Unexpected

Getting Back to 'Normal'

My blush was instantaneous and my whole face felt like it was on fire. I lifted my book up to cover my face, "You're cruel sometimes, you know!"

I heard his chuckle which only made me shrivel up behind my book all the more. "Honestly, we've been edging around this topic all day and how could I resist?"

"Sorry." I mumbled, peeking over the top of Harry Potter's pages, "I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'd taken my medication and it made me drowsy and-"

"Oh, Penelope, always with your apologies. There is no need for them! When I looked up from the end of your story I found it very hard not to laugh out loud upon seeing you fast asleep on that chair. I had thought you were being particularly quiet and I feared that I was boring you! So it seems I had."

"Oh no!" I put my book on my lap and waved my hand, "You weren't boring me at all! You're very good at reading aloud! It was the pills!"

"Well, I am glad that is settled." He said, his smirking grin still plastered on his face as he sat back in his chair again to read.

I sighed silently and my mind buzzed for a minute as I just stared blankly at my book. Well, at least that conversation was over, and he wasn't angry about it or anything. I was still mortified, however, and my face was still bright pink no doubt, but I just had to say something to finish it all off, "It was very sweet of you, by the way, to cover me with that blanket."

He didn't respond verbally to my comment and I refused to look up at him to see how my words had affected him as I started actually reading. It was only a short while before I had finished the book, and I went on to the second story of the series, 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. A couple of hours passed before I rose again from the pages of the book at Loki's dismissal and left with the tray.

Upon entering the kitchen I found it to be empty, Ben and Ed evidentially having left some time ago, and I washed the tray and its dishes myself, completely absorbed in my thoughts of the day. I had enjoyed it, very much so actually, and I wasn't altogether sure how I felt about that. Several times today I had gotten more comfortable with Loki than I felt comfortable with, and it seemed to me like he'd done the same with me. I knew who and what he was, the Norse god of Lies and Mischief. I shouldn't open up so much to him, shouldn't trust him as much as I felt myself trusting him today, and over the last week as well. Thinking back to when I had been first kidnapped, he'd seemed like a monster to me, a pure villain, and now I was going on day trips with him, telling him all about my past, and chatting with him almost as if he were a friend. I'd been comfortable enough to fall asleep in his room for heaven sakes!

Looking over to the counter I found my pad of paper with the page that had listed the ingredients and instructions for the chili and cornbread looking up. The dishes cleaned, I moved over to the paper and flipped back to where I had written journal entries. When had I stopped writing them? I read my words, descriptions of my first few days and of my nightmares. I couldn't become comfortable, I couldn't trust him or anyone here, and I couldn't allow this feeling that had grown in my chest to remain. Under no circumstance would I succumb to the old cliché of Stockholm syndrome or whatever it was called. I would not fall for my captor. Not that I was. But I had to be wary for it. I'd been here for a week now, and it was probably not too long until Selvig found the component for the Tesseract's machine that he needed that would send this entire operation on track for world domination and an alien war! I had to get my head on straight!

Leaving the kitchen and cafeteria behind I grabbed my pajamas and whatnot from my room and took a quick shower with my music blaring, before crawling into bed. Even with the drowsy effects of my medication it took a long time for me to fall asleep since my mind was so confused, thinking over everything I had been through in so short a time. When sleep did come, it didn't come without dreams and I was tossed into a strange dream of Loki and me strolling through the park again, but for some reason off in the distance there was a tornado twisting around, uprooting cars, trees, and buildings. All around us people were running and screaming, but we just kept walking like there was no issue. I guess I couldn't call the dream a nightmare as I had often dreamt of tornados in my childhood and they had long since lost their fear factor for me.