A/N: Sorry I haven't paid much attention to this story! I got sucked into the BBC miniseries The Syndicate, and I had to deal with a rabid plot bunny. But I'm back! :)
This took me THREE tries. The first time, I accidentally closed out without saving; the second time I didn't save it properly. :p So hopefully third time's the charm.
Reviews are like my life source. I eat, sleep, and breathe them. So they would be much appreciated...please!
P.S. I know, I know. I snubbed you guys. But I couldn't make Eloise and Oliver get together that fast! ;) I still have a few more important book events to mention.
P.P.S. I just finished Lost in Time and I'm super excited for Gates of Paradise. Except for the fact that Melissa de la Cruz was all, "Oh, Oliver still loves Schuyler. Hahaha I love giving him the shaft!" Ugh! NO! He needs to get over himself! XD
Chapter 9: If Only For A Moment
Eloise was relieved to be back among the dusty books of the Repository on Monday afternoon. The party thrown by the new girl - Bliss, if she remembered correctly - was the typical end-all be-all she had expected. Bliss's penthouse she called home was equipped with an indoor pool and a gym, among hundreds of other rooms; and although she was surrounded by most of her classmates, Eloise had never felt so alone.
To be fair, she had gone off to think for a good part of the party. Luckily, everyone avoided the pool for some reason, so she dipped her toes into the room-temperature water, humming quietly to herself and getting lost in thought.
She was glad, for what seemed like the millionth time, that she wasn't subject to what many poor Red Blood girls were surely experiencing tonight. Usually parties like this were perfect hunting grounds to find new familiars. For a Conduit such as herself, it was as if her chest was branded with a big red letter "C", marking her as unwanted, unable to provide blood. Conduits were mean to protect vampires, and the Sacred Kiss would cloud their judgment.
Even if she was available, it wasn't like any sensible Blue Blood would see her fit to suck on. She was too short and didn't weigh enough to give blood to the Red Cross, let alone sustain a vampire's metabolism. Aside from that, she was usually viewed as that cute little redhead and nothing more. Compared to girls like Mimi Force, she was no more than a kid, the sidekick who was only there for support.
Not that she minded. There was only one boy in her life whose opinion mattered to her, one boy whom she wished would see her as more than she was.
No matter how hard she tried, Eloise could not get the dream or the kiss out of her head. It had been so wonderful...just thinking about it let loose thousands of butterflies in her stomach. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to tell him? It was now or never, right?
But what if she scared him off? What if he told her he didn't feel the same way? What if it ruined their friendship?
He was the one who liked to hold hands. He was the one who pulled her closer each time they hugged. He was the one who looked at her in a way that made her feel as though she'd been hit by lightning.
She was reading way too much into this. She was just the cute little redhead, nothing more.
But what if she wasn't to him? What if he...
Her phone buzzed beside her, breaking her out of her thoughts. Lucy had texted her with a hurried message:
Bliss's rents r here. Time 2 gtfo!
Lucy must have been really worried, or otherwise she wouldn't have abbreviated all that (or used substitutes for cursing).
Eloise looked at her to-do list for her shift. Since they had more than enough workers today, she was allowed to assist anyone who needed it. She hated days like this; she didn't like asking people if they needed her help. Most of them were old, retired Conduits who always turned her down. And she also didn't like asking the Elders for work; they might as well have been talking to the dust on the floor than to a Red Blood.
She walked to the nearest bookshelf, preparing herself to double-check that the books were in order according to their call numbers. It might have been tedious, but it gave her something to do.
She heard giggling and footsteps behind her; upon turning, there was no one there. She set her jaw, not in the mood to deal with that sort of foolishness. Although it was rare to see Blue Bloods down here in the Repository - they were too busy reveling in how awesome they were - they did make appearances from time to time. And when they did, they usually didn't refrain themselves from joking about the librarians, laughing at how sad it was that they were human and not immortal.
Again came the sound of giggling, followed by shushing. Eloise gritted her teeth, about ready to go back to her desk. She would write a kindly-worded letter to the Conclave, requesting that the Blue Bloods at least show some respect for those who worked in the Repository. She knew it would go unheeded, especially coming from a young Conduit such as herself, but it would make her feel better.
A jolt went through her as she felt arms grab her around her middle. She yelped, her feet leaving the ground and the world beginning to spin. She felt breathless and vulnerable, powerless to stop whomever it was that was doing this.
Familiar laughter reached her ears, causing her cheeks to burn. "Oliver!" she scolded as he finally set her down. "We're not supposed to make a lot of noise in here. And you know I don't like it when you do that."
"Sorry. Didn't mean to give you a heart attack." He loosened his hold on her the tiniest bit.
Before she could register what she was doing, Eloise was pulling his arms back around her waist. She felt her heart stop as she placed her hands over his where they rested on her stomach.
"This I don't mind," she said quietly.
"This I can do then," he replied, softly laying his chin on the crown of her head. "I missed you this weekend, Ellie."
"I missed you, too."
They stood there for a moment, enjoying the closeness of each other. She slowly turned to face him, noting sadly that he moved his hands from her waist. It was quickly dispelled when he gently took hold of her arms instead.
She shyly met his gaze, which was intently fixed on a spot right next to her head. He was blinking, signaling that he was uncertain about something. What that something was was anyone's guess.
Just being this close to him again made her mind go blank. If she'd been thinking, she'd know to stop anything else from happening. If she'd been thinking, she'd let him know that she thought they were going too far. If she'd been thinking, she'd wiggle out of his grasp and go back to her desk.
But in that instant when she hesitated, she leaned in, standing on her toes, turning her head ever-so-slightly to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. His skin was a bit rough, but it smelled like strawberries. Why in the world did it smell like that? No matter, it was a nice smell, she'd never know he smelled like this unless she was kissing him...wait, she was kissing him. SHE WAS KISSING HIM.
Quite suddenly she felt his cheek heat up a bit, the blush softly warming her lips. I'm making him blush. Goodness I'm making him blush. Oliver Hazard-Perry is blushing BECAUSE I'M KISSING HIM.
She pulled back, unable to look at him. "Sorry," she murmured.
"Why are you saying sorry?" His voice was weak, almost as if her kiss had consumed most of it.
She didn't answer him, too afraid to try and gauge his response.
He lowered his head, trying to meet her eyes. When she knew she couldn't avoid him and finally looked at him, he stood back up, giving her a small smile. "Thank you, Ellie," he said.
She didn't move, she didn't speak. She just held his gaze, blinking every so often.
He slipped his hand into hers, his smile growing. "That was very sweet, Ellie. I...I liked it."
"You did?" She said it so softly she doubted he'd heard her.
He nodded. "Of course."
Silence passed between them. They stood quietly, joined by their hands. Oliver slowly started to lean toward her, his eyes closing. She didn't question it, allowing her own eyes to fall closed, waiting patiently for him to...
"Ollie? Ollie, I think I found something!"
Oliver straightened, clearing his throat and turning to his best friend. Eloise flushed again, wishing the floor could swallow her and she wouldn't have to explain herself.
"I'm sorry..." Schuyler raised an eyebrow. "Um...Ollie, I thought you would have..."
"It's my bad. I just..." Oliver cleared his throat again. "What did you find, Sky?"
"I actually found a huge stack of books, if you wanna..." She inclined her head behind her. "Unless..."
"What are you guys looking for?" Eloise asked, wishing desperately to drop the subject.
"We think we know what killed Aggie," Schuyler said. "It most definitely wasn't an overdose."
"Then...what was it?"
Oliver gently squeezed her hand. She forgot that he hadn't let go, and she felt her heart skip.
It skipped even more when Oliver told her what they were searching for:
"Croatan."
