A Haunting Melody: The Golden Lyre

19 | Chi

Once Astrid had gotten back into her rhythm, she found it easy to instruct Chris. He was a fast learner and took everything she said seriously. He didn't appear to think of any of this as a game either, which gave her some peace of mind.

She supposed that his experience with Sirens was good motivation to take this seriously. Who could possibly feel safe knowing that monsters existed and could be any face in a crowd?

All in all, the training session was a great success to Astrid. She felt a great sense of accomplishment as she watched Chris perform an almost flawless example of the defensive moves she had just taught him.

She had decided to ditch the combinations Daniel had been teaching him for now. She felt it was more important that Chris could be able to defend himself before getting into the technicalities of doing some damage.

Still, she was excited to get home and pass out. She would definitely sleep well this time. She revelled in the thought of a good night's rest.

After giving her a warm smile and a hug goodbye, Chris left to go home, waving distractedly at Daniel, who was still by the punching bag, almost as though he had forgotten he was there.

When the door closed behind Chris, Daniel decided to walk over to where Astrid was standing.

"Do you want to have a quick sparring match before we leave?" Daniel asked.

This piqued Astrid's interest. As tired as she felt, she found that she simply couldn't resist a good physical fight; especially when it was with Daniel.

Without a word, she got into a fighting stance and gave Daniel a smirk. He followed suit and prepared himself mentally. It wasn't long before they were jabbing flattened palms and giving swift kicks at one another.

Their jabs and kicks became so fast at one point that it would have been difficult for anyone to tell that they weren't actually hitting each other.

As much as Astrid was enjoying the fight, she knew that she wouldn't be able to go on much longer before her body gave in from exhaustion. She would have to end it quickly if she was going to win.

"So what's your deal with Chris?" she asked, hoping it would distract him momentarily.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Daniel replied between breaths, not slacking in the slightest.

"Ha!" Astrid scoffed, "every time you look at him it's like you just got a bad taste in your mouth."

Astrid quickly blocked a jab aimed at her face.

"I don't like his attitude," Daniel said between breaths.

"What do you mean?" she pried, taking a chance as kicking him lightly on the thigh.

"I mean he seems like he thinks all of this is a game. Like he's only doing this to impress you or something," Daniel grunted.

Astrid repressed a smirk as she felt his attention shifting from the fight to the conversation.

"Well, he's not," she breathed, throwing a jab at his neck, which he quickly deflected.

"Have you seen him at all today? He couldn't keep his eyes off you."

"That's because I was showing him how to fight," Astrid scoffed.

She hadn't realised how seriously Daniel was taking this conversation.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Daniel said in a frustrated tone.

Astrid took his distraction as an opportunity and quickly grabbed his wrist, pulling it harshly towards her and twisting his arm behind his back, before forcing him onto the ground.

"Even if he was looking at me, why do you care? Are you jealous?" she asked, catching her breath and she kept him pinned on the ground.

"No," he grunted, his face going slightly red.

Using his free hand, he quickly swung it behind him and knocked Astrid on the side of the head, before using his strength to throw her off of him. Before she had a chance to react, he was on top of her, pinning her wrists to the floor.

"Are you sure?" she asked, before bucking her hips and throwing Daniel off of her.

Daniel quickly stood up and stepped back, "fine, you win. I am jealous."

Astrid got back onto her feet and raised an eyebrow, "what about the fight?"

"We'll call it a draw," Daniel said exasperatedly.

"Alright," Astrid shrugged, "We should probably get going then."

Once they had packed up all their things, they found themselves walking back to Daniel's pickup truck. Now that the fighting was over, neither of them could think of anything to say, leaving them swallowed up by an awkward silence.

When they were finally in the privacy of the car, Daniel managed to clear his throat, "Astrid, I know you're very sceptical about all the romance stuff, and I know you haven't quite forgiven me for kissing you last time, but I just need to get this off my chest."

Astrid knew where this was going and felt her heart begin to beat a little faster. She thought about what Rose had said to her and decided to listen to what he had to say. Hopefully whatever he was about to say would help her feel less confused by everything she was feeling.

"You really are something special. When I'm around you, I can't help but want to smile. I find myself thinking about you all the time, even when you're not there. I know this must seem scary to you, but I think if you gave me a chance to take you out on a real date you could see that it doesn't have to be that scary. We could just have some fun, the way we did last time," Daniel scratched his neck awkwardly.

Astrid was silent as she thought about his words. Was Rose right? Would this really be good for her?

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to do," he added quickly, feeling more awkward the longer she remained silent.

Astrid gave him a gentle smile. He was sure he had never seen her smile like that before.

"I suppose it's worth trying," she said softly, watching him curiously as he processed her response.

Soon, a huge grin spread over his features and he found himself unable to contain his happiness.

"You won't regret it," he grinned, turning to face the front and starting the car.

Daniel didn't want to push his luck and remained silent for the rest of the ride, almost as though he were afraid that if he said anything she might change her mind. Astrid certainly didn't seem to mind the silence.

The first time either of them uttered a word was when Astrid stepped out of the car.

"I guess I'll be seeing you soon," Astrid said shyly, holding the door open and she waited for a response.

"See you," Daniel's voice cracked as he gave her an awkward wave goodbye.

Once he had made sure Astrid had gone inside, we slapped his steering wheel.

"Real smooth," he groaned to himself.