Eternal [HS]

Chapter Thirteen

HARRY HAS QUITE A KNACK FOR teasing her to the brink of insanity, because they've been driving for an hour now, and he has yet to tell her where they're going.

Since she lost the deal she made while she was under the delusional impression that she'd be able to pin a vampire with a supernatural degree of strength down, he took it upon himself to take advantage of being allowed to dictate all of their plans without her intervention. And, to him, no intervention means she will not get a clue as to where they're going or what they're doing.

The sight she finds while looking out of the car window is drastically different from the damp, dark nature beside his house. It amazes her that the terrain has changed so much within the hour. They went from the looming clouds and moss of the forest to a dark, but clear late-afternoon sky that is only interrupted by the cliffs and peaks of limestone mountains nearby.

Though it passes by quickly, she takes the time to appreciate it all the same. The chaos of her new life has taught her a lot, but the lesson of most importance has been simple: appreciate everything you see, do, and feel because you never know when it'll all end. As morbid as it is, it's actually helped her progress past the constant state of anxiety she seems to fall back on. Instead of being in her head all the time, she's tuned into the world surrounding her, and it feels better than she thought it would.

Plenty of the therapists she saw in her depression and anxiety-riddled adolescent years preached one word to her. Mindfulness. It drove her out of her mind. She thought that if she heard one more person say the godforsaken word, either that or meditation, she was going to lose her sanity, but they were right. It may have taken a few attempts on her life to realize it, but her eyes are more open than they were before.

The only time she spends locked away in her head now, spiraling down a rabbit hole, is when she thinks about him.

One of his hands is thrown over the steering wheel while the other hangs out of the driver's side window with the air whipping at his skin from every direction.

His hair is messy from a day of exercising and rolling around on the mat with her for hours at a time. It's smoothed back from his face, allowing her a view of his exquisite side profile, and she resists the urge to run her fingers through the brunette curls. It's been getting more obvious now, she realizes from the passenger seat, that her thoughts and urges about him are becoming inescapable.

They continued practicing the defense techniques he taught her for another hour at the gym before she collapsed, sweaty and exhausted, onto the mat to catch her breath. He only allowed her a moment of rest before she was faced with the sight of him standing over her with a knowing dimpled smile on his face.

The next thing she knew, they were on their way to wherever it is they're going now.

Music similar to what he put on at the gym invades the car speakers while she hears him singing along to it absentmindedly. Everything he listens to either consists of a strange blend of classic rock, dream pop, and oldies that she often heard her great-grandmother listen to when she was little. It's charming in a way that makes him more human to her. Vampires enjoying simple pleasures like music is something she didn't realize she needed to witness, but now that she has, it opens her up to him more.

Suddenly, he isn't a vampire and she isn't a human. No glaring differences are separating them at this moment, all they do is exist in silence and enjoy one another's company. Even with her antsy fidgeting, she enjoys his company.

His voice is smoother than syrup, clear and sonorous through the interior of the classic, pale yellow Jaguar that has carried them from the forest to the mountains. It's the type of beautiful sound that scratches an itch in your brain that you never knew was there.