Hallow's Valentine

Chapter 4:

Hallow tuned out Chris and Valentine's conversation and pulled a bowl of thick, spicy soup towards him.

"…right, fine, we can do that." Hallow heard Valentine say. He glanced up just as Valentine picked up the salad that they usually split and pushed it toward him.

"Hallow! Say 'ah'!" Valentine said, holding out a forkful of salad toward him. Hallow frowned and darted forward, pulling the baby spinach off the fork with his teeth and chewing vigorously.

"There, you fed me, no more."

"Aww okay." Valentine started in on the salad. Hallow shook his head and continued to eat his delicious soup, his hand falling to his side. Valentine, still eating his salad with one hand, reached down and held Hallow's under the table. Hallow frowned but didn't bother to pull his hand away. It would only make Valentine complain embarrassingly loudly.

They spent the next week in Videlcet. To Hallow's disappointment, Chris was busier than ever, since it was close to his Time. On Christmas Eve, Hallow and Valentine woke to snow outside their window.

"Get off me!" Hallow snarled, pushing Valentine away from him. Valentine simply rolled off the bed and leaned over him, grinning.

"It's snowing! We have to go, come on!"

"Too early."

"The sun has been up for hours. Hurry up!" Hallow heard Valentine scamper out of the room.

Valentine pestered Hallow into first making a snowman, then snow angels, and finally a snowball fight. Hallow deemed himself an expert at snowball fights (being able to use the wind to his advantage had nothing to do with it, he had pure skill) and by the end of it, Valentine's hair was soaking wet.

They sat on the couch under one of Valentine's feather blankets. Hallow sipped his tea and yawned.

"Tired?" Valentine asked.

"Mmm."

Valentine gently stroked Hallow's hair, and Hallow was too tired to tell him to quit it. Besides, it felt nice. It felt familiar. Hallow shrugged off the strange feeling and closed his eyes.

He was sitting beside Valentine, in the same position, and Valentine was stroking his hair. The couch was different—blue with several holes in it. There was a woolen blanket draped over them instead of a feather one.

"This is nice," Valentine said. Hallow looked up and smiled. But Valenitne didn't look like Valentine. His hair was a deep brown. Why wasn't his hair red?

"Mhm," Hallow smiled and tilted his head up towards Valentine—

"GAH!" Hallow sat up and fell off the couch, hitting his elbow on the floor. What had that been?

"Hallow?" Valentine's sleepy voice made Hallow flinch. What had that dream been? Why had he kissedValentine? He would never do that!

"Go back to sleep," Hallow said.

"But you fell."

"I'm fine," Hallow sat up on his knees so he could look at Valentine. "I just—"

Valentine was already asleep, snoring quietly.

"Tch," Hallow stood and rubbed his bruised elbow. He must have had that dream because of Valentine, maybe Valentine actually used some of his weird love powers to make him dream that.

Hallow and Valentine met Chris in the human world the next day. Over the week, they had been researching where the teenager went to school. They would all become friends with him before taking the human to Videlcet.

"This is it," Chris said, gesturing to the high school. It was five in the morning, so nobody was around, but even if there had been people, Hallow didn't think the gloominess would fade.

"This is exciting!" Valentine grinned and bounced on his feet. "Do we get to pick our classes?"

Hallow sighed and rubbed a hand over his aching eyes. He had barely slept the night before, thanks to that stupid dream.

This was going to be a long week.