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 Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:20 am
Everything? And what would everything be, in his mind? Thorn was intently curious. Maybe girls who found out that they were being gossiped about felt the same way. It was a narccistic, urgent reminder that maybe things were more interesting then he gave them credit for.
"Everything?" he asked, and then watched her move away. His smile fell, and it was replaced by a look of crestfallen disappointment. So he set the wine down, gently. Making sure there was no loud exclamation of glass on surface.
That would make it worse.
"Natalie." he said gently, very, very gently as he held out one hand. It was simple, the way a man might try to approach a startled and scared stray. Actually, Thorn was seeing a lot of similarities.
Later he would get angry at Hadrian. Later, he would plan. But right now this was the urgent concern. And he couldn't leave.
What would the neighbors say?
"Hand me the glasses?" his voice was quiet, and his eyes, for one moment.
Were deeply hurt.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:23 am
She winced, catching that look.
"I should probably just drink water," she murmured, barely looking at him. "It's... it's not safe, being around you." Well, she'd already dropped the bomb. So why not reveal why she was nervous.
Still... she gave him both glasses. Whether it was to free her hands or because she was giving in, she wasn't totally sure.
"Hadrian told me that you've slept with him twice. Against his will. And that because of that, Marc left him. You... you hurt him. So... much..."
She was looking at him, eyes as pained as he faked his to be. And why? Because she had wanted to trust him. Still did. But he was just as bad as Michael.
No, he was worse.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:29 am
"Against his will?"
Well. Maybe the second time. Kind of. If it was only a quarter, did it count? He shrugged. "Then can I have a glass for myself?" his voice was slightly wry as he nodded his head at her hands. "Unless you think that it's not safe for me to drink either?"
His voice was more amused than it should have been. And so he sat down, sprawled out in his customary manner as he shook his head. "You've got it misunderstood, Natalie." he said.
He spoke as if this was grave. Important. The way one might break news about a death, a funeral gone wrong? Because he watched her with eyes that seemed to make sure she wouldn't run.
"I slept with him twice." he stated. "But he was only unwilling the second time. In the beginning. Did I rape him?" he looked disgusted.
Thorn was, actually. Because he believed himself too good at what he did to rape anyone.
"God, no."
He held the bottle, stared at the rim. This was quality wine, and it would go to waste. "And it was not because of that, that Marc left him." he looked up, ironic. Amused. "He lives above Hadrian, you know." he stated conversationally. "He saw us, the second time. I talked to him. I tried to explain."
He shrugged.
"I might have hurt Hadrian, but hurt Marc. And I don't forgive anyone who hurts Marc."
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:33 am
She shivered, then sat down as well, hands clasped in her lap. "... Pour the wine," she said, after a minute.
She needed a drink.
"I... you still got in the way of their relationship. You should never have... have... I mean, you had to know. Right?"
What had Hadrian said? That he could have fought it. But he didn't. And Natalie had taken that in the best possible light. But... but now, hearing this... she wasn't sure what to believe. Maybe Hadrian was right.
Maybe it had been all his fault, and Thorn had just been the trigger.
"... What should I believe?" she whispered, so confused.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:52 am
Thorn smiled. He did so, handing her the glass with the lesser amount. It was obvious, enough. But maybe she wouldn't pick up the little ounce of consideration he had.
For himself. Maybe for her.
"Natalie." he said, gently. Gently. "I am truly, truly interested in Hadrian." It wasn't a lie. He was. "The mage delights me." In sadistic ways, but this too, was the truth. With some things ommitted from it. "I did get in their way, but..."
He stopped, and said, as delicately as he could. "Being the other woman, or the other man in my case... that is hardly a crime, is it?" He wanted to remind her of Michael. Of Candice. "I knew, and that is my fault. But I do care for Hadrian."
In his own way. And right now, he would say almost anything, omitt most of it, if only to stop this woman from being so frightened. He had done nothing to deserve it yet.
It spoiled some of his plans.
"Believe what you want to." he said, shrugging. "I approached Hadrian a couple of days ago, you see the bruises. He wanted me to leave, but I didn't. He threw the punches, Natalie. I didn't try to hit him once."
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:14 am
So, he was interested in Hadrian? Hadrian didn't want his interest, to be sure.
But that also meant that Natalie didn't want his interest. It was a murky situation. She didn't know quite what to do.
She took the glass and drank, relaxing against the back of the couch and closing her eyes. "It's different from me and Michael," she said after a moment, shivering at the thought. "It wasn't my plan. And when Michael approached me and asked me to stay with him, to ignore Candice... I couldn't. I wouldn't. I pushed him away.
"You care for Hadrian? It doesn't seem like it. You've hurt him. So much. Maybe permanently. And yet you still force your presence on him." She opened her eyes, stared down at her wine.
"... maybe dinner should be cancelled," she said after a moment, taking another sip.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:25 am
"What is so different, Natalie? It ripped you apart when you first realized that Michael had another woman. Because you cared for him then, in your own way." his words were just lightly mocking. Not cruelly, but to point out that she could not take the high road. "It wasn't your plan, but it was mine. I didn't want to break them up." Pause. Of course not. It was more fun without it. "I'm not michael. I didn't approach" his words took another note. "Hadrian to ignore Marc."
"You pushed him away, but how long did you sulk, Natalie? It is the same."
"I've hurt him." he agreed. "No matter what you do, you do end up hurting people. I went to talk to him, and it ended violently. Sometimes violence helps, Natalie. Crying, talking." he laughed long, and low.
And short.
"Force, my presence? You make it sound like rape."
Thorn finished his glass, stared at the wine, and shrugged. This evening had not gone the way he had wanted it to.
"You speak." he said, quietly. "Like a friend. Like you know something. Natalie, you heard a man come cry to you after his boyfriend dumped him and another tried to talk to him. You accuse me of rape, imply it, decide that I've traumatized your new best friend permanently. You don't listen to anything anyone else has to say, decide that you're right."
The last word dripped with sarcasm.
"So correct, in your assumptions."
So he smiled, green eyes piercing her face. "You should have called, darling." he drawled. "Before you decided you'd like to play pretend."
And Thorn got up. "Keep the wine cold. I'm sure your friends will enjoy a bottle of '98. The roses will last for a week, add some ice to the water. It helps."
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:32 am
Natalie stared down at the glass.
Nothing was different. Nothing. She had just decided not to act on her emotions. That was all. That was all.
Was she no different from Thorn?
Her breath hitched, and she fought back tears. Tears for Hadrian, tears for Michael, tears for Thorn. Tears for herself and her own stupidity. Nothing was ever black and white. Intellectually, she knew that. But somehow... somehow, Thorn had been labeled as 'evil' without any preamble.
And she was wrong.
She hadn't been able to keep up the charade. She'd accomplished her end, but at what price?
The glass slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor.
"I... I..." Her voice was ragged, confused and upset. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry... so sorry..." Her eyes went back to the glass. She knelt, in her beautiful, delicate gown, and began trying to gather the pieces, not caring if they sliced her fingers.
"Poor, blind puppy," she murmured to herself, expecting Thorn to already be gone.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:51 pm
Thorn sighed. He had heard the glass fall on his way to the door, and when he looked back, he saw her motions. Silly, silly little girl. He pretty much agreed with whatever it was she was muttering to herself. Puppy? Walking over, he knelt down in front of her and handed her a hankerchief.
"Go wash your hands." he said, as gently as he could. "I'll finish this up. And..." he shrugged. "Get something to put on your cuts." his words were gentle, because what were you supposed to do when a girl was crying, and apologizing and could mistakenly kill herself?
Thorn had seen deaths happen for much more stupider reasons than picking up pieces of glass. And as he looked down, he nodded. He'll get a cloth, or something. wipe up the remaining pieces.
"And put on some shoes while you're at it." he said, walking over to the bin to deposit the shards he carried.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:57 pm
Not looking at him, she rose, a bit unsteady from her mind's reeling, and, without a second thought, went to obey. She contemplated changing clothing entirely - the mood had been ruined, and the dress had no part in this night anyway - but dismissed that as pointless.
Absolutely pointless.
Stopping in the bathroom, she put some antibacterial gel on the few cuts and stuck a couple bandages on before going in search of shoes.
When she returned, she had an additional inch or two of height from her heels. While they weren't what she wanted to wear, they were what she'd designed the dress to go with. And why not further that little illusion, that she was a grown up? That she knew what she was doing.
She stood back by the small hallway that led back to the bedroom and bathroom, watching Thorn.
Why hadn't he left?
"... I shouldn't have assumed," she murmured after a moment, body shivering. She wasn't supposed to trust this man, but... but... he was human, as much as she. And while she may not agree with what he had done...
"And it's none of my business, what you do."
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:04 pm
Thorn, checking to make sure no little shards remained on the ground got up, moving to the sink to wash his hands. At her words however, he smiled, turning his head and arching a brow.
"You're right, you shouldn't have assumed." he stated simply. He wasn't going to expand on it, but he wasn't going to cut her down either. So maybe it was a compromise, of sorts.
Nodding his head, he dried his hands on one of the towels. "It is only to a point, Natalie." he said, wryly.
But the mood was gone, and he had lost his appetite for a woman who behaved the way this student did. Was he angry? Maybe a little bit, at the way the night had been ruined, at the fact that Hadrian hadn't been able to keep his mouth shut.
But in the end, he was more annoyed at the game that had been ruined then anything else.
"I'll see you around, Natalie." he said, his words polite, curt. Formal. A reprimand to let her know that she had done something wrong, and that she didn't deserve a second chance.
But only through his tone.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:09 pm
And, for some reason, it hurt. Quite a bit. And she found... she wanted him to stay. She wanted to make it up to him. Do something to make him like her again.
Throwing all the warnings everybody had given her, Natalie took a few hurried steps towards him. She didn't get close, no, but she did get closer.
And though she knew he'd probably hate the words more than anything else she could have done, she couldn't stop herself from saying, "D-don't go. Please. I... I don't want you to... I can make it up. Somehow. Can't I?" Yes, there was the aspect of the little girl realizing she'd gone too far.
She was trying desparately to salvage something that was far gone. "Can't I do something...? Thorn..."
And her voice was pained. Hurt.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:18 pm
Thorn smiled. As she approached him, at this mood, he had to choose between two angles. Leave now, and forever hold his peace, or stay here and break her? Both held it's own set of possibilities, but he decided to stick to the safer one now.
He'd probably regret it, later. Regret the fact that he hadn't taken advantage of a girl who had thrown herself, pleading to do something to make it all right. How many men would try to kill him in his sleep, because he was wasting the opportunity?
"Natalie." he said, and kissed her on the cheek. Once. Chaste.
"Good bye."
Because part of him wanted her to wallow in her guilt. To leave her and her concious unsatisfied.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:21 pm
But when would they get the chance to meet again? Thorn was leaving without the key.
And there was no way Natalie could ever bring herself to dial his number again.
She looked away after he kissed her, whimpering and squeezing her eyes shut. So confused... so much uncertainty. So many conflicting emotions. Who did she trust? Why let this matter? If he was what Hadrian said, then this could all be a very, very clever act.
But to what end?
Without that answer, she had no choice but to believe that what he said was the truth, and that she had made a very, very large mistake.
"... good night..." she murmured, unwilling to say 'goodbye'. Because though she had no clue when or how she would see him again, she refused to admit it outright. "... I'm sorry..."
The last was whispered, barily audible.
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