I BELIEVE IN YOU;Paul&Aurelia;

[PAUL MICHAEL BRASS]

Everything had started to blur together as soon as Dixon's fist connected with his face with mind-numbing force. The first blow split his lip, the second broke his nose- that much he was sure of, from the hollow crunch and sudden numbness spreading across his face, followed by the gush of warm blood. Paul lifted a hand to stem the flow, a little disoriented as he squinted at the ground, almost falling to one knee. But he eventually straightened, albeit a little unsteadily to renew his attack, though he had lost the element of surprise on this mammoth freak. In seconds he was down on the ground again, and Dixon had a hold of his face, turning him to look at Aurelia as she stood up from the broken shards on the floor. He couldn't say what he was feeling exactly, but relief was definitely there.
Dixon continued to try and taunt him, warning him of what Aurelia could do as he released his hold. Paul fell back with a gasp, hands slipping on the floor as he tried to push himself into a sitting position.

”Here’s your chance. Let it go. Walk away. Take her advice and abandon her.”

He wanted to reply, spit back an angry 'fuck you' or something, but couldn't seem to find his voice. Most of the people had emptied out of the room but were making noise beyond the walls, making Dixon's anger that seemed to physically fill the area all the more potent with no one else around to dilute it. He lunged for Paul, who tried to push himself back onto his feet, but Dixon had a hold of him again, and with a sickening crack, wrenched his arm behind his back. Paul gave a choked groan, stumbling into the wall. His good shoulder thudded into it, allowing him to brace against it and rise in time to dimly see Aurelia sink the shard of glass into the other man's arm.

Blinking stupidly, Paul suddenly felt very weary- it was like one second she was halfway across the room, and the next Aurelia was taking his good arm and leading him out past people yelling and scuffling.

"I know you dislike me or something, I don't know, but we need to get you to a hospital, now."

Paul made no reply, but weakly shook his head as she opened the car. With things being so not ordinary, he didn't see why she wanted to do something like go to a hospital.
"M'fi'e," He told her, trying to be gentle as he once again lifted his hand to his bleeding nose, casting her a bleary sidelong glance. She was hurt too, and he didn't know how she had survived the whole taser attack even with her powers, but wasn't in much of a position to argue. Even leaning his head back against the headrest in the car was making him feel sleepy- probably a concussion, but he couldn't find it in himself to be really concerned.
He never completely lost consciousness, or at least not for a very long time. Everything just passed in little flashes, helped along by the painkillers he was offered as they stitched his lip, set his nose, and eventually his arm. He had no idea at what point he got out of there, or who brought him home in his loopy state, barely aware of what was going on, but the school still loomed ahead, and then there was darkness.

~~~~~

He inhaled suddenly, eyes wincing despite already being closed. There was a weird cold, pinched feeling in the bridge of his nose, but automatically raising the hand that didn't feel like lead to his face was a bad idea. He ended up just smacking his tender nose, groaning aloud as his eyes opened to tiny slits. He gazed ahead in confusion- he was looking up, but at himself. His blond hair looked oddly frizzy, spazzing out all over the place, his blue eyes ringed in deep purple bruises, one side of his lip swollen and red. He still wore his blood-crusted shirt, now completely ruined with that stain down the neckline. Basically he looked like shit.

Turning his aching neck, he saw that his left arm was bound in a sling, a hard cast holding his hand and wrist in place up to the elbow. Swallowing another groan, he pushed himself up with some effort, studying the scene around him. It took him a little while to recognize Aurelia's dorm room, but longer to find her standing there.
"Hey..." He blinked slowly, voice hoarse, his smile more of a pained grimace on account of the stitch on his bottom lip.

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[AURELIA RAMONA OCTAVIAN]

The ride home had been a lonely one. Despite the man sitting next to her, drifting in and out of consciousness, there was still the fact that he wasn’t talking, and she didn’t want to provoke him into yelling at her or something, not in the condition he was in at the moment. She drew in a long, deep breath as they approached the school. Aurelia parked the car and stepped outside, closing her door before quickly running over to the other side of the car. Hoisting Paul up onto one arm, she woke him up long enough in his drug-induced state to get him in the dorm and up the elevator to their floor. By the time she got them to his rooms door, she realized something a bit important.

"Fuuuuuck... I don't have the key..." She groaned and looked over her shoulder at her own room, before dragging him inside, laying him down on the bed. Her instincts were raging, and she pulled a cover up under his arms, mid-torso, before grabbing a cold pack out of the freezer in her mini-fridge. She wrapped it up in a towel and put it on Paul’s forehead to keep him cooled off before sitting down on the windowseat, staring quietly. It’s where she remained for the rest of the night, making sure he was comfortable and the right temperature. Whenever he would try to roll onto the wrong side, she would push him into his original position on his back, hushing him back into sleep. It was all her fault... She put her face into her hand and cried silently until she fell asleep at the window seat.

It was around 8 when she woke up to find Paul looking curiously around at his surrondings, trying to push himself up. She sprung to her feet instantly, pushing him back down as gently as she could. Her eyes started to well up again.
”You broke your arm, and nose. And busted up your lip...” She touched his lips gently, knowing that he wouldn’t really be able to feel it because of the pain killers. She bit her own lip and chewed it slightly before running her fingers gingerly against the side of his face, sighing softly. He looked like crap, and judging from the look on his face when he first woke up, he knew it as well. Probably because of the mirror above her bed... Ohhhh, such a kinky girl... Sitting up, she brushed her hair out of her face and looked away, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

”I’m sorry you got hurt... You could have just left, you know. One less person like me in the world must be better than keeping me around, right?” She laughed dryly and ran her fingers through her hair, before looking back at him, eyebrows raising together. The moment she had said it, she regret it deeply, because she had always told herself the moment she started resenting who she was outwardly, was the moment that would make it true. She was different. She was... a freak. And the way Paul had looked at her way back then had only confirmed it to her. She didn’t deserve a normal life, no matter how much she wanted one.
”Anyway... I didn’t have your keys... So I had to bring you in here. Sorry.” She smiled weakly and ran her hands through her hair, teasing it all the way to the tips, before flicking the ends back over her shoulders. ”You can go whenever you want... After you can walk, of course... You were pretty looped up from the painkillers when I was getting you up here...”

[PAUL MICHAEL BRASS]

In an instant Aurelia had darted over to the bed, gently pushing him back, tears starting to well up in her eyes. He resisted at first, then fell back with a wince and a soft thump, still slightly groggy.

He let her fret over him, barely feeling the gentle brush of her fingers on his face. Her vibrant red hair fell like a curtain over one shoulder, and he lifted his good arm at the elbow, brushing his hand through the tips of her hair almost absently, blue eyes slowly following the trail before he seemed to come back to the present and looked at her face again, but she was leaning away once more, revealing the mirror overhead again. His brows rose and he gave her a puffy-eyed but pointed look, ignoring her list of what he had injured- he'd accounted for most of them already, having been able to see himself from here, and sense the ache of steadily returning feeling to his face and arm.

Aurelia seemed to be suffering some sort of internal struggle, sitting all curled like that with her head resting on her hand.

”I’m sorry you got hurt... You could have just left, you know. One less person like me in the world must be better than keeping me around, right?”

There wasn't much change in his expression, but he could definitely feel the surge of anger eclipsing the contentedness of before, and slowly sat back up. Was she keen to have him out of there? She seemed rather uncomfortable, no longer the strong woman he had known before now.
"That's sick..." He mumbled, half to himself, glaring over at her as he pushed himself with one arm and slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed. He didn't feel like running a marathon, and just sitting up was like having a sledgehammer taken to his skull, but if he had to walk the hallway it wouldn't be the end of him. But he had to take care of some things first.

"That's sick," He repeated, a little more loudly this time, obviously upset, teeth gritted. He lifted his good hand to his hair, flattening it absently, unable to say anything else just yet.
Suddenly Paul shot to his feet, mouth opening furiously.
"You think I wanted you dead? That's horrible, I'd never-" He shook his head, wincing again, apparently forgetting his train of thought as he stuck out his arm to brace himself against the nearest wall as he tottered over to it. Woah. Head rush. Still holding himself up, he twisted halfway to look at her over his shoulder.
"Don't play that card with me. You took me by surprise, and yeah, I've been an asshole to you, but I've been trying to look at it a different way." He turned fully, leaning his back against the wall instead so he could face her. "So you think that because I've been avoiding you, and I was being a jerk, that somehow you deserve to die? Better yet, that I'd be happy if someone died because they're different for a reason I wasn't ready to face?" He straightened with a disgusted snort, shoulders tensed. "What the hell were you even doing with Dixon out there? Did you think that he'd changed at all? I know what he did to get you to tell him, so don't pretend that he had an ounce of good in him." He was trying to keep his voice to talking level, but it was difficult- the only thing that stopped him shouting was the fact that they lived in a building with hundreds of other students, and every time he raised his voice too much his head felt like it was throbbing.

"I know I hurt you, but I didn't know what to think when you told me you were like Jon. I've spent my whole life hating what he was," His voice was shaking with the strain, hand raised to jab at the air each time he had to emphasize a point. "And I didn't know if I could change- if what we had was worth changing a lifetime of opinions." He was being brutally honest, words spilling out in a furious rush. "You don't have to forgive me for anything- I deserve that for how I acted. But if you think for a second that I'd be okay with watching you get tasered to death, or suffer any kind of punishment because you happened to be born a certain way, then maybe you're the one who's got the wrong idea. Maybe you don't know me at all." He spat the last few words, wobbling over to the door with an expression of fierce determination as his hand landed heavily on the doorknob, breathing hard.

[AURELIA RAMONA OCTAVIAN]

Aurelia listened carefully as Paul yelled at her, wincing every time he threw his hands out, jabbing the air to make his point. It was like being back at home with her mother again. Pushing her to be stronger, and faster, even smarter. She coiled back and held her tongue, waiting for him to finish, getting up when he started to stumble to the door.

”Paul, I didn't mean me being dead.” She said quietly, resting her hand over his on the doorknob. "I wouldn't have died anyway... I would have released the electricity through the floor. But then people would know I was some sort of freak, and I'd have to relocate... It's what happens when one of us is discovered. We have to leave that country. Forever. Get an entirely new identity, and never, ever return. Not even to see friends or family." She looked up at him, eyes watering. She didn't want him to leave. Not now. She thought he had hated her now, but it was clearly different than what she had thought. He was trying to understand, and trying to deal with it. She was being unfair.

”I'm so sorry you got hurt...” She touched his face a little more firmly this time, slipping her fingers over the bruised areas of his face, and the stitch in his lip. It was her fault she was put in that chair; he was right. Dixon hadn't changed. Maybe it was because she didn't want to be alone last night. Halloween parties made her feel better. Mostly because, well, Halloween was her birthday. If she imagined just hard enough, she could think that everyone was there to celebrate her life. When in all actuality, most people resented her existence.

”I didn't want to be alone last night. Or today...” She looked at the calendar and sighed softly, before looking up at him, shrugging. ”He told me that he had a birthday present for me... Today is my birthday...” Her fingers were still on his face, while her other hand was over his on the doorknob. Somewhere in between his first yelling spree, and his abrupt decision to depart her room, she had started crying. Now she could feel the tears on her face, growing hotter and burning her eyes as she tried to calm herself down.
”It's my fault. I'm so stupid.” She let her hand drop from her face, to cover her own, mostly out of shame that she was actually crying in front of him; something she didn't do quite often, let alone in front of people.
”I just wanted to go to a normal party...” She heaved in a deep breath, wiping her face, even though she still kept crying. Now she was getting pissed off at herself.

”Stop it!” She took her hand away from the doorknob, holding her head tightly. She felt like exploding her head or something. This was so frustrating. Finally, she heaved in one last deep breath and halted her tears, still breathing heavily. Now she probably looked twice as horrid as Paul did.
”I'm so sorry, Paul. I'm so sorry.” She closed her eyes and fell into him gently, forehead resting on his chin, before sliding to his jaw, and finally resting the bridge of her nose perfectly in the small nook between his jaw and his neck. She sniffed hard and kept her eyes closed, slowly winding her arms up around his torso, pulling him closer.

”Please don't go... I need you. Shit sucks when you're not around to make fun of it with me...” She half-laughed a wet, sniffly laugh, before turning so her face was completely pressed into his shoulder. He was swaying, and she could tell that the pain medication was wearing off. The adrenaline had probably burned through it by now. She didn't want him to be in pain anymore.
”You need to rest, though... I have your pain medication in my bag. Will you please lay down? I'll try not to cry as much.” She pulled away from him and sniffed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. She just wanted him to be comfortable. They could talk about things much easier if they were both calmed down enough to discuss things, rather than yell at each other as if Hades had ordered a battle to the death.

”Come rest... Please.” She pleaded with him, leading him gently to the bed. ”You can yell at me all you like. Just don't move so much, you're going to hurt yourself...” She sat down and let him rest beside her, pulling her legs up onto the bed.
”So... What you said... About what we have being worth it... What did you decide? And what about Chelsea..?” Aurelia bit her lip. They hadn't spoken in a while, but she assumed that gave him more time to speak with Chelsea and sort out the distance between them. Absently, she ran her hands through her bag and finally drew out the bottle of pills, handing him two, and a bottle of water, gazing at him expectantly, with her huge, now tear-stained, red eyes.

[PAUL MICHAEL BRASS]

It was quite a significant distinction between what he'd been thinking, and what she was telling him, but he was still too annoyed, and now embarrassed to take it back.
"Yeah, well..." He mumbled sullenly. At least there was some level of relief in hearing that she knew what she was doing, and didn't wish to die. Paul could feel the creeping heat of a blush crawling up his cheeks as she quietly apologized. Everything had gone sort of quiet again, and it made him feel ashamed that he'd just chewed her out like that, although he still stubbornly maintained that he had some good points.

As Aurelia began to explain why she had gone with Dixon to the party, tears sprang to her eyes while her hand covered his on the doorknob. Her hand was on his face, forcing him to look at her. Part of him wanted to insist that he had overreacted, but an even larger part was still feeling stung. At least he waved away her apology for him getting hurt; it wasn't her fault that he intervened the way he had.

Aurelia backed off, clutching at her face, before gently collapsing against him. He took his hand from the door and reluctantly circled his arms around her, flinching as she squeezed him and leaned into his chest.

”Please don't go... I need you. Shit sucks when you're not around to make fun of it with me...”

His brows lowered over stony eyes, certain that she was blowing it out of proportion. They'd only known each other for a few months, and while he felt attachment in return, it was still weird to see her as vulnerable. He'd gotten used to the independent Aurelia who was more likely to smack him over the head if he got all passionate about some sort of cause, rather than dissolve into tears in front of him.

Feeling a little lost, he let her lead him back to the bed. He was starting to feel the pain more acutely, just as she'd suspected, but it wasn't unbearable. It was so odd to be coddled, and by Aurelia of all people. Sitting near the very edge, he leaned back until his shoulders were somewhat propped up on the pillows, trying to not get too comfortable, one leg hanging over the side.

”So... What you said... About what we have being worth it... What did you decide? And what about Chelsea..?”

He sighed heavily, looking up at bare ceiling to the side of the mirror rather than their reflections, stalling for time.
"She dumped me. A while back, actually." He shrugged, smirking. "I guess she didn't like what I had to tell her." When he could no longer simply stare upwards without a word, he tipped his head toward her, still holding the pills and water, weighing his words carefully.
"What we have...is a start." His gaze dropped from her's to the pills. He was reluctant to take them and pass out in the middle of an argument- at the very least he should return to his room, he thought. "I'm not going to lie and say that everything's just fine- it would be unfair to you if I didn't fully explain that I'm having a hard time getting over it. I know you're not like my brother, but I have my reasons for my prejudices, and they don't just go away in the blink of an eye. I expect it will just take time." He shook his head slowly, turning to face her, expression serious. "I'm trying, but you don't have to wait for me. I promise I won't tell anyone about you. You can trust that at least, even if we go nowhere." He'd put his offer on the table, and now watched her intently, still stony-faced.

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[AURELIA RAMONA OCTAVIAN]

Aurelia blinked as Paul explained what had happened with Chelsea. She bit her lip the way she normally did when she was around him and let her eyelids lower over her eyes, before looking up at him through her lashes.
”Oh... That... That sucks...” She bit her lip, contemplating what to say. What had he told her? That he was into some freak at school? Looking around at her room, she sighed softly and tucked her hands between her thighs, before huddling her shoulders up around her ears. She felt... Different. Like she hadn’t already been painfully aware that she was a demigod, she definitely was in tune with it at all times now. It was like the ordeal at the party had made her extra sensitive to electricity right now. She could feel the waves eminating from every object, all the static and electromagnetic mingling together around her. It was distracting, and she was finding it hard to focus on what he said, but she managed, finally fixing her eyes right to him, staring intensely at him, once again as strong as she ever could have been. No more crying, then. If he couldn’t get over her being a demigod right away, then she wasn’t going to offer that side of herself up if he wasn’t even going to take it. She would close it up, lock it away, and pretend it wasn’t there like she always had before, and when he was ready, she would try and let him in... Not that it’d be easy for her. But she would at least give it a go.

”A start is fine with me.” She said quietly, looking at him, still. Eyes bright, but unmoving, staring back just as stony as he was. At his last words, she laughed a little dryly and raised an eyebrow.
”Please, Paul. I guess you don’t know me so well if you think I’ll spend all day pining after you. I like you, doesn’t mean we can’t be friends until you’re less... Freaked or whatever.” She waved and hand and absently ran it through her hair before sighing loudly, looking up at him seriously. ”Although, I’m really going to miss the kissing. That was rather supreme...” She tapped her lips thoughtfully, thinking of the first-and last-kiss they had. The memory was ingrained into her mind rather fondly, and although he had run away from her afterwards, she felt like it was a step forward (then six steps back) in being more honest with him, and actually moving somewhere towards a relationship. He seemed like he was trying... But how long would he be willing to try? She bit her lip once again as she thought, glancing down to her toes. Her gaze was expressionless, but her thoughts were quite worrisome, now. What if he lost interest? Who’d want to be with a demigod when they could have a normal life? Smiling a bit, she looked up at him. Why would she see it like that? He’d be lucky to have her. Why settle for something ordinary, when you could have something extraordinary? She grinned a bit at her thoughts and crawled over to him, sitting beside him.
“Are you going to take the pills, or no? I couldn’t find your key in your pocket, so you’re going to have to go get a new one... But it might be a little difficult with the pain.” She shrugged and ran her fingers through the tips of her hair. “You can stay here for the day and tonight if you want. I can sleep on the windowseat. It’s where I normally fall asleep anyway.” She shrugged. “Or I can help you walk down and get a new key.”

[PAUL MICHAEL BRASS]

He didn't expect much in the way of emotional support when in came to his break up, but to be fair he wasn't offering up anything particularly nice to Aurelia either.
"Yeah. It does suck." He shrugged again

Unaware of her hyper-sensitivity to the currents around her, he watched for some sign in her expression that what he'd said had made some sort of impact. Suddenly she seemed to steel herself, looking determined.

”A start is fine with me.”

A brief smile flashed across his lips as he looked at her, and he nodded slowly.

”Please, Paul. I guess you don’t know me so well if you think I’ll spend all day pining after you. I like you, doesn’t mean we can’t be friends until you’re less... Freaked or whatever.”

His forehead slowly creased, and he tilted his head to the side, eyes almost...pitying, before they dropped back to the pills in his hand, listening to her urge him to take them. Silence fell when Aurelia finished offering her room for the night, and he eventually raised the water to his mouth and swallowed the medication. Then her delicately pushed away from the pillows, gently swinging his legs off the bed so that his back was to her after she crawled up to sit next to him.
"The pain's not bad. It's just my arm, and feeling dizzy." He frowned at his feet, slouched over slightly, his blond hair still looking rather unkempt as he absently searched his pockets, finding nothing. "My roommate's probably around- he can always let me in. Aurelia..." His voice had gone rather quiet again; something was bothering him about the way she'd responded, and if he didn't get the miscommunication out of the way, he'd regret it, if he wasn't already regretting having to put down these terms in the first place. "What I said, about time...I didn't mean..." He sighed, lifting his head to look at the door rather than her, suddenly trying to sound firm, but obviously not enjoying it. "I don't think you understood, and I don't know what you're looking for from me, but I don't think I'm the best friend for you right now." He was shaking his head again as he pushed himself to his feet much more slowly this time, turning to look at her while he stood scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, but you made it sound as though me being around was important. I'm just trying to tell you that you probably shouldn't rely on that." He was a little confused himself- after all the effort he'd put into finding out about demigods and Thaedeus, it had all fallen to pieces in their premature meeting at the party. He'd had a plan for how it was supposed to work, and now he was backtracking just to be sure of himself. The worst part was trying to convey to her, past his own uncertainty, the idea that maybe they were just unsuitable as a whole, and not just as a couple. His thoughts just kept going in circles, leaving him lost again and again.

{This was not a fun post the write. :[ I don't think I did it justice. But he's trying to be a good person in a way, by being an asshole. :p}

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[AURELIA RAMONA OCTAVIAN]

Feeling her heart sink as he started to talk again, she stared up at him quietly while his words lingered in the air in front of her, like they just weren’t able to go through her mind. When he stood, she brushed her fingertips through the ends of her hair and shrugged a bit, before standing up to face him, eyes dark and a bit brooding.
“Okay, then...” She started slowly and moved around him, hand on the doorknob. “If we’re not friends anymore, then I think I should retract my offer for you to stay here.” She stared at him seriously, blinking. If he didn’t want to be her friend, he shouldn’t have stepped in last night. He was being ridiculous, and she was getting increasingly frustrated. The metal in her hand started to grow in heat, and she closed her eyes, rubbing at her temple. This was annoying the crap out of her. If this was how he was going to be, she didn’t feel like being around him at all. There wasn’t a problem before she told him what she was. He was just being a chicken shit. She should have never told him in the first place. None of this would have happened. But she had to go and be the honest one, and she has completely fucked herself over on it. So it was really all her fault at this point. But he didn’t have to be such a jerk about it.

“Anyway,” She spoke quietly, moving the door handle so it clicked, and the door opened slightly. The light from the hall peeked through the crack, and she glanced up at him shrugging, before opening the door all the way.
“You should probably get going. Your roommate is probably looking for you, anyway.” She leaned her head against the door and motioned for him to step through.
“I’ll see you around.” Aurelia added gently, waiting for him to get out, so she could curl up onto her bed and take a nap that she hoped would last a decade.

{Oh god it's so short.}