Charcoal Pt. 12

The next part of Soul and Scott's adventures! 

I am still editorless so there will still be mistakes, but I am working on it :) I hope you enjoy!

Charcoal pt. 12:

Soul looked around the dining room with new eyes.  It was truly beautiful.  He leaned into Sylvia and laughed lightly.  How could he have ever disliked her?  She was so nice.  Sylvia pulled a chair next to her own at the head of the table and pushed Soul gently into it, and sat in her own.

She spoke as she piled food onto Soul’s plate.

“I know you are upset at my son.  And you should be.  But I would ask that you do work with him today.  It is very important that we figure out what is happening.”  Soul nodded.  Here away from Scott and in Sylvia’s soothing presence he could imagine working with Scott and the thought wasn’t too bad. 

“Okay.”  He smiled at her again and began picking through the fruit on his plate.  

After lunch was finished Soul was lead to a library and settled in a chair to wait for Scott.  He hummed as he waited.  Struck by the room’s beauty.  He ached to get his hands on some of the books, but Sylvia had told him to sit, so that was what he was going to do. 

Scott entered after indeterminable amount of time.  He looked properly contrite.  Soul considered being angry, but figured it wasn’t worth the energy.  After all it wasn’t all Scott’s fault. 

“Hello.”  Soul said pleasantly. 

“I am so, so sorry.”  Scott said, refusing to meet Soul’s eyes.

“Don’t be.”  Soul smiled at him.  “We have work to do.  I know that I have to trust you.  So I choose to forget this morning.”  Scott looked stricken.

“Forget it?  You would do that?”  Scott sounded incredulous, and not as happy as Soul would have imagined him to.

“You hurt me, and I am forgetting.  Why are you not happy?”  Soul didn’t quite feel himself, but he didn’t think Scott was acting rationally either. 

“What did she do to you?”  Scott asked.  Soul frowned. 

“Who did what?” 

Scott shook his head and walked closer.

“We should begin.  She will be coming to check soon enough.”  Soul didn’t know why Scott would say such a thing in such a way.  Why would he be so worried about someone checking in?  They were only doing what they were supposed to be doing.  But he ignored the thought.

“Okay.”  He said and they began.

**

Soul sat at a table in the library.  There was a piece of paper in front of him and a pencil in his hand, he couldn’t draw a thing.  As the day had gone on Soul had begun to feel more himself, and his anger and hurt toward Scott were growing. 

“Just draw something!”  Said Scott, his hands tightening in Soul’s hair where they had rested for the past hours.

“I can’t just draw something!  And you have no right to demand anything from me!”  Soul’s restraint crumpled.  He pushed his chair back and whirled to face Scott.  He could feel the color rising in his cheeks.  He was humiliated, frustrated, and hurt.  It was not a good combination.

“You said you had forgotten.”  Scott said, backing up slowly, his hands held awkwardly away from him, as if he didn’t know what to do with them.

“How could I forget such a thing?  Such a violation.  I said no.  Clearly and several times.  I can’t just forget that.  Now you keep telling me to do things and demanding my trust.  What have you done to deserve it?”  Soul had to keep talking, talking or crying seemed to be his only options at the moment.

“You didn’t feel that way earlier.”  Scott let his hands drop.  One of his eyebrows rose and Soul was reminded of the expression Scott had worn when he first met him all those months ago.  The loathing that he had experienced then returned.

“I want myself then.  Your bitch mother did something when I was in shock.  In shock that my supposed beloved assaulted me.”

“I asked you, and you said you had forgotten.  Things might have been different if you hadn’t assured me-“

“I hate you.”  Soul felt calmer now.  His anger and desperation had faded.  “I hate you and I hate this house.  I hate that you turned art into something that it isn’t.  That you manipulated my feelings.  That you are too stupid to realize that you will never hold me and know that I am yours.  I wont do this for you.  I wont stay in this house and pretend that I don’t realize that there are things no one will tell me.”  Soul finished his speech with a sigh.  All this time he had been used.  Well that time was over.  He walked from the library leaving a stunned Scott behind him.  He trailed one hand down the wall as he walked down the hall.  He hoped he could find his way out.

“Hello”

“We missed you.”

Soul froze.  He looked up slowly at the familiar voices.  Michelle and David smiled at him. 

“Hi.”  He said softly.  He should have known that they were somehow involved.  With all this mess he would have been surprised if they hadn’t been.

“We came because we knew you were feeling a bit torn.  We want to tell you walking away is a very good idea.”

“Because then we get to convince you to stay.”  David and Michelle had never been this- unified when Soul had known them. 

“What if I decide to stay on my own?”  Soul didn’t think he would like the twins’ persuasion.

“Then we won’t bother you.” 

Soul turned slowly and went back the way he came.  Maybe there was another way out of the house.  Maybe there was someone else that would help him.  He thought of the different people in the house.  There was Josie; she had said that the others were on his side, if his side was the same as theirs.  Soul still didn’t know how many sides there were.  But even if she was, she was in no condition to help. 

Soul tiptoed past the library, and found himself without any idea of where to go next.  Past the library there was a perpendicular hallway, closed doors lined both sides.  Soul frowned and went right.  Each of the doors were locked.  He continued, and at the very end he found that the hall curved to the right.  He followed it again, only to find the twins.

“Where are you going?”

“Do you need help finding something?”

Soul shook his head and turned again, he walked slowly.  Something gave him the impression sudden movements would invite pouncing.  Feeling he had no choice Soul made his way back to the library.  He found Scott where he left him, only now there were tears tracing down his cheeks.

“Tell me who in this house doesn’t want to destroy my life.”  Soul spoke quietly and deliberately.  Scott didn’t move.

“I don’t think anyone wants to destroy your life.”  Scott spoke almost too softly to hear.

“Well tell me then, who wants to help me?”  At this Scott slowly raised his head.

“I want to help you.  I just need one more chance.  One more chance and I’ll help you.”  There was so much hope in Scott’s voice Soul couldn’t help but believe him.

“I don’t want to give you any more chances.  I have nothing to tell me that you have tried with any of the others.  I know nothing of your motives-“

“That is a lie!”  Scott interjected.  “You do know what I want.  I want to be with you.  I want to love you, I want you to love me.”  Scott began walking toward Soul as he spoke.  Soul flinched but didn’t back away. 

“That’s not enough.”  Soul whispered.  Scott ignored Soul’s body language and cupped his face in his hands. 

“Look at me, really look, and tell me that I don’t want what is best for you.”  Soul looked.  He really looked, and hoped that the talent his mother had seen in him wasn’t wrong.  Soul looked deep into Scott’s blue eyes and thought.  Did he believe him?  Did he have any choice not to?

“One more chance.”  Soul whispered.  Scott’s face lit up. 

“You wont regret it!”  Scott ran his fingers the rest of the way through Soul’s hair and took his hand. 

“We do need to get out of here though.  Mom will know her mojo didn’t quite work, and if the twins are here that means that the others are coming too…”

Just then the door to the library opened.  Sylvia was in front of the crowd, and with here were the twins and several others Soul had never seen.

“What is going on in here?  This doesn’t look like progress.”  Sylvia had dropped her overly kind demeanor and looked every bit the evil villainess.  Soul couldn’t stifle a nervous giggle.  Sylvia glared and it was obvious she wanted an answer.

“I umm, umm.”  Soul took advantage of the blush that he could feel building.  “I felt restless.  I cant think with Scott so near, I umm just-“

“Wanted a quickie.”  Finished Scott.  Soul’s face flamed. 

“Why don’t I believe you?”  Sylvia eyes were like daggers.  Soul imagined them cutting into their excuse.

“I’m sorry mother.”  Scott spoke in a defeated tone.  Soul shot him a look.  It seemed the last chance would be short lived.  “I couldn’t bear my guilt.  I have to make it up to Soul.  I’m sure you can understand.”

Soul didn’t think that Sylvia would, or could understand a thing like guilt but she did soften slightly.

“You may have today.  Tomorrow I expect results.”  And with that Sylvia and her posse departed.

“Tomorrow isn’t going to be any better.”  Soul began as the door closed behind the pack.

“I know.  But we wont be here.”  Scott’s face lit up once more.  “We must talk to my siblings.

**

Soul held his duffel bag handles loosely. 

“Scott, there is no way this is going to work.”  Soul said.  Josie was too weak; Nova was too concerned about Josie.  Soul had no idea where they were and didn’t have any experience on his own.  Melissa was okay, and Thomas seemed okay if a bit demanding, but the others hadn’t wanted to come, or hadn’t been around.  Soul was concerned that a group of six being too conspicuous. 

“Soul, we have been waiting to do this for ages.”  Said Melissa.  “You have just given us an excuse.”

“Is the plan to just leave?  Or do we have some kind of distraction?”   The group was silent in response to Josie’s question.

“Well,” Melissa began after a long pause.  “When we first planned this we had planned for Scott and Soul to finish the bond, the backlash of power would have put Sylvia out of commission and would have made her think everything was going with her plan.”  Scott looked stunned, and more than a little guilty.

“Is that still the plan?”  Soul asked quietly.  It was a good plan, but one he wasn’t really fond of.

“We couldn’t ask that of you, of course not!”  Josie answered at once.  The others remained silent.  “Really?  You would ask that?  I cannot believe such a thing would even be suggested-” Josie would have gone on if her husband hadn’t brushed a hand over her lips.

“We hadn’t thought of an alternative.”  Nova spoke quietly, almost apologetically.  Soul stood silently.  He couldn’t think.  Just when he thought things were getting better.

“There is a way to fake it, it would wear off quickly and most likely have other side effects, but I read about it earlier.  If Soul and Scott were to exchange blood it would cause a similar rush of power, but leave the bond unfinished.  If we were to act quickly enough-” Melissa trailed off slowly

“That is rather dangerous isn’t it, especially because- well the trust isn’t quite there yet, and neither have done something so powerful.”  Nova also spoke quietly.  The mood in the room was decidedly low.

“Can we try it?”  Soul broke the silence.  “What does it entail?”