It was interesting seeing Kalona's facial expression as he gazed at the little nick-knacks around her house. She watched him as he ran his fingers along the fire mantle that held the exotic looking statues of strange creatures. "My mother has a liking to collect weird objects." Azalea said, coming back from the kitchen and holding a cup of hot chocolate. "I can see that," he nodded as he paused to look at a family portrait, noting that she didn't exactly fit in amongst the other paled humans.
Though he kept quiet about that piece of information and turned to her, "What is that?" He asked, smelling the sweet smell of the brown liquid that was in her cup that was covered in cat heads. "Oh, this is hot chocolate. Its really tasty," she said watching him come closer to her to peer down into her cup, "Wanna taste?" She asked him, "I do not like human drinks. Nor do I drink anyways." He said smiling, "But thank you for the offer." He quickly said seeing the sad look that crossed her face, "Oh hush! Just taste it!" She shoved the hot ceramic cup into his hands, he sighed as he heard his Goddess giggle in his mind.
He brought the cat cup to his lips and took a small sip, his amber eyes widen with surprise as he looked at her, "This tastes delightful." He said taking another sip, she laughed as she slipped her hands over his, "Well, yeah, hot chocolate is amazing. Now, this is mine. You can't have all of it, silly!" She said grinning up at him as she took her cup back from him. "Oh, pardon me…" He apologised, blushing ever so slightly. "I can make another one for you, if you like?" She asked him, but he shook his head, "No, its okay." He said, she shrugged and sat down on the couch and brought her legs up to her chest and sipped at her drink. Kalona stood there awkwardly before sitting beside her, he could feel the uncomfortable feeling press around him and before he could say anything, Azalea beat him to it, "This feels like a dream," She began after what felt like ages of silence, "This whole thing about me having these strange powers is so… unreal." She kept her eyes down and staring unblinkingly into the warm liquid.
"I understand, it is a big thing to find out, I met someone who had incredible powers. She to was scared and unsure." Kalona said, glancing at her. She pushed back her blue hair and then looked up to meet his eyes, "And those men… Ugh, not a good way to start this," She waved her hands around herself, "God, I knew I was different." She sighed and looked away from him; she had finished her drink and set the cup down. "Is that bad? Being different?" He asked, she shrugged, "Sometimes it can be bad, or good. I don't know about my situation, plus I have no one to talk to about this shit." She rubbed her eyes, "You have me, Erebus and Nyx though." He frowned, "I mean other than people having some kind of powers. I need my human friends, to tell them about this…" She said reaching for the home phone to call up Julie or Nevaeh, but paused. "Ah fuck." She slapped her forehead, "Damn it damn it damn it!" She cursed standing up and quickly heading to her room.
Kalona followed, confused as he turned into her room. Watching her search frantically around, throwing clothes of the table and onto the floor. He lifted one brow up as he smiled slightly at her freak out, "God! Where is my phone!" She sifted through her belongings and finally whipped out a huge black rectangular device known as the 'iPhone 6'. He watched as her thumbs flicked back and forth as she punched in the glowing numbers and letters on the screen. "Fuuuuuck! Look at these messages!" She waved her phone around. He shook his head and walked to her, grabbed her arms and held them down, "Azalea, please, getting agitated will not help. Calm down before you do anything that you will regret later." He said, as he led her to her bed to sit her down. "Yeah… Sorry Kalona. My friends are probably freaking out so badly… I have to ring them." She said but he stopped her, "No. Talk to them tomorrow. You must get rest now." He said, "But-"
"No. Rest." He said sternly and she pursed her lips together and stood. "Fine. I'm gonna have a shower and then ill go to bed." She said grabbing her woollen pyjamas and headed into the shower. She came out after ten minutes all dressed up and hair dried, Kalona was still sitting in the same position. "Ready?" He asked her and she nodded, he stood and pulled back the bed sheets for her and she crawled in.
"Um… Can you lay beside me?" She asked in a quiet tone, "If that's okay with you…" She said looking away shyly, "Oh… Of course…" Kalona said, chuckling a little he got in with her. Pulling the sheets up to her chin, she felt his body press against her back and the soft feeling of his feathers brushing against her skin. His arm rested around her hip while his other arm held up his head, "Goodnight, may the Goddess look over you." He whispered in her ear, she blushed and whispered it back as she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to embrace her weary mind.
The following day was interesting. She woke to the feeling of nothing behind her and knew that Kalona had gotten up. Most likely to have hidden from her family. She reached over to look at her phone and sighed, "Thirty missed calls from Julie. Forty-five voice messages from Michael and a whole bunch more from the rest. Shit." She swore under her breath and got up. "Kalona…?" She whispered his name as she stared into the poorly lit room.
Something stirred in her wardrobe. Her brows furrowed as she cautiously moved to the wardrobe. "Kalona…" She drawled out a little as she reached to open the door and Kalona stumbled out, causing her to jump back and fall on her butt. "Ow!" She gasped as she stared up to his gorgeous gold eyes. "A-Ah! Azalea, I didn't mean to frighten you!" He said instantly helping her up. She giggled, "Its fine. Just…" She held back from laughing really hard. He looked confused as he stared at the girl holding her stomach and her hand over her mouth, "Is something wrong? Are you going to be sick?" he asked in a worried tone, he didn't want to fail already at keeping her safe! But he heard the soft giggles that came from her and shook his head, "What is the problem? I am confused." He said crossing his arms over his chest.
"Nothing is the problem." She gasped out as she laughed, but softly. She reached up and pulled something of his head. He saw that she held one of those clothing's that girls wear to hold up their bosoms. "Was that on my head?" He asked, embarrassed. "Yup!" She was laughing harder and he felt his cheeks get warm from how disconcerting it was. He shook his head and sighed, "I didn't see it hanging above my head. I didn't think really," he said, shrugging and his wings rustle a little, "What do you mean? And why did you hide in the wardrobe?" She asked as she went back to sit on her bed, yawning a little. "I heard someone heading to your room, it was an older woman." He said, "She looked very suspicious and was searching through your room while you slept. I wanted to come out and scare her. But I held back…" He said as he sat beside her.
"Oh… Must've been my mother. Do you know why she was searching my room?" She asked, "No, she wasn't speaking. She was going through all your drawers and was praying that she wasn't going to go through the wardrobe. But she did stand in front of it and stared at the door for a good long while. Before she left." He explained more, "How could you tell she was looking at the door?" Azalea asked in curiosity.
"I sensed her presence there and she was facing me." He replied smiling a little, "Ah, right. Lucky she didn't see you in there. I don't know what would've happened." She sighed as she lay back on the bed.
"I got up so early. But I don't feel tired. My body is like… Buzzing. Excited. Ready to go. Do something crazy." She said looking at him, "Well, you have just unlocked your powers don't forget," he turned to stare back at her, "But you must be careful with it. You can harm yourself and others." He said reaching out to run his fingers lightly along her cheek, she felt this shock zap through her and made her skin prick up with a tingly sensation. "I don't… want you to harm yourself especially…" he said in a low voice as his face slightly hovered over her. She was lost for words; if she said something it wouldn't make sense. Without noticing, her hand rested on his bulging bicep, her fingers lightly caressing his skin.
She could feel his shoulders tense up a little and his lips slightly parted. 'Oh I so want to reach up and…' she felt herself lift up to be closer to his lips. But she felt him moved away quickly, "No." he said shaking his head, "We…" She sucked in a deep breath; she was holding it in this whole time? She stared at him wide eyed. "No, I know. Fuck I'm sorry." She said, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have… um… leaned up…" She blushed and gulped, looking away. "Azalea… It's not your fault… I was made to… give lo… lust and pleasure…" He sounded awkward and unsure on what he was saying. Azalea was making his mind go crazy and spin, he so wanted to touch and kiss her, but then again he couldn't as he was made to be Nyx's lover.
"I understand. I know." She said lowly and regained herself and calmed down her aroused body. "But like you said, we will over come this and this," she waved around herself and him, "Whatever is between us, will be in the past once I can regain my power. Its probably just my power acting up as it is newly awakened." She said, sounding confident. He nodded, but in the back of his mind something else was yelling at him it wasn't going to go away at all.
"Of course, its your power. And I'm here to help you control it." He said, smiling at her, which made her whole body melt. "I know, and I'm so happy for that." She stood, "Now, I must get ready. You either keep your eyes closed or go back into my wardrobe with my bras that can attack you." She said cheekily, "I think I'll close my eyes and turn away while you dress." He said, looking horrified. She giggled and he did what he said while she hurried into the shower and cleaned up, and then dressed in her room.
By that time, everyone else in the house was up and moving. Kalona had sneaked out of the house quickly and took to the sky while she was in the house having breakfast. He saw she left the house and was driven to school. He knew that the humans hardly ever looked up but he stayed high and kept a close eye down below.
Azalea got out of the car, she waved as the car drove of and she turned to face the school. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, knowing that her friends are going to freak over her and ask her a billion questions on what happened to her on that Friday night. She had to lie, even though it pain her inside. Who knows if she can trust them, she only knows them for about a week now.
'Once this shit cools down, I'll tell them.' She thought as she trudged up with the rest of the students and made her way to her locker. She didn't even get time to even touch the locker when a mass of blond hair smothered her. Julie was crying when she hugged Azalea, she was shocked of the impact and was patting Julie's back to try and comfort her. Then the rest of them came in like a pack of wolves and all hugged Azalea. It made her very uncomfortable and she began to squirm in the embrace. Nevaeh was her saviour, "Alright! Guys get of her! She looks like she is going to be sick!" Nevaeh yelled angrily and everyone reluctantly pulled away, except for Julie, "Oh Az! Az! I was so friggin' scared!" She whimpered, "J-Julie, please l-let go of me!" Azalea was trying to pry Julie's little arms of her; Nevaeh helped and finally got the girl of.
"Jesus Julie, when I say get of, get of." Nevaeh said in a hard tone, making Julie cringe slightly. She was puffy eyed and had tear stains down her cheeks, visible since she wore makeup. "S-Sorry…" she said in a quiet tone. Nevaeh sighed and then looked at Azalea, "What happened? We searched high a low for you. Asked the locals if they saw you. Even went to your house, thanks for Michael knowing where you lived." Nevaeh said quickly in a panicked tone.
Azalea gulped, averting her eyes from the group as she leaned against the metal lockers behind her, "Um…" She said hesitantly, "Come on! We were worried! Tell us!" Nevaeh said impatiently.
"Yeah! Where the hell were you?!"
"You worried the hell out of me!"
"Please just tell us!"
It was getting too much for her, she felt a headache coming on and felt the gravity pull her down. She didn't even know what happened, all she remembered was everything coming together in a blur then darkness. The buzzing feeling rushed into her and she woke up with a gasp. Her blood was pumping through her veins fast and her heart rate was unusually high. Glancing around, she noted that she was in the infirmary. Sitting up slowly she blinked a few times and saw that Kalona was standing at the end of the bed.
"Kalona…? You shouldn't be here… Did anyone see you?" She asked about to get out of bed but he stopped her in one swift movement.
He held her back and smiled gently at her, "No, the students here have already gone into class so I was able to sneak into the window." He explained, "But still! The nurse here can catch you!" She said sitting back on the bed. "Please, don't fret. I checked and she wasn't in the small office area, so we have some time together before she returns." He said, and then continued, "I felt the rush of your power quiver around me, it drew me in but I had to fight back to prevent myself from being seen or getting injured. What happened?" He asked her gently as he sat beside her, "I… I don't remember much. My friends came and all bear hugged me as one, I felt a little lightheaded but it went away when they all let go. Then when they began to question me and spoke over each other, it was like everything came crashing down on me." Azalea explained in a sincere tone.
"I see, it must've had to do with your unusual powers. I can say that, it's not only affecting your physique, but its also affecting your emotions. But I can only guess as its still a little to early to tell what its really affecting. But your emotions are definitely are being pushed to its extreme." Kalona stated glancing at Azalea.
"Right… I guess I was stressed? Which is why I blacked out…" She said, the winged immortal nodded, "Indeed. I think we know now what to work with. We have to learn how to control your emotions." He said, "Alright. Ill try and keep everything settled today so when I come home, I'm not exhausted to start whatever training you have in mind." She said.
"Good idea. Now I must go, the nurse is returning…" He said getting up and looking down at her with gentle gold eyes, "Thanks, I'll see you soon then." She glanced up and smiled, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Be safe." He said and left the room through the window. She blushed darkly from the kiss and knotted the blanket shyly in her hands. The nurse came in and said, "Ah! Are you okay to be up?" The young redhead came over to her, holding a glass of water, "Yeah, I feel okay now. I don't feel as dizzy as before." Azalea said smiling kindly up at the nurse, "Well, you are welcomed to stay here as much as you want. Here, I have a glass of water for you." She said handing her the glass, "Thank you." Azalea replied and sipped at the water, "Just sign out when you leave, ill be in the office if you need to me." She hurried away.
Azalea watched her leave and eventually drank the water and left the infirmary eventually.
She went back to her locker to grab her stuff for…. 'Wait a minute, did I just sleep through first and second period!' Azalea checked her phone and it was twenty minutes past ten. She had eleven minutes until her art class finished, which was her favourite class as it was the only time she got to draw whatever she wanted. She sighed and had to go back to her locker to grab her textbook for Physical Science. As she was about to close the locker door she felt the Trio before she heard the head leader speak, "I saw what happened this morning. I hope your feeling okay." Leela said, but Azalea wasn't stupid, she could hear the sardonic tone that came from the blond haired girl.
"You don't care. I can tell when you are being sarcastic." Azalea snapped at her, her jaw tightening as she glared at the Trio. "Wow, so you do have a brain. I'm surprised." Leela snickered, she had stepped a little closer to Azalea but she didn't let the intimidation of Leela get to her. She was stronger than that.
"I'm not stupid, unlike you. Intimidation isn't good, you wont success in life with it." Azalea said, rolling her eyes. "Excuse me? I am not intimidating anyone, nor am I stupid! I'm just… Expressing myself." Leela said, her lip curled up like a dog getting pissed. "Yeah… Still intimidation when you threaten people. Don't start acting like the Queen of this school, its stupid and retarded to 'pretend' that you own everything. Which you don't cause I don't see your name anywhere." Azalea said, getting a little frustrated. She hated people who acted dumb but high and mighty. Leela could see the agitation in Azalea's posture and smirked. "Its actually funny, little Azalea," she purred, "I do own pretty much everything. I am the richest person to live in Tulsa." Leela giggled as she twirled her hair around her perfectly manicured fingers.
"So? I don't care whether your rich or poor, you still don't fucking own anything." Azalea swore, gritting her teeth as she held back her anger. God she was pushing her close to the edge, she felt like snapping. "Bitch please, you don't know how my people work." She flicked her hair back, "Oh fuck you and your 'people'. You rich bastards are arrogant and fucking assholes! I hate how you all waltz in any place and act like you fucking know the world! You don't, you don't understand what its like to work to own shit," She furiously responded, Leela took a step back a bit and stared at her wide eyed, "So don't fucking say 'bitch please' to me, bitch please to you! You will never understand what its like to earn something WITHOUT having to threaten and boss people around! Goddamnit Leela! I cant understand-" She was cut of with the stinging pain that rippled on her cheek. Leela had raised her hand and slapped Azalea as hard as she could across the face.
Azalea took a staggering step back and hit the lockers as she placed her hand on her reddening cheek. Leela stared at her with such intense anger; it showed in her dark ocean blue eyes. She felt the supremacy radiate around her, she could see the red flames surround her. She knew that Leela wouldn't be able to see it, as she didn't possess such power like Azalea. "How fucking dare you speak to me that way you little shit, this is the reason why we rich people are so arrogant and assholes, is because WE have to deal with YOUR stupidity! We are not stupid, you hear me?" Leela took a step to Azalea.
"I-It doesn't matter… You don't own anything…" Azalea said, breathing hard as her skin felt warm and tingly. "Oh for fucks sake! Shut up!" Leela cried before raising her hand to hit her again, but the voice of Michael was like heaven to Azalea's ears. "Oi! Stop, Leela! What the hell are you doing?!" He came running to stand before Azalea. "Your little slut of a girlfriend was accusing me for something I didn't do!" Leela shrieked in annoyance, "Alright, but its not fucking okay to hit her! I thought you were better than this!" He yelled at her, glaring at her, "B-But… Michael… I am… I just…" She stuttered and so faked a sniffle, as she turned away, "I'm sorry." She said looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. "I hope you are, and cut that shit out. Won't work with me." He waved her dismissively, "Go away." He said as he turned away from her and faced Azalea. She heard Leela make a sound before she hobbled away.
Michael knelt before Azalea and took her hand gently from her cheek. He saw the tears that fell down her cheeks, but he didn't hear a sound from her. He stood up and embraced her in a tight yet comforting hug. She wrapped her arms around him and gripped his shirt as she silently cried into his shirt. Never had she felt like that, never had she felt her humanity slip away for that split of a second. That wasn't her, she knew it. She felt so irrefutably scared, vulnerable and lost. 'Oh Goddess… Goddess…. I don't know what came over me… I'm sorry….' She prayed, then felt the familiar warmth and love surround her.
She felt the warm sun wrap around the darkness that had swelled up in her heart. She heard his voice, the man made from the sun, 'Sweet Azalea… Do not fret… This isn't your fault… Its your powers that are heightening every feeling… Please, don't worry,' she smiled that Erebus sensed her worry, 'The Goddess, my brother and I will help you… You will master this unique power and harness it with great potential… Just don't fret, my sweet Azalea…' And with that, the darkness in her diminished and was gone. Only the lingering warmth of Erebus was left. She felt so much better, more contained and grounded. When she pulled back, there were people milling about. Class had finished and people were staring at her and Michael. She blushed as she let go of his shirt, "S-Sorry… Um…" She stuttered a little, "Don't be, you needed that hug. I hope you're not hurt." He said tilting her face up, "I'm not. It was just a slap. It no longer hurts now, so it's all good." She smiled wide up at him, "Are you sure? Because you had came out of the infirmary. Don't forget you did pass out. I don't want you to get hurt more." He said, concern was evident in his voice.
"Michael, I'm fine. I mean it, I guess I went over board of what I said and got a slap in the face. But she deserved it; she needed to know that she didn't own the place." Azalea said, picking up her dropped stuff. Michael had a cheeky grin, "Well, good. It's a first that someone stood up to her and said something. I just don't like that she slapped you. I need to report this." Michael said, before turning to go to the principles office, "No!" She grabbed his arm, "No Michael, Its fine. I swear. If she does it again, then we go. God knows what she can say, she can easily get out of being in trouble." She said, Michael gave her a look, "Don't give me that look, I've had experience back in my old school. They were all stuck ups and always got away. Don't bother." She said pulling him back.
Michael sighed and looked at her, "Alright, whatever you say. But if she does it next time, I will tell." He said smiling. "Okay, fine by me. Now, I really should get going to class…" She trailed of before backing up, "Hey, wait, what about Friday night…?" He asked. She paused and pursed her lips tightly, "I um… Can I um explain when we are all together…? I don't want to repeat myself…" She said. "Oh, yeah, no worries. Sure. We can do that. I guess so. At lunch?" He asked, she nodded, "Yeah, at lunch. Of course. Now, I really need to go… I don't want to be late." She gave him an apologetic smile before hurrying away. Whatever happened then, he knew it was strange. First she was crying the next she was happy and giggly. He figured whatever happened on Friday night may have damaged her emotionally… Terrible thoughts came to his mind and he slightly panicked.
He shook his head and told himself not to worry, if she was open to say what happened, it may not be that bad… He hoped. He sighed and he to, left to go to class on the end.
Physical Science went by quickly and lunch came. As she came to her locker Michael was there, "Hey." He smiled at her as he approached her, "Hi." She replied back as she opened her locker to grab her lunch and her books for last period. "Ready to go to lunch?" He asked, "Yeah." She closed her locker door and the pair went to the cafeteria. "Will you tell the group what had happened before period three or will I?" He asked, "I dunno, I don't think its necessary, okay? It was just a little outburst. Nothing to worry about. I just want Friday night to pass and we can go back to being who we were." She explained. "Alright… Fine by me." He agreed but wished he didn't. As the pair neared their table, she spotted her little group. The group were huddled down and had their heads close together as if they were discussing about something.
Nevaeh looked up and smiled when Azalea got closer. Julie and the rest of them glanced up and made space for her to sit, but Azalea could tell that Julie wanted to throw herself at her and hug her like she did before. So Azalea sat on the other side of Michael. "Before I start, I just wanna say I'm sorry for scaring you all. I didn't get hurt at all." Azalea said looking down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. "So here is the story. So, while I was in the bathroom I got a call from my father. I didn't answer, cause I was in the bathroom! So when I finished I went outside and rang him back to see what he called me for. He was asking me to buy something from the shops and then began to rant on about his work and blah blah blah. But while he was talking, I always do this, I begin to wander away from where I am. I guess I had wandered into a dark area and didn't notice. It only occurred to me when I heard a weird sound that I realised I had wandered of. It was hard to see where I was since it was quite dark. The next thing I knew something jumped at me and I freaked. I lost my balance and fell backwards and must've hit my head on the ground and knocked myself out a bit," She stopped to see that everyone was quietly listening, "I woke up in my room and my dad said he had found me on the ground. He said he was lucky he was in the neighbourhood." She finished.
"Phew," Julie said after a few minutes of silence, "I thought something worse had happened. Damn whatever scared you. Could've been something serious." She said reaching over to pat her hands that were now on the table.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm fine, like I said, and again I'm really sorry." She said, "Honey, its okay. We all forgive you." Shelly said, giving Azalea a small smile. Everyone nodded with agreement, "Long as you were fine, that's all it matters." Michael said giving Azalea a loving smile. But she could see in his eyes that he wanted her to say something about Leela. But she didn't, she looked away and like that, it was over and they were back to normal. They moved on to other topics that made Azalea feel more at ease, she ate her food and participated in bit of the conversation but mostly listened. She leaned against Michael as she ate, thinking over what she had just said. She lied. It had been a long time since she had lied, and that was when she was back in her old school.
But that was just something minor… that her parents didn't mind much. This… This was different, it was big and could affect her and her friends if she continues on to hide this secret. But she knew she couldn't tell them just yet, she had to wait until she figured out what she is. She hoped this was a wise decision to hold back, and prayed to the Goddess that things will go well.
Lunch ended and she got up with Michael, she went to last period, which was vocal. She was good at singing but was still shy to face the class. Julie, Nevaeh, Ayden and Shelly watched the pair leave, but their eyes were mostly trained on Azalea. "She lied." Shelly said after a while, "Mhm," Julie nodded, "She didn't have her phone on her on Friday." Julie added. "She never went to the bathroom, I checked remember?" Nevaeh said and the three of them nodded. "Whatever it is, she better spit it out soon or Ill make her." Nevaeh huffed picking her stuff up. "Chill, Nev, whatever it is, let her speak for her own. Maybe something bad happened and she doesn't feel comfortable." Ayden said in his quiet and soft voice.
"Doesn't matter, her story doesn't make sense. Besides, she said it all in one go. I know when people lie, they rush a story. And her story was almost staged." Nevaeh said, pursing her lips tightly. Ayden sighed but didn't say anything; he'd get to protective over someone he cared for greatly. "I'm kind of on your side Nevaeh, but do take in consideration that Az is still kind of new in this country." Julie said, she to picking her stuff up to head to class. "Ya, I know." Nevaeh said before walking off without looking back at them.
The group scattered and headed to their classes.