A/N Thank you so much for coming to read my story. I hope you enjoy it as well as read and review it. This chapter's title is named after the song This Feeling by The Chainsmokers. I found it fitting since both Elyssa and Solas are beginning to think with the thing in their chest instead of their head.
The dim light of the moon added some welcome light to the otherwise dark room. Just enough that Elyssa could see the shadowed outline of the furniture that made up her room. The desk that sat under the window was almost entirely illuminated by the light, but something wasn't right. Where was her computer? Where were her art supplies? Why was the only thing on the desk some printer paper and crayons? That wasn't right. She hadn't used crayons on anything since she was ten years old. She took a look around the room, to see if anything else was out of place. Her bed was still against the wall opposite the closed door, though it seemed smaller than she remembered. Her small bookshelf still by the closet on the same wall as the door, her dresser still a few feet from her desk. Though nothing else seemed out of place, Elyssa still decided to get out of bed to investigate further.
Elyssa checked the closet first, it seemed the most likely place for something unusual to hide. She flipped on the light then opened the two small sliding doors with ease. When had her stepfather fixed the part of the track the right door had been catching on for years? Inside the closet were several short sleeve shirts, shorts, skirts, and dresses. All types of clothes Elyssa hadn't worn for years. Confused, Elyssa walked over to her bookshelf, which was only half as full as she remembered. Missing were several of the series Elyssa had acquired since she started highschool. Elyssa gulped, things were starting to become clearer. On shaky legs, she walked to the desk. Her hands trembled as she picked up the first paper on the stack and looked at it in the light of the closet. Roughly drawn in crayon was the vague outline of a tall shadowy figure standing over a hastily colored brown rectangle. Though the shapes were drawn with childlike vision, Elyssa understood the drawing. Her breath caught in her throat. So that was what was happening. She was dreaming of this, again….
Elyssa looked groggily at the alarm clock. Was it really only 5am? Elyssa sighed, she wasn't supposed to be at work until eight. If she walked she could leave at seven and save some gas in her truck. That would still leave two hours of being at home. It would take her around 30 minutes to get ready, so really she only had an hour and a half. An hour and a half that she had to try to stay out of the crossfire. She took another glance at the clock, with it being so early, she doubted anyone else would be awake. She could get dressed for work, go make some coffee, and read her Poe book before she had to leave. That should keep her out of trouble long enough to make it to work.
Her footsteps were as quiet as she could make them as she moved down the old creaky stairs towards the kitchen. She didn't want to risk waking anyone else up with her movements. She had made it halfway down the staircase before she heard the all-too-familiar sound of voices arguing on the floor below. With a heavy sigh, she retreated back up the staircase. She had made it to the last three steps before she misstepped and caught one of the louder pieces of flooring under her foot.
"Elyssa?" her mother's voice called up. Elyssa could judge by her tone that she wasn't pleased.
"Yes, ma'am," Elyssa answered. She turned around, there was no point in trying to hide now. She took deep breaths as she made her way down the staircase, preparing for the conversation awaiting her. Her mother was waiting for her with crossed arms at the bottom of the staircase.
"What are you doing?" her stern voice held an underlying tone of anger.
Elyssa did her best to make her body and voice as neutral as possible as she answered. "I woke up early, so I was going to make some coffee before work."
"Uh huh," her mother clicked her tongue at her in disbelief, "woke up early, or got in late?"
"Ma'am?" Elyssa tried to ask calmly. She knew her mother wasn't mad at her. She always got like this when she and Elyssa's stepfather fought.
"Don't 'ma'am' me," she chastised, "no one gets up at 5 in the morning and gets dressed before making coffee."
"I wanted to go ahead and get ready for work so I would have more time to read before I had to leave," Elyssa explained.
"Don't give me that shit," her mother fumed, "you were probably out all night whoring around."
"I wasn't," Elyssa objected. Her mother's brown eyes glared at her coldly.
"You're just like your father," she growled, "what am I supposed to do with a daughter like you?" Elyssa winced at her words. She's just angry from whatever they were fighting about, she told herself. Yet she could bring herself to really believe it. Afterall, her siblings didn't get the same anger taken out on them no matter what mood their mother was in.
"I'm sorry," Elyssa sighed, keeping her eyes downcast. She didn't want her mother to see the moisture that was gathering in them. She didn't know what to say to make her mother happy. She hadn't known what to say for almost eight years now. Ever since the incident, her mother had treated her like this, and no matter what Elyssa said or did she was wrong.
"Does Anders know you're off sleeping with Maker-knows-who?" her mother spat.
Elyssa looked flabbergasted. Why did she always think she was off becoming the town whore? She had only had one serious boyfriend since she started high school and she rarely went anywhere that wasn't work or Anders' house. Whenever she went to Anders' house it was never for long and always with her mother's permission. So, why did she always think the worst of her? "Mom, I wasn't out sleeping with anyone!" she cried in protest, "so why would Anders know something that wasn't even happening?" She winced as she felt the sharp pain of her mother's hand across her cheek.
"Don't you raise your voice at me," her mother growled, "go upstairs. I don't want to see you again until you've fixed that attitude of yours."
Elyssa took in a shaky breath, fighting hard to keep the tears from falling onto her face. "Yes ma'am," her voice trembled as she spoke. She turned to leave as her mother had instructed, getting halfway up the stairs before she heard her mother calling up to her.
"And you can forget about driving that piece of shit you call a truck anytime soon," her mother exclaimed. Elyssa sighed but didn't give her a response. There was no point in arguing anymore than she already had. Her mother would give her the keys back Monday for no other reason than she didn't want to drive Elyssa to school. She always did. It's a good thing I was already planning to walk to work today, Elyssa thought. She retreated to her room, where she should have stayed until she'd had to leave.
Solas saw Elyssa entering the school from the student parking lot. She held her head down, staring at the ground in front of her as she walked. Her brows were furrowed in what appeared to be thought, a small frown formed on her lips. She was once again dressed in long sleeves despite the humid weather. His curiosity begged him to ask why, but he held himself back. Elyssa didn't seem fond of questions and he didn't want to push his luck. If he were to ever get to the bottom of the mystery she presented, he had to bide his time until she trusted him enough to answer his questions. Instead, he decided to approach her in a more friendly manner, to build her trust.
"Good morning, Elyssa," he greeted her pleasantly.
She looked at him, the features of concentration and concern turning to mild surprise. "Good morning, Mr. Wolfe," she answered.
"Solas," he corrected with a polite grin, "if we are to be comfortable with one another, should we not use the names we have both expressed a preference for?"
"I suppose so," Elyssa answered. She offered him a small smile but seemed otherwise distracted.
"Is there something on your mind?" Solas asked in concern.
Elyssa looked at him thoughtfully for a brief moment. "May I ask a question?" she answered. Solas nodded his head in response. "Did you really mean what you said Friday about me coming to your classroom for lunch?"
Solas gave her an encouraging smile, an idea popping into his head. "Of course," he answered, "In fact, there is a matter I think you could be of assistance with."
"What's that?" Elyssa asked, her head tilting slightly in curiosity.
"You're a rather talented student," he answered, "I would like to get your opinion on a project I am working on. That is, if you don't mind assisting me."
"No, of course I'll help," Elyssa responded eagerly. Her lips widened just slightly in a small smile, her eyes glittering brightly. Warmth spread through Solas' chest seeing her features brighten with enthusiasm. There was something about the way Elyssa smiled that made him desire to see it more often. It was encouraging to see her take so enthusiastically to the prospect of assisting with an art project. It was rare to see that level of eagerness in a high school student.
"I will see you then," he said, "I hope you have a pleasant day until then."
It wasn't but a few minutes after the lunch bell finished ringing that Elyssa hurried into his classroom. Solas couldn't help but beam at the excitement reflected in the brightness of her eyes and the relaxed grin on her face. "Where's the project?" she asked with breathy eagerness, approaching the desk where he sat with little hesitation. Her backpack was slung over shoulder sloppily as if she threw it on in a hurry.
"You are not even concerned with your teacher?" Solas feigned offense, leaning back in his chair and raising an amused brow as he waited for her rebuttal.
"Not whatsoever," Elyssa chuckled, "I'm here for the art and the art alone."
"You wound me," Solas teased.
"You're a big boy. You'll get over it," Elyssa teased. Solas chuckled, he hadn't realized his normally quiet pupil was so humorously cheeky. It was a welcome difference to the air of solemn silence that usually hung around her.
"Alright then," Solas smiled. He sat forward and pulled the canvas he had spent the past few days drawing on from the bottom drawer of his desk. He set the canvas on his desk, drawing facing Elyssa, and pushed it towards her. She looked at the picture of a Halla sniffing curiously at a snake with an air of thoughtfulness.
"What do you need my help with?" she asked her brows furrowing quizzically, "this is drawn beautifully."
"This is to be a painting for the anniversary of a friend of a friend," Solas began, "and I have no idea as to how it should be painted."
"Did they make any request?" she asked.
"None more than the animals I have drawn," he answered.
"Well, why don't you tell me about them," Elyssa suggested.
Solas thought for a moment about the information Salem had given him when requesting the painting. "I have little to go on aside from the knowledge that these were the animals the two men preferred and one is a nurse."
"Any favorite colors?" Elyssa asked.
"None that I'm aware of," Solas responded.
Elyssa studied the artwork once more. "Do the background in grayscale and the animals in rainbow colors." She suggested, a triumphant smile lighting her face.
"May I ask how you came to this solution?" Solas asked.
"It's an anniversary picture right?" Elyssa questioned. Solas nodded in response. "And these animals were the only request, so they obviously wanted them to be the focal point of the painting. So, making the background gray and the animals rainbowed emphasizes the element they wanted most."
Solas looked in amused surprise at his student. If he didn't know any better he would insist that she weren't a mere highschool art student. "What a wise suggestion," he complimented.
He saw a tint of pink tickle the skin of her cheeks, her eyes looking at him from under shy lashes, a pleased smile dancing on her lips. An almost uncomfortable feeling of fullness radiated from Solas' chest, his eyes lingered on the way the blush seemed to emphasize the shape her lips formed when she smiled. That combined with the way a few strands of her ash-white hair fell from behind her ears painted an endearing picture.
"So, what do you think?" Elyssa asked, making Solas realize he had been staring at her.
"It's an excellent suggestion. Thank you," Solas choked out awkwardly, "I appreciate your assistance."
"Anytime," Elyssa answered. She looked around the classroom, Solas not sure what she was looking for. "I'll, uh, I guess I'll go now," Elyssa mumbled.
"Stay!" Solas said too quickly. Elyssa looked at him in confused concern. Solas coughed awkwardly, trying to figure out why the idea of her leaving made his heart race a little. He looked around quickly, hoping to find the answer. His eyes settled on her lack of lunch once again. He grabbed for his lunchbox on the desk, retrieving a sandwich, glad he had packed two just in case today. "Stay, have a sandwich," he offered.
"I don't want to take your food again," she answered with a frown, waving her hand in rejection.
"Please," Solas begged, "it would make me happy to see you eat something." Elyssa started with confliction at the sandwich before taking it and sitting down. Solas smiled kindly at her, taking his own sandwich out to eat. Once she had settled comfortably, Solas pulled out a paper from a small stack on his desk. "Elyssa, have you heard of the upcoming creative arts competition?" he asked.
"I've heard of it, yes," Elyssa answered, "I always thought it would be cool to go, but… I've never been able to." The despair in her tone made Solas want to question why she had never been able to go. The way she hung her head and refused to look at him let him know it wasn't a question she was ready to answer.
"How would you like to compete in it?" he asked instead.
Her head snapped up, her jade eyes blazing with sudden excitement. "You mean it?!" she asked enthusiastically, "you think I'm good enough?"
"Elyssa, I think you're more than good enough," Solas assured her whole-heartedly, "I think you have a real chance of winning."
Solas was taken aback by the sudden feeling of Elyssa's arms around him, his heart lurching in his chest, a warmth spreading through him. It only took him a second to return the embrace, pleased that she was so happy with him. He didn't usually encourage this kind of physical contact with his students, but being here with Elyssa like this felt natural, comfortable. She took a step back, breaking the contact just a few seconds after he had returned it. Her alabaster cheeks were blazing with reddened heat, a shy yet apologetic smile on her lips. "Sorry," she apologized, "I was just so happy you thought I was good enough to win and so excited at the idea of going that I didn't think before I acted."
Solas smiled kindly down at her. "I didn't mind it in the slightest," he answered, "I am pleased I was able to make you so happy." Elyssa smiled back at him in appreciation, taking her seat once more. Solas spent the rest of the hour in comfortable silence, noting as he watched Elyssa leave after the bell ending lunch sounded, that he hadn't felt that comfortable around someone in a long time.