Chapter Sixteen
Colin
When Colin first arrived in this bizarre time, filled with the strangest people and the oddest fashions and customs, he'd been cast adrift. He'd wanted nothing more than to get away from it all, to wake up from what must be a nightmare. Now the thought of leaving lay heavy upon his heart.
He sat with Pen nestled into his side, a fixed expression on her face as she struggled to manipulate the controller gripped in her hands. Her eyes scarcely blinked, her teeth ground together; he had never seen such intense concentration in all his life.
Eloise, at his other side, was cackling. Her eyes sparkled, her fingers deftly manoeuvring the figure on the screen in front of them.
Her box had a large 5 written in the corner, her tiny odd-looking character zooming past a green-tinted explosion.
Penelope's screen depicted a green-nosed animal on a motorcycle heading in the wrong direction. A blaring 18 shone in the corner.
"It says I'm going backwards—Lacey, help!" Pen cried, slumping back against Colin. "How do I turn around?"
Colin laughed, a low chuckle which rumbled from inside his chest and lightened the clouds which were gathering inside his thoughts. "It's left, I think," he said. "See, if you go—oh."
He grimaced as Penelope's character pitched itself off a cliff. She scoffed, throwing her hands in the air as her figure was lifted back onto the track, facing the correct direction this time.
She grit her teeth and jabbed her fingers into the controller, sending her character zooming directly into a box. Lacey whooped, leaning over to show her what button to press and the character flew forwards. It pelted past 17th. It bashed 16th into a corner and raced directly past a red-shelled explosion.
Penelope leaned forwards, eyes once more focussed on the screen as she regained control. "Go, go, go," she muttered under her breath.
Colin adored her.
Lacey met his eye over Penelope's hunched figure and she grinned. "Don't look so smug, Lord Heart-eyes," she told him. "You're up next."
Colin scoffed. "I cannot imagine it is so difficult. All I have to do is follow the track."
When it was his turn with the controller, his car exploded before he even passed the starting line. It was Penelope's turn to laugh, leaning over to point at all the little buttons he'd suddenly forgotten the meanings of. Jack stuffed a slice of pizza into his face and said something unintelligible, while Ava dominated the game, from where she sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning back against Eloise's knees. Her corner shone with the number 1, and Colin scowled at the screen, scowled at Jack's attempts at distraction.
He was not about to lose.
…
He lost. Miserably. Tossing the controller aside, he declared the entire game was rigged from the start and demanded that everybody bragging (Ava, Eloise, and Jack) should challenge him to a round of fencing. They would see who had mad skills then. The girls had the audacity to laugh at that, as if he weren't even a threat.
He eyed the controller, pursing his lips in insult. He should have discovered this game when he first arrived, and see how good he would be by now. As it was, he was doomed never to excel at it, and he hated how much that thought itched.
Tomorrow, they were to return home. Back to the skills he knew—fencing and cards and court and pall mall. It would not matter that he had no dexterity for these games, and there was no reason for him to want to excel in them.
Still.
He grabbed a slice of pizza just for something to do. He'd already eaten what must be his own body weight in pepperoni by this point, but he could not help but keep reaching for more. It was delicious, and he would never have it again.
Damn everything.
"It is not fair," Eloise complained, as she squinted at Ava's pelting it past the finish line. She looked over at Colin. "The next competition should be one we have practised."
"Like what?" Jack asked, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "You gonna teach us the samba, or whatever dances it is you do?"
"Sure," Colin said around his mouthful. "You want to learn some moves?"
"Dancing?" Eloise groaned.
"Would you rather teach them how to promenade?" Penelope asked, a sharp grin on her face. Damn it, but Colin loved how vicious she could be.
Eloise gestured rudely at Penelope, who stuck her tongue out in response.
"Come on, El," Colin said, dumping the rest of the pizza slice and hauling himself to his feet. He held his hand out for his sister. "I know you're not as bad as you pretend to be. What's your favourite?"
"I hate them all," Eloise declared. "But most especially the waltz."
"The waltz it is," Colin said, bowing to her elaborately. "Jack, Lacey—will you be joining us?"
Jack glanced at Lacey, his boyish grin plastered across his cheeks. "Absolutely," he said, leaping up. "My lady."
"My lord," Lacey giggled.
Penelope grabbed Ava's hand and joined them in the centre of the room. There was certainly not enough space for this, but none of them cared a whit. "First, we curtsey," Penelope said. "Ladies, keep your eyes on the floor. Hold for a count of three. Glance up, and down, and then rise."
Eloise followed Pen's commands, flicking her eyes from the floor to Colin's face, and Colin's jaw fell open at the clear manipulation these women had discovered. Jack whistled. Ava blushed, and Colin couldn't help but stare as Pen blessed Ava with the full force of those blue eyes. How had he never noticed how well Penelope understood all those bizarre unspoken rules of eye contact. He had certainly never heard of such a thing, but the way her eyes flicked upwards as if she could not help herself… It was pure artistry.
Eloise coughed, and Colin looked back at her.
"Oh," he said, trying to fix his thoughts back on track. "Gentlemen, we bow," he said. "Straight-backed. Bring your right foot out in front and bend the back leg, as so." He followed his own instructions and hid a grin as Jack watched him closely, the most bewildered look on his face. "Lower your head, looking to the floor, and bend forwards. A flourish is well-recommended."
He waved a hand at Eloise, who snorted. Jack and Ava across the room copied him, with varying degrees of success.
"And then, we dance." Colin said. "Usually, there's music at this point…"
"Oh!" Lacey broke away from the huddle, grabbing her phone. "What do we want? Something classical?"
"Vivaldi?" Jack suggested. "Or Tchaikovsky? I love Tchaikovsky."
Ava spluttered, spinning away from Penelope to gape at her brother. Colin knew his own expression must be twisted into equal astonishment.
"Tchaikovsky?" Ava demanded. "Since when do you love Tchaikovsky? Since when can you say Tchaikovsky?"
"Since we got tickets!" Jack argued. "Lacey, remember the tickets? Someone had a sledgehammer on stage, Ava. A sledgehammer, as a musical instrument. It was fucking awesome."
Music chimed from the speakers, far too familiar, and Colin straightened. It definitely wasn't the vibe for a waltz, but that didn't matter. He took Eloise's hand and grinned at his sister. "Let's show them how it's done."
It quickly became clear that he should not have eaten so much pizza. His stomach began to churn almost immediately, and they only stumbled through a dance and a half of everyone bumping into each other before they all surrendered back to the sofas and the blank television screen.
Colin couldn't keep from grinning. His face was starting to hurt, but the people in this room: he could not imagine a more splendid gathering in all the world. He was not ready for the day to end. "We could play cards?" he suggested.
Jack made a sudden exclamation. "No," he said. "I have the perfect game." Then he leapt from his chair and vanished into the other room. Lacey frowned after him, and then a bleak realisation came across her face.
Her face fell into her hands. "Oh no."
"What—no, Jack." Ava groaned as well, as Jack re-entered the room with a brightly-coloured box in his hands, stuffed with what looked like sweets.
"You have to guess the flavour," Jack announced, looking around at them all with an awful grin. "And if you don't eat the whole thing, there's a forfeit."
"What's the forfeit?" Ava's voice was defeated. Colin shifted, so Penelope could squeeze closer to him on the sofa. He felt warm inside, and quite ready for a challenge.
"The loser must answer a question," Colin said. "Any question put to them by the other people in the room. And they must answer honestly."
"Deal," Jack said, offering the box first to Colin. "Do you feel lucky, Mister Bridgerton?"
Penelope pressed against his side. Colin was the luckiest man in the entire world. He grabbed one of the sweets and bit down hard—and almost choked. His mouth fell open and he gulped at the air, well aware he must look quite vile. "What the fuck is that?" he demanded.
"Guess the flavour," Jack said with the most horrendous smile on his face.
"It tastes like rancid meat," Colin declared with a grimace.
"Are you going to forfeit?" Jack asked, leaning forwards with sparkling eyes.
Colin glared at him. He had grown up with Anthony and Benedict as his elder brothers. He knew a challenge when he saw one, and he did not fail lightly. He chewed once, twice, thrice, and swallowed.
Jack lifted the box in salute. "Keep your secrets, then," he said. "Lacey, my love?"
Lacey glared at him, plucked a green sweet from the top and chewed with determination. "Apples," she announced.
Colin gaped. "That is cheating," he said.
"Nope," Jack said, popping the 'p'. "That's beanboozled. Ava, my favourite sister?"
Ava took one bite, spat her sweet into a mug and grabbed a glass of water, her face twisted with pure revulsion. "Fucking rotten eggs."
"Pity." Jack grinned at her. "Leave the room. Three minutes. Then we ask you anything."
She stuck her tongue out at him, taking the water with her when she went. It was a good idea; Colin's mouth still tasted rancid.
"Questions?" Jack said, looking around at the room at large.
Pen leaned forwards on her elbows. "Her first kiss?"
"James Panderson," Jack said, waving a hand. "They were five. Boring. I want to know her favourite thing about me."
"How about her favourite thing about each of us?" Colin suggested. "Does that count as one question?"
Penelope nudged him, grinning. "Good idea."
"Ava palava!" Jack calls. "Come back, we want compliments!"
Ava flushed deep red when they asked their question, and her eyes flicked to Eloise before returning to her brother. She scowled.
"Now, be genuine," Jack said brightly. "It has to be the truth."
"Fuck you," Ava said, leaning into the doorway with a scowl. "You're so damned considerate, okay? I always know I can call you when shit goes sideways. Where's my wine?"
She took a large gulp—she must have found a glass in the kitchen when she left the room. She waved the glass at Lacey. "Lace, you know I love you. You have terrible taste in men, but my favourite thing about you is that your outfits are always fire. You dress like a queen, and I always feel like a slob next to you."
She groaned and turned to the rest of them. Something soft settled into her eyes, and she set her jaw against it. "Pen—you are a supreme badass and I love how you constantly put Lord Heart-eyes, Mister Colin Bridgerton, in his place." She winked at him, and Colin's chest felt too tight. "Colin, I love how you secretly adore that she does that. You're such a sap for her, and you give me hope for all men in this world."
She hesitated, eyes flicking to Eloise. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Eloise's cheeks pinked, and Colin glanced away, leaning into Pen with his heart aching.
"El," Ava said, almost on a whisper. "You're so fucking pretty, but my favourite part about you is your brilliant mind. It's incredible, and I love it, and—" her voice cracked. "I'm gonna miss you so much. All three of you. It's so fucked that we can't come visit, or even see you ever again, and this was supposed to be a fun game, Jack, why are you making me fucking cry?"
She pressed her face into her hands and Eloise jumped up, tears running down her own cheeks. She wrapped Ava in her arms, and Jack went after her, followed by Lacey. Colin looked at Pen, and then the two of them joined the mess of limbs in the most chaotic hug Colin had ever been a part of, and his own eyes pricked with tears as he breathed in the mess of people he cared for so much, and who he must soon leave behind forever.
Eloise
Eloise did not want to go to bed. Her eyelids were heavy and her limbs felt like lead, but she could not for the life of her find the will to move from the living room floor. It seemed everyone else had the same feeling because nobody had moved in a while now. She dragged her head to the side, every movement slowed by the weight of her head and the weakness of her neck.
Ava sat against the wall, her head lolling back, her eyes fluttering open and closed. She'd pulled one knee close to her chest, and had an arm loosely wrapped around it, fingers tangled in the fabric of her trousers.
"Okay," Jack said into the quiet, a slight slur to his words—Eloise did not know if it was from the alcohol or the late night. "If you had the power to turn into any animal…"
Ava groaned, her head slumping forwards to her forehead hit her knee. "Are you serious?" she whined. "You ask me that on like a monthly basis, and I'm sticking with whale no matter what you say."
"Whale?" Eloise managed to find the energy to prop herself up on her elbows. "The massive sea creature?"
"Absolutely," Ava said, opening her eyes with what looked like a huge effort. Her lip quirked as she met Eloise's gaze. "The ocean is fucking insane. If I were a whale, I wouldn't be scared to go anywhere in those creepy-ass waters. I'd be the king of the oceans."
"I'd be an albatross," Colin piped up from the tangle of limbs on the sofa. Eloise wasn't sure where he ended and Jack began. Penelope had curled up on the edge of them, legs tucked in, head pressed to the arm of the sofa, eyes closed.
Eloise had thought her asleep, but her lips moved. "Right now, I want to be a sloth," she muttered. "No rush for anything, just hanging there and watching."
"Albatrosses can watch things," Colin argued. "And they can fly!"
"Watch what?" Eloise demanded. "The surface of the sea?"
Ava chuckled. "See, El gets it. The surface is boring, the interesting stuff is down deep, where there's no light except from the freaky luminescent fish with creepy bug-eyes and electric skin."
Jack's expression was twisted into such disgust, Eloise couldn't help but laugh.
"You know what I would be?" Eloise asked. "I would be an eagle. That way, I can fly and there are interesting things to look at."
"Like voles," Jack said with a nod. "Yep."
"Is Lacey asleep?" Colin asked, failing to look through Jack. "What time is it?"
"I'm awake," Lacey groaned. "I just refuse to engage with this ridiculous conversation when everyone knows the best animal to be is a cat. Lots of treats; you get to sleep all day or wander the neighbourhood… and you can do awesome acrobatics. Also it's… half two."
Eloise let herself fall back against the floor. They should definitely be going to bed.
Nobody moved.
"Okay," Jack said. "If you had to choose a superpower—?"
"Nope. I'm going to bed," Ava announced, shoving herself away from the wall and crawling to her feet. "Coming, El?"
"Most definitely," Eloise agreed, as Jack scoffed at them all.
"Col?"
"Right now, I wish I had the ability to teleport," Colin mumbled into the sofa. Then he groaned and dragged himself to his feet. "Pen?"
"I was going to say I wish I had the ability to time travel," Jack said with a pout. "It was going to be all touching."
Colin ruffled his hair. "We are all very touched," he promised.
Eloise staggered into Ava, wrapping her arm around her waist (not thinking about how many times she had left to do so) and leaning into her side. They left the living room together as some strange, many-limbed hybrid creature, staggering and stumbling into the walls in a haze of late-night exhaustion.
"Ava?" Eloise said, as they both collapsed together on top of the covers, fully-clothed.
Ava tugged off a sock and threw it into a corner of the room. Then she turned her attention to Eloise, sleepy eyes focussed as they could be. "Hm?"
Eloise rolled forwards and pressed a kiss to Ava's lips, tasting the cherry lip gloss Ava so enjoyed, and relishing the pulse which filled her chest whenever she did so. "Thank you."
"Didn't do anything," Ava said, giving up on her second sock and tugging her shirt off before curling into Eloise's side, pressing her nose into the Eloise's throat.
Eloise hummed, a balloon seemingly inflating inside her chest at the now-familiar sensation (she didn't think about how many times she would feel that again. Was it down to single figures?). She drew Ava in to her side, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo and ignoring the voice in the back of her mind which reminded her this was their last night together.
It was of no consequence.
They had now. Eloise closed her eyes, trying to fix this moment into her memory forever, the coconut of Ava's shampoo mingling with the familiar spice of her, the smell which clung to everything Ava wore. She traced her fingers over the skin of Ava's arm, watching goosebumps rise where her touch went.
She felt Ava fall asleep, slowly and then suddenly, jerking all at once before falling still and relaxing her breathing. Eloise fought against joining her for as long as she could, carding her fingers through Ava's hair, breathing in Ava's scent, and relishing the feel of Ava's limbs tangled with hers. Even after her arm went numb, Eloise did not dare to move. She just breathed in and out with the girl in her arms and she promised herself she would never, ever forget right now.
Then she fell asleep, and now became then. Today became once upon a time. And when she woke, Ava was no longer in her arms.