The Lost Souls

Stealing You

My lips tingle, like how a tablet fizzes in water. It's similar to the feeling of his fingers around my wrist, but far stronger. He sits on the bonnet, looking pretty proud of himself. The tips of his ears are bright red again. I haven't said anything; it's been about 5 minutes. Neither of us has said anything actually. I don't know how or why it happened. Is this a Virtue custom I'm not aware of?

Don't be ridiculous. 

"I feel like I should apologize for what I just did but I don't want to," He speaks honestly, I mean, he said lying was against his morals so he must be. He looks at me and those devastatingly dark eyes still look the same way. Right now it feels like he can see what I look like inside. It stopped hailing after he kissed me, the pitter patter of soft but fast rain beats on the roof of the car instead.

We must look mad, sitting here in the pouring rain, not even bothering to cover our heads from the downpour. I say nothing, I don't know what to think or feel right now, my head feels like water boiling in a pot, too much going on and too jumbled up. I can only concentrate on the feeling of my lips tingling. I bring my fingers to my lips, they feel different, and the tingling seems to vibrate against my finger. I look up at him again, only to realize he's staring back at me with those eyes again.

I wasn't prepared for this to happen. I was supposed to stay away, and now I've gotten myself into this horrible mess. But what does this mean for me? Does this mean he feels the same way I do? That's impossible, I'm not a Virtue and definitely not as near pretty as they are. I'd be all wrong for someone like him, I would be disastrous. I could ruin him; everything I am would make me responsible if I lost him because I selfishly wanted him. He's a Virtue, he's not meant to be mine, and I'm stealing him from a pretty Virtue girl who's waiting to meet him. I'm stealing him from a world of opportunities just for thinking in this way. But I'm too selfish to let him go so easily, I'm a sinner after all, it's what we do.

"What are you thinking about?" I shrug in response. The winter is making me numb; I want to go back to my warm home and change into warm clothes. Maybe I'll have soup for dinner. I get up, soaked through and through with rain, snow and emotions. I dust off my coat and stuff my wet hands into my damp pockets. "Ready to go?" I nod, waiting expectantly. I don't know how to get back by myself; he jumps off from the bonnet with more skill than necessary. I have the urge to roll my eyes at him. I look up at the sky; I've never been around this late to see a colour as dark as this. It's quite pretty, a mix of navy and charcoal grey. There are points of light which bring the night alive. The only thing that bothers me is how the trees around us look like silhouettes of people waiting and watching. He looks at ease compared to me, the corners of his mouth upturned and his long, confident strides. I wonder if he has ever had anything to be afraid of.

It's a long route of winding paths and sharp turns, branches nearly hitting me in the face and being attacked by more harsh weather. The temperature has dropped lower; icicles grow on tall trees, ready to drop. Wind bites my cheeks, pinches my ears, I now wish I had brought a hat with me. "How long?" I chatter through my teeth after a while, the agitation grows on me the darker it gets. I feel paranoid, there's a reason why the dark scares me so much. I don't know specifically what it is but there must be a reason to explain this.

"Not long," He murmurs and I fight the urge to glare at him for such a short answer. That eerie feeling of something watching me appears again. That thing. What if it comes? What if it attacks? It's dark; I don't know where I'm going. I'd have no chance. "Hey..." A soft whisper and a warm hand suddenly touching mine. Could he sense my nervousness? "Don't worry, I'll get you home." This is wrong; I shouldn't be getting so close to him. But his hand is warm and mine is cold. I'm a bundle of nerves; he's a wave of calm.

Soon enough, we reach the car, covered in a new coat of snow. We walk past it; the fogged windows don't look so friendly anymore. Cars are meant to be driven, not just dumped in the middle of nowhere for no one to find. We walk past it, kicking up snow in the process.

"If that thing survived here, I wonder what else did." I've been thinking the same thing. This forest goes on forever and how much do I really know of it? There could be all kinds of thing hidden away and tucked in corners. For all I know, if I ever reached the end, there could the edge of a cliff and a dark sea in its company.

The ache at the back of my knees reappears. I think I'll go straight to bed when I get home, I'm exhausted. It's tranquil, it comes down in waves from above, and when I look up I see a sky filling up with stars. They're nothing compared to his eyes though. He walks ahead ever so lightly, because his legs are longer than mine. The back of his head is neat, his neck covered by collar of his coat and the hair shiny with wet snow. His shoulders broad and followed by long, confident arms. His boots sink into the snow with every step, squeaky clean and steel-toed.

The moon comes into view and so does the darkened windows of my home. A harsh wind blows in my face aggressively; I think the temperature might drop even lower tonight. I haven't realized I'm still holding his hand. Well I didn't realize till I felt the wind because it was a chilling comparison. I hesitantly take my hand out of his grip trying not to offend him in the process. He doesn't seem to notice and I don't know what to think of it.

I think he'll go his separate ways now that I'm familiar of my surroundings but he still walks by my side. Have things really changed between us? It seems ever since his arrival, all I’ve been doing is thinking and thinking about problems I can't seem to solve. He walks me to my door and then stands there on the porch. It takes me a moment to figure out he's waiting for me to go inside.

"Thanks for today," He smiles so dazzlingly I think I've lost my breath from it.

He reaches in and I suddenly worry he's going to kiss me again. His warmth caresses my skin, and his lips touch my forehead ever so slightly. I stare wide-eyed when he pulls away; he grins and then turns to walk away.

I smile before I even know I'm smiling. He doesn't see, but the moon does.

- 

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