i imagine Virtus as a child being one of those kids who stay up past their bedtime just to finish the narnia series and i think about that a lot

also i was that child 

for Aslan

Chapter Thirteen

"It's good. You should try it."

"Smells horrific."

"So dramatic." I say taking another slice of pizza, "You can't seriously tell me you've never had pizza before? We're in New York." 

"Not like that." His face is of pure repulsion, as he looks up from his book and stares at the food in my hand like it was poison. "Do you really eat that often?"

I nod, "All the time." Unfortunately, that wasn't a lie.

He shakes his head, obviously disgusted. "Sickening. Garbage for you body."

I roll my eyes, "Right, sickening, coming from the guy who, as I recall, pulled the fingernails off an eighty-year-old politician a few months ago."

He gives me a flat look, and I shoot him a smug grin in return before rewiring all attention back to the pizza in which I was wholly engrossed in. 

My confidence around him has skyrocketed, and I'm not sure if it's because I subconsciously believe that I don't have much time left to play the role of a boy before he finds out, or because I figure I'm dead no matter what I do.

Might as well have fun in New York before he stabs me.

To my own surprise, he hasn't yelled at me once for stepping out of line. I go as far as joking with him, and choosing what we have for dinner, and he doesn't snap like he used to when we first arrived here. He seems impassive, like he doesn't care anymore.

Or, just as I'm getting used to him, he's getting used to me, which can only benefit me not just in staying alive, but to enact my moment of questioning.

I haven't forgotten about Stacy, but, I admit, she hasn't always been the first thing on my mind the past few days. 

I frown. The fact that I'm only here because of her, and yet, I haven't been prioritizing her makes me feel sick, and suddenly I'm not so hungry anymore.

Virtus seems to see my sudden lack of interest in the food, and narrows, "What's wrong? Too much grease make you sick?"

I glare at him, but don't respond.

"Your immaturity is mind boggling." He puts his book down, assuming I'm finished eating, and stand. I unwillingly follow him to the bedroom, where he throws clean clothes at me, not even sparing me a glance.

I begin to question how long this cycle is going to process before he inevitably steals a glance at me and sees my binder. What would a man do if he found out the man getting dressed beside him actually had breasts (albeit, pathetically small, but breast nonetheless.)

Trying to understand the actions of Virtus is almost as hard as pinpointing the pattern of a erratic animal. One moment he's fine, joking about my lack of independence, the next, he's angry and threatening to 'get rid' of me.

The whole night I swim in my own pool of guilt. I lay on the couch, trying to sleep but every time I close my eyes I see Stacy staring back at me, angry that I haven't made a move yet to find out what happened to her. Why did she die? Just how badly had it been for her? 

Was it quick? Was it painless?

Did he even feel bad about it at all?

I wince, gripping the blanket on top of me hard, as if it could take away the remorse I was suffocating in.  The truth was, I was getting too comfortable around Virtus. I was fine sitting beside him as he read, accompanying him while he lives the life of America's Bone Cutter. 

My self hatred is thick tonight.

I'm jolted awake by a sudden crash of thunder that seems to shake the entire apartment. My eyes immediately find Virtus's who still has the light on while reading. 

God, what time was it?

There is the fainting grin on his lips as he says, "Scared of thunder, intern?"

I scowl at him, "Of course not, it just surprised me."

He nods, clearly not believing a word I said, and returns his gaze to the book in his hands, which read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

I drop my head back down on my pillow, angry that once again Virtus had a reason to look down at me. Another explosion of thunder made me jump, and I knew he saw. I dared a glance up from my pillow at him, only to find him staring at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Don't laugh at me." I say, quickly looking away, "You're always laughing at me."

There's a long pause, and then he says, "You're right. I've never met someone I could laugh at." He stops for a moment, and continues, "It's nice."

Irritated at his amusement, I want to scold him, but obviously, I'm a coward. "To mock someone? I wouldn't consider that nice."

"I wouldn't consider it mocking." I stare back up at him as he speaks, "I suppose it is just natural with you." He looks back down at his book, "You're a very easy person to laugh at, Uri. I don't know what that says about you, but nonetheless, it is nice."

"Gee thanks."

I see yet another small grin, "Of course."

The rest of the night, I attempt to fall asleep, and only result in a broken sleep patter that ended up not satiating my body in the slightest bit. 

The sun shines through the windows when Virtus pulls open the curtains, and a beam of light is directed right towards my face. I groan, pulling the blanket over my  head, which is then tugged off almost immediately. "Get up." He orders, dropping the blanket onto the floor, and I fantasize about shoving it in his mouth. 

I slowly pull myself up, my brain feeling foggy. I'm exhausted.

Virtus clearly does not care, as he begins to walk out of the room, and I contemplate if the repercussion is worth it by not following him, and instead going back to sleep.

Before he takes the first step out of the room, he looks back at me, impatience clearly radiating off him. Shooting him a nasty glare because it's entirely his fault I was kept awake last night, as his words left a solid dent in my thoughts, I followed. I don't know why what he said stuck with me, and I don't want to know why. I settled on the idea that nobody likes to be mocked, and it had nothing to do with me not wanting to be mocked by specifically him.

I follow him to the kitchen, where he boils water for some coffee, and pours us both a cup. He hands me the caffeinated liquid, and I greedily drink it, knowing I was going to need some source of energy to ignite me throughout the day.

He leans up against the counter, cup in his hand and speaks, "Today," He sighs, "Is going to be shit."

I don't like the sound of that. 

"Stay beside me, no matter what I say, if I tell you to stay behind, don't listen to me."

"That's. . . not easy." I mumble, rubbing the back of my head. The short hair pricks against the palm of my hand, and I still am not used to it.

He frowns at me, "It's perfectly clear instructions, how is that not easy?"

Because you get really angry if i don't obey you. "Nevermind." I respond and take a large drink of coffee, which burns my throat, making me cough.

Virtus shakes his head at me, once again probably thinking I'm an idiot, and pushes himself off the counter. "Let's get ready then."

I hesitantly follow him back to the bedroom once more, and we both get dressed. He throws a tie at me, and I'm about to attempt to tie it myself this time but before I could even try, he walks over, pulls me closer to him by the collar, and ties it.

I stare at him, as he tightens the knot up to my neck, his fingers brushing the skin of my neck as he does so. 

I suddenly feel very hot, and incredibly uncomfortable.

As soon as he's done I dramatically take several steps away from him, my gaze locking out the window so I don't have to look at him.

I feel Virtus stare at me as he says, "You look like you're going to pass out."

"I'm fine." I said quickly. I can hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears, and I feel stupid for making my discomfort so obvious.

I can't wait to go back home.

He ties his own tie, and moves to the closet full of jewelry, where he a diamond studded white gold watch, and several layers of silver necklaces. He drapes them around my neck and the weight of them seem to pull my posture down.

I watch him put on three separate glittering diamond necklaces, each longer than the other. Around his right arm, he puts on seven thick studded bracelets, all moving up to his elbow. His left arm was left without jewelry.  It was an odd choice of design, but I was convinced at this point that he could make any outfit look luxurious, and brilliant.

The last piece of jewelry he put on were long, silver chained earrings. They hung down his ears, resting against his shoulders. 

Why did he make them look so good?

He leaned against the wall for a slight second after getting dressed, closed his eyes, and took a deep, controlled breath. "Okay." He opened his eyes and stared at me, "Let's get this over with."

I don't know what we had to 'get over with' but I nodded, and followed him out of the apartment. 

I didn't realize there would be so much commotion outside. As soon as we leave the building, we are bombarded with flashes of cameras, and over twenty body guards, guarding Virtus from the overwhelming press. There's a black van parked in front of the building, and when the driver opens the vehicle's door, Chelsea steps out. 

She smiles warmly at Virtus, which I knew was a lie. They hated each other, and yet, at this moment you couldn't tell. Virtus doesn't smile back at her, but he doesn't stop moving towards her either.

In moments they are embracing each other, their arms pulled around their bodies. Chelsea pulls herself up on the tips of her toes, and smashes her lips onto his. He doesn't pull away. He doesn't stop her. He encourages the action by pressing his hand in the small of her back, pushing her more into him.

I'm taken back by the sudden romantic moment, but I also can't stop watching. The way he brushes her hair out of the way, softly cupping her chin with his fingers.

For an odd moment, I feel sick by it. I don't know why, but I want it to end, and quickly. I know it is a show for the cameras, it always is with them, but that doesn't stop me from feeling bothered by it.

Finally they stop, and Chelsea grabs his hand in hers, and smiles widely at him. The move into the back of the car, and I'm unsure if it'd be right if I followed. In fact, I'd rather not follow, I don't want my face to be in the photos, and I certainly don't want rumors going around about me being Virtus's pathetic shadow, third-wheeling into the car with the newly engaged celebrity couple.

I hesitate, until I see the driver of their vehicle shut the door as they got in. There's a tap on my shoulder, and I look over to see the same old man who normally drives me and Virtus everywhere. He's giving me a small smile, "This way, Sir." I'm certain he knows I am not a 'sir', but I nod, and follow anyway.

We move to another car and he holds the door open for me. I know Virtus is going to yell at me for not getting in the car with him when I had the chance, but it's too late now, as I watch them leave. 

Alone, for the first time since I got here, I sit in the vehicle, as we follow behind Virtus and his fiancé, and I pray his method of annihilation will be merciful.