Violet Eyes

57: Reconciliation

October 29th
2 days until Halloween

Rhys opened his eyes slowly, the ceiling wishing him a good morning. He brought his arm up and dragged his hand down his face. The events of yesterday were still drilling a sick feeling of guilt into his whole being. Rhys sat up in bed and ran his hand over his loose dreads before he stood up. He walked into his bathroom and flicked on the light. Rhys brushed his teeth as he stared blankly into the mirror before spitting into the sink and rinsing out his mouth with water. He then went back into his room and opened his dresser drawer to pick out some clothes. Nothing too fancy, just a long sleeved shirt and some jeans, he did put on his favorite silver chain...that Nerissa suggested. Rhys' lip curled slightly as that feeling creeped up again.

Rhys quickly opened his door after grabbing his phone and walked out. He was looking for his friends, hopefully all together so he could apologize to everyone at once. Rhys checked the mess hall, the lobby and the lounge before he got outside, where he spotted Orion. He tensed slightly, Rhys wanted to apologize to everyone at once...but Orion deserved a personalized apology.

Rhys took a few steps towards Orion as he was leaning against the stone outer wall. "Hey." Rhys said flatly, he raised his hands peacefully when Orion flinched and whipped his attention to Rhys. His eyes glowing neon blue for a moment before they calmed down. He still looked uncomfortable and slightly afraid. "Orion, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to tell you how sorry I am for what I did." Rhys continued in a low voice.

Orion looked at him for a moment with slightly wide eyes. "Why...did you do that?" He sounded afraid and he was watching Rhys closely for sudden movements.

Rhys looked down with a small sigh as his shoulders dropped. He remembered what Nyx said about communication. "I just...you remember what I said back when we rescued you and Nerissa? The warning I gave you?"

"Yes. You told me that you had a bit of an anger problem." Orion answered as he eyed him again, his own posture relaxing. "Is that why you threw me? What'd I do to set you off?"

"It's not anything you did, Orion. It's because I'm a chickenshit who hardly understands any feeling other than anger." Rhys responded as he struggled to look Orion in the eye.

"I know you're not a chickenshit, when we first met...and I almost killed Oliver and Nyx...you bravely ran into the fight and you held your own for a long time. Honestly, that the longest anyone had lasted in a fight against me, other than Nyx, obviously." Orion said in his usual empty tone, but Rhys still felt the intention behind the words.

"That's not what I meant." Rhys breathed out in irritation, he forgot that he kinda had to spell things out for Orion. "Orion, I know that you're kinda new to this thing called life, but this is about something that most would agree is more terrifying than going toe to toe with you." Rhys' casual remark about Orion's strength made him chuckle softly.

"Damien?" Orion asked softly, Rhys chuckled slightly hearing that Orion thought that Damien was stronger than him.

"No, Orion. Seeing you holding Nerissa like that in the mess hall...it made me angry okay?" Rhys was going to continue speaking but Orion cut him off with a drawn out "Ohhhh".

"I get it. You love her, don't you?" Orion asked directly as he pointed at Rhys. He blinked a few times, caught off guard by Orion's direct question.

"Wait, so you just learned about the concept of birthdays but you understand the concept of love?" Rhys asked him in a sarcastic tone as he gestured a hand towards Orion.

"Yes. I hear Nyx and Nate say it to each other a lot, so I picked up a few things." Orion answered in a deadpan tone. "If you don't want me to tell her, I won't. But I think you should."