Status: About once or twice a week. More if I ever get a break from school. :)
The Damned
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Easter's POV
Micah lay down on the bed next to me as soon as Haven and Seven were out of sight. "I'm sorry, but I'm a little uncomfortable around your friends. They don't like me very much," Micah said. "It's not their fault, I guess. I did leave you and I guess they can tell that I…Never mind," he said, blushing red like a tomato.
I really didn't see how I could deny that what he said was true because of how obvious Haven had been about hating Micah, but I tried to make him feel better anyway. "You didn't do anything wrong. I told you to go away…And you'd better tell me whatever it is you're hiding right now." I couldn't help but hope that he was going to say what I wanted him to say. "You can tell me." I scooted closer to him and lay my head on his shoulder.
Micah shook his head so fast that I thought his brains would fly right out of his skull. "No way," Micah said at first, and then he sighed. "Um, I'm gay," he said, finally.
"That can't be what you were afraid to tell me. You already know that I am. I'd have to be a real hypocrite to be angry at you about it," I pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him. "You should just tell me. Whatever it is, I promise I won't be mad. Is that what you're worried about? Me being mad?"
Micah just looked at me for a long time. "Okay. I'll tell you. Just please don’t feel awkward if you don't feel the same way. You can just come out and say it. I promise I won't get angry, however you feel." Micah looked so nervous and maybe a little bit like he was going to throw up.
"Sure…Not tell me!" I insisted.
"Okay…well, I…Kind of like you," he murmured, not looking me in the eyes.
"I like you, too," I said, wondering why that had been so hard for him to say.
"Easter, I don't think you understand. "I--"
My eyes must have looked like they were going to pop right out of my head. "Oh! You mean you LIKE me!" Now it was my turn to blush.
Micah burst out laughing. "Isn't that what I just said. How is like different from LIKE? Why would I have worried so much if I just wanted to tell you that I liked you as a friend?"
"That's what I was thinking!" I squeaked back. "And I wouldn't normally know the difference, but it made sense this time. You confused me and that was my way of explaining…I like you too, by the way," I whispered, confidentially. I hid my face in my hands, embarrassed of how much I was blushing.
"Don't hide," Micah murmured, prying his hands away from my face. He was so close to my face, gently brushing my cheek with his fingertips and leaned in even closer. His lips were only a couple of millimeters from mine. "Do you want me to stop?" he whispered, pausing for a moment and looking into my eyes. I could tell that he'd respect my choices either way and that, more than anything, helped me make my choice.
I leaned forward the tiny bit that was needed to connect our lips and, just like that, I got my first kiss. It was simple, chaste, and everything I could ever want. I even had butterflies, just like you read about in books.
"Wow," I said under my breath, leaning back down on his shoulder.
Micah just smiled,
"This is moving really fast. Just yesterday morning, I thought I'd never want to see you again," I thought out loud.
"I thought the same," Micah chuckled, before he processed the first thing I'd said. "Do you think we're moving too fast? We can slow down if you want."
"No!" I exclaimed. "I like this the way it is. I just think that this isn't going to make Seven and Haven like you anymore. They already think you're taking me away from them. Well, actually this may make Seven like you more, but that's just because he'd think I could set him up with someone. Oh, and that reminds me. I know he thinks you just want to sleep with me. I'll convince him he's wrong. Haven, however, is another matter. I don't think I can convince him to like you. He'll do that in his own time…so it may take awhile. In the meantime, we should both try not to piss him off," I told him, with a slight smirk on my face. "But let's not worry about any of that right now. Kiss me again?"
"I'd be happy to," Micah laughed. He leaned in and kissed me again. I felt the butterflies again right away. I wonder if it'll be like this every time we kiss? I sure hope so.
For the rest of the morning, we kissed and talked for hours. Micah eventually got up and got us something to eat, coming back a few minutes later with a grilled cheese sandwich for him and some jell-o for me. The only thing I can eat pretty much is jell-o. Otherwise, it hurts my ribs and I can't even eat it without being sick, which would definitely cut into my chances of getting Micah to kiss me.
Finally, there was a pause in our conversation and Micah glanced at the clock, immediately frowning when he was the time. "It's ten minutes until eight. Your friends will be here soon. I'm going to get us dinner. Do you want Jell-o again, or something else?" he asked.
"Jell-o, please," I chirped.
Micah leaned in to peck me on the cheek one more time, before leaving the room. Almost as soon as Micah left, I heard loud footsteps slapping across the marble floor. It's got to be Seven. Haven isn't nearly as loud as Micah. He's practically silent. There was a pause that must have been Micah sliding to a stop to avoid running into Micah. Believe me, Micah needs to start looking where he's going. He's almost run into me about fifty million times.
A second later, I heard the footsteps again and Seven burst through the doors a couple of seconds later. Haven strolled in, not a hair out of place, a couple of second later, looking amused at how out of breath Seven was. "We ran all the way here. I'm exhausted," Seven explained, his chest heaving up and down from how hard he was breathing. "Haven didn't even get tired at all. I beat him here though. You saw it!"
I snorted at the triumphant look on Seven's face. "I hate to break it to you, but I think Haven just let you win."
Seven frowned at me. "I know, but you could have let me enjoy the moment. Anyway, are you feeling better? Did you have a good day? I hope you're tired of Micah by now. He must have been with you all day. He just left and we passed him in the hall." Seven said all of this really fast and I could barely understand him. He ran over to the side of my bed. He started to sit next to me, but yelled, "Oops, sorry!" and ran over to the opposite side of the room, grabbing a chair, and dragged it back over to me making it screech like nails on a chalkboard. Haven grabbed a second chair and brought it over, minus the loud, screeching noise.
"Hello, to you too!" I giggled, my ribs only hurting a little because of all the pain meds. I don't know what I'd do without pain meds, except maybe curl up in a ball, crying. "I'm feeling all right now because of the medication the doctor has me on. Whenever I start to feel bad, Micah gets the doctor to help me. I did have a good day. Micah kept me company, so I wasn't bored. Um…" I paused, trying to figure out how to tell them that the guy they hate had just become my boyfriend.
"Just say it," Haven said. Something in his eyes told me he knew what I was going to say.
"I'm kind of dating…Well, Micah likes me and I like him a lot," I finished. "He's promised to be with me during my stay here and help me with my work, if you're so worried about how he's treating me. I really, really like him," I finished.
"Are you sure this is good?" Haven asked.
"Yeah. I just said I like him. He's so nice to me. What more reason do I need to date someone?"
Haven looked at me for a minute, miraculously, nodding. "Okay. I won't say anything else about it. I'll be…nice to him," Haven said, calmly. "If he hurts you though…it all changes."
Micah came back a few minutes later, with a ton of food in his arms. He stopped short when he saw us looking at him like he was crazy, but he had a sweet smile on his face. "What? Why are you guys looking at me like that? Is it because of the food? I'm hungry and I couldn’t figure out what you would want to eat…so I just got one of everything. Andy was weirdly happy to have something to do. I think he gets bored and lonely. And guess what!" Micah said so fast I could barely understand him. He's just as bad as Seven is about talking fast.
"What?" I asked, just to humor him.
Seven and Haven were still staring at him. Well, Seven was more than likely staring at the food, but whatever. It was obvious that they hadn't caught a single word Micah had said.
"Jay and Indigo are coming home tomorrow! I can't wait for you to meet them! I'm sure you'll like them," he squeaked happily, placing all the plates of food on the end of the bed.
"That's great," I yelped. Crap. I hope I don't look how I feel right now because if I do, I'd look like a little woodland animal about to be crushed by an eighteen wheeler. I hadn't even thought about meeting his friends. I wonder what they'll think about me. What happens if they hate me? My stomach kept doing flip flops as I worried about all the bad things that could happen if they don't like me. What if them not liking me is a deal breaker for Micah? It's be horrible if our relationship ended because of something I can't even control. This is such a big step four our relationship. Why does it have to happen so soon?
"I'm excited to meet them. What are they like? Are they human or…something else? Can Haven and Seven meet them, too? You do want to meet them, don't you?" I asked, the last question directed at my friends.
"We'd like to meet them if we're invited," Haven said politely, looking like it was physically hurting him to be nice to Micah.
I guess he's at least trying though. I smiled at him appreciatively.
The corner of Haven's mouth turned up a little. See? He can be nice. He just needs the right motivation.
Seven's willpower finally broke and he pointed at the food. "Do you mind if I eat some of that?"
Micah shook his head. "No. Help yourself. I'm not going to eat it all myself. And of course you're invited. I meant what I said when I told you I want to be friends with you and Seven. I’m not going to try to separate you from Easter. I know I couldn't anyway. Easter would never let that happen. He loves you both too much," Micah said.
"He's right, you know. I love you guys," I murmured, blushing.
Haven just nodded, but I could see his eyes soften a little. Seven grinned at me, but the effect was somewhat ruined because he had just taken a giant bite of hamburger.
"Eww!" I gasped. "Chew with your mouth closed!"
"What do you want to eat?" Micah asked, ignoring the fact that Seven and I were currently sticking our tongues out at each other like children. Haven paused and his eyes went right to Micah's neck. Micah didn't really understand, but I sure did.
"Haven! Stop it!" I yelped, before remembering that this could only be expected. I shouldn't be mad at him. He hasn't eaten in almost two weeks.
Haven's eyes snapped away from Micah and he looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry," he whispered, ashamed.
"What?" Micah looked confused. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?
"Haven's hungry. He hasn't eaten in awhile," I explained.
Micah's eyes opened wide and his hands covered his neck. Haven didn't say anything, but he flinched. I know, because I feel the same way sometimes, how horrible it is to feel like a monster.
"Micah, you don't have to worry. He's got control of himself now," I told him. I gingerly sat up, grabbed my jell-o, dumped some fries out of a bowl, and leaned back. Knowing both Haven and Micah would try to stop me, I snatched a tiny scalpel off my bedside table and slashed it across my palm.
Haven whined desperately when he smelled the blood.
Micah gasped, looking like he expected Haven to leap at me at any second.
I shook my bloody hand over the empty bowl.
"Easter stop that. You're already hurt. We don't need to add blood loss to that. I'll do it," Seven said, letting me shake my hand over the bowl one more time before taking it from me and handing me a rag to wrap my hand in.
Haven had his arms wrapped around himself and he was whimpering pathetically. "I can't wait much longer. Hurry!" he pleaded. His fangs were cutting into his bottom lip and I thought he would snap if we didn't get the blood to him soon. Seven cut his own hand.
Micah looked between me and Haven before his eyes finally settled on Haven. "Do you mind if I join this blood donation?" Micah asked. I understand if you just want it to be people you know, but--"
"Go ahead," Haven hissed. I know he's trying as hard as he can not to jump at as like a feral animal.
Micah quickly cut his own palm. In about a minute, Seven said, "Okay, I think that's enough. He really doesn't need much. Here," Haven said, offering the bowl to Haven. Haven tore the bowl out of his arms and drank hungrily. He drained the whole thing in a couple of seconds, even licking the bowl clean.
"Thank you," he murmured, blushing. I know he didn't like us seeing him like that.
"Do you want something else to eat?" Micah asked.
"Um, I think I'll eat that cheese sandwich," Haven said, quietly.
Micah passed it to him. "You know, there's no reason to be embarrassed. It's okay. It's not your fault that no one helped you take care of something you should be given, especially when it's so easy to get. I'll arrange it so you'll get what you need."
"Thank you," Haven murmured again.
"No problem," Micah said.
The rest of the night went great. We all talked while we ate, until finally it was time to go to bed. They all climbed into the comfy hospital beds closest to me and went right to sleep. Maybe things will be alright after all…That is, if Micah's friends like me.
Easter's POV
Micah lay down on the bed next to me as soon as Haven and Seven were out of sight. "I'm sorry, but I'm a little uncomfortable around your friends. They don't like me very much," Micah said. "It's not their fault, I guess. I did leave you and I guess they can tell that I…Never mind," he said, blushing red like a tomato.
I really didn't see how I could deny that what he said was true because of how obvious Haven had been about hating Micah, but I tried to make him feel better anyway. "You didn't do anything wrong. I told you to go away…And you'd better tell me whatever it is you're hiding right now." I couldn't help but hope that he was going to say what I wanted him to say. "You can tell me." I scooted closer to him and lay my head on his shoulder.
Micah shook his head so fast that I thought his brains would fly right out of his skull. "No way," Micah said at first, and then he sighed. "Um, I'm gay," he said, finally.
"That can't be what you were afraid to tell me. You already know that I am. I'd have to be a real hypocrite to be angry at you about it," I pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him. "You should just tell me. Whatever it is, I promise I won't be mad. Is that what you're worried about? Me being mad?"
Micah just looked at me for a long time. "Okay. I'll tell you. Just please don’t feel awkward if you don't feel the same way. You can just come out and say it. I promise I won't get angry, however you feel." Micah looked so nervous and maybe a little bit like he was going to throw up.
"Sure…Not tell me!" I insisted.
"Okay…well, I…Kind of like you," he murmured, not looking me in the eyes.
"I like you, too," I said, wondering why that had been so hard for him to say.
"Easter, I don't think you understand. "I--"
My eyes must have looked like they were going to pop right out of my head. "Oh! You mean you LIKE me!" Now it was my turn to blush.
Micah burst out laughing. "Isn't that what I just said. How is like different from LIKE? Why would I have worried so much if I just wanted to tell you that I liked you as a friend?"
"That's what I was thinking!" I squeaked back. "And I wouldn't normally know the difference, but it made sense this time. You confused me and that was my way of explaining…I like you too, by the way," I whispered, confidentially. I hid my face in my hands, embarrassed of how much I was blushing.
"Don't hide," Micah murmured, prying his hands away from my face. He was so close to my face, gently brushing my cheek with his fingertips and leaned in even closer. His lips were only a couple of millimeters from mine. "Do you want me to stop?" he whispered, pausing for a moment and looking into my eyes. I could tell that he'd respect my choices either way and that, more than anything, helped me make my choice.
I leaned forward the tiny bit that was needed to connect our lips and, just like that, I got my first kiss. It was simple, chaste, and everything I could ever want. I even had butterflies, just like you read about in books.
"Wow," I said under my breath, leaning back down on his shoulder.
Micah just smiled,
"This is moving really fast. Just yesterday morning, I thought I'd never want to see you again," I thought out loud.
"I thought the same," Micah chuckled, before he processed the first thing I'd said. "Do you think we're moving too fast? We can slow down if you want."
"No!" I exclaimed. "I like this the way it is. I just think that this isn't going to make Seven and Haven like you anymore. They already think you're taking me away from them. Well, actually this may make Seven like you more, but that's just because he'd think I could set him up with someone. Oh, and that reminds me. I know he thinks you just want to sleep with me. I'll convince him he's wrong. Haven, however, is another matter. I don't think I can convince him to like you. He'll do that in his own time…so it may take awhile. In the meantime, we should both try not to piss him off," I told him, with a slight smirk on my face. "But let's not worry about any of that right now. Kiss me again?"
"I'd be happy to," Micah laughed. He leaned in and kissed me again. I felt the butterflies again right away. I wonder if it'll be like this every time we kiss? I sure hope so.
For the rest of the morning, we kissed and talked for hours. Micah eventually got up and got us something to eat, coming back a few minutes later with a grilled cheese sandwich for him and some jell-o for me. The only thing I can eat pretty much is jell-o. Otherwise, it hurts my ribs and I can't even eat it without being sick, which would definitely cut into my chances of getting Micah to kiss me.
Finally, there was a pause in our conversation and Micah glanced at the clock, immediately frowning when he was the time. "It's ten minutes until eight. Your friends will be here soon. I'm going to get us dinner. Do you want Jell-o again, or something else?" he asked.
"Jell-o, please," I chirped.
Micah leaned in to peck me on the cheek one more time, before leaving the room. Almost as soon as Micah left, I heard loud footsteps slapping across the marble floor. It's got to be Seven. Haven isn't nearly as loud as Micah. He's practically silent. There was a pause that must have been Micah sliding to a stop to avoid running into Micah. Believe me, Micah needs to start looking where he's going. He's almost run into me about fifty million times.
A second later, I heard the footsteps again and Seven burst through the doors a couple of seconds later. Haven strolled in, not a hair out of place, a couple of second later, looking amused at how out of breath Seven was. "We ran all the way here. I'm exhausted," Seven explained, his chest heaving up and down from how hard he was breathing. "Haven didn't even get tired at all. I beat him here though. You saw it!"
I snorted at the triumphant look on Seven's face. "I hate to break it to you, but I think Haven just let you win."
Seven frowned at me. "I know, but you could have let me enjoy the moment. Anyway, are you feeling better? Did you have a good day? I hope you're tired of Micah by now. He must have been with you all day. He just left and we passed him in the hall." Seven said all of this really fast and I could barely understand him. He ran over to the side of my bed. He started to sit next to me, but yelled, "Oops, sorry!" and ran over to the opposite side of the room, grabbing a chair, and dragged it back over to me making it screech like nails on a chalkboard. Haven grabbed a second chair and brought it over, minus the loud, screeching noise.
"Hello, to you too!" I giggled, my ribs only hurting a little because of all the pain meds. I don't know what I'd do without pain meds, except maybe curl up in a ball, crying. "I'm feeling all right now because of the medication the doctor has me on. Whenever I start to feel bad, Micah gets the doctor to help me. I did have a good day. Micah kept me company, so I wasn't bored. Um…" I paused, trying to figure out how to tell them that the guy they hate had just become my boyfriend.
"Just say it," Haven said. Something in his eyes told me he knew what I was going to say.
"I'm kind of dating…Well, Micah likes me and I like him a lot," I finished. "He's promised to be with me during my stay here and help me with my work, if you're so worried about how he's treating me. I really, really like him," I finished.
"Are you sure this is good?" Haven asked.
"Yeah. I just said I like him. He's so nice to me. What more reason do I need to date someone?"
Haven looked at me for a minute, miraculously, nodding. "Okay. I won't say anything else about it. I'll be…nice to him," Haven said, calmly. "If he hurts you though…it all changes."
Micah came back a few minutes later, with a ton of food in his arms. He stopped short when he saw us looking at him like he was crazy, but he had a sweet smile on his face. "What? Why are you guys looking at me like that? Is it because of the food? I'm hungry and I couldn’t figure out what you would want to eat…so I just got one of everything. Andy was weirdly happy to have something to do. I think he gets bored and lonely. And guess what!" Micah said so fast I could barely understand him. He's just as bad as Seven is about talking fast.
"What?" I asked, just to humor him.
Seven and Haven were still staring at him. Well, Seven was more than likely staring at the food, but whatever. It was obvious that they hadn't caught a single word Micah had said.
"Jay and Indigo are coming home tomorrow! I can't wait for you to meet them! I'm sure you'll like them," he squeaked happily, placing all the plates of food on the end of the bed.
"That's great," I yelped. Crap. I hope I don't look how I feel right now because if I do, I'd look like a little woodland animal about to be crushed by an eighteen wheeler. I hadn't even thought about meeting his friends. I wonder what they'll think about me. What happens if they hate me? My stomach kept doing flip flops as I worried about all the bad things that could happen if they don't like me. What if them not liking me is a deal breaker for Micah? It's be horrible if our relationship ended because of something I can't even control. This is such a big step four our relationship. Why does it have to happen so soon?
"I'm excited to meet them. What are they like? Are they human or…something else? Can Haven and Seven meet them, too? You do want to meet them, don't you?" I asked, the last question directed at my friends.
"We'd like to meet them if we're invited," Haven said politely, looking like it was physically hurting him to be nice to Micah.
I guess he's at least trying though. I smiled at him appreciatively.
The corner of Haven's mouth turned up a little. See? He can be nice. He just needs the right motivation.
Seven's willpower finally broke and he pointed at the food. "Do you mind if I eat some of that?"
Micah shook his head. "No. Help yourself. I'm not going to eat it all myself. And of course you're invited. I meant what I said when I told you I want to be friends with you and Seven. I’m not going to try to separate you from Easter. I know I couldn't anyway. Easter would never let that happen. He loves you both too much," Micah said.
"He's right, you know. I love you guys," I murmured, blushing.
Haven just nodded, but I could see his eyes soften a little. Seven grinned at me, but the effect was somewhat ruined because he had just taken a giant bite of hamburger.
"Eww!" I gasped. "Chew with your mouth closed!"
"What do you want to eat?" Micah asked, ignoring the fact that Seven and I were currently sticking our tongues out at each other like children. Haven paused and his eyes went right to Micah's neck. Micah didn't really understand, but I sure did.
"Haven! Stop it!" I yelped, before remembering that this could only be expected. I shouldn't be mad at him. He hasn't eaten in almost two weeks.
Haven's eyes snapped away from Micah and he looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry," he whispered, ashamed.
"What?" Micah looked confused. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?
"Haven's hungry. He hasn't eaten in awhile," I explained.
Micah's eyes opened wide and his hands covered his neck. Haven didn't say anything, but he flinched. I know, because I feel the same way sometimes, how horrible it is to feel like a monster.
"Micah, you don't have to worry. He's got control of himself now," I told him. I gingerly sat up, grabbed my jell-o, dumped some fries out of a bowl, and leaned back. Knowing both Haven and Micah would try to stop me, I snatched a tiny scalpel off my bedside table and slashed it across my palm.
Haven whined desperately when he smelled the blood.
Micah gasped, looking like he expected Haven to leap at me at any second.
I shook my bloody hand over the empty bowl.
"Easter stop that. You're already hurt. We don't need to add blood loss to that. I'll do it," Seven said, letting me shake my hand over the bowl one more time before taking it from me and handing me a rag to wrap my hand in.
Haven had his arms wrapped around himself and he was whimpering pathetically. "I can't wait much longer. Hurry!" he pleaded. His fangs were cutting into his bottom lip and I thought he would snap if we didn't get the blood to him soon. Seven cut his own hand.
Micah looked between me and Haven before his eyes finally settled on Haven. "Do you mind if I join this blood donation?" Micah asked. I understand if you just want it to be people you know, but--"
"Go ahead," Haven hissed. I know he's trying as hard as he can not to jump at as like a feral animal.
Micah quickly cut his own palm. In about a minute, Seven said, "Okay, I think that's enough. He really doesn't need much. Here," Haven said, offering the bowl to Haven. Haven tore the bowl out of his arms and drank hungrily. He drained the whole thing in a couple of seconds, even licking the bowl clean.
"Thank you," he murmured, blushing. I know he didn't like us seeing him like that.
"Do you want something else to eat?" Micah asked.
"Um, I think I'll eat that cheese sandwich," Haven said, quietly.
Micah passed it to him. "You know, there's no reason to be embarrassed. It's okay. It's not your fault that no one helped you take care of something you should be given, especially when it's so easy to get. I'll arrange it so you'll get what you need."
"Thank you," Haven murmured again.
"No problem," Micah said.
The rest of the night went great. We all talked while we ate, until finally it was time to go to bed. They all climbed into the comfy hospital beds closest to me and went right to sleep. Maybe things will be alright after all…That is, if Micah's friends like me.
♠ ♠ ♠
I got a comment from MyWalnuts-Gir! right away so here's the next chapter! Thanks much for the comment!