Insidious

by Synergetic Prose

(AU/Canon) Connected drabbles starting with the Dracula show: They were as different as the blue sky in the day and the inky blackness of night. And yet, she was getting under his thick skin without permission; he was plaguing her thoughts far more often than she cared to admit. It was confusing, chaotic, and completely unwanted. But for how long would they feel this way...?

15. Chapter 15

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"Then why are you here?" she asked, feeling his fingers touch her hair. She turned her head around as his hand now reached the accessory in her hair.

"Why an orange ball, of all things?"

She shrugged. "Why not? You have feathery fluff along your costume's collar."

"That's not an answer."

"Neither was yours."

If she had blinked, she would have missed the slight crinkling of amusement along the corners of his eyes. It faded away, of course. Any emotions other than smugness or disgust tended to do that. She didn't know why, but the thought annoyed her.

"Why are you here?" she repeated.

The hand that was barely touching her hair had gone down and towards the side of her neck. It paused before it did, her question bringing his mind back into focus. His fingers curled as the hand retreated to his side.

"You know why," he murmured.

Her head tilted slightly. "I didn't realize I was acknowledged."

Before he fully registered the light that had filtered into her eyes, his mouth, out of force of habit responded with an arrogance that had been strangely missing in the past two weeks.

"You're not."

The light quickly died. He felt a slight twinge inside for having extinguished something that he had initially been the cause. If he was one for acting on his remorse, he would have said something to rekindle that light.

Inwardly, she berated herself for having suggested that he was here because of that. She had momentarily forgotten that it was all a game; him touching her hair had thrown her off, had made her wonder if he was here because of something else. The familiar action made her forget, but she recalled that he had touched May's face before.

May was his partner; she was not.

He acknowledged the dark haired beauty; she was left standing alone, cast off to the side.

A simple touch of her hair shouldn't have thrown her mind into such a frenzy. He was adding a new level to the game—that was all. Her brows furrowed.

Everything's a tool to him.

"Of course not," she tartly said. She backed away from him until she was in the shadow of the building. "How stupid of me to have said."

She looked at his still form for a few seconds more and then retreated into the haven of the building.

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AN: Him and his arrogance...*shakes head*