Echo in Her Mind

Twenty-Four.

There was a lot of laughter between Ruben and Harper throughout the night, a lot of glares thrown Bethany's way per Harper. Bethany felt as if she was third wheeling on a date that she was never actually invited on. She just sat there at the table of the restaurant Harper had brought them to.

Bethany wondered how much longer they would have to feed into this feeble act. They had certainly wasted too much time on this vessel, and it appeared that Ruben was getting way too comfortable, to the point where she wasn't even sure if he was acting anymore.

They had long past finished their meal, and she was growing impatient. When Harper asked Ruben if he wanted another drink, Bethany took it upon herself to kick his leg from under the table in response. He had appeared shocked at her actions, and she was sure the look on her face said enough to get him to shape up.

He coughed, clearly embarrassed.

"How about you take us on a walk; it is very much the weather for it."

It was clear that Harper wasn't very happy about the suggestion, as her smiled turned into an obvious pout, and Bethany wasn't sure what Ruben was going to say to convince her, so Bethany decided to stand up, hoping they would follow suit.

"Afterwards, maybe you could drop your puppy off, and you could accompany me back to my place for some late-night fun," she advised Ruben with a wink, grabbing his hand in the process. "I think she's a little jealous." Harper giggled.

Bethany bit down on her bottom lip, drawing a little blood from the pressure, and attempted to hold in the nasty remark that was begging to explode out of her mouth.

She would be the one to know about jealousy, she thought instead.

"Of course, my dear," Ruben replied, and Bethany looked down at him like he was crazy. It was almost as if he was put under a spell, completely unaware of their purpose here.

Finally, the two of them stood up, and Bethany moved to the side to let the two of them go ahead of her. She had to make sure she kept a close eye on them so that Harper didn't try any funny business. She didn't expect to have to babysit on this mission, and she definitely couldn't wait until it was over.

The sun was slowly beginning to set around them, and Bethany began to prepare herself. She very much dreading getting this emotion back, and hoped that it wouldn't turn her into such a horrible person as the one walking in front of her.

Bethany watched as Harper slowly took her hand and laced it back with Ruben's, who didn't pull away, but actually brought it up to his lips and placed a small kiss upon it. She rolled her eyes in response, and wanted to gag at the gesture.

The further down the road they walked, Bethany noticed that less and less people were appearing on the streets, and the sky was completely black now. The only thing illuminating their path was the dimly lit street lights as they walked.

Up ahead, Bethany took notice to an alley way, hidden and secluded, and she knew it was time to go in for the kill. Literally.

Slowly, Bethany allowed herself to get closer to the back of Harper, and as soon as they were next to the alley, she lunged forward, grabbed her by the back of the throat, and pulled her down the dark path.

Harper screamed, trashing and clawing at Bethany's hands, and attempted to break free. It didn't faze Bethany though, as much as she wanted to get this over with, she wanted her to suffer as well.

Suddenly, Bethany was being pulled off of Harper, and was thrown into the brick wall behind her. She looked up and saw Ruben, caressing Harper's face in pity.

"What the hell, Ruben?" Bethany shouted at him. She took notice to a piece of broken glass at her feet, and picked it up, hiding it behind her back so they wouldn't take notice of it.

"You were hurting my queen; no one hurts my queen." It was then that Bethany noticed that glaze that was hovering over Ruben's eyes. He actually was under some kind of spell. At that, her attention was directed back at Harper, who had a smirk plastered on her face.

"Your precious Ruben is mine now, sorry to disappoint."

Bethany charged at Harper once again, only for Ruben to move in front of her, blocking Bethany's access to her.

"What did you do to him?! What did you put in that wine?" She shouted at Harper around Ruben's form, who just laughed mechanically in response.

"Snap out of it, Ruben!" Bethany yelled, connecting the palm of her hand with his face. But it was no use; whatever it was that he was under, was too powerful.

"Take care of her, Ruben. We've got important things to do!" Harper demanded, licking her lips in desire.

Ruben began to advance on Bethany at the command, and she backed away from him. Each punch she threw his way didn't even faze him, and she felt as she did back on their first day of training: useless.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Bethany's head that would normally disgust her, but she knew she had to give it a shot.

She reached up, acting as if she were going to slap him again, but instead she grabbed Ruben's face between her hands, dropping the shard of glass, and placed her delicate lips upon his.

Ruben froze under the contact, and Bethany thought for sure that she was going to be wrong about this, until his strong arms wrapped around her torso, and pulled her closer into his chest.

"Impossible!" She heard Harper shout behind them.

Bethany didn't know what the feeling was in her stomach, but it was something she had never felt before. Remembering that she had a job to do, she pulled away from Ruben, and noticed the glaze around his pupils had dispersed, and he was back to himself.

It worked.

"Wow," was his response as she looked into Bethany's eyes. She didn't say anything, but she felt her face get very hot from the way he was looking at her.

"I don't understand! Only true love can break the bond of my potion!" Harper screamed, but Bethany tuned out the words she was saying.

The next second, Bethany was charging at her, the piece of glass securely back in her hand. She pinned her back against the wall, and rammed the shard across her neck. Blood began pouring out, and it didn't take long for Harper's eyes to lose their light, and close for the last time.

Bethany was breathing heavily as she let the body of Harper Seether fall to the concrete ground. She let the green mist that flew out of Harper, into her mouth, and almost unwillingly accepted the emotion of envy back into her body.

Then, just like the last time, a circle ball flew out of her, and disappeared into the sky. On the way to The Watcher, she guessed, and found herself wondering what the man could possibly need from such a vile person, or whatever it was that she was.

Bethany turned back around to Ruben, who was staring at the lifeless Harper on the ground. He then moved his gaze up to Bethany, and she once again saw the hunger in his eyes.

He advanced on her slowly, slow enough to make her heart pound violently in her chest with anticipation. He had just reached her; he was dangerously close. She swore he was going to kiss her again.

His lips were right there, she could feel his breath on her lips. Just as he was about to lean in to meet hers, his phone rang loudly in their ears, echoing off the walls of the alley.

Ruben pulled away from her, took his phone out of his pocket, and answered it; his eyes never leaving hers.

Bethany didn't know whether to feel relieved, or disappointed. She had no idea what was going on, but honestly, she kind of liked it.

What a weird thing, feelings were, she thought.

Such bliss.

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