Cupid's Arrow
It should never have hit her.
But before he could stop it, before anyone could stop it, the arrow had already been shot out.
And when it cut through her heart, forever leaving a mark, it was there to last.
Time stood still then, just for a moment.
He could hear her exhale sharply. Just then, he was certain that she'd felt a sting in her chest. Something had happened, and she was undoubtedly aware of it, as she turned around to look in his direction, with chocolate brown eyes. Already, there was a sense of familiarity expressed across her face.
She could see him, he knew.
All because of Cupid. Meddling, accursed Cupid.
Remaining frozen for the longest time, he blinked a couple times. It still shocked him to know when he was visible. When he could be heard, touched, seen. Even if perhaps he knew what the effects of a arrow of Love piercing one's heart would be, it could not have prepared him for this.
"Pitch..."
Yet, just as soon as she'd uttered the word, the one word he wanted to hear for so long from anyone, she forgot it. His name. Confused, she observed him, unable to contemplate whom she was regarding with her gaze. Or why none of her friends seemed to notice him.
"Hey, Pippa, come on, or we'll miss Jamie's game!" the russet haired young woman beside her exclaimed as she too turned to look in his direction. But her darker gaze went right through him. Reflexively, his stomach sank at that, despite his many prior attempts to force any sentiment away from his heart. It still stung to be so invisible. But in the very least, She could still see him. Out of all her friends, she knew of his existence, whether she wanted to or not.
"Oh- yeah... I- I'll catch up to you in a bit," flustered and caught out, the brunette girl referred to as Pippa turned to face her group. "Just... uh, go ahead," she added awkwardly.
If it weren't for the sort of mess one irritatingly persistent spirit of Love had gotten the spirit of fear into, Pitch would have spared a chuckle watching the scene in front of him unfold. Instead, he remained silent, as he watched the other female and her two male friends turn away and walk off.
"Umm... hello?" Pippa waved at the raven haired spirit, as she looked back towards him. So far, she seemed fairly normal, except for that one very strange moment where she momentarily seemed to remember that he did in fact exist. "Are you alright?"
Pitch frowned, thrown off by the question. Was he alright? Really, he should be asking her this - he wasn't the one shot through the heart by one of Cupid's arrows! Never mind a new version of it, entirely untested.
"Yes- of course," he blurted out. Hopefully, Cupid wasn't there to watch him fail at social interactions, because he had no bloody clue what else to say to that. Really, it would have been more honest if he'd said "no, you fucking twit, I might have gotten permanently tied to a mortal and this is just ten years after I got beaten by a group of children and a golden, whip-weilding sack of sand- if even that much time had passed - , of course I'm not alright!"... but that didn't seem like a smart response.
There seemed to be genuine concern written over her face, as well as suspicion, when she considered his words. Clearly, he was no longer as talented in the art of deceit as he once had been. "Are you sure...?" Something seemed to encourage her to reach out towards the spirit, as her hand, outstretched, almost touched his own. What likely possessed her to do so frightened him, and thus Pitch backed away, shrinking back into the shadows. As the human before him blinked a couple times in bewilderment, he took the chance and vanished, disappearing in the shadows.
He reappeared, just metres away from the scene, having been unable to travel any further, drained of the necessary energy to travel longer distances. He had the Guardians to thank for that. Not to mention the person he had just left behind.
Pippa.
One of the last of the handful of Burgess kids that stood up against him during the Nightmare war. The first to see him after nearly a decade of staying away from the children.
She'd grown since then - they all had. Just like the rest of them, she too had forgotten all about him. He wondered if they had moved on from their faith in the likes of Jack Frost, Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, but he knew he was not quite so fortunate. Even if it went against the rules of Guardianhood, they would want to keep that one group of believers for as long as possible. He doubted even the Man in the Moon would have something against it.
It did play right into that man's own conniving schemes.
He smirked faintly then, realising what this could have meant.
Potentially, Cupid had just dealt him a very good card. Quite possibly, this mortal could be of good use to him. He just needed to play his cards right... and act as though he were no one of any significance until it was much too late for the opposition to find out. He just needed to allow the seeded sentiment within his card's heart to grow a little more, and to blossom when the time was right. It was unlikely that this plan could backfire on him. Worst case scenario, he would be found out prematurely, but assuming the arrow had worked, he could still gain some sort of revenge in the form of stealing away one of the Guardians' child soldiers from them. It was not as though he could feel such a silly sentiment such as was love.
A/N: The title is a work in progress.
Well, to be fair, this whole thing is a work in progress. It just kinda'... popped up out of nowhere. And now it doesn't want to leave.