*All characters portrayed are intended to be 18 years of age or older at the time of portrayal, at any given point in the story*
Sorry for the delay, for those of you who wanted a continuation, the few that you are. Life has given me quite a few challenges, and some I managed to triumph in, and others not so much. You'll have to forgive me. In this chapter, our girl Laura has a memory, of when she is 18 in her last year in high school, and reminisces about her dating history, with no intention of going into detail about her young adult life. Please and enjoy and leave commentary for improvement! It took years to edit this, and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed a few things. ~Aven
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As I lay in my bed that night wondered about the individual who was sleeping on my couch. Last night, after his shower, he came out slightly dry and smelling like lavender, which I found endearing, but his nose was scrunched into his face. I gave him one of my shirts, which he was surprised to find, fit him to his standards, which in fact only happened because the shirt was actually my dad's and I stole it. I got him a pair of gym shorts, which he was also surprised fit him (again my dad's) and fixed the couch so he could sleep. It took all of ten minutes to hear his breathing deepen.
I tiptoed quietly to his side and watched his face. In the dark I tried to watch for rapid eye movement. I watched slowly as the skin over his where his eyes would have been flicking back and forth was almost a luminescent skin. The veins were small but ran all over the skin there. It was clear that he didn't see sun often, and his eyelid less so.
Eyelids? What exactly do I call the skin here?
I shrugged at the internal thought and made my way back to my room and crawled into my bed. Curling my legs into my abdomen, I wondered what kind of life Nicholas had lead. "But he's not Nicholas.
Aye, you let a man in your house and didn't even ask his name?
" I shook my head at myself. "Well I guess we can find out tomorrow. If I'm alive and he's still here." I gave myself a rather pitying smile, with the knowledge that "Nicholas" could very well kill me in my sleep or just get up and leave with all of my belongings, to which I had few.
Stefan
Stefan didn't sleep. He rarely ever did at night. The constant thrumming of electricity made it too loud. After Laura had settled him in on her couch, said good night, and told him where the cups were if he needed water, Stefan laid on the couch and counted the minutes it took for him to hear Laura's breathing deepen. He recalled her standing over him briefly before making her way to her room.
Stefan chuckled quietly to himself. Getting up, he walked over to the sliding glass door.
He had effectively gotten the basic layout of the apartment.
The walls and appliances were the easiest because they gave off the most heat. The furniture was a little harder. During the thunderstorm he had barely paid attention to the furniture.
Originally, he had just come to retrieve what he had hidden behind her refrigerator, but that plan went out the the window as soon as she woke up. He scoffed at the memory. Shaking his head, he tilted his face up to the sky.
Originally, Stefan came to retrieve a new drug that the government had been working on to make others like him. The drug was lethal, and it could only be used on unborn children.
Anger welled up in Stefan. Anger for the kids that were like him that never got squat in life. Anger for the people who would be tortured just to make sure that the government had weapons of their liking.
Pressing the side of his cheek to the glass he touched the skin over his eyes and gently pushed until he could feel his soft underdeveloped eyes. Voices chanted in his mind, goading and chiding him. He could hear older men laughing at him.
"What kind of freak creature are you?!" "Grew up in a cave?! HA! Well of course you did. Nothing that looks like you could ever walk around in broad daylight." "What a freak."
Salamander.
That was what they called him at the facility. He was the one and only
salamander,
with all the insults and animalistic reputation that came with the nickname.
He didn't miss that place. He didn't miss the intense color in which he could never rest. White energy all around him 24/7. The people walked around like they were being sucked dry by the building itself. He watched them mill about like orange power zombies that looked washed out and half dead. The people that worked longer hours in the facility looked worse. Their eyes had darker colors and they looked like pale walking energy blobs with dull gray holes for eyes. Stefan recounted the people until his mind felt sickly and cold like he was still stuck at the facility having his very essence drained from him. There was a loud cranking sound as Stefan turned away from the glass door to observe the apartment.
The electricity crackled in the tiny living room. He watched the electricity consistently shoot to the technology that required it. The apartment looked blue, with occasionally purplish hues in lines painted across the room pulsing vibrantly. The room was bathed in it. The things man created amazed him. Stefan let his mind wander as he caught sight of the sleeping figure in her room.
The first time he saw Laura during the storm, he thought he was speaking to a vision. Her own electrical energy, vibrant, with a warm bright aura glowing from inside her. She looked like a goddess down to the very tips of her hair that extend far beyond her body. Just recalling her body warm up, and change color while he teased her, Stefan gripped the dining chair he was leaning on tighter.
She was like a star.
He'd never seen anyone shine that brightly, let alone glow even brighter and warmer. He shuddered. His entire body ached to see what they would look like together. What color she would change to with him buried in her to the hilt. He rubbed his hands over his face. He faced her room again and watched her chest rise and fall some more. Despite being under blankets, Stefan could sense her getting colder. He knew she was beginning a dream, which was obviously not a good one. Her colored dropped to a dull reddish yellow. Quietly, he walked to her door and opened it. He could hear her breathing from the doorway, but in such close proximity his heart began to race. She tossed in her bed, obviously in fear of something and kicked at the covers.
He knew that touching her would scare the shit out of her, but that's all he wanted to do. He should've left the city a long time ago, but he stayed. He stayed because he wanted to be beside her.
Quietly, Stefan moved closer to her bed until his was leaning right over her. He calmed his heart, and breathed in deeply. Her heart rate started to slow and she began matching his breathing rhythm. The smell of lavender suited her natural scent. She began to glow with a healthy golden orange. She sighed contently. Stefan pulled at his face and stood up straight.
