Chapter 5: Inching Closer

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any - Alice Walker

"MARVOLO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Be quiet! BE QUIET! YOU! Drive! Take the right turn after a mile, into the forest! Drive I said, drive, or else I'll kill her right here on the spot! Would that be your version of a perfect Christmas present?"

Joelle smiled softly and bent to Tom's level, gently rubbing his shoulder. She frowned upon the feeling of his cold skin when she brushed it - and instantly draped her blanket around him as he blinked his eyes open.

"Good morning you crazy thing." Smiled

Joelle. Tom looked at her, then to the blanket; she rubbed up and down his shoulders.

"You're all cold, Marvolo. You should've at least brought your blanket when you sneaked in. That's not good for your health." She scolded him softly but Tom knew that she only meant well.

"You talk in your sleep." Said Tom then. Joelle frowned but sat down on the couch, looking at him in concentration.

"I did?"

Tom nodded.

"And...what did I say?" Joelle asked carefully. Tom glanced at her for a few seconds.

"You said 'stop, or else I'll tell them'. That's at least all I could hear." He said. Joelle looked out of the window, sighing a bit, but she smiled and got up, stretching a little.

"Where are you going? It's Sunday" Tom said, sitting upright. "You're not leaving again, are you?"

Joelle shook her head. "No, quite in fact, I'll stay here for a while. So...if you planned on getting rid of me anytime soon, you'll lose." She winked, then chuckled when Tom huffed and turned around, but jumped up as soon as Joelle started walking downstairs. He joined her preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

"Hey, when is your birthday, Marvolo?" She then asked. Tom glanced up to her.

"Soon." He smirked, putting down the plates.

"Ah come on. When?" She asked.

"Tell me yours first." Said Tom.

"First of October." Smiled Joelle. Tom nodded. "Mine is New Year's Eve."

"Now that's a nice day to be born." Smiled Joelle.

"Why?"

"Well, it's like everyone is having a big party just for you." She snickered and started cutting some apples, but Tom wrapped his hand around her wrist.

"Remember the rules." He said with his intensive glance - and Joelle frowned, then blinked to the apple and laughed.

"Ah Marvolo, come on, apples are healthy and-"

"I said no." He murmured grimly, looking up to her with the least bit of amusement he could muster. Joelle chuckled but she shrugged and simply ate the already cut bits of apple herself and Tom let go of her wrist, satisfied.

"Hold on, though." She frowned at him, grinning a little. "That's just a win-win game for you. Where's the advantage of that game for me, hmm?"

Tom looked at her, smirking a slight bit, but he merely walked past her without a comment. Silly girl. The advantage? Nobody gets hurt. He sighed. She still had to learn so much.

"I have a new rule, too." He then said, leaning against the wall, looking to her. Joelle was still so amused about his smug performance that she couldn't listen to him for the first minute because she still laughed, finding everything utterly funny and amusing.

"Listen to me." Tom then said. Joelle glanced at him, chuckling again, then nodded.

"My attention is all yours now." She smiled, flipping the pancakes over.

"You'll sit next to me during mealtimes." Said Tom.

Joelle shrugged. "Didn't I always sit next to you anyway?"

"Hmm." Tom thought. "You're right about that." He mumbled.

"Anything else, boss?" Asked Joelle with an amused expression and a raised eyebrow, her hand to her hip.

"Not yet." Said Tom. "I don't...want to overwhelm you."

"Over-hah." Joelle cackled again, then gasped when she remembered the pancakes and quickly flipped them over. Tom frowned, sniffing the air, but it wasn't anything burnt that caught his attention. He hurried over to the stove quickly, glaring.

"You put apples for them into the pancakes?!" He asked, his eyes even widened. He couldn't believe it. Outrageous!

"You did not mention that it was forbidden." Shrugged Joelle, grinning.

"Oh, are we cheating now, yes?" Asked Tom bitterly, narrowing his eyes. Joelle bent over and laughed again.

"No, I'm not. You didn't mention. Or am I wrong about that?"

"I said don't cut apples for them!" He growled.

"And I didn't. I made pancakes for them with apples inside." Shrugged Joelle.

Tom glared. He was not amused. Did she really think this was funny?

"No wonder that man punched you..." He suddenly spat and Joelle's smile vanished at once, frowning at Tom, looking at him with nothing but naked disenchantment. She turned away from him, stacking the rest of the pancakes on one plate, turned off the stove and walked past him.

"Where are you going!" He barked suddenly, watching her disappearing upstairs. He ran after her, infuriated by now.

"Don't ignore me!" He growled, but she closed the door of Mrs. Cole's office before he could reach it - a clicking sound told him that she locked herself in. Tom panted heavily, his eyes still narrowed, fists clenched, but he swallowed down his anger.

"Marvolo, just leave me alone for a bit. I need some time for myself now." Said Joelle softly. She did not sound angered or all too sad; but still yet, his words left some impact on her, Tom knew it. But she was not the one to decide when he would leave somebody alone - with all her elegance and levelheadedness, it was, by God, not her who decided that.

"Joelle, let me in." Tom then said sweetly, but nothing happened.

"JOELLE!" Tom yelled and knocked against the door with his first. "I'll come in now!" He growled - and the door clicked. Joelle looked completely flabbergasted when he opened the door and walked in as though it had never been locked.

"H-how-"

"You can't run from me, Joelle. It's silly to try." He said softly and sat down on the chair in front of her - her tears seemed to have dried out momentarily upon the disbelief of his behavior. Tom inhaled deeply.

"I did not mean to hurt you." He said. "I shouldn't have said that. I just...felt cheated on."

Joelle looked at him, considering him for a few seconds. Tom has rarely seen this look on her face; she was probably thinking if cute little Tom could ever be so evil as to hurt her intentionally, and indeed, Tom was not disappointed when she smiled again the next moment, even looking ashamed.

"I know you did not mean to hurt me." She sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "But still yet, you have to be careful with what you say. Do you remember when I told you that-"

"Words are probably more powerful than anything else. Of course I remember." Said Tom, sitting down on the couch next to her.

"You're not mad at me anymore, right?" He asked. Joelle looked at him, then chuckled gently.

"No, sweetheart. I'm not." she said, pecking his cheek softly and got up. Tom frowned, his eyes twitched and he huffed, turning his head away with crossed arms, causing Joelle to chuckle again.

"Come on, then, Marvolo. I bet the others are already having a pancake feast down there."

They spent a quiet day. Nothing special happened; Joelle and Tom were glued together all of the time which Bryan Lessing noticed later that afternoon - and had no qualms about expressing his discontent regarding that matter.

"How did you get out of the web of your little friend?" Asked Bryan while helping Joelle with the dishes.

"Who? Marvolo? He's taking a bath." Said Joelle gently, putting away a couple of plates.

"He's a very interesting boy. I wish I had a brother like that." She smiled. "I feel like I'm his big sister."

"I don't necessarily believe he thinks of you like that. He's really focused on you." Said Bryan, raising an eyebrow. "If you don't mind me saying it, I think he developed some sort of crush." He chuckled. Joelle chuckled back, but shook her head.

"Please Bryan, he's still a child."

"So? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know you'd never do something like that!" He shuddered. "No, it's just one of those irrational things, l suppose. I had a huge crush on my teacher when I was a kid. These things come and go. Or did you never fancy someone older than you when you were a kid?"

"Oh yes." Joelle snickered. "Now that you mention it. My neighbor in Bristol, I think I was nine or ten at that time. He must've been twenty already, but he looked so good and he always smiled at me. You're right, though... I grew out of it."

"I don't think Tom-"

"Marvolo."

"Marvolo will grow out of it that easily. If anything, he will grow with it." Said Bryan, putting some cups away.

"What makes you say that?" Joelle asked.

"Surely by now you have noticed that he's a bit...different. And not always in the positive sense of the word." Bryan said. Joelle narrowed her eyes, wanting to argue against it, but her expression softened and she sighed, scrubbing some more plates. Bryan nodded upon her silence.

"See." He murmured. "I mean, sure, he's a child now. But a child will grow older. He might be attached to you now - but what will happen in a few years? It might be all worse."

Joelle shook her head.

"That's silly, Bryan. It's only natural he's a bit clingy. He's never had anybody-"

"He never wanted anybody. He never speaks to the other children, never plays with them - never cared about any other helpers. I mean. I can see why he'd chose you." Said Bryan, walking behind Joelle then as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You're special." He purred.

"Bryan!" Chuckled Joelle, stretching to the left and right as she dried off another plate, giggling slightly at the feeling of his breath on her neck. She stopped wiggling around when his hand reached to her belly, kind of pressing her against him a bit more while Joelle clung to the counter now, glancing over her shoulder to him while biting her bottom lip. Bryan came closer with his head, their lips almost brushed, but Joelle spotted the figure in the doorframe that she was sure of has not been there a second ago. She cleared her throat and Bryan looked round, seeing Tom standing there. He let go of Joelle and grinned a slight bit, winking at her and Joelle chuckled, lashing out at him with the dishtowel - causing Bryan to laugh and quickly walk out of the kitchen.

"Do you want something, Marvolo?" Asked Joelle when Tom still stared, not budging the least. His eyes narrowed, his lips grew thinner and thinner with each second he stared at Bryan's spot, then looked up to her - and with a flick of his red glowing eyes, the glass in Joelle's hand shattered into pieces, cutting her. Joelle hissed in pain, instantly drawing her bleeding hand to the sink, washing the blood off. When she next glanced to the doorframe, Tom was already gone - and did not speak to Joelle for the next couple of days.

It was the 20th of December morning when Mrs. Cole had to break down the sad news that they could not spend the Christmas holidays out of the orphanage like last year, however, she promised twice a better trip for the kids during summertime. Joelle smiled a little when Amy and Dennis squeaked in joy upon those news, seemingly looking forward to it. She handed them each freshly baked rolls, then checked the time and gasped.

"I should be going. Bryan, where-oh." Joelle smiled when Bryan walked down. Joelle reached out to the bag he brought along for her, but he shook his head and threw it over his shoulder. Apparently he did want to try the route of a gentleman.

"We'll be off then Mrs. Cole." He said.

"Yes, dear. See you later, have fun at school." She smiled and turned around. Tom watched them through the window, narrowing his eyes.

"I feel sorry for them. Lucky we don't have school anymore until after Christmas." Said Eric then, snickering.

"Do you think Joelle and Bryan are...dating?" Asked Billy, glancing at Matt O'neil, but the latter just shrugged.

"Dunno, but I've seen them cuddling on Bryan's couch when I passed by his room. He wasn't amused about that, he yelled at me and closed the door loudly." He snickered and Amy gasped dramatically.

"Bryan and Joelle sitting-"

"Stop it, you." Said Mrs. Cole, shaking her head with a slight smile, then she frowned.

"Where did Tom go?" She asked. The other kids merely shrugged. Far away from them seemed to be a good place - where exactly, it did not matter.

Tom walked through the snow, his eyes focused on Joelle and Bryan ahead of them. He was careful enough to go undetected, he found a route to follow and watch them, it wasn't the first time, after all. How exactly they clicked, he could not even understand. Joelle was with him all the time - when exactly did Bryan have the chance to leave that much of a trace on her? Tom growled inwardly. He downright did not want her attention to go anywhere else but him - he thought they were clear on that. Obviously, though, he had to make it clearer.

Bryan and Joelle stopped at the usual road, looking to the left and right. Tom watched how Bryan wrapped his arm around her shoulder securely - he felt his heartbeat increasing drastically, he could almost feel it jumping out of his throat. Tom inhaled deeply as he stood there with his hands in his pocket, watching how they walked across the street - then suddenly backed away. Joelle yelped loudly at the sound of a car starting, lights shining at them, wheels screeching in the snow - Tom was sure it was that man again, and indeed, the same car drove up, he could see an arm reaching out, clasping around Joelle's hand, obviously trying to rip her into the car but Bryan ran up - loud yelling and growling erupted from the scene and stopped when Bryan managed to pull Joelle right away and into his arms, the car drove off furiously.

Tom frowned, he glared after it and knew: this was the right moment to follow. He checked the signs, walked around a house and glanced through the streets of the next passageway - there was the car, stopping in front of a red light. Tom still couldn't see what the man looked like but he saw where he wanted to drive off to; it was into a small town not far away from here. Tom hurried up, running after the car as fast as he could, taking turns, running ahead, taking turns, stopping in a hood that Tom had never walked into. It was one of those fine places that he didn't care about, one of those for rich and wealthy people, one of those that he despised.

The car parked in front of a house - needless to say that it looked so much better than the old shabby orphanage, but for some strange reason, even Tom couldn't help but realize that this house was less inviting. He hid behind a wall, watching how the man now got out of the car - Tom could finally see.

A tall man, pale but healthy looking, with dark blond hair that was treated with enough wax to be as fashionable as all the other male hairstyles these days, carrying a dark coat in his arms as he closed the door of his car. A snarl on his young face let Tom in on the assumption that he was utterly unamused about the fact that he could not pull Joelle into the car. Tom guessed that he was in his early twenties at best, he had to admit that he looked good - and could not understand why somebody like him, living in a place like this, would have to stoop so low as to force a girl to stay with him. Then again, he could slightly understand that he tried to win over Joelle at all costs, she downright wasn't the kind of girl a true man would like to see with another. Tom narrowed his eyes slightly, walking across the street when the man vanished through a door after a older woman let him in.

Tom made sure that he was definitely gone when he looked up. He would find out about his name now, even if it was just the family's name, he didn't care, he could research on it for a while until he knew everything. He carefully sneaked to the door, but what he saw, confused him more than it should have.

"Cole?" He murmured to himself. So was this where Joelle lives? Then why was he here? Did he occasionally visit them? Tom frowned, of course. That wasn't rare for a man to do - it wasn't very unintelligent to cozy up with the parents of the girl of interest. Tom growled lowly, glancing to the left and right, he slowly walked to the car and pulled out something silvery and shiny that he packed from the table earlier this morning. A knife. He stabbed into the car's wheels, watching them sinking to the street with a smirk, then slowly made his way back to the orphanage with a good feeling.

Now Bryan was all he had to take care of.