Rolling In the Deep (Evan and Kao)

[quest]

Nove tousled his dark blonde hair. He often did this when he wasn't preoccupied with something. However, he was, and he wasn't looking to finish his pre-calc homework anytime soon. All of a sudden, a flash like lightning blew his mind, and he had an earsplittinh headache. He cried out as his world went black.

When he opened his eyes, he wasn't in his dorm anymore. He was in a black abyss. But Fivel sat in front of him. her eyes scanning over him. She was pale and skinny, skinnier than before. It shook Nove like a wave. "Fivel.." he said. "How-"

"Nove," she said. "It is me, Fivel. I don't have much time, but I am in need of your help. Kao and Evan were captured by Flock, and I was notified. I went to their aid, and found them in Flock's grasp. she threatened to kill them if I didn't go with her. When I agreed, I read Evan's mind and realized that he'd been the one who'd notified her about me. From there, Flock knocked me out. I awoke under her office. Please find me. I need help, Nove. I'm counting on you."

Nove was so driven by rage that he couldn't see, Damn you Fivel and your easy forgiveness. He thought. Damn you Kao for not taking good care of her, and damn you Evan for putting her in danger!

The next morning he awoke and dressed in a flash. His tie was crooked, but he didn't care as he stormed down the warpath leading to the cafeteria. The aroma of fresh fruit and muffins made his stomach growl, but he didn’t stop. He was too angry. He made a beeline for the twins’ usual table. Fivel usually sat there too. He involuntarily thought. Nove mentally kicked himself. Girls sat around the two boys adoringly, their eyes bright with giddy, silly love. They usually sat around Nove, too, and they giggled as she approached. Nove hit the table with his hand hard, upsetting a cup. It crashed to its sad end.
“You two.” Nove seethed. “I have a bone to pick with you two. The hallway. Now.”
WORDS: 362

[Fel]

Kao folds his arms on top of the table and rests his chin on them. "Evan. Why did you make me come down here?" He asks. He hadn't slept last night and every time he blinked he felt like he was going to pass out. Even looks at him cooly.
"Because we have to eat breakfast and go to class." He bites into a piece of fruit and starts talking to one of the girls, something that was unusual for him, just so he could focus on something other than Fivel and Kao. Even when she wasn't there she was still there.

Kao stares at the pile of pancakes and imagine throwing them at someone. He wishes that the girls would leave, normally he didn't mind them but today they just made him remember Fivel. As if he didn't have enough sores on his arms from the chains Flock had put him in or enough of a bruise on the back of his head. Kao looks at the cup as it falls over and then realizes that Nove is standing behind him, yelling. He shrugs, imagining all to well what he wants. "Alright, Nove. I'll come talk to you." He says.

From across the table Evan glares at Nove. Several of the girls glance anxiously back and forth, like they can't decide what side they want to be on. "What do you want?" He growls, though he gets up too. Both twins follow Nove into the hallway, Evan practically pulling Kao along.

Words: 269

[quest]

The shadow that covered Nove's eyes were darker than space. Nothing reflected in their dark color, and he considered what Fivel said to him again. Find me, please. She'd said that with such a pitiful twinge to her voice that Nove had nearly stopped breathing. And tell them I'm alright.

No. Nove thought. You're skinnier than ever. Your skin is pale. Your hand is bent like a wishbone. You're not alright, inside of out, are you? HJe clneched his fists tighter. You're sick, and probably frightened. I'm angry with Flock.. but I have to deal with these two first.

Nove's anger exploded like a sunflare. "You two." she seethed. He lashed out at Evan with the back of his fist, as not to seriously hurt him, but made pure, solid contact. He grabbed his collar and brought Evan's face close to his own.

"You..! Why can't you forget your own petty jealousy and think of someone else for once?!"

He thought of Fivel's battered, uberskinney state, and his blood boiled. His eyes were the color of fire, crimson red with accents of orange flame around the irises. I can't even dare to look at you without being disgusted. You're a disgrace. Nove silently shouted at him. He let go of Evan's collar and stood over Kao, who he was many inches taller than. "And you."

WORDS: 225

[Fel]

Evens eyes widen when Nove hits him and then he stumbles foreword when he's grabbed. He had honestly never used his gift in a fight before, how was he supposed to now? Kao grabs him by the wrist and pulls him slightly backwards so Evan was behind him. He looks at Nove from behind Kao. Jealousy... was it wrong to want to be with his brother? He decided that it wasn't. He had done everything for his twin, Nove was completely wrong.

"Don't touch Evan." Kao says quietly, forcing himself to stand up straight and look Nove in the face. He should... hurt Nove to teach him to stay away from Evan or something. Just the thought of trying to hurt Nove made him tired. He'd already failed Fivel so what right did he have to hurt more people. His eyes drop the the ground and he nods to himself. As much as he hated that Nove was right and he was wrong... Nove hadn't let Flock capture Fivel, he hadn't been used as bait. "I'm sorry, Nove. I couldn't protect Fivel like I should have. I couldn't do anything." Even as he says it he knows how pathetic the excuse sounds. He probably deserved to be attacked by Nove, then he'd have more cuts and bruises and maybe that would help make things even.

Word Count: 235

[quest]

Nove grew more and more exasperated as Kao went to Evan's defense. Aren't you listening to me, you idiot? He wanted to scream. He's the reason all of this bull@#$% happened!

Finally, Kao claimed that he couldn't protect Fivel. Nove snapped. He stepped back, in a scary yet calm way and glared Kao down. "You couldn't protect her?" he seethed. "What do you mean, you couldn't protect her?" His eyes glistened. "You mean you should've been able to save her from Flock when she was being electrocuted? Would you have felt better if you could've saved her from falling off a cliff or something?"

He pulled his fist back for a punch. "That's incredible. Who the hell are you? Some sort of superman or something?"

Suddenly, his mind shot to a memory of he and Fivel after Calculus one day. "Fivel, why do you let Kao act all protective of you?" he joked, stuffing his textbook in his bag. Fivel had stopped walking and half-smiled nostalgically. "Well," she said. "When I came to the Havens, no one spoke to me. But Kao.. talked to me one day and in the woods, and I felt appreciated. Protected in a way, I guess."

Protection. Protected. Protect.
Where did couldn't come in?

Nove lost it.
"You were protecting her!" he yelled. His fist plummeted fast towards the wall and broke the first layer of plaster. He softened his glare on Kao. "Open your eyes! You were! You made her happy in the woods that day! You made her laugh. You saved her from the storm. You've helped her in ways you just don't understand. When you're with her, just look at her! Her eyes light up, like you set them on fire! If you think anyone else can make her that happy, you're wrong! So get your act together! How much longer are you going to let her sit down there?!"

He stopped and shook his head. "She's waiting for you."

Nove sighed and rubbed his knuckles, which were bleeding. "So," he said. "What do you plan on doing now, almighty Kao?"

WORDS: 366

[Fel]

Kao shakes his head. He wasn't so important as that. Nove was right when he said that he wasn't 'superman'. It was ridiculous to think that Fivel depended on him so much. The one time it really mattered he had let Flock hurt her. The one thing, according to Nove, that he had done right was completely cancelled out by what he'd let happen last night. He took the yelling, happy to receive it. Not happy, really, that would be pushing it. Last night Even had just gone to sleep after checking if he was okay.

Her eyes lit up like he set them on fire? He wonders when they had done that. He remembers when he'd first met her in Fathom. He'd woken up in the strange forest and Fivel had been the first person he'd seen. He'd nearly hit her with a stick and then before asking her name he'd started running around looking for Evan. She'd probably thought that he didn't even want to talk to her. Then he remembers when he'd taken her to the garden and he'd told her that she was pretty. She'd laughed, how had they gotten from such a bad start to being like that? It made no sense.

"Go save her?" He leans against the wall, suddenly needing it to hold himself up. "I'll always go save her." He meant it, he couldn't sleep or go to class knowing that Fivel was miserable, probably being mistreated. "You don't need to tell me to do that."