The Fine Line of Heaven and Hell

A/N: Holy crap, I have nothing to say. ^.^ Lucky you!


Chapter 16-Unreggrettable Mistake
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Dim lights lit the tavern, forcing the atmosphere into a dank mood, the patrons of Veranda Inn’s bar seeming sallow in the low lighting. Several weeks had gone by since Brethmel had marred her face, the scar whittled down to a faint rise of the skin. It really wasn’t that noticeable because of her pale complexion. Her eyes wandered over each face at their tables, drinking their drinks in solitude and passing the time away.

It seemed, with each day that went by, Shuey felt herself changing. It discomforted her to not understand what was moving within her own body, but she knew she could not do anything to stop the constant shifting inside herself. Her pensive stares went unnoticed by the regulars; her mystique must have faded for them after so much vying for her attention and not acquiring it.

She found herself caught up in whirlwind these days, trying to solve the mystery shrouding herself. That day, when the General had attacked her directly, was when the changes began occurring. First was the mist. What did it mean? Leon had explained what it was, but did that correlate with her father’s appearance in some way?

Did this power emerge because of Brethmel? Was the demon connected with her powers? Was that even possible? Her eyes peered through her lengthy full lashes at the dagger strapped to her wrist. Often enough, Shuey would wonder just how many connections her and that man would have, now and in the future. There was just too much she did not know.

“It is time to close, Shuey,” came a soft, somewhat husked voice to her left. As though in a trance, her hands moved of their own accord, wiping down tables and shutting things off. Grey eyes lingered on her form, watching as the woman kept inside that constantly running mind.

Jerrick was disheartened at Shuey’s continued distance. No matter what he tried, she never glanced his way unless she had some reason. Could he ever grasp her heart? For a man such as himself to be left so untrusting when he was usually so quick to garner another’s confidence was depressing. Even now, she hadn’t spared him a flash of her beautiful eyes. It was no surprise to find her locked up inside her head, but to see her so intent on figuring out a puzzle that he was sure no being could fathom was just so… What was the word for such a sight? It was almost frightening, and saddening, but awe-inspiring to see her unwavering dedication.

The already sparse amount of customers thinned until only Jerrick and Shuey remained, her gathering up the money earned while he watched on. As those nimble fingers counted the bills with base, unhurried speed, mostly likely because of her divided attention. As if she’d only just noticed his existence, the beauty finally looked his way, pout lips unmoving even as those eyes questioned him silently. “Would you mind serving me a drink?” he asked.

They retained an elongated quiet as she gazed at his face, him observing her carefully, unsure of her response. “…What would you like?” her soft, almost a whisper in his direction. He smiled at her gratefully and shrugged nonchalantly at her as if saying that he didn’t care.

“Whatever you feel like mixing is fine. Or some straight Scotch would be fine, too. It doesn’t matter.” That lovely brow arched delicately, even as she nodded, wrapping limber fingers around the neck of a bottle, mixing Scotch with something else. He honestly knew nothing about mixing drinks; Leon always made them when they were in his room. He still had no idea what his brother made that was so delectable. Before he knew it, Shuey was pushing the beverage forward on the bar, her fingertips brushing lightly on the rim as she moved her hand away.

He smiled gratefully at her, taking a cautious sip before staring at the concoction, utterly dumbfounded. It was the exact same thing Leon always fixed him. How had she known? Grey blurred to Cerulean, eyes flicking down to see pout lips twitch into an appreciative smile. The expression had him unable to recapture his own happiness, a quaint little upward twist of his own lips.

All too soon, that tiny little uplift of her mouth was gone, her eyes once again glazing in thought. “…What’s wrong, Shuey?” he finally asked; the initial reason for lingering in the bar so long. The look she gave burned holes through him, staring right into his soul and ripping it out to examine it closely. He felt naked under her scrutiny, chills dancing gaily along his spine.

After some indefinite period of time, arms that had slowly become lightly muscular leaned themselves onto the counter, fingertips touching briefly, only to depart again and repeat the process. “…..I’m…. Afraid.” It was stunning to him, to hear such words. He had believed Shuey didn’t fear, but somewhere, he’d known she held anxiety over something. Looking closely as one hand brushed idly at her hair, not really moving it, but running her hand through it.

Jerrick wanted to press the answer, ask her more, but was unsure what would happen. Usually, the woman blatantly ignored him or walked away entirely when he asked a personal question. This time seemed different. Instead, he let the silence stretch until it could no longer, the tension too thick to bear. Then he let it stretch some more. This conversation would be lead by Shuey, and Shuey alone. Her face turned to watch him, some of the distance gone as those eyes saw nothing but him.

“…..Jerrick..” she trailed off, as if she was unsure what to say. She tended to do so a lot when it came to personal or emotional matters. He was beginning to suspect she really had raised herself, but how could she have stayed hidden that way? He looked nowhere but her face, seeing every little glimmer or spark of vague emotion there he could catch. It thrilled him to see such a thing in the stoic woman’s face. It wasn’t so long ago that she refused to call him anything but ‘Sir.’ “…I don’t know what’s happening to me,” she said at length.

There was a light pink hue to her pale cheeks, both shocking and exciting him all at once. This was a side of her he’d never seen. All he could think about was holding her close, driving all her fears away like a knight in shining armor. It was an idiotic notion, but he was fully prepared to fantasize about it on his own time.

The mist that once lingered around her petite wrist now kept close to her throat, as if protecting it carefully. What appeared to be a tail swayed back and forth lazily at her shoulder. Her fingers gripped the edge of the bar, her eyes boring into his own once again. “I keep changing; I can’t keep up… So many questions….. What do I do?” Was she panicking? What was changing; her body?

“What’s changing?” he asked softly, calmly standing and making his way around the counter himself, stopping only when those piercing orbs became slightly alarmed. Even as the innate alertness of her body seemed to relax, she frowned when wording her reply.

Was it her heart that kept shifting? Feeling new things, she was afraid of it, yes, but was there more she feared in herself? Was it only that she felt things she didn’t understand that terrified her? Possibly, she realized, knowing her powers merely felt alien to her. Should she fear her abilities as a hybrid creature of two enemy races? Was there something else she was meant to dread that she simply did not, or was he asking something rhetorical? From the look in his eyes, she was beginning to think he thought she might be sick in some manner.

Her mind screamed at her loudly, telling her not to say anything more to the man now standing before her. It wasn’t his business, she couldn’t trust him, he’d use it against her. These things drilled throughout her head, nearly deluding her into believing them. He seemed to notice her hesitation, the look across his features changing subtly into another emotion that made her insides twist in a distasteful way. “I understand if you can’t trust me,” he said quietly, forcing a shame into her. Shame was an emotion she knew well enough. She’d lived with it for so long.

Shuey watched her fingers close upon themselves as she mulled over what she was about to ask. “….Are we….friends? Or… is it different?” she asked lowly, seeing the astonishment flare and consume Jerrick as he blinked at her for a brief moment in time. He stepped closer, her brain sending out alerts automatically as she stepped back, her spine bumping into the edge of the closed end of the bar. She stiffened automatically, unsure what to do until he displayed some sort of offensive behavior.

Once he was within reaching distance, Jerrick cupped a hand on her smooth, ivory cheek, his thumb brushing what it could of her scar lightly. “I will be whatever you want me to be,” he whispered, even as her shoulders stiffened dramatically and her hand clutched at the dagger sheathed on her wrist. Her eyes were wide and somewhat frightened instead of insulted or wary. It was almost painful to see the extent to which she feared emotions, regardless of who they were coming from. What was she afraid of, really? Him or his feelings? Her own heart, maybe? “…..Shuey…,” he murmured, his entire being wanting to sooth her by holding her close, even though it was a ridiculous urge.

Her thought process seized up, not willing to move as long as physical contact remained between them, even as her hand felt the cool hilt of the blade that had become known as Dare by the very man before her. The demon’s hand was somewhat chilly, but it was an alarming feeling that warmed her, even as his cold thumb moved along her cheek. She was frozen to her own spot, unable to fully comprehend what exactly was happening. He seemed to be getting closer, her brow furrowing at the action.

What was he doing?

His fingers seemed to stiffen a little, like they were gripping her almost, but not really grasping her face. An unreadable expression was concreting his visage, his brow knit, his lips slightly parted as he came inches from her own face. Having no room to move, and still being very much immobile in light of current events, all she could really do was lean back a bit further. His eyes widened slightly and what seemed to be pain drifted across his expression before that cool hand pulled her face forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Was he trying to teach her something again? She was confiding in him, so he thought it would be a good idea to taunt her this way? Grey eyes never moved away from her own that inexplicable emotion rooting itself in them as even his body aligned with hers. What should she do? His hand slid into her hair, fingers running through the choppy strands as he kissed her, ignoring her lack of response. What exactly was going on? Why was he kissing her? His lips moved softly against hers, body now pressing up against her as her brain refused to register what was happening. His other hand wrapped around her waist, every muscle along her torso stopping the moment he did so.

Shuey’s lips were so soft. All his thoughts were bounding around inside his head either in glee or panic. Half of him was trying to force his body to move away now, before she left his life forever for doing something so stupid. The other half told him to keep going and ingrain the feeling into her mind for the rest of her existence, to make her realize his own feelings. He’d never been one to keep feelings like this one hidden for long. His heart was weak.

Slowly, he pulled away, gazing into wide, unsure eyes. She was finally in his arms, looking at him like this? It felt wrong somehow, and he felt ashamed at what he’d done…. But he didn’t regret it. Her body went so well with his own, and her hair slid through his finger perfectly. Was this what it was like to be in love?

After the initial shell-shocked silence, Shuey finally got her perception to kick in once more. He’d just kissed her! Without permission, without any regard for her whatsoever. When she’d asked what they were, she hadn’t expected something like this. He’d said they could be whatever she wanted, right? She didn’t understand this type of relationship at all. She barely even understood what it meant to be a friend. She couldn’t be what this man wanted her to be, she knew it. It pissed her off, too. It made her mad at herself, her parents, at Jerrick.

Once her body registered her anger, it moved accordingly, one hand closing in upon itself as the other shoved the man away from her. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and his face said he knew what was coming next. Instead of flinching or trying to get out of the blow, he stood firmly, waiting for the blade to sink into him somewhere. Instead, her fist connected with the side of his face.

Grey eyes widened in surprise, even as she stalked away without a word, leaving Jerrick behind the counter of the now-empty tavern with his drink not far off. With a heavy sigh, he pulled it close, nursing it slowly. He needed a nice, long chat with his friend Leon, but he knew already what the angel would say.

“Idiot,” he declared aloud, hand moving to the spot where Shuey had hit him, rubbing at the tender area. She’d gotten stronger, hadn’t she? She didn’t even stab him this time. Was that an insult, or something that went in his favor? Who was he kidding? She’d never trust him again. He’d really screwed himself over that time, hadn’t he? His fingers traced along his lips, the feel of her pout little mouth against his lingering hauntingly there, his body quickly loosing the warmth that she had given him involuntarily as her form had been pressed along his own.

He was loosing it, wasn’t he?

A/N: I'm sorry for skipping 'several weeks' but it was in this little slump and I couldn't get the story out of it. O.o Wow, when I started writing this chapter, I didn’t expect that to happen. Seriously, it just kind of went that way as I went along…. Well, I like it, so I’ll leave it as is. I feel like I’m somewhat rushing it, but I like the pace; Shuey can’t keep up that way. I don’t like the ones that move so slowly that the characters don’t even notice it is happening, but I don’t like the stories where they fall instantly and madly in love, either. Those types of fictions drive me nuts. I find it unrealistic to fall for someone so fast. What do you think about stories like that?

Andie: Thanks! I'm glad you like it, too. ^.^ I was hoping people would be excited about Brethmel as well as Jerrick, and I'm glad that some readers are. *smile* Honestly, I had been wanting Leon to be more interesting than he is, as Jerrick's best friend and all, but it just didn't turn out that way. *laughs* I still love his usefulness when it comes to nonchalant comic relief, though. It's fun to write with Leon in general; he's a cool guy. Then again, I like about ninety-eight percent of the characters I write about, so I can never really say who will thrive and who won't. *chuckle*

Anyway, thanks for reading!