The Day Fairies Existed

Chapter 22

Selene and Mallory were in the bar when Cupid arrived a few days later. The fairy sat down and knocked on the counter like he had heard others do in his first weeks at the Greenway mansion. "Mal, I need a drink."  Laying his head down, Cupid mumbled. "Please hurry with it."

Glass slid against wood. "What's wrong?" Mallory asked gently. She wasn't one for prying into personal lives, but the pixie had expected Cupid to be, if not happy, at least not sad.

He grimaced, setting the small glass down. "Crystal hates me now and I don't know why. She keeps saying she can't forgive me for... well, I don't know! The past few days have been..."

Mallory frowned. She had heard a little about the other fairy and Cupid's feelings for her, but now assumed their relationship was over. "I'm sorry." The pixie said, moving closer but not sure if she should touch him.

Cupid looked bored. "Thank you very much. Less sympathy; more alcohol."

Selene appeared from back carrying a stack of plates. Mallory took the plates and silently indicated Cupid. The vampire nodded, bringing his current emotions to mind and slipping into a stool next to him. The fairy leapt up and moved away like she carried some contagious cancer. Selene tried to follow Cupid again, with the same result. She paused, frowning. "You need help." Her airy voice echoed through the large hall. "Why won't you let me help you?"

"I don't want your help!"

Frustration. Desperation. Loneliness. Nervousness.

"Selene, get away from me!!"

The vampire pushed a little deeper. Desperation. Longing. Panic? Shame? About what?

"Stop reading my emotions! I don't love you, Selene!"

She inhaled sharply— it was too late. Shame, regret, and embarrassment. And then, love. The vampire relented and gazed slowly to Cupid, as did Mallory from the counter. The pixie arched an eyebrow at Selene, who spoke in that trademark faraway tone. "I never said you did. No one did."

Cupid froze, realizing his mistake. With an animalistic groan, he buried his head in the nearest table and sobbed tearlessly. Things with Crystal had been going fine (excluding Tick's screaming) until the second dose of whatever that liquid was. Cupid assumed it had made him go insane and allegedly try to murder his girlfriend. After he tried to explain that he couldn't remember any of it and Crystal convinced he was lying, she simply vanished. The fairy wouldn't speak, stepped in near silence, and every time Cupid tried to use magic to find her, Crystal cancelled it with her own burst and then moved, taking extra care not to touch him. For the first time since they had known each other, Crystal deliberately and spiteful took advantage of his blindness. And Cupid hated her for it.

Selene moved away, trying to sort out her own emotions. She knew she liked him, and Crystal was out the way— why couldn't she just tell him? Selene growled in self-frustration; Cupid was the only one who accepted her for who she was and yet the empathic vampire couldn't express her feelings. Or could she?

In some crazy feat of courage, Selene grabbed Cupid's hand, reflected her feelings to him, and let go. Cupid blinked— he knew. But like the crash after a sugar rush, she disappeared before the fairy could reply. He knew.

Confused, relieved, and ashamed at his relief, Cupid left to find Selene. His relationship with Crystal was— on hold, and he hadn't realized how far he had fallen for the vampire until Crystal was gone. The fairy headed to Abigail's room (the wizard had snuck out with her secret boyfriend) because Selene often retreated there for solitude. Her room was a fortress of semi-eerie peace: like a graveyard on a clear night.

Before he got there, though, Cupid heard a faint pop (Isaac teleporting), a yelp (Isaac recognizing Cupid), another pop (Isaac teleporting away), and distant heavy breathing (Isaac recovering from that shock). The fairy paused. "Isaac? What are you doing?"

"Stay away from me!"

"Why?" Cupid thought they were friends.

"What do you mean why?! You'll kill me like you murdered your girlfriend!" Though he tried to optimistic, the nightly gore had slowly blurred the lines between dream and reality. That, and Pan had told him Crystal was dead.

The fairy was immediately offended. "I didn't kill her! I might not remember everything that happened but I know for a fact I didn't kill her. I'm not a murderer." He was met with disbelieving silence. "But I might have to be if you go around spreading lies."

Isaac gasped, backing against the wall in that awkward way centaurs sit. "You just threatened to kill me! You're going to kill me; you'll cut me in half with that sadistic grin you always have. You'll tie me up and rip me from limb to limb with your mind!"

"Um..." Cupid began, thoroughly confused. "What are you talking, Isaac? We're friends— I would never hurt, much less dismember you! Where did you get that crazy idea?"

The centaur looked deeply hurt. "It's not crazy. I don't know what it is, but it's not crazy; it's true— you killed me every night since Chloe's birthday party. Every. Single. Night! And I wake up screaming! Tell me that's not true." He narrowed his eyes, planting his hooves. "Tell me I don't terrify Spike every night shrieking in pain. I try to be optimistic, but there's a breaking point for everyone: and you caused mine!" Isaac paused and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Stay away from me. Go socialize with that undead freak all you want, but you stay away from me and Mallory. You might have killed your girlfriend, but you're not touching mine."

"Undead freak?" An airy voice repeated.

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That's what Selene and Cupid were talking about in Chapter Somewhere-In-The-Teens— thier mutal love. I really need to label my chapters. I usually do, but with 22 (plus the prologue), I don't want to go back and change it. Oh, well! Isaac goes a little crazy here, what do you think? I'd probably be a bit different if I had repeating nightmares about dismemberment. And Cupid wasn't there to set him straight in time. I guess time doesn't heal all wounds. Or does it? What are your thoughts on that saying? Please actually answer. No one does so I feel weird putting these questions out. Anyway, thanks for 100 reads! See you later, PuzzleFox.