Status: Finished.
Give Me Envy, Give Me Malice, Give Me Your Attention
Chapter Nine
“How much do you actually know about me?” Anna whispered to Ryan.
They were lying casually across her bed, and he held her tenderly in his arms, stroking her hair. They were in almost silence, but not of the awkward kind. It was relaxing, comforting, and serene. Something that they both knew they wouldn’t have very often.
“I know everything about you,” he whispered back. Somehow, the sinister associations with this phrase didn’t affect them.
“Prove it,” he could hear a smile in her voice. “What’s my favourite colour?”
“You don’t have a favourite colour, but you’re particularly fond of black and white,” he answered softly.
“Fine. What’s my favourite place?”
“Chicago in general. Specifically that lake near…”
“Okay, okay, show off. What’s my favourite foo…?”
The silence became slightly awkward and Anna cleared her throat.
“Never mind.” She met his eyes, full of shared pain. A few moments passed before she spoke again with a grin. “What’s my name?”
He looked at her oddly.
“Anna Elizabeth Thorn.”
“Wrong!” She smiled triumphantly.
“What?” He turned her in his arms to face him and she laughed softly, reminding him of delicate wind chimes.
“Arianna. That’s my first name.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“I like that name.”
“I like you.”
They both smiled and kissed quickly.
“So I won. You didn’t know everything about me.”
“I do now.”
“Yeah, well…”
He laughed at her inability to find a comeback.
“Time to switch positions. How much do you know about me, Arianna?”
“Not much,” she answered truthfully.
“Humour me.”
She paused to think. “I know that you’re gorgeous.”
“Continue,” he smirked, liking where this was going.
“I know that you have a way with words when given the chance to think about what you’re going to say. I know that you’re an amazing artist but don’t realize it. You’ve acted differently since you’ve been changed. You miss humanity and mortality…” She paused for a moment and the smirk that had softened on his face found its way to hers. “And you like to stalk unsuspecting human girls.”
“Nope. Just you.”
“Fantastic.” 'Ahh. Sarcasm.'
“You know you love it.”
“Maybe.” Anna hummed before the serenity could be destroyed by the ‘L’ word.
He kissed her again deeply and she responded eagerly. They pulled away unanimously after a few moments and she shifted closer to him. He hugged her tightly, knowing that soon he’d have to let go and he didn’t know how long it would be until he could hold her again.
***
The days turned into weeks, and Anna and Ryan had to be content with acting like they were just friends. They returned to hanging out with Chiz and Travis, who knew better than to ask questions. Travis was particularly curious, knowing how they both felt about each other, but the most he knew was that Ryan had spoken to Anna and everything was back to normal. It was quite interesting; seeing that when they weren’t talking they were both so depressed and that when they were on good terms they seemed to have some sort of glow about them.
The four of them were walking back from a bar, all of them thinking about the first time they’d done this; the night Chiz had officially introduced Anna to Travis and Ryan.
“That chick’s blood was fine!” Travie grinned.
“I’ll second that,” Chiz laughed.
“T’was okay.” Ryan mumbled. In all honesty, he just wanted the sun to hurry up and rise so he could be alone with Anna.
“Are you sure you weren’t thirsty, Anna?” Chiz asked, concerned. “You haven’t been drinking much lately.”
“I’m fine,” She mumbled, pretending she couldn’t sense Ryan’s eyes boring into her.
She had been hoping no one had noticed. The thing is, and she didn’t even know exactly when it started, that the idea of drinking the life from an unsuspecting human had come to disgust her. When she had locked herself in her room after her kiss with Ryan, the night that she had killed Jason just kept replaying itself in her mind, and she couldn’t escape the accusatory finger in her head pointing at her and screaming ‘murderer!’. Since she and Ryan had sorted things out, she’d only taken a few sips of blood a day, sharing usually with him as he was eager to share anything with her. She’d really been hoping that no one had noticed; she didn’t know how they’d react if she was forced to tell them. It was like defying vampire nature, and she was sure that they’d over-exaggerate it and think she was starving herself.
“Oi, Anna!” Travis called. “Race you back to the mansion?”
“Okay.” She smiled, and immediately picked up her pace and ran, loving the feeling of the dawn wind caressing her face and neck. A minute later she saw three blurs pass her and concluded that Chiz and Ryan must’ve decided to join in the race, leaving her in last place. 'Damn.'
All of a sudden, her legs seemed to stop working and gave way. She squeezed her eyes tight shut as her body was taken by gravity and slammed into the forest floor that she’d been flying through. She instinctively turned her head to the side and threw her arms in front of her face as she hit the floor, but before she could do anything else unconsciousness took her.
They were lying casually across her bed, and he held her tenderly in his arms, stroking her hair. They were in almost silence, but not of the awkward kind. It was relaxing, comforting, and serene. Something that they both knew they wouldn’t have very often.
“I know everything about you,” he whispered back. Somehow, the sinister associations with this phrase didn’t affect them.
“Prove it,” he could hear a smile in her voice. “What’s my favourite colour?”
“You don’t have a favourite colour, but you’re particularly fond of black and white,” he answered softly.
“Fine. What’s my favourite place?”
“Chicago in general. Specifically that lake near…”
“Okay, okay, show off. What’s my favourite foo…?”
The silence became slightly awkward and Anna cleared her throat.
“Never mind.” She met his eyes, full of shared pain. A few moments passed before she spoke again with a grin. “What’s my name?”
He looked at her oddly.
“Anna Elizabeth Thorn.”
“Wrong!” She smiled triumphantly.
“What?” He turned her in his arms to face him and she laughed softly, reminding him of delicate wind chimes.
“Arianna. That’s my first name.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“I like that name.”
“I like you.”
They both smiled and kissed quickly.
“So I won. You didn’t know everything about me.”
“I do now.”
“Yeah, well…”
He laughed at her inability to find a comeback.
“Time to switch positions. How much do you know about me, Arianna?”
“Not much,” she answered truthfully.
“Humour me.”
She paused to think. “I know that you’re gorgeous.”
“Continue,” he smirked, liking where this was going.
“I know that you have a way with words when given the chance to think about what you’re going to say. I know that you’re an amazing artist but don’t realize it. You’ve acted differently since you’ve been changed. You miss humanity and mortality…” She paused for a moment and the smirk that had softened on his face found its way to hers. “And you like to stalk unsuspecting human girls.”
“Nope. Just you.”
“Fantastic.” 'Ahh. Sarcasm.'
“You know you love it.”
“Maybe.” Anna hummed before the serenity could be destroyed by the ‘L’ word.
He kissed her again deeply and she responded eagerly. They pulled away unanimously after a few moments and she shifted closer to him. He hugged her tightly, knowing that soon he’d have to let go and he didn’t know how long it would be until he could hold her again.
***
The days turned into weeks, and Anna and Ryan had to be content with acting like they were just friends. They returned to hanging out with Chiz and Travis, who knew better than to ask questions. Travis was particularly curious, knowing how they both felt about each other, but the most he knew was that Ryan had spoken to Anna and everything was back to normal. It was quite interesting; seeing that when they weren’t talking they were both so depressed and that when they were on good terms they seemed to have some sort of glow about them.
The four of them were walking back from a bar, all of them thinking about the first time they’d done this; the night Chiz had officially introduced Anna to Travis and Ryan.
“That chick’s blood was fine!” Travie grinned.
“I’ll second that,” Chiz laughed.
“T’was okay.” Ryan mumbled. In all honesty, he just wanted the sun to hurry up and rise so he could be alone with Anna.
“Are you sure you weren’t thirsty, Anna?” Chiz asked, concerned. “You haven’t been drinking much lately.”
“I’m fine,” She mumbled, pretending she couldn’t sense Ryan’s eyes boring into her.
She had been hoping no one had noticed. The thing is, and she didn’t even know exactly when it started, that the idea of drinking the life from an unsuspecting human had come to disgust her. When she had locked herself in her room after her kiss with Ryan, the night that she had killed Jason just kept replaying itself in her mind, and she couldn’t escape the accusatory finger in her head pointing at her and screaming ‘murderer!’. Since she and Ryan had sorted things out, she’d only taken a few sips of blood a day, sharing usually with him as he was eager to share anything with her. She’d really been hoping that no one had noticed; she didn’t know how they’d react if she was forced to tell them. It was like defying vampire nature, and she was sure that they’d over-exaggerate it and think she was starving herself.
“Oi, Anna!” Travis called. “Race you back to the mansion?”
“Okay.” She smiled, and immediately picked up her pace and ran, loving the feeling of the dawn wind caressing her face and neck. A minute later she saw three blurs pass her and concluded that Chiz and Ryan must’ve decided to join in the race, leaving her in last place. 'Damn.'
All of a sudden, her legs seemed to stop working and gave way. She squeezed her eyes tight shut as her body was taken by gravity and slammed into the forest floor that she’d been flying through. She instinctively turned her head to the side and threw her arms in front of her face as she hit the floor, but before she could do anything else unconsciousness took her.