A/N: I'm sorry for the huge gap in updates. Since you'd never bother reading the reasons up here, I posted them at the bottom. Thanx, guys, for the reviews. They mean a lot.
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Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be mine. Sad. ;-;
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ch.11
It was boring. That's not a very good description…but it's true. It was so boring I nearly cried. As soon as I got there, the manager told me how to work the cash machine, he told me when I needed to restock the shelves and everything, then left me to it. He didn't even tell me his name. There was another girl working there with me, but she was quiet and barely said anything at all to me, no matter how much I tried to be friendly. So I did the only thing I could…I worked.
I really won't bore you with the details of gathering things from the back and putting them on shelves, or dealing with every customer that came through asking for something. It was the first day of my new job, and I hated it. Not good.
When lunch break came, the other girl working there (I think her name was Jill or Jackie or something) was out that door faster than I could even blink. I shrugged, then hopped up onto the counter, pulling a container of leftovers out of my bag. While I was eating, I picked up the phone and dialed my number. It rang three times before it was picked up.
"Hello?" Legolas said on the other end.
"Hey, it's me," I reported, holding the phone between my ear and shoulder as I took another bite of food. I could hear a breath of relief at my proclamation.
"How is everything?" he asked. I let out a sigh.
"Normal."
"'Normal'?" he repeated. "What do you mean by 'normal'?"
"It's boring," I replied, and heard him utter a noise of understanding.
"I take it that you're not liking it very much?" he asked, and I gave a mirthless laugh.
"Are you kidding? It sucks. But it's a job. I'm not complaining as long as I get money to do it."
"Hm," he murmured in agreement.
"So how's your day been?" I asked.
"Fine," he sighed.
"Tell me the truth…" I urged him jokingly, and he laughed.
"Alright, well, let's just say this place isn't as…bright…without you here."
"What do you mean by that?"
There was a small pause, and I guessed he was fiddling with something on the other end, because I heard shuffling. "I miss you," he finally said. I really didn't know how to respond.
"Oh," I uttered, a really intelligent remark on my part, thank you very much. "Sorry." Another brilliant comment.
"Don't apologize. It was actually my doing that got you out there in the first place."
"So…what have you been doing?"
"I read some more of 'Eragon', I watched TV for a little while, and I was actually sleeping when you called."
"Seriously?" I asked, a bit surprised. "You didn't sound tired at all when you picked up."
"It doesn't take long for elves to transfer from the stage of sleep to when they're awake," he informed me. "It's not that way for humans, as I can see that you're still hovering between the two areas when you first wake up." I laughed as I recalled the way I shuffled around and mumbled incoherent things to anyone who asked me a question in the morning.
Suddenly, the annoying little bell above the door tinkled, and I glanced over to see some guy walk in and come to the counter, looking at me expectantly.
"What was that? I heard something," Legolas said, sounding confused.
"Oh, I'll see you later," I replied. "I have to go back to work."
"That's fine," he said. "I'll see you when you get home."
"Bye," I said, and, after he repeated the farewell, I hung up and hopped off the counter. "May I help you?" I asked, leaning against it and flicking my eyes up to his face. I swear, my jaw hit the floor.
Now this, dear reader, is the beginning of the bad stuff I told you about earlier. One might think it good to have a super-hot guy standing across the counter from you, wearing a warm smile, hazel eyes sparkling, but believe me, it wasn't good.
And I fell immediately for the bait. This guy was gorgeous, and I was stunned. And then he spoke. I heard angels singing in the background.
"Yeah, do you have any birthday candles?" he asked me. Such a simple question, but to me it seemed frosted with gold. "My niece is having her third birthday, and you'd be surprised how many stores don't have any in stock."
"Uh…sure," I stammered, walking around the counter. "Follow me." I led him down the aisle, to the very back of the store, where an assortment of birthday supplies were hanging. He smiled and his eyes grazed over the choices.
"Thank you so much," he told me. "Out of everything my sister gave me to buy, birthday candles was the hardest so far."
"Really?" I asked, a bit surprised. "It shouldn't be that hard."
"I know. That's what I thought," he said with a laugh, plucking a package from one of the hooks. "It's odd. I thought cities were supposed to have everything."
"That's my guess," I replied. Suddenly he turned to me, and those shining hazel eyes met mine.
"What would you recommend?" he asked, and he held up two choices: a unicorn-shaped candle and a colorful three. It seemed so weird to be helping him select a birthday candle, almost like choosing an outfit or something. But at the time, it seemed…just fine.
"You say it's your niece turning three?" I asked. He nodded.
"Yup. Hopefully she'll break out of her terrible-two stage," he laughed. I smiled and pointed to the waxen unicorn.
"I say she might like that one. I know that I absolutely loved unicorns when I was her age," I informed him. "I had unicorns all over my room. Posters, wall paper, stuffed animals…"
The man, who had been placing the dejected candle back on the hook, smiled, but then he gasped, seeming to have remembered something.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, and glanced at me apologetically. "I forgot. I have to get her a gift."
"And I'm guessing you need help with that, too?" I asked, smiling pleasantly. He shrugged, grinning.
"If you wouldn't mind," he said. I just led him over to another section of the store, where the stuffed animal rack was. For some reason, as he was browsing through the assortment of fuzzy critters, we got to talking. I had no idea how he'd done it. He just popped a question and it set me off.
Even after he'd selected a gift, we still stood there, talking and laughing like we'd been the best of friends since we were ten. It was just so easy to talk to him. He had a friendly personality, and I felt like he would understand anything I revealed about myself…almost exactly like Legolas, when I think back on it. I learned some things from him as well. I was so comfortable around him. It was so weird. Like he cast a spell or something.
I'm not sure how long we were there, but he stayed with me until it was time for me to go home. Halfway through our conversation, my coworker, Jackie, I think her name was, came back into the store. She stopped right on the threshold, staring at my new companion with wide eyes. He smiled at her, but she didn't return it. Then she ran to the bathroom and locked herself in. I wondered at her odd behavior and asked him about it.
"Beats me," he replied. But I had this strange feeling that he would know what was wrong with her. It passed quickly when he smiled at me and picked up our conversation again.
To my surprise, he even offered to walk me home. I was flattered, and I led him through the streets to my apartment building, having a grand time talking with him along the way. When we came to my doorstep, he actually bowed and kissed my hand.
"Till we next meet, madam," he murmured in a smooth voice. "By the way, since we never got around to it, my name is Alexander. Have a lovely night."
"I'm Kyla. Thanks. Bye," I said, and he turned and began walking away. I felt that it wasn't the last time I would see Mr. Alexander.
Squealing softly to express my giddiness, I opened the door and ran up the stairs as fast as I could. When I got to my apartment door, I stuck the key in and flung it wide open, sending it crashing against the wall and ricocheting back, where I caught it and closed it slowly. The place was silent.
I put my bag down, along with my keys, and stepped quietly through the apartment, searching for Legolas. I finally found him lying on the couch, stretched out comfortably, his eyes closed. I smiled.
"Still sleeping?" I whispered to myself, reaching out and touching his cheek with my fingertips. He smiled and opened his vibrant sapphire eyes.
"Actually, no," he said, and I snapped my hand back, startled. He uttered and laugh as he sat up. "I woke up when you made your noisy entrance." He stretched languidly, raising his arms over his head. "So, how did it go?"
"Oh…fine," I purred mysteriously, getting over the shock and embarassment of him being awake and swinging around to make my way to the kitchen.
"And that would mean…?" Legolas drawled, standing up and following me.
"It meant that it was fine," I said, turning on the coffee machine. Legolas leaned against the counter that served as an island in the kitchen, looking thoughtful, his eyes on my back.
"Really," he mused. "Something tells me you have something that you're hiding." I gave a gasp of mock astonishment and spun around to face him, my hand over my heart.
"Why, Legolas!" I said breathlessly, putting on a good show of acting like a horror-struck damsel. "Are you calling me a liar?" The elf smiled wickedly. Uh oh.
"I might," he murmured, and then he just hopped over the entire counter and wrapped his arms around me, trapping mine to my sides! I gave a shriek of surprise and wriggled to escape his grasp, but he was a lot stronger than he looked. Eventually I gave up and lay limp in his hold, still shaking with giggles of how ridiculous the situation was.
"Now, Kyla," he told me, his warm breath washing over my ear. "Tell me the truth. When I spoke with you earlier, you were about ready to drop from boredom, as you told me. What's got you so happy all of a sudden?"
I sealed my lips tightly closed and shook my head. I felt him smile against my ear. "Well, we'll have to change that, won't we?" he whispered, and, before I even registered what had happened, he began tickling my sides ruthlessly. I gasped and began to giggle, squirming even more. Only when I was gasping for breath did he stop. My cheeks were flushed and I was breathing hard, my dark brown hair in a disheveled mess.
"Ready to tell―wait." He suddenly released me and backed off. I felt instant confusion and turned to face him. His head was cocked, like it usually was when he was pondering, and his brow was furrowed.
"What is it?" I asked. In reponse, he leaned forward and pressed his nose against my shoulder, taking a deep breath in. When he stepped back again, he was grinning like a cheshire cat.
"You met a man," he informed me. "I can smell him on your jacket." I felt my eyes go wide, but struggled to contain my awe.
"What are you now, a dog?" I asked jokingly, turning to the coffee maker again, where it was spilling slowly out into the pitcher. When I turned back around, Legolas was perched on the counter, his legs crossed. He looked boyish in that pose, since he was still wearing the oversized jeans and T-shirt.
"What's his name?" the elf asked me casually. I rolled my eyes and went to get a mug.
"I don't know why you care, but his name's Alexander," I replied. Legolas mulled over the name, mouthing it silently.
"Interesting. How did you meet him?"
"He was looking for birthday candles."
"So, when your kids ask how you and their father met, the answer's going to be: 'We met in the most romantic way! He was looking for birthday candles, and, I swear, it was love at first sight!'" He put on this high-pitched, shrill voice. He laughed as I slapped his knee in mock indignation.
"Honestly. Grow up."
"I reached my majority years ago, thank you very much."
I smiled and shook my head. Legolas was finally really starting to adjust. It had been slow at first, but he was more comfortable than ever before. Then he started to let out his sense of humor. I had wondered why he didn't let it show before that point. He told me that elves were slow to trust, and it sometimes even took years for them to warm up to another being. Letting out his sense of humor, apparently, was one of the signs that he trusted me.
"Usually we wait before we allow our lives to be placed in the hands of another," he told me. "But for you, in the beginning, my life already was in your hands. Without you, I might not have survived. And you dealt with me gently and took everything slow. That's why I trust you, Kyla. You deserve an elf's trust."
"Apparently your body matured, but your spirit is another matter," I said, and Legolas' eyes twinkled.
"I already knew that," he informed me. "So, besides birthday candles…what did you two discuss?" I rolled my eyes and poured my coffee.
"Stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Just stuff."
Legolas sighed in exasperation and hopped off the counter, landing lightly. "Fine, be that way," he said, walking from the room. "Maybe Fran'll be able to wrench some answers from your stubborn mouth." I nearly choked on my coffee.
"You can't tell her!" I said. That would be a disaster. The last time I told her I met a guy, she jumped all over me, talking a million miles a minute, then wouldn't let me leave her presence until I told her all about him. After that, she began musing plans and dates and what I should wear and―it hurts my brain just thinking about it. Legolas' head poked back around the corner.
"I can, and I will," he replied smoothly, grinning evilly. Elves may sound like nice creatures, but, I tell you, they are rather currupt on the inside.
"No you won't!" I shouted, and, placing my mug on the counter, I zipped towards him. He laughed and backed off as I tried to tackle him, blabbing threats of what I would do to him if he told. I pounced on him, knocking us both onto the couch, and there we wrestled until he finally got the upperhand and had me pinned to the cushions. As I panted, he said,
"Part of warrior training is hand-to-hand combat."
Then he gave me a smirk, the know-it-all.
See? It wasn't that bad at first. It was almost normal. But, I tell you, it turned out to be awful. And then I wished I'd never met Alexander in the first place. He was the one who caused so much distruction.
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I hoped you liked it. And here's the reasons I had you wait so long:
1. I had this HUGE writer's block that kept me from writing for such a long time. It honestly sucked big time.
2. School's been a little crazy, and I'm getting all this shit I have to do for homework and stuff, so that's kept me busy.
3. Just a little while ago, I was grounded for going to the mall, which is right across the parking lot of the movie theater, where we went, when my mother told me not to. TWO WHOLE WEEKS. Her reason was because my sister was with me, I wouldn't know what to do if she was kidnapped or anything, I was responsible for her, blah blah blah. Yeah, it's all about her.
4. About halfway through my grounding, my mom found something I was looking at on the computer that she didn't approve of. She even printed it out, the wench. Major angst here. First she yelled at me, then shoved about fourteen pages of what it was under my nose, then she made me feel like shit. I was crying so hard I couldn't even breathe. I'm talking like stomach cramping, whole body trembling, tears nonstop, getting headaches kind of crying. Really bad. It was resolved, but...more grounding.
Also, I'd been asking for my own computer for Christmas, and, since she found "The Thing I Should Not Have Been Looking At", she said I wouldn't be getting one. Her excuse was lack of money, but I knew it was a cop-out. So now I'm going to have to keep arguing with my sister for a turn on the internet when that could have been easily resolved if I'd gotten my own. The sheer disappointment kept me from writing.
5. Since I was feeling so oppressed, I rode out on my bike and met my friend. We stayed out for about two hours. When I got home, my mom went on about "I didn't know where you were, I was worried" and "I had your brother and your sister to take care of, along with their friends, so I couldn't go out and look for you". Excuses, excuses. She could have piled them all into the car to come looking for me, but that's beside the point. I'd been grounded and gone out to see my friend anyway, which was a big no no. More grounding and banned from the computer.
6. Back to the writer's block, which I just recently overcame. So I'm sorry if this chapter is a little "bleh", but things you produce after and major writer's block is always "bleh". Forgive me. I hope the next update will come sooner.
Reviews, please! As you can see, I haven't had a very good month. It would make me feel a lot better.