Ok, so now I'm changing the story a bit by making it first person perspective, which I hope will succeed more into displaying the emotions of the characters, just like I did with the last chapter. Don't forget to tell me what you guys thought about the last chapter - your reviews are really helping me improve :D. Anyhow, I hope this chapter will be worth all the waiting you guys had to do, because I'm giving a whole-hearted effort on this one.
:) /Mininiski Chapter 7: Bitten & Smitten With Love
Meg POV
Back in the human world, where prom was like the thing and so was getting kissed a couple times, I hadn't been too concerned about any of those two things. Not because I was the drop-dead-gorgeous-type who had every guy swooning in my presence, no, in fact it was the exact opposite. Meghan Chase had never kissed, made out or dated any guy in her lifetime. How could I when all I was to the vicious cloud of sabotagers in my school (also referred to as my classmates) was a boxing bag that got hit every day with bitchy comments? And at the times I wasn't bullied or mocked at, I was being blankly ignored, since of course being half-fey, people couldn't remember me.
I lived through that, though. After all, I had Puck, but in reality, he had been assigned to be my friend in the first place in order to see to it that I wasn't being attacked by a dragon or whatever. So maybe our friendship wasn't as real as I wanted it to be. But hey, he was the guy, trickster or no, whom had stood up for me in all situations.
But I had seen the look passing on his face when I mentioned my first date with Ash. He looked like I had gone up and slapped him or something. Then he carefully concealed the expression with one of amusement, but it was too late. I had already seen what he thought of me and Ash, and all the lies in the world couldn't cover that up.
Was there an Ash-and-me? I remembered quizzing over how Ash felt for me the last couple days, and though Puck had mistaken my moody behavior for a depression, I was more frustrated than anything else. I knew that the Winter Prince felt something for me, why else would he bother toying with my emotions so much? And was it just me, or did he sometimes look insecurely at me? As if he couldn't make up his mind about something, and that something I was hell bent on finding out what it was.
I quickly dabbed a bit of light golden eye shadow onto my eyelids so that it was barely visible, but made my eyes look awake and alive. I wasn't the type to fascinate around makeup; however, it was one of the things Puck had brought for me from the human world in order to cheer me up. It had been a failed attempt, of course, since I had previously only owned a lipgloss that was only used at parties and such.
I tugged anxiously at my green top, hoping it matched my eyes. I knew that the Winter fey preferred modern clothing to dresses and stuff, but I was still nervous if I was dressing too casual. The last thing I wanted to do was make a fool of myself in front of Ash. Wait a sec - what if this was just another of his heartless mind games?
I swept my hands over my face, shielding me from the Winter court for a second. No. I didn't like being caught in Ash's spiderweb. I didn't like his way of being a jerk when he was training me, and then acting ok-ish later on. But I had to believe something good would come out of all of this.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror for a sec, and walked to the door. Might as well get this date started, then. A wave of nerves brushed through my stomach, stumbled up my throat until it felt like I was no longer breathing, and then I slowly exhaled.
*
A/N: Ok, so this is normally where I end the chapter, but since I did this bio presentation today in class, and was super nervous before it, I didn't really have time for an update before. So now I'm adding more content to this chapter as a sort of an extra sorry-I-forgot-to-update-chapter :)
/Mininski
I looked up over the table, and let the smell of burnt coffee soak through my senses. A diner. A normal, nothing-above-the-usual-diner, but it was a reminder that I had not been home for a long time. I glanced at Ash, dressed all in white, and wondered if this was on purpose. He must know I'm homesick, I realized with a start, not noticing when he must have picked up on this small detail.
Still, diner or no diner, this was a date, and the fact still left me the exact opposite of serene. Ash leaned forward over the old table, and spoke softly, almost a whisper, "What do you want to order?"
I took a deep breath, and looked without really seeing at my greasy menu. "Um, the chicken sandwich?" It came out as an odd, strangled sound from my throat. But Ash merely nodded, as if though I had made a wise choice that no one else could match.
"Same," he spoke, and for a split second, he sounded so human it almost hurt. I could see us, two normal, human teens, eating at a diner in the middle of nowhere, and tomorrow, we would go to school like normal teens did and do homework like normal teens did. But then I blinked, and thought, In another life, the thought lingering so long it brought forth more sorrow that I had intended.
In that very second, something burst forward out of my heart, leaping faster than my pulse. It clawed it's way through me, scratching at the insides of my palms, dragging it's hands against my throat. And then it calmed as soon as it had exploded. What the hell was that?
And then I realized, when I suddenly picked up similiar feelings of shock from Ash. He had felt it, too. And whatever it was, it had bonded our auras together. Which might sound insane, but was perfectly true.
Oh my God. If I thought I had felt anything for the Winter prince before, it certainly had been heightened to a whole different level now. I loved him, and the reason we had this invisible bond was because he loved me, too.
During the time I had been thinking, Ash had risen silently from the table. He was about to step away when I stopped him.
"Ash." My voice was worn out by the shock; broken into a hoarse manner.
He looked at me, and then I saw tears sparkling in his eyes. I tugged at his arm, and picked up one, solid thought from his mind: Ariella. Puck had told me about her, all the time with a pained expression. She was this goddess of a person who had entered their lives, and left from it almost as quickly. Not voluntarily, since death had stripped her of her life; of her soul. And now she was gone.
"I know," I spoke silently, knowing exactly what he must be thinking. "She's gone, though. From what Puck told me, she would have wanted you to move on. Not live in the past, even though everything is dreadful to you."
My words seemed to have little impact on Ash. But he sank down onto the chair, as if he were a drowning sailor realizing he would never reach the top of the waves. He was sinking,and that fast. "I don't want to," he whispered, dragging his words with him slowly, forming a barely coherent sentence. "Not again." Then he shook his head with determination, and said between gritted teeth, "We, the Winter fey, are not supposed to fall this easily to emotions. We do not crumble to foolish things such as feelings. That is for the mortals, the ones who get bored with their lives so easily, they make it complicated instead."
I felt brave because Ash obviously didn't, so I drew strength, and took his hand in mine. "Some people say that love is the most cruel thing on Earth. That it destroys everything, and I do mean everything, in it's path. But it can also be beautiful. Intensely, painfully, beautiful."
Ash looked up at me, looking like a murderer confessing to his crimes. "Meg," he spoke, whispering in fright.
"I think I might just love you."