Atrocious

- Chapter 13 -

I don't know why I liked so many of them, but they had a charm that I couldn't imagine without.
But why were so many men interested in me? Why was that?
Certainly not because of my belly fat or round face. And maybe a lot of it was just a coincidence. Vlad was interested and Hizashi and Shota were just incredibly nice.
'Was Shota just being nice?
So what was it all about?

Hawks was standing in the kitchen, making something to eat out of my pitiful leftovers. He was still wrapped up in the blanket, standing in front of the cupboards with bare legs and thick socks.
"Can you put some clothes on, please?" I shouted from the open bathroom and pulled on my own pants and sweater.
"Do you have any clothes from your ex that I can wear?" he called back and I heard him laugh.
Sucker.
He still had his back to me, so he couldn't have expected me to throw a pair of trousers and an oversized sweater at him.
"Ouch!"
"Don't cry, superhero."
I remade the bed and stuffed the smelly bed linen into a laundry bag to take to the general laundry room later. If the money came loose again, I wanted to get a washing machine for the apartment.

We carefully checked my supplies. But apart from yakisoba, pudding, coffee and water, there was nothing.
"Well then, we're starving now," he said disappointedly but with a certain wit and loudly closed all the kitchen doors.
The fact that he was here made me uncomfortable. Well, as a teacher, I would still have plenty of opportunities to meet outstanding heroes. At a level that was better than this one.
The alcohol and my predicament had brought us to where we were now.
Still, it made me feel good but also uneasy.
"Sorry...but hey...you must have other commitments to attend to, right?".
The question was meant nicely but it barely came out of my mouth in a slightly different tone than I had intended.
"Are you trying to chase me away?" he asked indignantly and his little wings, wrapped up in his sweater, began to tremble violently. He held his hand in front of his chest, badly shaken.
I could see his muscles even through the fabric and tried to look into his eyes.
It wasn't any better.
They flashed mischievously.
"I mean...," I began, searching for the right words,"...Midnight invited you and I remember how close she got to you that night. I mean, wouldn't she have been the better choice? I mean, to look after her?"
In my eyes, that was a fair question.
"Midnight is special...in her own way. Sometimes I can handle it, sometimes I can't. Don't get me wrong-" he raised his arms upwards in defense, "-I'm not without it either and you either get along with me or you don't." He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. "I thought about bringing her here too, but what she did yesterday was unforgivable.

I was on a tear at the time. That much was certain. She had said something to Hizashi and me and it had hurt me. But for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was. 'Should I ask about it? Should I throw myself into displeasure?
"I don't remember what she said," I whispered tiredly, "but I was hurt."
"You don't need to hear it anymore. I guarantee I won't say it," he said and stepped closer.
"I'm glad I "saved" you and not Midnight." He stepped a little closer again and gently tapped my forehead with his index finger, "I like what's in there..."
He smiled at me and I smiled back. His hands were now resting on my shoulders.
In fact, no one had ever said anything like that to me before.
Most relationships had ended up being purely physical and I never saw any general added value other than distraction.
There was just one component missing.
The mind.
The mind and your environment are essential to developing your character.
'It makes you.
"Hey, don't get lost in thought, okay?" he laughed and I watched him throw on his clothes from yesterday.
"You're leaving?"
He pulled his jacket on and the little red wings squeezed through the designated openings in the back.

To his surprise, I walked up to him and carefully touched the connection between his back and wing crest, stroked the red, slightly shimmering feathers and plucked off one that was hanging down.
"Watch out, that's my sensitive spot," he clicked and saw how I had placed his feather on the kitchen counter.
"A reminder," I assured him and smiled painfully, "Not to overdo it, otherwise a hero will have to rescue me."
"Come on, Anna!"
He opened the window and climbed over," You liked a service like that".
He raised his hand to say goodbye and jumped out.
The first thought in my head was that he could fly.
The second was that his wings were small and tattered.
'How could he fly with that?

Shaking and cursing, I jumped to the window and looked down.
There was no one there.
The courtyard was empty.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Hound Dog, who waved to me in a friendly manner and then continued his work on the beds.
Reassured, I threw myself onto my freshly made bed and looked towards the kitchen counter.
'What a morning'
The big red feather was still in the same place.
And the big bird had flown.
I knew Hawks was considered a charmer.
On top of that, his intelligence should not be underestimated.
He may have been my age, but his behavior and his mind were much more advanced - when he wanted to be.
I grinned to myself, stood up to pick up the quill and went to my desk.
I wedged the tip of the quill between my books so that it stuck out like a red mast.
'A warning sign?

The shower was calling to me and under the showerhead, with the hot and very soothing water, I rubbed away the worries of the evening and thought about the last few days.