She's a Monster

7

God I hate the way she makes me feel when I sit down in front of her every day.

Her teeth were like unnaturally white pearls, lined up in neat rows too perfectly. I use that word a lot to describe her don't I? Perfect. A smug little smile was plastered on her face, eternally mocking me. That smile told me that she had me in the palm of her hand, and it was unsettling because that might've been the truth.

"Why are you staring at my mouth?" It was a question that was innocent enough, but caught me off guard in any case.

"I'm not." That was the best response I could think of. Seriously.

"You're really stubborn and you're a liar," Ash sighed as she rolled her eyes. Those lilac irises were so beautiful, the way the light played tricks on the varying hues of purple. "Do you think I'm attractive?"

Heat rose to my face as I furiously and annoyingly clicked my pen. Ash smirked, evidently entertained by the effect she had on me. She was like a sly cat batting at her toy.

"I-I guess so." It was her turn to be taken aback by what I said. She furrowed her eyebrows, not believing her ears.

"What?" she choked. The sight of her so caught off guard made me giggle like a little schoolgirl. In these little exchanges, I forget about all the awful things she's done that landed her in this prison in the first place. I forget not to get lost in her face, which drips with arrogance and coldness.

"Well, there's no point in denying it right? Objectively, yeah you're pretty damn beautiful." I tapped my chin, averting my gaze upwards. "At least, on the outside." I snickered. I half-expected for Ash to laugh with me, but between her generally emotionless disposition and the fact that my comment wasn't hilarious, I guess I can't blame her.

"And what do you think of my personal characteristics?" She had this strange way of speaking. Cold, detached, formal in a sense. I searched her face for a sign of some kind of feeling beyond her mask, but I couldn't detect anything until I focused in on her with my powers. It was faint, but it was there. She was nervous about my answer, whether she even knew it herself or not.

I stuck out my tongue teasingly. "You're rotten, to the core. You're cocky, manipulative, and apathetic for the most part." I paused, choosing my next words carefully. The look in Ash's glinting lilac eyes watched me with the same patience and precision of a lionness. I chewed the inside of my lip tenderly. "But I don't dislike you, and in fact, I'm drawn to your company for some reason. I'm drawn to you, because I sense that there's a person buried deep inside the dark recesses of your heart. I've made it my work to rescue her." I sat up straighter, as if my declaration gave me strength in resolution.

Ash burst out a soft, melodic chuckle. I let a frown flit across my features.

"What's so funny?" I huffed angrily. She was always laughing at me, mocking me as if I were a little child.

"You, silly," she said as she stopped chuckling. She set her gaze on mine and set her jaw. "Can you share your feelings with me?" I tilted my head, but nodded and walked around the table, dragging my chair along with me. Her piercing stare followed me through every movement. I plopped down on my chair, concentrating on the pastel irises as I brought my immediate feelings up to the surface. I felt determined, slightly puzzled, and foolishly hopeful. Ash's eyes softened, evidently pleased by what she was feeling.

"That's enough," she said gently, so I shut the stream of emotions off. I gasped for air, the exchange draining more energy from me than I expected. I leaned on the table for support, propping my arm up on the surface and resting my cheek in my palm. Ash watched my display of exhaustion in silence, the only sound in the room being my labored breathing. "Why do you want to help me so badly?"