Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Culmination

Theo was on fire, not literally, just in the sense that she had been killing every reading lesson she had been having with Ava. Her outburst that one night was long forgotten. Theo had to dig deep inside to push down the anger and frustration that always threatened to rise but she had managed to do so. She was now piecing three-letter words together and excelling at it. She was sure to get lines on her face by the end of the length considered how much she was grinning. When a lesson was over, nothing could knock her confidence. Not even a two-hour long session of Cooker grilling her.

Ava was a big part of the reason Theo was doing so well, and Theo recognized that. Her patience was otherworldly and Theo swore that Ava was a charming fairy, sent down by the Islander god of patience and wisdom. She explained the topics with such ease and clarity, once Theo sat down and actually listened she began to grasp the concepts much quicker. Ava and Theo had been laying on their stomachs behind Theo's desk. Theo had just finished sounding out the last word in a sequence that Ava had written out.

Ava squealed in delight and threw her arms around Theo, giving her an awkward half-hug from their position on the floor, "Theo, you did it in one try!"

Theo chuckled, "I did, Red. Thanks to you."

"That's all you," Ava reassured her and squeezed Theo closer.

Theo froze up. It wasn't like Theo wasn't physically close with her friends, it was a habit of hers to be overly touchy with them at times. That was just the pirate way, affection through physical touch and roughhousing was commonplace, speaking about feelings was not. But Ava had been progressively getting closer and touchier with Theo in the recent suns and Theo never knew quite how to react. She was in an odd place. She loved Ava's touch and that was the problem. Her body would react, warm cheeks, and a rapid heart race, but her brain would scold her.

Theo would tell herself that she was being creepy. Ava being close affected her in a different way than other people being close did. It was more than friendship, Theo wanted a physical bond with Ava. Beyond that, an emotional one too. Theo told herself that allowing Ava to get closer under the guise of friendship was not fair. Ava would not be acting the same way if Theo told her the truth. If Theo said that she was falling for the rich girl, Ava would probably keep her distance and that was something Theo didn't want to happen. So she figured if Theo could keep the physical distance between them then everything was okay.

Except Ava was relentless in her journey to see Theo's sanity be derailed. Every night, whether it was during training or reading, there was a moment where Theo would feel the air leave the room and all she could do was stare at Ava. If Theo was a fool, she would think that Ava wanted to kiss Theo as bad as Theo wanted to kiss Ava. But Ava was not a nox. Even if Ava was, Theo was probably last on her list.

"Now it's your turn," Theo said and dodged out from under Ava's arm and stood up, "Give me ten laps around the ship and then meet me in the room."

Ava got up and did as she was told. Theo waited for the redhead in the training room, using the time to do a bit of target practice. That night they had a rough training session. Ava had run her laps and did her strength training. Once Theo was satisfied with the progress Ava had made she pulled out the sticks again. The challenge: knock the stick out of Theo's hand. Round after round and Ava was no closer to finding the trick to winning. She may have now been able to stay toe to toe with Theo during hand to hand but she was no match during their stick game.

Theo could tell Ava was getting frustrated and Theo wanted to give her a win. She found out through training that Ava reacted well to small boosts of confidence. Theo dialed back her effort and Ava suddenly found herself in an even match up. Ava noticed the shift, probably thinking Theo was running out of steam. A second wind hit her and she began to attack, advancing with every hit. Ava managed to twist her pole in a way that when she pulled, Theo's pole was knocked out of her hands. Ava extended the pole towards Theo as if she was holding the sharp end of a blade to Theo's neck.