Chapter 16 ~ Trudy
By the time Trudy and Katerina left the dining table, everyone had gotten up and sat on the bean bags and sofas sprawled across the carpeted floor, so soon the dining table was empty except for Adrian, who was still eating everyone's leftovers. He's the cutest boyfriend. Trudy smiled at him as he finished his food and leaned back on his chair, patting his stomach. Trudy walked over to him and took his hand.
"Want to go up to the roof?" Trudy asked.
"Sure, why not?" Adrian shrugged and stood up, holding Trudy's hand tight. They both headed up to the roof where the lied down on the deck chairs. They looked up at the misty sky.
"The stereotypical thing to say would be that the sky looks beautiful, but it really isn't," Adrian commented, looking up at the bleary grey sky. Trudy laughed and rested her head on his chest, grinning.
"Um... Adrian, can I ask you something?" Trudy murmured into his chest, embarrassed and guilty to even think about what she was about to say.
"You just did," Adrian joked, laughing at his own comment. "Sorry, go ahead."
"Well, I just want to know if there's something going on between you and Katerina?" Trudy looked down, a blush searing her face.
"Kat and I? Of course not, we're just good friends! I have feelings for you Trudy, and you only." Adrian assured her, drawing her in and looking into her eyes, "Why?"
"Shh," Trudy smiled up at him and pressed her lips on his lips smoothly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Adrian wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. There was heat between them, radiating, making them glow. Trudy could feel butterflies in her tummy as they kissed. Pure intoxication of their intertwining mouths were swirling and puckering with each delicious smack of escaping air which overcame Trudy's entire body. Trudy pulled away from his sweet soft lips and stared deeply into his emerald green eyes. He pulled her in and planted another kiss on her mouth, a deeper one. He slowly urged his lips harder against Trudy's
Trudy pulled away ever so slightly to breathe and plucked up the courage to say it.
"I love you," She whispered and she grazed her lips against his.
"I-I love," Adrian hesitated for a while, "brownies." Trudy looked up at him, startled and confused by his outburst.
"Oh my gods, Trudy, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry," Adrian instantly apologized. "It's just that I was nervous, I've only had one other girlfriend before and I wasn't sure what to say. I panicked, I'm so sorry."
"It's alright; maybe it was too soon to say it. It's not your fault," Trudy forced a smile, trying not to let the hurt show in her expression.
"Speaking of brownies, "Adrian cleared his throat, obviously as uncomfortable as she was, "I'm just going to go downstairs and check if there is any. Want to come?"
"I think I'll just stay here for a while," Trudy smiled at him as his spiky blond hair disappeared from view.
After a few minutes of lying there thinking about what she had said to Adrian, she noticed Rosamynd walking towards her, holding up a tray with two glasses of lemonade on top.
"Lemonade? Elektra made them," Rosamynd put the tray down on the table next to the deck chair.
"Sure," Trudy smiled and sat up to sip her lemonade, looking at the dark misty sky.
"So you and Adrian? How's that going?" Rosamynd asked, sipping at her lemonade.
"It's good, really good," Trudy said trying to push what happened just then out of her head.
"There's something I need to tell you, about me," Rosamynd confessed, her eyes filled with anxiety.
"You can tell me anything," Trudy reassured.
"Well, uh, I used to kind of have a crush on Adrian. We met before but we kind of grew apart and I've kind of liked him since."
"Oh," Trudy sat back trying to process the information, "Do you still like him?"
"No, I'd never get in the way of your relationship with him."
"But do you still like him?"
"No, I-I like someone else, well at least I think I like him," Rosamynd admitted.
"Who? If you don't mind me asking,"
"It's Kyle, Kyle Brenna, the Son of Poseidon," Rosamynd blushed, looking away from Trudy, "You know, the guy from capture the flag."
"You like Kyle?"
"Uh, yeah," Rosamynd blushed a deeper scarlet "He-uh..."
"What?"
"Maybe I shouldn't say..."
"C'mon," Trudy wheedled. This is part of being a daughter of Aphrodite - you just can't know half the truth, especially when it comes to romance.
"He asked me to the End of Summer Dance, actually."
"Really? Adrian asked me to that dance as well," Trudy smile flickered a little, but she jumped up and down in excitement, "We should totally go together!"
"Well I'm going downstairs to get more lemonade and I promised Elektra that I would help her with her herbs," Rosamynd said and waved to Trudy before she descended down the stairs
"It's ok, I'll just enjoy my time here," Alone. Trudy sighed. After a few minutes of soaking in the wet humid air and finishing off her lemonade, she decided it was no use staying on the roof and stood up to go back downstairs. Elektra and Rosamynd were in the corner of the den, practicing making herbs, as Rosamynd said. Kat was on her laptop, and making notes on her notebook. Where's Adrian? She sat down on a bean bag and began to think about her relationship with him. Did I ruin it? Was it too soon?
Katerina had joined the herb making session, bending down and talking to Elektra. Elektra said something back, which made Kat whoop with joy and rush over to a very confused Trudy.
"Guess what?" Kat spun on her evidently healed leg, "I'm free from this stupid leg injury - Elektra said so! Hey, what's wrong?" Katerina noticed Trudy's faraway expression with worry, "You alright?"
"I guess so."
"Want to talk about it? I'm going upstairs to train a little, since I've been slacking off - care to join me? You can work off some of that steam, then maybe we can talk about it later."
"Sure!" They headed upstairs to the small training area, where to Trudy's bewilderment; Vytoni was up on the rafters, reading a book and certainly not being worried about falling off.
"Uh... what are you doing up here?" Katerina asked, craning her head up at the Godling.
"Aren't you supposed to be with Nethrys, on first shift?" Trudy questioned, confused.
"I am - well, at least he thinks I am," Vytoni lifted up an arm, where a single rune was glowing faintly, "The doppelgänger charm. I'm basically in two places at once. And to answer your first question, I up here so I won't be bothered."
"So you're basically sitting downstairs staring into thin air, doing nothing and Nethrys doesn't even notice?" Trudy asked.
"Uh huh. But he is such a blockhead he probably won't even notice."
"Oh. Okay, then," Trudy turned to Katerina and to the door, wondering if she should leave when she noticed that Vyt wasn't holding a book, but a sketchpad.
"You draw?" Trudy pointed at the sketchbook with newfound respect for the Godling.
"No," Vyt replied, flipping the pad around and showing her a strange symbol, "I'm just designing new symbols, giving them new meanings and stuff."
"Mind if we train here for a while?" Katerina asked boldly, striding up to the dummy, which stood limply at the corner of the room
"Not at all. I'll watch," Vytoni said, but she was already immersed in her own things. Oh, well. No point in bothering her - she did say she came here to be alone.
Katerina took out her long dark dagger out of the sheath attached to a belt on her waist. Stygian Iron - pretty dangerous stuff. Better not get on her bad side. Trudy was holding her bronze short dagger with a golden hilt. Kat's dagger looked superior to hers, especially since Trudy's was a little smaller than the average dagger. Kat had started attacking the dummy, swiping it and stabbing it from all angles. Wow, she's good. It was like her dagger was an extension of her arm, an extra limb that gracefully... kills things. She danced around the dummy, jabbing at any unharmed spot of the victim. She stopped, panting. Sweat was already dripping down from her skin.
"Your turn," She simply said as she sat down on a bench, wiping the sweat off her forehead and leaning against the wall.
Awkwardly, Trudy stepped up to the battered dummy, warily looking around and gingerly poking it with her knife, finding the weak spots in the body.
"Well," Trudy started to say, "Things haven't been exactly smooth with Adrian and I..."
~~~END OF CHAPTER 16~~~