Chapter 27: Chapter 27 – A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

JANUARY 23rd 2005 - SUNDAY

XAVIER’S HOUSE

Xavier didn’t sleep the entire night, but the prolonged state of peacefulness brought by sharing his bed with Angela was somehow more restful than unconsciousness.

And it seemed that Angela felt the same way.

As if detecting Xavier’s awakened and wanting to lull him back into her embrace, Angela spun in her sleep, smothering The Eternal with a head full of messy hair.

Xavier’s closed eyes opened – endless admiration flashing within them.

‘The mornings…’ He reminded himself. ‘Is when she looks the most beautiful…’

The Eternal admired everything about his girlfriend – her gentle, slow sleeping breaths, the straight hair that became curly after a wild night of sex, the way one leg always jutted out of the sheet – highlighting her sexiness…

Everything was picturesque.

Angela often wondered how Xavier knew so much about her, and the truth of the matter was that he watched her in the mornings.

The days usually required The Eternal’s full attention, since a mistake could mean death, but in the morning, it was Xavier’s hobby to watch and understand everything about Angela.

And he had come to learn much.

The way she avoided coffee unless offered by him…

Her dislike for soft toothbrushes…

How she preferred socks to slippers on marble floors, but slippers to socks when heading down the stairs…

Every bit of information about Angela was neatly organized and stored in a specific part of Xavier’s mind – guaranteeing that he would remember the girl and her tendencies for however long he lived.

In some ways, it was more a punishment than a blessing.

Oftentimes, he would see things that he was not meant to see – the un-flinched flinch when his hands brushed just above her left breasts.

Xavier wondered what caused such a reaction – it was before his time, and he knew enough to know not to ask, and in some ways, he felt Angela knew enough to know not to tell.

It was an unspoken secret between the two.

Xavier was amazed that even without knowing – by just being with him, Angela understood his methods of problem-solving… gently allowing the person to disappear into ashes.

It was trapped in her mind – somewhere between conscious and subconscious, but it was there nonetheless.

Even asleep an Eternal had full control of their bodily functions so Xavier never felt the urge to use the bathroom in three months of life.

That would have to be addressed at some point.

Xavier carefully maneuvered the bed sheets onto Angela’s figure, ensuring she wouldn’t be able to realize his absence this time around.

She tended to wake when he went missing, but after moving into the house the previous day, Xavier wanted the teenager to get a bit more sleep.

The Eternal slipped into a shirt and pants and exited the room.

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The gym came next on his agenda.

Fifteen minutes warm-up…

Thirty minutes on the treadmill, pushing the machine to its limits…

The exercise didn’t bring satisfaction until Xavier moved on to the weights.

The equipment had been ordered with an Eternal in mind so though many of the objects may present the same, this gym was uniquely tailored to do twice as much.

Xavier gripped the barbell with five 200lbs bars added on both ends – the total weight summed to just above 1000lbs… or about half a ton.

It was easy.

Of course, it couldn’t be anything but easy for an Eternal of Ikaris’s strength.

It should be known from the comics that Ikaris only paled in strength to Zuras, and while he had been beaten by Hyperion plenty of times, The Eternal was still a major hero.

Memories flickered in Xavier’s mind.

“Ugh…”

He quickly dispelled all thoughts, finding a state of peace. Though knowing certain plot elements had been a boon early on – now, it had become more of a punishment.

The more Xavier thought about his life before becoming Ikaris, especially where matters of comics and vampires were concerned, the more his mind would settle with strange impressions.

Xavier did five sets with the weights, all the time focusing on the fact that he may need to employ a therapist sooner or later. Then again, there was a need to find the perfect person.

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THE PAINTING ROOM

By the time Angela had awakened – roughly two hours after Xavier – she found The Eternal with a painting brush in his hands, smearing a canvas with his best work.

“You don’t come into this room very often,” She voiced.

“I do,” Xavier corrected, still enraptured by the painting. “You just don’t stay over very often to see it.”

Angela browsed the painting on the wall, standing on canvas, and stocked in the unfinished pile – every painting was more magnificent than the last.

Twice before she had been inside the room – one time by accident, and the second time by design which led to a jealous disaster.

Angela winced at the thought of the last time.

“Bad memories?” Xavier seemed to notice without turning around.

“Bit of guilt,” She admitted. “I know better now.”

“You could live for a thousand years and wouldn’t know better than Buddha who lived for eighty years,” Xavier twirled the brush to complete the painting. “Understanding has never been proportional to age – if anything, you get dumber the longer you live.”

“Then, I’ll aim to be wise beyond my years,” Angela joked, embracing Xavier from behind now that he had completed the painting.

The Eternal spun his girlfriend into his arm, reversing their position – allowing Angela to gaze upon his new masterpiece.

Oftentimes, Xavier painted only to be surprised at the end.

This was one of those times…

“Is it?” Angela was hesitant.

“Yes…” Xavier confirmed, turning Angela’s head a bit to the left – exactly as he had painted her.

Angela’s face made up the entire painting – her cherry pink lips, shadow dark hair covering half her face, and the red bindi adding mystique that had previously been contained on the inside.

“Wow…” She was speechless. “I think it’s the first time you’ve ever painted me.”

“I only paint things I feel,” Xavier admitted with a tinge of guilt. “I am sorry it took this long to add your likeness to my collection.”

Angela felt tears rolling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” She apologized, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

It took several minutes of comforting from Xavier to control her emotions.

As for why one such painting would cause such an emotional reaction from Angela – well because Xavier had two other girls before her.

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One – a mystery, but no doubt the love of his life.

From what Angela could gather, the girl was equally as mysterious as Xavier, meaning they could have come from the same place.

Such a thing was understandable.

The second girl Xavier had painted, and the primary reason for their first breakup was why Angela cried at this moment – The Eternal had painted Isabella Swan before she ever came to Forks.

It was a major blow to Angela’s pride when she noticed the painting, and another major blow when – merely a week later – Charlie announced Bella’s return to Forks.

“What do you do after you’re finished painting them?” Angela inquired, seeing that her favorite paintings were no longer there. “Do we have a storage area in the house or?”

“Say that again?”

“Say what again?”

“You said ‘we’…” Xavier’s reaction was a subdued gush. “You said we when referring to the house so… I just love that you said that.”

“Oh…” Angela was surprised by her choice of words. “I guess I just felt really welcomed since moving in but give it time, it’s only been one day.”

“Okay, okay…” Xavier didn’t want to push the matter, so he changed the topic. “I’ll show you where the paintings go.”

The Eternal stored the painting, then he and Angela shifted into more suitable clothing and disappeared into the hummer in the garage.

۞۞۞

THE HANGING GARDENS

Much like Bella’s reaction, Angela was amazed, perplexed, and cautious all at once.

There was an intrinsic understanding between Xavier and Angela, so there was no need for lengthy explanations when it came to these things.

Angela understood that the answers would come in time, as long as she kept her ears open.

Xavier never went to length to keep anything from her so at this point, it was more about what she could figure out – and she had figured out plenty thus far.

Angela was merely waiting to overhear more information so that the questions she asked – when it was time to ask questions – would allow her to get to the root of the matter.

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Xavier and Angela sat on the river bank, organizing smooth stones in a corner The Eternal had segmented from the rest of the river.

“This is a very old method,” Xavier explained as he unrolled the painting. “It was created by The San Tribe – one of the oldest tribes in Africa at the time… these days you just say ancient.”

The painting was dipped in crystal-clear water.

“The paints I use are an old ingredient. Point is, I make it myself exactly for this reason.”

The paint on the canvas all but fell off when introduced to the water, falling straight down as if flakes that weighed a pound each.

“The paint is heavy when introduced in water, and then falls off. Though, it is absorbed into the stones – preserving the structure of the painting.”

True to Xavier's word, the inky water slowly cleared, revealing intricately colored stones at the bottom of the pool.

“We collect the rocks,” Xavier retrieved a single rock and gave it to Angela to examine. “And we simply organize and plaster them into our clay frames and that’s it…”

“That’s it?” Angela was amazed by the simplicity of the entire process. “But it can’t be that simple, right?”

“Even the simplest things take years to master,” Xavier voiced. “But you can probably learn it within a month.”

Angela assisted Xavier with the transport of the stones, not minding the time as they carefully arranged the stones into the image of the painting, and plastered the image into the grand masterpiece on the ground.

Angela was proud – it was the first time Xavier and her had created something together… something that they could truly call their own.

“It’s late,” Xavier frowned, staring at the skies.

It was only then that Angela realized they had been setting and plastering for nearly five hours straight.

“Guess time really flies when you’re having fun,” She commented.

“And there is more fun to be had,” Xavier announced. “We’re swinging by Sam’s place in a few.”

“Sleeping under the stars?” Angela hoped.

“Not tonight…” Xavier frowned for the second time. “I don’t think we should come out at night for the next couple of months… well, at least you shouldn’t come out without me.”

“Why?”

“It’s not safe – that’s all.”

Though the reply was vague, Angela took the warning as seriously as one could – there weren’t many things that could concern Xavier, and if he was concerned, that meant she had to be fearful.

The way out of The Hanging Gardens left Angela a bit disoriented, but Xavier simply wanted her to get a feel for the location – a true feel.

Not like the brief, protected, tour he had offered Bella.

Xavier wanted that, in the worst-case scenario, Angela would understand the places where she was to go – and one of those places was The Hanging Gardens.

۞۞۞

SAM’S HOUSE

The duo arrived at Sam’s house, and surprisingly, it seemed that the shapeshifter had been expecting them. Xavier stepped out of the car with endless questions on his face.

“You usually come when you know I am most annoyed,” Sam announced, waiting on the ledge with Emily. “And today…” The Shapeshifter groaned. “I am feeling particularly annoyed.”

“He means welcome,” Emily translated, stepping down the stairs.

Angela and Emily shared a hug, and Xavier and Sam remained a respectable distance apart, eyeing each other with the clear intention not to hug radiating out of their bodies.

A mutual understanding caused both men to nod.

Emily led Angela and Xavier inside her home, casting a scathing look at Sam when she registered his discontent with the situation.

“Tamed wolf…” Xavier spoke snidely.

Had it been Paul or Jared, they would have attacked immediately, but Sam had a bit more control.

“You smell like Isabella Swan,” Sam retorted with a smirk.

The smile and pride from Xavier’s face evaporated like water on the hottest day in history, and Angela and Emily couldn’t help but glance back at their respective lovers.

Sam flinched…

Xavier flinched…

Both men had been confined to the dog house with just a glance from their women – one a werewolf and one an Eternal, but in the end, they were both dogs on a leash.

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So... I have been developing the relationship between Xavier and Sam...

It is essential to build a relationship with The Cullens and set up a plot that can extend beyond just Wolves and Vampires. 

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