Today was young into the morning, but the sky was overcast with heavy, dark
clouds. Though it wasn't raining, the sky was threatening a downpour. A
steady, cool breeze was blowing through the trees, causing the students at
Rosencrantz to shiver slightly as they walked through their day.
Punctuality was a trait that Faithe regarded highly, and very rarely was she ever late for anything. This morning she had been awaken by the soft hooting of her mother's brown Tawny owl, Rooney. Faithe had always thought her parents insane for naming their owls after famous muggle thespians - Rooney being named after Mickey Rooney. The second she had seen the animated bird with a letter tied to her leg, she groaned and rolled over.
Her parents and her had continued the same argument for the past month, ever since her last year at Rosencrantz began. If she had to explain to her parents one more time why she had a desire and a passion to go into astronomy, as opposed to theater, she was going to scream. Theater was fine for her parents, Jake, and the rest of her family, but it wasn't for Faithe. Sure, she had the talent. She had a beautiful, strong voice, and had taken every type of dance offered since she was four. Faithe had been told time and time again that she had an amazing stage presence, and the audiences loved her. However, talent without passion was nothing. Certainly nothing to spend the rest of her life doing.
Sighing, she finally turned over at Rooney's incessant pecking on her arm. Untying the letter, she opened the drawer to her nightstand and pulled out a small owl treat. Feeding it Rooney, she sat up in bed, a foreboding expression in her face. Setting it down, she got dressed in her khaki's and Athena shirt. After brushed her hair and teeth, she slipped on her shoes and headed out, the letter in her pocket.
Checking her watch, she had twenty minutes before class started. Sitting down on a bench in the courtyard, she looked above her as she tore the envelope open. Feeling no immediate threat of rain, her dark eyes swept through the letter. Her jaw clenching at the words written on the page, Faithe stared at the ground. Forgetting class, she grabbed her bag and headed off for the comfort of solitude that could only be found in her star gazing spot.
*****
Getting completely lost in herself, Faithe finally checked her watch. Class had started a good half hour ago. Silently reprimanding herself, she stood up and tucked the letter in her bag. Walking towards the school with a tear streaked face and red eyes, she wiped her cheeks with her hands. As she reached the building the Astronomy class was located in, a few small drops off water had begun to fall, but the rain was still holding off. With her Astronomy book in her hand, she walked into the ancient building.
Taking a deep breath, she ran the palms of her hands over her cheeks to make sure there were no signs of her crying, though her eyes were still red. Checking her watch, she wanted to kill herself - there was fifteen minutes left of class. Shaking her head, she opened the door and walked in, avoiding Orlando's eye.
Walking by him rather quickly, she sat her bag down pretty harshly on the ground and sat down in her desk. Her jaw still clenched, she kept one arm on top of her book, running her index finger along the top of the cover. Keeping her eyes on the cover, Faithe couldn't bring herself to look towards Orlando.
"And, when all hope was lost to the beautiful Andromeda, the girl's eyes caught sight of a distant figure in the sky: Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae, who was returning from slaying Medusa. He saved the girl, and, for his bravery, Cepheus awarded him Andromeda's hand in marriage."
It was one evident that this was one his most favorite of the constellation stories by the way Orlando's face lit up as he recounted the tale of the chained maiden.
"When the couple died, they were honored with places in the sky. Cetus, the sea-monster, was there waiting for them and forever chases Andromeda around the sky, but Perseus continues to guard her well."
In spite of his enthusiasm and captivation by the story, the class still didn't seem to be affected in the slightest; this was reflected by their vacant stares.
Sighing to himself, the man's eyes casually flitted to the empty window seat to his left, wishing that Faithe was there. She would appreciate the story. Flitting his eyes towards the clock, he noted that there was only fifteen minutes of class left. Where was she? Just as the man was about to begin truly worrying about the young woman, she entered.
Although she tried, her evasion of his gaze couldn't prevent his eyes from following her as she marched through the door and sat down. She radiated an air of frustration and such-something Orlando had never associated in the slightest with her. Had there not been seventeen other people in the room, he would have run over and taken the girl in his arms. Looking around, he decided that it would most certainly be best if the seventeen other people weren't there.
"Alright," he said quickly, clearing his throat, "For tomorrow, please research the constellation of your choice and write-up its myth of origin. At least three feet, please. Because this is such a big project, you're dismissed as of now to get a head start."
Waiting just long enough for the last student to run out of the room, Orlando nearly bolted for Faithe. Kneeling by the girl's desk, he wrapped an arm around her back and, drawing her face into his shoulder gently, kissed the top of her head softly.
"Talk to me," he said quietly, voice supersaturated ((I am such a chemistry geek)) with concern.
Faithe had jotted down the assignment quickly, wanting to make a quick exit from the room. Just as she had closed her notebook, Orlando was by her side. She had been keeping her emotions down since she had entered the classroom, but the second she felt his arm around her, she closed her eyes. Though the position was rather awkward, Faithe buried her face in his shoulder. Trying her hardest to keep her feelings inside of her, her tears betrayed her and began cascading down her face.
She felt foolish for bawling her eyes out in front of him, but at the same time, his being there brought her so much comfort. Pulling back from him, she shook her head slightly, burying her face in her hands. Everything would seem to childish to him. It didn't matter. Faithe was upset with herself for getting this hysterical about the matter.
Forcing herself to stop crying, she took a few deep breaths before finally looking at him. "It's not important." The words seemed silly, even to her. People did not bawl their eyes out for matters of unimportance. "What did I miss?" Not like it mattered. Everything she had spent doing all these years had amounted to nothing of importance.
Her front wasn't working, and that was something Faithe was not used to happening. Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she spoke, so she bit it lightly to keep it from moving. Breaking her eye contact with him, she stared at the ground silently.
As she followed his lead, burying her face in his shoulder, and he felt warm tears begin to moisten his shirtsleeve, Orlando held the girl tighter- closer to himself. Stroking her hair calmingly, his other arm, the one wrapped around her back, rose and fell with each heaving breath the girl took in an effort to clam herself. He let up, watching with utmost concern as she lifted her tear-stained face towards him and blew off whatever was bothering her as though it was nothing.
She was trying to be strong and, although he admired that about her, he didn't think that this particular thing was something she should have to cloak with a façade, especially not from him. Watching her note the fact that her pretense didn't fool him, he looked on as her eyes left his and started at the ground, as though there was something intriguing there.
Running his hand down her cheek, he took her face in his hand and gently raised it back up to his own. Brilliant blue eyes gazed into hers for a moment, sharing with her the feeling that words couldn't begin to portray.
"You missed my rendition of the chained maiden's myth, which put the rest of your classmates to sleep," he replied with a slightly joking undertone to his voice. "And that assignment," he added, "isn't something you should waste your time on, Faithe. I only assigned it to get the rest of the class out of here.
"Alright, I answered your question. It's your turn, now."
Orlando's characteristic boyish grin flashed on his face for an instant before being replaced by a look of unmistakably sincere concern.
"What's wrong, Faithe? Don't tell me that you're fine or that it's not important. You've never been less than three minutes early to every class this year, and, today, you barely made the last fifteen minutes.
"Your eyes are flooded, and your face is streaked with tears."
His voice quieted itself, as though it was somehow painful for him to see her in such a state.
"Please," he entreated, letting his hand slide down her neck and along her arm, eventually ending up holding her hand, "tell me what's wrong. so I can make it right."
Lively green eyes jumped over to the clock. Class would've been over by now. Thank Goodness. She turned off the stereo, which had been playing fast- paced dance music, and sat down to stretch. For the simple reason that Astronomy didn't seem at all interesting, she had skipped class--legally. Since early this morning, Ivy had been working on a new dance routine for the cheerleaders, supposedly. Heh. Instead, she slept in and hanged out with a few friends. Though, to her credit, she had worked on dance--a little bit.
She was clad in a pair of short, white, cotton shorts with the waistband rolled up to make them even shorter and a Discordia blue tank top. She grabbed a black sweatshirt that zipped up the front and slid it on. All of these articles of clothing were name-brand, mind you. Physical appearances were very important to Ivy. After all, wasn't that the first thing people see when they meet you?
Ivy snatched up her excuse note from Ms. Mullett explaining her absence and pocketed it. Saucony Cheer shoes padded their way out of the empty recreation room as Ivy strolled towards the Astronomy class. Like always, she'd pick up the work, copy off one of the Athena cheerleaders (who really shouldn't have been on the squad anyway) and turn it in when she felt like it. Ivy had always done that. And she had never had a problem.
Approaching the classroom, she stopped to pick up a ring that someone had dropped on the floor.
quote:
"Please," he entreated, letting his hand slide down her neck and along her arm, eventually ending up holding her hand, "tell me what's wrong. so I can make it right."
An eyebrow quirked as she listened. Was this some sort of Iris play practice? Soap-opera auditions? No, no...that was the voice of the teacher. What?! Rolling her eyes, she stood up back leisurely and crept to the doorway, pausing there silently. She stayed out of the range of vision, listening.
Ah, the wonderful tale of Andromeda and Perseus. That story had always intrigued her, and the images of Medusa that had filled her head when she was younger had once given her nightmares. When she had started to get older and mature, she always imagined herself as the heroin being rescued by her dream prince. However, life was not a stage, and fairy tales did not come true.
She closed her eyes at the feel of his hand on her face, feeling the warm familiarity of his hand enclosing around her own. As she found herself looking into his eyes once more, hot tears stung her eyes. For the first time in her life, Faithe wasn't pulling away and drawing her emotions up inside of her. Shaking her head, she squeezed his hand before standing up. Pacing back and forth, she crossed her arms over her chest and kept her gaze on the floor.
"There isn't anything you can do Orlando," speaking softly, Faithe's voice came out shaky as she stopped pacing. Staring at him, she bit her bottom lip. "I got a letter from my parents this morning." Taking a deep breath, she sat on top of one of the desks, her gaze staring hypnotically at the ground once more. "They have given me three days to give them word about what I'm doing after school; whether I'm going into theater, or I'm going where I want to and follow through with Astronomy. They pretty much told me that if I don't stay with theater, they'll pretty much disown me. Financially I will have nothing, and, let's face it, I can't do that right out of school. I don't have much choice." Sighing, she stood up and walked to the window, placing both hands on the windowsill.
"I know there are worse problems in the world, but..." Faithe's voice trailed off quietly as she stared up at the sky. "Everything I have been working for these last seven years has accounted for nothing. It means nothing to them, it never has and it certainly never will." Lowering her head, she stared at the ground below her, watching students walking through the courtyard laughing and smiling. "I was stupid for dwelling on a dream I knew deep down could never happen."
Still kneeling next to Faithe's desk, Orlando watched in silence as she began pacing, eyes following her as she crossed back and forth across the room. Being told there wasn't anything he could do, the man quickly replied "yeah, there is", although his idealism soon faded when she continued; each word was like another piece of salt being rubbed in an open wound.
Inquisitively inclining his head, he remained silent, listening intently as she kept talking, explaining the dire predicament to him, a predicament that stuck a little too close to home for Orlando. His parents, as well, hadn't exactly been gung-ho about his own career choice. After Rosencrantz, he had gone off to a small two-year astronomy academy in Maine on his own accord, and, from there, returned to Rosencrantz and was hired. Of course, it was different for him. He had always been on his own, but Faithe hadn't had that luxury. if one could call it that.
Rising from his place on the ground, he slowly wandered over to where Faithe stood and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. His head peeked over her shoulder, and he followed her gaze down towards the bustling crowd below; the horde of chattering students thronged over the school grounds like a swarm of bees.
"Hey, now," he said quietly, turning her around in his arms so they faced each other. "Dwelling on a dream is the only thing that'll make it come true. If you just give up on it, there's no chance of making it reality.
"And, yeah, there are worse problems in the world," he added, looking downward at the girl with a small smile crossing his lips, "But, honestly, Faithe, if you had come in here crying about the starving children in India or the destruction of the Amazon rainforest." The man trailed off into a quiet laugh and shook his head.
A moment of silence ensued then; he didn't know what to say. Maybe she was right, maybe there wasn't anything he could do. Still, he closed his eyes and tried to think of something- anything- that could ease her pain just a little bit. Gnawing on his tongue, several ideas popped into his head, the most outrageous being marriage. He could support her; he'd ask her to marry him right then and there. [I]Yeah, right.[/I] Not only was it completely impractical-he barely made enough money to support himself-- but Orlando didn't exactly want something that serious or intense in a relationship. at least not at the moment. Not to mention the fact that, if it sounded that crazy in his head, it would be more than laughable in reality.
"I don't know what to tell you, Faithe," the man confessed quietly. His voice had an apologetic air to it, as though he was apologizing for being a failure. "You've got three days though, right? We'll think of something, I promise."
Faithe shook her head, closing her eyes to prevent the threatening tears from betraying her. Resting her hands on his chest when he turned her around, her dark brown eyes met his brilliant blue eyes. He looked so strong and in control, and Faithe only wished that he were in control of this. Things would not be so messed up if he were.
"Three days or three hundred, it doesn't matter. I don't have much of a choice." Reaching up, she laid her hand gently on his cheek, fighting back the urge to bawl her eyes out again. He didn't deserve all this emotion; he hadn't asked for it, nor did he need it. The thought of being at the other end of the country from her was probably what was upsetting her the most at this moment. Had she been thinking rationally, she was sure that she could easily come up with a way to overcome this. "The least I can do is audition in the Manhattan Theater, after begging and pleading with my parents. Texas is just way too far from you."
Forcing a small smile, she raised her eyebrow slightly, "I brake for starving children in India." Sliding her hand down his cheek, she rested her hand back on his chest. Sighing, the forced smile disappeared. "I will do that assignment. It might look strange if I am the only person to not do it, and end up with the highest grade in the class." Winking, the left side of her mouth crooked up ever so slightly for a short moment. "Besides, I need it to take my mind off everything."
Never taking his eyes off hers, the look of concern and perseverance failed to leave the man's face as he listened to her. She was obviously still upset, and, although she was trying to downplay just how upset she was, Orlando could see that the tears in her eyes were on the brink of falling. Tightening his arms around her, he pulled her closer to him for a moment and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before lifting her up onto the window seat, which was the perfect height off the floor to make their eyes level with each other's. ((Erm. did that make sense? You know what I was going for, right?))
Slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, he backed up and unwrapped his arms from around her, instead taking her hands in his own and resting them on her lap. Tilting his head to the side, he rubbed her hand with his fingers.
"Three days or three hundred days," he repeated, "you do have a choice. Don't let them push you into something you won't be happy doing. Talent is worthless without a passion just as passion is near worthless without talent. Even though you're a brilliant actress, Faithe, it's not going to matter."
Orlando's voice still carried its characteristic sincerity, but now the man was speaking from the heart, truly impassioned, and he wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
"You know why not? Because everyday you're going to get out of bed, and have to drag yourself down to the theater, all the while, looking up at the sun and wondering what phase the solar flare cycle is on, and, every night you're going to come home to your mansion and, while you're walking up the steps to your front door, the glimmer of the Betelgeuse ((that's the alpha star in Orion, right?)) is going to catch the corner of your eye, and you're just going to stand there all night, mesmerized, wondering why you let them make you give up what you love."
Her eyes never left his as a look of doubtful longing crossed her eyes. She wished that what he said could be true - that she could simply not allow herself to be pushed into what her parents wanted her to do, but it wasn't that simple. Shaking her head, her eyes fell to her lap, gazing at her hands in his. "It just isn't that simple, Orlando. They pretty much said that if I choose to go my own way, that letter would be the last that they would recommend me sending. Also, not to bother going home to get my stuff, because the only thing that would be waiting for me would be a very strong unwelcome."
Why are things happening like this? Pondering to herself, Faithe's whole countenance differed greatly from what it normally was. The smile that was normally held in her eyes was replaced with worry and dread. "I've never been allowed to work outside of the theater, and we never really got paid for that. So, I have next to no money. My possessions consist of what I have with me at school. If I don't follow what my parents want, I'm pretty much out on the street. I don't have a choice."
A look of resignation was on her face, an expression she had seldom ever felt. I don't know what to do. So many conflicts played inside her head, filling her mind with a thousand 'what if' questions.
The man saw the look of resignation- of defeat- cross her face, contorting it into a sort of submission, and sighed. He didn't appreciate how stubborn and overbearing her parents were being; they were almost mirror images of his own parents. Of course, there was one subtle difference: in Orlando's mind, at least, he had deserved what he had received. Every beating, every spiteful remark, and every disgusted glare was completely earned. He had been strong enough to deal with it, though. But Faithe.
She didn't deserve this pain, nor the agony that her parents' austerity had sparked. The unused bitter side of his personality was beginning to be utilized as he wondered what sort of people could ever cause such an angel to feel as disconsolate as the young woman felt.
"But, Faithe," Orlando whispered, bending his knees so that he could look back up at her face, "It is that simple. You know I'm right about this; the way your eyes keep staring at your lap proves that. You can't go off and live your life according to what your parents want you to do or what they want you to be because- it's this simple- that's not who you are."
He paused for a moment, and then continued.
"You do have a choice, Faithe. What do you want to do with Astronomy?" he inquired, "Whatever you want, you can do it. You're a brilliant girl. You're smart, beautiful, motivated, passionate." he trailed off there, knowing full well that he could go on for hours complimenting her. "And I'm sure you'll graduate at the top of your class from Rosencrantz. There isn't a place out in the world that wouldn't hire you, Faithe. You can get a job, make some money, and live out your dreams.
"Yeah, it'll take awhile, but while you're in limbo, you could."
[I]'You could stay with me'[/I] He finished the sentence in his head, knowing full well that it didn't sound right.
"You could go on with the acting thing, just for awhile," he concluded, although there was something in his voice that insinuated that he wasn't truly speaking his mind.
Shaking her head softly, Faithe looked him in the eyes. Life just isn't fair anymore. I don't have a choice. This was her fault; she just didn't live up to her parents' expectations. She wasn't good enough for them, and she never would be. All she had ever tried to do was please them. Everything that she did, every A that she got, was all because she had tried to make them proud of her, of what she could accomplish.
It meant nothing though. The only thing that mattered was the standing ovations. It didn't matter if she was sprained, as long as she could perform. If her voice went out, she had better be able to sing on stage. Her parents had spotlights for brains, and a stage for a heart.
"It won't work that way Orlando. My parents have a contract made up, just like they did with Jake. The only difference is, he wanted to do the theater thing. It's unbreakable, and by the time it would run out, it would be too late to do anything with Astronomy. There's no point in trying, they have me hooked, and they know it." Keeping her eyes on his, her eyes started watering again. Cursing her emotions, she took a deep breath.
Noticing the way he said his last comment, she raised her eyebrow slightly. "What were you going to say?"
Staring into her eyes, the man could see how torn she was. She was standing at a fork in the road. To the left lay a path overgrown with weeds and blocked by numerous fallen trees, but past all that, perhaps a mile down the road, was heaven, accompanied by an endless starry sky. To the right was a perfect cobblestone path, leading to a stage in the middle of a murky swamp of nothingness. 'Choose the easy road to nowhere, or the hard road to where you want to be.'
Sighing aloud, he straightened his knees, resuming his full height of 6'1". Still holding her hands in his, he looked out over the sea of students, into the clouds. His mind was clouded, just as the sky was at that moment. Should he tell her what he was going to say? Or should he let it slide?
Glancing at Faithe out of the corner of his eye, he gnawed on his tongue. Her mind was made up; she had given up, surrendered without a fight. ((Hmm. is she French? lol)) Not that he blamed her, of course. Going against the wishes of one's parents with absolutely nothing helping you wasn't exactly the brightest idea. She had nothing without them, and had chosen to surrender only to survive. 'twas better to be a prisoner of war than to be dead, he supposed. Then again, martyrs were honorable, in their own morbid sense.
"I was going to say that, if you wanted, you could stay with me for awhile. while you were in the limbo part of the plan, at least," he answered at last, keeping his eyes looking out the window, but still holding her hands in his own.
Not sure she heard him right, Faithe's left eyebrow raised slightly. Reaching up after a few moments' silence, she gently placed her fingers on his chin and turned his face towards her. "I couldn't do that to you Orlando. This isn't your mess to deal with, and I know you can't afford it. It's your first year teaching, and I know there is no way you could possibly be making enough to support more than yourself."
Sliding her hand from underneath his chin to his shoulder, that look of adoration that always seemed to reflect from her dark eyes around him washed over her. He was too wonderful to possibly exist. Any moment now, Faithe was waiting to wake up from this dream.
Opening her mouth to say something else, she was quickly silenced by a loud clap of thunder. Jumping practically into him out of startlement, she winced slightly as she caught sight of a massive lightning bolt. A small groan escaped her mouth as she buried her face in his chest. As another thunder roll clapped loudly overhead, the sound of the downpour filled the silence in the room.
"As much as I love the rain and storms, I am terrified of lightning."
Seeing that look of pure adoration radiating from Faithe's eyes as she looked at him, Orlando could feel himself blush and tried to cover that fact with a grin. Opening his mouth to object, though, he was cut off by the booming thunder as well.
As she jumped into him, he instinctively pulled her closer towards him, holding her tightly. Smiling as she buried her face in his chest, his hand wound itself around and gently stroked her hair.
"Don't be," he whispered, still holding her against him.
"And don't talk about you 'doing that to me' as if it's a bad thing," he added quietly, referring to her remark about moving in with him. "You could never possibly be a burden, Faithe. This may not be my mess to deal with, but it involves you, so I'm making it my mess to deal with. You didn't ask for this either, Faithe; it's not your fault.
"And yeah, you're right, galleons aren't exactly falling out of my pockets, but I'm sure we could manage, Faithe," he said, completely believing his idealistic vision of the world.
"I'm not trying to push you into it, though. I'm just saying that, if you want to, we could make it work. somehow."
Snuggling her head into his chest, she closed her eyes and felt her tense body relax. Hugging him tightly, she listened to the sound of melodious voice, feeling the vibration of his speaking against her cheek.
I wish life could be that perfect. Now she knew he was a dream. Nobody had ever taken it upon themselves to be so compassionate towards her. As much as she and Jake had always supported each other, he had never really stepped into any of the discrepancies between her and their parents. She couldn't let Orlando get involved in her problems. He didn't deserve it, and she cared about him too much to cast that burden on him.
"Orlando, you are too perfect." Tilting her head upwards, her eyes held that natural look of affection and adoration that had only been cast on him.
vy raised an eyebrow, snickering silently. Apparently, this was just some brat whining about her 'oh-so-horrible' problems and nothing more. And the teacher, being oh-so-understanding. Ugh. Would somebody please gag her with a spoon?!
Still, something here wasn't right. Since when did students call the teachers by their first names? She leaned a little bit closer, listening. There was something about suffering that was always entertaining--which explained who so-called 'reality' television shows were so popular.
Like a little kid listening in on plans for his or her birthday party, Ivy inched closer. As she listened to Orlando's descriptions of Faithe's future, with astronomy terms included, she had to fight laughter. It was obvious he was a former Athena. What a loser. Can you say 'geek?' Shaking her head mentally, she narrowed her eyes in thought.
Ivy bent down and peeked just inside the door, looking through a row of desks that were conveniently positioned to hide her from view. A wicked smile grew on her face as she watched this desperate, foolish broad. She raised her other eyebrow. They were holding hands....what?! Ooh, the tales that someone could create out of this...
However, maybe a tale wouldn't be needed. Their actions definitely weren't teacher to student at this point. And now the teacher was inviting her to stay with him! It was like a soap opera, almost, except one that didn't suck rhombus (HARHARHAR) and got better with every minute. Oh, and now she was leaning against him! Ivy blinked disbelievingly, noting the look of absolute rapture in Faithe's eyes.
This was just too, too good to be true.
"Nah," came the reply. Chortling quietly as he looked down at her, Orlando shook his head, still gently fondling her hair with one hand as the other ran up and down her back. There was that look in her eyes again, as if telling him he could do no wrong. But he wasn't as wonderful as she thought he was. "I'm nothing special, Faithe."
Noticing how she had brushed over his offer for the moment being, he wondered whether or not he should revive it. Perhaps, lost in her over admiration of him, she had just forgotten about it. Then again, what if just letting it slip was her way of tactfully declining his offer? Not knowing, the man's curiosity got the better of him.
"I meant it, y'know," he whispered quietly, gazing into her eyes. "If it'll help you at all, even just a little bit, Faithe, the offer still stands- from now until forever."
"You are too sweetie." Not wanting to move, Faithe continued to relax against him. Looking him in the eyes, she nodded. "I know, and trust me, there is nothing I would love more than to take you up on that offer Orlando. I just..." Taking a deep breath, she looked away for a moment. Returning her gaze towards him, she rested her head against his chest again. Closing her eyes, she sighed.
"I don't want to impose on you." The words sounded lame, even to her ears. "It's not fair to you. You've given me so much, and I feel like I haven't given you anything. I don't like that." Looking back up at him, a thoughtful expression crossed her face. "I just wish there was something I could do for you that was even half as meaningful as everything you have done for me."
A feeling of relief washed over Orlando as she spoke and the awkwardness of the moment, at least from his view, passed; she [I]did[/I[ want to stay with him. Then again, [I]was[/I] that a good thing? It meant she didn't think him odd for suggesting it, obviously, but did she want more of a serious relationship than he desired? No, certainly not, his mind answered, just as soon as it had asked. Wait-did [I]he[/I] want more of a serious relationship? Momentarily purging the thought from his mind, he carried on with life in that particular moment.
"Alright, Faithe," he replied, acknowledging her incessant torrent of outlandish reasons why she couldn't stay with him, "but if having you come stay at my place for awhile will help you- if it'll make this situation a little better for you- then the opportunity to do that for you, Faithe, would be a wonderful gift."
Putting a finger to the girl's lips for a short moment, he hinted that she shouldn't say another word against it.
"If it'll work out now, that's fine; if it'll work out later, let me know; and, if it never seems to fit, that's okay, too, Faithe. But, I mean it, the offer'll stand forever."
Bending his neck, he kissed the girl's forehead lightly.
"You said something about auditioning for the Manhattan Theatre," he remarked, randomly changing the subject, "I'd be more than glad to take you down there some night if you'd like to talk to them."
Squeazing his hand affectionately, she offered a small smile. "I know. Thank you." Closing her eyes when he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She loved the feeling of his nearness; the feeing she got when he was near. Smiling at his offer, she nodded.
"Well, I don't know how much of an audition it will be for me to actually become a member of this chain of our theater company. My parents are at their Dallas - Forth Worth location, but everybody in this company knows how Jake and I are." Smiling, she leaned her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug.
Standing in silence for a few moments, she finally looked back up at Orlando. "Thank you for making everything better." Or at least for seeming to make everything better.
Feeling her arms wrap themselves around him and her head gently rub against his chest, a contented smile took its place upon Orlando's face. Enveloping his arms around her, he affectionately rubbed his hands along her back, puling him close to him. Craning his neck around her head, his lips planted a soft kiss on her neck before pulling back and gazing down at her, once more allowing his arms to freely drape around her, yet not hold her as tightly.
"You're welcome," he answered, with a slight sparkle flickering in his eyes. Carefully moving so that the girl's head was no longer on his chest but, most likely, looking at him, a boyish grin tugged at his lips.
"Now," he began, "let me get this straight, you say 'they all' know who you and Jake are, huh? So. does that mean I'm involved with a celebrity?"
Smirking and laughing affably at his own jest, he abruptly flung one arm around Faithe's back and the other under her knees, lifting her up into his arms and playfully spinning her around.
"Do tell me, Miss Cunningham, will you be requiring an escort for the Academy Awards this year?" he asked as a joke , raising an eyebrow and looking into her eyes with a most fixated of glances, still holding her securely in his arms.
A small shiver ran through her as she felt him kiss her neck, a small smile spreading over her mouth. She couldn't prevent the laugh that escaped her at his comment. "Hardly celebrities. Considering the fact that my parents own the theater, and that's the theater my brother pushed me off the stage into the orchestra pit, they know me relatively well." Grinning, she reached behind her head and ran her finger over the small scar on her neck. Shaking her head, a small chuckle escaped her mouth.
Squealing when he picked her up, her arms wrapped around his neck. Giggling as he spun around, she rested her forehead against his cheek, closing her eyes tightly to fade out the colors all blending together. Opening her eyes, she met his mesmerizing gaze that she had come to adore. Raising one of her hands to his cheek, she gently ran her hand down the side of his cheek, a soft smile on her face.
"No, not the Academies." Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I have always liked the dancing aspect of theater. When I was younger, before the accident, I had been conditioning to try out for Julliard. Well, auditioning isn't quite the word I should use; one of their scouts had seen me in one of my parents' productions and recruited me. The whole audition thing was supposed to be a formality." Closing her eyes, a small smile spread over her face as she slipped her hand down to his neck, wrapping her hand around it lightly. "I always dreamed of being apart of the American Ballet Theatre in Broadway, New York, or even the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, that way I could visit their astronomy conservatories as well as dance."
Lifting her head up, she looked at him and raised her eyebrow slightly to accompany the half smile that spread over her face. "That is the only thing good that came out of all these years of being forced into dance lessons and voice lessons. I really did enjoy dancing, but it's funny how fate works." Shaking her head, she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him, her nose wrinkling slightly as she did so. "Fate introduced you to me, so I have every reason in the world to be thankful."
A contented sigh escaped the man's lips as a complementary smile lit up his face. [I]This was how it's supposed to be[/I],' he though to himself. Her head resting against his shoulder, beautiful eyes staring into his, hand around his neck, and her body cradled in his arms. Though her words were nothing spectacular, the man found himself absolutely captivated by her voice, yearning to know everything about the incredible woman he held in his arms. In fact, he barely comprehended the theatre jargon with which she spoke, but it made not the slightest different.
Feeling her head leave its place upon his shoulder, Orlando's brilliant blue eyes flitted downward to meet her gaze. That impeccably enchanting half-smile had once again graced the man with its presence, prompting his own characteristic grin to appear upon his face. Chuckling at her last corny remark, he rolled his eyes at her, only to hide the warm blush currently rouging his cheeks.
"Fate has its perks," he mused. "Although I don't see how I'm one of them," he added with a grin.
"So, you've pretty much got a spot in Manhattan if you want it. That's good. I'd still like to take you down there sometime, just to get everything worked out, y'know; make sure that it's what you want, or, at least, something you can be a little bit happy doing."
A dreamy expression came over her eyes as she stared at his indelible, brilliant blue eyes with his smile that always made her heart race. Sure that he hadn't heard a word she said, Faithe kissed his cheek lightly. "My brother has a show next weekend. He was wanting me to go up and see him. Would you be interested?"
Running her index finger over his bottom lip lightly, the light side of her mouth crooked up, allowing her dimple to crinkle. Faithe's eyes could not have shown any brighter had Alderman itself been shining in the depths of her eyes as if her pupil were the darkness of the heavens, and the twinkling from the bright star the joy that was evident through her eyes.
"You're more than a perk." She wrinkled her nose as he rolled his eyes, though she couldn't help the wide smile that spread over her face as she noticed the faint blushing. "I know, I know. I'm a corn puff."
As she stared into his eyes, Orlando's eyes met hers, gazing deep inside her. As her lips caressed his cheek, he was sure that the slight blush deepened for a moment. She was, in a word, adorable.
"Interested?" he repeated, having just barely listened to the words she had spoken this time, "As long as I'd be accompanying you, my dear Miss Cunningham, I would be obliged."
As her finger waltzed upon his lips, his lips curled into a smile and his blush deepened for a moment before finally going away. Laughing slightly at her reference to herself as a "corn puff", he kissed her lips gently.
"Perhaps, but you're an adorable corn puff then," he replied with a grin.
Casually his eyes flit towards the Grandfather Clock in the corner- almost time for second period to begin. For him second period was his free period- for prep- but he wasn't sure if she had somewhere to be or not.
"It's almost time for second period begin," he stated, "I don't have a second hour class, so, if you'd like to stay. I wouldn't have a problem. If you have a class, I'm sure I could get you out of it."
"Mmmm...I like cheese puffs." Grinning at her random comment, Faithe tweaked his nose lightly. "Alrighty, I'll send a letter to the hotel I normally stay at and tell them I need one more room. What they may do is give us the Double Penthouse, as opposed to the single Penthouse I normally stay in. When Jake and I used to travel up here together, we would end up in the Double. There are two bedrooms, but in the center is the living room, dining room, kitchen, bar table, etc."
Following his gaze to the clock, she sighed. "For you, I would usually have no problem missing Potions, but we do have a test in there today." Relunctantly, she wiggled down from his arms, sticking her bottom lip out slightly. Pinching his cheeks lightly, she grinned, "Unless of course, you want to take it for me. I'll teach your imaginary class."
Nodding as she spoke about the hotel business, the man couldn't help but notice her bluntness about the fact that them having two separate bedrooms. Indeed, it [I]was[/I] the prudent thing to do, and Orlando didn't exactly feel cheated or bitter about it, but the very fact that she had been so blatant about it brought a small grin to the man's face.
As she reluctantly wriggled out of his grasp, he helped her down, positioning his arms so she almost slid out of them. Grinning back as her fingers touched his cheeks, his hand reached up and entangled their fingers with hers.
"Potions is overrated- there's not enough math involved," the man replied with a roll of his eyes, "I'd take your test, but I'm afraid I wouldn't do too well. Plus, the whole point of you skipping class was so you could be with me, darling."
Faithe tilted her head to the side slightly as she noticed his smile, "What? What was that smile for?" A curious smile spread over her face as her left eyebrow raised slightly.Feeling the warmth of his fingers intwined with hers, Faithe squeezed his hand affectionately.
"If you were to get me out of class, how would you do so?" A slight shiver ran through her spine as he called her 'darling.' She wasn't used to little nicknames of that sort, except with Jake. Only, he usually only called her sweetie, but that was a completely different relationship all together. "I would be more than happy to spend time with you, as long as I could make up my test."
Tilting his own head to meet her gaze, Orlando shrugged nonchalantly. His boyish grin transformed into an impishly mischievous smile, however, killing any possibility of pulling off casualness.
"Eh, nothing," he replied with a small laugh.
"Such an Athenian." Sighing with mock disapproval, he shook his head at her. The girl's dedication to her schoolwork was impressive, though, reminding Orlando much of himself while he was a Rosencrantz student.
Flitting his blue eyes around the classroom, he tried to think of a feasible excuse to use on Professor Ferenia. After all, he didn't recall the woman from his time at school and, despite having taught at Rosencrantz for a while, he still didn't know the woman all that well. Several ideas came to mind, but the man's irrefutable integrity got the better of him. He wouldn't lie completely.
"Well, if I were to get you out of class," he began, slowly detangling his fingers from hers and, instead, wrapping his arms around her waist, "I'd tell Professor Ferenia that I needed some 'assistance' with a project during my prep period and, as you're the only student with the astronomical competence to aid me, asked you if you could help me."
Glancing warily at Faithe, he raised his eyebrows meekly. "You think she'd let you off with that?"
'Tsk tsk tsk..." Clucking her tongue at him, she shook her head with a smile on her face. "Sounds good to me, Pinochio." Winking, she stood on tip toe to kiss his nose lightly, brushing her lips against his as she lowered herself back down, but not kissing him. Wrinkling her nose at him, she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him.
"Yes, I -am- an Athenian, and proud of it," there was an arrogance in her voice that one could easily take to be serious pride. However, the look on Faithe's face after she said it gave away the fact that she was, for the most part, speaking in gest. Poking him in the stomach, she grinned. "As if you most likely weren't the same way when you were a student, Mr. Lorenz."
Grinning at how incredibly and irresistibly adorable Faithe's endearing jests were, Orlando chuckled quietly. As she poked him in the stomach, he smirked a little then grabbed her hand and, holding it gently in the air, tickled her side with his free hand for a moment, grinning all the while.
"Oh, so now I'm 'Mr. Lorenz'?" he joked, mocking her formality. "I see how it is, I tease you just a little bit and automatically I'm nothing more than an elder to you..."
Flashing his characteristically boyish grin at her, he winked.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," he answered, "In fact, I'd wager that I was worse than you in regards to 'Athenian-ness', though. Besides Quidditch practice, classes, and sleeping, I don't believe there was a ever a time that I wasn't in the library, reading through books of a sort, or independently studying Astronomy with Professor Estrella."
Shrugging at his patheticness, Orlando rolled his eyes slightly.
Squealing, Faithe wiggled uncontrollably from his tickling her, "Heyyy! That tickles!" Laughing, she stuck her tongue out at him again, trying to defend herself. "Ha ha! Elder my tush! You were still in diapers when I was born, thank you very much!" Shaking her head while grinning, a small laugh escaped her as she looked up at him, a coy expression on her face. "Orlando," practically purring his name, she winked at him.
Shaking her head at his insinuation, she grinned, "I was worse. The only thing I ever do besides classes is more work. The past few years, we had this old crazy lady named Dobbels. I don't think she really appreciated the fact that I had such an adamant interest in Astronomy. I was always in here, trying to do as much work as possible. She looked at me one day and asked me if I ever went away."
Laughing, she shook her head as she wrapped her arms loosely around his waist. "She was absolutely insane; she would be talking in English, and then go off in Spanish. Plus, she tried to convince me that the Aurora Borealis was a direct affect of Ursa Major overflowing with Milky Way Chocolate." Laughing, she shook her head at the insanity from her theory. "I think they had her teaching out of field."
Guffawing and grinning as she wiggled away from his fingers, there was most certainly a sparkle in the man's brilliant blue eyes. "Yeah, Faithe, defend yourself by sticking out your tongue," he teased.
As she purred his name and wrapped her arms around him, the man felt his stomach lurch. [I]'I swear[/I],' he thought to himself, putting his own hands lightly upon her shoulders, '[I]She has no idea what she does to me.[/I]'
Chuckling at the preposterousness of the famed Professor Dobbels, Orlando rolled his eyes. "Just a little bit," he replied, with a wink, "I mean, anyone can make a mistake. After all, its [I]Corona[/I] Borealis that's a direct effect of Ursa Major's overflowing with Milky Way chocolate."
Slowly backing up towards his desk, he gently pulled Faithe with him, guiding her by the shoulders as he moseyed. Taking his right hand off her shoulder, he plucked his maple wood wand off the edge of his desk as a grin came over his face.
"So, you still wanna help me with that 'project'?" he asked with a mischievous undertone in his deep bass voice. Expecting her to be confused, he clarified his randomness. "You didn't expect to completely lie to Professor Ferenia, did you?"
Rolling her eyes as she shook her head, a light smile on her lips. "I like Muskateers better, but I'm a Resee's girl." Winking, she reached up, running her finger down his jaw bone. Looking up at his eyes, she found herself unable to tear her brown eyes away from his twinkling blue eyes. A small laugh escaped her lips at his comment about the 'project.'
"Hmmm...Let me think.What sort of project are we talking about?" A flirtatious, mischevious grin spread over her face. Closing most of the space between them, she reached up. Lightly tapping on his cheek, she 'drew' out Orion. Shaking her head, she grinned, "I'm such a dork."
Feeling her fingers dot his cheek, Orlando closed his eyes, mentally connecting the dots and smiling when he realized that she had dotted out a constellation: Orion. Winking at her, his boyish grin countered her own mischievous one.
"Well, Miss Cunningham," he began, looking into her eyes, "I'm not quite sure how to describe it..."
His finger waltzed along her jawbone, over her lips and then the back of his hand scooped her head beneath her chin up towards him. Planting a soft, dulce kiss upon her lips, he grinned.
"I believe you'll find it worth your time, though..."
I'm in heaven... Feeling like some giggly school girl, her lip twitched slightly as he touched it. "That tickles," smiling as she spoke, she slid her arms down his some, resting her hands on his upper arm. Running her index finger in a small circle over his bicep, the left corner of her mouth crooked up in her famous half smile.
"I don't know," her voice dripping in sarcasm, but her face showing gest. "I'm not specialized in Astronomy like you, Professor Orlando Lorenz." As she spoke her last three words, she put a small hesitation in between each name. When she spoke his actual name, her voice softened to a soft purr, winking as she did so. "I'll do what I can," a flirtatious expression crossed her eyes as she pulled back from him suddenly, breaking all contact, but still within a one foot reach.
"What are we doing?"
"specialized in Astronomy like you...
Faithe's words clearly held a second meaning, Orlando noted to himself. Indeed, the girl probably wasn't as "specialized" as himself. Of course, he didn't exactly mind that. It probably had something to do with the male superiority gene, but he preferred it that way.
As she touched his arms, the man could almost feel a slight, pleasant shiver ripple through his body. And then, as she purred his name once again, his boyish grin melted into a contented smile. Yet, when she pulled back so suddenly, his eyes lost their dazed look and his right eyebrow raised curiously.
Hrm... Now, this could go one of two ways. Either he could grab her by the waist and spin her into his arms and dip her down, punctuating the near tango-move with a passionate kiss, or, he, too, could join in the "hard-to- get" game.
Smirking, he opted for the second one. Turning around, he retrieved a pile of books, and handed them to her.
"There's supposed to be a small comet passing by Earth soon," he stated. "I'd like to get an exact date of arrival as well as some background info on the comet itself."
Gathering another, much smaller, stack of books, as well as a differentiation table, for himself, he sat down atop his desk and began working through a rather complicated looking mathematical equation.
"If you wouldn't mind, start looking through those old astronomy journals for any comets appearing around the 1630 to 1650 time period...
Bringing herself back to her objective, Faithe silently scolded herself for allowing her thoughts to wander. Had she not been completely engrossed in the book, she most likely would have felt Orlando's eyes on her. As it was, her thoughts had completely gone to various comets whose pictures had jumped out at her.
Skimming through the index, she shut the book cover, setting it down on the desk. Deep in thought still, her eyebrows furrowed together slightly as she shook her head. "Orlando, I don't think that's an old comet. I don't remember ever hearing about anything in the time period, and I know I would have at least remembered that there was something within those twenty years. So far, all these books are mentioning comets around those twenty years. "
Standing up, she walked back to the front and grabbed another two books. Skimming through the index until she found a timeline, she turned to page 246, careful not to rip the delicate pages. Her eyes moved quickly across the page, shaking her head again. "Nothing."
Too engulfed in the possibility that was lingering in his mind, Orlando only nodded at Faithe's reply. Her research, or rather lack there of, had only reinforced the possibility that the comet he had become hooked on hadn't ever been seen before. Perhaps, just maybe, he was on to something grand.
Finally getting past the difficult part of the equation, Orlando's quill began scrawling rapidly.
dx/dt=4sin(3t) dy/dt=3cost-cot(t)/t^3 s(t)= 1.7x^3 + 3c^y -8xy s'(t)=v(t)=
His handwriting went from being meticulous to nearly illegible. Despite the growing grin upon his face, his eyes were still deeply focused on the work before him. Glazed over with thought, they did nothing but stare.
"X of t equals 19 when t equals 361.128n, and y of t equals 43.9 when t equals..." he mumbled under his breath. Please be 361.128... Scribbling urgently, the man set his quill down and smiled. "361.128..." he whispered.
Mentally calculating the equivalent date, he looked up at Faithe with the biggest grin possible. They held before them the only known remaining astronomical journals whose observations had yet to be cataloged in the world. If there were no comets recorded in 1642 in any of those journals, then he had discovered a new comet.
"Faithe," he said quietly, trying not to build his hopes up too much, "Look though the brown suede book right there- the one with the name Adrastos Jubliese on the cover- and tell me if there's any mention of a comet in his observations for February 16..."
Her brown eyes froze on him as he murmured to himself, working on his equation. She felt growing excitement stirring inside of her as she watched his mouth move over the numbers. Faithe knew what all this meant, what it could mean. Hopping up, she snatched the book and began thumbing through it intently.
Searching through, she almost squealed in delight and excitement. "Orlando," her voice somehow remained calm, but the look of jubilance on her face was almost too much to hold in, "There is nothing for February. Period." Her smile widened to a grin as she squealed. Standing up, she handed the book to let him see it himself.
Leaning towards her, Orlando watched and waited, holding his breath. As she spoke, a broad grin took over his face. Nearly snatching the book from Faithe's outstretched hands, he hastily tore through the pages. There wasn't a thing written for February.
That meant there wasn't a single recorded observation of this comet ever in history. And that meant that, as long as he had performed his calculations correctly, Orlando Corvello Lorenz had discovered a comet.
Jumping off the desk he had been sitting on, he grabbed Faithe in his arms and twirled her around, lifting her feet off the ground, as he kissed her.
"You know what this means?" he exclaimed excitedly. "We discovered a comet!"
Squealing as he picked her up, she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Laughing as he spun her, she returned the kiss. "We nothing! You discovered a comet!" Grinning as her feet touched the ground, she wrapped her arms around him tighter, hugging him. The look of jubilance spreading even more on her face.
"You did it! Gah...Now sixty years from now if the comet makes another appearance, I'll be able to say to my grandchildren, 'Yup! The Lorenz Comet! He was a teacher of mine, and I had the privilage of being there when he realized what he'd found.' " Taking a tiny step backwards, Faithe wrapped her hands around one of his. "I'm so proud of you." Her brown eyes sparkled with adoration and admiration as she looked at him.
Grinning and laughing at the same time, Orlando's head shook as she spoke; he was much too modest to take credit for his own discovery.
"361 years, 47 days from now," he corrected her, with that same grin still plastered upon his face, "We'll both be dead, but, indeed, the Faithe- Lorenz Comet will still live on... provided, of course, that it has enough mass to make another trip around the universe without dying out."
Too excited about the new discovery, Orlando didn't even notice the way the proposed name for the comet sounded. He had intended it to be hyphenated, and the name Cunningham didn't seem to reflect the part of Faithe he wanted immortalized.
Kissing her again, he squeezed her hand.
"See," he said with a mocking grin, "I told you you'd enjoy this little project more than a Potions test..."
Shrugging, she grinned, "Fine. 361 years and 46 days from now, my great- great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great," taking a deep breath, she continued, "great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great- great grandchildren's grandchildren read my everlasting diary, I will leave a message saying that I knew the most amazing," pausing she kissed his left cheek, "most wonderful," pausing again, she kissed his right cheek, " incredibly man." Kissing his nose lightly, she grinned.
Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Faithe Lorenz?" Hearing her name with his last name, the first thought that popped into Faithe's head certainly was not the name of the comet. Isabelle Faithe Lorenz. That sounds...nice. Smiling, reached up and ran her finger down the side of his cheek. Whoa, hello! Come back from dreamy land sweetie. Talk about your thoughts being in Never Never Land.
"The Lorenz Comet. This is your glory sweetie. Don't name it something you could very possibly regret. Besides, your discovered it."
Blushing horribly as she kissed his cheeks, and then his nose, Orlando put a hand to his warm cheek and gave her his boyish grin. What in the world had he ever done to deserve such a wonderful, charming, adorable girl? As she put her arms around his neck, his own hands found their way to her hips.
Hearing her voice repeat what he had just said, "Faithe Lorenz", a strange look came over the man's face. The words sounded quite nice together, as though they had been meant to be paired as such. Then realizing he'd said them aloud but a moment before, and seeing the dreamy look overcome Faithe's face, the blush in his cheeks deepened and a nervous chuckle passed through his lips.
It wasn't that he was embarrassed of thinking such a thing, it was the fact that this was the second time in less than an hour that the thought had crossed his mind, and, that, this time, he had probably instilled the thought in Faithe's mind as well. 'Way to go, Orlando...'he though sarcastically as her finger waltzed upon his face.
"Alright," he said, giving in, "The Lorenz Comet, is it, then." Nodding at her, he gently kissed the top of her forehead.
"I wouldn't ever regretted naming it after you, though," he added quietly. Of course, there's always a possibility you'll share a name with it someday...
Laughing, she shook her head. "You're such a goofus. So, what do you need to do, Orlando Lorenz, to make your astounding discover official? I'd hate to have seen you go through all of that just to have somebody else take it from you." Smiling, she toyed with a strand of his hair above his temple.
"Who knows? You could end up hating me by the end of next week." The thought had crept into her mind more than once. She knew Orlando could do better, deserved better. Everything going on with him still felt like a dream to her, and she was startled by the idea that one day she would wake up from it. "So, when is your baby going to be visible?"
"Well, I suppose I'll need to report it to one of the international conservatories, of which, lucky for us, one is located in the outskirts of Manhattan. I'll have to call them up today, of course, and 'stake my claim', but then, if you don't mind, we could stop by there next weekend, when we're there visiting your brother," Orlando replied, grinning as he mentioned their trip together, soemthing that he positively couldn't wait for.
"Hate you by the end of next week?" he repeated, trying to stiffle his laughter. "Impossible. After all I've done to keep you, there's no way I'm letting you off that easy."
Though his typical joking demeanor was still apparant, it was obvious that his sincere side was beginning to show itself as well.
"About a week, two days, nine hours, seven minutes and thirteen-- fourteen-- - fifteen seconds," he answered after a moment, "Of course, I did just calculate that in my head, so I'm probably off by a few minutes."
Grinning, his hands moved off her hips and wound themselves around her waist, locking their fingers together behind her back.
"Whenever it is, though, you'll come up and see it with me, won't ya?" he asked, not really asking, though, "On broomstick, of course."
Nodding, an excited expression crossed her eyes at the prospect of getting to go to a real conservatory. She had never had the opportunity to do so, her parents made sure of that. Her excitement for the Manhatten trip was continuing to grow. It had been quite a few months since she had seen Jake and Kaytlin. "I will definitely go watch your comet with you. Nothing would keep me away."
"I can't wait! The weekend is never going to come! I can't wait to see Jake. And an even bigger plus is I get to spend the weekend with you." Grinning, she wrinkled her nose slightly as she stuck the tip of her tongue out. Faithe had a pretty good idea that Jake and Orlando would get along fantastically. "Oh! And I get to introduce to my baby girl!" Completely forgetting that she hadn't mentioned anything about her niece, Faithe didn't stop and think that her nickname for Kaytlin may sound rather...odd to Orlando.
Grinning, Orlando nodded as Faithe spoke, getting excited himself at the wonderful weekend to come. Meeting Faithe's much-talked-about brother, officially documenting the discovery of his new comet, spending the entire weekend with a woman he had grown oh-so-terribly fond of, and...
Brilliant blue eyes widened to the point where one would have thought the man was in shock. Faithe had a child? Dear God... He himself had made done some things throughhout the course of his life, namely Demeter, but the very thought of someone so pure, innocent, and sweet as Faithe having done... that...
His breath had caught in his chest and his hands fell loose at his sides, dangling freely. Swallowing, he blinked several times and let his shocked look slowly transform into one of pure confusion.
"What?" he breathed, quietly.
Perhaps he hadn't heard her right. Oh, he hoped so. The thought of someone like Faithe having been through something like a pregnancy... The girl was barely eighteen, for heaven's sake.
Hesitantly re-winding his arms around her waist, he gently rubbed her back as his eyes met her gaze, radiating concern more than anything else, though he was hoping for an explanation of sorts.
Looking at him with a look of utmost confusion, it took Faithe a couple of silent, awkward moments to realize why Orlando looked as if he had just seen a ghost. Covering her mouth, she burst into laughter, leaning on him for balance. Trying to spit out what she meant by that, she found that it was hard to form words when her laughter was so heavy she couldn't breath. Simply shaking her head, she finally lowered her hand.
"NO!!!" Still giggling, she wiped away a tear that had fallen from laughing so hard. "No, no, no! That would be rather difficult! Considering the fact that I've never..er...well..." looking down at the ground, an amused expression in her eyes, she simply waved her hand in the air to silently finish her thought. Looking back up at his blue eyes, she dissolved into another fit of laughter before gaining control over herself.
"Kaytlin Cunningham. She's Jake's daughter." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she bit her bottom lip lightly. A more serious expression came over her as she searched his face. "She's almost five. Jake will be 21 in a month. When he was fifteen, he made a mistake, and Kaytlin was the outcome of that mistake. Bridget, Kayte's mother wanted nothing to do with her, and wanted to put her up for adoption. Jake wouldn't go for it. He knew that he had made a mistake, and had to pay the consequences for it. He loves Kaytlin more than anything, and he wouldn't give her up, but he does wish he would have waited."
A small smile crossed her face, "He's a great father. Anyways, I helped him raise her. I didn't give birth to her, but I was more of a mother than Bridge was." Winking, she couldn't help but let a small laugh out. "I assure you, I don't intend on being a mother any time soon."
Alright. She was laughing, so, either, that meant that she found his state of shock extremely entertaining, or that he really had heard her wrong. Hoping for the latter, Orlando simply raised his eyebrows and gave her a prodding look, awaiting the end of the giggling spell.
Breathing a sigh of relief at her explanation, and chuckling slightly at her inability to do anything more than insinuate the action she had never taken part it, he grinned.
"Oh!" he exclaimed mid-way through her explanation, finally understanding. Smiling, he nodded and then rubbed his blushing cheeks. Not that he had truly thought that [I]that[/I] had occurred, but the fact that, for an instant, the thought had crossed his mind was rather embarrassing.
As she made the blatant point of her not intending on being a mother anytime soon, Orlando smirked again, amused by her bluntness. Then again, the way she had spoken so harshly of Jake's mistake, and the subsequent consequences brought a bit of doubt to Orlando's mind. Did she judge him as such for his own past? She knew about him and Demeter from the infamous morning after.
Blowing off the worry, he shrugged inwardly.
"Well, I can't wait to meet your 'baby'," he said with a grin.
Wow Faithe, what a way to give him a heart attack. Smiling, she stuck her tongue out and touched the tip of his nose with the tip of her tongue. Shaking her head with a small chuckle, she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "You look so adorable when you blush, dahling."
"Goofus. I would have told you before now if I had a child." Tightening her arms, she gave him a tight hug, kissing his cheek when she pulled back. "I should go send a letter to Jake and get him to make a reservation at the hotel. Will I see you later?"
Sighing, Orlando hung his head with mock shame as she noted his blushing.
"I know, I know," he said, "It's something I do much too often."
Of course, he couldn't help it, and, as her lips gently caressed his cheek, he felt them grow warm again and grinned, knowing she probably noticed it as well.
Wrapping his arms around her, after she had pulled back, he squeezed her against his chest, lifting her feet a few inches above the ground.
Setting her down, he left his hands drop down to his sides, swingingly subtly.
"Absolutely not," he replied. He kept a completely straight face for a few seconds before that broad, boyish grin shone through once more.
"Of course you will."
"Aww!" Pinching his cheek lightly, she grinned at him. "I love it when you blush sugarbear." Winking, she squealed slightly when he lifted her off the ground, her arms instinctively hugging him tighter. When he put her down and gave her the negative response, she poked her bottom lip out, pretending to pout. Sticking her tongue out at him with a mischevious glint in her eye, stood up on her toes, almost going into a point ballet position. Rubbing her lips against his, she pulled back quickly, a wicked smirk crossing her face.
"Bye," turning towards the door as she spoke, she turned her head back to him, "Orlando." Purring his name again, she winked and headed towards the door.
Ivy had been sitting there the whole time, watching them interestedly. Honey, love, sugarbear...It was all she could do not to burst out laughing. Oh, this was good, just too good to be true. Fun, fun, fun...
Oh, but wait! A plan was already forming in her Discordian mind. This was spectacular. Oh, imagine that chaos that she could create with this! She stifled a giggle, remaining silent, and shook her head. Oh dear, oh, oh dear...
Hearing Faithe state that she was going to leave, Ivy stood up silently and tiptoed down the stairs. She stopped near the foot of the stairs, knowing that it would look seriously suspicious if she was caught walking away. She innocently sat down on the steps and began to tie her shoes, straining her ears for the last fragments of the conversation. She was tying her shoes, just tying her shoes...
Punctuality was a trait that Faithe regarded highly, and very rarely was she ever late for anything. This morning she had been awaken by the soft hooting of her mother's brown Tawny owl, Rooney. Faithe had always thought her parents insane for naming their owls after famous muggle thespians - Rooney being named after Mickey Rooney. The second she had seen the animated bird with a letter tied to her leg, she groaned and rolled over.
Her parents and her had continued the same argument for the past month, ever since her last year at Rosencrantz began. If she had to explain to her parents one more time why she had a desire and a passion to go into astronomy, as opposed to theater, she was going to scream. Theater was fine for her parents, Jake, and the rest of her family, but it wasn't for Faithe. Sure, she had the talent. She had a beautiful, strong voice, and had taken every type of dance offered since she was four. Faithe had been told time and time again that she had an amazing stage presence, and the audiences loved her. However, talent without passion was nothing. Certainly nothing to spend the rest of her life doing.
Sighing, she finally turned over at Rooney's incessant pecking on her arm. Untying the letter, she opened the drawer to her nightstand and pulled out a small owl treat. Feeding it Rooney, she sat up in bed, a foreboding expression in her face. Setting it down, she got dressed in her khaki's and Athena shirt. After brushed her hair and teeth, she slipped on her shoes and headed out, the letter in her pocket.
Checking her watch, she had twenty minutes before class started. Sitting down on a bench in the courtyard, she looked above her as she tore the envelope open. Feeling no immediate threat of rain, her dark eyes swept through the letter. Her jaw clenching at the words written on the page, Faithe stared at the ground. Forgetting class, she grabbed her bag and headed off for the comfort of solitude that could only be found in her star gazing spot.
*****
Getting completely lost in herself, Faithe finally checked her watch. Class had started a good half hour ago. Silently reprimanding herself, she stood up and tucked the letter in her bag. Walking towards the school with a tear streaked face and red eyes, she wiped her cheeks with her hands. As she reached the building the Astronomy class was located in, a few small drops off water had begun to fall, but the rain was still holding off. With her Astronomy book in her hand, she walked into the ancient building.
Taking a deep breath, she ran the palms of her hands over her cheeks to make sure there were no signs of her crying, though her eyes were still red. Checking her watch, she wanted to kill herself - there was fifteen minutes left of class. Shaking her head, she opened the door and walked in, avoiding Orlando's eye.
Walking by him rather quickly, she sat her bag down pretty harshly on the ground and sat down in her desk. Her jaw still clenched, she kept one arm on top of her book, running her index finger along the top of the cover. Keeping her eyes on the cover, Faithe couldn't bring herself to look towards Orlando.
"And, when all hope was lost to the beautiful Andromeda, the girl's eyes caught sight of a distant figure in the sky: Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae, who was returning from slaying Medusa. He saved the girl, and, for his bravery, Cepheus awarded him Andromeda's hand in marriage."
It was one evident that this was one his most favorite of the constellation stories by the way Orlando's face lit up as he recounted the tale of the chained maiden.
"When the couple died, they were honored with places in the sky. Cetus, the sea-monster, was there waiting for them and forever chases Andromeda around the sky, but Perseus continues to guard her well."
In spite of his enthusiasm and captivation by the story, the class still didn't seem to be affected in the slightest; this was reflected by their vacant stares.
Sighing to himself, the man's eyes casually flitted to the empty window seat to his left, wishing that Faithe was there. She would appreciate the story. Flitting his eyes towards the clock, he noted that there was only fifteen minutes of class left. Where was she? Just as the man was about to begin truly worrying about the young woman, she entered.
Although she tried, her evasion of his gaze couldn't prevent his eyes from following her as she marched through the door and sat down. She radiated an air of frustration and such-something Orlando had never associated in the slightest with her. Had there not been seventeen other people in the room, he would have run over and taken the girl in his arms. Looking around, he decided that it would most certainly be best if the seventeen other people weren't there.
"Alright," he said quickly, clearing his throat, "For tomorrow, please research the constellation of your choice and write-up its myth of origin. At least three feet, please. Because this is such a big project, you're dismissed as of now to get a head start."
Waiting just long enough for the last student to run out of the room, Orlando nearly bolted for Faithe. Kneeling by the girl's desk, he wrapped an arm around her back and, drawing her face into his shoulder gently, kissed the top of her head softly.
"Talk to me," he said quietly, voice supersaturated ((I am such a chemistry geek)) with concern.
Faithe had jotted down the assignment quickly, wanting to make a quick exit from the room. Just as she had closed her notebook, Orlando was by her side. She had been keeping her emotions down since she had entered the classroom, but the second she felt his arm around her, she closed her eyes. Though the position was rather awkward, Faithe buried her face in his shoulder. Trying her hardest to keep her feelings inside of her, her tears betrayed her and began cascading down her face.
She felt foolish for bawling her eyes out in front of him, but at the same time, his being there brought her so much comfort. Pulling back from him, she shook her head slightly, burying her face in her hands. Everything would seem to childish to him. It didn't matter. Faithe was upset with herself for getting this hysterical about the matter.
Forcing herself to stop crying, she took a few deep breaths before finally looking at him. "It's not important." The words seemed silly, even to her. People did not bawl their eyes out for matters of unimportance. "What did I miss?" Not like it mattered. Everything she had spent doing all these years had amounted to nothing of importance.
Her front wasn't working, and that was something Faithe was not used to happening. Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she spoke, so she bit it lightly to keep it from moving. Breaking her eye contact with him, she stared at the ground silently.
As she followed his lead, burying her face in his shoulder, and he felt warm tears begin to moisten his shirtsleeve, Orlando held the girl tighter- closer to himself. Stroking her hair calmingly, his other arm, the one wrapped around her back, rose and fell with each heaving breath the girl took in an effort to clam herself. He let up, watching with utmost concern as she lifted her tear-stained face towards him and blew off whatever was bothering her as though it was nothing.
She was trying to be strong and, although he admired that about her, he didn't think that this particular thing was something she should have to cloak with a façade, especially not from him. Watching her note the fact that her pretense didn't fool him, he looked on as her eyes left his and started at the ground, as though there was something intriguing there.
Running his hand down her cheek, he took her face in his hand and gently raised it back up to his own. Brilliant blue eyes gazed into hers for a moment, sharing with her the feeling that words couldn't begin to portray.
"You missed my rendition of the chained maiden's myth, which put the rest of your classmates to sleep," he replied with a slightly joking undertone to his voice. "And that assignment," he added, "isn't something you should waste your time on, Faithe. I only assigned it to get the rest of the class out of here.
"Alright, I answered your question. It's your turn, now."
Orlando's characteristic boyish grin flashed on his face for an instant before being replaced by a look of unmistakably sincere concern.
"What's wrong, Faithe? Don't tell me that you're fine or that it's not important. You've never been less than three minutes early to every class this year, and, today, you barely made the last fifteen minutes.
"Your eyes are flooded, and your face is streaked with tears."
His voice quieted itself, as though it was somehow painful for him to see her in such a state.
"Please," he entreated, letting his hand slide down her neck and along her arm, eventually ending up holding her hand, "tell me what's wrong. so I can make it right."
Lively green eyes jumped over to the clock. Class would've been over by now. Thank Goodness. She turned off the stereo, which had been playing fast- paced dance music, and sat down to stretch. For the simple reason that Astronomy didn't seem at all interesting, she had skipped class--legally. Since early this morning, Ivy had been working on a new dance routine for the cheerleaders, supposedly. Heh. Instead, she slept in and hanged out with a few friends. Though, to her credit, she had worked on dance--a little bit.
She was clad in a pair of short, white, cotton shorts with the waistband rolled up to make them even shorter and a Discordia blue tank top. She grabbed a black sweatshirt that zipped up the front and slid it on. All of these articles of clothing were name-brand, mind you. Physical appearances were very important to Ivy. After all, wasn't that the first thing people see when they meet you?
Ivy snatched up her excuse note from Ms. Mullett explaining her absence and pocketed it. Saucony Cheer shoes padded their way out of the empty recreation room as Ivy strolled towards the Astronomy class. Like always, she'd pick up the work, copy off one of the Athena cheerleaders (who really shouldn't have been on the squad anyway) and turn it in when she felt like it. Ivy had always done that. And she had never had a problem.
Approaching the classroom, she stopped to pick up a ring that someone had dropped on the floor.
quote:
"Please," he entreated, letting his hand slide down her neck and along her arm, eventually ending up holding her hand, "tell me what's wrong. so I can make it right."
An eyebrow quirked as she listened. Was this some sort of Iris play practice? Soap-opera auditions? No, no...that was the voice of the teacher. What?! Rolling her eyes, she stood up back leisurely and crept to the doorway, pausing there silently. She stayed out of the range of vision, listening.
Ah, the wonderful tale of Andromeda and Perseus. That story had always intrigued her, and the images of Medusa that had filled her head when she was younger had once given her nightmares. When she had started to get older and mature, she always imagined herself as the heroin being rescued by her dream prince. However, life was not a stage, and fairy tales did not come true.
She closed her eyes at the feel of his hand on her face, feeling the warm familiarity of his hand enclosing around her own. As she found herself looking into his eyes once more, hot tears stung her eyes. For the first time in her life, Faithe wasn't pulling away and drawing her emotions up inside of her. Shaking her head, she squeezed his hand before standing up. Pacing back and forth, she crossed her arms over her chest and kept her gaze on the floor.
"There isn't anything you can do Orlando," speaking softly, Faithe's voice came out shaky as she stopped pacing. Staring at him, she bit her bottom lip. "I got a letter from my parents this morning." Taking a deep breath, she sat on top of one of the desks, her gaze staring hypnotically at the ground once more. "They have given me three days to give them word about what I'm doing after school; whether I'm going into theater, or I'm going where I want to and follow through with Astronomy. They pretty much told me that if I don't stay with theater, they'll pretty much disown me. Financially I will have nothing, and, let's face it, I can't do that right out of school. I don't have much choice." Sighing, she stood up and walked to the window, placing both hands on the windowsill.
"I know there are worse problems in the world, but..." Faithe's voice trailed off quietly as she stared up at the sky. "Everything I have been working for these last seven years has accounted for nothing. It means nothing to them, it never has and it certainly never will." Lowering her head, she stared at the ground below her, watching students walking through the courtyard laughing and smiling. "I was stupid for dwelling on a dream I knew deep down could never happen."
Still kneeling next to Faithe's desk, Orlando watched in silence as she began pacing, eyes following her as she crossed back and forth across the room. Being told there wasn't anything he could do, the man quickly replied "yeah, there is", although his idealism soon faded when she continued; each word was like another piece of salt being rubbed in an open wound.
Inquisitively inclining his head, he remained silent, listening intently as she kept talking, explaining the dire predicament to him, a predicament that stuck a little too close to home for Orlando. His parents, as well, hadn't exactly been gung-ho about his own career choice. After Rosencrantz, he had gone off to a small two-year astronomy academy in Maine on his own accord, and, from there, returned to Rosencrantz and was hired. Of course, it was different for him. He had always been on his own, but Faithe hadn't had that luxury. if one could call it that.
Rising from his place on the ground, he slowly wandered over to where Faithe stood and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. His head peeked over her shoulder, and he followed her gaze down towards the bustling crowd below; the horde of chattering students thronged over the school grounds like a swarm of bees.
"Hey, now," he said quietly, turning her around in his arms so they faced each other. "Dwelling on a dream is the only thing that'll make it come true. If you just give up on it, there's no chance of making it reality.
"And, yeah, there are worse problems in the world," he added, looking downward at the girl with a small smile crossing his lips, "But, honestly, Faithe, if you had come in here crying about the starving children in India or the destruction of the Amazon rainforest." The man trailed off into a quiet laugh and shook his head.
A moment of silence ensued then; he didn't know what to say. Maybe she was right, maybe there wasn't anything he could do. Still, he closed his eyes and tried to think of something- anything- that could ease her pain just a little bit. Gnawing on his tongue, several ideas popped into his head, the most outrageous being marriage. He could support her; he'd ask her to marry him right then and there. [I]Yeah, right.[/I] Not only was it completely impractical-he barely made enough money to support himself-- but Orlando didn't exactly want something that serious or intense in a relationship. at least not at the moment. Not to mention the fact that, if it sounded that crazy in his head, it would be more than laughable in reality.
"I don't know what to tell you, Faithe," the man confessed quietly. His voice had an apologetic air to it, as though he was apologizing for being a failure. "You've got three days though, right? We'll think of something, I promise."
Faithe shook her head, closing her eyes to prevent the threatening tears from betraying her. Resting her hands on his chest when he turned her around, her dark brown eyes met his brilliant blue eyes. He looked so strong and in control, and Faithe only wished that he were in control of this. Things would not be so messed up if he were.
"Three days or three hundred, it doesn't matter. I don't have much of a choice." Reaching up, she laid her hand gently on his cheek, fighting back the urge to bawl her eyes out again. He didn't deserve all this emotion; he hadn't asked for it, nor did he need it. The thought of being at the other end of the country from her was probably what was upsetting her the most at this moment. Had she been thinking rationally, she was sure that she could easily come up with a way to overcome this. "The least I can do is audition in the Manhattan Theater, after begging and pleading with my parents. Texas is just way too far from you."
Forcing a small smile, she raised her eyebrow slightly, "I brake for starving children in India." Sliding her hand down his cheek, she rested her hand back on his chest. Sighing, the forced smile disappeared. "I will do that assignment. It might look strange if I am the only person to not do it, and end up with the highest grade in the class." Winking, the left side of her mouth crooked up ever so slightly for a short moment. "Besides, I need it to take my mind off everything."
Never taking his eyes off hers, the look of concern and perseverance failed to leave the man's face as he listened to her. She was obviously still upset, and, although she was trying to downplay just how upset she was, Orlando could see that the tears in her eyes were on the brink of falling. Tightening his arms around her, he pulled her closer to him for a moment and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before lifting her up onto the window seat, which was the perfect height off the floor to make their eyes level with each other's. ((Erm. did that make sense? You know what I was going for, right?))
Slowly, and somewhat reluctantly, he backed up and unwrapped his arms from around her, instead taking her hands in his own and resting them on her lap. Tilting his head to the side, he rubbed her hand with his fingers.
"Three days or three hundred days," he repeated, "you do have a choice. Don't let them push you into something you won't be happy doing. Talent is worthless without a passion just as passion is near worthless without talent. Even though you're a brilliant actress, Faithe, it's not going to matter."
Orlando's voice still carried its characteristic sincerity, but now the man was speaking from the heart, truly impassioned, and he wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
"You know why not? Because everyday you're going to get out of bed, and have to drag yourself down to the theater, all the while, looking up at the sun and wondering what phase the solar flare cycle is on, and, every night you're going to come home to your mansion and, while you're walking up the steps to your front door, the glimmer of the Betelgeuse ((that's the alpha star in Orion, right?)) is going to catch the corner of your eye, and you're just going to stand there all night, mesmerized, wondering why you let them make you give up what you love."
Her eyes never left his as a look of doubtful longing crossed her eyes. She wished that what he said could be true - that she could simply not allow herself to be pushed into what her parents wanted her to do, but it wasn't that simple. Shaking her head, her eyes fell to her lap, gazing at her hands in his. "It just isn't that simple, Orlando. They pretty much said that if I choose to go my own way, that letter would be the last that they would recommend me sending. Also, not to bother going home to get my stuff, because the only thing that would be waiting for me would be a very strong unwelcome."
Why are things happening like this? Pondering to herself, Faithe's whole countenance differed greatly from what it normally was. The smile that was normally held in her eyes was replaced with worry and dread. "I've never been allowed to work outside of the theater, and we never really got paid for that. So, I have next to no money. My possessions consist of what I have with me at school. If I don't follow what my parents want, I'm pretty much out on the street. I don't have a choice."
A look of resignation was on her face, an expression she had seldom ever felt. I don't know what to do. So many conflicts played inside her head, filling her mind with a thousand 'what if' questions.
The man saw the look of resignation- of defeat- cross her face, contorting it into a sort of submission, and sighed. He didn't appreciate how stubborn and overbearing her parents were being; they were almost mirror images of his own parents. Of course, there was one subtle difference: in Orlando's mind, at least, he had deserved what he had received. Every beating, every spiteful remark, and every disgusted glare was completely earned. He had been strong enough to deal with it, though. But Faithe.
She didn't deserve this pain, nor the agony that her parents' austerity had sparked. The unused bitter side of his personality was beginning to be utilized as he wondered what sort of people could ever cause such an angel to feel as disconsolate as the young woman felt.
"But, Faithe," Orlando whispered, bending his knees so that he could look back up at her face, "It is that simple. You know I'm right about this; the way your eyes keep staring at your lap proves that. You can't go off and live your life according to what your parents want you to do or what they want you to be because- it's this simple- that's not who you are."
He paused for a moment, and then continued.
"You do have a choice, Faithe. What do you want to do with Astronomy?" he inquired, "Whatever you want, you can do it. You're a brilliant girl. You're smart, beautiful, motivated, passionate." he trailed off there, knowing full well that he could go on for hours complimenting her. "And I'm sure you'll graduate at the top of your class from Rosencrantz. There isn't a place out in the world that wouldn't hire you, Faithe. You can get a job, make some money, and live out your dreams.
"Yeah, it'll take awhile, but while you're in limbo, you could."
[I]'You could stay with me'[/I] He finished the sentence in his head, knowing full well that it didn't sound right.
"You could go on with the acting thing, just for awhile," he concluded, although there was something in his voice that insinuated that he wasn't truly speaking his mind.
Shaking her head softly, Faithe looked him in the eyes. Life just isn't fair anymore. I don't have a choice. This was her fault; she just didn't live up to her parents' expectations. She wasn't good enough for them, and she never would be. All she had ever tried to do was please them. Everything that she did, every A that she got, was all because she had tried to make them proud of her, of what she could accomplish.
It meant nothing though. The only thing that mattered was the standing ovations. It didn't matter if she was sprained, as long as she could perform. If her voice went out, she had better be able to sing on stage. Her parents had spotlights for brains, and a stage for a heart.
"It won't work that way Orlando. My parents have a contract made up, just like they did with Jake. The only difference is, he wanted to do the theater thing. It's unbreakable, and by the time it would run out, it would be too late to do anything with Astronomy. There's no point in trying, they have me hooked, and they know it." Keeping her eyes on his, her eyes started watering again. Cursing her emotions, she took a deep breath.
Noticing the way he said his last comment, she raised her eyebrow slightly. "What were you going to say?"
Staring into her eyes, the man could see how torn she was. She was standing at a fork in the road. To the left lay a path overgrown with weeds and blocked by numerous fallen trees, but past all that, perhaps a mile down the road, was heaven, accompanied by an endless starry sky. To the right was a perfect cobblestone path, leading to a stage in the middle of a murky swamp of nothingness. 'Choose the easy road to nowhere, or the hard road to where you want to be.'
Sighing aloud, he straightened his knees, resuming his full height of 6'1". Still holding her hands in his, he looked out over the sea of students, into the clouds. His mind was clouded, just as the sky was at that moment. Should he tell her what he was going to say? Or should he let it slide?
Glancing at Faithe out of the corner of his eye, he gnawed on his tongue. Her mind was made up; she had given up, surrendered without a fight. ((Hmm. is she French? lol)) Not that he blamed her, of course. Going against the wishes of one's parents with absolutely nothing helping you wasn't exactly the brightest idea. She had nothing without them, and had chosen to surrender only to survive. 'twas better to be a prisoner of war than to be dead, he supposed. Then again, martyrs were honorable, in their own morbid sense.
"I was going to say that, if you wanted, you could stay with me for awhile. while you were in the limbo part of the plan, at least," he answered at last, keeping his eyes looking out the window, but still holding her hands in his own.
Not sure she heard him right, Faithe's left eyebrow raised slightly. Reaching up after a few moments' silence, she gently placed her fingers on his chin and turned his face towards her. "I couldn't do that to you Orlando. This isn't your mess to deal with, and I know you can't afford it. It's your first year teaching, and I know there is no way you could possibly be making enough to support more than yourself."
Sliding her hand from underneath his chin to his shoulder, that look of adoration that always seemed to reflect from her dark eyes around him washed over her. He was too wonderful to possibly exist. Any moment now, Faithe was waiting to wake up from this dream.
Opening her mouth to say something else, she was quickly silenced by a loud clap of thunder. Jumping practically into him out of startlement, she winced slightly as she caught sight of a massive lightning bolt. A small groan escaped her mouth as she buried her face in his chest. As another thunder roll clapped loudly overhead, the sound of the downpour filled the silence in the room.
"As much as I love the rain and storms, I am terrified of lightning."
Seeing that look of pure adoration radiating from Faithe's eyes as she looked at him, Orlando could feel himself blush and tried to cover that fact with a grin. Opening his mouth to object, though, he was cut off by the booming thunder as well.
As she jumped into him, he instinctively pulled her closer towards him, holding her tightly. Smiling as she buried her face in his chest, his hand wound itself around and gently stroked her hair.
"Don't be," he whispered, still holding her against him.
"And don't talk about you 'doing that to me' as if it's a bad thing," he added quietly, referring to her remark about moving in with him. "You could never possibly be a burden, Faithe. This may not be my mess to deal with, but it involves you, so I'm making it my mess to deal with. You didn't ask for this either, Faithe; it's not your fault.
"And yeah, you're right, galleons aren't exactly falling out of my pockets, but I'm sure we could manage, Faithe," he said, completely believing his idealistic vision of the world.
"I'm not trying to push you into it, though. I'm just saying that, if you want to, we could make it work. somehow."
Snuggling her head into his chest, she closed her eyes and felt her tense body relax. Hugging him tightly, she listened to the sound of melodious voice, feeling the vibration of his speaking against her cheek.
I wish life could be that perfect. Now she knew he was a dream. Nobody had ever taken it upon themselves to be so compassionate towards her. As much as she and Jake had always supported each other, he had never really stepped into any of the discrepancies between her and their parents. She couldn't let Orlando get involved in her problems. He didn't deserve it, and she cared about him too much to cast that burden on him.
"Orlando, you are too perfect." Tilting her head upwards, her eyes held that natural look of affection and adoration that had only been cast on him.
vy raised an eyebrow, snickering silently. Apparently, this was just some brat whining about her 'oh-so-horrible' problems and nothing more. And the teacher, being oh-so-understanding. Ugh. Would somebody please gag her with a spoon?!
Still, something here wasn't right. Since when did students call the teachers by their first names? She leaned a little bit closer, listening. There was something about suffering that was always entertaining--which explained who so-called 'reality' television shows were so popular.
Like a little kid listening in on plans for his or her birthday party, Ivy inched closer. As she listened to Orlando's descriptions of Faithe's future, with astronomy terms included, she had to fight laughter. It was obvious he was a former Athena. What a loser. Can you say 'geek?' Shaking her head mentally, she narrowed her eyes in thought.
Ivy bent down and peeked just inside the door, looking through a row of desks that were conveniently positioned to hide her from view. A wicked smile grew on her face as she watched this desperate, foolish broad. She raised her other eyebrow. They were holding hands....what?! Ooh, the tales that someone could create out of this...
However, maybe a tale wouldn't be needed. Their actions definitely weren't teacher to student at this point. And now the teacher was inviting her to stay with him! It was like a soap opera, almost, except one that didn't suck rhombus (HARHARHAR) and got better with every minute. Oh, and now she was leaning against him! Ivy blinked disbelievingly, noting the look of absolute rapture in Faithe's eyes.
This was just too, too good to be true.
"Nah," came the reply. Chortling quietly as he looked down at her, Orlando shook his head, still gently fondling her hair with one hand as the other ran up and down her back. There was that look in her eyes again, as if telling him he could do no wrong. But he wasn't as wonderful as she thought he was. "I'm nothing special, Faithe."
Noticing how she had brushed over his offer for the moment being, he wondered whether or not he should revive it. Perhaps, lost in her over admiration of him, she had just forgotten about it. Then again, what if just letting it slip was her way of tactfully declining his offer? Not knowing, the man's curiosity got the better of him.
"I meant it, y'know," he whispered quietly, gazing into her eyes. "If it'll help you at all, even just a little bit, Faithe, the offer still stands- from now until forever."
"You are too sweetie." Not wanting to move, Faithe continued to relax against him. Looking him in the eyes, she nodded. "I know, and trust me, there is nothing I would love more than to take you up on that offer Orlando. I just..." Taking a deep breath, she looked away for a moment. Returning her gaze towards him, she rested her head against his chest again. Closing her eyes, she sighed.
"I don't want to impose on you." The words sounded lame, even to her ears. "It's not fair to you. You've given me so much, and I feel like I haven't given you anything. I don't like that." Looking back up at him, a thoughtful expression crossed her face. "I just wish there was something I could do for you that was even half as meaningful as everything you have done for me."
A feeling of relief washed over Orlando as she spoke and the awkwardness of the moment, at least from his view, passed; she [I]did[/I[ want to stay with him. Then again, [I]was[/I] that a good thing? It meant she didn't think him odd for suggesting it, obviously, but did she want more of a serious relationship than he desired? No, certainly not, his mind answered, just as soon as it had asked. Wait-did [I]he[/I] want more of a serious relationship? Momentarily purging the thought from his mind, he carried on with life in that particular moment.
"Alright, Faithe," he replied, acknowledging her incessant torrent of outlandish reasons why she couldn't stay with him, "but if having you come stay at my place for awhile will help you- if it'll make this situation a little better for you- then the opportunity to do that for you, Faithe, would be a wonderful gift."
Putting a finger to the girl's lips for a short moment, he hinted that she shouldn't say another word against it.
"If it'll work out now, that's fine; if it'll work out later, let me know; and, if it never seems to fit, that's okay, too, Faithe. But, I mean it, the offer'll stand forever."
Bending his neck, he kissed the girl's forehead lightly.
"You said something about auditioning for the Manhattan Theatre," he remarked, randomly changing the subject, "I'd be more than glad to take you down there some night if you'd like to talk to them."
Squeazing his hand affectionately, she offered a small smile. "I know. Thank you." Closing her eyes when he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She loved the feeling of his nearness; the feeing she got when he was near. Smiling at his offer, she nodded.
"Well, I don't know how much of an audition it will be for me to actually become a member of this chain of our theater company. My parents are at their Dallas - Forth Worth location, but everybody in this company knows how Jake and I are." Smiling, she leaned her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug.
Standing in silence for a few moments, she finally looked back up at Orlando. "Thank you for making everything better." Or at least for seeming to make everything better.
Feeling her arms wrap themselves around him and her head gently rub against his chest, a contented smile took its place upon Orlando's face. Enveloping his arms around her, he affectionately rubbed his hands along her back, puling him close to him. Craning his neck around her head, his lips planted a soft kiss on her neck before pulling back and gazing down at her, once more allowing his arms to freely drape around her, yet not hold her as tightly.
"You're welcome," he answered, with a slight sparkle flickering in his eyes. Carefully moving so that the girl's head was no longer on his chest but, most likely, looking at him, a boyish grin tugged at his lips.
"Now," he began, "let me get this straight, you say 'they all' know who you and Jake are, huh? So. does that mean I'm involved with a celebrity?"
Smirking and laughing affably at his own jest, he abruptly flung one arm around Faithe's back and the other under her knees, lifting her up into his arms and playfully spinning her around.
"Do tell me, Miss Cunningham, will you be requiring an escort for the Academy Awards this year?" he asked as a joke , raising an eyebrow and looking into her eyes with a most fixated of glances, still holding her securely in his arms.
A small shiver ran through her as she felt him kiss her neck, a small smile spreading over her mouth. She couldn't prevent the laugh that escaped her at his comment. "Hardly celebrities. Considering the fact that my parents own the theater, and that's the theater my brother pushed me off the stage into the orchestra pit, they know me relatively well." Grinning, she reached behind her head and ran her finger over the small scar on her neck. Shaking her head, a small chuckle escaped her mouth.
Squealing when he picked her up, her arms wrapped around his neck. Giggling as he spun around, she rested her forehead against his cheek, closing her eyes tightly to fade out the colors all blending together. Opening her eyes, she met his mesmerizing gaze that she had come to adore. Raising one of her hands to his cheek, she gently ran her hand down the side of his cheek, a soft smile on her face.
"No, not the Academies." Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I have always liked the dancing aspect of theater. When I was younger, before the accident, I had been conditioning to try out for Julliard. Well, auditioning isn't quite the word I should use; one of their scouts had seen me in one of my parents' productions and recruited me. The whole audition thing was supposed to be a formality." Closing her eyes, a small smile spread over her face as she slipped her hand down to his neck, wrapping her hand around it lightly. "I always dreamed of being apart of the American Ballet Theatre in Broadway, New York, or even the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, that way I could visit their astronomy conservatories as well as dance."
Lifting her head up, she looked at him and raised her eyebrow slightly to accompany the half smile that spread over her face. "That is the only thing good that came out of all these years of being forced into dance lessons and voice lessons. I really did enjoy dancing, but it's funny how fate works." Shaking her head, she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him, her nose wrinkling slightly as she did so. "Fate introduced you to me, so I have every reason in the world to be thankful."
A contented sigh escaped the man's lips as a complementary smile lit up his face. [I]This was how it's supposed to be[/I],' he though to himself. Her head resting against his shoulder, beautiful eyes staring into his, hand around his neck, and her body cradled in his arms. Though her words were nothing spectacular, the man found himself absolutely captivated by her voice, yearning to know everything about the incredible woman he held in his arms. In fact, he barely comprehended the theatre jargon with which she spoke, but it made not the slightest different.
Feeling her head leave its place upon his shoulder, Orlando's brilliant blue eyes flitted downward to meet her gaze. That impeccably enchanting half-smile had once again graced the man with its presence, prompting his own characteristic grin to appear upon his face. Chuckling at her last corny remark, he rolled his eyes at her, only to hide the warm blush currently rouging his cheeks.
"Fate has its perks," he mused. "Although I don't see how I'm one of them," he added with a grin.
"So, you've pretty much got a spot in Manhattan if you want it. That's good. I'd still like to take you down there sometime, just to get everything worked out, y'know; make sure that it's what you want, or, at least, something you can be a little bit happy doing."
A dreamy expression came over her eyes as she stared at his indelible, brilliant blue eyes with his smile that always made her heart race. Sure that he hadn't heard a word she said, Faithe kissed his cheek lightly. "My brother has a show next weekend. He was wanting me to go up and see him. Would you be interested?"
Running her index finger over his bottom lip lightly, the light side of her mouth crooked up, allowing her dimple to crinkle. Faithe's eyes could not have shown any brighter had Alderman itself been shining in the depths of her eyes as if her pupil were the darkness of the heavens, and the twinkling from the bright star the joy that was evident through her eyes.
"You're more than a perk." She wrinkled her nose as he rolled his eyes, though she couldn't help the wide smile that spread over her face as she noticed the faint blushing. "I know, I know. I'm a corn puff."
As she stared into his eyes, Orlando's eyes met hers, gazing deep inside her. As her lips caressed his cheek, he was sure that the slight blush deepened for a moment. She was, in a word, adorable.
"Interested?" he repeated, having just barely listened to the words she had spoken this time, "As long as I'd be accompanying you, my dear Miss Cunningham, I would be obliged."
As her finger waltzed upon his lips, his lips curled into a smile and his blush deepened for a moment before finally going away. Laughing slightly at her reference to herself as a "corn puff", he kissed her lips gently.
"Perhaps, but you're an adorable corn puff then," he replied with a grin.
Casually his eyes flit towards the Grandfather Clock in the corner- almost time for second period to begin. For him second period was his free period- for prep- but he wasn't sure if she had somewhere to be or not.
"It's almost time for second period begin," he stated, "I don't have a second hour class, so, if you'd like to stay. I wouldn't have a problem. If you have a class, I'm sure I could get you out of it."
"Mmmm...I like cheese puffs." Grinning at her random comment, Faithe tweaked his nose lightly. "Alrighty, I'll send a letter to the hotel I normally stay at and tell them I need one more room. What they may do is give us the Double Penthouse, as opposed to the single Penthouse I normally stay in. When Jake and I used to travel up here together, we would end up in the Double. There are two bedrooms, but in the center is the living room, dining room, kitchen, bar table, etc."
Following his gaze to the clock, she sighed. "For you, I would usually have no problem missing Potions, but we do have a test in there today." Relunctantly, she wiggled down from his arms, sticking her bottom lip out slightly. Pinching his cheeks lightly, she grinned, "Unless of course, you want to take it for me. I'll teach your imaginary class."
Nodding as she spoke about the hotel business, the man couldn't help but notice her bluntness about the fact that them having two separate bedrooms. Indeed, it [I]was[/I] the prudent thing to do, and Orlando didn't exactly feel cheated or bitter about it, but the very fact that she had been so blatant about it brought a small grin to the man's face.
As she reluctantly wriggled out of his grasp, he helped her down, positioning his arms so she almost slid out of them. Grinning back as her fingers touched his cheeks, his hand reached up and entangled their fingers with hers.
"Potions is overrated- there's not enough math involved," the man replied with a roll of his eyes, "I'd take your test, but I'm afraid I wouldn't do too well. Plus, the whole point of you skipping class was so you could be with me, darling."
Faithe tilted her head to the side slightly as she noticed his smile, "What? What was that smile for?" A curious smile spread over her face as her left eyebrow raised slightly.Feeling the warmth of his fingers intwined with hers, Faithe squeezed his hand affectionately.
"If you were to get me out of class, how would you do so?" A slight shiver ran through her spine as he called her 'darling.' She wasn't used to little nicknames of that sort, except with Jake. Only, he usually only called her sweetie, but that was a completely different relationship all together. "I would be more than happy to spend time with you, as long as I could make up my test."
Tilting his own head to meet her gaze, Orlando shrugged nonchalantly. His boyish grin transformed into an impishly mischievous smile, however, killing any possibility of pulling off casualness.
"Eh, nothing," he replied with a small laugh.
"Such an Athenian." Sighing with mock disapproval, he shook his head at her. The girl's dedication to her schoolwork was impressive, though, reminding Orlando much of himself while he was a Rosencrantz student.
Flitting his blue eyes around the classroom, he tried to think of a feasible excuse to use on Professor Ferenia. After all, he didn't recall the woman from his time at school and, despite having taught at Rosencrantz for a while, he still didn't know the woman all that well. Several ideas came to mind, but the man's irrefutable integrity got the better of him. He wouldn't lie completely.
"Well, if I were to get you out of class," he began, slowly detangling his fingers from hers and, instead, wrapping his arms around her waist, "I'd tell Professor Ferenia that I needed some 'assistance' with a project during my prep period and, as you're the only student with the astronomical competence to aid me, asked you if you could help me."
Glancing warily at Faithe, he raised his eyebrows meekly. "You think she'd let you off with that?"
'Tsk tsk tsk..." Clucking her tongue at him, she shook her head with a smile on her face. "Sounds good to me, Pinochio." Winking, she stood on tip toe to kiss his nose lightly, brushing her lips against his as she lowered herself back down, but not kissing him. Wrinkling her nose at him, she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him.
"Yes, I -am- an Athenian, and proud of it," there was an arrogance in her voice that one could easily take to be serious pride. However, the look on Faithe's face after she said it gave away the fact that she was, for the most part, speaking in gest. Poking him in the stomach, she grinned. "As if you most likely weren't the same way when you were a student, Mr. Lorenz."
Grinning at how incredibly and irresistibly adorable Faithe's endearing jests were, Orlando chuckled quietly. As she poked him in the stomach, he smirked a little then grabbed her hand and, holding it gently in the air, tickled her side with his free hand for a moment, grinning all the while.
"Oh, so now I'm 'Mr. Lorenz'?" he joked, mocking her formality. "I see how it is, I tease you just a little bit and automatically I'm nothing more than an elder to you..."
Flashing his characteristically boyish grin at her, he winked.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," he answered, "In fact, I'd wager that I was worse than you in regards to 'Athenian-ness', though. Besides Quidditch practice, classes, and sleeping, I don't believe there was a ever a time that I wasn't in the library, reading through books of a sort, or independently studying Astronomy with Professor Estrella."
Shrugging at his patheticness, Orlando rolled his eyes slightly.
Squealing, Faithe wiggled uncontrollably from his tickling her, "Heyyy! That tickles!" Laughing, she stuck her tongue out at him again, trying to defend herself. "Ha ha! Elder my tush! You were still in diapers when I was born, thank you very much!" Shaking her head while grinning, a small laugh escaped her as she looked up at him, a coy expression on her face. "Orlando," practically purring his name, she winked at him.
Shaking her head at his insinuation, she grinned, "I was worse. The only thing I ever do besides classes is more work. The past few years, we had this old crazy lady named Dobbels. I don't think she really appreciated the fact that I had such an adamant interest in Astronomy. I was always in here, trying to do as much work as possible. She looked at me one day and asked me if I ever went away."
Laughing, she shook her head as she wrapped her arms loosely around his waist. "She was absolutely insane; she would be talking in English, and then go off in Spanish. Plus, she tried to convince me that the Aurora Borealis was a direct affect of Ursa Major overflowing with Milky Way Chocolate." Laughing, she shook her head at the insanity from her theory. "I think they had her teaching out of field."
Guffawing and grinning as she wiggled away from his fingers, there was most certainly a sparkle in the man's brilliant blue eyes. "Yeah, Faithe, defend yourself by sticking out your tongue," he teased.
As she purred his name and wrapped her arms around him, the man felt his stomach lurch. [I]'I swear[/I],' he thought to himself, putting his own hands lightly upon her shoulders, '[I]She has no idea what she does to me.[/I]'
Chuckling at the preposterousness of the famed Professor Dobbels, Orlando rolled his eyes. "Just a little bit," he replied, with a wink, "I mean, anyone can make a mistake. After all, its [I]Corona[/I] Borealis that's a direct effect of Ursa Major's overflowing with Milky Way chocolate."
Slowly backing up towards his desk, he gently pulled Faithe with him, guiding her by the shoulders as he moseyed. Taking his right hand off her shoulder, he plucked his maple wood wand off the edge of his desk as a grin came over his face.
"So, you still wanna help me with that 'project'?" he asked with a mischievous undertone in his deep bass voice. Expecting her to be confused, he clarified his randomness. "You didn't expect to completely lie to Professor Ferenia, did you?"
Rolling her eyes as she shook her head, a light smile on her lips. "I like Muskateers better, but I'm a Resee's girl." Winking, she reached up, running her finger down his jaw bone. Looking up at his eyes, she found herself unable to tear her brown eyes away from his twinkling blue eyes. A small laugh escaped her lips at his comment about the 'project.'
"Hmmm...Let me think.What sort of project are we talking about?" A flirtatious, mischevious grin spread over her face. Closing most of the space between them, she reached up. Lightly tapping on his cheek, she 'drew' out Orion. Shaking her head, she grinned, "I'm such a dork."
Feeling her fingers dot his cheek, Orlando closed his eyes, mentally connecting the dots and smiling when he realized that she had dotted out a constellation: Orion. Winking at her, his boyish grin countered her own mischievous one.
"Well, Miss Cunningham," he began, looking into her eyes, "I'm not quite sure how to describe it..."
His finger waltzed along her jawbone, over her lips and then the back of his hand scooped her head beneath her chin up towards him. Planting a soft, dulce kiss upon her lips, he grinned.
"I believe you'll find it worth your time, though..."
I'm in heaven... Feeling like some giggly school girl, her lip twitched slightly as he touched it. "That tickles," smiling as she spoke, she slid her arms down his some, resting her hands on his upper arm. Running her index finger in a small circle over his bicep, the left corner of her mouth crooked up in her famous half smile.
"I don't know," her voice dripping in sarcasm, but her face showing gest. "I'm not specialized in Astronomy like you, Professor Orlando Lorenz." As she spoke her last three words, she put a small hesitation in between each name. When she spoke his actual name, her voice softened to a soft purr, winking as she did so. "I'll do what I can," a flirtatious expression crossed her eyes as she pulled back from him suddenly, breaking all contact, but still within a one foot reach.
"What are we doing?"
"specialized in Astronomy like you...
Faithe's words clearly held a second meaning, Orlando noted to himself. Indeed, the girl probably wasn't as "specialized" as himself. Of course, he didn't exactly mind that. It probably had something to do with the male superiority gene, but he preferred it that way.
As she touched his arms, the man could almost feel a slight, pleasant shiver ripple through his body. And then, as she purred his name once again, his boyish grin melted into a contented smile. Yet, when she pulled back so suddenly, his eyes lost their dazed look and his right eyebrow raised curiously.
Hrm... Now, this could go one of two ways. Either he could grab her by the waist and spin her into his arms and dip her down, punctuating the near tango-move with a passionate kiss, or, he, too, could join in the "hard-to- get" game.
Smirking, he opted for the second one. Turning around, he retrieved a pile of books, and handed them to her.
"There's supposed to be a small comet passing by Earth soon," he stated. "I'd like to get an exact date of arrival as well as some background info on the comet itself."
Gathering another, much smaller, stack of books, as well as a differentiation table, for himself, he sat down atop his desk and began working through a rather complicated looking mathematical equation.
"If you wouldn't mind, start looking through those old astronomy journals for any comets appearing around the 1630 to 1650 time period...
Bringing herself back to her objective, Faithe silently scolded herself for allowing her thoughts to wander. Had she not been completely engrossed in the book, she most likely would have felt Orlando's eyes on her. As it was, her thoughts had completely gone to various comets whose pictures had jumped out at her.
Skimming through the index, she shut the book cover, setting it down on the desk. Deep in thought still, her eyebrows furrowed together slightly as she shook her head. "Orlando, I don't think that's an old comet. I don't remember ever hearing about anything in the time period, and I know I would have at least remembered that there was something within those twenty years. So far, all these books are mentioning comets around those twenty years. "
Standing up, she walked back to the front and grabbed another two books. Skimming through the index until she found a timeline, she turned to page 246, careful not to rip the delicate pages. Her eyes moved quickly across the page, shaking her head again. "Nothing."
Too engulfed in the possibility that was lingering in his mind, Orlando only nodded at Faithe's reply. Her research, or rather lack there of, had only reinforced the possibility that the comet he had become hooked on hadn't ever been seen before. Perhaps, just maybe, he was on to something grand.
Finally getting past the difficult part of the equation, Orlando's quill began scrawling rapidly.
dx/dt=4sin(3t) dy/dt=3cost-cot(t)/t^3 s(t)= 1.7x^3 + 3c^y -8xy s'(t)=v(t)=
His handwriting went from being meticulous to nearly illegible. Despite the growing grin upon his face, his eyes were still deeply focused on the work before him. Glazed over with thought, they did nothing but stare.
"X of t equals 19 when t equals 361.128n, and y of t equals 43.9 when t equals..." he mumbled under his breath. Please be 361.128... Scribbling urgently, the man set his quill down and smiled. "361.128..." he whispered.
Mentally calculating the equivalent date, he looked up at Faithe with the biggest grin possible. They held before them the only known remaining astronomical journals whose observations had yet to be cataloged in the world. If there were no comets recorded in 1642 in any of those journals, then he had discovered a new comet.
"Faithe," he said quietly, trying not to build his hopes up too much, "Look though the brown suede book right there- the one with the name Adrastos Jubliese on the cover- and tell me if there's any mention of a comet in his observations for February 16..."
Her brown eyes froze on him as he murmured to himself, working on his equation. She felt growing excitement stirring inside of her as she watched his mouth move over the numbers. Faithe knew what all this meant, what it could mean. Hopping up, she snatched the book and began thumbing through it intently.
Searching through, she almost squealed in delight and excitement. "Orlando," her voice somehow remained calm, but the look of jubilance on her face was almost too much to hold in, "There is nothing for February. Period." Her smile widened to a grin as she squealed. Standing up, she handed the book to let him see it himself.
Leaning towards her, Orlando watched and waited, holding his breath. As she spoke, a broad grin took over his face. Nearly snatching the book from Faithe's outstretched hands, he hastily tore through the pages. There wasn't a thing written for February.
That meant there wasn't a single recorded observation of this comet ever in history. And that meant that, as long as he had performed his calculations correctly, Orlando Corvello Lorenz had discovered a comet.
Jumping off the desk he had been sitting on, he grabbed Faithe in his arms and twirled her around, lifting her feet off the ground, as he kissed her.
"You know what this means?" he exclaimed excitedly. "We discovered a comet!"
Squealing as he picked her up, she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Laughing as he spun her, she returned the kiss. "We nothing! You discovered a comet!" Grinning as her feet touched the ground, she wrapped her arms around him tighter, hugging him. The look of jubilance spreading even more on her face.
"You did it! Gah...Now sixty years from now if the comet makes another appearance, I'll be able to say to my grandchildren, 'Yup! The Lorenz Comet! He was a teacher of mine, and I had the privilage of being there when he realized what he'd found.' " Taking a tiny step backwards, Faithe wrapped her hands around one of his. "I'm so proud of you." Her brown eyes sparkled with adoration and admiration as she looked at him.
Grinning and laughing at the same time, Orlando's head shook as she spoke; he was much too modest to take credit for his own discovery.
"361 years, 47 days from now," he corrected her, with that same grin still plastered upon his face, "We'll both be dead, but, indeed, the Faithe- Lorenz Comet will still live on... provided, of course, that it has enough mass to make another trip around the universe without dying out."
Too excited about the new discovery, Orlando didn't even notice the way the proposed name for the comet sounded. He had intended it to be hyphenated, and the name Cunningham didn't seem to reflect the part of Faithe he wanted immortalized.
Kissing her again, he squeezed her hand.
"See," he said with a mocking grin, "I told you you'd enjoy this little project more than a Potions test..."
Shrugging, she grinned, "Fine. 361 years and 46 days from now, my great- great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great," taking a deep breath, she continued, "great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great- great grandchildren's grandchildren read my everlasting diary, I will leave a message saying that I knew the most amazing," pausing she kissed his left cheek, "most wonderful," pausing again, she kissed his right cheek, " incredibly man." Kissing his nose lightly, she grinned.
Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Faithe Lorenz?" Hearing her name with his last name, the first thought that popped into Faithe's head certainly was not the name of the comet. Isabelle Faithe Lorenz. That sounds...nice. Smiling, reached up and ran her finger down the side of his cheek. Whoa, hello! Come back from dreamy land sweetie. Talk about your thoughts being in Never Never Land.
"The Lorenz Comet. This is your glory sweetie. Don't name it something you could very possibly regret. Besides, your discovered it."
Blushing horribly as she kissed his cheeks, and then his nose, Orlando put a hand to his warm cheek and gave her his boyish grin. What in the world had he ever done to deserve such a wonderful, charming, adorable girl? As she put her arms around his neck, his own hands found their way to her hips.
Hearing her voice repeat what he had just said, "Faithe Lorenz", a strange look came over the man's face. The words sounded quite nice together, as though they had been meant to be paired as such. Then realizing he'd said them aloud but a moment before, and seeing the dreamy look overcome Faithe's face, the blush in his cheeks deepened and a nervous chuckle passed through his lips.
It wasn't that he was embarrassed of thinking such a thing, it was the fact that this was the second time in less than an hour that the thought had crossed his mind, and, that, this time, he had probably instilled the thought in Faithe's mind as well. 'Way to go, Orlando...'he though sarcastically as her finger waltzed upon his face.
"Alright," he said, giving in, "The Lorenz Comet, is it, then." Nodding at her, he gently kissed the top of her forehead.
"I wouldn't ever regretted naming it after you, though," he added quietly. Of course, there's always a possibility you'll share a name with it someday...
Laughing, she shook her head. "You're such a goofus. So, what do you need to do, Orlando Lorenz, to make your astounding discover official? I'd hate to have seen you go through all of that just to have somebody else take it from you." Smiling, she toyed with a strand of his hair above his temple.
"Who knows? You could end up hating me by the end of next week." The thought had crept into her mind more than once. She knew Orlando could do better, deserved better. Everything going on with him still felt like a dream to her, and she was startled by the idea that one day she would wake up from it. "So, when is your baby going to be visible?"
"Well, I suppose I'll need to report it to one of the international conservatories, of which, lucky for us, one is located in the outskirts of Manhattan. I'll have to call them up today, of course, and 'stake my claim', but then, if you don't mind, we could stop by there next weekend, when we're there visiting your brother," Orlando replied, grinning as he mentioned their trip together, soemthing that he positively couldn't wait for.
"Hate you by the end of next week?" he repeated, trying to stiffle his laughter. "Impossible. After all I've done to keep you, there's no way I'm letting you off that easy."
Though his typical joking demeanor was still apparant, it was obvious that his sincere side was beginning to show itself as well.
"About a week, two days, nine hours, seven minutes and thirteen-- fourteen-- - fifteen seconds," he answered after a moment, "Of course, I did just calculate that in my head, so I'm probably off by a few minutes."
Grinning, his hands moved off her hips and wound themselves around her waist, locking their fingers together behind her back.
"Whenever it is, though, you'll come up and see it with me, won't ya?" he asked, not really asking, though, "On broomstick, of course."
Nodding, an excited expression crossed her eyes at the prospect of getting to go to a real conservatory. She had never had the opportunity to do so, her parents made sure of that. Her excitement for the Manhatten trip was continuing to grow. It had been quite a few months since she had seen Jake and Kaytlin. "I will definitely go watch your comet with you. Nothing would keep me away."
"I can't wait! The weekend is never going to come! I can't wait to see Jake. And an even bigger plus is I get to spend the weekend with you." Grinning, she wrinkled her nose slightly as she stuck the tip of her tongue out. Faithe had a pretty good idea that Jake and Orlando would get along fantastically. "Oh! And I get to introduce to my baby girl!" Completely forgetting that she hadn't mentioned anything about her niece, Faithe didn't stop and think that her nickname for Kaytlin may sound rather...odd to Orlando.
Grinning, Orlando nodded as Faithe spoke, getting excited himself at the wonderful weekend to come. Meeting Faithe's much-talked-about brother, officially documenting the discovery of his new comet, spending the entire weekend with a woman he had grown oh-so-terribly fond of, and...
Brilliant blue eyes widened to the point where one would have thought the man was in shock. Faithe had a child? Dear God... He himself had made done some things throughhout the course of his life, namely Demeter, but the very thought of someone so pure, innocent, and sweet as Faithe having done... that...
His breath had caught in his chest and his hands fell loose at his sides, dangling freely. Swallowing, he blinked several times and let his shocked look slowly transform into one of pure confusion.
"What?" he breathed, quietly.
Perhaps he hadn't heard her right. Oh, he hoped so. The thought of someone like Faithe having been through something like a pregnancy... The girl was barely eighteen, for heaven's sake.
Hesitantly re-winding his arms around her waist, he gently rubbed her back as his eyes met her gaze, radiating concern more than anything else, though he was hoping for an explanation of sorts.
Looking at him with a look of utmost confusion, it took Faithe a couple of silent, awkward moments to realize why Orlando looked as if he had just seen a ghost. Covering her mouth, she burst into laughter, leaning on him for balance. Trying to spit out what she meant by that, she found that it was hard to form words when her laughter was so heavy she couldn't breath. Simply shaking her head, she finally lowered her hand.
"NO!!!" Still giggling, she wiped away a tear that had fallen from laughing so hard. "No, no, no! That would be rather difficult! Considering the fact that I've never..er...well..." looking down at the ground, an amused expression in her eyes, she simply waved her hand in the air to silently finish her thought. Looking back up at his blue eyes, she dissolved into another fit of laughter before gaining control over herself.
"Kaytlin Cunningham. She's Jake's daughter." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she bit her bottom lip lightly. A more serious expression came over her as she searched his face. "She's almost five. Jake will be 21 in a month. When he was fifteen, he made a mistake, and Kaytlin was the outcome of that mistake. Bridget, Kayte's mother wanted nothing to do with her, and wanted to put her up for adoption. Jake wouldn't go for it. He knew that he had made a mistake, and had to pay the consequences for it. He loves Kaytlin more than anything, and he wouldn't give her up, but he does wish he would have waited."
A small smile crossed her face, "He's a great father. Anyways, I helped him raise her. I didn't give birth to her, but I was more of a mother than Bridge was." Winking, she couldn't help but let a small laugh out. "I assure you, I don't intend on being a mother any time soon."
Alright. She was laughing, so, either, that meant that she found his state of shock extremely entertaining, or that he really had heard her wrong. Hoping for the latter, Orlando simply raised his eyebrows and gave her a prodding look, awaiting the end of the giggling spell.
Breathing a sigh of relief at her explanation, and chuckling slightly at her inability to do anything more than insinuate the action she had never taken part it, he grinned.
"Oh!" he exclaimed mid-way through her explanation, finally understanding. Smiling, he nodded and then rubbed his blushing cheeks. Not that he had truly thought that [I]that[/I] had occurred, but the fact that, for an instant, the thought had crossed his mind was rather embarrassing.
As she made the blatant point of her not intending on being a mother anytime soon, Orlando smirked again, amused by her bluntness. Then again, the way she had spoken so harshly of Jake's mistake, and the subsequent consequences brought a bit of doubt to Orlando's mind. Did she judge him as such for his own past? She knew about him and Demeter from the infamous morning after.
Blowing off the worry, he shrugged inwardly.
"Well, I can't wait to meet your 'baby'," he said with a grin.
Wow Faithe, what a way to give him a heart attack. Smiling, she stuck her tongue out and touched the tip of his nose with the tip of her tongue. Shaking her head with a small chuckle, she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "You look so adorable when you blush, dahling."
"Goofus. I would have told you before now if I had a child." Tightening her arms, she gave him a tight hug, kissing his cheek when she pulled back. "I should go send a letter to Jake and get him to make a reservation at the hotel. Will I see you later?"
Sighing, Orlando hung his head with mock shame as she noted his blushing.
"I know, I know," he said, "It's something I do much too often."
Of course, he couldn't help it, and, as her lips gently caressed his cheek, he felt them grow warm again and grinned, knowing she probably noticed it as well.
Wrapping his arms around her, after she had pulled back, he squeezed her against his chest, lifting her feet a few inches above the ground.
Setting her down, he left his hands drop down to his sides, swingingly subtly.
"Absolutely not," he replied. He kept a completely straight face for a few seconds before that broad, boyish grin shone through once more.
"Of course you will."
"Aww!" Pinching his cheek lightly, she grinned at him. "I love it when you blush sugarbear." Winking, she squealed slightly when he lifted her off the ground, her arms instinctively hugging him tighter. When he put her down and gave her the negative response, she poked her bottom lip out, pretending to pout. Sticking her tongue out at him with a mischevious glint in her eye, stood up on her toes, almost going into a point ballet position. Rubbing her lips against his, she pulled back quickly, a wicked smirk crossing her face.
"Bye," turning towards the door as she spoke, she turned her head back to him, "Orlando." Purring his name again, she winked and headed towards the door.
Ivy had been sitting there the whole time, watching them interestedly. Honey, love, sugarbear...It was all she could do not to burst out laughing. Oh, this was good, just too good to be true. Fun, fun, fun...
Oh, but wait! A plan was already forming in her Discordian mind. This was spectacular. Oh, imagine that chaos that she could create with this! She stifled a giggle, remaining silent, and shook her head. Oh dear, oh, oh dear...
Hearing Faithe state that she was going to leave, Ivy stood up silently and tiptoed down the stairs. She stopped near the foot of the stairs, knowing that it would look seriously suspicious if she was caught walking away. She innocently sat down on the steps and began to tie her shoes, straining her ears for the last fragments of the conversation. She was tying her shoes, just tying her shoes...
