Up In Flames

The Flirting Life

When Danielle came and sat down with me, and started talking, or.. sort of, flirting? I felt a wave of jealousy and attraction. I had always known that she was bisexual, and it hadn't bothered me. It only bothered me when she would flirt with anyone else. And that was quite a rare occurrence. But even now, I still got jealous. Sylvia was bisexual too, but she only thought of Danielle as a friend, just as Danielle only thought of Syl as a friend.

When she showed up and sat down, my eyes couldn't help but to scan her body. How those jeans hugged her legs perfectly, how she looked so much better in black than in pastel, preppy clothes. It was refreshing to see her in her old self. She looked confident in it, like she always had, back when we were down in Hell.

Something was different this time, though. She had realisation. Who she was, who she is. she knew. She knew how I loved her. And she knew how she loved me. It was amazing.

"How did I know you would wear that jacket?" I smirked.

"It's a nice jacket. Thanks, by the way," She said, looking down and blushing. There was a slight shake in her voice, hinting that it would take a few days or more to get comfortable in the romance that she had forgotten.

"For what?"

"The clothes. Being honest with me," she met my eyes, and there was a tear threatening to release itself from her beautiful eyes. "I didn't realise-"

"Hey, sweetie.." Sylvia had placed her hand over Danielle's, and she turned to look at her. "It wasn't your fault. You can't choose who you fall in love with. In your case, it was Marca." She glanced at me and smiled. "Although he may have been lower class, he was still the subject of your affection. As you spent more time with him, you realised your feelings for him, and one day, you just kissed him. And, to your happiness, he kissed you back. Don't be sorry about how Luke made you forget about him, about me, about everything."

Her eyes shone with thanks. Sylvia pulled Danielle into a warm hug. She choked on a sob, but held back from crying. I had told Danielle about how I kept nothing from Sylvia. How she had been my best friend. Syl was also a servant, but not Danielle's. She was Luke's personal maid. She had endured abuse from him for years. Even more when he found out she had hidden his daughter's romance with a dirty commoner.

Luke was abusive in many ways. In Sylvia's point of view, it was good that we were cast out of Hell. Because she was cast out of his abuse.

He was horrific with her. He would yell abusive things at her. He would hit her if she did something wrong. And she always, always had a curfew to get things done. If she hadn't finished her chores by the end of the night, 8:45 pm, he would hurt her. He would rape her. It's too horrific to think about, but she's strong. So she is still alive.

'Thanks' I mouthed to Sylvia. She smiled and nodded.

"So, never be afraid to come to me with anything you need help with. Okay?"

Danielle sniffed, nodded and smiled at Sylvia. Then, she turned to me.

"Can we talk?" she asked softly. I nodded and then went to go and walk with her.

"We'll be back in a few minutes," Danielle reassured Sylvia.

"Take as much time as you need," she smiled.

Danielle and I walked over to a space where no one was. A brick wall next to a staircase hid us from the rest of the students. Danielle sat down on a silver seat that was placed near the wall, and I sat down next to her. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you something... It's sort of important and it relates to our past life, I guess?" she started explaining.

I nodded and relaxed into a more settled sitting position.