Fraternizing With The Enemy

When They Fight

"YOU'VE MADE A PACT with the devil."

Pet glances at Mack with a furtive expression. She's just told him about the deal she made with Heath. To which he responded with a loud laugh before speaking. "That's so encouraging, Mack." She says, full of sarcasm.

"Okay, sorry. I'm grateful. No one has ever done something like that for me. And I know how much Heath irritates you, and it means a lot to me that you're going to spend like two hours a day with him just to help me," he smiles at her.

"Actually . . . We're only going to study during lunch break. Nothing out of school. He just needs help with Math and Chemistry. So, every day during lunch, we'll get together and I'll explain everything he doesn't understand. That's it," she shrugs, more like trying to reassure herself that it's something simple and that nothing bad can come out of this.

"I don't think being inside the school is in any way going to stop Heath," Mack laughs but stops when he sees the frown on Pet's face. "You haven't noticed that either? Heath O'Neal has been flirting with you and if he's asking you to go out with him, it means he's looking for something."

Pearl sighs. "I know, I know. I have noticed. But it doesn't make sense, you know? He had never noticed my existence before. What changed now?" Both of them stare at each other through the screen of their laptops.

"That, my friend, is something we must find out. Who knows what's going through that evil head of his," Mack says with a dark tone. And she rolls her eyes.

"I mean, he has a girlfriend. Does that mean anything to him?" Her voice comes out with a little exasperation and a bit of frustration. It irks her that he doesn't respect his relationship but then she remembers how Imogen is doing the same thing.

Pet considers the fact of telling Mack about what she saw but goes against it. They keep talking about other things for about an hour before they end the video chat. That's the first time they do something like that but it's because Pearl needed to tell him about Heath and everything. Even when she isn't very fond of the idea of being Heath's tutor and going out with him, she's happy to help Mack. Now Heath will ensure Mack a chance to be in the team and will help him get better, to be as good as the rest of them. She can only hope he keeps his word.

She leaves the house after telling Elijah that she's going out for a walk. Of course, her real destination is the meadow. She goes there in the hope of finding answers to her interrogatives and doubts. In hope that the clouds will give her some answers and the breeze will ease her soul.

And there, she plugs her earphones on her ears; music floods her senses as her fingers tap her thigh to the rhythm of the song. The sun is out and ray lights touch her skin with gentleness in that autumn afternoon. It's good to feel warm after all the cloudy and rainy days lately. And Pet dozes off on the ground, surrounded by little wildflowers.

The first thing she notices when she wakes up is the absence of music but she can still feel her earphones on her ears. Then the warmness the sun provided is gone. Her eyes flutter open, and startled, she sees a figure sitting a few meters away from her previously sleeping body.

He's sitting cross-legged with a sketchbook on his lap as his left-hand holds a pencil with which he must be drawing something on the paper. He seems very concentrated; his hand doesn't stop for a second. From that angle, she has a perfect view of his hair, its brown color in a deep hue, soft and lustrous.

"I didn't expect to find you here. I didn't expect to find anyone here, to be honest," Asher says. She's caught off guard by his voice maybe because she didn't expect him to know she was already awake since she hasn't made any sort of movement at all. He stops his pencil, closes the notebook and looks up at her; light blue eyes framed with thick lashes.

"Er. . ." she's unsure of what to say, and sits up, clearing her throat. The meadow is her secret place. No one has ever been there aside from her — not that she's aware of — in the last five years. And somehow, this place became something of hers. Like her property to be claimed, even if it isn't like that. She has developed an emotional connection with those wildflowers, with the grass and the trees. And Asher, at the moment, feels like an outlander.

"Is there something wrong?" He asks with puzzled eyes. Well, it's not like she can kick him out of there. The meadow doesn't legally belong to her.

Pet shakes her head. "No." And adds, "How did you find this place?" Her voice sounds casual.

"I could ask you the same thing," Asher chuckles. "I like to draw. You could say it's my favorite thing to do. I'm always trying to find new things that might inspire me. Yesterday, I came to the park, but everything it's pretty much just trees, grass and benches. Nothing I haven't drawn already back in England. . . I saw the fence and decided to cross it, you know, thinking the woods could give me some surprises, something different. It definitely did," he eyes her amusedly.

Pet can't help but laugh, and feeling a bit bold she says, "You have a way with words, you know that?" Asher looks at her bemused but smiles, nodding.

"And how did you come to find this place? Didn't think you were the kind to trespass fences." He arches an eyebrow. She looks forward. A small group of white flowers settles at the other end of the meadow, away from the rest. "If you don't want to tell me, it's okay."

She glances back at him. "No, it's not that. I found it when I was twelve years old. My mother had given my hamster away. His name was Hades," she stops to giggle in response to Asher's surprised reaction at the name she chose for her hamster. "I was angry with her and I ran out of the house, claiming I didn't want to live with her anymore — which was idiotic — and I came to the park until I saw the fence and well. . . I found this."

"Well, that's quite the story. Never thought you had a reckless side," he mumbles but Pearl just laughs it off. "So . . . Hades, huh?"

"I know that's the name of the god of the underworld," Pet laughs lighthearted. "Have you watched Hercules? I mean the 1997 Disney Adaptation." Asher nods. "When I used to be a kid, I found Hades funny in the movie, how his hair would turn into blue flames every time he got mad. You might say he's my favorite character."

"Never thought I'd hear someone say they find Hades funny," Asher shakes his head in amusement. "But it's a Disney movie so," he shrugs.

"I know in Greek mythology he's bad and blah, blah, blah, but Disney makes it look a bit comical to me," she explains. "And names like fluffy, bubblegum and all that, didn't seem like good names for a hamster. They're pretty ridiculous." The way he looks at her — which she can't explain — unsettles her. "What?"

"This is the most I've seen you speak," Asher admits, causing Pet to look away, her cheeks turn to a crimson tone. "Sorry. I've made you feel uncomfortable."

"No, you haven't. I know I'm not much of a talker," she looks back at him and as odd as it may sound, Pearl feels the need to keep talking, and not just talking but talking with him. "So, you like drawing."

"Oh, yes," he looks down at the sketchbook. "Mostly sketches. But I also like to paint landscapes. Portraits, though, not good with those."

"Where did you learn?"

"My mom taught me. She used to be a painter," Asher responds. "Everything I know, I learned from her." His lips show a tiny smile, and there's a bit of melancholy on his eyes. Pet can't help but feel empathy towards him.

She thinks of asking him to let her see them but then guesses that if he wants her to see his drawings, he'll offer it himself. Pet looks up at the dark sky and says, "Do you know what time it is?"

He takes his phone out of his pocket, checks the time and says, "It's seven thirty-five."

She stands up hurriedly. "Oh, God. My parents are going to kill me. They don't know I'm here and my phone battery died." Asher stands up, too. "Er . . . I'll see you later." She runs as fast as she can, through the path that leads to the fence and jumps it, just to keep on running until she finds her bike. Back at home, Pearl sees Elijah sitting on the porch. Elbows resting on his lap, hands cupping his face. With Oreo sitting next to him. When she's close enough, he looks up at her.

"Don't go in there," Elijah warns her. "Mom and dad are fighting. I don't know why. I went to Nash's and when I came back, they were yelling at each other." Pearl sighs, taking a seat next to him on the steps, and setting Oreo on her lap.

This isn't the first time their parents fight. But it isn't like it happens often. Usually, Pearl and Elijah stay in their rooms while the storm happens. Most of the time, it ends up with Ava utterly mad at Nicholas and not talking to him, before they fix whatever issue they had.

Things like that, remember Pet that her parents aren't just parents. They are also humans, with emotions and thoughts of their own. They can't always keep their feelings and reactions under control. They get hurt and they feel anger. They make mistakes and sometimes get tired of everything. Parents can be just like their children, the only difference being that they need to hide it all and put on a strong façade because that's what good parents do. They make sacrifices for their children and always try to be strong for them.

As they both wait in the porch with Pearl resting her head on his brother's shoulder, she sees as Asher's car passes in front of their house and parks in the house next door. "Do you hear that?" Elijah asks. "Silence. Mom and dad seem to be done. Come on."

Both siblings walk back into the house with the small puppy on the girl's arms. Indeed, everything is pin-drop silence, so much that it even makes Pearl have goosebumps. There's just a bad feeling on her chest as if whatever their parents were fighting about is worse than anything they have fought about before.

They look in the kitchen, only to find it empty. Elijah and Pet share a look, and then she sets Oreo down on the floor. No words are said as they make their way upstairs and as Elijah opens their parents' room, she goes to the TV room, where she finds her dad, laying on the couch.

She stands in the entrance to the room, wondering if she should talk to him but his eyes are closed and she'd rather not bother him. As she walks back to her room, she hears a voice and guesses Elijah and her mom are talking about what had happened. She turns around, heading for that room, but their mouths shut as soon as they see her in the doorway. They're standing in the middle of the room, now staring at her.

"What's going on?"

"Your father and I had a small discussion," Ava reaches out for her hand. But Pearl can only feel insulted because the answer she has received is her mother's way to dissimulate the truth.

The thing with the Blanchard family is that even when they all care for each other and always have each other's back, sometimes they treat Pearl as the younger, little daughter that barely knows how to hold a spoon. And treat Elijah as if he were the eldest son, giving him more responsibility than he can handle.

For God's sake, they're twins. Even if Elijah was born first, she has shown more maturity and attitude to be in charge of things than her brother will ever do. And she's aware of how Ava must've already told him what happened earlier, and they're surely going to try to "protect" Pearl by not telling her.

"Oh, really? I thought you guys were doing a musical," Pearl folds her arms in front of her chest but when her mother gives her a stern look she sighs and says, "Good night." And leaves the room.

Things like this don't happen often but when it does, it's exasperating. But she figures that is probably just another fight, that they'll be fine tomorrow morning. At least, that's what she hopes. Her parents have many differences, everyone can see it, while Nicholas is more of a goofball, calmed person, not very complicated, Ava is a little more tight-up, even has a few OCD tendencies, Pet assumes she might be under a lot of stress at work and doesn't blame her. But even with all that, they love each other. Pearl knows it and doesn't doubt it for a second.

Even if she has never dated anyone in her life and knows little about love and relationships, Pearl Blanchard has come to learn a few things, like the fact that when you truly love someone, you don't walk away, you stay - even when the only thing you want to do is run from your partner because you can't stand to look at their faces – and talk things through, try to find a solution. Also, communication – including trust – this is indeed very important. Lack of communication is the end of many relationships and Pearl has witnessed with her eyes how little fights between her parents have its origin from this.

There's something else she has notices throughout the years, it's just as important as the other aspects, and it's of paramount importance: commitment. If you're with someone, either if you're just dating or married, commitment has to be present unconditionally. It's the foundation that allows the creation of trust and gives your partner the security that will not let them down, or at least, you'll try as hard as you can. Because you have to put the necessities of the people you love above your own. Give certain things up, and sometimes, you could probably have to give them up, too.

So, technically, Pearl does know enough about love and relationships. That only makes her wonder when she will ever have her first boyfriend. Even if she isn't like other girls, worrying about homecoming, dresses, makeup, and boyfriends, she's still a girl. And if one day she wants to get marry and have a family, she'll have to go through the whole dating phase first. But then again, who would ever want to date Pearl Blanchard?

Her thoughts are interrupted with a sound. It comes from the streets, voices, and laughs of various people. Pet stands, heading for her window, only to see a group of teenagers standing on the sidewalk in front of the house next door, specifically, Mallory Collins, Imogen Johnson, and some other boys from the football team. Quickly, Asher joins them just as Elijah does, at that Pearl frowns. Her brother exchanges a few words with Imogen and then they separate from the group, getting a few meters away from them.

In the meanwhile, Mallory throws her arms around Asher, planting a kiss on his cheek, and Pearl can only think how bold can that girl be since it's been roughly two weeks since Asher arrived in town and she's already all over him like flies on a big, stinky piece of rotten meat. Things take a humorous turn when he pushes her away without looking at her as he speaks to one of the boys. It's obvious he tries to do it inconspicuously, not to be rude, but that's undeniably hard since Mallory is stuck to him like glue.

Her eyes travel back to where Elijah and Imogen are standing, a completely different scenario. The dark-skinned girl with marvelous curly hair has her arms crossed in front of her chest, because of the angle she's standing and the distance, Pearl can't see her face but she's already guessing what's going on. It's all about body language.

The way Elijah makes quick movements with his hands every time he speaks, and how every few seconds he runs a hand through his hair, those are signs of exasperation. And how she remains still, head held high, it means she's not exactly happy. It's all confirmed when Imogen yells something at him, unfolding her arms only to push him back and walk away from him with big strides.

Pearl inhales deeply, stepping away from the window. It's been enough of being nosy and sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. Whatever drama those two have, has nothing to do with her. Elijah is smart enough to know that what he's doing is wrong and vile. As contemptible as Heath can be, what Imogen and Elijah are doing isn't justified in any sort of way, nor will it be.

She goes to sleep that night without having dinner, feeling something heavy in her stomach.

The following morning, after she's all ready for school, Pet joins her family in the kitchen. Where everything seems to be back to normal, usually after a fight — if they hadn't come to good terms about whatever issue they had — there would be a thick tension in the air. But that morning, as Elijah is sitting on the table, eating a bowl of Froot Loops, Ava is organizing some cups in the cabinet, while Nicholas stands next to her, both holding a conversation in a good mood and with a little of amusement in their voices.

She greets them all before taking a seat next to Elijah to eat her breakfast. The Blanchard children exchange a look, and the boy shrugs, giving her to understand that he has no idea when they reconciled, but Pearl doesn't care, as long as her parents are good, she's good.

"Pet," Ava turns to look at her. "Homecoming is in two days, are you excited?" Her mother beams, her eyes sparkling with some positive emotion.

She looks at every member of her family cautiously. While her parents look excited, her brother is on the verge of laughing. Pet only rolls her eyes and says, "Yeah, sure."

Ava and Nicholas join their children in the table, and their father asks, "And who are you taking, Eli?" He takes a sip of his cup of coffee.

"Um, I'm going with Violet Maslow," he mumbles. And compared to her brother's expression, Pet could look extremely happy and excited about homecoming. Violet Maslow is a very pretty girl that has been crushing on Elijah for a while, everybody knows it. She isn't Mallory pretty; she is the kind of pretty that keeps you from being mean to her. The girl is the Virgin Mary personification.

With short, light brown hair, glasses above her hazel eyes, and freckles covering her cheeks, the girl is nice and polite, being one of the best students in their class. Pearl has had the chance to talk to her, about three times, and she seems like a good girl. That's exactly why Pet thinks men must be masochists. Why would Elijah be chasing after Imogen like a dog, if he has such a nice girl like Violet?

Another example would be Mack. Many pretty, nice and funny girls in their school wouldn't surely mind going out with Mack. The boy can be shy and a bit clumsy at times, but he's attractive, smart, funny, and a really good person. He would make a good boyfriend for any girl. If Mallory Collins can't see that, other girls would. But . . .

Boys like what they can't get. Boys like confidence and silly smiles. Boys like looks and not personalities. That's what boys look for.

"Violet Maslow?" Pet asks in disbelief.

"The girl is as subtle as a bomb," Elijah says. "She had been throwing signs at me for weeks and I decided to ask her. There wasn't anyone I was interested in going with, anyway." Anyone except Imogen Johnson.

"She's a really good girl," Ava says. "I'm sure you'll have fun with her." Oh, right. Violet's mom works in the same hospital as Ava; therefore they know each other, and Ava knows Violet. "Just be polite and don't do anything I might lecture you about."

"I'm an angel, mom," Elijah teases.

"So was the devil," Pearl says.