Entry #17: Written July 12th

Dear Diary,

I like those days where we all do nothing and just sit around and talk and see pretty stuff in the city.

Today was, surprisingly, one of those days.

Now that all the crazy kidnapping stuff is over, we've had time off because A) no gargoyles have attacked, B) Monsieur Rhett insisted on it, and C) the Sanctuary can't figure out why this is happening. Everyone's been pretty bored lately, and Fletcher and I have been fretted and worried over by half of the people we know, but seriously, we're doing totally fine. Fletcher didn't want to tell anyone about his near dying with that sedative injection we got, so I kept my mouth shut for him.

Anyway, back to today. I woke up and stumbled around a bit. Gordon was downstairs in the kitchen talking quietly with Skulduggery when I went to get my coffee fix, and they both seemed incredibly tense when I showed up.

"Am I now a wanted criminal in five different countries or something?" I said, pouring my coffee.

"Skulduggery was telling me about your kidnapping escapades in great detail," Gordon replied.

I froze and gave Skulduggery a death glare. He gave a very small shake of the head, which meant that he hadn't told Gordon about the more than friends kiss. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, when suddenly Tanith and Fletcher came bursting through the kitchen.

"There's a spider on the ceiling in the living room!" Fletcher screamed. I dropped the butter knife I had been holding and flattened myself against the counter.

I grimaced and glared at Skulduggery and shouted, "SKULDUGGERY KILL IT."

"He's not harming anyone-"

"DO IT ANYWAY."

He held his hands up in surrender and got up from his chair. He returned a few minutes later with a waded up tissue, and I jumped away from him like Ghastly did when we threw sand at him at the beach one time. (And for the record, Diary, it was hilarious.) Skulduggery threw the tissue into the trashcan and shut the lid to it.

"Happy?"

"Get me some cake. Then we'd be talking," Fletcher happily replied. Skulduggery scoffed at him and went to sit back down in his chair. He crossed his legs and arms, and in the body language world meant, "Shut up and leave me alone."

Tanith and Fletcher charged out of the kitchen again, storming and tearing through the house. They wrenched open the back door, and they stayed out there for quite a while. China was sitting daintily on one of the pretty couches, reading a book, naturally. Ghastly was in the chair across from her, cutting up fabric.

"Anyone know what's wrong with Skulduggery?" I asked Tanith and Fletcher when I went out there looking for them. They were laying up against a tree, staring at the little lake.

Tanith shrugged. "He's been a little cranky ever since rescuing you guys," she said, referring to Fletcher and I. "Did anything happen on that little escapade?"

Fletcher shot me a desperate look and said, "Maybe he's not telling us something important."

"He's usually one to keep secrets," Tanith mumbled sadly. "It's a shame, really."

"What is?"

"The fact that he keeps everything all bottled up. No matter how controlled one may be, they're always going to have to snap at some point and pour everything out. I wonder what'll happen when Skulduggery snaps."

"Well maybe he'll…snap in strides," Fletcher replied, still a desperate look on his face. "And perhaps something could happen that could…make him happy."

"Geez," I said, "that sounds really depressing."

"You know what I mean!" he said. "Something is bound to happen at some point that'll make him realize everything and everyone he has is really what you need."

"My. How poetic."

"I try."

"Fletcher," Tanith said, a wondering tone in her voice, "are you referring to what I think you're referring to?"

"Depends on what you're thinking of."

"On…What we talked about earlier?"

"Oh, yeah, pretty much."

"What's going on?" I shouted at the two of them. "What were you talking about earlier? Does it concern Skulduggery and I and your ridiculous notion that we should be together and all romantic and stuff? I hate that." Lies. All lies.

"So do I," Skulduggery's own velvety voice said from behind me. I jumped back and screamed in fright, only to be caught by his skeletal arm. "Fail."

I bit my lip and blushed. "Sorry about that…But you were the one who snuck up on me! It was a normal reaction."

"Oui, naturally."

I paused and frowned.

Tanith began giggling as she staggered up. Fletcher stood next to her, leaning up against her muscular arms. "Picturesque," he grinned. I opened my mouth to say something, but they teleported that next instant.

"Curse that Fletcher Renn," Skulduggery mumbled. I couldn't help but notice that his arm hadn't left me. It had curled around my ribs right underneath my boobs. I tried squirming away from him playfully, but Skulduggery kept me grounded.

"Stay with me, please," he whispered softly. I was going to reply, but I was interrupted.

"Hello!" we heard China calling from her window from her room. "Tanith wants to go and see the city later tonight when it's all lit up. Would you want to go?"

I shrugged. "Why not?"

China nodded and gave a wary look like she always does, but she shut her window and disappeared.

"Paris is beautiful when it's lit up," Skulduggery said out of the blue.

"I've seen pictures."

"Yeah, but they don't compare to the real thing."

So on that note, he slid his arms away from me, and gracefully sauntered off. I cocked my head to the side as I watched him climb the tree by the lake and sit there for a while. He seemed to be staring at his knees, and every once and while he'd tap his chin with his finger, like he was writing and thinking of what to put down. (Yeah, I don't know.)

So, skipping ahead to tonight. We did actually go out to see Paris all lit up and gorgeous. Oh my, it was so beautiful out, and Skulduggery opened up about things. But I'll get to that soon.

Everyone (minus Gordon) piled into the bigger car, with Ghastly driving. Skulduggery was in the passenger seat, with China by a window, me in the middle, and Tanith on my other side. We made Fletcher squeeze in the back.

Ghastly stopped the car at a random corner in the city, and everyone fanned out. Tanith and Ghastly went off together (ooh la la), while China went off to go find Mr. Bliss at a meeting place they had set up. Fletcher said he'd go wander off for a while and see if he could find any pretty French girls who spoke English. Skulduggery began pulling me down a sidewalk, and we passed by tons of people, all just walking slowly, and enjoying the scenery.

"I think everyday should be as pretty as this one was," I said happily.

Skulduggery chuckled. "Except get rid of the spider. Where did that terrible phobia of spiders come from in the first place?"

"The Torment…"

"Ah, now that would turn someone off arachnids for a long time, I guess."

"Uh, try forever. If I see one, it has to be killed instantly. I can't sleep if I see one in my room at one time, and then he's not there the next hour. I freak out."

"I noticed," Skulduggery replied, dodging a piece of bread that had been thrown on the ground. "Valkyrie, can I ask you a serious question?"

"I suppose," I said. "Depends on if it's too serious or not. Like, 'what would you do if I said I had cancer?' I won't answer that."

"I think it's a little impossible for me to get cancer though…"

"But still. If it's something like that, then I won't answer it and just carry on my merry way."

"Alright, it's not that serious, but just answer me honestly, okay?"

I nodded and scrunched my eyebrows together, and puffed out my lips. "It's my serious face."

"That's a good face," he said softly. "Anyway, Valkyrie, if I hadn't been sucked into the Faceless Ones' portal, would you have taken up Wreath's ideas or offers to become a necromancer?"

I froze, forcing Skulduggery to stop, since his arm was interlocked with mine. "Why did you think this up in the first place?"

"I'm just curious."

"Well I don't know. I guess I wouldn't have needed it to accomplish anything 'great,' but it's admittedly come in handy. It's saved us a few times."

"Right, but if I had asked you to not learn it, would you not have?"

"I suppose not, since at the time I was naïve and acting like a puppy who was following you around. I followed your orders, essentially."

Skulduggery nodded slowly, digesting the information, and he seemed to perk up a bit. I tightened my grip on his arm and said, "Enough with the weird questions. Be happy for me, alright?"

He nodded again and began dragging me across the sidewalk. "We're going to see the avenue des Champs-Élysées," Skulduggery announced. "It's absolutely one of the most gorgeous things you could lay eyes on."

"What are some other gorgeous things you could lay eyes on?"

"Hm?"

"Well this is one of the most gorgeous things you could lay eyes on, so what are others? Statue of David? Mona Lisa?"

Skulduggery chuckled and didn't say anything. I forced him to slow his fast dragging pace down and walk like a normal person. He finally did after much quiet bickering, which the two of us have mastered over the years. Maaany years.

When we reached the avenue des Champs-Élysées, Skulduggery got pretty calm and stoic. It seemed like he was just thinking incredibly deeply, because he'd always give vague responses when I asked a question about France or Paris or something. Maybe he's plotting my demise. Wouldn't that be a twist?

"Hey Skulduggery," I finally said after getting a mumble of an answer. "Let me ask you some serious questions."

He fell out of his stupor instantly and I could tell that his eye sockets were fixed on my eyes. He stopped walking slowly, and we remained there, standing a few inches apart from each other, staring at each other.

"What is it?"

"You've been so off and out of focus lately. I want to know why. What's been getting to you so badly that makes you cranky and argument-ish all the time? Is it the skin thing? Because, I mean, yeah, you were pretty great looking with it, but I still p…pretty…I just said that out loud, didn't I?"

Smooth as a rhinoceros. Way. To. Go.

He didn't answer right away. I thought that he was going to try and chance the subject, but he kept his straight posture and placed his arms securely on my shoulders. "The skin thing is partly to do with it, yes. I can't believe that it was there for just a few hours, but yet, the second I step back out into a public place I revert back to my regular self. I want to wander around Paris – or anywhere, really – without this silly disguise on. The other half that's making me upset like this is something I can't tell you or anyone else unless absolutely necessary." He paused. "And yes, I just heard every word you said."

I slapped my face with my hand. "Awesome, buddy. I didn't mean for it to sound like that!"

"I admit, I'm quite handsome when I have a regular body and everything."

"Ah, I was waiting for a joke like that," I replied happily, eager to get away from the fact that I pretty much said that Skulduggery was hot. I smiled and piled my arms around his skinny neck. I gripped his frame tightly and hugged him with everything I had. He grunted, but I felt his arms snake around my torso slowly and protectively. It felt nice having them there. It really did.

"If it's any consolation," he whispered so softly I thought I had just imagined it, "you're one of the most gorgeous things someone could lay eyes on."

And I end it here. I'll tell more about this night when I have more time. Plus I hear Skulduggery coming up to the room slowly, but surely. I will say that ending on that crazy romantic line, we carried on like none of the previous conversation had happened.

I can't stand that about our relationship.

~Valkyrie


I had mouth/gum surgery recently. FEEL BAD FOR MEEEEEE. :33

Thanks for reading and sorry for any mistakes! :D

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