I recommend listening to The Only Exception by Paramore when reading the latter half of this chapter (:


Chapter 11

"What do you need me to do?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. I realise that I'm clutching my coffee mug way too tight.

"I…" He lets out a very audible sigh. "This is difficult for me, asking someone for a favour. It's not something I do often."

"We're friends, Fenris. Ask of me anything you want."

He smiles warmly at me. "That is very kind of you, Hawke."

I smell cappuccino on his breath. I have to supress the strongest urge to lean a bit closer and taste it on his lips.

Focus, Hawke. Now is not the time for such fantasies.

His eyes are locked on mine, his gaze intent.

"There's something I have to do, and I need someone I can trust to help me out in case things go wrong."

"What do you intend to do?"

"I…" He pauses and takes a deep breath. "I've received an email from someone who claims to have information that I've been after for a long time. I've arranged to meet him at the Alienage in Lowtown tomorrow evening. The thing is... I don't trust him. It all seems too… convenient."

"How so?"

"The timing of it all. This person contacts me out of the blue, after my escape and he knows exactly what I'm after. Why hasn't he contacted me before? Why now? It's like he knows of my escape, and if he does, then he must have ties to Danarius."

"You're saying this could be a trap?" My heart is thudding fast.

"I wouldn't put it past Danarius to arrange such a scheme. He knows exactly what I want, and my guess is he's using this information as bait."

"But, why would he be after you so adamantly? Can't he find someone else to do all his dirty work?"

Fenris' expression darkens.

"He doesn't want me at all, just the markings on my skin," he says venomously. "He wants his precious investment returned, even if he must rip it from my corpse." He looks like he's about to spit in disgust.

I stare at him in horror.

"I…" I'm lost for words. "I can't believe this…"

He leans across the table, bringing his face closer to mine.

"You're the only one I can trust, Hawke. I need you with me when I go to meet that man tomorrow."

I breathe in his scent from across the table and I feel a little lightheaded. Intoxicated.

"Of course I'll go with you, Fenris," I say.

He stares into my eyes with an incredibly warm smile.

"Thank you, Marian. I knew I could count on you," he says in a very low voice.

The way he says my first name is so different from how everyone else says it. His voice softens around it, a caress, as though it were a precious thing to be treasured.

I smile at him, though I'm feeling very fearful. If this Danarius person is really after his markings… I shudder at the thought.

"Your mocha's getting cold."

I glance down at my full mug before looking at his.

"So is your cappuccino," I remark.

With that darling crooked smile on his face, he picks up his cup and drains its contents in one go.

"Tastes so much better when it's cool," he comments, dabbing at his lips with a napkin.

I briefly fantasise about tracing those full lips with my finger before following suit and downing my mocha in one go.

"Can I drive you home tonight?" I ask. If he really is being hunted, the prospect of him walking alone at night is very disconcerting.

He smiles as he surveys his empty mug.

"I'd like that."

"You're not going to insist on walking this time? I raise my eyebrows at him.

He chuckles. "No, not this time. I could do with a drive."

"Good," I smile. "For a second, I thought you were going to be impossible."

He quietly chuckles some more. "Not tonight," he smiles.

After an animated argument about who pays the bill, an argument which Fenris ended up winning (darn that voice and those eyes of his; they seriously have some magical force emanating from them), we head off to my car and drive to his mansion.

He's very silent throughout the drive, his eyes fixed intently out his side's window.

"Fenris," I finally say. "What information is it that you're after?"

He doesn't respond immediately.

"Information about my family." He turns to look at me. "My real family."

I nod. The way he said the word 'real'… That tugged at my heartstrings, it did.

I park right outside his mansion. My mind immediately flits back to Saturday night. To that kiss. I'm holding my breath, hoping, praying that we are about to share another one.

"Hawke," he says quietly. "I hope I'm not forcing you into this. Please know that you are free to reject my request. You owe me nothing."

"Don't talk like that, Fenris, of course I want to help," I say quickly. "We're friends," I repeat.

"Friends," he smiles. "I like that." Something in his tone makes me think he's never had many of those.

I smile endearingly at him. I hesitantly reach for his shoulder and place my hand on it, half expecting him to move out of the way or shrug it off.

But he doesn't.

He closes his eyes, still smiling.

"I am a very lucky man to have met you, Hawke." His voice is low. Soft. He opens his eyes and meets my gaze. I feel my heart racing in my chest.

He hesitantly raises his hand and caresses my cheek with the back of his fingers. His touch leaves a trail of fire on my skin.

His hand lingers there for a while, before he slowly pulls it away. He reaches for the door handle and opens the passenger door.

I feel my heart sink.

I hate seeing him leave. I always have this intense fear of losing him and never seeing him again. Like he's a beautiful dream, some vivid creation of mine that might disappear at any moment.

"We'll keep in touch tomorrow."

I nod.

He shuts the door and leans his face in through the rolled down window.

"Sleep well, Hawke."

"And you."

He watches me for a moment and turns towards the mansion door. I see him peek at me from the corner of his eye before he disappears inside.

I let out a loud and prolonged sigh.

Well, at least I'll get to see him tomorrow.


I had a very strange and disturbing dream last night.

I was in my car with Fenris, and we were talking, though I don't recall what about. Whenever I tried to touch him, my hand would go right through him. When I asked him why this was happening, he merely smirked and faded away. I got out of the car and called out his name, only to be answered by a pressing silence.

As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I silently cried into my pillow when I woke up. A grown woman, sobbing like a child over a dream. Pathetic.

Whatever is happening to me... whatever spell that man has cast on me… it's new and uncertain and all-consuming. It overwhelms me like nothing else has. It makes me feel vulnerable.

It scares me.

I get out of bed at the break of dawn, unable to go back to sleep. I quietly dress and head out to the docks on foot.

The scent of the ocean water is familiar and refreshing. I breathe in deeply as the light breeze whips my wispy black bangs away from my face.

I sit on the edge of the pier, my feet dangling in mid-air as I watch the sunrise. The beauty of the sight makes me yearn for Fenris' presence. I want to share this moment with him. He seems like the sort of guy who'd appreciate such beauty.

I take my phone from my pocket and snap a picture of the beautiful scene. I send it to him via MMS with a caption:

I thought of you while watching this.

I don't feel silly or stupid for sending it. I may have felt that way less than twenty four hours ago, but not now. He made it very clear last night that he trusted me more than anyone else in his life right now. That he truly values our friendship. As much as I want this friendship to progress into something more, I'm content with where we're at right now. I'm lucky enough to just have him in my life and be able to call him a friend. If that's all I can get, I'm more than fine with that. It's much more than I could have ever hoped for when we first met two months ago.

My phone vibrates in my hand.

Text message from Fenris:

That's stunning. You're at the docks?

He's awake too.

I quickly send him a reply.

Yep.

A few minutes pass.

Huh. Maybe he fell asleep.

Nearly a quarter of an hour passes before my phone vibrates in my hand again.

Your hair looks brilliant in that light.

Huh?

I turn around, my eyes rapidly scanning the deserted pier.

Only, it's not deserted anymore.

I can't believe it.

I seriously cannot believe it. I literally rub my eyes real hard when I see a tall, lean, darkly-clothed figure approaching me at the edge of the pier. When he gets closer, hands in his pockets, white hair dazzling under the early sunlight, I see the smirk on his face, and my jaw drops open.

"What the?" I laugh in disbelief. "How in the world did you get here? Were you already walking here when I texted you?"

He laughs as he stops right beside me, his soft hair falling over his eyes when he tilts his head down to look at me.

"Nope. Got a cab. It's amazing how quick you can get here when the roads are empty."

In an incredibly swift and fluid movement, he drops down next to me and crosses his legs.

I stare at him with an expression of utmost surprise. The last thing I expected was to have him sitting next to me at the pier at 5 am in the morning.

He laughs at the expression on my face.

"You're…" I shake my head in disbelief. "You're really unpredictable, do you know that?"

"So I've been told," he smirks. The light from the rising sun hits his right eye, giving the green in it a striking gold hue, setting it alight. I quickly pull out my phone and aim the camera lens on his eye.

"What're you doing?"

"Just hold still," I demand.

He does as I ask and I snap a picture of his eye.

I look at it and smile as I admire it before showing it to him.

"There are some things in life worth capturing," I murmur.

He stares at the picture for a brief moment before he raises his eyes back to me. I see a smile slowly form on his full lips as he reaches into the pocket in his jeans and pulls out his own identical iPhone. He aims the camera lens at my face.

"Don't move," he says.

I do as he asks without argument. I hear the capture sound emanating from his phone. He looks at the picture for a time, smiling, before he hands me the phone.

As I take his phone from his hand, my fingers brush his lightly. The touch sends an instant shock through my body.

The phone feels warm in my hands. I revel in the feeling, soaking in the warmth, using it as a sure sign of his existence. I look at the picture and stare, dumbfounded.

"Those are… those are my eyes?" I stare at him in shock.

He laughs. "Do you see anyone else sitting here?"

I look back at the picture. They just look so… amazingly blue and bright and vibrant. I've never seen my eyes look this way before. They are a shocking, electric blue under the sun's rays.

"There are some things in life worth capturing," he says softly.

I look up and see him gazing at me with an incredibly tender expression. I realise then, for the first time ever and with the strongest clarity and certainty, that my life will never be the same again. Whatever this strange, mysterious and rare creature has done to me, it is irreversible.

There's no turning back.