There Must Be Something More ( Bellroc x Jim Lake's older sister Iris Lake)

Hey,New Friend

Tonight,the eagerly-awaited sequel to A Leopard's Love Story, would be available for streaming.
She would be prepared; charged laptop, cosy position on bed, and delicious snacks.
Her bottle of Double Choc Muffin Milk was chilling in the fridge,and her sandwich was grilling in the oven.
In fact,it looked just about done. Iris softly sang Unwell as she placed the two aforementioned items on a tray,and walked off to her room.
This slow rock-song had been the background music to last night's dreams.

She didn't find anything unusual,at first. Laptop,headphones, packet of yogurt-coated cashew nuts, bowl of Texas Chilli Flavor-tortilla chips.
Skrael,eating her nuts.
...Skrael.
"Hey,I'm nuts about cashews too,Ice Prince. "
He gave a start, turning with wide eyes to look at her.
" There's still some left..."he said sheepishly.
She counted five or six in the packet he was now holding out to her.

Iris looked more closely; not at the sad few uneaten cashews,but at the demigod .
He was tired. Eyes dull and face solemn. His head lowered, weighed down with too many busy thoughts and replaying memories.
Skrael was smiling like his usual winter fae-self, but it hurt to look at, as ice hurt to touch.
She sat down, and he adjusted himself to be sitting next to her.
" You had fun on Movie Night,yeah?"
" Yes. I found your moving pictures very entertaining. "
" It's nice that one of you did, at least," Iris sighed. " Bellroc isn't good at pretending. I was touched that they tried for my sake."

The demigod jumped like he'd sat on a needle. His teeth clenched together, as his face twisted into a grimace.
" Don't tell them I was here."
He floated upwards. She grabbed his cloak and held tight.
" If you don't wanna tell me what's...what's making you be weirder than last time, you don't actually have to. But I'm not telling Bellroc anything. I want you here. It'd be awesome to not watch stuff all by myself. "

A faint light glimmered behind his disquieting eyes. His expression relaxed.
" Truly?"
" Truly. Don't go. It's nice to have you here again. "
She switched her headphones with the earphone splitter,and plugged the former ( along with spare earphones for Skrael) into the laptop.
Something was gnawing at her.
Also,at Skrael. And he'd already been eaten away by it, on the inside.
He seemed like her packet of cashews, emptied and paper-thin. Fragile enough, to rip at the slightest pull.
Glossy black hairs twined round his fingers, making subtle snapping sounds as he strained them till they broke. He kept his eyes on the screen as she opened Moon( best streaming service in Arcadia), but his hand was under his helmet, pulling out more hairs,and more hairs.
Pull out,play with, break .
Snap, snap, snap.
His restless, unconscious fiddling distracted her, ears unable to block it out,his motions ever- present in her peripheral vision.

She remembered what she was looking for. This was the first movie she'd accidentally clicked on, she wanted the sequel.
Snap,snap,snap.
She selected A Leopard's Rescue Mission,then paused it.
" Skrael? Last time,you and Bellroc-"
He gripped his arms, nails digging in.
His breaths quickened.
She frowned.
" - you and them, didn't like fiction at all. But I wanna ask if you'd give just one fiction thing a chance. You might like this. "
" I will watch a little of this leopard story."
She held the earphones in her palm.
" Put these in your ears."
" That might hurt..."
" Not the entire thing. Those soft buds at the ends . "
He put them in,watching her and waiting for an explanation.
" I'm going to press Play. You won't hear the sound in the room. It'll be directly in your ears, coming from each of those hard pieces with the soft buds attached. They're called 'ear-phones' ..."

Skrael's unsmiling mouth curved into an amazed grin. He repeatedly pulled out one earphone at a time ,put it close by his ear, then back in his ear, then did the same with the other.
" I quite like these 'earphones '. "
"Glad they cheered you up. Want me to press Play?"
He nodded, and she played the movie.