What's Love Without A Little Fear [MFL: Jonathan Crane, Book One]

Chapter Three - The Mind's Power Over the Body

Chapter Three – The Mind's Power Over the Body
Jonathan Crane

Often I found myself thinking about how much I hated the students that I taught. I adored teaching intelligent minds such as my own and Olivia's, but the brats I was forced to educate were all idiots.

The students were simply rude and obnoxious, and while I didn't mind them picking on me, seeing as I was rather used to it, it was Olivia whom I was concerned for. Ever since that brat caught Olivia and I together, she's been awfully quiet and distanced.

Entering the lab early in the morning, I blinked in surprise when I found Olivia already there, deeply immersed in work on the toxin.

I had never seen her here before me, so this was rather odd.

Approaching her, I noticed how focused she was, and also that she had rather dark circles under her eyes, as if she had not slept very well. I gently placed a hand on her shoulder, but that seemed to be the wrong thing to do, as she jumped, dropping the test tube she had been working on.

Glass shattered and spilled across the floor along with the yellow liquid, which started to let off a thick vapour that rose slowly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She whimpered, causing me to look up and find that her eyes were flashing with unshed tears as she looked at the broken vile.

"Olivia, it was just one container, it is not really that big of a deal..." I coaxed, allowing her to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me down slightly to her level so she could hide her face in the crook of my neck, causing me to chuckle lightly as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Yes, I... I'm sorry, I'm just a little..." She trailed off, seemingly not knowing how to finish the sentence.

I opened my mouth to reply, but, then I noticed the room starting to flicker around me, and I realized that neither of us were wearing anything to protect us from breathing in the toxin.

Olivia seemed to catch on also, as I felt her tense in my arms and heard her let out a small whimper of fear. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths and attempting to steady myself.

Once I seemed steady, I opened my eyes and looked around the lab, seeing that everything seemed normal, except the broken glass was gone from the ground and Olivia was nowhere in sight, causing me to frown in confusion.

Had any of it actually happened? It was possible that I was so sleep deprived from my work that I had simply dreamt it all happening.

No... it was not rational to assume this was a dream... but, this couldn't be the effects of the toxin, there was nothing here to be afraid of.

Frowning, I scanned the room once more, this time noticing that Olivia was indeed here, slumped over in a chair near the window. I hesitated, cautious, wondering why she was over there when she had been right beside me a moment ago... was the toxin affecting her and not me?

"Olivia?" I called out gently, slowly approaching her, though I stopped when she didn't move. "Olivia, are you alright?"

She was silent, causing me to swallow the lump in my throat and continue to approach her, stopping in front of her and kneeling down to place my hands on her shoulders. Was she unconscious?

"Olivia..." I pressed, gently shaking her by the shoulders, but, as I did so, her head lolled to the side and I noticed the blood trickling out of her mouth, and the glassy eyes staring into nothing.

I recoiled in shock, feeling my heart beat pick up as I stared at her in horror.

After a second I stood up, pulling her up into a standing position and holding her against me. I was supporting her weight entirely, as she was standing by herself. Taking her face in my hand, I turned her gaze to mine.