"Let's go see a movie," Autumn said.

Ariel looked away from the window. The snow had gradually settled in the following week, and outside the world looked like something she had only ever seen in the movies. There was an eerie silence to the world, as if the snow muted everything. The roads had been cleared, with a little help from Amelia, and she has been watching Amelia drive into town. Since the murder, she'd been heading into town with Samson every day. She wouldn't say what they were doing, but it had clearly driven the excitement of the situation from Samson's mind. Amelia would place a glamour spell on him every day, and he said that it made his scales itch. She didn't think it was possible for Samson to be grumpy, but his diminishing attitude over the last week had proved that wrong.

"Why do you want to see a movie?" she asked. "Isn't that kind of impossible for you...?"

"Not if we go the drive in," she smiled. "Bilbury has a drive in theatre every year around Christmas time. They play Christmas themed films over the last weekend before Christmas."

Emily, sitting next to Autumn, glanced at Ariel nervously. "Would that be safe for you, Autumn?"

Ariel had apologized for losing her cool with Emily's brother, and likewise, Emily had apologized as well. Still, there was awkwardness in Emily's interactions with her; similar to when Ariel had first arrived. She'd tried to be extra nice, or as nicer as she could possibly be, but her patience was hanging by a thread.

"I'll be fine," Autumn replied. "We'll be fine. The Doctor has a special car that's at the beach house. It has those special tinted windows, and it's big enough to fit Lucas inside. I'll ask Amelia to bring it here."

"We?" Emily squeaked.

"Me?" Lucas said from the other side of the room.

"Of course, both of you," Autumn said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I want us all to go."

"No way," Lucas snorted.

"I can't go," Emily stammered. "Something might happen!"

It was barely noticeable, but Ariel saw Autumn's eyes flash with sadness. "Well I'll just go on my own then," she said quietly.

"I'll go with you," Ariel spoke up. "So will you guys. We'll be in a car watching a movie. Nothing will happen."

"I don't think –" Emily started.

"You'll be fine!" Ariel snapped. "You managed to walk outside when your brother was here. This time you'll be in a car, so suck it up!"

Emily paled and turned away. Ariel felt bad for bringing her brother up, but she forged on, turning her sights on Lucas.

"Autumn said there would be room for you, so you're coming too."

"No I'm not," he scowled. "Tinted windows or not, there's still a chance someone will see me."

"It will be dark, and if people have time to try and peek into cars, then Bilbury needs to find some better movies."

"I'm not going!"

Standing up, she marched over to him, placing her hands on her hips. "Yes you are."

"Ariel –"

"Lucas," she hissed. "You are doing this and that's final!"

She shifted her eyes, meaningfully towards Autumn, trying to tell him telepathically, that he needed to this for her. Trying to stress the importance of something with your eyes made her look like a bit deranged and it took a few attempts before she saw Lucas admit defeat.

"Fine," he muttered. "If people see me and start grabbing flaming torches and pitchforks though don't say I didn't warn you."

"Noted," she smiled, relieved.

"Wonderful," Autumn's face lit up. "I'll go and see if Michael and Kestral will join us."

Emily helped her up and they left the room. Ariel kept her face turned away, afraid she couldn't hide the pity on her face as she listened to the sound of her body crunching beneath her clothing.

"I saw that."

Her eyes flicked back to Lucas. "Saw what?"

"I saw the look of disdain when she mentioned inviting Kestral. You really don't like her, do you?"

"Oh." Truthfully she had been thinking of Michael more than Kestral, though both would be equally unpleasant to spend an evening in a car with. Michael had been avoiding everyone since the news of the murder. When he did join them, it was usually with Kestral or Samson. Ariel was sure it was because he felt some form of guilt, or because he had been involved. She wanted to share her theories with Amelia, but she had clammed up about the subject and refused to share anything else.

"I don't hate, Kestral," she said slowly, testing out the words.

Lucas shook his head. "You don't even sound like you believe yourself."

She sighed. "I don't know. She's just been foul to me since I got here. I might have deserved it when I first got here, but I thought she'd let up a bit now I'm trying to be less nasty."

"I don't think it's you, Ariel. Actually I think you two are more alike than you realize."

She glared at him. "Am not!"

He took a seat on the floor, by the window. "What I mean is, you both act out because of your curse."

"Kestral told me she's had her curse since she was little," Ariel argued. "She's had plenty of time to come to terms with it."

"She probably has, but I ran into her the other week after one of her sessions, before the Doc went away. She was pissed. Saying that he didn't know what he was talking about. She was speaking so fast, I only got bits and pieces, but from the gist of it, the Doc essentially told her there's nothing he can do for her, and there's no cure for what she has."

Ariel remembered the burnt broken wings hanging limply from Kestral's back and felt a stab of sympathy for her. "That does suck, I guess."

They fell into silence for a few minutes, each processing the thought of a curse with no cure. Ariel now knew two people who had been told they wouldn't ever be normal again. She knew if her heart were in her chest, it would be thumping painfully, feeling unsettled that the odds were slowly stacking against her.

"The Doc will find a cure."

Lucas interrupted her thoughts. "I'm sorry?"

"For you," he replied awkwardly. "I'm sure he'll find one."

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I'm sure he'll find one for you too."

"He already has."

"What?" She shot forward, grabbing his shoulder. "You have a cure? Why are you still here then?"

"Because the way to reverse the curse is impossible, and I'm hoping he'll find an alternative."

"What is it?"

He looked away. "I'm not telling."

She frowned. "How did you get cursed anyway? I must be the only one who doesn't know how it happened by now."

"No one knows," he growled. "It's not something I share with anyone."

"If you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine," she offered nervously. She didn't know why she was trying so hard to make him open up, but offering her own story felt like the biggest show of trust she had ever shown anyone. Lainie and the Doc were the only two people she had told, and even though her friendship with Lucas had started off rocky, she felt ready to tell him this.

"I'm not telling you how I became this! You think I would honestly want to tell you that?"

Something invisible pressed down on her chest, making it difficult to breathe. She felt her eyes begin to sting and she stood up, stalking past him. "Fine, don't tell me."

Rushing up stairs, she shut herself in her room and sat on the edge of her bed, feeling sick. It had been a long time since she'd felt truly hurt and upset by another person's words. She had thought being called heartless was the most painful thing imaginable. His words though, they felt more personal, cutting deeper and slashing up the empty hollow in her chest. For once, she was glad her heart was nestled safety in the shoulder bag on the bed beside her. If it had been back in her body, she was sure it would have been shredded to pieces.

Why do I even care? She thought, angrily. He doesn't want to tell me then fine, he doesn't have to. He doesn't trust you with it, so what? It's not something you just share with anyone.

Still, the thought that he didn't trust her as much as she had strangely come to trust him was unsettling. She rubbed her knuckles deep into her chest, pressing painfully against her rib bones as she tried to erase the thoughts of why his trust mattered, rather than question why it did.

Knock knock.

She knew from the weight of the knock who it was and cursed herself. Why did she go back to her room with nowhere to run? She didn't want to be the dramatic bitch who ran off when her feelings got hurt. Except that was exactly what she had done.

"Bloody oath," she muttered. Getting up, she opened the door. "What?"

Lucas stood awkwardly in the doorframe. She wasn't sure if he was feeling awkward, but he always hunched his shoulders when he stood in a doorway and it made him look uncomfortable.

"I didn't mean it like that, Ariel."

"Whatever." She mumbled. She moved back to her bed, leaving the door open as way of an invitation to come in. Lucas took it, closing the door behind him and sat, again on the floor, by her bed.

"You can actually sit on the bed you know," she said. "I'm sure you won't break it or anything."

"I'm more comfortable down here," he shrugged. "I don't feel like I'm towering over people when I sit on the floor."

"Oh. Suit yourself then."

He pressed on. "When I said I didn't want to tell you, I didn't mean anything bad by it. I just haven't told anyone apart from the Doc."

"Not even a close friend?" she asked, thinking of Lainie. "Why?"

"Because if I tell you how I became a monster, you might actually believe I am one."

"Bullshit."

"What?"

He looked angry and she kicked him gently with her foot. "I said bullshit. If the bitch witch who cursed me had done it based on monster resemblance I would look way more scary than you right now."

Taking a deep breath, she crossed her legs and told him about her curse and what she did to Nathan; how she humiliated him and got him beaten and kicked out by security. When she spoke about her heart, her voice grew quiet and she wasn't sure if Lucas even heard it all.

"So you see?" she said when she finished. "I'm the monster."

"You're not a monster, Ariel." he said softly. "You're just like the rest of us; doing whatever you can to fit in."

"I should never have wanted to fit in with those bitches," she whispered.

"I don't think you would have stayed with them for long if you had. You seem pretty smart, you would have figured out fairly soon that they weren't the right people to hang out with." He shifted, motioning to her shoulder bag. "Is the crack any better? I mean, has it healed since your Grandpa died or...?"

Sliding down to the floor, Ariel grabbed the bag and pulled out the case. "No," she answered, moving the case from hand to hand. "I don't think it will. You know, I- I haven't touched it since he died."

"Is that bad?"

She started to shake her head then stopped herself. "I don't think it is, but the Doc does. He wants me to look at it, build up to touching it again. He recons it's important."

"You haven't looked at it since he left, have you?"

"Maybe," she admitted. "I just don't like seeing it."

"The crack?"

She nodded.

"You should look at it. At least once before the Doc comes back."

If she was going to do it, she may as well do it now. If she waited, she would just chicken out again. Reaching for her neck, she slowly pulled out the key and placed it in the lock. Lucas started to get up and she started. "Where are you going?"

"To give you privacy –"

"Stay. Please." Begging felt disgusting and she grimaced. Lucas grinned, knowing she had hated saying that word. Silently he returned to his spot on the floor and motioned for her continue.

Carefully, she twisted the lock and opened the lid. She lowered the case onto the floor between them and Lucas' head inched forward to see inside. She let him look, no longer bothered if he saw it or not. "How does the case do that? It's so small."

"Amelia gave it to me."

"Enough said."

Bracing herself, she peered inside. There was nothing new about it. It was still in the same position it had been in since she last locked eyes on it. There was a slight gleam near the aorta as a ray of light managed to reach inside the case. She couldn't see the crack. She leaned closer, her head brushing Lucas' jaw as she tried to find it. She didn't want to find it, but she needed to; as if she needed confirmation that it was still real.

As her head bumped into Lucas, he shifted back and his shadow moved, allowing more light in and then she saw it. Immediately she arched back. A dull pain started aching in her chest and she reached up to hit her chest. It had become an automatic reaction to the pain now. Sometimes she wasn't even aware she doing it, but the action itself gave her some form of relief.

Before her fist could connect, Lucas reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Don't. You're just hurting yourself."

"Sorry, it's a habit." He lowered her hand back into her lap and clasped her hands together to resist the urge to reach back up there. It became an itch that needed to be scratched. She shifted, trying to think of anything else.

There was a strange look on Lucas' face and he reached out grabbing her hand again. She started to snatch it back but his grip was strong. She was about to ask what he was doing when she felt his index finger press into her wrist; he was trying to find her pulse.

She jerked back, snatched her hand away painfully. "You won't find it." she said bitterly. "It's not there."

"Weird." She glared and he quickly retracted. "Sorry, it's just strange to not feel a pulse. You must miss it. Is that why you hit your chest, to make a heartbeat or something?"

"I – no. It hurts sometimes and it makes it – I don't know how to explain it!" Unable to stop herself, she rubbed the scar out of frustration. "I can feel my pulse if I want to..."

"How?" He glanced down at her heart, and she saw the light bulb click in his eyes. "Oh. Really?"

Acting on impulse, she reached out and grabbed his hands. Turning them, palms skyward, she forced them into a curved shape, as though he was cupping water.

"What are you doing?"

"Be quiet, before I lose my nerve." Reaching inside the case, her fingers wrapped around the cool glass and she felt a flood of nerves and emotion flood through her. Before she could focus too much on what she was feeling, she carefully placed it in his hands.

She removed her hands so they were just hovering above his arms. He jumped slightly as he felt her heartbeat, though his hands remained still as stone, and she watched as his eyes widened.

"This is unreal." He breathed.

It looked abnormally small in his large hands. She'd never thought it as weak or fragile as she did in that moment. Lucas wasn't rough or twisting it around to examine it. His body became a statue and she knew he was focused on making sure he didn't do anything to break it. She could feel his hands on it, but it didn't bother her so much anymore. It felt safe. She didn't know how, but she knew Lucas would keep it safe.

"You should hold it," he said.

She shook her head. "I can't..."

Carefully, he moved her heart so it rested on one hand. Her stomach twisted a little, but more from the sensation of repositioning in his hand than him moving it. Reaching out, he took her right hand and started pulling it towards her heart. She started trying to yank it back, but he squeezed tighter.

"It's alright."

Biting her lip, she relented, letting him place her hand over the glass with his own on top, trapping her. Her body tensed as she braced for the pain like last time.

Thump thump.

Her heart beat felt loud in her ears. Her eyes closed as she felt it thrum through her body, and when the pain didn't flare, she felt confused. Stopping, she searched deeper within herself, trying to figure out what it was she was feeling.

The pain was still there; a slight ache buried deep. It no longer hurt, but thinking of it filled her with a sense of sadness. She didn't want to think of the sadness, not now. Lucas' finger brushed against her skin, readjusting his hold –

Th-thump, thump.

Her eyes flew open. Her heart - it skipped a beat. It wasn't the first time she had ever experienced the feeling, but it had been so long, she could barely remember what it had felt like. It resonated through her, like an echo of something she had once known. It was warm and comforting, making her stomach flutter and fill with so many emotions, each warring with the other –

It freaked her out.

"I need to let go now please." It wasn't begging this time, but a demand. Lucas immediately complied and she quickly put her heart back in its case, snapping it shut and stood up fast, banging her elbow on the steel frame of the bed.

"Ariel are you okay -?"

"Fine! Just need to use the bathroom." She rushed past him and made a beeline for the bathroom. Once inside, she twisted the lock and slumped down against the door, her bottom hitting the cold floor hard.

"Not good," she whispered. "Definitely not good." 

Hello everyone. I hope you had a lovely Easter :-) I know it's been quite a while since I updated (I have recieved all the kind and some harsh reminders lol). Unfortunately life happens and there's nothing I can do about that. Work, Easter and family and have kept me very busy. I apologise since I know you are enjoying the story, and I do my best to get writing done when I can. I know this won't appease 90% of you lol, but as I said - life lol. This chapter turned out waaaaay different to how I imagined lol. I hope you enjoy it!