Caught in the Crossfire

A shiver ran through her body as she turned over in the bed, feeling the void of where Niall should have been. He should have been beside her, holding her tightly in his arms as he listened to her soft breathing and her even heart beat, but he wasn’t. Niall should have been sleeping after a hard days work, but he wasn’t.

And Valentine new exactly where he was. She let out a heavy sigh and slipped out of bed, shrugging into her favorite knit jumper. It was warm and hung around her thin frame as she began to walk to the small flat. It was small, but plenty big for the two of them. They had decided early on in their relationship that they would move in together. It was a mutual decision that had brought them even closer. They had at first, decided that they wouldn’t share a bedroom, but as they neared their first year of their relationship, they had taken the step to sharing a bed.

The flat had two bedrooms in which the second bathroom held their books as well as their secondary work, art collectors. It wasn’t a glamorous job, but it helped pay at times. The romanticized idea of buying and selling art had appealed to the both of them, but once they had began to buy the art that they thought everyone would like, they were proved wrong when nothing happened. No one liked their style of art work and no one would buy from them. Much to their chagrin, Valentine was forced to get a job at the internet cafe down the street from their flat. And to Valentine’s surprise, she grew to love the position.

The bathroom was normal, painted a light mint green as per Valentine’s request. They hadn’t decorated the bathroom yet, but it was on their list of things to do.

The main attraction of their small flat was most definitely their kitchen. It was painted a dark, cherry red with accents of black and dark grey. It wasn’t especially fancy or fantastic, but it was the room of their flat that they were the most proud of. The kitchen made them want to cook and want to use it, even though Valentine hardly knew how to cook.

Valentine shuffled through their flat, making her way across the living room to the sliding glass door that led to the balcony veranda. She slid it open and immediately wrapped her arms tightly around her rib cage. Her breath pooled around her face as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Niall’s waist, resting her cheek on his back. “Couldn’t sleep?”

His chest expanded as he took in a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind,” he said simply. Valentine let go of him and stood beside him, staring out over the scenery of their balcony veranda. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Valentine nodded and smiled lightly. “It really is. I love London.”

“I do miss Ireland, though.”

“Me too,” she whispered.

They were silent as the twinkling lights of the London Eye flashed and illuminated tiny spots of darkness in the giant city. “Are you going to tell me exactly why you’re not in bed?”

“I was thinking of how little everything seems. It’s like nothing we’ve done has shown as interesting or unique. It’s all about the small scale acts. I think we need more recognition, Val. I think we need to do something big and large scale to get more attention.” Niall turned to face her, his face illuminated minutely by the light above them.

Valentine frowned. “Haven’t we done enough? We’ve got diamonds and money.”

“But we don’t have recognition. Valentine, we’re nothing. We aren’t anything compared to anyone. We aren’t notorious and we aren’t infamous. We need our names in newspapers and on the television. We deserve fame and fortune,” Niall said. His eyes glimmered with excitement and happiness as he considered the possibilities.

Valentine smiled. “Why?”

“Don’t you want to? Cause a little mischief? Cause a little chaos? Don’t you want to strike a little fear into the hearts of all the Londoners?” Niall touched her cheek. “Or don’t you want to spend time with me?”

Another frown fell upon her face. “I would never want to not spend time with you.:

“You seem disinterested.”

“I am. I don’t want to set fire to any more buildings.”

“Then what do you want to see?”

“I want to see things explode. I want glass and fire rained down upon the city,” Valentine responded. Her voice raised slightly, but not enough for their flat neighbors to hear. “I want to see people running through the streets in complete turmoil. I want them to realize that they aren’t safe anywhere because something bad will always happen to them.”

Niall cupped her chin and pressed his lips to hers hastily and sloppily. “I just love the way you think, Valentine. It’s so...dark.”

She kissed him back, tilting her head to the right. “I just love the way you’re so ambitious.”

“I know just what we can do,” Niall glanced around. He turned and faced the London Eye. “I know exactly what we can do. Explosions, fire, glass, terror. All of these things.”

Valentine rested her temple on his shoulder. “I can’t wait.”