Hello guys! Sorry for the wait! I just wanted to thank my beta NinjaWithImagination for fixing my typos in this! Also, thanks for your guys' reviews. They mean the world to me, and it makes my day when I see a new review!
Chapter Twenty-Five
"So…what now?" I asked after a moment of awkward silence.
"What do you mean?" Blake raised an eyebrow.
"Well, do things just go back to normal?" I wasn't sure if I was going to continue to be a slave to Blake after he just told me he loved me.
"For the most part. Everything will be the same, you just won't be a slave anymore," he explained.
"So I'll be a pet instead?" I asked, slightly appalled at the word. It reminded me of Jareth.
"Yeah, how do you know of that term?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.
"That was what Jareth called me."
"I see. So…do you mind showing me your back?"
"If I must…" I muttered, standing up and turning my back on Blake. I rose my shirt up, and heard a loud gasp of rage escape from Blake's lips. I put my shirt down, and turned around to see Blake on his feet.
"I'll be back in an hour. I'm going to go kill his ass," he growled, getting ready to head for the door. I caught his wrist, stopping him.
I don't know why, but I felt like if Blake were to go kill Jareth, it would be my fault that Jareth would be dead. Even after all the terrible things he had done to me, I didn't want to be the reason he was dead. I didn't want to live with that on my conscious. "Don't kill him," I said quietly.
"What? Why not?" Blake asked, confusion etched all across his face.
"Because…I don't know. It's just not right."
"Misery, he raped and tortured you. His death will be justified."
"Yeah, but you're not judge, jury, and executioner."
"You really don't want me to kill him?" His voice seemed slightly disappointed.
I nodded.
"Fine, I won't kill him," Blake gave in.
"Thank you," I thanked him. "I'm going to go up to my room."
"Before you go, I broke off the engagement with Megan," he informed me.
My face turned into an expression of surprise. "Really? Why?"
"I didn't love her," he simply said.
"It's an arranged marriage. Arranged marriages aren't for love," I pointed out.
"Yes, I know that, but if we were going to get married, we would have by now."
I was very confused as to why Blake's parents would put him in an arranged marriage, then allow him to get out of it. However, I didn't feel like talking about it anymore, so I simply nodded. "I'll see you later. I think I'm going to go take a nap."
"But it's only like, ten thirty," he said.
I shrugged. "I didn't sleep very well last night." I turned on my heel, and headed up the stairs. I opened the door to my room, finding that nothing has changed since I left. I stripped off the dress and shoes I had on and crawled into bed wearing only a bra and underwear. I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. I was trying to calm my mind from the information that was whirring around in my head.
I turned on my side, and after what felt like forever, my eyes finally slipped down on their own accord. I fell asleep a few minutes later.
There I was again. Nine years ago in the small apartment my mother and I called home. There she was again, sitting at the end of the bed, mucus coming out of her mouth and nose. There I was again trying to wake her, and when I didn't succeed, crying and calling the ambulance. There I was again, sitting in a room in my grandmother's house, being told that my mother died.
And there I was again. Being thrown back into the present, crying my eyes out and screaming at the top of my lungs. The door was slammed open so forcefully it bounced off the wall, nearly hitting Blake in the process.
"What?! What's wrong?!" Blake shouted.
I didn't respond right away. I was too busy trying to tell myself that she died nine years ago. I shouldn't be reacting like this. I should be used to it by now. But I wasn't.
"Misery, what's wrong?" he asked again.
"Nothing, I just had a bad dream," I answered.
His worried face relaxed. "Is everything okay? Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really," I replied honestly.
"Okay. That's fine. It's nearly one thirty. Do you want to get something to eat?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." I threw the covers off my body, forgetting that I was half-naked.
"Oh!" Blake exclaimed, turning around as fast as possible.
"It's nothing you haven't seen before. Remember when you saw me completely naked?" I said in response to his actions, walking over to the closet.
"Yes, but that was when I was a dick…" he muttered.
I scanned the racks of clothes, relieved at the sight of the dark colors and lack of dresses. I picked a pair of black yoga pants and a deep purple long-sleeve shirt.
"Won't you be hot in that?" Blake questioned when he saw me emerge from the closet.
I shrugged. "I'll be fine."
"What do you want to eat? I can make something, or we can order out. Which do you prefer?" he asked.
"I don't care." Which was true. I didn't.
"I personally am feeling like Chinese. How does that sound?" he suggested.
"Sounds fine to me," I replied.
"Okay. I'm going to go change out of this uncomfortable suit. Wait right here," Blake commanded before leaving.
About a minute later, Blake reappeared in my bedroom wearing dark green and black plaid pajama bottoms with a black t-shirt. "This is much better," he said with a goofy grin planted on his face. "So, I have some things planned out for today to celebrate your returning."
I raised my eyebrows. "Oh yeah?"
"Yes. I have just ordered the Chinese from my favorite place, and when the food arrives, we'll go the theater to watch a movie while we're stuffing our faces with chow mien and orange chicken," he declared.
"Theater? Sorry to rain on your parade, but I really don't feel like going out today," I truthfully told him.
"We're not going out. By theater, I meant the home theater," he clarified.
"You have a home theater?"
"Yeah. All houses this big have home theaters," he looked disbelieving , as if it was unthinkable that I didn't know all houses the size of his had a home theater.
As I began to nod, the doorbell rang. "That's the food," Blake announced before heading for the door.
I followed behind him. "Already? But you only called, like five minutes ago."
"It's a vampire place," he replied, saying nothing more on the topic. (It's not like he needed to. 'It's a vampire place' completely explained why the food was here so quickly.)
We reached the door, and Blake opened it to reveal a pale man with red eyes holding copious amount of Chinese cartons. Blake paid the vampire, and fumbled with the cartons of food. I grabbed a couple of them so he could shut the door without dropping the food and getting it everywhere.
"The theater is this way," he said. He led me through the kitchen, into a hallway just before we got to the garage, up a small flight of stairs, and into a room the size of half a football field. It had stadium seating (but instead of chairs, it had upholstered benches) with popcorn machines, soda machines, candy, and of course, a giant movie screen.
"Jesus, Blake. Why do you have all this?" I asked, surprised.
He shrugged. "It comes in handy when I have friends over."
"I see…"
He walked over to the soda machine, filled two cups up with Coke, and took a seat on the fifth bench from the bottom. He patted the seat next to him, summoning me. The action reminded me of Jareth, which caused a small expression of disgust to appear on my face. Blake didn't notice it, however, but continued to pat the bench. I walked over to him and sat on the comfortable bench.
"What movie do you want to watch?" he asked, handing me a carton of chow mien, orange chicken, a pair of chopsticks, and my drink.
"What movies do you have?" I replied with my own question.
He laughed. "It's more like what movies don't I have!"
I thought for a moment. "What about The Rocky Horror Picture Show?" I gave him a hopeful look. That was one of my favorite movies and I hadn't seen it in forever.
"You like RHPS too? Play The Rocky Horror Picture Show," Blake commanded.
"Are you-" I started, but stopped myself short when I heard 'Playing The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and a loading sign pop up on the movie screen.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Blake turned his head to look at me.
"Yeah. That's really cool," I agreed.
Just then, the movie started playing. I grinned. Did I mention I loved that movie?
"I love this movie. It's one of my favorites," Blake told me.
"Really? This is one of the best movies known to man… and woman," I replied, breaking apart my chopsticks and picking up a piece of orange chicken. I stuffed it my mouth and sighed contently. It was amazing.
Blake chuckled. "I'm glad to see that you like the food."
"It's great," I said through a mouthful of food.
Just then, the first song began. "Hey, Janet?" Blake asked me in sync with the movie.
"Yes, Brad?" I asked with Janet Weiss.
"I've got something to say," Blake and Brad Majors said together.
"Uh-huh?" Janet and I said.
"I really love…the skillful way…you beat the other girls…to the bride's bouquet."
"Oh. Oh, Brad," Janet and I swooned.
Blake began belting out all of Brad Major's lines, and when Janet's parts came up, I sang along.
We continued that way throughout the entire movie, singing along and stuffing our faces when there was just regular dialogue. The best part about the whole thing is when Blake started singing "Sweet Transvestite" at the top of his lungs. I laughed, and he laughed along with me.
Thirteen hours later, Blake and I devoured all of the take-out, a butt-ton of popcorn, and a ridiculous amount of candy. We watched Labyrinth, all three Jurassic Parks, The Avengers, and the first Harry Potter. Blake and I quoted the hell out of the movies, and laughed a collective number of five hundred million times. It was the most fun I had in a long time.
As the credits started rolling at the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, my eyes had decided to slip close and my head decided to rest itself on Blake's shoulder. He looked down at me and smiled. He brushed off the bits of popcorn that was sitting on his lap, and picked me up bridal style.
"No…I can walk…" I mumbled, my eyes still closed.
He chuckled. "No you can't. And even if you could, I don't mind carrying you."
I continued to protest weakly, but I was too tired to genuinely care, and I didn't mind being carried by Blake. His arms held me protectively, as if he was afraid someone would snatch me away from his grasp. His grip felt much more comfortable than Jareth's ever did.
We reached my room, and he pulled the covers of my bed back. He laid me on the bed, and tucked me in.
"You're treating me like five year old," I muttered. It was only a half-complaint.
He chuckled. "Oh well. Let me spoil you. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Misery."
"Good night, Blake," I muttered.
He smiled and left the room. I fell asleep as soon as the door closed.