Yellow.

I hate the beach. I always have, and I always will. The sun bleaches my bones, and I happen to be white enough already. The water is full of salt, and it smells like dead fish. But the worst thing about the beach is the sand. It gets into your shoes, and grinds between your toes when you walk. You find it in your cuffs for days afterwards. But those are reasons for anyone to hate the beach. At least other people have skin to keep the sand out. I find sand in my skull, sand between my vertebrae.

So there I was, sitting on a bright yellow towel, manipulating the air to keep the sand away from my eye sockets. Why was I there if I hate it so much? The answer to that question was dipping her toes in the water, wearing a small, yellow bikini.

"Hey, guys, come on! The water is really warm!" Valkyrie yelled, stretching out her arms to the sun. Ghastly was sitting beside me, reading a book. He looked up briefly to wave Valkyrie to go on without him, then flipped a page. On my other side, Fletcher and his new girlfriend were sunbathing. We were here in Australia to visit them. They looked up and ran to join Valkyrie. As strange as it was, Valkyrie had formed a close friendship with Fletcher's third and current girlfriend, Sara Dawning. I think she was happy to have a girl to chat with again.

I watched them wade out into the water, and then one by one dive underneath, surfacing shouting and laughing. Fletcher suddenly pulled Sara into a kiss, and Valkyrie turned away, covering her eyes jokingly. She peeked through her fingers at me, and I shifted my focus to Ghastly. It was too late, I had already caught her attention.

"Hey! Skulduggery!" She called. I pretended not to hear her. She swam closer to shore, and then got out of the water, stomping over to me. I looked up at her slowly. She stood over me, hands on her hips, a silhouette against the afternoon sun. "We came here to be on vacation. We are on vacation. Sitting here trying not to get sand on your suit isn't being on vacation. Come swimming. Doesn't the water feel nice on your bones?"

I looked out at the ocean again. Fletcher was chasing Sara, who was trying to hide underneath the surface of the water. I looked back at Valkyrie and shook my head. There was no way I was going swimming. She sat down next to me, resting her chin on her knees.

"You're being a wet towel," She told me. I shrugged. She sighed. "You're hopeless." I nodded, and she stood, brushing the sand from her legs. "I'm still hoping for you, hopeless," she said. She kissed my cheekbone and ran back into the water, slipping underneath the surface and not coming back up for a while.

My cheekbone felt like it was tingling, or burning. I could still feel her lips. I watch her head pop out of the water. She pushed her dark hair out of her face, laughing. I felt…I didn't know what I was feeling. The burning spot where she had kissed me spread through my bones, filling the space between them. The feeling was strange and yet familiar. I sorted through my memories, tracking it back in time. Then all at once, I knew. I had felt this nearly four centuries ago, dancing with a woman who would become my wife. I pushed the image away, trying to forget the bitter-sweet memory.

I loved Valkyrie. I loved her stubbornness, her laughter, her entire annoying self. I had known that for years. But this feeling was more. It was attraction. Was that even possible? I watched her splash Fletcher with water, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Yes, apparently it was. I had felt attracted to women before, even as a skeleton. China had always woken up the part of me that still thought I was a man. This was different. My bones were tingling. I could feel the heat of that innocent kiss inside my ribcage. Somehow I wanted her.

That was one thing settled. Now I just had to convince myself otherwise. Valkyrie was beautiful, and captivating, and complicated. But she was also nineteen years old. I was four hundred and thirteen. How could I be with Valkyrie when she was so young? How could I even consider it? Want it?
And I am dead. There's really no forgetting that. Nothing but bones, not even a man anymore. I am an oddity, and mystery, but not a potential partner. To admit to myself that I am attracted to Valkyrie is one thing. To consider admitting it to her was a step farther. To consider telling her…
What was wrong with me? I had known her since she was twelve, a young girl with big eyes. I was her teacher, best friend, her father figure. She was supposed to be like a daughter to me. But she wasn't.

Well, I'd just have to push these feelings aside. In time I would forget them. I couldn't act on them, obviously, so what else was there to do? Not only was it overwhelmingly wrong in all views of society, I couldn't imagine Valkyrie returning the feeling. She knows that most boys would fall at her feet. And why would she choose dry, unyielding bone, over the warmth of soft skin?

There was someone tapping my head. My consciousness snapped back into my body, and I was looking out at the ocean. My vision was half-filled with a light yellow, which was confusing me. I turned my head to the left, and found myself looking into Valkyrie's deep brown eyes. Her lips were moving, saying "Skulduggery?" I nodded.

She was smiling at me now. "Were you meditating?" She was kneeling on the sand next to me, her hair still wet from the sea water. Fletcher and Sara were sitting in the sun, tanning. Ghastly was still reading his book. And Valkyrie was waiting for my answer.

"Yes," I replied. She grinned.

"You've got sand in your eye sockets," she told me. That explained the yellow in my vision. She began to brush me off, sand falling from my coat, my hat, my shoulders. "Stand up," she instructed, and I did. I tilted my head forwards and two twin waterfalls of sand pour from my eye sockets, tickling the inside of my head. Ouch.

She moved behind me and I felt her hands on my back, dislodging sand. "We're going home now," she said. She circled me once, checking me over. I felt vaguely uncomfortable, but she finished her inspection and looked satisfied. "There. Sand-free. Come on." She grabbed my wrist and tugged me over to Fletcher.

The boy looked up at us and grinned, his hair a blonde halo in the sunlight. "'Sup?" He asked lazily.

"Skulduggery and I are going to go back to Ireland. I really enjoyed visiting with you and Sara. But I don't think that Skulduggery likes the beach. Next time, if we could find a dance or something, that could suit him better. I'm going to pick up my dress from his house. Would you teleport us, please?" Fletcher hopped up, and tapped Sara with a foot. She rolled over, and flipped her hair out of her eyes. Fletcher offered her a hand and pulled her up.
"Skul and I are headed back," Valkyrie told her. The two girls embraced tightly, and then smiled at each other.

"See you again soon. Will you come by for a drink on Saturday?" Sara asked eagerly, and Valkyrie nodded. Then Fletcher put a hand on our shoulders, and we were in my living room. He waved good-bye cheerily, and then we were alone.

Valkyrie patted me on the shoulder and walked into her room. I had bought her a bed and let her decorate one of the rooms a few years ago. She kept half her clothes there, and half her clothes at Gordon's. I sat down on the couch, and took off my hat. There was still sand on the brim, and I brushed it off impatiently. I tried not to think about Valkyrie changing next door, then tried not to think about not thinking about it, because that was just another way of thinking about it.

I ran a gloved hand over my skull and silently cursed. And then I heard Valkyrie's voice. "I'm going out for pizza. Do you want to come?" I turned. She was leaning against the door frame, wearing a yellow dress. It brought out her tan, and made her dark hair pop. As much as I loved her black clothes that Ghastly had made for her, I had always loved seeing her in colors. Colors like yellow, colors like orange. She was beautiful.

I shrugged at her suggestion. As much as I wanted to stay with her, I needed time alone, time to think. Besides, watching her eat always filled me with a hollow emptiness, a hunger that I could never act on, because it wasn't a physical craving. The burning in my bones could be compared with that. A phantom need. An impossibility.

"Okay," Valkyrie said, sounding disappointed. She headed into the hallway, and I followed her. She pulled on a coat, and shoes. She turned back, and waved. "Catch you around, Skul." Then she was gone, and the door shut behind her. I walked into the living room, and sat in the chair I used to meditate. I tried to clear my thoughts, but images of Valkyrie in the water, Valkyrie in the sundress, wouldn't leave.

I could feel that pins and needles sensation again, but softer. Like there were birds inside my ribcage, their wings brushing against my bones. As much as I tried to ignore it, it was there, and so was a simple fact I could no longer push aside.

I was in love with Valkyrie Cain.

A/N: Hello! The usual greetings and thanks to you, as well as thanks to ticklethedragon1, even though she totally screwed up the editing for this chapter. Apparently she got distracted by the amazing plot.

And lastly, I know you're out there, I can hear you cyber-breathing, so please, please review, because it makes me happy. (:

I very much appreciate the reviews I am already getting, I'm going around shoving them in people's faces and grinning like a lunatic. "Look! Look! People are reading my fanfiction!" Most strangers just look at you oddly when you do that. Some tell me 'Congrats' and then back away slowly. Ciao!

Coming next-

Green: The forest is quiet, the water is cold, and Valkyrie is painfully beautiful. (As usual.)