Title: Learning To Hunt
Chapter: Section 7
Fandom: The Tribe
Author: PinkTribeChick
Summary: Sometimes, love is just right under your nose . . .
Extended Summary: An alternate-universe Series 4 romance story, from the point of view of Pride, Jack, and an original female character.
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Jack-Original Female Fiction Character, Pride-Original Female Fiction Character, Jack-Ellie, and Bray-Amber, with a few mentions of other pairings.
Author's Notes: Massive thanks to Ariannya and Whit for their thoughts and proofreading on various sections over the years! Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated! Oh, and I highly recommend listening to Elvis Costello's "I Want You" while reading this section - it was the song I had in mind as the music playing during the following party scene!
Disclaimer: All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.
Learning To Hunt
Section 7
Pride stood across the room watching Liliana dance with a dark-brown haired boy. He watched Liliana closely as she swayed to the music, her head resting on the boy's shoulder, but her eyes never leaving Pride's gaze for a moment. Her bluish-gray eyes seemed bluer than usual, almost an icy blue. She wore a loose white sundress, and her curly hair blew about in the breeze that was coming in through the windows.
Pride had never seen her look more beautiful. Why hadn't he seen it before? Why hadn't he seen how wonderful she was and how no other girl could possibly compare to the standard she set? It was as though someone had flipped a switch on inside of him, and all he could see was her. Everything else around him was a blur, except for her perfect face. And now she was dancing with that jerk Ass-Ton. No, Ashton, he corrected himself, laughing at the nickname he had come up with for the boy. The sight of them together made an odd fury swell up inside him, something like jealousy.
He sighed loudly and turned his back to her, unable to bear watching her anymore. He tossed his empty punch cup into the trash, running a hand through his short black hair. He was surrounded by people, not able to make out faces, but he could hear their voices. It was a feeling somewhat close to being claustrophobic. It didn't help that his vision was bothering him and things were starting to spin a bit. He pulled at the collar of his shirt. It certainly was warm in there. Or maybe it was just his temper flaring about Liliana and Ashton dancing.
Spinning around to look at her again, he made himself dizzy, almost tipping over. He steadied himself on the table behind him, taking a deep breath. As the music changed from a slow ballad to an odd 80s song, he scowled jealously at Ashton.
His nostrils flared as he watched Ashton slyly move his hands down toward Liliana's rear, his lips nuzzling her neck, as Liliana squirmed. Not even thinking twice about it, he pushed himself off the table and started over toward them, picking up more speed with each step. He crouched a bit and started to run, aiming for Ashton. Pride rammed hard into him, knocking him off his feet. Pride grabbed a startled Liliana quickly, holding her close. Everyone in the room stopped dancing, staring at the scene.
"You filthy sleazebag! You need to learn a little more respect for a girl than that, Ashton!" exclaimed Pride, his words slurring a bit. "You shouldn't try to force yourself like that on any girl!" Pride could see the scene unfolding before him, but he couldn't seem to control his actions. Liliana looked embarrassed, and Pride was wondering what had caused him to react so violently to a little dance. His thoughts were so foggy.
"You're just drunk, Pride! Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't give a shit if I made a move on her!" Ashton retorted, grinning. Pride stared him down, trying to bite his tongue as Ashton looked smug. Something inside him wouldn't allow him to keep his mouth shut though.
"Oh, really? Wouldn't I?" Pride responded, kicking him in the stomach angrily. Ashton yelped, grabbing his abdomen. "Stay away from her, got it?" Pride took Liliana's hand forcefully and led her out of the room, closing the door behind them.
"Are you okay, Lili?" Pride asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder to steady himself. As he stared deep into her eyes, like he was looking into her soul, a goofy grin spread across his face. She backed away from him, a slightly angry look on her face.
"I'm fine! Why the hell did you do that? I could have handled that myself!" she exclaimed. She looked at him strangely. "Why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," he said.
"We need to get you home, you're obviously drunk," she said.
"I am not!" he countered defensively. "I had the same punch that everyone else did, and no one else was drunk in there."
"Yes, they were. Ashton was, Deirdre was, everyone nearly. I'm even feeling a little tipsy from it," she responded. It was very obvious he was plastered. His pupils were dilated, his face was flushed, and his breath reeked of alcohol. She touched his cheek gently, and he felt a warm surge throughout his body. "Peaches, you're sloshed."
"Well, I only had three cups, so I can't be drunk, can I?" he said, hiccupping. "I am perfectly fine." She rolled her eyes at this. He was still making weird eyes at her, and she shivered. Pride could hear his heartbeat thundering in his ears like a galloping racehorse, his mind moving at the pace of a turtle.
"Well, you're giving me the creeps. I'm going back into the party," she said, pushing past him. He stood there in a stupor as she walked away before he reached out and grabbed her by the arm.
"Lili, don't go," Pride said pleadingly. She looked over her shoulder at him.
"Why are you acting like this?" she asked.
"Acting like what?" he questioned back.
"All weird . . . like you're more than just drunk. First, you attack Ashton, which is so not like you, and now you're looking at me funny, like you're demonically possessed. What's wrong with you?" she answered, growing irritated with his behavior.
"Nothing's wrong. I just realized something earlier," he insisted. The room was getting hotter by the minute, it seemed to him. He was getting dizzier, too.
"Oh? Enlighten me, Pride. What have you realized?" she said sarcastically. "That you have the mental capacity of a five year old when you're drunk?"
"No . . . ," he said slowly. He nodded his head once, then spoke again. "I love you, Lili." She looked at him incredulously, as he spoke those slurred words. "I love you . . ."
Then suddenly everything went black . . .
"I love you . . . I love you," Pride repeated over and over, tossing about in the armchair where he had fallen asleep. May stood over him, listening to his drowsy rambling. "I love you . . ."
"Pride, honey, wake up," she said, shaking him a little bit. His eyes flew open, and he stared at her silently for a few moments. His mind recalled the dream he had been having. A very . . . vivid dream about Liliana, for lack of a better word. It had just been a dream. He looked at May in puzzlement.
"Did I fall asleep?" he asked finally.
"Yeah. That must have been some dream you were having. I could hear you down the hallway you were talking so loudly," she replied.
"What was I saying?" he said, sitting back up in the chair and closing the book that lay open in his lap.
"Something like, 'I love you, I love you.' Were you dreaming about me?" she responded, grinning. She sat down on his lap, throwing her legs over the arm rest of the chair. Pride looked down at his hands, feeling guilty. May was his girlfriend, and he had been dreaming about Liliana. And what an odd dream at that. His imagination had gone a little overactive. He looked at May thoughtfully. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, and he wasn't about to let anyone know what he'd really been dreaming about. He plastered a false smile on his face.
"Yeah, it was about you. A really good dream, too," he lied. He kissed her gently on the forehead, and she cuddled up against him. As they sat there, he replayed the dream over and over again in his mind. Just a dream, that's all it was, he told himself. But he could never tell anyone about it. Never.
Yes – that dream WAS a flashback . . . Please review? Pretty please? I'm dying here . . . reviews are love. So gimme your thoughts, for the love of all that is holy! And thanks for reading!