Anaesthetic Heart

I turned the tap off in the shower, and wrapped a plush brown towel around my torso. The colder air outside the curtain hit me with force, as I padded my way to the mirror. My reflection was thick with the steam making all my features blurred. My dark blue eyes looked round and black, and my thick hair was tangled around my face. I looked like a monster. I grabbed a hand towel and scrubbed the steam off the mirror, making the omnious reflection dissipate. I grabbed a paddle brush off the counter, and started tearing through my wet knots. Days are dissappearing, and fast. It seemed like only yesterday that I learned the truth.

Mackenzie had been home for two days, and to my dismay he had been spending the majority of it with Wish. I hadn't spoken to her since my last day of school, and try as I might she had been avoiding me. I was afraid I had done something wrong. When I confronted Mack, he just kept saying she had her own things to deal with. Which led my mind to spin in crazy circles. I knew nothing about her, but she's still the same Wish, right? Even if she's changed, she'll always be your friend somewhere inside.

"Lizbeth, is that you? Hurry up sis'! I need to shower!" Faron's voice rumbled from the otherside of the door. I froze in the middle of putting my brush down. I could hear Faron sigh heavily, "Lizbeth, hurry!"

I placed the brush on the counter, and pulled my towel tighter to me. I took a deep breath, trying to push down the bit of guilt that rose in my throat. "It's not Lizbeth," I took a few big steps to the door, and yanked it open, "It's me. Sorry. I'm done now." I went to step past him, but he grabbed onto my elbow.

"Wait, Danny..." His voice was soft, and a tense air hung to his few words. I looked down to wear his large hand rested on my pale elbow, the way his hand curled around me gently. I thought of the way it felt to be touched by him, how it made my skin tingle and gooseflesh rise on the surface of my skin. I let my eyes drift up his arm, my gaze leaving his fingers to follow the muscular lines of his forearm, up to his bicep that bulged, and his exposed shoulder. Wait, exposed? I looked him over quickly, shocked to see him standing in front of me with only a pair of low riding sweat pants and a towel flung over his shoulder.

I was now acutely aware of how little clothing there was between us, "Yes?" I gulped, looking down at my painted toenails.

"I, well, I..." He trailed off, letting his voice drop down to a soft whisper, "I wanted to say sorry. About Naia. She means well."

"Does she?" I asked incredulously, my voice suddenly sharp enough to even surprise me as I looked up into his face.

"Well, yeah." His voice was reproachful, and a little reserved, "She just, doesn't know, she didn't like the idea I mean..."

"The idea of what?" I snapped, annoyed. I thought of the way she had pushed me around and glared at me all the time. More specifically, how it was her fault that my body was rejecting the curse so much, she was the cause of the break in my 'protective bubble' that had encased my mind. It was her incessant need to stare me down, to challenge the strength of my curse.

"Well, I didn't mean it like that. I just mean she doesn't do orders well. And she, she just didn't like the idea of everyone tip-toeing around you." His voice was barely audible.

"I see," I seethed, my eyes narrowing as I watched his face grow stiff as his eyes searched franticly for a resolution, "Do you think I like it, now that I know? Do you think this is really a walk in the park for me, a freaking holiday? You are ballistic, Faron. So is your little friend Naia."

"Naia really isn't a bad person! She'll most likely come right around now that things are out in the open. She may even warm up to you, if you're nice to her." His eyes looked intently at my face.

My features slowly twisted down in disgust, "Yeah," I spat, tearing my elbow from his and taking a step back, "If I'm nice." I gripped the top of my towel, and stared past him. I could feel anger rising inside me, I thought he was my friend - so why is he protecting her? I cleared my throat madly, "If you'll excuse me, I have to go get ready for my date."

"Your date?" Faron repeated, his face slowly changing from frantic reproach to cold indifference. It was a visible mask over whatever he was truly feeling, and it slowly lodged a ball in my stomach. The air in the hallway got thick as his fists slowly clenched at his sides, "What, with you're little boyfriend Zhen?" He scoffed.

"Yes, with Zhen. There is only five days until the ball. He wanted to take me out." I straightened my shoulders, upset that he seemed to be angry at me for going out with Zhen, after Naia? Oh please.

"He's bad news, Danny." His voice was thicker now, as if he were an adult reprimending a child, "All those damn elfs are. No good, self-righteous asses."

"Reminds me of someone else I know," I said pointedly, looking him square in the eye. "I get that you are trying to be helpful, but like most times you do, you're making an ass of yourself. Cut it out. Why don't you do something useful? I know! Take you're own 'bad news' out before the ball, bet she'd like to sink her nails into you something fierce." I could feel my chest rising and falling rapidly from the quick burst of anger, and the way my hands shook as they held my towel made me feel like I was quickly loosing grip of the situation.

Faron narrowed his eyes, his jaw setting, "That's not fair to say, Danielle. You barely know her."

"And how well do you know Zhen?" I shot back, gripping my towel tighter to stop the shake in my fingertips, "You're only mad because he's taking me to the ball instead of you!"

As soon as my words slipped from my mouth and into the crushing air, I regretted it. The look on Faron's face was enough to make me take back everything I had said and grovel at his feet. His eyes were dark, and his face dropped to the ground. His clenched fists at his sides loosened, and his tense shoulders dropped.

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean you should hold it against me. I would have asked you, but well, you were in a coma! It wasn't my fault. I wanted to take you. I really did."

"And whose fault was it that I was in a coma?" I asked softly, the edge to my voice gone with the anger, but my mind raged on. Guilt replaced my heated spark, but I had a point to prove. "Naia is not the best thing to walk this earth, and maybe you need to face that she was wrong."

"So she was wrong," I heard his voice get harder, his hands clenched back into tight balls, "But so are you. You're acting like a wounded puppy, when really you are being nothing but ungrateful and self pitying." I shot my head up to look at his face. His eyes were dark still but not out of sadness or regret, rather they were cold and full of anger.

"I don't what you're talking about, " The hurt registered in my voice as I spoke through clenched teeth, "but I'm done with this conversation." His eyes were tearing daggers through me, but I could tell by the soft edge around his eyelids, the way he parted his mouth that screamed he hadn't meant to hurt me with the words he had thrown at me. My own anger sparked back up at him, I'm being self-pitying? I nodded sharply at him, more to spite him than to show that I acknowledged him as I tried to muster the remaining confidence I had in myself, "Goodbye, Faron."

I stepped around him, watching his eyes square off in seeping fury, and had it not been for those very eyes, I would have thought he went into a catatonic state. I turned my back on him, hearing him back away slowly. When I reached my bedroom door, I turned my head over my shoulder to look back at him, only to see the bathroom door slam shut, the noise making me jump. Fine.

I was fuming, now. I quickly grabbed my hair dryer, cranking the heat up and bending over at the waist. I let the blow dryer go to work on my thick hair. I flipped my head up and down a few times, feeling stiff and angry. Normally, I loved to heat dry my hair. The heat often relaxed me, and the tedious task distracted me. But this time, all my movements were robotic and cold as I pulled my fingers through the black strands. The heat only reminded me of the burning I felt at the back of my throat, and the painful look that Faron had used on me. I shut the dryer off, and laid it down.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were cold and my face otherwise devoid of emotion. The hair that I had just finished drying was thick and down around my face, the black tendrals framing my cheekbones and my jaw. I sighed heavily, exasperated that I had let Faron get under my skin so easily. What made him so special? I groaned and flopped down on my bed, the towel still hanging tight to my chest. Well, if Faron is going to throw a hissy fit, I am going to make him feel bad about it. It's not fair of him to be so rude, and well, condescending. He doesn't want me to go out with Zhen? I'll make sure I make a point of it. I'm not pitying anything!

I tore into my wardrobe, stooping down to go to the back of a barely touched shelf. Grabbing the soft fabric of a long forgotten dress, I stood up and examined the flowered material. It was beautiful and elegant, but I knew the fabric would hug in many places that I tended to avoid hugging and the hemline would be inches shorter than desirable. The built in cups would hug my chest, and the rouched panelled sides would shape my curves into an even more noticeable hourglass. The fabric itself was beautiful; dark navy blue with light green, pink, creme and white flower print making the fabric look alive and as healthy as the earth itself. I knew this would drive Faron crazy, being so connected to the earth without being able to understand it. This dress screamed full of life and lust, screamed something he could not have. It made me feel a bit better.

I set the dress aside and proceeded to pull a pair of slinky underwear on, and slip a pair of creme coloured tights on over top. The stockings were more for the sake of my decency than to pale out my legs, a task my fair skin more than accomplished as it was. I grabbed a pair of tall navy velvet stilletos and slipped them on after pulling the dress up my body and onto my bare torso. I knew that I bra would wreck the effect, but I felt nervous without it. I looked in the full length mirror, and saw my own reflection foreign in the glass.

A curvy girl, wrapped in barely enough material to cover her body stood before me. Her dark hair framed her face and fell down around her shoulders and chest, letting the flash of bare chest and shoulders show her seduction without overly asserting it. Her shapely legs looked surprisingly long and elegant in the tall heels, and her entire frame looked dark and enticing. Her face betrayed her though, her blue eyes shining innocently and her pink lips looking soft and pouty. Almost there, I thought as I pulled my make-up bag out of my nightstand and set it near my mirror. I grabbed a dark liner, and used it to rim the outer edges of my eyes, creating a dramatic smokey effect and making my dark eyes look large and mysterious. I grabbed a bright red lipstick and smudged it over my lips, taking them from baby cute to va-va-voom in seconds. Now glancing at myself, I was not surprised to see an attractive teen girl, who's face showed a darker intrest and whose body doubled that.

I grabbed my earrings from Zhen placing them trough my ears and tousling my hair as I made my way out of my room. I draped an old wool creme sweater with a broad neck and cuffed sleeves over my arm and pressed my ear against the door. I was being stupid, shallow actually, and petty at that, I thought as I listened for sounds of life outside the door. I could just hear the shower turning off, and the still grumpy slammings of Faron behind the closed bathroom door as I gave myself another quick once over as I timed my entrance into the hallway to match Faron's.

I pulled open the door to my room just as he swung open the door to the bathroom and stopped in his tracks. His face was angry, but quickly shed all emotion as he looked my up and down. I suddenly felt self consious and ridiculous for trying to make hime feel jealous over my outfit, and absently pulled down the hem of my dress, trying to make the sparse fabric grow and cover my now bare feeling thighs. I blushed looking down, and running my hand nervously through my hair. Faron cleared his throat, "You look beautiful, Danny." I could hear the mixed emotion in his voice, but as I glanced up through my eyelashes his face was composed and serene, only his eyes watching me with desired fierocity.

I glanced up more, biting my bright red bottom lip. His chest was bare, his broad shoulders dripping with the water falling from his dark red hair. His eyes were dark, the lust in them apparent but overran by the warmth of something else, something deeper. His hands were tight at his sides, not from anger, perhaps jealousy. His stance was cautious, gentle, strong. His body was strong, his bare stomach showed that as the muscles were defined by the few water droplets rolling off him and pooling in the white towel tied at his waist. I swallowed the dry feeling that arose in my mouth, "Thank you Faron."

"I mean it, Danielle." His voice was softer, as he walked towards me stopping just short of arms reach, "You look breathtaking." His voice was thick, gentle, honest. I felt my heart thudder.

"Th-thanks, Faron." I stumbled over my words, as a wave of static electricity washed over my body, sending shivers up my back and dancing across my spine.

"Danielle?" He asked, his eyes dropping as he took a stepp closer to me, closing the gap between us diminishing it to mere inches, to breaths apart and electricity running between us.

"Yes?" I asked and answered all in one word, my voice breathless as I let all my anger flood out of me and wash onto the hardwood floors beneath me.

"Can I give you something?" He asked, letting his eyes fall on my face as i upturned mine to look into his dark silver eyes, flitting in the light and watching my face with such intensity I thought I might explode. I nodded my head slowly, humming a wordless yes under my breath as he slowly reached forward and pulled me towards him, his body pressing against mine and sending sparks across my navel into my chest and up to my throat as one arm went around my back and another on the back of my head, "This," He whispered, his lips centimeters from my face as he leaned closer and brushed his lips across mine, his breath hot against me, "Is for you." He pressed his lips firmly into mine, sparks exploding between us as I arched my back and pressed into him. My arms snaked around his neck, one hand gripping in his hair as I let his lips move against mine, the heat and passion melting me away as he pulled me impossibly tight to his body, crushing me in his strength and warmth.

He pulled away, smilling ruefully as I smiled breathlessly back at him, my heart fluttering like a trapped hummingbird behind my chest, my head swimming with thoughts and my body vibrating with electricity were he held me, where he touched me. "Wow," I whispered.

"Yeah," He smiled, his eyes shining as he leaned back down to me, "Wow." He kissed me again, this time harder and full of passion as he gripped me tighter, enveloping my entire frame into his own, taking all room from between us and letting the electricity that flowed through him surge into me and fill me with excitement and heat. His lips were firmer against mine, his breath hot as he moved against me. I could feel the lean of his stomach, the flex of his arms and the support of his legs as I crumpled into him and the kiss, relaxing as I let my entire body drop into him and he supported me fully. Just as he moved to wrap me in his embrace more he froze. He pulled his head back from me slowly, and looked remorsefully into my eyes not managing to let go of me, instead tightening his grip on me more.

"I'm sorry, " He sighed. Then, the doorbell rang.