Changing Hearts

Chapter 9

Remi had not spoken to Stephen for the next two days. When he said hello to her in the mornings, she would shoot him a glare and just keep walking past him as if he never existed. When they would go to the dining hall to eat, he would try to sit next to her, but she would immediately get up from her seat the moment she saw him come over and sit with another group of students. Stephen looked at her confusingly, but she paid him no mind and talked with the students that were sitting at the same table she was. Narrowing his eyes, Stephen took his trey from the empty table and walked away, dumping the uneaten food and exiting the dining hall. Remi turned her head when she heard the sound of the doors slam, looking sadly before she turned right back to the others.

In the library, Remi sat at her desk and looked through a random library book she had been reading. It was some form of advanced Sandskrit, but when she read the words, she always found herself losing focus. Growling angrily, she slammed the book shut and flung it against the wall, almost hitting a completely unprepared Wong in the head. He shot his head down when he heard the book slam against the wall and Remi turned her back to him. He looked at her curiously but narrowed his eyes and snatched the book up off the floor.

"These books are not something you can just throw around like toys, Miss Ramirez," he reminded her angrily.

"So what, it's just a book! It can be replaced!" she immediately shot back just as rude. Wong grew perplexed when she saw her angry golden amber eyes burn right through him. He walked over to the table she was sitting at and sat across from her, folding his hands together. "Is something wrong, Remi?"

"There is nothing wrong, Wong, just leave me alone," Remi snapped as she turned away from him.

"Remi, What. Is. Wrong?" Wong demanded, pausing in between words. Remi finally turned to him, her glare fading and turning sad. She looked down at the floor and closed her eyes inhaling a deep breath.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," She finally admitted. "I feel like I'm losing my mind, Wong. I can't focus, I can't do anything because when I try to focus all I keep thinking about is-is…" Remi's words faltered.

"Mr. Strange?" Wong shot her an unsurprised look, but Remi looked at him shocked. "Remi, I know how you look at him. For several weeks, you would always accompany him into the library. You would help him pick out the right books for him to practice his magic, and you would always offer to train him when Mordo or another master was assigned to be his teacher."

"Did the Ancient One tell you?" Remi gave him an angry look. Wong stayed silent but shrugged and Remi slumped against her chair. "He confronted me about me liking him, but I couldn't give him an answer."

Wong looked at her with a surprised look but he could tell she was trying to fight her way around her feelings. Clearing his throat, he gave her a bit of advice. He advised her that if she liked Stephen Strange, she should not be afraid to show him if she really liked him back or not. If she did not want to give Stephen any indication, then she could tell him that the question was inappropriate to ask and it was too soon. Remi listened to Wong intently and started to ponder through her thoughts.

Once nighttime fell, all of Kamar-Taj grew silent. Every single student out on the grounds retreated into their chambers, turning out the lights and settling in for the night. Remi lay in her bed wide awake. She turned on one side and looked out the window, the moon shining brightly in the sky. She had not spoken to Stephen all day and it was starting to eat her up. There were times where she saw him training with Mordo and she wanted to go up and speak with him, but she could not find anything to say. So, she lay in bed, waiting for her thoughts to eat her up until she threw the thoughts aside in a part of her brain where the things she did not want to think about remained forgotten. However, as she closed her eyes to fall asleep, she saw bright orange light from outside her window.

Getting to a sitting position, Remi got off her bed and walked towards the window. She wiped the mist aside and saw a figure out on the training grounds, orange light pulsating around them. Squinting her eyes, she could see in the moonlight and stars that it was none other than Stephen Strange himself. Scoffing, she turned her body from the window and made back for her bed, but something stopped her from doing so. Turning once again from her bed to the window, she groaned inwardly and made her way for her bedroom door.

Stephen grunted and kicked his feet as he released orange light from the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands. The weather outside was nice enough for him to stay up a couple more hours and train by himself. Punching his fists in the air, he jumped and spun around, landing on the ground with air blowing around him. He continued the same motions and remained unaware of a young woman coming towards him. Remi saw him in the moonlight as he punched at the air and formed an Eldritch Whip in one hand, cracking it against the concrete before it disappeared. "Stephen?"

Stephen stopped training when he heard a female voice and turned around. Remi was standing before him wearing the same white nightgown he had seen her in before, this time she wore a purple sweater and grey backless slippers. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stared at him silently. "I thought you'd be in bed," she finally broke the silence.

"That makes two of us. Why are you up?" Stephen's tone was not friendly.

"I saw you out here and I wanted to make sure you were ok. It's pretty late," Remi reminded him.

"I can't sleep so I'm out here training. There, you have your answer, now please leave me alone," Stephen shooed her away as he kept punching at the air.

Remi scoffed and walked towards him. She grabbed his hand when she saw one of his fists coming towards her face, causing Stephen to stop his movements and get on the soles of his feet. "What do you want, Remi?" he snapped.

"I wanted to talk…about your question," Remi hesitantly answered.

"What question? Oh, you mean the one where you wouldn't give me a definitive answer to your obvious feelings for me?" Stephen pretended to forget about it and shot her a glare. "Yeah, I knew you'd say that."

"Stephen, you're acting like a child," Remi crossed her arms.

"Please leave me alone," Stephen tried to usher her away once more.

"No! Not until you hear what I have to say," Remi snapped as she stopped Stephen's continuous movements. She clasped a hand around his wrist and tried to make him stop, but he slipped his hand free and grabbed hers, pulling her forward causing her to yelp. Stephen gritted his teeth, causing him to do something that was entirely unexpected of him. Grabbing Remi's other hand, he pulled her forward to one of the pillars in the training grounds. Remi was shocked and demanded to know what he was doing, but he pushed her against the pillar, pinning her two wrists to the sides of her face until he was towering over her. Remi yelped when she felt her back hit the hard brick. She saw the intense glare in Stephen's eyes and looked away in fear.

"Please stop," she whimpered, tears starting to brim in the corners of her eyes.

"What am I doing to you, Remi? I have done nothing," Stephen told her.

"You're hurting my wrists," Remi's voice choked as a few tears slid down her cheeks. Stephen loosened his grip a bit but he did not release her, keeping her pinned against the brick pillar. Remi's body shook with light sobs as Stephen eyed her intently. The glare in his eyes lightened and he saw Remi looking down at the ground, tears dripping onto the concrete. Remi's head tilted upward and she saw Stephen lean in towards her face. She gasped and her watery eyes widened when Stephen came a bit too close for comfort. Remi whimpered as Stephen's lips gently brushed across hers, sliding over the soft pink flesh as he took in her scent.

Remi moaned a bit and she felt her legs began to shake. With a quick hand, Stephen slid his hand from one wrist all the way down to her waste, pulling her closer as his lips caught hers in a passionate kiss that completely turned her world upside down. Looking through tear-filled eyes, Remi gasped when she felt his tongue slide into her mouth and began to feel its way freely around. Feeling her throat begin to grow soar from the cries she was trying to hold in, she closed her eyes tightly as Stephen pulled away from her to stare into her eyes. Gulping, Remi gasped a couple of times before she turned her head up to Stephen.

"I…I…" she began but she was silenced when Stephen kissed her once more. Remi gasped between kisses as he finally let go of her other wrist, pulling her closer to him as his hands moved freely up and down her back. His lips danced against hers as he backed against the pillar he had her pinned to, his hands moving up her waist and towards her jawline. Remi followed his movements, wrapping her arms underneath his trying to keep up with him. Stephen parted his lips from hers and kissed at her wet eyes, running his lips across them to dry any tears she had left. His mouth soon lowered itself towards hers once more and he pulled her back in, caressing her lower back and one side of her face.

After what seemed like an eternity their lips finally parted, tingly and sore as Remi brushed a finger across hers. Stephen looked down and saw she was silent before turning his back and pinning her back to the pillar again. He cupped her face in his hands and he ran his thumbs across her cheeks. "Does that answer your question?" Remi whispered as she felt one hand move from her face to her forehead, gently moving strands of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

"Yes…it does," Stephen whispered against her lips. Both gasping and breathing for air, Remi leaned her head in against Stephen's and sighed.

"Stephen, I was afraid to tell you…because I still feel as if I barely know you. We've known each other for months now, but I feel as if we are rushing into this. I cannot let this happen unless we get to know each other like we've been friends for years."

"Friends?" Stephen grabbed her shoulders and gently forced her back. "We've known each other for awhile now, Remi. I think this is the perfect time to act on our feelings."

"What about Christine?" Remi demanded. "You've mentioned her name before, Stephen. Who is she? Was she your ex-girlfriend?"

Stephen's eyes widened and he remained silent. Remi grew impatient and demanded an answer.

"Yes…at the time. She-she treated me like I was still a good person. The things I've done to her, the way I treated her and what I told her, it was unforgiving. I emailed her a long message telling her I was safe and how sorry I was for the way I acted. After a few days, she emailed me back and told me she was happy to hear from me again. She forgave me, Remi."

"Does that mean you-" Stephen cut her off. "No, we're no longer together. We decided it was best to go our separate ways after that. I've made a vow to move on with my life, to heal my hands and start over."

Remi stayed silent but gave him an uneasy look. "I want to try, not for her, but for me. If I want to move on, I need a new purpose-but I can't do on my own. I need you, Remi."

She gave Stephen a look but could tell he truly meant what he had said. Nodding her head in agreement, Stephen smiled with relief and pulled her back in, pressing his lips against hers in another passionate kiss. Remi returned it equally and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer so her waste fit perfectly against his like a matching puzzle piece. After a couple minutes more they pulled away and rested their foreheads against each other's.

"We…we should get to bed now," Remi suggested. She gasped when she felt Stephen pull her into him. "A few more minutes wouldn't hurt."

"You're greedy, you know that?" Remi rolled her eyes but giggled as Stephen once more pressed his lips against hers. Remi returned his kiss with fervor and he cupped her face in his hands.

Unbeknownst to them, they were not alone. Two figures crouched in the trees above the roof of Kamar-Taj watched the pair kiss, their dark eyes showing above the hoods pulled over her heads. The one on the lower branch turned to its partner and nodded. An orange portal soon formed behind the one on the lower branch and both jumped inside. Remi and Stephen never notice the orange portal disappear.

Kaecilius formed a ball of space around him, using his hands to spin the crystalline structure as he studied it intently. The normal skin around his eyes had been completely overtaken with a purple and silver hew that ran into tear-like stains and cracks. His eye color darkened and he moved the crystalline ball in his hands. He had finally deciphered all of Dormammu's spell, mastering the dark magic written on the stolen pages from the Book of Cagliostro. He heard the sound of buzzing behind him and turned to see two zealots, Kodi and Katrina, rendezvousing back into the cathedral.

"Master," Kodi and Katrina lowered their hoods. "We have scoured the area."

"What did you find?" Kaecilius asked Katrina. "Nothing…until the very last second. We saw our target."

"Excellent. My plans are nearly completed," Kaecilius chuckled.

"Sir, she was not alone," Kodi suddenly spoke. Kaecilius's smile turned into a frown and he glared at him. "What do you mean she wasn't alone?"

"We saw her in the arms of the Ancient One's newest student, Stephen was the name she mentioned. They were…kissing."

The glass sphere Kaecilius had formed suddenly disappeared into rainbow crystals all around. Katrina and Kodi saw the particles fall to the ground and looked back at Kaecilius, who clutched the stolen pages in both of his hands. This news should not have been surprising to him, but it was troubling to hear that this Stephen was going to ruin his plans of bringing Dormammu to Earth. However, the narrower his eyes became, they suddenly widened. He relaxed and turned to Katrina and Kodi.

"I believe we can use this romance to our advantage." A wicked smile spread across his lips.

To Be Continued

Two chapters in one night, boom baby! I know the kiss was early, and if it didn't seem like they had enough time to know each other, remember the timeskip. I assure you they knew each other quite well, and to be honest, it was getting harder to write their interactions, but once I cleared my head, I felt this was the perfect time for their romance to start. ;)

This is probably one of my favorite stories I am writing right now. I haven't had a lot of time to write, but now since that I do, the writing juices can't stop. It humbles me to know people are out there who view my story. I'm not bragging, I am just very grateful as a writer to know you all support me. :)

Anywho, don't forget to leave your reviews, those who have favorited, followed and viewed! Flames and all are welcomed.

See ya next chapter! :)