Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Lorien Legacies world, which is trademarked by Pittacus Lore.
"Get ready, they'll be here any minute now!"
Eight was slumped in front of the television, one leg resting atop the armrest of the sofa, his t-shirt and shorts creased due to sitting for long hours. He leaned forward in anticipation, as he popped one more groundnut, completely engrossed in the movie. He watched as the camera panned to reveal the face of the antagonist-
He felt a sudden push on his back as he was thrown unceremoniously to the floor.
"What the-"
The remote was forced away from his grasp as he saw it flying across the hall towards the kitchen straight into Marina's outstretched hand. "No more TV." she announced as she switched off the television with a smug face.
"FIVE MINUTES WOULDN'T HAVE MADE ANY DIFFERENCE!!" bellowed Eight, pushing back the curly mop of hair out of his face, his face reddened with rage.
"Like I said they'll be here any minute now." Marina said nonchalantly as she continued whipping up the cream for the dessert.
Eight could do nothing as he sat there seething, watching Marina's slender figure at work, already dressed up for the occasion. He imagined he almost saw her smile before she turned away.
"The nerve! First she snatches away the remote and then laughs about it?" he thought, absolutely livid, "You're so gonna pay for this!"
But now that he didn't have the remote control he decided he had no other option but to get ready. A devious plan formed in his mind as Eight teleported away to his room, smirking to himself.
Marina wiped off the last speck of dust on the kitchen counter and looked around, quite pleased with her work. The white plush sofa sat at right angles with the loveseat, a ceramic white vase placed on the centre table in front of them. The chandelier above them gave off a soft light, giving an almost ethereal look to the spacious living room. At some distance from the living room was the dining table, the chairs arranged neatly around it.
So the day was finally here. The Garde were finally meeting up after months of dilly dallying. The last time they met was during John and Sarah's wedding. Everyone had gotten very busy with their lives since then. Yet they managed to make time for each other, for old times sake.
Marina and Eight had been really excited about it and they had started shopping weeks before itself, wanting to make sure everything goes perfect. Now that she thought about it, Eight had helped a lot with setting up the house that day. He has sat down with the movie only after finishing with the decorations and preparing the main course with Marina. She felt bad for pushing him off the sofa, though the image of him sitting bewildered on the floor was rather amusing. She had turned away just in time to hide the grin that had crept up on her face. Maybe sometime later she would apologize to him.
A sudden ring of the doorbell brought her back to her senses. They were finally here. Yay! She walked across to a nearby glass door and checked her reflection one last time. The diamond earrings glinted in the light making her look radiant. Perfect. She hustled towards the door, the sound of her heels muffled by the carpet, and opened it.
"Marina!!" squeaked Ella as she leapt onto her in a hug. Marina hugged her back, rocking excitedly on the spot, "Oh my God, it's been so long!!" Six joined them in a group hug, all squeaking and grinning like little kids.
"Um, guys I guess we aren't invited."
Marina pulled back to see Nine's huge figure standing at some distance from them with the boys, his face twisted in a mock grimace. She rolled her eyes, "You haven't stopped being an ass, have you?" Nine laughed, and she said "Of course you're invited!"
Nine was still grinning as he stepped forward, embracing her in a bear hug, almost crushing her under his weight, which made her grimace.
She greeted the rest of them as she welcomed them inside, when Six raised an eyebrow, "Oh hullo! Look who's here!"
Marina turned back to see Eight standing in the hallway in a perfectly fit black tuxedo, as he pushed back his messy hair with a hand, and smiled at them with a smile so charming it almost made Marina go week in the knees.
"Ooh, sexy young man!" said Nine, moving away from Marina and slapping him on the shoulder. Eight laughed, "You don't look so bad yourself Professor!"
The Garde made their way to the living room, even as they continued to chatter and giggle, Six, Sam and Nine taking their seats on the sofa while Ella, John and Sarah squeezed themselves in the loveseat. Marina retreated to the kitchen to get the welcome drinks while Eight continued to entertain them.
She returned some time later with a tray of flutes balanced with her telekinesis, rolling her eyes at the story Nine was narrating on how he saved two pretty girls at the Academy with his antigravity skills, even as she placed them in the table in front of them. Eight was sitting next to Six with an arm over her shoulder, laughing at her jokes. When she offered them the drinks, Eight took it from her without so much as a glance in her direction. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness creep within her. She had dressed up for him, wore his favourite dress but he wasn't even looking at her. What was wrong? He never usually did this.
Oh don't be an idiot! she chided herself for letting herself feel this way when she heard Eight say, "Is it just my imagination or is Six looking really pretty today?", winking at Six. Six laughed and punched him playfully in the arm.
Wait, was he was actually flirting with Six? And ignoring her completely? She couldn't believe it, couldn't understand why he would do such a thing unless...
He was taking revenge. Revenge for not letting him finish the movie. She was fuming now. Are you kidding me? So you try to make me jealous just because I didn't let you finish the movie? Screw you, I'm gonna sit with- she looked around surreptitiously for a vacant space- Nine.
She crossed Eight and made her way to the other end of the sofa, sitting next to Nine. She had no idea what to do now. She had never flirted with anyone else except Eight, and that was after she had become quite comfortable with him. With him, she would lose all her innocence and say and do things which would even make Eight blush. He often joked about how she was a wolf in a sheep's clothing, though inwardly he beamed that he was the only one who could bring out that side of her. Well today, she was not going to shy away, she thought. She crossed her legs and clasped her hands, smiling awkwardly as she listened to the others, hoping nobody notices her while she tried to gather the courage to flirt with Nine and racked her brains for good pick-up lines.
Just then Nine spoke up above everyone's voices, "Well everyone's talking about how pretty Six looks tonight- no offence Six, you are the hottest chick on this planet,"even as Six raised an eyebrow, "but is no one gonna notice how gorgeous Marina looks tonight?" giving Marina a lopsided grin, "I mean, looks like Aphrodite decided to sit with us today!"
This was it. This was the kind of opportunity she needed. She smiled, tucking a hair behind her ear. "Oh my god, that's so sweet of you!" she giggled even as she pulled his cheek, "you're really cute!" She was glad she sat next to him; Nine did most of the flirting while all she had to do was laugh at his jokes or complement him back. They continued talking, jesting and pulling each others' leg, which though was only friendly, was enough to catch Eight's eye. It was only now that he appreciated how beautiful Marina was looking today, in the light blue dress he had gifted her on her birthday, her light brown hair falling softly on her face. But no, he could not let it show that he was smitten by her, especially not when he was mad at her. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy looking at them, and was acutely aware of the fact that Marina was decidedly avoiding looking at him. He continued to talk to Six, however his eyes wandering almost involuntarily towards Nine and Marina, who seemed to have gotten friendlier than ever.
Ella and John, seated on the opposite ends, watched the whole scene unfold before them, reading their minds telepathically, the hilarity of the entire situation cracking them up. They looked at each other knowingly, when John asked telepathically:
"Is there anything we can do to help these lovebirds?"
"Oh no, I think I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy the show." replied Ella, sipping her drink nonchalantly, and when John raised an eyebrow, winked at him.
The Garde soon made their way to the dining table, while Eight and Marina retreated to the kitchen to fetch the dishes. Now that they were all alone in the kitchen, the heaviness in their hearts slowly started sinking in. They had fights in the past too but had resolved them but today was different. Both of them were really excited about today. They thought this day would be one of the most memorable days of their life; a memory they would cherish for the years to come; who knew when they might be able to meet up again? But then things weren't turning around exactly that way. This was not how they had imagined the day to go. They silently moved around in the kitchen, the tension in the air almost palpable. Eight felt a sudden urge to reach up to Marina and talk to her but even before he could do anything Marina had already left.
Dinner was just as impressive as the party, the table studded with bowls of rice and beans, tortillas, croquettes, gazpacho and almond cake. The Garde devoured the food like they hadn't eaten in years, passing the dishes around, gossiping about the latest news about the Peacekeepers and catching up with each other's lives. Nine mumbled a word of praise for Marina, his mouth stuffed with tortilla and she responded with a tiny smile, though she wasn't really with him. Eight was sitting opposite to her, his eyes downcast as he silently chewed his food, and even amidst the buzz and babble, the sounds of their forks and spoons scraping against the plates seemed like the loudest sounds in their heads. Even now they weren't willing to make eye contact with each other.
John however was noticing both of them, and instinctively wanted to do something to ease the tension between them. He turned to Ella, almost pleadingly, for some help. Ella was also watching as Marina downed a glass of wine, her shoulders slumped. Even she seemed to have thawed by now, a pitiful look in her eyes.
"Okay, we really gotta do something about this." Ella declared telepathically to John.
John seemed to muse over this for some time and then said, "I think I know what to do."
Soon after dinner, the sofas and tables were pushed aside and the Garde were dancing to loud music which John played into the speakers using sonic manipulation. He however made sure the sound didn't cross their apartment just in case some cranky neighbor called the police. Sam manipulated the chandelier lights to change colours, giving off the feeling of disco lights. Everyone grooved to the music and downed more wine, engulfed in euphoria. They challenged each other on the dance floor, each one making a ridiculous step and everyone else following them, oblivious to the time that had passed.
Suddenly the music stopped. Everyone turned round to see John standing on the sofa, swaying slightly on the spot, a flute of wine in one hand as he announced, "This one's to the most beautiful girl out there, my strength, the love of my life, Sarah Hart!" Everyone cheered for them even as Sarah moved forward smiling, helping John down the sofa and then pressed their lips together in for a sweet kiss. A soft romantic song played in the background and the couples swayed to the music, wrapped in each other's arms. Marina and Eight however stood at some distance from each other, awkwardly shuffling in the spot, not knowing what to do. Throughout the party they managed to ignore each other, socialize with others but now that seemed almost impossible. They pretended to not hear the music, and continued dancing with the singles hoping that song got over soon.
Eight stood near the kitchen counter for another drink when he noticed Nine walk up to Marina and dramatically bow and hold out a hand in front of her. Was he asking her for a dance? Well it looked like it. He continued sipping his wine, knowing Marina would somehow chicken out of this. She might have been flirting with Nine but she definitely wouldn't dance with him. She was too shy to dance with anyone other than him.
But he watched absolutely flabbergasted as she took his hand. Nine smirked, and he thought he saw him glance towards him as he started leading her towards the dance floor. He felt his body shake with envy.
Okay, that's it.
Eight teleported in front of Marina and Nine, and clasping Marina's hand, he look Nine dead in the eye and said flatly, "I'm dancing with her."
"Of course, she's all yours." Nine bowed again dramatically, motioning them to join the others on the dance floor. Eight almost immediately felt bad for being rude to him, though he did not notice the smirk on Nine's smug face as he retreated and sat back next to Ella.
Once they were on the dance floor, Eight turned facing Marina directly, slipping an arm around her waist as they started swaying slowly on their toes to the music, their eyes never leaving each other. She could not look away from those deep green eyes, those goddamned eyes which never failed to mesmerize her. A pleasant warmth began spreading from her heart throughout her body. Good heavens, could she ever stay mad at him? She felt his arm curling more firmly around her, pulling her closer, their bodies touching. Their faces were only inches apart, and her eyes involuntarily flicked down to his perfect lips, and the way he bit them as he looked at hers. An all too familiar feeling started bubbling through her, radiating from her chest down somewhere down deep in her belly. All she wanted to do at the moment was pull him into their bedroom and punish him for the things he made her feel, the things he made her want to do. He seemed to have similar thoughts, his eyes smoldering, as he gazed down at her body.
"You wore the dress." Eight said suddenly, breaking her out of her reverie. She didn't wear it often, saving it for some 'special' dates and nights.
"Well yeah," she replied, trying to appear nonchalant, though the way her body responded as his hand slipped down her back covertly to cup her backside seemed to give her away, "thought today was a good occasion."
"Uh huh," he said as Marina noticed an almost imperceptible smirk creep onto his lips she wouldn't have noticed if she weren't already staring at them. They continued dancing, their eyes talking, asking for forgiveness, and forgiving each other as their bodies moved together to the music.
A/N: Hey guys! This is my first Lorien legacies fic! Had been delaying it for a long time but finally here it is! Do drop in your reviews and let me know how you like it :)
P.S. Wanna know what happens after the party? ;) Continue reading The Revenge (Part 2). However, do not read it if explicit sexual content bothers you!