let's conspire to ignite

It was a good feeling, getting some comfort from his frustration simply by a change in the girl's attitude. The part of his lip that Millie's thumb had run across was soothed, and the tension in him melted a little. Trent's eyes stared at the girl, out of the roundness of its form, following the expressions of her face from the moment she came nearer to him. He was tired of scowling now, but she was treating him so well, to the point that he wanted to disapprove of. Still, he wore the same curious expression. The side of his lips tingled, and another stirring began at another part of his body. Trent cleared his throat and blinked.

"I'm an idiot, alright. I am." Trent took a last quick gulp from his can of beer and crushed it, tossing it to where his other can had been thrown to. Once that was done, he reached forward to unplug the plughole to the tub. When he turned back to Millie, he saw a towel ready for him. It was odd, really. He was pampered, materially. This felt like a whole new type of pampering, and he would not say that he did not like it. He just wished it was not Millie. As it is, he was already rather attached to her. It was possible to shrug it off as a childhood friendship sort of thing, though,for now. Then again, if she was not Millie, Trent suspected that it would not have mattered as much. Not that it would be an idea up for contention, since no other girl had done the same. Perhaps they just simply did not have the chance to.

Trent managed to grin a little as he watched Millie enjoy the towels. There were certainly a lot that he would usually take for granted if no one pointed them out to him. When the girl opened the towel to him again, Trent stood up slowly. He still remembered to retain some modesty by shielding what mattered, especially since Millie had got him feeling odd with her peck near his lips. Still, he had to get out of the tub without slipping, given the wetness in the tub and on the floor, and the fact that he was sometimes quite a bumbling fool. Without a choice, Trent made a quick grab to the side of the tub and stepped out, finding himself in the towel, and close to Millie. He could smell the scent of bubble bath on her. There was the smell of his soap too, which he did not use. Trent stood, waiting for the towel to come around him. It was as if he was a child waiting for it to do so, rather than taking it on his own.

"We'll sleep of course! No one deprives me of that. Not even attractive girls." He nodded, and then a quick recovery. "I mean, you know, even when girls come over, I insist on getting sleep." Trent pursed his lips together. He could go for days without waking up, if he was allowed to. At least, that was what he believed. It was never tried, though. School prevented it, and too many activities during the holidays disallowed it too. Essentially, though, he loved to sleep. "Okay, we will lock the door, get some poison. Cigarettes I guess ... and we could compete again on my arcade, and then sleep. Exciting, no?"

Everything changed as soon as one person brought their emotions back down. Millie didn’t particularly want to kick off with anyone tonight, as geared up as she was for it. Then again, she was always on the edge, ready to have an argument with someone. She’d sustained most of her need for an argument when she’d punched her brother, though. She’d hit him enough times for him to really be either used to it or learn not to wind her up. Clearly though, he’d never learn. Seamus had said once that she even punched him when they were little. It seemed as cruel then as it was now - for the eldest to beat on the youngest. Millie’s main defence was that he’d been sat on her for nine months while she was trying to ‘fucking’ grow; ergo, he deserved it. That never seemed to go down as well as she wanted it to, though. As frequently as she argued with, well, everyone, she tried to stay off of snapping at Trent. He was her favourite. He didn’t deserve to be shouted at.

“Of course you’re an idiot,” She replied easily. “If you weren’t then you wouldn’t have me!” Millie grinned and giggled before wrapping the towel around him. She took a step back once she was sure he had hold of it and fiddled with a piece of thread that had come free from her towel. “So, sorry, um...what shirt did you say I needed to wear?” Millie picked up the one that didn’t look like it had been thrown to the pile and held it up. “This one, yeah? Oh god, the salve. Um, could you put that on my back please? Andrew said it was probably best to have you do it because I’m not exactly going to reach and I, umm...” Millie flushed pink and ducked her head a little as she reached for the salve that she’d set down before she’d gotten in the bath. “You don’t mind do you? I wouldn’t ask but I can’t reach...”

Millie smiled gently and walked, with her trademark bounce, back into Trent’s bedroom. She stepped around the beanbag, dropping the cigarettes and the lighter on the bed as she did so, and moved to the windows where it was already dark outside. She squinted and watched as the lamppost outside flickered into life. The orange glow faltered and flickered a few times before steadily beginning to glow. She continued to play idly with the piece of thread, twisting it around her finger as she stared out into the night, wondering what was beyond. Images appeared in her mind, directing her to the street beyond the line of trees that framed a pathway where a man was buying half an ounce of something nondescript and most definitely illegal. Then it flipped to a house where two people were cuddled up together in front of the television. And then to another where a young woman was putting her child down after an hour of coaxing him back into slumber land.

Though she was not entirely sure where the images had come from, she believed them and was grateful for the proof that everyone was seemingly at peace tonight; even the mice and the rats looking for away into the bags of rubbish left outside for the bin men tomorrow morning.

“I suppose I’m beginning to feel a little bit guilty now,” She spoke carefully, her hand coming to her cheek as she remembered her mother’s reaction. “Not for punching him but my mum she’s...” Millie wetted her lips as she thought and shook her head. Another image appeared and she found herself staring at the kitchen. Her father was by the back door and looked as if he too had raided Brother-Bot’s bedroom for cigarettes. He was gone, she could tell. Where her brother had gone she didn’t know but Lavender was screaming as loud as she could...and Seamus just stood there. “...sensitive,” Millie finished, washing the image from her mind. “Maybe it’d be best to go and apologize tomorrow. Then, if she tries to kill me...I can...” Millie bit her lip. “I’ll think of something. Thanks though...for letting me stay, Trent. It means a lot..”

Trent grinned back at Millie, and took over with the towel as soon as it was wrapped around him. Then he turned to have his back facing her, and began to dry himself. When she asked for the t-shirt, the boy turned and nodded in confirmation. Trent secured the towel firmly around his hips and watched as the girl tried to explain what she needed. He cocked his head, finding it odd that she should ask him so nicely when he was used to doing merely what she demanded. "Why would I mind?" He shrugged, and then nodded. "Of course I will, wouldn't miss touching you now." Trent grinned before reaching for the salve that Andrew had given earlier. In the gentlest way that he could master, he applied the salve to Millie's back, watching her tattoo move as he did so. "This is so worth it. I mean, the tattoo. And there, done." Setting the salve back down near the sink, Trent washed his hands and flicked them.

Trent made his way to his cupboard and grabbed a random pair of boxer shorts. He had decided to ditch the boxer-briefs, since it would have been odd for him to laze around in them when his friend was in the room. As soon as he got himself into the boxers, Trent untied the towel and let it rest around his neck instead. He took hold both ends of the towel and lifted them up to start drying his hair. Turning from the cupboard to the windows, Trent stood and stared as Millie seemed to be lost in thought.

"You've gone nutters, Mills. Stay here all you want. It beats having to share the bed with grammie when she visits." Trent paused when he noticed that Lucius had settled himself in a comfortable nook that he had dug himself into in the beanbag, and that the cat was sound asleep, or looked to be. He smiled and turned his attention back to Millie. "I'll go with you tomorrow. I'll see if I can help ... soothe the tension. I'll block the curse for you if she kills you." Trent grinned. "But Mills, she won't, you'll see. She just needs to calm her anger down."

Once that was said, Trent bounced hard onto his bed, landing on his bum, but falling backwards. Then he sat up and looked at Millie. She looked sad, and he felt a squeezing in his heart, which made him continue to watch for her expression. And then Trent patted the space in front of him on the bed. "Come now, beautiful. Sit down." He stretched to his left and reached for the lighter that would be on the shelf close to him. There was none. "Damn. I bet mum threw my lighter away when she tidied the room." Then, reaching for the cigarette that Millie had left at his ear earlier, Trent held it casually. "Open the windows. At least our smoke can get out. And ... you've a lighter, right?" Trent dangled his cigarette while he waited for Millie to get over to light it for him.

The salve was most definitely doing the trick. She could feel it as she stood there, gently seeping into her skin and soothing her achy nerves. She reached up and rubbed her shoulder idly as she glazed her eyes across the skyline as the last flickers of sunlight disappeared behind the rows of houses. She frowned a little as her mind stretched that little bit further, beginning to wonder what the other people were doing...the people that would now be bathed in the gentle caress of sunlight as they danced in the darkness. Millie reached up, her hand grasping the front of her towel, and carefully unhooked the latches from the window. She then gently pushed the frame and watched as the window fell out into place, as the design intended. Millie let her hand fall back down to her side and turned at the sound of Trent’s footsteps padding across the floor. Millie turned back to the window and pulled the curtain over a little, wincing at the way the metal rubbed together.

Millie turned and carefully gathered the shirt up around the collar. She poked her head through and let it fall before pushing her arms through the holes. She pulled the shirt down, surprised to find how large it actually was on her, and then pulled the towel out from underneath. It ended just below her knees, despite her height, and as she moved around a little in it, testing where it fell and how it moved, she decided that she would definitely be stealing it whenever she went back home. It smelt like him too, more importantly. Millie crossed the room again, folding the towel before setting it down on the beanbag behind Lucius.

“I’m not nuts!” She protested. “I’m just thinking. I know what she’s like and she’ll either take her wand to me or hit me with this week’s issue of Witch Weekly - and frankly, I’d either prefer PlayWitch or a broom.” She smirked a little and shook her head. “With any luck she’d have gone to work to seek solitude with the bloke from Human Resources. I don’t think home is the best place to be tonight for them. Still, better them than me. Sod it. I don’t even care anymore. They’re the crazy ones.”

Millie pursed her lips at Trent before stepping over and sitting herself down on the bed. She folded her legs behind her, bringing the shirt down to cover whatever it could, and picked up the lighter. Millie clicked the lid back and watched as the flame ignited. She brought it forward and held it to the end of the cigarette for a few moments before bringing it away and quenching the flame. “Always,” She murmured. “I think I have three in my jeans alone. Keep this one.” She tossed it over to him and smiled before lying back on the folded back duvet. The shirt stayed where it was much to her relief though she didn’t know why she didn’t just go rooting through the bag she’d filled with her junk. She’d picked a handful of stuff from every drawer so there was bound to be some knickers in there somewhere. Millie knew that was probably the most sensible thing to do but she really couldn’t be bothered. She was clean, warm and relaxed - blow the technicalities.

When Millie sat herself down, Trent brought the cigarette to his lips and held it in place with them. His eyes lit up as the flame appeared, and he sucked the air in through the cigarette, before nodding his thanks and sitting back, resting himself against the pillows. If Demelza knew he was smoking in the room, she would have screamed, firstly for the ash that would fly around, and then for the fire risk, and finally for the fact that he was even smoking. Trent grinned eagerly when Millie asked him to keep her lighter, glad to have a replacement so quickly. He grabbed and started playing with the lid absent-mindedly, enjoying the first cigarette ever since his first in the morning. He had waited long enough.

"Too bad I don't have a T.V. in the room. Would have loved it, but I guess this arcade baby here," Trent gestured to it. "...is good enough." He stared at the specimen proudly. "Although I don't think I'll be getting anything more from my wishlist for awhile. Dad said it was for Birthday and Christmas, for three years! He's nuts. That's six presents in one. I bet it wasn't that expensive. I still want a computer. It's awfully troublesome to have to use the one in the living room. Besides, everyone can see what I'm surfing when I'm there." What Trent did not know was that the location of the computer was a deliberate plan on his parent's part. They wanted to protect their son from unhealthy activities on the internet, not that it helped, given how he learnt everything anyway from his muggle friends.

Trent smoked and watched Millie lazily. "So ... that bloke. The Human Resources one. Was he the one you told me about awhile ago? Is it still him? Your mum's been getting a bit, hasn't she?" He chuckled, not caring if that could have come off a little rude, since it was Millie anyway. "I wonder if my parents do it. I know it's disgusting, but you know, I wonder. I have never seen them kiss. They hug politely, that's all. It's weird. Almost as if they didn't love each other. It's a possibility. Ah, well." Trent turned to his left and brought an ashtray out of a box, something he had hidden, and thankfully had not been taken away. Some ash had fallen from his cigarette and he could not risk more.

And then Trent suddenly left the bed, only to come back with the pack of cigarettes that he had bought at the convenience store. "Help yourself if you want," he offered, throwing the pack on the bed, and then hopping right back in. The bed bounced from the impact of his landing, and Trent sat up to stub his cigarette before landing back on it again in a hard way. Grinning, he continued to sit up and slam his body back, hoping to annoy his friend. Unsatisfied, Trent got up on all fours and started to bounce, a silly grin on his face. "Mophead, mophead, mophead ..." He went on as he bounced.

Millie twisted a lock of hair around her index finger and watched Trent idly as he inhaled and exhaled the smoke. “You’re like a dragon,” She murmured with a wistful smile. “It’s like you’re on fire but...not...” She giggled and lifted her eyes up to the ceiling. Millie reached down and twisted the hem of the shirt, curling it around her finger as she thought. She watched as the smoke began to mingle with the things in the room and her eyes fell over to the window where it gladly helped the smoke and the smells out on its way. Millie could deny the fact that there was a summer chill though. She sat up a little and pulled the duvet out. She folded it over herself and laughed at little before covering her face and pulling it back. “Peek-a-boo!” She giggled.

Looking around the room, Millie noticed that it was in fact missing the most vital thing - a television. Even she had one of those and a computer but she was sure it was to get her and her brother out of the way. It worked for Brother-Bot. She, on the other hand, wandered down the road and picked Spencer up to go down the park and enjoy the wonders of hallucinogenic. Spencer could not be helped by anyone - the poor sod. He was a Wizard...Hufflepuff at best but somehow managed to get into the Gryffindor. He was in the year above but you couldn’t tell. It wasn’t because he was short or lacking in a particular area but because he was such a waster....you couldn’t tell whether he was actually breathing half of the time. His mum had given up on him about the same time his dad had so now he was left to his own devices in a house that was empty most of the time. Millie had taken it upon herself to look after him for two reasons - the first because if she didn’t he’d probably never make it to The Platform when September rolled around and the second reason was because he knew the best dealer in town.

“Why have a TV when you can have Spencer Harris as your next door neighbour?” Millie replied with a sarcastic grin. “You should live down my road, baby, it’s never dull. Hey! At least you have a bloody wish list. I have to share everything with His Lordship! Just because I’m the problem child and he’s the little angel. Wankers. Bloody hell. I mean, seriously, you’ve come off light being the only child. I had some asshole sat on me for nine months and he continues to be the bane of my existence. Come off lucky, you have.” Millie smirked. “Buy your porn, love. It’s not worth having to go on the ‘net for it. Porn films have scripts. I didn’t realise that until the other day. Weird.” Millie shrugged her shoulders. “Still, gotta know what they’re doing I guess. They’re all actors in a manner of speaking. Computers are a great and all that but I guess you’ve gotta know how to work ‘em.”

“Sachs? Yeah. That’s the one. I wonder if Dad knows but then I think of the vicar and wonder how he feels to know he’s one of many. She’s a bloody whore.” Millie picked up the cigarettes he’d thrown down and sat up, reaching for the box. She fumbled with it before finally taking one out and placing it between her lips. “I mean...I know they don’t get along anymore but it’s all just...it’s wrong. It’s actually more of a reassurance to find that your parents are doing it. At least that means they still find each other even remotely attractive. It’s reassuring y’know,” Millie picked the lighter up and flicked the lid back. The flame didn’t fail and she brought it to the end of the cigarette. Once it was lit she capped the lighter again and chucked it on the bed between them. Millie took a shuddering breath and felt herself relax a little as she took the cigarette away from her lips. She exhaled the smoke and shook her head. “It’s bullshit -- all of it.” Millie shook her head and flicked some of the ash into the ashtray.

She was sure smoking was a hazard of sorts. Didn’t they print that on the laminated sheets they stuck on the back of the doors of holiday villas? Millie didn’t even know. But then suddenly, she found herself bouncing. Millie rolled her eyes over to Trent and glared at him, a smirk tugging her lips upwards as he chanted her ‘nickname.’ Millie smirked and put the cigarette in the ashtray. She lifted it up and put it on the shelf before launching herself at Trent. She tackled him, laughter bubbling from her chest, and pushed him down onto the bed, throwing her leg over him so she was straddling his waist. “Stop bouncing you idiot!” She exclaimed between giggles. “Gotcha. Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Now you’re my prisoner!” She brought her hands down to his sides and danced her fingers across his skin, up his sides and under his arms where people were usually ticklish. “Payback time, Trentypoo!”

Trent chuckled, actually finding the peek-a-boo thing that Millie did adorable. "Yes, I'll pick a boo, if you're offering an array of them. I'll like my boo to have the most amazing colour of eyes. Oh, and assets matter too, you know." Trent placed both hands in front of his chest, and set it at a distant away, before shaking them to indicate what he was talking about. "Very important." Trent laughed and put his hands away. And then he brought the cigarette to his lips, inhaled, then leaned forward to Millie, blowing the smoke at her. "Puff! The magic dragon lived by the sea ..." He sang, and then trailed off, since he had forgotten the lyrics of the song.

"Spencer, indeed! How's he? I've never allowed him to forget how he passed out during class, had to be taken to the Hospital Wing, and then woke up to tell me that it was the pills. Hilarious, that guy. No one as epic. I shall visit him soon. Maybe tomorrow, eh? Running low on supplies. He's perfect for tomorrow, yes." Trent nodded with satisfaction as he contemplated the plan for the next day. He shook his head when Millie complained about her brother. "What went wrong in that womb, I wonder. How did he become so ... odd? I thought he was fine when we first met. Now, he even gets on my nerves sometimes. I'll pick Spencer over him anytime, if I had to choose." Trent enjoyed his cigarette before he scowled. "Who says I watch porn? I don't!" And then he grinned and looked away. Soon, he had stubbed his cigarette. After which, he laughed.

"I can't believe you just called your mum a bloody whore, Mills. That's hilarious." And then Trent had started the whole bouncing-on-the-bed trick. He felt hyper, suddenly, and thought it must have been the cigarette. No sooner had he done more than half a dozen of chanting of the girl's nickname, that he wondered why she shifted the ashtray, only to find himself tackled. Trent tried to get up to retaliate, but found that he was locked in her straddle. He had yet to notice that she was without knickers. If he knew ... how awkward would that be?! Since he was locked and deprived of a chance to retaliate, Trent bounced up against her. Well, if trying to hit the front of his body against the girl counted as bouncing. He tried.

It was unfortunate that Trent was pinned down, since the attack of tickles came soon. Unable to take any of it, he tried to wriggle free. "NUHHH Millie!" She did not stop. He was going mad from the tickling. With as much strength as he could summon, Trent lifted himself, with the girl still straddling him. Now, though, the position had made her slide down to sit on his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist. "NO more of that!" Swiftly, Trent turned, resulting in the girl being slammed into the bed now. With her back now against the bed, her legs wrapped around him, and him on top of her, Trent pressed his weight on Millie. "Ha. Ha. I win!"

And then, only then, did the boy realise the situation that they had launched themselves into. He stopped gloating and merely looked into the girl's eyes. What really went through his mind was how he was merely wearing boxer shorts, which oddly felt like the only layer of cloth between his and her forbidden parts. The worse thing was that his one had began to press against her. Trent frowned for a moment,while his face was still just a couple of inches away from Millie's. And then he realised that the frown would have been telling her something. Suddenly, he felt the heat rush to his face, where he began to feel embarrassed for what had happened in bodily reflex from him. He was conflicted. He always allowed pleasures to overtake rationality, why stop now? Somehow, though, he knew he would have to stop.

Trent was a dragon - she knew it! And as he began to sing the words to the song, Millie knew. He was a dragon; her dragon. “My dragon.” She murmured with a dreamy smile. Millie smiled and sat up a little. “And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.” Millie giggled and tipped herself back onto the bed, relishing the warmth and peace that surrounded the pair. Had she been at home there would have been no quiet. Around this time, her parents would have kicked off and Brother-Bot would have been in the process of creeping out for the night to go wherever he went. If she was feeling adventurous then maybe she would have gone round the road to see if Spencer was alive and she probably would have ended up kipping round his after the effects of whatever Miles had bought off of him had set in. Maybe she’d even get a snog if the pair were both coherent enough to realise they were attracted to one another. It was unlikely though. Like always they were bound to just fall asleep in a drug-addled embrace. How nice this change was.

“Mmmm...I saw Miles this morning. Said he was going round to see if the stupid sod was still alive or whether he’d overdosed in the night and died.” Millie replied matter-of-factly. “You don’t get many dealers going round to check if you’ve still got a pulse. Class-A bloke is Miles - no pun intended there, babe. I saw Spencer last week and he told me he was either start growing weed in his back garden or he was going to open an Opium Den in his bedroom so they could all sit there and be abso-frigging-useless. As if they want a flipping dream stick when the wankers in east-bang-nowhere can make more money if it’s heroin. He’s such a tit.” Millie made a face. “And, to top it all off, if I remember rightly, his parents are away for the week which means Miles is on the couch. Idiots, the lot of them.” Millie raised an eyebrow. “Well, my theory is he’s finally figured out that he’s got bollocks and not ovaries and he’s having a mental breakdown because someone of his calibre cannot possibly have to watch two girls going at it before he starts his day. It’s a problem for him but bloody hilarious to go through his internet history.”

Millie stretched a little and laughed. “It’s because Spencer gives you pills and Brother-Bot gives you a lecture about how ‘if you use substances then you’ll die’ or some rubbish. He’s the world’s biggest hypocrite; I swear to Merlin.” Millie giggled again and twisted her pony tail around her hand. “Of course you watch porn. It’s written all over your face.” She reached forward and tapped Trent on the nose to prove her point and giggled. Millie’s eyebrows shot to her hairline. “Well it’s not as if I’m lying. I’m pretty sure with the milkman, the guy from human resources, the vicar and the postman she’s also got the green grocer and the guy who comes round to fix the boiler on the go...all at once. Blimey, she’s a busy lady. I don’t think I’d be able to keep up.” Millie whistled lowly.

As quickly as she began her attack on Trent, she found herself underneath him. Millie froze, her eyes widening. All traces of laughter fell from her cheeks and suddenly the atmosphere around them changed and crackled with intensity. Millie bit her lip, a small, “Oh,” falling into the air between them, “...shit.” Millie closed her eyes and brought her teeth back around her lower lip. “....” The words died in Millie’s throat before she even allowed them to be heard and a sort of strangled half-syllable danced between the tension that was so palpable she could have cut it with a knife, or burnt it with the lighter. “Kiss me...please. Once; just once. Just so I know...please Trent. Then...then we can forget...”

How can anyone, even for awhile, believe that Puff, the Magic Dragon was an innocent children's song, Trent could not understand. His muggle friends would sing it whenever they were puffing to get high. It was just so conducive, and catchy, at that. And soon it became one of Trent's favourites. "Yes I'm a dragon. I'm ..." he thought for awhile just as his eyes tried to look wild, "Trentagon! Uh, no. That sounded like a shape. Uhhh, Trenticate!" He grinned and blew out more smoke. "And you're ... well, you can be a dragon too. Millicate! And we'll go to the land of Honalee to live when we're older ..." He nodded, "can you imagine the smell in the air there?" Trent felt himself drift in that imagination, almost smelling the unicorns in the air.

When Millie ranted about Spencer and Miles, Trent watched and listened lazily. She seemed to know a lot about what happens at Spencer's. Even he did not know what was going on with those boys in his year. It definitely had to do with the proximity, but he felt a little jealous that he did not know what she had talked about, first-hand. More accurately, he felt a little jealous that she was spending so much time with the other boys. It was, however, wiser to not share that bit of information. "I don't think you should try to keep up with your mum, baby. You're not a bloody whore, remember?" He grinned as he repeated what Millie called her own mother.

And that was before Trent and Millie found themselves in a sticky situation. No one moved, although it was certain that the minds of the two were working extremely hard, trying to figure out what they were to do, and what was the meaning of it all. It did not help that the house was absolutely quiet from where they were, listening out for something to break the moment. Trent could not shake off the heat away from his cheeks, and at another part of his body. It would take a whole lot of effort to get himself out of the situation, surely. He was usually the first to go down, in the heat of the moment. Heck, he would even sleep with a Slytherin. Then again, Trent was not exactly a hater, at least not to the girls.

But he froze. Trent felt a part of him still pressing into the girl, and it would definitely get too hard to handle if he allowed himself to remain in the same position. With his breathing getting heavier, Trent stared when he heard Millie's words. She wanted to kiss him ... so that they can, or rather she can, forget ... him? He frowned, unhappy at his assumption of what she wanted to express. "What is there to know," he retorted. At that point, he knew that despite his desperate urge to plunge forward for a kiss, he would deprive himself of it. "If you want to kiss to forget, then you're with the wrong person." Annoyed, he pushed himself off Millie. "When I kiss a girl, I don't like them to forget it." Trent glared at the girl.

"Whatevs." Trent turned and slammed himself back against the pillows. In a sitting position, he reached for the packet of cigarette, got one out, and lit it. Scowling, he grabbed a pillow and placed it over his aching need. He would suffer, alright. He would rather suffer than kiss a girl who would forget it after. The ego was not happy, not happy at all. A part of him was bashing him up for rejecting the girl's request, and it was becoming louder and louder. The regret was beginning to well up, and Trent adjusted the pillow as he felt his need protesting against his action, pressing itself up in pain.

And then just like that, the anger started up again, flaring like the flame that burst from the lighter as he lit another cigarette. Millie closed her eyes for a second, listening to the world that had changed around them as quickly as the slide of a new photo coming into place on the LCD screen on a camera. Millie sighed gently and pushed herself up into a sitting position before gently sliding off of the bed. Her feet touched down onto the floor and she carefully pushed herself up so her weight was braced on her feet once more. Then, Millie took a few footsteps forward before a number of long strides taking her back into the bathroom where she tore her jeans up from the floor. She turned, her teeth clamping down around her lower lip, and watched Trent as he took shuddering breath after shuddering breath of smoke and nicotine into his lungs. Relaxing him, soothing him even, but doing little for the anger he felt - the anger he now directed towards her.

Millie turned her eyes back to her jeans and pulled at the denim so she could dip her hand into the left hand pocket. She closed her eyes again, relying on touch to guide her to the little drawstring bag that she now felt she needed. She didn’t know why but something was telling her to use it, to communicate in a way that perhaps Trent did not know how to respond to. She did not come across the bag first, though. First it was another form, a pack of tarot cards. Millie sighed and placed them in the other pocket before dipping her hand back inside. Eventually her fingers grazed the gold tassels of the draw-string back and she curled her hand around it before giving it a good tug and taking it from her jeans. She turned it over in her hand, relishing the sound of the clatter inside, and dropped her jeans on the floor once more.

Turning, Millie stepped gingerly back into Trent’s bedroom. Millie gently pulled at the strings and opened the bag up. It folded back, revealing the onyx stones that had pictures pressed into it in gold. Millie touched the little stones and licked her lips absent-mindedly before lifting her gaze to look at Trent. Millie, admittedly, didn’t think her choice of words had been wise but she didn’t honestly believe that Trent kissing her was something he’d want to remember. He’d been evasive enough. She’d wanted to let him forget. She knew she wouldn’t but she was, or had been, prepared to let him. Millie sighed heavily and knelt down beside Trent, her fingers reaching out for his for a moment before thinking better of it and returning them to the stones in her palm.

Carefully, Millie began to take each stone and place it on the floor. They were repeated, some of them, twice or three times over. Millie bit her lip again as she placed the last Rune she needed down on the floor and she set the bag down. She then reached hesitantly for the bag she’d filled with her things and pulled at the Velcro. She unzipped it and hesitantly reached inside. Her hand came nigh on immediately to the cool metal of her camera and she took it from in amongst her clothes, lighters and pieces of parchment. Millie lifted it up and closed her eyes for a few seconds as she pressed the button. The lens gave a shudder and she heard the crack of the picture being preserved. Millie reached down and collected the Runes up again as the camera began to print out the picture. Millie got to her feet and threw the Runes down on the bed. With the tiniest bit of magic they began to sort themselves, morphing into the English equivalent to their meaning.

The camera clicked, distracting Millie for a few seconds as she’d begun to weigh up her options as to what she was going to do. She knelt down again and took the picture from the mouth underneath the lens. She straightened up once more and leaned over, setting it down by the Runes. She smiled sheepishly and tugged at the shirt again. “I don’t want to forget,” She murmured carefully, her eyes resting on the rug below her feet. “I...I didn’t want you to have to remember if...if you didn’t want to. I...” Millie bit her lip and closed her eyes for a few seconds as she thought her words through. “I don’t want to fight with you, Trent.” Millie ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut again, trying to ward off the moisture that was ready to fall. “I’m sorry..”