3: Swimming Upstream

 

Warning: crappy pictures! I must've been tired when I took these.

"I thought you said you would never see me again." she spat with a note of sarcasm in her voice.

"Unfortunately," he began as he took a look around her humble living area, "something has happened that I cannot ignore." He threw his hands up before slapping his thighs in an aggravated fashion. "That's just the problem. I can't ignore it." he said as bubbles from the sink covered her hands. "Would you please get out of my head?"

"I'm not in your head. You're in mine, remember?" she said laconically.

"If I'm in your head I can't get out then. Whatever it is that you did, make it stop."

"I didn't do anything." she said simply like she was talking to a child.

"Yes, you did! Would you like for me to repeat everything you've thought last night and this afternoon? I'm assuming you slept most of the day."

She spun around to face him, leaning against the counter for support. She dried her hands on her shorts before she asked, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You mean you don't know?" he asked as he took a few more steps in her direction.

"No. Why?"

He sighed and scratched his head, "I suppose I hoped in vain that you would know what to do." He paced back and forth in front of her agitatedly while she stared at him with wide eyes. 

"Oh, and that whole bit about your choices being taken from you, don't for one minute think I don't feel the same way! Don't you find it exceedingly odd that your vision told us we'd end up together somehow?"

She looked down and thought about how she'd long ago given up thinking anything about her visions were "odd". They were what they were, and she knew she'd figure out the "odd" things eventually.

When she didn't answer, he continued, "What if I don't want anything to do with you?"

She shrugged and waved her arm to indicate her house. "Nobody asked you to come over tonight! You're here because you have a problem! And you're only here because you think I can solve it! Well, guess what?! I can't." She paused a moment before she continued, "So stop saying you want nothing to do with me! Don't you think I've gathered that already?"

"So I take it this has never happened before?" he asked, deciding to ignore her outburst and get back to the reason he was here.

"No... you're the only vampire I've ever met. We don't really see any of 'your kind' here." she said, and as she said 'your kind' her lip curled up in a sneer. "Most don't believe you even exist."

"I've never heard of this happening before. Not to this extreme anyway." he said, determined to keep the conversation on getting her out of his head.

"You really heard everything?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yes, and not only that, but I felt every emotion too." he said somberly.

Thrill she thought sarcastically.

"Oh." he continued. "And thanks for the compliment." he said with a grin. After her look of confusion, he added, "The eyes thing."

Go to hell. She glared at him. He merely laughed in return.

"Already there, I'm afraid." he said as he turned to go.

Gabriella knew this wouldn't be the last time she'd see him, but she was glad to see the back of him as he walked to her front door. She leaned back on the counter with relief.

Almost instantaneously, he was standing right in front of her with an angry expression on his face. "You know, you really piss me off with this attitude that you assume that since every other time you've been right, you'll be right this time as well!"

"It's not an 'attitude'; it's fact!" she panted, his sudden nearness making her very wary."Lord knows I don't want to be right this time!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" he barked back at her.

She backed into the counter as far as she could, feeling trapped. 

She was all but sitting in the sink as he lorded over her, just staring at her thinking God knows what.

So she doesn't read my thoughts as well. Psychic, not a mind reader. Good. Nathaniel felt somewhat reassured by this revelation as he sensed her wondering what he was thinking. How was it that just as he was about to leave he had that urge to run over and argue with her right in her face? He just got so mad that she was glad to see him go, and that mildly hurt his ego. That was a bad idea. It brought him too close to her. He could smell the sugary cereal on her breath.

She's wondering if I'm going to kiss her he thought with a touch of shock. Am I? No. That would bring us one step closer to her vision coming true. I should leave now. He quickly stepped back as if she had suddenly caught fire and he didn't want to get burned.

He turned and walked a few steps to her door once again.

She quietly followed him. "I'm sorry." she said out of the blue.

"For what?" he asked after he turned around again, curious as to what she'd actually say.

"For dragging you into all this. You didn't ask for it either. It's not really my fault, but I'm sorry all the same." she said to him in nervous embarrassment.

Nathaniel wondered about the woman standing in front of him. Since yesterday, all he'd seen of her and felt later convinced him she was an absolute shrew - complaining about everything, having a temper-tantrum, and generally being mad at the world and especially him. This sudden change of mood caught him a little off guard. It was a pleasant surprise, all things considered. 

She started speaking nervously again, "I just... didn't want you to leave angry. It would've bugged me later."

Even though it shouldn't. Why should it bug me if he's mad? she thought to herself. But I'm going to have a hard enough time going to sleep tonight anyway; why make it worse?

A unforeseen softening of his heart to the girl made Nathaniel suddenly furious. He could feel it happening, yet he fought against it like he was fighting to swim upstream.

"Get... out.... of.... my... head!" he said harshly to her while working hard to stifle the urge to shake her. Mildly frightened of his own anger, he fled out the door.

Gabriella concentrated on trying to control the frantic rate of her heart. She'd apologized and that's how he took it!?! What was wrong with him?

What was her life coming to? He must hate her. Who could blame him if all he'd seen of her was how she's acted the past day or so? In fact, he was probably listening in to her little pity party right now. AND he didn't want to! Sure, she'd love to "get out of his head", but she didn't know how she got in there so how can she get out?

Nathaniel didn't get far when he ran out of her house. He came back and stood outside her front window and felt awful about he acted. He just felt so angry that he was starting to believe the vision could be right, and he felt powerless to stop it. 

Again, he felt like he was swimming against a strong current. He knew he had to figure out how to block her out of his mind. He knew he should stay away from her and forget her, but how could he when he couldn't help but think about her every second?