Alex was sitting in a small ball on Carl's couch when he and Gabriel entered. She was wrapped in his robe, her face flushed, her eyes excited. She stared at Gabriel, and he stared back. If Carl had been expecting a friendly reunion between the two, he was much mistaken. There was a decidedly frosty atmosphere, and you could hear a pin drop in the silence.
"So..." Carl began.
"Gabriel," Alex whispered.
Gabriel's eyes were wide and bright, and he was panting softly. He looked very out of it, a very detached look lighting his face.
"Gabriel?" Carl asked, giving his friend a gentle pat on the shoulder.
He gave a sharp gasp, and cast a confused glance at Carl. Then his gaze returned to Alex. When he spoke, his voice was shaky yet firm.
"I do not believe a word of it," he said harshly.
Carl saw something break in Alex's eyes. Her expression was one of total heartbreak, her eyes filling with tears. She buried her face in her hands as Gabriel spun on his heel and stormed out, looking pale and strange. Carl felt an urge to follow him, but he couldn't leave the sobbing girl alone, and ran to her side, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame. She clung onto him tightly, burying her face in his soft robes as he held her close.
"It'll be okay," he promised in a tiny whisper.
"All I wanted," she sobbed, "is for my brother to accept me."
"I think he does. That look in his eyes- I think he had a vision which shook him," Carl told her gently.
"His past, he does not remember it, right?"
"No."
She pulled away from him, her beautiful face tear-streaked, and lay down, blinking sleepily. "It will much distress him to learn of it."
Carl went and sat in his chair, opening a book and pretending to read. Really, his eyes kept crossing over to where Alex was slowly falling asleep, her eyelids fluttering down slowly over those amazing soft brown eyes, a strand of hand playing over her face as the sun sank behind the horizon outside.
Short, I know. More coming soon! R&R please!