A/N: Welcome back! I'm glad you decided to hit the "next chapter" button. I appreciate you, so consider this chapter a reward for your perseverance :)
It is dark by the time I get home. My shift ended at nine, and it took another ten minutes to leave because Newkirk had to show me how turn off all the machines and lock the door. It may not be a long way away to my house, but the streets here are unfamiliar and the street lamps are far apart and it's colder than I planned for.
I toss the house key into the bowl by the door and flip on the hall light. It flickers on sluggishly, and I don't wait for it to decide whether it's on or off before I pass through into the kitchen.
Our kitchen is small, and I think the refrigerator may be as old as the house. But it does it's job well, and I snatch last night's leftovers and a jug of milk out of it. I sit in a chair at the wooden table while my food microwaves and drink the milk. Mom must already be asleep, so I don't bother to get out a glass. I feel like one of those films where the obnoxious teenager drinks milk from the carton in front of their little siblings–except that no one else is around, and I don't even have younger siblings. Just Jaspert, and he left for University this fall.
The microwave beeps, and I shovel down my food without really tasting it and hurry off to bed. I yawn heavily on my way down the hall to my bedroom, and my eyes are sagging before I hit the mattress.
It's been a long day.
I hate the sound of my alarm. I really do. The beeping noise is loud and shrill, and it somehow manages to echo off even the small walls in my room.
I can't hit the off button fast enough.
Swiping at my eyes and face to help myself wake up, I slide out of bed and hiss as my bare feet hit the cold floor. That, at least, shakes some of the sleepiness away.
A hoodie sounds like a good idea, so I pull one over my head on top of my night shirt. The logo on the front reads, "Like a boss" with the Facebook "like" icon instead of the word. Jaspert gave it to me for Christmas last year. I don't get on Facebook much, but I appreciate the humor.
I tie my hair back in a loose ponytail with a hair tie I find on my dresser without bothering to brush it out; it's Saturday, after all, and I don't care what Ma thinks of my appearance around home.
My pajama pants are a little long and drag along the floor, but I don't mind because it shields my feet from the cold. One of the floorboards squeaks loudly as I step on it.
"Is that you, Deryn?" comes my mother's voice from the kitchen.
"Who else would it be, Ma?" I chide her as I step through the doorway.
She turns to me from her place at the refrigerator, searching for something to eat for breakfast. "Your brother came to visit us for the weekend, and I thought that might be him. He arrived at about seven off the train, and fell asleep on the couch before too long."
The lightness in her voice isn't hidden, and I can't blame her. It's been months since I've seen my brother, and we've always been close.
I waste no time running to the sitting room and tackling his sleeping form. "Jaspert!" I yelp and sit on his chest.
"You're suffocating me, kid!" he wheezes, making a halfhearted attempt to push me off. He could do it easily because he's three years older and covered in a layer of muscle, but either he's too tired right now or doesn't really mind that I'm sitting on him. Eventually he settles with tweaking my ponytail.
"How's school? Did you get my email about my new job? Have you met any girls? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I demand, smiling from ear to ear.
He laughs. "Jeez, could you give me a chance to wake up before we play twenty questions?" I love his laugh. It's deep and honest, and when he laughs it shakes his whole body. I move to the arm of the old couch so he can sit up.
"No," I tell him remorselessly. "If I only get two days with you, then there is no time to waste. So answer my questions."
"One at a time, please." Jaspert stands up and folds the blanket he slept with, tossing it on the couch behind him and effectively unfolding it. I smile, because he always does that. He is wearing jeans and a wrinkled Oxford Aviation Academy t-shirt, which I assume he wore yesterday.
"Fine," I concede. "Which one was first, again?"
He narrows his eyes at me. "Really?"
I sigh dramatically. "Lay off. I forgot. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"I distinctly remember that one being last," Jaspert says, leaning against the wall and chipping off the paint that's peeling around the doorway with his fingernails.
"Just answer my question."
He laughs again and leads me to the kitchen, where Ma is frying some bacon.
"Well, I haven't seen you since you moved down here, and since I'm sure you know all college students are broke, I thought I'd be my own housewarming gift." My older brother is a clown and he knows it, and he just waits for me to start laughing.
It's hard, but I manage to keep a straight face. "That's all well, but I'm just happy because when you're here, Ma actually makes breakfast."
Jaspert loses the battle against laughing, but only when he sees Ma's face at my comment.
"Deryn!" she says indignantly, but after a moment she can't help but smile.
"What?" I reply. "It's true."
When she gives me The Look again, I hold up my hands in defense. "Hey, most of the time I love heating up a bagel in the toaster, don't get me wrong, but bacon and eggs? There's no beating that."
I really don't blame my mom for not making breakfast more often–she spends most of the day at work, and will have to leave before I do for school in the morning during the week. I just like to joke around about it, and she knows it.
And I do like bagels.
"That smells so good, Ma," Jaspert says, shoulders dropping and eyes closing with pleasure. "I have not had anything but Ramen noodles and cold pizza since Christmas."
"Thank you, Jaspert," Ma replies.
At the same time, I mumble about having the worst diet ever and still being able to look that good and how that is not fair. That earns me another Look from Ma, so I shrug. I don't have a problem with my weight, and although I like to eat, too, it isn't in the massive quantities my brother does.
We pull up an extra chair for Jaspert to sit in, and soon enough we're gathered around the table, gobbling up food like we haven't eaten in days and talking about everything that has happened in the last two months.
"Oh!" I blurt. "I remembered one of my other questions! Have you met any girls?" I waggle my eyebrows and make an attempt at a seductive face, but it doesn't work because he's my brother, and it would have been a little weird.
"Uh... no."
He hesitates too long. I jump out of my seat and point an accusing finger at him. "Ha! You're lying! Tell me everything, right now!"
Jaspert's face turns bright pink with a blush, and I know I've caught him.
"It's not a big deal," he insists, setting down his fork. "We've just been on one date."
The silence after his statement is too much for me. "And? Are you going out again? What's her name? Is she in flight school with you?"
He looks down, suddenly finding the linoleum floor very interesting. "Remember what I said about asking one question at a time?"
"Fine. Are you going out with her again?" I sit back down, forcing myself to wait patiently for his answer.
"Yes. Next Thursday we're having dinner and watching a movie in my dorm room on my laptop."
Ma is about to protest, but he holds up a hand to stop her. "My roommate will be there, Ma. No fooling around planned for the evening."
It may be my imagination, but he sounds more than a little disappointed.
"Very well." Ma is old-fashioned in the sort of way that makes chivalry in relationships important, but she loves using the internet and the microwave.
"So now tell us more about her," I prod.
"Well, her name is Amber. She is in flight school with me and we have several classes together. She's smart and beautiful. And she has the most amazing green eyes," he says, staring off into space.
I know someone with green eyes. They're the deepest green I've ever seen, and they hold so much warmth, but pain at the same time...
"What, is that all you're going to ask?" Jaspert looks honestly confused.
I blink. Snap out of it, Deryn, I tell myself, you made the guy coffee,and the only reason you know his name is because you had to write it on the order. "For now. But I expect a full report by tonight. Until then, I have unpacking to do."
With a flourish, I pick up my plate from the table and deposit it in the dishwasher–another of Ma's favorite inventions. She grew up in a poor family, so even when modern conveniences became commonplace, she didn't have them.
I hop over the squeaky floorboard on the way to my bedroom. I'm in the doorway when I hear it groan behind me.
"You left pretty quickly," Jaspert begins. "And with fewer than a hundred questions. What was that all about?"
"Hmm?" I ask over my shoulder, trying to act nonchalant as I rip the tape off a box. Inside are some clothes. "Like I said, I need to unpack. I start school on Monday, and I'd like to know where all my stuff is by then."
"No, seriously," he says. "Don't think you can fool me that easily."
"This is full of Ma's stuff," I mutter, and shove the box aside. I told her she should label hers like I did mine, but she must have forgotten.
"Answer my question, Deryn." His voice is now cool. All humor has left it, and it's replaced by concern.
"Blisters, Jaspert. Will you lay off? I'm fine. Just... nervous." I don't look at him. I know what I'll see when I do, and it won't do anything to help.
"About school? Look, Deryn, if you ever need me, I'll catch the first train down and we can talk. What happened to you–it won't happen again. I know you won't let that happen."
My stomach roils and sinks, objecting to the abrupt change in mood while it was happily digesting bacon. Why does he have to bring it up? Couldn't he just let me enjoy my Saturday?
"I'm really fine." I open another box. "My knee doesn't even hurt today, and I was standing all of yesterday. It's healing. Everything is," I add, willing him to leave me alone.
"Okay," Jaspert says. "But I'm here. I just want you to know that."
He turns away, and I look up.
"I love you," I tell his back. "Thanks."
Jaspert nods. "Love you, too."
A/N: So, in case there are some cleverly disguised, important things in here that you managed to miss, I'll give them to you:
Deryn has long hair. (Not too long, but longer than a boy's haircut. I figure it's right at her shoulders, and just barely long enough to pull into a ponytail.)
Something happened to her, obviously. I'll let you mull over that for the next few chapters before you get to know what that was.
I am taking lots of liberties with the plot of the actual book and adding more layers to the characters. I'm just keeping it interesting for you. But if you've decided already that you prefer stuff that stays very true to the characters, setting, and time period, go check out my other, completed fanfic, Orion. Find it on my profile page :)
Okay, so that's pretty much it for this chapter. You get some more Alek next time. (I put that in there so you have something to look forward to. :) )