Becoming the Luna

I try to roll off the bed, knowing what is coming but Virgil effortlessly stops me with a hand.

"Where do you think you're going?" He murmurs in my ear making me shiver.

"I'm not five, kissing it better doesn't work." I try to reason, anticipation thrumming at my fingertips.

"Judge after I'm done." He says seriously, arms wrapped tight around me like he can predict I'm about to make a break for it.

I try my hardest to not flinch when his soft lips make contact but the anticipation burns too high so it's inevitable, it tingles immediately, the sore feeling fading into the background.

It might actually be feeling better but I don't think this is what was had in mind when people wanted to kiss hurts better.

I worry at my lip while he takes his time, kissing the bruise better, it's almost ridiculous but I can't laugh because it doesn't feel funny.

He finally moves up so that he's face to face with me and I mock glare at him.

"How does it feel now?" He asks with a self assured smile.

I glare harder at him. "I still don't believe in kissing hu… ah! Virgil!" I bury my hand in his hair to quickly drag him away from my body, he had flashed down and taken a nipple in his mouth which leaves with a plop.

"How about now?" He asks again.

"That's not fair." I complain, still shaken, still very shaken.

He gives me an innocent look. "What isn't? There was a bruise there."

I sober up, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He says seriously, moving me so that I'm now comfortable on the bed.

"I don't like you." I pout, overreacting but I was too hurt. "Why wouldn't you tell me something as important as that?"

"Because that's the entire point of going undercover, plus you're a terrible actor." He snickers.

"I managed to get you pissed off though even with my 'terrible acting'" I make air quotes at this, we're lying on the bed, facing each other.

His eyes darken at this. "I should skin Yanis." He hums thoughtfully, like he's really considering it.

"Well, why didn't you tell Shana or Dale either? They aren't 'terrible actors'" I scoff, still making the air quotes.

"You're angry I called you a terrible actor, aren't you?" He asks dryly.

I just shrug. "Can't you tell I'm acting, after all I'm just a 'terrible actor'" I say huffily and he cracks up at this, laughing hard.

"Well, I didn't tell Shana because she would go all out with metal bats and saucepans, and Dale would have confronted Nicole because of how much he trusts her which means I'd be found out." He pulls me closer at this, sobering up. "It was horrible, seeing the pain in your eyes and unable to do anything."

I rest my head on his chest and close my eyes, his words to Dale in the hallway that night floating to me.

'why am I doing this again?...'

"I'm glad you decided to help Dale, plus if you hadn't thought this far we wouldn't have found out till she had a knife on my back." I say logically.

Virgil's arms get tighter around me and I look up to see his eyes tightly shut like he's trying to block out the image. "You're so brave." He murmurs in my hair.

I close my eyes when his expression becomes peaceful, sighing deeply.

I hadn't thought that I had done anything special, if anything I should have trusted Virgil, I've practically known him all my life.

"You're not sad that I…" I trail off not knowing how to phrase it 

Virgil looks down at me, a tiny smile on his otherwise serious expression. "Why would I be? I'm not a terrible actor so I expected to have you fooled, that's the whole point." He quips and my worried expression morphs into a glare.

"Really, just when I was starting to forget about it too." I mutter, shaking my head.

A knock on the doors cuts off his laughing and we share a glance. "Five dollars that it's your mom?" Virgil makes a bet.

"Nope! It's definitely Shana." I say with conviction when the knocks become erratic and louder, the ruckus is accompanied by occasional jiggling of the door knob.

"It's a bet and you might want to put a shirt on." He says to me, getting up to go answer the person on the other side of the door. "You have a hickey." He throws over his shoulder.

"W-What?" I startle, looking down in confusion which changes to a look of dismay, there's a clear red circle around my left nipple.

Groaning, I hurry off the bed and go to quickly throw a loose shirt on my body, I needed a shower too because there's still flecks of blood on my hands and my pants.

Virgil barely opens the door before my mom is barging in.

Virgil has a look of smugness on his face and he makes a move to go out after giving me finger guns but he doesn't get that far, my mom drags him and pulls him into a hug.

"My baby is fine, thank you Virgil, thank you so much." She says with teary eyes. "Don't leave because of me, I just needed to see with my eyes that he's okay, I'll soon be on my way." She pats him when he hugs her in return.

Then she slowly makes her way over to me, her pale and shaky hands clutched in front of her. She slowly and carefully pats me down like she's convincing herself I'm real before pulling me into a tight hug.

"You're going to make my hair fall out with how much you keep making me worry." She says fondly, tears in her soulful grey eyes.

"I'm pretty just you'd look just as beautiful even with a bald head." I say in a muffled voice and she bursts out laughing, the tears winking in her eyes overflowing and falling out the sides of her eyes from the force of her laughter.

"It wouldn't hurt you to just give me a plain compliment, would it? She comments dryly.

"But, that's no fun." I pout playfully.

"I better get going, Candy had rushed down to the station with Mrs. Nolan, and Maggie and Shana are trying to end the ball early, I should go help them out." She informs us, hugging me one last time before stepping out.

Virgil leans against the closed door, his white gold hair in a disarray. "You owe me five dollars." He says with a wicked smirk.