CXII

In the middle of the woods, unaware of how close she came to death, she turns to him. And this time, Henry will do the right thing: he will avoid her advances and tell her, with complete certainty, what he thinks of her.

"I—"

However, she smiles as she watches him hesitate. He barely catches a glimpse of the intention in her mind before it happens.

"Don't—"

The words are left hanging. And suddenly, suddenly it is not…

This… This is different…

Because it's not Angela, no; it's not Angela who has stood on her tiptoes, put her arms around his neck like two vines of an invasive plant, and planted a kiss on his mouth.

No, it's Eleven. And the kiss is a blunder, a mistake, but so sweet, so very sweet that…

That Henry surrounds her in his arms and presses his mouth against hers, not letting her breathe, his tongue eager to feel her breath on it and…

"Henry?"

As if an electric current had jolted him, Henry sits up straight, pressing his back against the chair. He is dimly aware that, in his lap, Poe grunts in protest.

"Sorry, I thought you were awake." Eleven offers him a shy smile, and Henry stares at the white back of the feline on his legs as if this were the most interesting thing in the world. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm back."

"No," Henry answers, and is quick to press a finger against his throat as he tries to clear it. "No, it's good that you let me know; I wasn't planning on falling asleep." He realizes he can't continue ignoring her so rudely, so he glances at her long enough to ask: "Did you two have fun?"

He knows that they should talk about what happened, but he senses that, stunned as he is, he will not be able to maintain a conversation like that.

"Uh-huh," Eleven answers, looking down at her shoes. "This… Max's mom sent us sandwiches. Would you like me to bring you some or…?"

"Oh, no," he hastens to respond, pretending to get up so Poe can leave him; only then he does stand up. "No, I can do it myself… Shall we have that for lunch?" He guesses he hasn't missed lunch.

"Sure," she agrees before leaving.

"Great," he agrees, trying to tidy up his disheveled blonde locks with one hand.

…

The blue eyes of Poe—who has gone to sit on his desk—although overflowing with an almost hurtful indifference, do not leave him.

Set on ignoring him, Henry quickly leaves his office, ready to take a cold shower with the intention of waking up completely.