Protector of Hearts

PoH Chapter 16

Author's Note: Okay, this... isn't going well. I've managed to contract block to the point that it's insane. Not only does it block out my writing, but it also blocks commenting, putting up statuses, etc. Anything that requires thinking and is one-sided is blocked.

Except for this AN apparently.

Yeah, so no more release dates till this horrible, long block goes away. I'm sorry D:

Enjoy, comment and vote please!

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Why, you may ask, does a rule exist to me as “no creeps, no stalkers, and above all, no players?” Fairly simple.

            I, because of my constant gaming (and thus lack of being social), attracted the… weirdos, there’s no better word, of the school towards me (I have never attracted a normal person to my disdain). So because of a few past experiences with those people, I had thought, never will I date a creep or a stalker. The no player part was the easiest one to answer. For one thing, they’re players. For another, I’m a Protector and players just give me an “uh… no” feeling.

            You see my problem?

            He broke away for an instant, to breathe, and I took the opportunity to shove him away as much as my body and mind were screaming no. I understood something in that moment.

            I wanted my best friend.

            ****

            “Lin, I…”

            ALECK’S POV

            “Lin, I…” I had no idea where I was going. I had just been shoved away from one of the best moments of my life, and to see the hurt face of my best friend. As if she was going against something that she desperately wanted.

            She shook her head quickly, and got up, pulling on my hand. I got up easily, and she took me to the front door. It tortured me to see her like this.

            “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her voice made my entire being shiver with how much power there was in it, and even more, how melodic it was. I’m not sure why she had chosen today to speak… she couldn’t possibly know, could she? “I can’t.”

            She couldn’t possibly know.

            She was just going on her own rules, wasn’t she? But couldn’t she break them? Am I not important enough for her?

            I become conscious of something.

            I wanted my best friend.

            ****

            “So did you score with my sister?” Trent asked when I had fallen onto my bed. I felt half-dead, something I hadn’t felt in a while. My mind kept wandering back.

            “Why do you insist on calling her your sister?” I asked, but my voice was barely audible. Trent said something, but I had already slipped back into thinking about that moment. I wanted to go back, break down the door…

            “Hey!”

            Trent snapped his fingers in front of my eyes.

            “I said that it’s out of habit,” he repeated. “Besides, I do care for her. You try living with her your mortal lifespan, and see if you can bring yourself to not care. Oh wait; you have spent your mortal lifespan with her.”

            Trent gave me a fleeting look because he knew I wasn’t really listening. “Just… sleep and try not to be awkward tomorrow.”

            LIN’S POV

            Why didn’t I figure it out all sooner? Why did I have to find out so unexpectedly? The thing with Aleck, both things.            

            I flipped over in my covers, unable to sleep. I had long come up with a theory as to why I had never sensed the demonic presence in Aleck, Aaron, and Trent. Aclytes had another trait differing them from normal demons: abilities. Aleck probably had some cloaking ability that he could share, and so he had covered himself in that as well as Trent and Aaron.

            Then my feelings for him. There’s no one to betray. Protectors don’t have their own society as demons do. We’re just… here. So even if I ended up falling in love with a demon, I wouldn’t be getting into trouble. Hell, most likely no one would even know!

            But still… that’s my best friend that I’m thinking about…

            ****

            I found my PSP on the couch when I came down in the morning. Hooking my headphones into it, I grabbed a piece of bread, too lazy to toast it, and went out onto the porch. On normal days, Aleck would have to honk at me to get me out of the house…

            “Oh, you’re leaving?” Trent came downstairs, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Man, when I was in high school, I don’t remember leaving so early.”

            I shrugged, my grip on my PSP tightening.

            What am I doing? My brother’s not going to attack me.

            Why am I still calling him my brother…?

            “By the way, Aleck’s already waiting outside,” Trent said. “Go on, no point in avoiding the awkward.” He pushed me out of the front door and right into Aleck. Trent had a smirk (or was it an evil smile?) on his face as he waved and shut the door fast enough that I couldn’t go back in.

            “So… let’s go.”

            ****

            “Alex’s going to borrow the pickup so we’re walking,” Aleck said. He was slightly blushing, and I felt warm myself.

            It was a quiet walk till halfway through.

            “Lin, I want to talk to you about… uh, yesterday,” Aleck suddenly said. My headphones slid back, not because I had pushed them, but because my head had snapped up so quickly that they fell to my neck. “When we were sitting on the couches, I was thinking about what I had been thinking when I kissed you the first time. And the reason I did it a second time was to confirm those feelings.”