Audrey sat at the bar with Preston and Maggie. Brandon had to go work the stalls at the farmer’s market but promised to join them later. In the U.S the legal drinking age was twenty one, but all the way out here in the mountains, local authorities didn’t mind if kids started drinking at twenty. She was already on her third or fourth beer and was feeling pretty good. The only thing that would make this better would be if he wasn’t here. She thought to herself as she glanced over at James. It was four days until Auntie was supposed to ‘sacrifice’ her and James was doing his job of babysitting her splendidly. When she had gone to bed that night he sat on the roof right above her room the entire night. And this morning when she went to work at the farmers market, he had stood behind her the entire day. People were terrified of the kid and refused to buy anything from her father's stall so they told Brandon to take her place and Audrey instantly decided to go drinking and gathered up a bunch of her friends. Most of them were out in the large gazebo dancing to the live music that was playing on the outdoor stage. Audrey loved the summer bar. It looked like a tiki hut and had an amazing view of the mountain range out beyond the corn fields. It was a very popular hangout place among people her age. James was sitting in the corner of the bar, helmet on and not moving. She wondered what he had to be thinking. But the idea of him sitting there so casually made something in her head tick.
“I’m so sick of him.” She spat angrily as she took another large swig from her chilled bottle.
“What’s his damage anyways? Like, he needs to stop dressing like an Avenger.” Audrey snickered at Maggie’s comment and stood up.
“What are you doing now Audrey?” The lovely young girl called to her friend.
“ I’m gonna tell that jerk off.” Preston looked up from his glass of Jack and cherry cola.
“Aren’t you a little too drunk?” Audrey looked back at him and swayed a little.
“Nah. I think I’m good.”
“You’re too drunk. Just sit back down.” But the young girl was already stalking over to James. She pulled a chair over and sat backwards in it, facing him. Her knees touched his and she leaned forward to talk to him.
“What’s your deal man? Why are you doing everything that old hag tells you?” James didn’t speak. “Why do you dress like that? You look like an off brand wannabe Deadpool.” James still didn’t speak. “Stop ignoring me. you’re starting to piss me off.” Audrey glared at the defiant young man and wished that he would just up and vanish from her life. Finally James spoke in his emotionless voice.
“I’ve been told that I look like a guy named Riku from some game.” Audrey thought for a moment.
“Kingdom Hearts?” James nodded and she laughed softly. “You look more like Vanitas, from Birth by Sleep. Why do you dress like that anyways? You a weeaboo or somethin’?” When James was quiet again she unstrapped his helmet and pulled it off of him then turned it around in her hands.
“What even is the point of this thing?” She mumbled, peeking inside. James continued to look straight ahead as he spoke.
“It’s a helmet. You put it on your head for safety.” Audrey snorted, at least he had a sense of humor.
“But you can’t even see out of it.” This time his head turned towards her and she swore she saw a hint of a smirk.
“Considering the fact that I’m blind, there’s no need to see out of it. However, it does a lot. To anyone with eyes you can quite clearly see out of the front. The entire thing is made up of high grade, bulletproof material, the front is made of bulletproof glass and is only one way to conceal the identity of the wearer. It also enhances sounds in the surrounding area and can monitor heart rates within a fifteen foot perimeter.” Audrey scrunched her nose and clumsily dropped it onto the floor. She immediately forgot about it and looked back to James.
“You need to learn how to dress normal. People wouldn’t be so scared of you.” His sightless eyes continued to gaze at her and she suddenly felt bare.
“They should be scared of me. I’m a trained killer.” Audrey laughed again and took a drink from her bottle. What a dramatic weirdo.
“Please, you’re what, eighteen?”
“Twenty three actually.” Audrey stared at him as if he had just slapped her across the face.
“Well hell. You don’t look that old.” James leaned down and picked up his helmet and after dusting it off he placed it by his side. Audrey couldn’t help but smirk when she noticed he didn’t put it back on. The two of them sat in silence for a long moment before Audrey spoke up again.
“Were you born blind?” Audrey wondered if that was anger that flashed in his eyes but it was too hard to tell.
“No. I lost it Shortly after Auntie found me.”
“Do you know why?”
“No. I don’t. I woke up one day in her wagon, after she found me on the side of the road. We had met previously the same way. She saved my life twice now but this time she couldn’t heal all of me.”
“I bet the old hag blinded you.” James was quiet for a moment before speaking softly.
“I’m sure she did.”
“I bet anything that she put some ‘magical spell’ on you.” Audrey had to hand it to him, James had a killer poker face and not even the idea of Auntie stealing his eyesight made the boy flinch. Looking at his uncaring face made Audrey tick again and she dug her nails into her palms as she tried to stay calm.
“Do you even know how to feel? Cause this whole tough guy act is really annoying.” Audrey could see him tense and she briefly wondered if she had made him mad.
“I was taught that I should never let my emotions get in the way of my job. So I’m not really in touch with them.” Audrey was silent for a brief moment, deep in thought before laughing.
“That sounds like some sort of corny movie line.” When James stayed quiet she shifted closer to him. A smug grin moved across her lips as she looked him dead in the eyes. A dumb thing to do since he couldn’t see the challenging stare she gave him.
“I’ll teach you how to feel.”
“oh yeah? How do you plan to do that? Cast a spell on me like Auntie?” James’ sarcasm flipped a switch in the young girl’s head and without thinking Audrey stood up and pushed her chair out of the way, grabbed James’ shoulders and pulled him in to kiss him hard. She could hear Maggie gasp and Preston mumble
“I told her she was too drunk.” But Audrey didn’t care. She felt his warm mouth pressed to hers and felt like the whole world was spinning around her. Audrey felt half conscious as she kept kissing the strange young man who had ruined so much of her life in such a short amount of time. And when she let go of him he pushed himself up out of his chair and backed away from her. Without saying anything he scooped up his helmet and took off. Audrey stared after him and only turned when she heard a loud thud. Back at the bar, Preston was laying on the ground, looking around dazed as if he didn’t know what had happened, his stool tipped on its side beside him. Her and maggie broke into a fit of laughter as the two girls bent down to help their friend up and for just a few moments her mind wasn’t on James. After that, she didn’t see him for two days. But she knew when he was nearby. She could feel it in her energy. The way it reacted and hummed when he was close. Sometimes the thrumming sensation would go away but it never lasted for very long. She sat out in her front yard and felt his return one afternoon and briefly wondered where he went. Then an even more absurd question crossed her mind. Why didn’t she leave when he was gone? She had every opportunity yet she stayed. She stayed here and let him watch her all day and every night as she went to bed she could hear him laying down on the roof. What a dumb thing to do. On the second night after he settled into his usual spot, she got up and walked over to the window and opened it, the cool night air gently brushing her cheek as katydids sang in the grass below. She sat on the windowsill and after a moment of calm silence, spoke softly.
“You intrigue me James. I don’t understand you at all, and you act like it’s a bad idea to get close to someone. Maybe that’s what your problem is. You’re too scared of other people. But you don’t have to be. Not all of them are like Auntie.” Nothing. “ James? I know you’re there.” Still no response. “Fine.” Audrey let out a gentle sigh and slid off the sill, sleepily stumbling off to bed. After settling in she almost instantly fell asleep, she never heard James respond.
“You intrigue me, too. In a way that nobody ever has before. Maybe I am scared. But so what? I’m not perfect. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with these feelings. I feel like a child trying to sort out the mess in my head. In fact, until recently I didn’t really even have feelings. And you’re the one who caused it. It’s all because of you.”
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