I awoke to my 7:30 alarm the next morning. Begrudgingly I drug myself out of bed, stomping across my discarded dress. My vision was hazy, and my tired mind couldn't put two thoughts together in a way that made sense. Eventually I became conscious enough to wander my way to the closet. I found a pair of jeans and a shirt with long sleeves. Making sure the shirt covered my wounded arm, I got dressed slowly. I left my room with my hair unbrushed, phone in my hand.
Peering down the hall I noticed that only one of the boys' doors was open. The entry to James' room stood ajar. I had a hunch the others were still asleep. Not wanting breakfast yet, I found myself heading towards the theater. When I arrived I plugged my phone into the auxiliary cable at the projector booth and turned on some music. I flipped through my songs, looking for one that could pound out the racing thoughts that had remained from last night.
Finally I found one. The song had a strong base, loud drums and the lyrics were mostly screaming. Seemed perfect to fit my mood. I pressed play and walked over to the stage, grabbing the volume control on my way. Shifting the Rock Band equipment out of the way, I lay down on the cool surface of the stage. Then I pumped the volume up as loud as I could without blowing out my ears. I kept increasing the volume until I could feel the beat pounding in my chest and my mind couldn't comprehend anything other than the music. For two minutes I lay there, listening to the music and losing myself in the beat.
After the song ended, the next started up. Immediately I recognized Paramore. This was one of her more beautiful songs, one of heartbreak and finding love after all was lost. I stood up, held my arms out as if there were someone there to dance with, closed my eyes, and began to sway on the spot. Suddenly I felt a warm arm drape itself across my waist, and a tender hand clasp mine. I opened my eyes and saw James standing before me, holding me loosely and preparing to dance. Smiling I tried to speak, but the music was too loud and he couldn't hear me. In time with the music he began to lead me in a slow dance. I had never danced like this before, and I'm sure it showed. However, James was a good enough dancer for the both of us. He led me slowly around the stage in a graceful waltz. We danced until the song ended. Then he stepped back and bowed to me. I smiled and returned his bow.
Jumping off the stage I ran over and turned the music down with the remote as the next song started playing.
"Good morning James," I greeted.
"Good morning Mika. I heard your music from the library and thought I would come investigate," he said.
"Oh, I didn't mean to disturb your reading," I said shyly.
"No need to apologize miss," James reassured. "I find your company as enthralling as any book I have ever read."
"Have you started those books I bought you?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Yes, I finished one last night. The story was… stimulating." He flushed.
"I'm glad you liked it. The lady at the store said those books were best sellers. Did you learn anything?"
"I found the protagonist's stratagem to be rather informative, yes."
I laughed. "I think you are the only person to call flirting a strategy."
"Am I really that strange?" James seemed put out by my laughter.
"Strange isn't the right way to put it. More like, unique in your thought process." I continued chuckling.
He didn't say anything for a moment. "You are a good dancer," he commented offhandedly.
"You are a good dancer," I corrected. "I'm just good at following along."
"Yes, I have been told that before." He nodded a little conceitedly.
"Did you do much dancing at the castle when you were growing up?"
"I am first in line to inherit the daemon king's throne. Of course I was taught to dance respectably."
"Ah, of course…" I trailed off. Since they lived in an alternate dimension I had figured things would have been different from the nobility of this world. I guess some things transcend dimensional barriers.
"I imagine the others are awake by now." James said as if he hadn't said anything striking. "Shall we go start preparing breakfast?"
"Sure, lemme just grab my phone."
I climbed the ladder into the projector booth and unplugged my phone from. Instead of climbing back down, I just jumped from the booth. I landed with a loud smack, startling James slightly. We exited the theater and walked towards the dining hall. Just as James had predicted, the other boys were already awake. They were debating what to make for breakfast.
"Eggs and bacon are fine. They are quick and easy with plenty of protein," Sam was saying.
"But we had that yesterday," Mathew complained.
"So," said Sam.
"So we need a little variety in our lives pipsqueak," said Erik.
Sam glared at Erik. "I dare you to call me that again."
"Pipsqueak."
With a growl Sam dove at Erik, who nimbly dodged out of the way. They began running in circles around the table. Mathew and Erik were laughing joyously while Damien glanced nervously between the roughhousing and James. I followed Damien's gaze and noticed James' expression. He looked like a volcano that was about to erupt.
"ENOUGH!" James shouted. "It is too early for this kind of nonsense.
Sam stopped running abruptly and Erik jogged behind Damien, placing the redhead between him and his enraged brother.
"He started it," Sam said, pointing an accusing finger at his lavender eyed brother.
"I don't care who started it," James started lecturing Sam.
Erik, peeking over Damien's shoulder, stuck his tongue out at Sam, who glared back. Clearly, they weren't listening to James.
"If you must be immature, wait until after breakfast." James finished.
"Someone sounds a little hangry," I said, trying to lighten his mood.
"Hangry? I'm sorry, I'm unfamiliar with that term." James furrowed his brow at me.
"Hangry is slang for being angry because you are hungry," I explained.
"Well then, that's an easy fix," Mathew said happily, "let's just make breakfast."
"Ok, how about pancakes," I suggested.
"What are pancakes?" Mathew asked, tilting his head slightly.
"You've never had pancakes before?!" I was shocked.
"We haven't been in the human world for all that long," Damien reminded me.
I nodded. "Pancakes are warm, flat cakes covered with all sorts of different toppings. They are a rather common breakfast food. I picked up some pancake mix yesterday at the store, I'll make some for you all."
"Great! Can I help?" Mathew seemed eager.
"Sure, follow me."
I lead him to the kitchen, Damien followed us. Pancakes were easy to make, I'm sure they could help without problems. I pulled out the package of mix, several frying pans, a mixing bowl, the butter, the milk and a cup for water. Handing the mix bag to Damien I said, "Here, you can review the directions."
"Um…" he muttered, looking to Mathew for help. "I- I can't read," he admitted shyly.
"You can't read? Why not?" I asked, surprised.
"In the Abyss, only those of the highest noble standing are allowed to learn how to read," Damien explained.
"I thought you were all the sons of the daemon lord though." If they were all of the royal bloodline then wouldn't Damien also be a noble?
"We are, but Damien is different," Mathew interjected.
"My mother was a commoner. She and my father had an affair and I was born accidentally. All of my brother's mothers married the daemon lord and became queens of the country. My mother was not allowed to. Despite this we were permitted to live in the palace along with my brothers." Damien looked uncomfortable telling me all of this.
Mathew picked continued for Damien. "Because his mother was a commoner, Damien wasn't allowed to participate in some of the things the rest of us could."
"Like learning to read," I mused. That would have been nice to have avoided.
"Why would you think that?" Damien asked bewildered.
"I was never given the choice on if I could learn how to read. Instead I was forced into reading whatever my parents or my teachers thought I should. The process was slow for me and I wasn't very good. A lot of the other kids at school would tease me or correct me when I made a mistake. Ever since then reading hasn't been my favorite thing." My confidence in my reading ability was also very small.
"Well I can assure you, not knowing how to read isn't nice. It's embarrassing really." Damien rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, you're here now. Nothing here can stop you from learning to read anymore. I'm sure we could find you a class to take. You could learn to read and write pretty easily," I said confidently.
"Really? That- that would be wonderful." Damien brightened up at the prospect, all thoughts of embarrassment forgotten.
"Wow, Damien, you've always wanted to learn how to read. I'm excited just thinking about it," Mathew said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
I took the bag from Damien and read the directions out loud to them. Mathew set to work mixing. Damien ferried flatware out to the table. He also carried out various toppings, from fresh fruit to peanut butter. I worked the stove top. Mathew was a great cook, as it turned out. He told me about all the meals he had made for his brothers. Claiming he couldn't hold a candle to James' cooking, Mathew was convinced he was the second best cook of the family. We worked together seamlessly, until.
"ACHOO!" I sneezed violently, flinging the spatula covered in pancake mix.
"Wow, that was quite a sneeze," Mathew smiled.
Drops of batter had flown everywhere. "Oh great."
"Here silly, you got some on your nose." Mathew reached over and wiped the end of my nose with a paper towel. He slowly moved his hand away from my face, staring at me intensely. His blue eyes glittered in the kitchen lighting. I felt myself admiring their shine. Dropping the paper towel Mathew gently caressed my cheek.
"Mathew?"
His eyes were fixated on my lips. The intensity of his gaze made my face begin to heat up. If his eyes could penetrate my soul they would have seen it beginning to take flight. Tenderly he traced my bottom lip with his thumb, totally entranced. My mouth opened slightly and my breath quickened. I thought he was going to embrace me. For a second, I wanted him to embrace me. Pupils blown out, he looked longingly at me. My lips began to tingle lightly.
Suddenly the parlor door banged open. Damien had returned. Like a cat whose tail has been tread on, Mathew leapt away from me.
"Damien!" Mathew rounded his brother in surprise and anger.
"What?" Damien looked taken aback. Then his face fell with realization. "Was I interrupting?"
"Um…" my mind wasn't processing. "No! We- uh- I…"
"Damn it Damien, you can read minds," Mathew yelled. "Can't you figure that out on your own?" As he spoke Mathew became louder and louder.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Damien stuttered out.
Mathew bit his lip and shut his eyes. Then he stormed past Damien, pushing past his brother and out of the kitchen. We could hear his foot falls all the way out to the entrance hall. Just as the noise faded away Sam poked his head into the kitchen.
"What happened to Mathew," he asked.
We responded with clueless stares.
Sam sighed. "That boy needs to get laid."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, we all get a little… on edge… if we don't get enough sexual energy. That's just the price of being an incubus." Sam explained.
I thought of Damien last night. How he was nearly knocked off his feet from the pain in his head. I understood what Sam was saying.
Breakfast was almost ready. Flipping the final set of cakes I told the boys to go wait in the dining hall. After a few more minutes I added the final pancakes to the serving plate and transferred them to the dining table. The boys cheered and began dishing up their plates. Mathew, however, was absent from the table. Throughout the meal my eyes kept flicking to his empty seat. Before anyone could take them, I secured the final three pancakes and saved them for Mathew. I prepared them traditionally, with maple syrup and butter, not sure what he would have preferred. Then I excused myself from the table. I was going to find Mathew and make sure he ate.