So very late. But here's some back story on Harmony. We're almost done actually. So yay.
Chapter 25
Jeff had shuddered out a breath and got ready to go to his detention. He had to admit he was terrified. Nick had advised him to bring a water bottle of holy water in case, because Nick couldn't do anything to get him out of it.
His heart was racing and he bit his lip as he entered the empty hallway to the French room. He had hoped he wouldn't be the only one in there, but chances are, she wanted him to be alone.
Harmony heard him as he came in. She looked at him and smiled. "Bonjour," She said, happily. "Have a seat, Monsieur Sterling." She said, indicating the empty seat across from her desk. "We're not going to have a regular detention. I'm going to tell you a story."
Jeff hesitantly sat down, and slid into the desk seat. He made sure to have the water bottle in front of him. He was glad all he would have to do is sit there and listen, but he was still scared. He didn't even want to be there at all.
Harmony sighed, putting her papers down. She noticed the bottle of water in front of her and fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was sure Nick came up with that, though she wasn't sure it would actually work. She said nothing, but stared ahead for a second. "Well, darling," She said, looking at him. Her eyes were soft. She looked the most human she had been in a while. "My name isn't Harmony Pearce. Well, it is. But I was born as Margaret St. Michaels, in 1896."
Jeff didn't really know to say anything. He kept his mouth shut. He fiddled with his fingers on his desk. He kept his eyes on her the whole time though, makes sure she didn't sneak attack him or anything. 1886? How old would that make her? Hmm.
"That makes me 116, in case you can't do math," Harmony said, quietly. "I was born in Boston. My father was a lawyer. We were well off, certainly. I was the it-girl of my society." She smiled, fondly, "My mother didn't work, obviously. She was heavy in the suffrage movement. Sometimes she'd take me out with her to meetings. But mostly, I was raised to be a proper lady. Curtseying, not speaking unless spoken too, sewing, cooking, playing piano. That's gone to shit in recent years, but so has the world." She shook her head, "I had a pleasant childhood, until my mother died when I was eight."
Jeff sighed. He knew he'd end up feeling bad for her when she was done. That's just how he was. He figured it wasn't the best time to say anything, so he let her continue. Nick was probably around outside listening in case anything happened anyway.
"When I was eight, I went on a boating trip in the lake on my family's Country estate. It was me, my mother, and my uncle. The boat tipped over. I got caught underneath, and my mother saved me. Sadly, she drowned," Harmony closed her eyes. This was one of those moments where she wished she could cry. Just to make her feel better. "I had been close to my father at that point. But when my mother died… he blamed me. He began neglecting me. Do you know how that feels, Monsieur Sterling?"
Jeff listened to Harmony intently. He didn't want to be asked something, and not even realize she did, and then she would get angry. He wanted to keep her as far from angry as possible. Jeff shook his head. He's never felt like that before. His parents loved him, even if he was gay, and he loved them for that.
"I was still given the best clothes, was the limelight of every party I attended, and had my lessons with Cornelia, who had been my nanny and then became a maid," Harmony continued, her eyes never leaving the boy, "But my father began to take on more cases than my mother allowed him to when she was alive, and when I'd ask to see him my requests were ignored." She sighed. She didn't miss her father a bit. She didn't regret anything she'd done. "About two years later, in 1908, my father decided to run for Governor of the state. He easily won, given our status in society and the fact that he had a reputation. Because my father wasn't married, I became the First Lady of the State. Margaret St. Michaels, First Lady of Massachusetts. I held the position for two years, from the time that I was ten to twelve. Then my father met her… that… broad."
"Wasn't that like, frowned upon back then? To get remarried? That was what he did right?" He immediately regretted interrupting her, but it wasn't like he could take it back. He bit his lip and watched for her reply. Her story was interesting, but he really didn't want to be there.
"No, not as long as there had been a reasonable mourning period," Harmony answered, glad he at least seemed to be taking interest. "Actually, divorce wasn't common back then, but it wasn't unheard of," She sighed. "Her name was Samantha Wilkerson." Her tone was oozing with dismay. She hated her step-mother more than anyone that had ever crossed her path. "She and my father began courting a little less than a year after he took office. They were married the next." She paused, "I lost my title to her. I didn't care much, but other things became more tough. I saw less and less of my father. They married in November of 1909. My little brother was born in December of 1910. And I was sent to London in March of 1911."
Jeff nodded. He didn't really know what she was sent to London for, but if she didn't say it, he would have to ask. He wasn't as nervous as he was when he arrived, but was still had his guard up. He was slightly confused as to why she was telling him all of this. After all, he was just a 'stupid human'.
"I was sent to live with my aunt. Experience other cultures. Get me away from the new St. Michaels family," Harmony rolled her eyes. "I was angry the entire time. I hated that my father had brushed me aside for his new wife and son. Aunt Helene tried to make me happy, but she couldn't. I stayed there until April of 1912." She said, "Then my father decided I was worthy of my family again. So we traveled to Southhampton, and I left on a little ship called the Titanic. Have you ever heard of it, Jeff?"
"Oh my god, you died on the Titanic?!" he widened his eyes. That was so cool, but tragic, obviously. He had watched the movie a couple times, and was just amazed that she had been on it.
"Yes," Harmony confirmed, a little amused at his reaction. "I was first class, naturally. I dined every night with Mr. Ismay, the chairman of the White Star Line." She shook her head. "The movie is good, but it didn't even touch the surface of the chaos that was on the decks while people were trying to get on the lifeboats." She paused. "When I was getting onto my lifeboat… a steerage passenger made it past the crewmen. In a desperate attempt to save their own pathetic life, he pushed me into the water."
"Wow, what an ass," Jeff commented. He could never imagine pushing a child out to save his own life. Although, she wasn't that young, considering she hasn't aged since then. He imagined how terrible her death was. No wonder she was a demon. falling from a great height into freezing water. Pretty much death on impact, and if not, you'd drown a few minutes later. Drowning has always been one of his worst death images. Other than being set on fire, or falling from an airplane onto land.
"I'm not sure what happened after that. I woke up in the water, left for dead. Confused. But I felt… stronger. I swam my way to Land. It was… tough. And it took a while. When I made it to land, I heard that my father, who was running for Re-election, was in deep mourning." Harmony glared ahead, unable to look at the human. "I was so angry. I was livid. I knew how much bullshit that was. My father never passed up on publicity. I wanted revenge." She stopped, "I waited until he was re-elected. And they went on Vacation in Martha's Vineyard." She sighed. "I broke into the house. And killed them both. My father and step-mother. I went to get my brother… but I spared him."
"They didn't come back… right? Your father?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. That would have been strange. He slightly wondered if she had any family left because of her step-brother. Murder though. She murdered her dad. Right after it happened. That was crazy. Demons were crazy. Nick and Janine had been the only two he'd met that seemed to at least try to act a little human. Harmony was just downright scary.
"No," Harmony replied, "It's very rare that someone killed by a demon comes back. I think Janine is the only I know of that has," She said. "My baby brother, Charles, went on to have a family. My niece, Allison, died recently. I loved her, I had nothing to do with it. Her son however… he's a different story." She smiled, evilly. "After that, I traveled around, trying to survive. For a while, I tried to act human. In the 1940s, my cousin Emily was killed in an air-raid, so I went to England to pay my respects. I met another demon there. Blaine Anderson. I've traveled with him ever since." she sighed. "During the Vietnam war, we moved to Detroit. I met a man there, Adam Donaldson. He'd just been drafted to go to Vietnam."
"You know Janine? I met her…" he kind of faded off a little on the end, not knowing what else to say.
"Blaine Anderson sounds familiar though," Jeff wondered to himself. He felt like he heard that name before. Harmony really had a terrible story. No wonder she was not in favor of humans.
"Janine is Blaine Anderson's little sister. When he committed suicide back in the 1720s and came back… he killed everyone in their town. Including her. She came back. They just got reunited. Blah, blah, blah." Harmony rolled her eyes. "I live with her, and if you ever want to hear her story, I'll be sure to have her come tell it to her." She sighed. "Back to my story. Where was I?"
"Um, you met a guy in Detroit?" Jeff thought back to what she was talking about. He had heard a very slimmed down version of her story, but since he hadn't known about the demons then, she didn't really say much. He actually had a physical therapy tomorrow, so he might see her then.
"Oh yes," Harmony replied, leaning back in her chair and smiling. She still, after all these years, got giggly when she heard Adam's name. She missed him every day, and what she did was her biggest regrets for years. "I met Adam in Detroit. He was a draftee, Second Lieutenant. Very Handsome. Very sweet. Very charming. He taught me so much about humanity." She paused, beginning to choke up. She turned away. She couldn't cry, but she really wanted too. "Excuse me," she whispered. "This part really gets me emotional."
Jeff didn't say anything, but kept his eyes on her. Did Adam die? Is that why she was so bitter? He took a deep breath, and waited for her to continue.
"The night before he was to go to basic… he asked me to take his soul…" Harmony said, trying to recompose herself. "And Jeff, I loved him. So, so, much. I'd do anything for him, even that." She sighed, looking down, "Up until then, I had been going by Mimi Michaels I had been somewhat humane. Somewhat." She said, shaking her head. "That night, the last of Mimi Michaels and Margaret St. Michaels died. As did my humanity."
"You took his soul? Just because he asked for it? You loved him, you could have run away together, or something," he said. It was probably a bad idea, but he just went with it. She could have lived out his life with him. Is that how Nick is going to be with him? Are they just going to live together until he's old enough to be Nick's father? And then possibly his grandfather. He furrowed his eyebrows and slouched his shoulders.
"You don't think I tried?" Harmony hissed, her eyes switching shades immediately. "You don't think I told him that he didn't have to go, didn't have to leave me? That we could have run away? I told him. I asked him. I begged him. But he had the stubbornness of a demon." She sighed, looking down. "His soul was the most delicious I've ever had. But I'd take it back if I could. I miss him. Every day. It's hollow without him."
Jeff flinched at her outburst, and gripped his fingers around the water bottle.
"I don't… really know what a soul tastes like," he whispered. He was slightly curious but it had nothing to do with what she was talking about. "I'm sorry," he added. Losing someone like that probably hurt so deep, but he couldn't feel that pain. It was so foreign to him.
"You don't have to be," Harmony replied, shaking her head. "It's not your fault," she whispered. "After that, we left Detroit. I'll never go back there. We went to Atlanta, Rome, and then to Paris. I taught English in Paris for a while, and Blaine went to school. Then we just got sick of the human world. So we went to Hell for a while."
This was strange seeing Harmony like this. He had been so scared of her, and now she was just breaking down in front of him. "Hell? You can just stroll in and out?" he asked. Wow. He didn't know you could do that. "The-the devil? He's… real?" Jeff whispered.
"Oh, darling little human," Harmony said, her teasing and mocking tone back, "Who do you think made me like this? Your darling Nick?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "And yes, we come and go as we please. Some prefer to stay and… grovel… and some just come every century or so. It was the first time I'd been since I died."
Jeff eyed Harmony, but didn't say anything. The devil. He was real. Oh my god. God? Should I even say Oh my god anymore? Does he listen? Why hasn't he done anything then?
"No need to be frightened, Monsieur Sterling," Harmony said, "He doesn't come after people. Only when you die. And those are special, special cases. Plus, there's always the option of No, when he asks." She smiled sympathetically.
"You can just say no to the devil?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. You had a choice? He was so confused. He didn't know what happened when people died, but all of this thoughts had been changed in the past couple of days. His whole life had changed. Dramatically.
"If you don't want to spend all your eternal life in damnation, why not?" Harmony asked, seriously. "It doesn't really happen often, as far as I know, but I'm not in charge of what happens so…" She sighed, "Help me. I'm old. Where was I?"
"Uh, I think it was after you got out of hell," Jeff said, and rubbed the back of his neck. He briefly wondered what people did in hell, but didn't want to ask.
"Okay," Harmony said, leaning back to think. "After we left Hell, we went to this little shit town called Lima. And now here I am. Your favorite teacher," she teased, smiling just a little. "That's my story. It's not long and adventurous like Blaine's or Janine's. But I'm 200 years younger than them so…"
"Oh yeah. Favorite teacher," he said, and hesitantly smiled. Actually, most of the teachers were just old, so she probably could have been his favorite.
He wondered what they were going to do now. She was done talking, so he hoped he could leave now. That probably wasn't the case, considering he hadn't even been there for an hour yet.
"Now, Monsieur Sterling, you may go if you wish. Or you can sit and tell me your story, since you heard mine." Harmony sent him a small smile. "I just ate, so I'm going to be here a while. I would enjoy some company."
Jeff figured he should stay. He wanted to leave, but it was probably the best idea to stay.
"I uh, don't really have a story. I've lived in Westerville my whole life. I met Nick at the beginning of the year, he turned out to be my roommate, we hit it off, and started dating. Then I broke my wrist and found out about demons. That's about it," he said, shrugging.
"Janine told me about you," Harmony replied, taking a look at her emails. "How you were her first ever patient and you turned out to be her best friend's little Human." She smiled. "She feels awful, you know. She hates that Nick is mad at her."
"I can uh, try to talk to Nick?" he suggested, sighed. He didn't like causing problems, but he seemed to be a magnet for trouble. He was a terrible liar, so it just brought up so much crap.
"If you could," Harmony replied, sighing. "Janine is the most… human… demon I've ever met. And most of the time demons who act like human annoy the shit out of me. Your Nick included. But Janine, well, she'd different. I admire that about her. I almost wish that was the path I took."
"I think I'll see her tomorrow…" Jeff said, wondering about it. He'd have to go the rehab center tomorrow. Maybe she would be his physical therapist again. "But yeah, I can talk to him.." he said. It was getting to that stage where the awkward silences would start. He could tell.
"I'm not sure if she's working tomorrow," Harmony replied, "They actually give her time off sometimes!" She smiled, meekly. "Thank you," She said, "From both of us."
"Oh okay. Then I don't know when I'll see her next. Maybe when I get the waterproof one, or the damn thing taken off," he muttered the last sentence to himself. "Uh, you're welcome, then," he said awkwardly. He probably would have said something either way. He hated making people mad at each other.
"She'll probably come in. She loves her job," Harmony replied, simply. "And she said she has a soft spot for you since you're Nick's human and were her first patient." She waved her hand dismissively. "Detention is over. You may go if you wish."
Jeff nodded, and smiled. Someone had a soft spot for him. Aww. "Uh, okay. Well I guess I'll see you on Friday in class," he said, awkwardly and stood up, slowly making his way to the door. He wasn't as afraid to be near her as much anymore, but he was still uneasy around her. Demons that aren't Nick or Janine just freaked him out now.