Chapter Eleven: Prom
Diedre's POV
I feel Quigley's emotions erupt inside me at the sight of our dates. Although his face remains as composed as ever, our connection betrays the melting feeling inside of him. It is not at all surprising. Alexis looks absolutely stunning in an ocean blue dress that sets off her hair and eyes.
Currently I am wearing a gold sheath dress with matching heals that lace up my legs. I cannot remember the last time I dressed so youthful, but at my future Bonded's expression, I might make it part of my wardrobe.
"Wow, you look incredible," Leif tells me, his expression a perfect picture of the awe in his voice.
"You look very nice, too," I assure him, reaching up and feeling a strange thrill when he has to crouch slightly to allow my fingers to touch up his hair. Momentarily ruffled by the new sensation, I quickly ignore it and turn to look at Alexis. "You look stunning, Alexis."
"Thanks, you look like a total queen in that," she gestures to my own clothes.
I chortle at her compliment before giving my Child a pointed look. Quigley finally snaps out of his enamored state and takes the younger Northman's hands. "You look spectacular, Storeen."
"Thanks, Quigley," she giggles.
After some begging by Sookie for pictures, the four of us arrange ourselves at the entrance of the house. Sookie takes several photos before the resident witch hands Quigley a cross. He puts it on, but I see no change in him. Sookie takes several more pictures and shows them to us. I am quite surprised to find that Quigley now looks much closer to our physical ages.
"That is mighty impressive," Quigley frowns at his own image and I see him touch his bare chin self-consciously. He thought his full beard, even with Camilla's help, would make it too difficult to pass for a teenager. After all, Leif can barely grow substantial facial hair yet and is about to graduate.
"Do I look alright, Alexis?" Quigley asks quietly of the photos.
"You look awesome," she assures. "It's weird seeing you without a beard though."
"I plan on bringing it back in when I die for the day," he assures.
"Good," she grins. "You just don't seem yourself without it."
"I am inclined to agree with you," he laughs before offering his arm and turning to open the door. "Ready to go?"
"Yes!"
I feel my meager connection with Leif fill with apprehension as the Northman family watches their children depart for Prom. The arrival of that feeling makes me glance up at my date curiously, but he wears a much better mask over his anxiety than his joys. Still, when he takes my hand, there is no hesitation.
"Woah, you got a limo?" Leif frowns as we walk out the door.
"Is that not alright? I only have cinema to go by when it comes to Prom," I explain.
"Nah, it's fine," he assures. "I'm just not that over the top about it."
"Well, my car is too small for the four of us, and Quigley would never trust his classic in a parking lot full of high school age drivers," I explain.
"I've never been in a limo before," Alexis chimes in. "C'mon, Leif. It'll be fun. Can I ride backwards?" She asks.
"Would love ya to," Quigley grins at her, and I feel a surge of discomfort coming from Leif now. Again, his expression does not betray that my Child's innuendo was not missed by him, and he is rather nonplussed.
"Would you like to try sideways?" I ask of Leif quietly, delighted at the tinge of pink that brightens his ears.
"I'll try most anything," Leif answers, making me laugh.
The ride to the venue is spent listening to Alexis make nervous small-talk. To be perfectly fair, it is not common for the four of us to spend time together. My lover and his twin are two very different people. Alexis has her mother's manners and hospitality, but her father's control and discipline- fully capable of displaying he joy. Leif has his mother's temper and curiosity, but his father's aloofness and pragmatism- only allowing those close to him to see his happiness. Alexis wants to be liked and Leif wants to do what he likes.
My sweet Bonded-to-be could not care less about being liked. He does as he wishes while still valuing and respecting his family. Leif is one to push boundaries, but know how far they can be stretched without breaking. I think eternity with a man like that will be an adventure in itself.
Upon arriving at the outdoor venue, I take my time analyzing the decor. The trees are strung with twinkle lights. Couples are taking pictures in front of a reclaimed wood backdrop that has greenery framing the edges and vines dripping from the topmost edge.
There is a canopy with a DJ and dance floor and several tables and chairs outside the dancing area that can look inward through the sheer blue and silver fabric.
"Are silver and blue your school colors?" I ask curiously.
"Yeah," Leif replies. "Our mascot is a wolf."
"Interesting," I remark, but he gives me a look that says he knows that I do not find that fact any more interesting than he does.
"Hey, Leif!"
I look over to see a boy jogging toward us. I realize then that Quigley and Alexis have wandered away.
"Hey, Liam." My date waves to the boy who called to him. "This is, officially, my girlfriend, Diedre. Diedre, this is Liam. Do you remember him?" At my raised eyebrows he grins. "He was with me at the gas station the night we first met.
"Oh, yes, I remember," I nod after having my memory jogged. He had seemed vaguely familiar, but his curly brown hair is now straightened and hanging shaggily around his face. "You smoothed your hair."
"Yeah, my date required it," Liam laughs.
"I think your curls were lovely," I tell him.
"Thanks, but I'm lucky to have even gotten someone to agree to go with me. If it means letting my sister flat iron my hair for a night, I was willing to do it." Liam gives me a big smile and I cannot help but think his date is wasted on him. Obviously if he is friends with my Bonded-to-be he must be a very kind, smart and interesting person. "Glad to see you agreed to go to Prom with this idiot." He points to Leif.
"Pardon?"
"Asking you to Prom through text? That was a dick move. Sorry about that." Liam explains.
"Oh, it was no bother," I wave off the apology. "I would have responded right away, but I was uncertain if I would be able to attend. Quigley and I have been very busy wrapping up our studies abroad. We do not attend school around here, so the travel was uncertain for me. Quigley already knew he was free to attend."
The three of us chat for a while, but after Liam departs to find his date, I turn to Leif and ask, "Would you like to dance?"
"Uh, sure," Leif laughs uncomfortably, but takes my hand and leads me toward the dance floor. "Just so you know, I only sorta know how to dance," he confesses.
"You will be fine," I assure, pulling his right hand to rest on my hip before taking his left in my right. I relax my arm, creating a less formal posture as we begin to sway to the music. "See? This is easy."
"Yeah," he agrees, but I can feel his hand growing hot, the beginning of sweat building in his palm.
I smile to myself as we dance, glancing every so often out of the corner of my eye at Quigley dancing with Alexis. I know the humans see him as a younger man than I do, and I wonder if they appear perfect to them as the couple does to me? Alexis is smiling brightly despite the fact she is surrounded by individuals who have tried to make her life miserable for several months now.
Even though Alexis and I have not really had many opportunities to get to know each other, I must admit that I do admire her. Occasionally, Alexis reminds me of Cassie. I do not feel drawn to her at all in the way I am very obviously drawn to Leif, but sometimes she does something that reminds me of my lost mate. Sometimes her expression reminds me of the world upon her shoulders, and I feel the urge to relieve the burden.
Opening my link to Quigley so I can search deeper through him, I find the tiny flame that is his weak connection to Alexis. She has not taken his blood again since the accidental bite she gave him, and his ability to feel her has waned over the following months.
Before I can really focus on the weak signal, I feel the hand in mine go suddenly cold. Leif stops moving beside me and his panic causes me to stop focusing on Quigley and look at Leif in concern.
"Eshe, I think I'm gonna throw up," he mumbles, his face a sudden gray.
"Come," I lead him carefully toward a table, which must look strange as he towers over me but I support his weight so effortlessly. As he collapses into a chair, I push his sweat damp hair from his forehead.
"What happened?" Alexis asks quietly as she approaches, knowing we will hear despite the distance and noise.
"I just felt…" Leif shakes his head, the color starting to come back to his cheeks as Alexis approaches and touches his forehead diagnostically. "It was like my vision was narrowing, like an eclipse. Scared the hell out of me. I wasn't feeling bad or anything, and then all the sudden."
"Do you feel light headed?" Alexis asks as she dips a napkin in a nearby glass of ice water and pushes it against the back of Leif's neck.
"No, I'm fine," Leif shakes his head again.
"You said you felt you'd throw up. Do you still feel nauseas?" Alexis closes her eyes and I wonder if she is listening to his pulse. Other than the palpitations right when he panicked, his heart has been steady.
"I'm good now," Leif assures. "It just left as quick as it came."
"Why don't we just sit for a bit to be safe-"
"Go dance," Leif insists. "D will keep me company."
As Quigley and Alexis return to the canopy, I realize something I had yet to process in my concern. "Leif?"
"Hmm?" He looks at me with his usual bright eyes, any sign of distress gone.
"You called me Eshe before?"
"Oh, sorry, yeah. I don't know why I did that," he looks at my sheepishly. "I don't even know anyone by that name."
"That's my name," I tell him. "Before I changed it when we created Quigley."
Leif looks thoughtful a moment, I can feel him working at his courage. "Can I call you Eshe?"
"It will be my name for your lips alone."
Quigley's POV
I can tell that Alexis is distracted by her brother's earlier episode. Even after we are back on the dance floor, she continues to glance at Leif over my shoulder.
"Perhaps we should go somewhere else?" I suggest as I catch her stealing another look toward her twin. "Are you hungry?"
"Sorry," Alexis mumbles, "it's just… Leif and I don't get sick. Heck, we only feel bad if we're hurt. Seeing him have symptoms like that just doesn't sit right with me."
"When is the last time he ate anything? If I remember correctly, your mother would get light headed like that when she stayed up too long without eating properly," I point out.
"I suppose that could be it. Leif has always been neglectful of his diet, but he loves to sleep. The two always seemed to balance out."
"He loves to sleep?" I laugh, knowing his parents and uncle are the exact opposite. They would stay awake indefinitely as long as they could stay occupied.
Alexis nods, "Yes, he always has. He's told me he gets the most vivid dreams, but can never remember them. Like going on whirlwind adventures every night."
"What does it matter if he doesn't remember them in the morning?"
My date shrugs. "I guess the mood they put him in is enough. When he gets to Greece, though, I wouldn't be surprised if he actually doesn't sleep at all since he'll finally be on a real adventure."
"He does seem rather bored most of the time."
"He only seems that way? I thought you could tell?" She teases me.
"To be fair, I usually only see Leif when he's with Diedre, and he is anything but bored around her," I point out. "And even though he is connected to Diedre, she does not normally open that link to me. As for my own gifts, I can only use my instincts as your family seems harder for me to read."
"I didn't realize we had immunities to you."
"It would seem so, but my gift is not one of magic alone. There is still a part of me that must work outside of my gift. Therefore, no one is completely unreadable."
"You always seem to know exactly how I feel," she points out.
"Hmm, I can still feel you faintly, so that is helping," I joke, glad to have distracted her enough that she has stopped checking in on her sibling.
"I didn't think the connection would last so long," she confesses, embarrassed to still be so known by me.
"I am old enough that a small connection can last," I explain. "Although, now-a-days, I have to search rather deeply. Mostly, I have attuned myself to you in the time you were more easily accessible."
"Meaning?"
"While the connection was stronger, I got to know you well enough to pick up on your tones and expressions," I elaborate.
"Oh."
"You remind me a lot of your father," I confess.
"What? Really? Everyone says I'm like Mom," she laughs suddenly with surprise.
"You are, in your generous and kind manner," I agree. "But your mother is an open book. She wears her emotions openly, even after all these years. You, however, place that kind and generous manner over your true emotions like a mask. Your father normally maintains a passive or cold expression, but it still masks his inner feelings. He prefers to be seen as distant, while you prefer to appear approachable, even when either of you feel the exact opposite. He deflects connections while you encourage them, but it does not negate that you both use your calm hearts to influence those around you."
"A calm heart? Me? I feel neurotic most days," she chortles, but her cheeks have taken on the softest pink, the only telltale sign that I'm making her cautious. Her heart is beating only a step faster.
"A duck on a pond, Storeen. The surface is calm as can be while those little feet paddle away below," I assure.
"Does being more like my dad make you like me less?" She asks me quietly and I feel her fingers tense ever so slightly against my hand as she braces herself for some sort of rejection.
"What sort of question is that?" I laugh. "Do you think I had some sort of crush on your mum, Storeen? I can admire someone without finding them t'be my ideal, you know." I make sure to saturate my tone with teasing.
"I know that," she mumbles. "Only, sometimes… it feels like if I were more like her, people wouldn't hate me so much."
"I doubt anyone hates you, Alexis," I assure her, "and if someone does, I would bet it's far more superficial than anything you are thinking. If there is hate, it is probably stemmed from envy or their own self-loathing needing an outlet. The most important thing you can learn as quickly as possible is to have faith in yourself and faith in the forces that guide you. Don't let yourself be set off course by the gales of fools that only wish to send you adrift."
Alexis smiles at me and shakes her head, her fingers relaxing against my own. I can tell from her gaze that she is tentatively accepting my encouragement, but doubt still lays deep in her heart. If I could, I would quell that uncertainty, but my love is young and must make these journeys of self-discovery on her own. I can only step in to guide when she accepts her role as my future bonded.
TBC
A/N: Please, remember to review!
-Andi