When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

It disappeared just as quickly as it came. Her senses returned, only for Avia to find herself sitting on the floor. A puddle of milk was forming from the flowing carton on the counter.

A wave of terror swept over and she uncontrollably shuddered. Her body was hot and cold, and empty. It felt like it was going to happen again. She stayed on the floor for a few more minutes until she was positive the room wasn’t spinning, then pulled herself up to search for paper towels. After cleaning up the mess, Avia carried what was left of her cereal over to the couch.

“Who was that guy?” Cheshire materialized next to her. His hair was a mess, and there were deep bags under his eyes.

“Just some dude from the university,” Avia answered. “But what happened to you? You look like crap.”

“What happened? You asshats kept me up all night! I had to go deep into the Spirit Forest to continue my nap when you brought Captain Biceps home last night. Hell, I barely had time to get out.”

“Geeze, sorry. Wow, I forgot how cranky you get when you miss a nap.”

“Ey! It’s not just my nap here. Even in the Spirit World, I couldn’t catch a break. You, and your soldiers, and all the animals are so loud with the singing and the dancing... I swear, there’s nowhere in the aether where your voice doesn’t travel.”

“Dude, chill. I said I’m sorry.”

He sighed, shaking his head as he stood up and walked over to the kitchen. “It’s all good, Avi. Ha, I’m sure he was probably more pleasant than shoving a needle up your arm.”

“Definitely.” Avia glanced down at her arm to see the needle mark from the other night was gone. Whatever she did to herself was always healed by morning. If she broke skin, the wound cauterized itself. Any damage from drugs or alcohol was fixed by the time she awoke from her stupor. She was pretty sure her body did the same with any foreign substance, because she also couldn’t get pregnant. Something she was particularly grateful for, given that neither she nor Noah had thought to use protection.

“So,” Avia said, turning around. “He invited me to this party tonight.”

Cheshire pulled the milk back out, took a swig, then frowned. “I thought you just bought milk?”

“What?” Avia looked up at the empty carton and froze. “Um, yeah, I dropped it earlier. I’ll get more Monday.”

“Dammit, Avia. No fish, no milk. You are by far the world’s worst cat owner.” He shook his head and dropped the carton in the trash. “But back to Biceps. Is this anything like Leo’s massive drunk fest last year?”

"Mmhmm. He said this one is supposed to last a couple days.

“How exciting.” He scratched his chin as he walked back to the couch. “I think I’ll actually go to this one.”

“Seriously? You? At a party? You looked like you were about to die last night. Plus, you haven’t gone to an actual social event with me in years.”

“Immortel is overpriced and the music screams ‘do me behind the fog machine, I’m desperate.’” He fell back on the cushion next to her and propped his feet on the coffee table. “House parties are different. I get to stretch my legs, drink free tequila… It’ll be fun. I spend so much time with you that I’m starting to forget what other humans are like.”

Avia shrugged. “You haven’t really missed much. I’m only going because there should be enough stuff there to keep me in the aether all week.”

Cheshire’s face darkened and he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t wanna take it easy? You’ve been fading out almost every night. Your visits are getting shorter each time. If you keep pushing yourself—"

"Yeah, I know, my soul might not be able to take it." She shrugged off his hand and rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. Besides, the party will probably suck, so it’s not like you should feel obligated to go.”

"Still, I want to make sure you’re okay. If that means staying in Earth Proper with a house full of a bunch of sweaty college students, then so be it.”

“Ches..."

"Not another word," he said with a dismissive wave. "I'm going. As for you, you need to figure out what you’re wearing. Jewelry, or no jewelry? Heels, or flats? Makeup, or are you going like… that…” He scrunched his face and waved a hand over her.

"Shut up," she teased, punching him in the arm. He clutched his triceps and rolled on the couch in feigned agony.

Avia shook her head and smiled. "You're ridiculous. But thank you. It means a lot, you coming and all."

He grabbed the top of the couch and pulled himself back up to a sitting position. "Of course, that's what friends are for, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you, Ches."

He returned the embrace. "I love you too."

Chapter 13

Avia stared at her reflection for a few seconds then grinned. She couldn’t have cared less about what she wore, but Cheshire was determined that she looked good. He had also pointed out that whatever she wore was what she would hopefully stay in for the next few days. After far too many trial outfits, they decided on just a black t-shirt, shorts, and sandals.

"Hot, but not too flashy," Cheshire said, examining her before giving his approval.

“Great, now can we go?” Avia held her phone to his face. “The party’s already started!”

“Calm down, I’m almost done.”

“You’ve been gelling your hair for like fifteen minutes! And that’s after the fifteen it took for you to pick out that stupid shirt!”

Cheshire ripped his head away from the bathroom mirror, panic in his eyes.