The Elemented

A Little Surprise

P.O.V: Ajax

I decided to go to the gym room that I had created in the large basement of the building. I wore a white tank top and black shorts. This is the one place where I can set my emotions free and to think without feeling like I'm claustrophobic like I am inside my white room. I walked to the punching bag I had set up and didn't bother to put on gloves. I just started pounding away while thinking about my father, who sat by and let the Lord kill my mother. Every punch became more aggressive as my thoughts progressed. I thought about the way my father resented me and the Lord who had taken everything from me. Angry, white-hot tears sting my eyes as I continue pummeling the punching bag. Then a sudden thought hits me and I slow my punches a little. He hasn't taken everything I care about. Iris's face flashes through my head. I need to talk to her. I quickly walk back to my room, changed, then head to her small cell. As I walk in, she throws me a dirty look, still not trusting me. I don't need her to trust me, I just want to be able to help her. That's it. I cautiously sit on the edge of her bed.

"What do you want?" Iris asks, anger already creeping into her voice.

I look down, ashamed of myself. I can still feel her shooting daggers at me with her dark eyes.

"Look, I came here to apologize." I tell her. I have already apologized, but I felt like I needed to do it again.

She lets out a bitter laugh. "Apologize? I should be the one apologizing for trusting you." She says, her words dripping with venom.

I let out a frustrated sigh and finally look into her eyes, my own temper starting to flare. "What do you expect me to do? I had to tell Him or else he would get suspicious! He wouldn't hesitate to send me to Hell if I take one step out of line!" I yell. "

"Look around you, Ajax. This is Hell if you hadn't noticed!" Iris yells back.

I take a deep breath to get my temper under control. "Iris, I know what I did was something I regret completely, but sometimes you have to do regrettable things in order to survive."

Iris's face softens just a little bit from the hard expression she had.
"Even though you may never completely trust me again, I just wanted you to know that I'm really sorry." I say sincerely.

Iris didn't meet my gaze, but did slide over a bit and I moved away from the edge and actually sat on the bed.

Iris looked down and asked, "What happened to your hands?"

I looked down at my hands and noticed all my knuckles were split. "I was punching a punching bag." I tell her.

"Without any gloves?" Iris asks, a little amusement creeping in her voice.

"I'm not the brightest light bulb." I say simply and smile.

Iris smirks and says, "Yeah, I kind of figured that out already. But I can't really say anything because of my reflexes and decision-making." Iris bites her lip and decides if she should say something. "Give me your hands."

When I hesitated, she rolls her eyes and says, "It's not like that, idiot."

Reluctantly, I held out my hands out and she took them. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate. I already knew what Iris was trying to do, but the small rush of her magic was amazing. She opens her eyes and seemed very surprised.

"I can't believe that worked!" She said excitedly.

I smiled at her and looked down at my hands that are now healed. "Thanks, Iris."

Her dark brown eyes glitter in the dim light.

"So," I ask unsure, " are we okay?"

Iris pretends to think about it, but ends up smiling. "Yeah. I guess."

I didn't realize it until then, but I was actually holding my breath. I let go of it and it didn't go unnoticed by her. As I look at her messy, disheveled hair and tired face, I can't help but think she is actually pretty. Iris's beautiful brown eyes glitter like they hold the night sky. It wasn't until then that I realized she was still holding my hands. Iris looked down and realized that too, and pulled her hands away quickly. She was trying to hide her pink cheeks, but I noticed it and smirked. Iris's cheeks reddened when she saw me smirking. Iris bit her lip as a nervous habit, I noticed. I take her right hand in both of mine and look into her eyes.

"Iris, I promise I'll get you out of this place, but I might have to do some regrettable things."
She bites her lip again and replies, "As long as I can get out of here, that's all I want."

I glance down at my watch. "I have to go."

"Ajax?" Iris asks.

"Yeah?"

She gives me a small smile. "Next time you decide to pummel that punching bag, put on some gloves."

"I will." I tell her.

As I got up and walked halfway to the door, I hear her say my name. When I turn around, She is walking towards me. A sly smile on her lips then she does something that catches me completely off guard. Iris kisses me on the cheek then tells me goodbye. All I could manage was a small bye. My hear twas beating fast and I closed the cell door behind me, wondering why she had kissed me and why she wore that sly smile.