Chapter Seven

Hair

He didn't want to go and see her. But the thoughts of her in his head were far too distracting. He was in the air, angry with himself. For the first time in his life, he had no control over himself. He had placed it down to the pheromones in her scent that had triggered the sudden overwhelming urge to throw himself at her whenever he saw her and again he cursed Gero and his genius in genetic manipulation. Her energy signature was like a beacon to him. It was distinguished because of her heritage and he found her easily enough. He stopped though, hovering in the air. Something wasn't right.

Rowan had woken early, having a troubled and restless sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about Cell and she hated herself for it. She was constantly reminding herself that he was the bad guy, but she couldn't help it. He had also been her only true friend for the last two years and that was hard to ignore. She made herself a simple breakfast of toast with a cup of tea, her hands lingering on the kettle for a moment. She felt better and calmer after she had eaten something. She avoided the TV and the radio and instead chose to go outside for a walk and stretch. It was relaxing in the forest, the sounds of nature and the early morning sun incredibly serene. Her mind wandered absently, and she let it.

It might have been the reason she hadn't noticed them until she was surrounded. Thugs.

The erupted out of the trees around her. There were five of them.

"Lookie fellas what we got 'ere!" One of them said in his drawling street talk. Rowan felt suddenly exposed and vulnerable. She scanned the ground around her, saw a fallen branch she could use, and dove for it. Only one of the thugs got there first, his foot pinning it to the ground. He laughed at her.

"Now what are you trying to do?" He snickered. She let the branch go and back up into the center of the circle again.

"How long 'as it been boys, since we 'ad some fresh meat?" The men laughed, brandishing their clubs, baseball bats and broken pipes. They stared at her in a menacing manner and her mind raced for options.

"Tha's right. Too long." Rowan took the initiative, lunging at one of the closest men. She caught him off guard, punched him square in the nose, and ran as fast as she could manage. She had broken their circle, but her hand throbbed with pain. Punching someone hurt a lot more then she thought it would.

She heard the heavy footfalls and the grunts of the men chasing after her.

"Little whore!" One of the yelled after her. She didn't look back, but kept running, all out, her legs aching and her lungs bursting. It all crashed around her though, when she tripped on a hidden rock beneath the forest's thick covering of leaves. She crashed hard on the floor, winding herself. She forced herself back to her feet, but instantly, she felt an eruption of agony against the back of her thighs as they were struck with a metal pipe. She fell again, sprawled on the floor. The weight of one of the thugs on her back knocked the air from her lungs. She yelled as he got a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back, leaning and snarling in her ears.

"Were gonna make you wish you'd never done tha'!" He spat. He threw her head back in the leaves. The man got off her and rolled her over.

"No! Leave me alone!" She struggled, trying to bat his hands away as he tore her shirt. She received a sudden kick to the side of her head which sapped her strength and dazed her mind, making her attempts at defense, feeble at best.

Her mind tried to black out the calloused and clumsy hands that groped at her exposed flesh, and the rough lips that forced themselves on her. It all seemed fuzzy though as the touching suddenly stopped. The men were yelling, someone screamed and there was a flash, followed by more screams.

Cell couldn't explain the fury that he felt. He was beyond angry, and all he wanted was to cause the humans as much pain as he could. He blasted one of them with far too much energy. He was incinerated, as was half the forest behind him. He punched another one with such force it tore his head from his body. In one fluid movement he grabbed one by the neck and sent him flying high then grabbed the one with the broken nose and threw him through a tree, snapping his back. The last human was running away, but screamed as his lower half of his body was incinerated. He screamed for a few seconds before finally twitching in his death throes and laying still.

Cell turned to Rowan. She was groaning, her eyes opened but unfocused. A little bit of blood trickled from her nose. He scooped her up, tearing into the sky and back to her house. She passed out along the way, her eyes closed serenely. He laid her on her bed and checked her over. She was more or less alright. A nasty bruise was on the back of her thighs, but it wasn't serious. He let her sleep.

Rowan had a head ache. She felt groggy but forced herself to open her eyes. She was staring at the ceiling of her home. Her mind slowly cleared as the memories came back. She bolted upright, half expecting the see them lounging in her home. Instead she saw Cell, hovering while sitting, his eyes closed and relaxed. He looked, almost asleep. She smiled relief and slipped out of bed. She was dimly aware that her shirt was torn open, and she sighed, tearing it off and slipping on another. Cell hadn't moved. She walked over to him, staring him in the face. He made not attempt to move. Little creases at the corners of his eyes, told her he was worried. She let herself grin at the thought that he was worried about her.

Her eyes moved to his head crest where the smiley face was. She leaned up on her tip toes and gently pressed her lips to it.

"Thank you Seru." She whispered and let herself fall back to her feet. Cell's eyes were open. He was smirking at her.

"Your welcome." He replied. His eyes were glittering with something she could have mistaken as relief. It faded quickly. She gave him a smile.

"I guess were even." She said. His smirk turned into a grin.

"Yes. We are." She studied him for a while, letting her eyes drift across his face. He made no attempt to move as he hands framed his face.

"Your warm." She stated. Her fingers tickled as the moved their way up. He kept his eyes locked to hers. She felt the edges of his helmet and smiled to him as her fingers eased under the elastic like leathery amour.

"You have hair!" She exclaimed suddenly. He snickered.

"Of course." Her fingers removed themselves from under his helmet, and instead went to work, tracing the yellow strap that covered his ears and chin. He let her work it undone at the edge of the helmet and let her peel it away. She let it hang from one side as she smiled, tracing the contours of his newly exposed ear. It was white, the indigo streaks of his face, stopping just short.

"That tickles." He muttered. He felt his face flush darker. She smiled at him, but let her hands fall from his ear. Her hands moved back to his helmet. She managed to get a grip, when his hand caught hers. She stared him in the eyes.

"You don't want me to?" She asked. He smirked.

"I don't mind that." He said. He hesitated then let her hand go. She smiled at him, then stared at the helmet as she pushed it back. His hair fell around his face. It was messy, spiky and jet black. Rowan put the helmet on the floor next to her and took a step back, staring intently at him. He looked good, but he didn't look like him anymore. He looked... Human... She moved forward, letting her hands wander through his hair. It was silky and soft from being trapped under the helmet his entire life. Cell's eyes closed but he didn't move. She smiled to herself as she saw his cheeks darken. She chose to let him be and she let him go, stepping back away from him.

"Would you like a tea?" She asked. His eyes opened slowly but he said nothing. His eyes fell on his helmet that was on the floor next to him and he leaned over, picking it up. Rowan didn't move, but watched as he stared at the reflective black shell in his helmet. His face was cold and unreadable. He glanced at her. She frowned.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. He lifted his fine black eyebrow.

"What for?" She smiled again.

"I made you uncomfortable." He smirked.

"No. It's just... Well, I'm still learning myself." He admitted. He paused for a second longer before he slipped his helmet back on, adjusting the strap to cover his ear properly. Any evidence that he had hair, was gone.

Rowan turned away, her own mind confused with the feelings that had threatened to overwhelm her. Cell had looked far too human without his helmet. He looked... Well, she didn't really know. She busied herself by making herself some tea.

It happened far to quickly. Rowan turned to Cell who for just a second, looked incredibly vulnerable. She walked to him, her sudden movement startling Cell, who watched, unmoving as she framed his face and pulled him into a deep kiss.

It lasted an eternity, yet not long enough as she let him go. He stared, somewhat shocked, unable to move or speak. She felt her face flush but she turned away, heading back to the cup of tea on the bench. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, and forced her mind to calm down. She heard his feet land on the ground as he stood up.

"I..." He silenced himself. She turned around finally. Cell looked horribly confused and she felt horribly bad for doing it. He looked at her, but found himself unable to hold her gaze and turned away. Without another word he turned and walked out the door.

Rowan bit her lip and hoped she hadn't ruined a good friendship. She sighed, letting all her conflicting emotions into the sigh. She fell onto the couch, her cup of tea untouched and slowly licked her lips. Despite anything, he was warm, and he tasted good.