"You don't love me Reid," Vanessa insisted while shaking her head.
"What will it take to get it through your head?!" he said angrily. He turned to face her and placed his hands on her cheeks, meeting her lips with his before she had time to respond.
This time, Vanessa didn't fight to get away from Reid. She deepened the kiss, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He kissed her softly, not wanting to push her away again; taking in every moment she let herself go, so as to not forget a single moment.
After a few minutes, Vanessa broke the kiss, pulling away slowly, but leaving her arms around his neck. "You still don't love me," she whispered, "you're drunk. You don't know what you're saying."
"They don't call it truth juice for nothing," Reid said, laughing a bit. "Besides, I'm feeling fine now."
She looked down, not knowing what to say.
"Look into my eyes," Reid told her, and she brought her eyes back to meet his. "I love you, Vanessa," he repeated. "And I know you love me too. Deny it, and I'll leave. I promise."
Looking into his eyes, she knew he was telling the truth. The scary thing was, she knew she loved him too. She couldn't lie to him. She didn't want to lie anymore. Saying it would only make things harder on her, but not saying it would only make things harder for him. Not to mention he would leave her and she didn't want that.
Reid looked at her expectantly. She had to say something.
"I love you, Reid," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes when she said it. The next thing she knew, his lips were on hers again.
"Say it again," he told her, breaking the kiss for a moment, his lips still practically still touching hers.
"I love you," she said, looking into his eyes this time. "I have for a while now. I just ..." she paused, forgetting for a moment why she kept pushing him away.
"You just what?" he asked, stroking her cheek lightly with his finger. She closed her eyes, taking in his touch.
She sighed. "Well you read that book right?"
Reid looked confused. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything? So you're going to fight in this war to protect this chick. So what?"
Vanessa's stomach fell and she didn't have the heart to tell him that the "chick" was her. "You don't get it, do you?" she asked, looking sadly into his eyes. She thought he understood. Apparently, he didn't. This was only going to make things harder.
"I don't know," she responded, curling up closer to him and placing her head on his shoulder. She felt his hand run through her hair, and looked up, examining his perfect profile. He really was incredible. He looked down at her and smiled.
"Please don't push me away again," he whispered, "I don't know if I could take it, especially after tonight."
"I don't think I could," she replied, closing her eyes and listening to his steady breathing. What had she gotten herself into?
He smiled and continued running his hand through her hair. He rested his chin on the top of her head. "Good," he said.
"You know, I never really let anyone in," he said seriously, "but with you, everything changed. It was as if I locked myself off, not letting anyone in. I wasn't actually sad, but never happy either. Then you came into my life, and nothing was the same anymore. Even when you said you didn't want anything to do with me, part of me knew that you didn't really mean it, even though it was hard at times. But I know for sure that I don't want to return to where I was before. I don't think I could, not after I know what it is to really love someone. You're everything to me, Vanessa."
Vanessa lifted her head from his shoulder, so she could look into his eyes. Everything he just said, it was exactly how she felt. So why couldn't she say it? What was holding her back? She could feel him looking back at her, waiting for a response.
"It's just ... the prophecy," she started, "I'm the girl in it."
Reid looked confused. He already knew she was in the prophecy. He shook his head. "Yeah I know." He still didn't get why this was such a big deal.
"I don't think you get it." She didn't want to spell it out for him, but she didn't really have a choice. "The girl who dies in the prophecy. It's me."
She felt his body grow hard. She looked up at him – he was so still; he looked like it was made of stone.
"No," he said, finally moving, "it doesn't have to be."
Vanessa shook her head sadly. "Reid, it's the prophecy. It's what's meant to be."
"It doesn't have to be like that," he insisted, pulling back a bit to lean against the wall. He ran his hands through his hair, thinking. "We can change it," he concluded, looking back up at her. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
Sweet, Vanessa thought to herself. But so naive. Didn't he understand that once a prophecy was written it was bound to come true? Just thinking about it made tears form behind her eyes. She tried her hardest to make sure they wouldn't slip out, but she knew that once she blinked that they would start to fall.
She scooted herself over to where he sat, leaning her body against his. She felt his arm wrap protectively around her shoulders.
He kissed the top of her head. "I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered.
"I know," she responded. And a part of her did know. Knew he would try, at least. Maybe once she was killed, she would be able to still see him, to watch over him.
She wondered again why she was allowing herself to cause him even more pain. Sure, he might believe she was hurting him before. But that was nothing compared to how he would feel when she was gone.
"Just promise you won't close yourself off again," she pleaded. "After I'm gone ... I want you to be happy."
"It's not gonna be an issue," he said stubbornly. "You're not going anywhere."
Vanessa sighed and shook her head. It was no use convincing him of what she knew was going to happen. Shouldn't she just live in the moment? If she didn't, she knew she would only be sour and depressed until that day finally came.
He clearly wasn't going to accept her fate now. However, she wasn't going to stop trying to make him understand. He probably just needed a bit of time for it to sink in. Then he would come to terms with it, and decide not to cause himself more pain. Apparently she would never be happy. Not even in her last month.
She leaned against him and closed her eyes, deciding to just enjoy the time she had. She felt him pull her closer, and she didn't resist his touch.
Vanessa sat there for a few minutes, thinking through everything that just happened. When she looked back up at Reid, she saw his eyes were closed and his breathing was steady. Watching him sleep, he looked so at peace. She didn't want to ruin that. She allowed herself to drift into her own thoughts, and before she knew it she felt her eyelids grow heavy until they finally closed completely.
Several hours passed and Reid woke up. He glanced over at Vanessa's digital clock on her nightstand. The bright red numbers read 3 in the morning. Tyler would probably give him shit when he got back. Reid looked down and saw that Vanessa was asleep. He smiled at how calm she looked. It seemed like every time he saw her she was either blocking herself off or very angry. It was nice to see her totally unguarded. He slowly and carefully picked her up, trying to not wake her, and walked over to her bed.
"What time is it?" Vanessa asked sleepily, not realizing she fell asleep.
Reid laid down beside her, taking her in his arms. "It's late," he replied, "go back to sleep."
"Stay with me?" She still wasn't completely awake.
"I was planning on it," he replied, feeling a smile come to his lips.
"Good," she whispered, shuffling around slightly and eventually resting her head on his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.
Reid didn't fall back asleep. Instead, he stared at the ceiling, thinking about what she said tonight about the prophecy. He was gonna change her fate, or die trying.
Vanessa wasn't actually sleeping. She just needed some time to think, and she was enjoying just being in his arms. Eventually she felt him drift off, and she let her mind wander.
Two hours later, she quickly opened her eyes. She wished she didn't fall back asleep. Sleeping was what brought on the premonitions. They were rare, so when they did come, they were important. She didn't actually see anything this time, but she could feel it. Someone was coming after her. They wanted her power, and they knew where she was. They weren't there yet, but it wouldn't be long.
She looked over at Reid and gently pushed herself out his arms, walking into the bathroom to throw some cold water on her face. She looked into the reflection of her own eyes, and saw a change in herself. It was like she could actually see the disappearance of the wall she always surrounded herself with. It seemed so unfair - the moment she discovered she could be who she always wanted to be, it was too late.
Standing there, looking into her own reflection, she knew she wasn't gonna let this go without a fight. Before she came to Spencer she never thought about fighting for her life. She always assumed that she had nothing to live for; that her fate was already decided. But now, now she had Reid and actual friends. She wasn't going to throw that away.
Plus, he wanted to help her. So she was gonna let him. As long as he didn't put himself in any danger.
She left the bathroom and closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake him. Here goes nothing, she thought, wondering if this could possibly work.