honor.

She looked so embarrassed that I almost felt bad. "Those questions…were a joke! Vee wrote them. It's all her fault."

You're adorable. "I know your handwriting, Nora." She blushed, knowing she was caught.

"Well, okay, fine." Poor girl looked like she wanted to melt into the floor. I sighed softly, and decided to give her a break.

"No restraining orders. No felonies." None that I'd been caught on.

She rose her chin. "Girlfriend?"

Oh- Why do you want to know? "That's none of your business." I didn't have a savory romantic past, along with the rest of it.

"You tried to kiss me—you made it my business."

Ohh…so she has been thinking about me. A tiny smile slipped as I remembered her reaction to my touch, and my happiness because of it.

Very well. "Ex-girlfriend." I didn't like talking about it. Nora's face fell with…dread? That wasn't a normal reaction to finding out your interest is single. To assuage her, I added "but she's not around."

"What do you mean she's not around?"

"She's gone. She's never coming back."

"You mean…she's dead?"

I fell for one, who wasn't what I expected. Not worth the fall. One had me stripped of my wings for seeing the former. Together they were the reason I was damned to wander Earth. One was genuinely dead, and the other was dead to me. But I couldn't tell Nora that- it'd be revealing a little more than I was comfortable.

As her face paled, someone began to rattle the door handle, breaking the tension. The conversation hadn't gone the way I wanted it to, and I didn't want to have it anymore.

"I need to get back to work." I said, pushing from the counter. Before I left, I looked her over. Nora in a miniskirt; I'd have to work on seeing that again. "Killer skirt. Deadly legs."

Before she could respond, I left the bathroom. A little old lady walked past me, but I was positive she wasn't going to say anything.

I watched from a few tables away as Nora quickly grabbed Vee. Vee stayed momentarily for her food, but Nora swept from the building.

When they were gone, I watched Elliot angrily leave the table. I couldn't say I felt sorry for him.

At the end of my shift, I got into my new black Jeep Commander. I smiled as I remembered how I acquired it. First by winning, and then by fighting the stupid human who honestly thought he could beat me. He'd run off with a pulpy face, murmuring something along the lines of "Watch where you walk, asshole, because I'm going to get you!" Tough words from the guy who got his ass whooped, but I was still watching my back. Couldn't be caught off guard by a human.

Starting the Jeep, I laid back and turned on the light, and pulled out Nora's list of questions.

How is Patch's work ethic?

Does Patch work well with others around him?

What was it, a job interview?

How is Patch's work relationship with his female coworkers?

Question? Interesting. In comparison to my relationship with her? Irrelevant. As I read through the list, I noticed an intriguing change. At the beginning of the list, there were hard questions on my past. By the end, they were questions on my behavior, and how I was when I wasn't around her. It meant that she cared about knowing me; about understanding me. I flipped the pad over, and there were flirting prompts on the other side. The car filled with my laughter as I read them. They ranged from cute, to corny, to somewhat slimy. I couldn't even imagine Nora saying some of the things. Apparently neither could she, because there was a note on the side that said "just say them. Don't even think about it; just say them when necessary."

The rest of the pad was seemingly empty, but one page had doodles on it. Distracted doodles. One of them was an actual drawing. There was light scribbling over it, as if to discard the image, but it wasn't enough to hide it. It was a set of well-drawn eyes. They were dark, the pencil subtly catching the difference between the iris and the pupil. The eyelids were drawn softly over the eyes, giving the expression that the person was looking from under them. I raised the image to the mirror; I realized that I recognized these eyes. They were mine. The expression caught me off guard- when had I given her this look? Oh! The night I'd come over…when I'd changed my mind. I couldn't believe it - it was shocking. Only she could draw that looks from my depths. Damn.

I ripped out the drawing and threw the pad into the back. Folding the drawing, I placed it into my wallet. Nora felt more than she was letting on, but if this picture was any indication, I was getting to her. My phone buzzed, breaking me from my thoughts, and I answered.

"What's up?"

Nehemiah is a character from my other story, Eternal, so if you were interested in that backstory, feel free to read it! Read and review! And thank you all for your continued support; I really appreciate it!