Gehenna's Gate

The Diary of Jane

After they'd finished dinner, Xiao carried their empty plates to the sink.

"I'll wash, you dry."

Vena agreed, grabbing a clean towel from the cabinet nearby as the sound of the water turning on reached her ears.

As she watched him begin to clean the dishes, she forced down the lump growing in her throat, her eyes drifting to a nearby painting on the wall.

"I'm ready to ask you those questions..." Her voice gently trailed off, worried to push her luck.

Xiao didn't respond. Instead, he simply gave her an expressionless looked at her from the corner of his eye, but it didn't look like one of disagreeing.

"Starting with that night at the library... did you follow me?" Vena was surprised at herself, being so bold, but she wasn't going to let this opportunity slide.

Putting on her best poker face, she simply waited, taking a clean dish from his hand once he'd finished cleaning it to start drying.

After a few more silent moments, she looked over at him expectantly, now noticing a smile tugging at his lips.

And just like that, her thoughts dissolved, leaving a new one in its wake- she wanted to kiss him, badly.

Taken off guard at the sudden intrusive thought, she took a step back, dropping her gaze to her feet after placing the plate on the drying rack.

"What?" Xiao's voice had dropped a tone, his eyebrows arching when she looked back up at him.

"Nothing- nothing." The girl gave a shake of her head, praying her poker face had gotten better since she started trying to be more conscious of not wearing her emotions on her face, hoping they wouldn't betray her at a time like this.

Her heartbeat had quickened, and that odd feeling settled back down into the pit of her stomach.

The dishes were finished rather quickly. Xiao moved to take the towel from Vena to dry his hands, his hip brushing up against hers as he did.

For a moment, neither of them moved, and the girl prayed he couldn't hear the sound of her heart in the silence.

Feeling a chill run down her spine, Vena took a step back, watching as the smile crept back slowly onto his face out of the corner of her eye.

"Scared?" His voice was so low, just above a whisper.

"No," Vena shot back a little too quickly.

"Liar."

Her pulse edged up a degree.

"I'm not afraid of you-!" Hands clenched awkwardly at her sides, her eyes glued to the sink in front of her as her thoughts raced.

"I might be afraid of-" Her lips clamped shut, realizing she'd started speaking without fully thinking the sentence through as she cut herself off quickly.

Silently, she cursed herself, knowing she was too far deep now and he wasn't the type to let things go. He'd pester he until he got his full answer.

What was she supposed to do now? Admit that everything about him frightened her, in both good and bad ways? That would only add more fuel to the fire, he'd just provoke her even more than he usually did.

"Of liking me?"

The words were spoken low, almost in a husky tone, and she hated how the sound practically sent electricity up her spine.

"Yes- no!" Vena bit her lip, her mind betraying her as her thoughts raced a million miles an hour, her mouth unable to keep up with the various emotions she was feeling.