Pride x Familiar (28 page)

Wow, they were so soft yet firm too, and their
shape was amazing.

I knew she had an impressive bust, but I’d never
had physical contact with it. I wouldn’t have dreamt of touching
her without her permission. Absolutely not.

Pain or no pain, my lower extremity was
beginning to make its approval felt.

Surely she could feel
that
? Her knee was
right on it.

I felt myself blush in embarrassment as I lost
control of
it
. No amount of pleading was going to get it to
back down.

My eyes were wide open, and so were
Haruka’s.

Large, brown eyes that were warm and
inviting.

I swallowed in mounting panic as I felt myself
fall into her gaze. “Ha—Haruka? Um, it’s not what you think?”

She remained silent, and I could feel her body
rise and fall with every breath she took as she continued to lie on
my chest. I didn’t need my Fragment to allow me to sense the
beating of her heart. I could hear it and feel it as clearly as I
could feel mine.

After what felt like an interminable length of
time, Haruka slowly shifted her body over me, dragging herself
higher. Now her face was directly above my face, and our lips were
only inches apart.

I knew in a heartbeat what she had in mind. I
had to try and talk her out of it.

I had to at least make an effort – token
resistance as it were.

“Haruka, don’t. You’ll regret it—”

I lost my lips to her.

I couldn’t stop her from kissing me, and I mean
properly kissing me.

Down below, my body was raising the mast and
hoisting the white flag in defeat.

I couldn’t stop her any more than I could halt
time.

After a little while I gave up and nervously
wrapped my arms around her, my hands settling on the small of her
back.

It wasn’t how I’d ever pictured kissing her, but
then again, very rarely do plans like these go to plan.

But what right did I have to complain.

I was kissing the girl of my dreams; the girl
I’d fought for on countless occasions; the girl I’d hoped would one
day walk by my side as my girlfriend and maybe more.

She broke the kiss, and drew back a little.

I felt the warmth between us slowly wane away as
her eyes searched my face.

She didn’t move, she just kept looking at me,
blinking slowly with her long dark lashes.

She was so beautiful. If I was dreaming all of
this I would cry and tear apart my room upon waking up.

But I wasn’t waking up.

She felt real, as did her taste in my mouth. As
did the warmth of her body, and the softness of her firm
breasts.

What was she waiting for?

Was she waiting for me to make the next
move?

Was that it?

Was she giving me the chance to decide how this
ended…or how this began?

I swallowed down her taste in my mouth – a
rather pleasant taste.

Make a choice. Take a chance. Grab onto her and
don’t let go!

Did I have the courage to do that?

I was a Familiar, and she was an Aventis,
something I’d convinced myself I hated.

But as I looked up at her, how could I dream of
hating her? How could I have ever said those hurtful words to her
seven months ago?

How I could I have been so stupid?

I reached up and cupped her face, and then drew
her lips down onto mine.

This time, I was the one kissing her.

After all these years, I finally had her in my
arms, and I had no intention of letting her go.

How could I have so stupidly tried to cut my
ties with her?

I loved this girl. I’d loved her for so long,
there was no way I could ever stop loving her.

Her lips separated from mine, and raised herself
on her elbows.

A sudden fear gripped my heart and an emptiness
filled my chest.

She was going to leave.

She was going to rise to her feet at any moment
and then leave.

And then she would act as if none of this had
happened.

I felt the emptiness inside me swell to
agonizing proportions until it bordered on the unbearable.

The dream was coming to an end.

It really was time to wake up and face
reality.

I swallowed in anguish as I looked up at
her.

Her eyes were clear, and her face was flushed
but her expression was calm and serene. How could she think of
shattering my heart while looking at me with such a face?

I couldn’t find the strength to say anything,
not even plead with her not to leave.

I could feel the tears welling up in my
eyes.

Haruka’s voice was a whisper.

“I love you….”

I felt my heart beat painfully. Would she still
leave, after saying those words? Would she flee the rooftop?

My voice was anything but steady, but it was
there when I needed it.

“Haruka…please, don’t go. Please, don’t ever
leave me again.”

She blinked slowly, then broke into a smile.

“No, I won’t ever leave. And I won’t allow you
to leave me either.”

With her fingertips, she brushed away the
moisture in the corner of my left eye.

“Big boys don’t cry,” she whispered, then
lowered her lips to mine once again.

(Haruka)

First Semester, School Week Two.

Tuesday went by.

Wednesday come along.

I had a message from Duncan on my school mail
account. He wanted to talk. The tone of his message was
apologetic.

I read it a couple of times and wondered what I
would say to him.

I liked him, I truly did.

But I’d gone and complicated everything.

I had chased Caelum down, intending to explain
everything and come clean. Instead, I’d taken the
bull by the
horns
and subsequently lost control of my heart.

I’d let the reins of self-control slip free of
my grasp, and spent the remainder of the lunch break kissing him
over and over on the hard rooftop.

I loved him.

I’d always loved him.

I couldn’t run away from the truth anymore.

I didn’t care what my parents thought.

I didn’t care what my classmates thought.

I didn’t care if I was bullied or harassed.

It couldn’t change how I felt about him.

I really, truly, madly and very deeply loved
him.

And I knew he felt the same away about me.

It wasn’t the Countess he loved.

It wasn’t Caprice Steiner.

It was me. Of that there was no doubt in my
heart.

So now I had a problem – what to do about
Duncan?

But before then, I needed to talk to Siobhan and
Alistair. I needed to tell them the truth, and hope for their
understanding and support.

The door to homeroom opened and Caprice Steiner
walked in. The room grew quiet as she entered, and a number of eyes
followed her progress to the back of the room. With her customary
lack of expression she walked to her smart desk and sat down.

I glanced at her over my shoulder.

I wasn’t the only one throwing glances her
way.

From the holovids uploaded to the cynet I knew
she’d been injured. She’d been stabbed through her chest by a three
foot long blade. And yet here she was, sitting at her desk four
days later looking as good as new.

Even an Aventis couldn’t achieve that kind of
recovery.

Inhuman. No, it was beyond human. A
preternatural healing ability amplified exponentially by
interaction with the Symbiote.

She was something not quite human and not quite
Aventis.

Something
familiar
to both.

Caprice’s eyes met mine. Her expression was flat
and dull, but not her eyes. They looked into me, into my soul as
the saying goes, and I suddenly feared she knew everything that
happened between Caelum and I on the rooftop.

I tore my gaze away and looked to the front of
the classroom.

That couldn’t be? How could she know, unless
someone was watching us.

The door to the classroom opened again and a
number of my classmates wandered in.

Caelum followed a few steps behind, closing the
door as soon as he entered the room. His gaze went to me, and I saw
the flicker of a smile on his face, but then his eyes found Caprice
and a look of shock spread across his face.

Shock that quickly turned to relief.

He walked quickly up to her and sat down at his
smart desk that was situated beside hers.

He looked happy to see her, and I saw the
familiar faint smile she often bestowed on him adorn her face.

I turned away, unable to watch them anymore.

I understood what he was doing, ignoring me
while at the same time acknowledging me.

There was no choice. I had matters to deal with
on my end, loose ends to tie up. Caelum had promised to leave them
in my hands. So for the time being he acted as though yesterday
never happened.

But it did happen, and I couldn’t help the
painful jealousy that welled up in my chest.

I wanted him to look at me that way.

I wanted him to pay attention to me that
way.

I clenched my hands under my desk, digging my
nails into my palms until I felt them slick with my blood.

#

(Haruka)

Lunch time.

Siobhan, Alistair and I were sitting on the edge
of the sports field where the Track-and-Field club was doing their
daily round of training during the break.

I had talked them into coming here to the grassy
knoll overlooking the field.

There were a few students around, but none close
enough to overhear us, even if they had the improved hearing that
comes with being an Aventis.

I told them about yesterday’s experience with
Caelum on the rooftop.

Siobhan stopped eating, put her lunch box aside
on the grass beside her, and then grabbed her hair in despair.

“Haruka, please tell me you just made all that
up.”

“No, I didn’t. It happened.”

Siobhan groaned. “No, no, no. This is bad. This
is really bad.”

“Why is it bad?”

“Because a lot of students know that Duncan is
keen on you. I heard it on the grapevine. He couldn’t wait for
school to being again so that he could see you often.”

“Okay….”

“Don’t you get it? If you dump him what do you
think people are going to say?”

Alistair added her thoughts. “Dumping a star
athletic, grade aye student, all around nice guy with good looks
for a Familiar that’s infamous on the cynet for destroying private
property.” She laughed while sipping her canned soda. “How
romantic.”

I felt somewhat aghast when she put it that
way.

Alistair and Siobhan stared at me.

Siobhan muttered loudly, “What were you
thinking?”

“I wasn’t. I wasn’t thinking at all. I let my
heart take over.”

Alistair quipped, “You’re doomed.”

Siobhan whined, “She’s doomed? What about us?
What are they going to think of us?”

I arched my eyebrows at them. “Well thank you
for the support.” I stood up, and took the remains of my lunch with
me. Conveniently it was contained in a plastic container that I
could seal up like a lunch box.

Alistair asked, “Where are you going?”

“To find Caelum and to indulge in my
illicit
affair.”

“Well, good luck,” she said, “especially now
that Caprice Steiner is back.”

I froze for a heartbeat then looked down at her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Alistair looked up at me. “You’re being
naïve.”

I felt a flicker of irritation toward Alistair.
“I’m being naïve? You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, I do.” Alistair closed her plastic
container. Unlike Siobhan and I, Alistair had finished eating the
contents. “Haruka, you should take a good look at the holovids
people uploaded.”

I hesitated before asking, “Why?”

“Because you’ll find the answer to the question
you’ve been denying to yourself.”

“And what question would that be?”

Alistair stood up then stepped up to me until
she filled most of my vision. “The question of whether or not
Caprice Steiner holds a place in his heart.”

I didn’t know how to respond to her. At the very
least, I had nothing remotely intelligent to say, so I chose not to
say anything.

But now I had no idea what to do.

What if Alistair was right?

What if Caelum had lost a part of his heart to
Caprice?

I knew nothing of what his relationship was with
that girl. There was seven months of his life that were a complete
mystery to me.

Alistair sighed in sympathy or was that empathy.
“You should be careful of the Countess as well.”

I blinked. “The Countess?”

“Simone Alucard Raynar,” Alistair explained. “On
condition of anonymity, my brother let slip that the Countess has
expressed an interest in him.”

I stared at Alistair. Condition of anonymity? I
shook my head inwardly. “What kind of interest?”

Alistair looked at me through narrowed eyes. “A
very,
very
serious interest. And that girl is gorgeous and
extremely determined. So whether you like it or not, you’ve got
some serious competition to contend with.”

I took a half step back. “Then…then what should
I do?”

Alistair glanced away for a moment. “Why not
test Caelum’s love for you?”

“Huh?”

“Why not use Duncan as the perfect foil?”

Siobhan stood up in a rush. “No, that’s too
evil.”

“Is it?” Alistair asked.

Siobhan countered, “Then let me just call it
dangerous
.”

Alistair regarded the two of us. “Let’s put it
this way. Let’s assume Haruka was just lost in the moment. I mean,
she’s a girl with deep feelings for Caelum Desanto. It’s
understandable that in such a situation she would be swept away by
the strength of her emotions. I have to admit, Caelum isn’t hard on
the eyes. Quite the opposite. And he looks quite well built, though
he’s not as tall as some of the other guys.” She shrugged. “It’s
not something I mind.”