The Silver Soldier

XVI

I haven't had ice-cream in years.

I don't even remember what it tastes like.

I hand Juliette the helmet as she gets on the back on my bike, but now I have a problem. I don't know if there even is an icecream place in this town. I guess I'll have to figure it out.

We drive around town for ten minutes, which consists of mostly me looking for something that looks like an icecream store. Juliette hasn't said anything yet, meaning that she's either just enjoying watching me fail, or she hasn't realized that I have no clue what I'm doing.

Then, up ahead, maybe a mile up the road, I see a sign. If it weren't for my enhanced vision, I wouldn't have seen it at all. I speed up a bit, her hold on me tightens. We park my motorcycle in front of the small shop, the both of us getting off to look at the options.

Another problem.

I have no idea what my favourite flavour used to be.

"What are you getting?" She asks.

"Not sure yet. You?"

"I'll get whatever you're getting."

Shit.

"How about mint chip?" I ask, looking over at her.

"Sounds good. What size?"

"Do you feel like getting diabetes today?" I pull my wallet from my pocket, taking out the right amount. Hydra had given me too much money. A few hundred dollar bills, and who knows how much of everything else. Altogether, it's probably around one grand, maybe more.

Juliette nods, smiling, it's not like either of us can actually get diabetes. "Large?"

"Two large mint chip cones, please." I hand the money to the elderly man working. He scoops our icecream, giving it to us from over the counter. I thank him, walking over to the single picnic table outside of the parlour.

"Your hand." Juliette points out after a few minutes. "What happened?"

I look down at my right hand, at the scars covering my skin. It is only my right hand, my left is untouched. It had been the bomb, but she doesn't need to know that part. I switch the icecream cone to my left hand, pulling my sleeve up for her to see the rest of it. She gasps, bringing her hand to her mouth. Little does she know that I have many more scars on my body, most much worse than the one of my hand.

"Kids can be mean." I say, pulling my sleeve back down. "I was 9, my sister was having problems with a few boys at her school, so me being the idiot I am, I tried to fix it." I pause, trying to find a way to make my story sound believable. "Let's just say they wanted to know how fast it takes human skin to catch on fire." I lick my icecream. "Skin doesn't burn, it melts. I learned that the hard way."

"God. Cole-"

"Ten minutes. I was with them for ten minutes before my Mom found us." I shrug. "That's Russia for you."

"What happened to them, the boys?"

"Nothing." I shake my head. "They went back to school the next day, and then when my sister didn't come home that night, I took my Dad's gun and went after them."

"Did you..."

"No. I just scared them." I tell her. "They never bothered her again."

"That's good. I'm sorry that happened to you." She looks back down at my scarred hand, which I have covered more than it had been before.

"It's healed now, I barely notice it anymore." I watch as she licks her cone, catching a drip of icecream. "And you? What happened here?" I touch the left side of my neck, showing her what I'm talking about.

She reaches up to feel the small scar under her jaw. "Hairdresser. Nothing too exciting." She says, her heart beat jumping for a second. A lie. "Got me with the scissors, that was maybe four years ago."

Werewolves can't get scars, unless they get injured by an alpha. Who is her alpha? Her father? That would make sense, but why would he give her a scar?

For the rest of the day, we spent our time at Valley Central, a place with a bunch of stores - like a mall. For the first part, we wasted time in random stores, that is until we came to an expensive formal-wear boutique. I convinced Juliette to find a fancy dress she liked, and she picked out a dark blue a-line with a slit in the skirt. I told her not to worry about how much it was, but I also didn't tell her that I would be buying it for her.

As soon as she picked her outfit out, I found a matching suit in the men's section, along with a tie the same colour as the fabric of her dress. We both dressed up, and long story short, the bill came to almost $600.

Now, after a long period of convincing her she doesn't have to pay me back, we're finally walking out of Valley Central. We both agreed to keep the formal outfits on, people stop and stare at us, gaping in our direction as if we are royalty. With her arm in linked in mine, I lead her back to my motorcycle.

I remember seeing some "missing" ads posted about it, with a $5000 reward. Whoever I stole this from, they are desperate to get it back.

I help her onto the bike, she tucks her dress in the best she can, but I know it won't do anything against the wind. I get on in front of her, handing her the helmet. "Ready?" She smiles at me, giving me a nod. "Hold on."

The school day is over by now, her parents won't be suspicious that I'm bringing her home at this time. As we speed down the road, the wind ripping at our expensive clothes, I can't help but notice that the air smells of petrichor.

Rain.

A few streets away from her house, I feel a drop of water on my cheek. And then another. By the time I bring the motorcycle to a stop in front of her driveway, it is full on pouring. We are both soaking wet.

"Tomorrow morning? Same time?" I call out to her over the rain, standing beside my bike. She is already halfway up her driveway when she turns to look back at me.

"People are going to start thinking things, you know that right?" She yells back, crossing her arms over her stomach, her dress sticking to her figure. I tell myself that this is my mission. If I want to go home, I need to make her fall for me.

I walk towards her, the only sound around us being the pounding of rain on concrete.

She looks up at me. "Rumors are already going around, Cole. Lies spread like wildfire, I've seen this sort of thing happen before." Her voice is quite, nervous. I reach up, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear.

"What if it wasn't a lie?" I ask, meeting her eyes. "Would you believe it?"

I can hear her heartbeat jump over the rain, it doesn't take her long to nod. "Yes." She whispers. "I would." I run my thumb along her cheek, tracing the path of the raindrops as they fall down her skin. Her lips part slightly, silently inviting me. Her heart is pounding, racing in her chest.

But despite the speed of her pulse, her heartbeat ceases completely as I bring my lips to hers. Even though her pulse jumped, she doesn't seem startled, almost like she had been waiting for this moment.

My hand brushes her waist, my fingers slowly make their way up her dress.

Just as she begins to lean in, I break away, giving her a small smile.

"Bonne nuit, Juliette."