Chapter Thirty-Four
Victoria sat nestled in Pogue's arm, tight against his side as they sat on the enormous sectional watching TV mindlessly. They had spent most of the day like that. Consciously not talking about anything more complicated than what they were watching on TV.
"Jesus," Victoria jumped as the monster came around the corner on the screen, "Ugh, I hate those things." She shivered.
Pogue glanced at her, "Are you kidding?! They are the best part of the show," He said pointing at the screen with his hand draped over her shoulder.
Victoria adamantly shook her head, "No, no, the adolescent love stories are the best part of this show."
"Love stories? Barely anything has happened."
"Yeah, but it's all just building. That is what makes it awesome."
"Ok... but I am pretty sure this big guy is gonna have his face eaten off by the monster so that is good enough for me."
Victoria shook her head. Richard had gone back to the office shortly after he had dealt with Reid. Victoria had made an effort to not let Pogue bring it up again. She knew he was distracted by it and irritated by not knowing everything that was going on but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it. She mainly didn't trust herself to.
She didn't want to discuss it because it would make it all to real. Right now, she could just float along, feeling slightly numb about Reid. It was over, that was all she needed to know. She didn't want to deal with any of the realities of it. However tomorrow loomed large in her mind. Monday, the beginning of the last week of school. She wasn't looking forward to not being able to hide behind Richard Parry. She was also worried because she did know that eventually it would come out what happened. That worried her too, and for so many different and conflicting reasons. She was worried about Pogue getting hurt by what Reid and Kate had done. She was also worried about what Pogue might do to Reid. She was worried about what she might do to either Reid or Kate. She didn't want to deal with Caleb jumping down her throat as a protective older brother. Or what may or may not have been churned up by the schools rumour mill, after all, evidently before they went to State Victoria and Pogue were supposedly sleeping together... and now, after leaving the hotel together...
She glanced up at Pogue who was watching the screen. She thought about their kiss in his bedroom and felt her stomach swoop down out from under her. It had ben amazing, still able to send shivers up her spine just by thinking about it. As soon as their lips touched all she wanted to do was let go, give herself over to him. But she wasn't sure if that was a smart idea. After everything was still so ... fresh from Reid. She didn't want to rush things with Pogue, but it also seemed somewhat... pointless to wait. After all, anything she still had to go through she would want Pogue as her main support anyway. And Victoria already knew he would be there for her.
She rested her head against his shoulder and felt him shift to look down at her, "You ok?" He asked leaning his head against the top of her head.
"Yeah, just thinking about tomorrow."
Pogue took a deep breath, as if already understanding what she was thinking about, "Do you want me to take you to the dorms tonight?" evidently on exactly the same page as her.
She shook her head against him, "No," She turned to meet his eyes, "Not really."
He nodded but his eyes looked happy, Like that was the response he was hoping for too.
Suddenly Victoria sat up, "Hey!" She snapped pretending to glare at Pogue, he looked at her confused, his brow furrowing.
"What?" He asked, sitting up a bit. She simply shook her head in way of response, got up off the couch and walked out of the room without a backwards glance, "Vic? ...Victoria? Whats up?"
Just before he was about to stand up and go after her, Victoria reappeared in the doorway and was back on the couch beside him in seconds, her hands full of very thick envelopes. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
Victoria shook her head, her hair up in the untidy ponytail flicking around her, "We were supposed to open these before we started watching TV." She pretended to scold him.
Pogue rolled his eyes, "They can wait until later, we don't have to-"
He went to reach for the letters but Victoria snatched them out of his reach, holding them over her shoulder. "No, we should do it now." She settled down and looked at him, "Pogue, it seems like all we ever do is worry about me recently and honestly it's exhausting. It's you turn to be in the hot seat." She handed him the first letter. He took it, looking at the post mark. Berkeley. He hesitated. "Pogue?" Victoria leaned forward to see beneath his hair, and in to his eyes. "What's up?"
He shrugged, "I dunno. College seems too odd, after all we have been going through. Like kinda unrealistic ya know?" He looked up at Victoria. But she had fixed him with a mean glare, "What?"
"Don't even begin to tell me you are thinking about not going." She snapped crossing her arms.
"Come on Vic, with everything that's been going on-"
"So?!" She snapped interrupting him, "WE are dealing with 'everything'." She scooted closer to him on the couch before reaching out and putting a hand on his knee. "Pogue, since before I can remember you have talked about college and university. Harvard, the whole nine yards, being an attorney. I won't let you give up on that part of yourself just because we are experiencing some... changes."
He met her eye with an amused look, "Changes?"
Victoria rolled her eyes, "Well, whatever." It was funny, at breakfast Victoria had been nervous about the letters, nervous about letting Pogue go off without her to college. She knew there was no way she could get into a school within the same stratosphere of where Pogue wanted to go, or even any of his back up schools, not that Victoria had ever really had any concrete dreams involving higher education in the first place. But now, faced with his hesitation she knew she would move heaven and earth to make sure he went where he wanted. After all, it was his dream, and she would be damned if he missed out on it, or gave up on it, just because of something like being a double ganger. She blinked, she really did love him more than herself.
"Fine." He said shaking his head, "You have to open half."
Victoria divided the pile and handed him a stack, smiling confidently. Within a few minutes, although her smile was brighter on the outside, her heart was sinking. Berkley, UCLA, Tulane, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia. He had gotten into all of them. Now Victoria was wondering just how far away from her he would end up. She had glanced at Pogue, he sat with the last envelope in his hands, Harvard. Both their father's alma mater. The school he and Caleb had been talking about going to since they were in Kindergarten. Victoria felt her heart skip a beat, at least Cambridge was close.
"You gonna open that or just stare at it?" She teased bumping her shoulder into his as they sat hip to hip on the couch surrounded by acceptance packages of student union pamphlets and campus maps.
Without saying anything Pogue ripped open the envelope and read the letter before flicking it onto the table. "I got in."
"Pogue!" She squealed, Victoria threw her arms around his neck. Pogue rubbed her back, before she pulled back to look at him, "Harvard! Living the dream!"
He smiled, "Yeah,"
Victoria slouched down on the couch, "Well that's anticlimactic!"
Pogue sat back beside her, "I dunno how to explain it, but I dunno...Harvard just seems like part of a life that isn't mine any more."
"Pogue, it doesn't have to be like that. It just feels like that now because we are in the eye of the storm. Things will settle. We will get back to normal and then Harvard will be part of that."
Pogue looked at her and met her eyes, "See?"
"What?" She asked.
"You do know what to say," His hand came up and gently rested just under her chin, lifting her face slightly, electricity radiating through both of them. His lips came down on hers just lightly, brushing over hers.
Slowly Victoria opened her eyes to see Pogue looking over her face, as if memorizing her features. "You must inspire that in me," She smiled at him. "What cha thinking?"
Pogue took a deep breath sitting back again. Victoria leaned on the back of the couch leaning toward him, "I'm thinking, I need to think about this before I respond to any of these letters."
Victoria nodded, very reasonable answer, very Pogue-like answer. "Sounds good. If you need a sounding board, I know a very attractive option."
He chuckled and looked at her raising an eyebrow, "Is that so?"
"Oh yeah,"
He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back into her spot under his arm, tucked into his side, "K, I wanna Netflix again."
Pogue walked over to his bed, pulling his t-shirt off over his head, getting ready for sleep. It had been a long day. And tomorrow promised to be just as long, if not worse. He didn't know what would be waiting for them at Spencer tomorrow but at least they only had to get through one more week.
His dad had been vague about Reid's appearance at their front door when Pogue had asked him about. Said he looked upset and anxious. Pogue wanted to know what the hell was going on and depending on what happened tomorrow he might just demand Victoria tell him.
He ran a hand over his face, it was Victoria, who was he kidding, he couldn't demand she do anything. At first he thought she had been fighting back tears and sadness but then when Reid had showed up he saw the rage in her eyes and wanted to know what had her so pent up. What could Reid have possibly done?
There was a knock on the door and Pogue looked over his shoulder. He walked over to his door, figuring he knew who it was.
He swung open his door to see Victoria standing there in sweat pants and a black sports bra. "Hey," She said smiling at him.
"Hey, what's up?" He asked.
"I, uh... Well, I was just about to get into bed and I realized." She shook her head, "I don't wanna be on my own any more."
Pogue let his door swing all the way open, he smiled at her, "Yeah, me either."
Victoria smiled and walked into his room. She ambled over to the bed before sitting down on the edge of it taking off her socks. Pogue hit the light switch by the door, leaving only his bedside table light on for illiuinatation before heading over to the bed himself.
"Do you think this is weird?" Victoria asked, crawling back on to the bed up to the pillows and climbing underneath the navy blue comforter.
Pogue shrugged, "I dunno." She pulled her knees up to her chest, under the comforter, sitting up and wrapping her arms around her legs. She discreetly looked away as Pogue let his jeans drop to the floor so he was left in only his boxers before he too climbed under the comforter, "You mean aside from being witches, actual soulmates and remembering vivid memories from our past doubleganger lives every time we go to sleep? Oh yeah, sleeping together is definitely up high on the roster of weird." He lay back on to his pillows, hands laced behind his head.
Victoria rolled her eyes looking over her shoulder at him, "You know what I mean." She lay back down too on the pillows, turning on her side so she could look at him.
"I am tired of worrying about what's normal and what's not." Pogue looked from the ceiling and looked into her blue eyes, in the low light, they looked a stormy ocean blue. "I just want us to be happy, and forget the rest."
Victoria took a deep breath, "What do you think tomorrow is gonna be like?"
Pogue rolled onto his side so he was facing her. "I dunno, but at least it's only one more week." He shrugged, "And the guys, will just have to figure it out."
Victoria looked like she didn't believe him, but she still sent him a half smile, "I'm glad I am in this with you."
Pogue reached out and took her hand in his. "Same," He pulled her hand to him and kissed the back of it before looking back at her eyes, "Night Victoria," He said in her mind.
"Night Pogue," She responded in turn the bedrooms silence around them, And with a flash of his eyes the light went out.