The next chapter is posted! Enjoy :)
Eve let's out a sigh, as she continues looking out the window with a bored expression. She can barely see through the thick sheet of snow coming down. According to the weather channel, it was just the start. Unfortunately, they were in for one hell of a winter storm. That was January for you though, which is when they seem to get hit the most.
Even though coastal towns don't usually get it as bad is the northeastern parts or further inland with the snowstorms, it doesn't mean they don't get anything at all. Yet, with this storm slowly coming through, the weatherman said to expect between 8-11in. of snow.
January almost always seems to be a bleak month at least when you live here. That's why Eve usually considers herself lucky that her job sometimes brings her to different parts of the world. Last winter, she spent most of those cold months down in Maui studying and capturing footage of Hawaiian Monk Seals and the predatory habits of tiger sharks.
It was also a nice place to spend your birthday. Speaking of which it was only about a couple days away, on January 18th. Though she's unsure of how to spend it this year. Since she was spending it home this time around. With their work so far, they were going to be in Nantucket for a long while. Last she spoke with the institute and her colleagues; they weren't set to go anywhere until late June. And they were going to Japan.
"You seem like you're having quite the time over there." Frieza said.
Eve turns her attention from the window to him over on the couch.
"Yeah, it's a blast being snowed in. I'm missing work already." She says, sarcastically.
She was situated on a recliner chair across from the left side of the couch. Eve also had the t.v. on with the volume somewhat low. She was spending some time at home at the moment. After New Year's, work became a bit slow. Most of it had to do with the weather while some of it had to do with there not being marine animals out and about at this time. Plus, she wasn't feeling up to getting into the ice-cold water anytime soon either. And it has gotten even more colder than the previous month.
So, since a couple days before New Year's, Eve has been mostly home. Something she thought would drive her crazy. But then she remembered she wasn't alone this time; she still had her alien houseguest keeping her company. And even though he hasn't said it out loud, Frieza seems to be preferring her company then being alone.
Some of their conversations were still albeit rather awkward. In hindsight though, he came a long way with his learning how to read in the English language. Turned out to be quite a simple language when you put the words together on paper. When he felt he understood enough, he started to read some of her books little by little. He even started reading the book she got him for Christmas.
He was also learning a little more about her reality each day as well. When New Year's came around, he didn't fully understand it at first. Until Eve explained to him the concept. That it was in celebration of a new year. But that wasn't what shocked him, it was when she told him what year it was. She almost laughed at the surprised expression on his face when she told him it was now the year 2022.
"Your joking, right?" He said, in a deadpan voice.
"No, I'm being dead serious. You don't believe me, then watch the ball drop with me tonight." Eve replied, with some laughter in her voice.
Still unsure if she was pulling his chain, he did watch with her. And when he saw the numbers light up when it hit the bottom, he knew it was indeed true. It certainly was strange seeing quadruple digits instead of the triple digit years he was used to. Still, it was a rather pleasant night and they managed to get through it without any arguments.
"Winter is just a slow and boring period for me." Eve said with a stretch.
"Don't fancy the cold much do you?" He inquires.
"No, not really. Not much to do." She replied.
Though there was much more to it then she let on. Something tells him there is more she isn't saying too. He can tell, she may mask her emotions at times quite well. But the tyrant was still good at reading others. Frieza can't help but feel Eve was rather secretive when it came to her personal life. Sure, she talks about work and her colleagues/best friends, including some likes and dislikes. That's where it all stops though.
"Is that all there is to it?" He asks.
"Pretty much. Anyways, I'm getting hungry. So, I'm going to go make some lunch." She says, while standing up from her seat.
Eve makes her way to the kitchen, but pauses at the entrance, and looks over her shoulder.
"Feel free to come and help if you want. That way you can move a little more about." She added.
Frieza sat there for a few moments, before he made his decision. He leaned over and grabbed his crutches. He got up with a slight grunt. 'Gods, I can't wait until I don't have to use these infernal things anymore'. The tyrant certainly found them annoying and a tad uncomfortable. But he couldn't stand sitting about all day long. At least he was still getting better each day.
He entered the kitchen and spotted her by the sink. Eve was washing something under the faucet. When he drew closer, he noticed it was a head of Romaine lettuce. She gave it a thorough washing before switching it off. Then she handed it off to him and asked him to rip off pieces.
There wasn't much talking between them as they made lunch. Just chatted about a couple different topics. At least they were still being civil with each other. Despite a few slip ups every now and then. Eve gave him an earful the other morning when he walked into her bedroom without knocking as she was changing. The tyrant caught her with her bra off and received a pillow chucked at his face along with a few colorful words.
The door swung both ways though, when Eve unknowingly walked into the bathroom while he was in the middle of taking a piss. Her eyes widened to epic proportions, and she quickly turned away, but not without getting an eyesore of something she should've never seen. Though it was a little surprising how much it closely resembled a human man's privates.
Then it was his turn to ream her out for walking in on him. Of course, her defense was he didn't close the door all the way and lock it. Frieza gave her dirty looks for quite some time that day afterwards. And she couldn't look at him straight for a while after that. And that was just a couple of their mishaps.
While he was in his room one afternoon, he heard some strange music starting to play in the other room. Curious, Frieza got up and left the room. What he walked in on was quite amusing. Eve was vacuuming the living room while dancing about 'badly' to the music she had playing on her Bluetooth speaker. He leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed with an amused look on his face watching her dance about. But lost it and started laughing when she did a quick turn, and her ankle got a little tangled up in the cord and she fell over.
Eve was so embarrassed when that happened. And she could hear his laughter over the vacuum in the background. When he got his laughter under control, Frieza wiped a fake tear from the corner of his eye and teased her by saying he thinks she missed a spot. Still embarrassed, she got annoyed and threatened to hide his crutches.
To say it was never a dull moment while they were both occupying the house was understatement of the year.
2 days later, Eve's Birthday...
She woke up that morning as usual, turned off her white noise machine and checked the time. It was 9:03am. Eve got up and pushed back the curtains before rolling up the shades. She squinted and covered her eyes slightly to adjust to the brightness. The sun was out and reflecting off the white snow making everything appear brighter. At least it looked like it was going to be a bright sunny day today.
Eve entered the hallway and found it to be rather quiet. She also noticed Frieza's door was still closed. It was usually open when he wasn't occupying it and closed when he was in there. Out of curiosity, she quietly and slowly opened his door and peaked in and was surprised to still see him fast asleep in bed. Weird, he was usually always up before her in the morning. Must've had some night last night.
An idea flickered through her mind and a grin slowly crept up on her face. Eve quietly retreated and went back to her room. She went into her closet and pulled something off the top shelf. 'Time for a little payback.' She thought. Her smirk widened as she left her room again and headed back to his.
Eve opened his door some more, it barely made noise as it brushed against the soft carpet as she let herself in. She quietly made her way to the end of his bed. She lifted her right arm and held it out in front of her and used her other hand to plug one of her ears. Then she pushed the button.
A loud piercing noise filled the room. And the tyrant jolted, rolling in his spot before shooting up into a sitting position with a startled look on his face. Only to see Eve at the foot of his bed clutching her stomach with one hand as she laughed her ass off while holding an airhorn in her other hand. He glared at her for waking him up like that.
"What on Earth did you do that for, woman?" He snapped.
"Just for all the times you laughed at my misfortunes and for walking in on me." She said, between chuckles.
"Are you kidding me right now? You picked now of all times to be vindictive?" Frieza quipped.
"Yep, while were you still asleep anyway? You don't usually sleep in this late." Eve stated.
He ran a hand down his face, "I had a bit of a rough night. Was quite restless."
When he said this, she started to feel bad for waking him like that. Guess she will have to make up for it by making his favorite this morning.
"Shit sorry, I'll make up for the wakeup call. I'll make you a western omelet with extra bacon." Eve replied, while rubbing the back of her head.
Frieza sighs, "It's fine. Just don't do it again. I nearly rolled off the bed. And I doubt that will do my broken leg any good."
Eve winces at that and apologized again. Though she doubts he would've made it that far. Seeing as he slept in the middle of the bed and not on one of the sides. The silence was broken yet again when she heard her phone ringing back in her room right across the hall. She ran back to answer it and accidently hit the speaker button on her phone when she answered it.
"Hey Lina." Eve said, as her friend's Caller I.D. lit up the screen.
"Hey, good morning, Birthday Girl! We still good for tonight?" Lina asks.
"Hell yeah we are. The whole gang still going?" Eve asked.
"Yep, and don't go all alcohol free on us either. We're totally getting you trashed." Lina replied.
Eve rolls her eyes, "Yeah ok, have fun with that. Same time same place?"
"Of course. Don't be late, don't want to miss happy hour or should I say hours." Lina joked.
"Goodbye, Lina." Eve draws out as she hangs up.
"Well." Frieza said from her doorway, making her jump.
She turned around to face him.
"You never mentioned anything about an upcoming birthday. Can't stand the fact that you're getting older is it?" He teased.
Eve arches a dark brow, "Probably not as old as you Sherlock."
She starts making her bed. Frieza stays where he's at leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
"What did they mean about getting 'trashed'? They plan on dumping garbage on you in part of celebrating?" Frieza joked.
She started chuckling again.
"You really need to brush up on slang, Frieza. 'Trashed' is just another word for drunk. Something I don't plan on doing despite what my friends say." Eve stated.
He shrugs, "Too bad, it ought to be amusing if you did."
"Yeah, I'm sure you get quite a kick out of it." Eve sarcastically replies.
"Yes, I would." Frieza says.
"Too bad you won't. Now out. I need to get ready for the day. Have a couple errands to run this afternoon before I go tonight." She tells him.
"In the meantime, I'll be sure to spend the morning before then driving you crazy." He retorted.
She snorts, "Have fun with that."
After Eve finishes making her bed, she glances over at him and makes a hand gesture signaling for him to skedaddle. He shakes his head then grabs his crutches to leave. When he does, she closes her door and gathers up her clothes for the day. She heads for the door but pauses halfway.
'What am I doing? I feel like I'm getting a little too comfortable around him when I shouldn't be. And nothing good ever comes from letting someone like that in.' She thought.
But she doesn't dwell on it for very long. She has a pretty busy day ahead of her after all and she does need to get ready. Eve leaves her room and makes a b-line for the bathroom. While Frieza finds himself out on the couch. He too appears deep in thought. Frieza doesn't dwell on his thoughts for very long and reaches over to pick up a book on the end table and starts to read.
Things will get interesting next chapter. Which will briefly feature her time out with her friends and then later, an interesting evening with Frieza. Until Next Time ;)