Ethan, finally clad in the comfort of his clothes had the moment’s peace to be enthralled by her absolute beauty. His eyes wandered over the delicate features of her face, the mixture of uncertainty and fear dancing in her brilliant gaze and the alluring curves of her slim figure. He couldn’t recall seeing anyone ever look so perfect in his entire life, it brought a smile to his lips and a happy glint to his gaze. “You look beautiful Lilith”, he spoke the words with confident honesty although his lips parted somewhat shocked at the words that followed.
It was hard to believe a jewel like her was trapped in the unimaginable conditions of the world, he hardly knew her but he’d swim through the vast endlessness of space if he knew it would bring a hint of happiness to her soft lips. He reached down to grab his wallet and shoved the leather container into his pocket, his fingers barely even left the confines of his jean’s pocket when he heard the question dancing off her lips.
Ethan stepped closer to her, barely leaving any space between the two of them, he couldn’t help himself as he reached down to cup her face in his palms. “Does it look like I mind?”, he ended the question with a charming grin and a soft chuckle, “you’re staying. For as long as you need”. There was a deep honesty in his gaze, he wanted her to stay more than he knew how to admit. Ethan wasn’t a man who easily developed feelings of any sort, he was kind and loyal but he hardly had an interest in any other soul quite like he had with Lilith.
“Come on, I’m starving and if we’re early we can get the table in the corner”, he reached down to take her hand, he wasn’t sure if it was a way to keep her close or if he wanted to reassure her she wasn’t the monster she believed herself to be. He led her down the sidewalk for nearly two blocks before stopping at the small diner, most people passed by but he knew the owner and she was the best damn cook he’d ever met.
“Hey Charlotte”, he waved at the young waitress with a happy grin before pointing to the regular booth tucked into the corner where the sun’s rays drifted through the high glass windows. He held out a gentleman like gesture for Lilith to sit first before he lowered himself into the old, worn seat opposite her.
“Thanks”, Charlotte looked shyly between the two with a curiosity she couldn’t mask. “I’ll give you folks a few minutes”, Ethan looked over to the young raven haired waitress as she gave him a comedic thumbs up behind Lilith, he shook his head with a soft laugh unable to hide the light tint of red to his cheeks barely even noticeable in the bright morning light. Ethan knew what he wanted, he’d been getting breakfast here for years now, he just wanted Lilith to have as good a time as he could possibly give her. Ethan was desperate to show her a shred of happiness in a world void of honest joy.
“Whatever you want, just say the word”, he leaned forward with his arms digging into the table in front of him. Ethan could hardly will his gaze from her to see the strangers passing by the window, eventually he noticed Charlotte slowly making her way back with a beaming grin set on her lips.
And like a candle makes a brighter place Your mark on me can’t be erased
[attr="class","itokaytext"] It was hard to keep herself from flinching back at his touch. She just wasn’t used to it while she had her wits about her. But when he said she was staying she just felt so much more conflicted. Why did Ethan have to be so nice? Now she felt like a bitch for wanting to leave. He was just trying to help and she just wanted to shove it away. Taking a deep breath she tried averting her eyes, but they met his again as he took her hand. ‘Please stop…’ She thought as her heart raced and her cheeks flushed red.
Lilith stayed close to Ethans larger body as they walked to a small little diner. She followed him to the booth and gave a little smile as she took a seat on the worn leather of the cushion. She saw the curious look of the young girl and blushed a little more. Taking menu she turned her attention to the words on the pages as she tried to decide what she should eat.
Looking it over she didn’t want to get anything too expensive. Her mouth watered at the choices though. “Don’t tell a desperate girl that. She may take advantage.” She jokingly warned Ethan as she finally decided on what she wanted. Seeing Charlotte come back Lilith smiled as she pulled her legs up and criss-crossed them, her hands resting on her calves to keep them from being anywhere near Charlotte. “What can I get you this morning?” She asked, looking to Lilith first.
“Oh, uh… I’ll have the hot cake platter, with scrambled eggs, and bacon.” Lilith shyly stated. “And a large chocolate milk please.” She slid the menu close to the edge. “And I take it you’ll just have your usual Ethan?” Charlotte asked, just to clarify and with a smile she was off to the back to grab their drinks.
“I take it you come to this place a lot.” Internally she slapped herself for the obvious. ‘Of course he does. He has a usual!’ “Stupid statement… um, so, what exactly are we doing today?” She asked, both in anxiousness and wanting to make a plan of action to leave. She’d find a way to thank him for all he’s done so far, but she didn’t want to feel indebted to him for life. She didn’t like that feeling, it just kept hem connected and she shouldn’t be connected to anyone, if only for her own sanity. But she felt so connected already, it was going to really be hard to stay away if she could even get away.
Ethan found himself chuckling at the small awkward statement, he couldn’t help but find Lilith uniquely interesting to the extent where he craved to find the uncharted beauty to her soul. He couldn’t begin to put himself in her shoes but he could grasp the concept of fearing human touch in the solitude of the world’s hidden nooks and crannies. He hardly knew this girl but he wanted to show her the true essence of life, offer his hand for a touch and remind her she didn’t have to fear life and the powers running through those soft fingers.
“There’s not a plan set in stone but after breakfast I’d like to take you shopping, after that I’m curious to do whatever you’d like”, a smile tainted his lips in an honest touch. He was a kind man by nature, but somehow the broken fear of one girl electrified his want to help those he could. Lilith was special and he hated that she couldn’t truly comprehend how much, he saw the innocence interlaced with complex doubt and he wondered what it would take to draw a constant smile to her lips.
“Tonight, I want to show you something though”, he didn’t divulge more than his intentions. There was one place he could clear his mind in those rare moments that he fell victim to rage and sadness and it was truly an astounding sight to behold. He thought she’d appreciate the everlasting beauty of something ever present and uniquely hidden under a mask of ignorance.
He leaned back in his chair as Charlotte set down their drinks, “thanks”. She nodded happily and darted back to the kitchen with a bubbly smile, Ethan didn’t hesitate to welcome the warm liquid to his lips. Coffee was the one thing that helped him through that initial drug like feeling when he only just woke up. Drinking wasn’t something he excelled at, a cold beer every once in a while was a welcome taste but Ethan truly didn’t have any quirks that made him insufferable. At times he was too kind, helping those who betrayed his trust time and time again.
“I’m glad you stayed”, he smiled kindly meeting her gaze with an honest sense of relief that she didn’t run off on him. he was invested in bringing a single, honest smile to her lips that lingered without hesitation.
And like a candle makes a brighter place Your mark on me can’t be erased
[attr="class","itokaytext"] Lilith felt a blush at his chuckle and scratched the back of her neck as she looked away with embarrassment. It only darkened as the smelled the amazing scent of cooking food in the air and her stomach gurgled loud enough for everyone to hear. She looked down at her abdomen and shook her head. ‘Well, that’s just great…’ She thought.
Looking back up at Ethan she couldn’t keep eye contact. She was nervous being with such a handsome guy. She’d never thought she would actually sit down and have breakfast with someone again. It was nice, really nice, but she didn’t want to get used to it. She couldn’t.
“You don’t have to buy me any clothes… I’m fine with the things I have.” She said softly trying to give her best kind of smile, but it was much more practiced than sincere. She didn’t really do much on days except walk around, hide, and sit on the swings at the local park near her home to see if her siblings were still being nice to each other. She tried to keep her distance, but they were family and she loved them dearly, even if they thought she was dead.
Hearing that he wanted to take her someplace tonight was definitely something strange and the skepticism showed on her face. Her guard going up as high as it could. He looked like a nice guy, but those words could mean anything. Even from such a nice guy it could hide a darker side. They usually did. “Sounds a little ominous when you leave it at that.” She said lightly, wanting it to sound more like a joke than paranoia.
Looking up Lilith gave a slight nod to Charlotte who had brought their drinks and she brought the large glass of chocolate milk to her lips. Feeling the refreshing coolness of the liquid and the sweet taste of cocoa to her taste buds she couldn’t keep the grin from her face. It had been so long since she actually tasted the brilliant flavor. A sigh of relief rolled through her nose as her shoulders visibly relaxed into the back of the booth.
The next words from his lips she hadn’t expected and she stared in disbelief. Her brow furrowed as she placed the cup down now realizing she had drank about half the glass already. She licked her lips of the light chocolate milk mustache. “You shouldn’t be…” She simply said. She didn’t want someone getting attached to her. She wasn’t good. “I’m not that great of a person.”
Ethan heard the low grumble of her stomach, he couldn’t imagine what it was like to live without the uncertainty of shelter or food and he strongly believed she didn’t deserve to survive under those conditions. No one did. He reached out to touch her fingers with gentleness he didn’t know he possessed, met her gaze and spoke in the honest tone that almost always coated his voice, “I’m getting you new clothes Lilith. There’s no argument and there’s no alternative”. He found himself laughing softly, he hoped if he was assertive and stubborn she’d relax into his kind gestures without worry for the future.
There was a slight tone of paranoia lacing her voice, his eyes grew wide realizing how his words must have come across. Ethan wasn’t known to get flustered but he did, in that moment he felt horrible for even making her worry in his company. “Oh God no, I didn’t mean it like that. I wouldn’t do anything you object to, it’s just the stars from the roof. There’s chairs and sodas and I just thought if you saw the sky without worrying about your next meal or a place to sleep you can appreciate the beauty of it. If you don’t want to it’s perfectly fine, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable”. He looked down to the table trying to calm his thoughts, he felt bad for even bringing it up now.
He hated that she didn’t know her worth, realize how gorgeously stunning her mind was in a sea of bland people who didn’t bother appreciating life. He understood her fear and her caution, he just wanted to make it better at least for as long as she would brave staying.
“I believe you”, he told her for a second without doubt, “or at least that you believe you’re not that great of a person but I also know you’re being cautious and blind, you just don’t see your potential”, he met her gaze with a steady certainty as Charlotte slowly approached with two plates. He grinned down at the full balanced breakfast littering his own plate.
He couldn’t imagine the worry of living life on the dark streets of the world, he wasn’t exceptionally rich or connected but he lived comfortably and that was something he was almost sure he couldn’t survive without. He didn’t think anyone could but Lilith was a strong contradiction to fate and a perfect example of resilience. Ethan admired her for it, he thought she was stronger than she believed and far more independent than half the human population.
“Tell me about your family”, he meant the words as a kind question, he wanted to be the recipient of a conversation he was sure she couldn’t share with people passing by her on the street. “It’s alright if you don’t want to, I’m just curious”, he spoke softly fearing he’d make her uncomfortable and that was the absolute last thing he ever wanted.
And like a candle makes a brighter place Your mark on me can’t be erased
[attr="class","itokaytext"] This man was either persistent, or a glutton for refusal as Lilith jerked her hand back from his gentle touch. Even with her gloves on she didn’t want to touch people. Over the years she’d become so paranoid, having to think about how much revealed skin she could have out at one point in time. In the summer time she had to try and find light fabrics to keep her arms covered. But finding clothes like that was so difficult especially with no money. “You’re making me feel like a jerk with you being so nice.” She pouted and took a sip of her milk.
However, she couldn’t hold back her laughter at his flustered words. Milk sprayed up her nose and she put the glass down reaching for the napkins. She knew it wasn’t that funny, but she was laughing so hard she was snorting. It was just so hilarious seeing such a nice cute guy getting caught off guard like that. “Oh my… I’m sorry. I know that wasn’t funny but… oh my god… that was too funny.” She said between her fits of laughter. Even though she shouldn’t she found herself feeling even more comfortable around Ethan.
“Soda and star gazing… it does get a bit lonely looking at the stars on my own.” It was something she did every night. She enjoyed the beauty of the stars as they twinkled above without a worry in the world. They didn’t have to think of a new plan to get food, clothes, water, shelter. They didn’t have to worry about humans, being taken in by whatever officers there are that takes mutants like herself and Ethan away.
However, the laughter died down as he said he believed her about her believing she wasn’t that good person he was seeing in her. She stayed quiet as she listened and cut a deadly glare as he called her blind to her own potential. There was no potential for her other than becoming a weapon against people. She couldn’t even touch the fur of the local alley cat she dubbed Mr. Bubbles in fear of killing him by holding on to long. Just a touch and she’d be sucking the life and power right from his body. But she looked away as her food was placed in front of her. Now she was losing her appetite.
Picking up her fork she pushed around the food on her plate and tears welled up. She wanted to talk about the good times, but she couldn’t. Her voice froze inside her throat as she placed her fork down. Her appetite completely gone she couldn’t even bring herself to sip her milk. She just stared at it for a moment as she curled up a little tighter. Her shoulders and body tensed up as badly as it was when she woke up that morning. That nightmare from last night coming back to mind, she looked down. “They think I’m dead.” She simply said and excused herself to the bathroom.
Getting into the women’s restroom she locked herself into a stall and pulled her feet up onto the seat of the toilet where she just curled up. She sniffled as she quietly let out the tears. She could always say she was fine with it, that they were better off thinking she was gone. But that’s not what she wanted at all. It wasn’t fine for her, it wasn’t alright. But she couldn’t bring herself to tell them she was fine. That she was still watching over her siblings. But because of that one accident she could never see herself as anything other than a monster. She was nothing more than a mutant that had no control over her power. No one would ask questions, they’d shoot first and care later.
Ethan felt a light crimson stain his cheeks at her humorous uptake of his awkward explanation, he tried to shift his posture so she wouldn’t see but the tall windows made the whole space incredibly bright and lit up. Still, it didn’t take long for that kind smile to drift back over his features. Even if Ethan drew back into darker emotions the kindness and honesty bubbling inside him always burrowed to the surface. He couldn’t imagine the struggles of being alone in a world full of selfish monsters, he barely knew her but he had the deep urge to keep her safe.
He tasted at the happy crunch of the bacon with a grin, he wondered just how her ability worked. Other than explaining that she was dangerous he was in the dark and he hated not knowing when he was immune to her touch. He saw the sudden tenseness rolling over her figure and he felt bad the instant he saw the newfound smile falter from her lips. Ethan felt dread set in over the guilt he felt at asking the question and he immediately regretted the syllables that drove past his lips with innocent curiosity.
Dead. the word felt like a dull bell loudly echoing in the recesses of his mind. Ethan watched her leave the table with worry as he set the fork down by the side of his plate with a heavy laden sigh. It took a few moments for Ethan to build up the courage but he rose from his seat with the sole purpose of fixing his accidental mistake. He stared at the bathroom door for a second and prayed to God that Lilith was the only person inside.
Stepping through the threshold of the worn door he half expected to find the space empty, instead he felt the rough slap of an older woman across the stubble of his cheek. “Pervert!”, she yelled out loudly stepping out as he tried waving an apology, “I’m sorry!”. His eyes flushed over in embarrassment as he stopped by the only closed stall and leaned loosely against the frame.
“I’m sorry for bringing it up, I’ll uh, be right out here if you need me. You don’t have to talk but I’m here for you, alright?”, he comforted people more times than he could count but Ethan had no idea how to tell a girl afraid of her own deadly touch that her parents believing in her death was gonna result in anything remotely okay.
Ethan awkwardly diverted his gaze to the floor, fearful someone else might stumble in and find his actions perverted which he didn’t blame them for of course. He just didn’t have the words to explain why he was standing guard at a closed stall in a women’s bathroom and quite frankly, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to start thinking up a half ass explanation for something that didn’t make sense.
And like a candle makes a brighter place Your mark on me can’t be erased
[attr="class","itokaytext"] Lilith sniffled and tried to breath as she cried in that silent stall. She hadn’t known someone else was in there with her until she heard the woman yell as someone was coming in. ‘What the hell… Does he have a death wish!?’ She thought. If any other women came in here right now he’d be beaten to a bloody pulp for being a pervert. But she knew he wasn’t trying to be like that. Although she didn’t want to have him care so much. She’s a lost cause, why did he persist so much?
“I’m… I’m fine.” She said through shaky breaths. But she wasn’t and she knew it could be heard. “It’s better for them…” Laying her forehead on her knees she clenched her arms around her legs tighter. “Eight years ago is when I ran… when my power developed.” Her voice hitched in her throat. “On my brother’s birthday, I wanted to take him somewhere. He’d always been so closed off from everyone except our parents. He was turning ten… and we got into a bit of a fight.”
“I was in charge until our parents got back home.” The memory played over in her mind as she spoke. “I just wanted him to have fun with us… We were always goofing off, trying to get him to play. He refused, and I got a bit rough to try and get him to fight back. But he eventually lost his temper and it just ended with him punching at me.” She laughed a little. “He always thought he was a tough guy. But I got him wrapped up to keep him from knocking things over.”
“The next thing I knew, he was gasping for air, screaming in pain. I thought it was just a way for him to try and trick me into letting go.” Her voice broke as she cried out softly. “But it wasn’t… I was draining the life right from his body.” She sobbed, holding tighter, digging her gloved nails into her shins. “I didn’t know and I held on for too long. His body thinned and that’s when I finally let him go… I called an ambulance when he wouldn’t wake up and when we got to the hospital I just…”
“I panicked and when my parents and siblings were distracted by his bed I ran.” Lilith rubbed her legs as she sniffled and whimpered. Slowly she uncurled her body and hugged herself before opening the door. Her cheeks were tear stained, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. She hated feeling and looking so pathetic in front of people. Normally she was so much better at holding in her emotions, but Ethan knew how to get to her.
Slowly her arms reached out and wrapped around Ethan in a hug. That’s when someone was starting to open the door and Charolette spoke up, “Ma’am. I’m sorry, but our women’s restroom isn’t working. The toilets don’t have enough water getting to them. You’re more than welcome to use the men’s restroom though until they get fixed.”
“But there was talking-” “Because the repair man is in there with his apprentice…” Her voice was a little panicked, but the door closed as the woman huffed. Lilith let out a shaky breath that she had been holding. She heard something else at the door. “There we go, no more interruptions.” Charolette said as she walked away.
He was genuinely stunned by the natural beauty of a soul who believed wholeheartedly that she could never embrace the bittersweet addiction of human touch, he had to stop himself from staring as he traced the lines of her delicate features and slowly lost himself in the abyss of her gaze. he could see the caress of her bones jutting out against a skinny frame and suddenly he thought she was utterly delicate, like she would break at any touch and all he wanted to do was take care of her regardless of the little time he knew her. At the sight of a red tint to her cheeks he couldn’t help but chuckle and nervously scratch at his hair.
“Oh uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable”, he smiled kindly relaxing in to the soft fabric of his shirt. Ethan hardly spent any time with people besides the boys, the last time he even dared being so close to a woman it ended up horribly. When he was too kind for her liking she opted to find someone more adventurous than a man who spent his every waking moment in the service of others, be it as a mentor or in kind gestures for wayward souls.
His mind was lost for a while, entranced by the perfect harmony of events. He could almost imagine how tragic it would have been had he not come across Lillith, he never noticed the subtle steps that led him straight to her. There was something utterly captivating about her and he found himself drawn to her unlike anything he could explain and while he was a strong believer that destiny was pliable to his own will he almost had to describe their meeting as a form of fate.
His fingers reached out to cup her shoulder with a kind glance, “You’ll always be welcome here Lillith”, he spoke softly and clearly as the world around him dissolved and all he saw was the troubled expressions of a girl who didn’t know just how much worth she donned. “You can ask me again a thousand times if it’ll reassure you but the answer will stay the same”. He almost couldn’t help the somewhat automatic flow of kind words that slowly drifted through his lips.
“I know things were tough in the past but I won’t let you take on what’s ahead alone”, he stepped back with an awkward chuckle, the last thing he wanted to do was force her into his company. Instead he turned to pull open a curtain on the far wall and welcomed the heat of the morning sun with a growing grin, every day had the utmost potential to be amazing for him and he intended to show her just how beautiful the world really was if she welcomed his help.
