Beast, Blood, & Soul

* 31 *

Space, distance, perspective.

This mantra was the only thing keeping me sane.

Breakfast ended up being an awkward affair because Ceren and the M&M's couldn't keep their mouths shut. It started innocently enough. I was eating my breakfast, trying to ignore Mindy and Marcus's overtly and not-even-adorable fawning over each other on the other side of the table. Ceren and Brandan came into breakfast together and I raised my eyebrows at them both. Ceren refused to look me in the eyes. My eyes drifted toward Brendan and he just winked. I tried to hide my snort of laughter but Ceren just rolled her eyes and then grabbed her breakfast.

I expected her to sit away from me but she came right over and sat down next to me. I smirked at her, "Brendan, huh?"

"Shut up," she muttered, which made me laugh.

"Since when?" I asked.

"We've been off and on for a while." She responded, still not looking at me. So I nudged her with my shoulder. She looked up at me.

"At least you guys aren't like those two," I nodded at the other two who if I didn't know better was putting on a show. Mindy was busy feeding Marcus and calling him "baby boy" when he ate off her fork. Marcus was enjoying himself and calling her "Snookums" in return. There was something...smarmy about them. Marcus has always been smarmy, but I guess he finally met his match. When they say there is somebody for everyone, I guess they mean it.

Remind me to tell my boys to NEVER call me snookums. *shudder*

Brendan sat down next to her, "We don't need anyone to know or care about what we're doing." You could tell he wasn't impressed with the show on the opposite side of the table.

"You're just jealous," Marcus smiles. Did he think we cared that much?

"Don't listen to them, baby." Mindy coos. Marcus returns his attention to her when she goes to feed him a sausage and mumbles something that makes Marcus blush. Mindy then eats the other half from his lips.  

I think I'm going to be sick. 

"Don't you worry, Snookums. Daddy only cares about his baby girl. See how I mark you up all pretty so everyone knows your mine?" He runs his hands over her neck where we can see a series of hickies on her neck. Mindy giggles for him.

Okay, that's enough of that. I deliberately turn my body to Ceren only to find her looking at me. Or more importantly, my neck.

"Where did it go?" She asks. My eyebrows crease as I don't know what she's talking about.

"Where did what go?" I ask.

"Your hickie." She pointed to my neck. Oh, crap! I slap my hand where Jin left that big hickie on my neck. I thought I had gotten lucky that she didn't talk about it on the shopping trip, but I guess not.

"It's gone?" I ask. I'm not near a mirror and I didn't even think to look for it this morning.

"Totally gone. Did you cover it up with makeup?" She takes my hand away to get a better look. "Yup, totally gone."

I look around the table and everyone is looking at me. Jealousy shines out of Mindy's eyes, but nobody catches it because they are all looking at my neck.

I get up to check out my neck in my dorm room and Ceren follows me. I go into my bathroom and turn the lights on. Sure enough, the dark bruise is nowhere to be seen.

"You were so out of it yesterday I didn't have the heart to tease you about it, but I was totally going to give you hell about it today, and now it's gone. I can't even embarrass you properly." Ceren pouts. "Are you a fast healer?"