Chapter 21

Are We?

Kiara's POV

I pulled away, proud of myself. Then I frowned.

"What will the others think?" I questioned.

Envy shrugged. "Don't know, don't care."

"Yeah, but this is your hair." I pointed out.

I had braided his hair, and I think he was a little annoyed about it.

"It's pretty, though." I tied the hair tie in.

"Yeah, whatever." He slid off the bed and walked away with a noticeable limp.

I giggled. "It shows your feminine side!"

"Shut up, Kiara!" He yelled.

I burst out laughing, falling back onto the bed as he angrily tried to yank out the tie.

"Aw, don't take it out~ I like it." I whined as he shook out his hair.

"Well, I hated it." He snapped, walking into the living room.

I got up and followed him. "Envy~" I complained.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it." He glared.

I pouted. "You're no fun, really."

"I'm bored." He ignored me.

I considered what to do. "Slapjack?"

He thought for a moment. "Nah."

"Monopoly?" I offered.

"What's that?" He didn't look interested.

"It's a game that takes forever." I summoned the game.

"Is it violent?"

"No, unless you kill a person for having to pay $1,000." I plopped down on the floor, then uncased the game.

"It sounds boring." He lowered himself to the floor, a flash of pain passing over his face.

"If it hurts to sit this low we can move to the table." I offered.

He waved my worries away. "I'm fine. How do you play?"

~Twenty Minutes Later~

~No POV~

"ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!" Kiara shrieked.

Envy grinned. "Pay up, loser. You owe six-fifty."

She pouted. "C'mon, don't be like that~" She pleaded.

"Keep whining and I'll add fifty." He warned.

"Dangit." Kiara pulled out the required amount.

Well, I just lost six hundred fifty dollars to a beginner. She mentally sighed.

Envy rolled the dice, and landed on Free Parking.

She threw up her hands as he collected the money. "I give up! You cheated!"

Envy just smirked. "Yeah right, you're just mad cause you've got ten dollars left."

"Shut up." Kiara muttered.

She rolled the dice, and landed in jail.

"ARGH!" Kiara jumped up and walked away.

Envy was laughing. "It'll cost you eighty-five to get out!"

"I HATE THIS GAME!" Kiara stalked outside to punch a tree.

Envy just smirked to himself as he counted his money. More than double the amount since he started.

How is she so bad at this? He wondered.

Then froze.

Did she let me win on purpose? But how can you do that? Who cares, I gotta ask her.

Envy slowly stood up, grimacing as several things protested. He limped to the doorway, to see her sitting on the beach, her feet in the water.

"Kiara?" He called, walking over.

"What." She drew her knees to her chest.

"Did. . .you let me win on purpose?"

She stiffened. "No."

"Yeah, right." He snorted.

"No, seriously! I suck at that game! Just ask anybody!" She jumped up, whirling around to face him.

"So why'd you pick it?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Cause...that was the first thing I thought of." She admitted.

"How do I know you aren't lying?"

"Because I don't lie." She didn't miss a beat.

Envy just watched her, then remembered she was a Virtue. He mentally smacked himself. Of course she wouldn't lie!

"Fine. Whatever." He turned to go back into the house.

"Envy, wait. I. . .gotta ask you something." Kiara stood up, brushing off her pants.

"What? It's cold out here." He said, impatient.

"Earlier. . ." She stared at the ground, rubbing her arm, awkward. "I don't. . .I don't know. . .if. . ."

"Spit it out already."

"Arewedatingnow?" She closed her eyes tight, waiting for the 'no'.

"Yes, I thought it was obvious." Envy said evenly.

Kiara's head shot up, jade eyes staring at him in surprise. "Seriously? Cause, I wasn't sure. . .I've never dated anyone, so. . .yeah. . ."

"Me either, but you already knew that." He rolled his eyes.

She giggled.

"Can I go now? It's really cold." He stared at her, halfway inside the house.

"Yeah." She smiled brightly.

Envy stared at her for a moment, then turned and walked inside without a word. Kiara's smile faded. She heaved a sigh. Well, this is going to be fun. She composed her face until it was blank, then walked inside. Best not to let him see that face.

Hailey's POV

I tightened my grip on my backpack, keeping silent as we walked home.

"I wish we could ride the bus. This is ridiculous." Pride whined.

"The bus doesn't come past the forest. Once we're outside the town we can teleport." Talia said patiently.

"When do we move?" I asked.

"Next week, most likely. With all the combined paychecks, things should be okay." She responded.

"But don't you have to pay for school tuition?" I asked again.

"It's not much." She reassured.

"I don't care how much it is, since I'm technically too young to work anyway. Can we speed things up?" Pride snapped.

You're only five feet ahead. I mentally pointed out, but said nothing, merely speeding up my pace.

"Hailey, a minute?" Talia asked.

I stopped walking, while Pride kept going. Talia waited until he was out of earshot, then asked, "Are you really going to let him order you around?"

"What?" I asked.

"He's ordering you. Are you going to let him?" She stared at me, brown eyes piercing.

I looked away. "No, but-"

"So why did you just then?" Her hands went to her hips as she stared me down.

"I didn't-" I tried to protest.

"Yes you did!" She interrupted. "You can't let him walk all over you! You gotta stand up for yourself! Who's fixing who, here?"

I narrowed my eyes. "You shouldn't really talk to your older sibling like that."

"There we go! That's what you need to be like when Pride orders you around!" Talia said.

I just blinked.

"C'mon. You're not a welcome mat. Don't let him be like that, or you won't be able to handle him. I know you can, so man up. 'Kay?" Her eyes softened.

"Okay." I grinned.

She held out her hand. I fist-bumped, then she hugged me. "You'll be miserable if you let him. Now c'mon. We'll loose sight of him."

I followed her, feeling light.

I can handle him. This isn't going to be a flop.

Fin!

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Excerpt: (Note: This is not finalized)

"You gotta better idea?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't even know what Christmas is." He pointed out.

"It's an Christian Earth holiday. They celebrate Christ's birth. It's a religious thing. Nowadays, most people just give people gifts and eat until they explode." I explained.

"That's a good idea~" Gluttony mused.

"I thought that was another holiday. Thanksgiving?" Envy looked confused.

"No, they eat until they explode, then come back for more." I corrected.

"Confusing." He muttered.