Fear

Lydia wished she'd never asked.

It had taken her three nights to finally ask about the ball. She'd known something had happened. All the staff had been treating her like precious glass. It was as if they'd thought she, or rather, Lorelei, would shatter at the slightest push.

Now she knew why.

Lydia leaned back in the newly altered sofa of the Terrtrove's guest waiting room. Honestly, she was surprised that they'd gotten it all together so fast. Well, it had been a little bit, but not that long.

The blue went on the edges of the sofa, as well as the other furniture nearby. It climbed parts of the walls and settled itself into little swirls. They looked like bits of fairy tale magic, the kind that curled into a ball before disappearing.

Lydia turned to Sara. "Can you get something for us to snack on? Something salty would be great." Nodding, Sara moved to fulfill her request.

She turned back to Jason, who was sitting next to her. "So, what will Lorelei do now?"

Jason averted his eyes from her, which was annoyingly adorable. His hair was down, flowing perfectly as only a guy as hot as him could manage. His eyes, as she had seen before he'd turned away, were sparkling with life, something that really fascinated Lydia.

"About that," Jason started. "Lorelei expressed interest in residing in your world."

"She did?" Lydia asked, not really surprised. From how Nico said it, Lorelei was really thriving there.

"Yes," Jason confirmed, his voice weirdly careful. "That actually begs another question, however."

"Yeah?" Lydia prompted. When he hesitated, she raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Jason. Spit it out. I won't judge you or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

He finally met her eyes again. "How would you feel about staying here?"

Lydia frowned. "Here as in this world, or here as in this estate?"

"Both."

"I've wanted that from the very beginning," Lydia said simply. 

It was true. LA was fun and all, but it always felt sort of dead. Most of the people rushed around, stress following them everywhere. Some were the opposite, so attached to their phones that they never even noticed that they were at the center such a big place, or maybe they were too desensitized to it to care. Not that she was any better. She couldn't go back to her hometown, either. That would be really awkward after everything that had happened. 

"Lydia," Jason said suddenly, now tapping a finger against his leg. "What about being with me?"

She had to be misunderstanding him. "Like, live with you?"

"Like be with me," Jason clarified. "As a partner."

"A friendly partner?" Lydia asked. She paused. "Or a romantic one?"

Jason opened his mouth to answer but, before he could, Sara came back with the snacks. Without looking, Lydia grabbed a piece of the item. She frowned at the taste, taking a peek at the plate. The plate was really pretty, with a green middle and a brown trim. On that plate was something she hadn't thought existed in this world.

Peanuts.

They looked as unsuspecting as they normally did. Their hard shells looked harmless, colored lightly and perfect for an innocent person to eat. The dots were as creepy as always, mocking her for falling into their trap. They were the perfect ingredient for someone to sneak into someone's food.

The food that had killed her mother.

Panic flooded through her. Forgetting everything around her, she suddenly felt wrong. Was her throat closing up? She hadn't thought she was allergic to peanuts. She couldn't breathe. Why were the walls closing in around her? Is this what dying feels like?

Is this what mom felt?

"Lydia!" Jason's voice cut through her. "Lydia, look at me!"

Clutching her throat, she stared at Jason with wide eyes, hoping he'd understand. She was losing air. She was fading away. She needed an EpiPen. She needed to get it out of her.

Get out.

Get out!

GET OUT!!!

Suddenly, Lydia felt herself being pressed against something. The something was hard, toned even though it never left its office. It smelled of a pure, clear wood. The kind she had smelled that one time she'd gone camping. The something was muttering soothing words to her. The something was running his hand up and down her back.

Lorelei's back.

That's right. She wasn't herself right now. She couldn't be dying of an allergic reaction. She couldn't be dying from a nut. She was breathing. She could breathe. Realizing this, she pushed away from Jason.

Pasting a smile on her face, she tried for a sheepish laugh. "Wow, that was weird."

Jason frowned. "What?"

"No idea where that came from," Lydia continued. "Must have gone down the wrong pipe."

"Lydia," Jason said, concern dousing his voice.

"You were saying something, weren't you?" Lydia tried to remember what they were talking about.

She snapped her fingers. "Right! You said Lorelei was interested in living in the modern world!"

"Lydia. . ."

"You know, it sounds like Lady Yasmine was isekai'd." Lydia went on. "What if we asked her?"

"Lydia, I don't think you should just brush this away---"

"Hey!" Lydia cut in suddenly, her voice getting a bit higher. "What if we made it a date?"

That seemed to catch Jason off-guard. "Pardon?"

"Yeah," Lydia said, seeing it all come together in her head. "I mean, you mentioned wanting me to live here, right? If we went out for dinner, we'd see if we were into each other."

"But we already went for dinner before," Jason pointed out. "And I do not think we need to---"

"Sophia crashed that date, so it doesn't count," Lydia said dismissively. "We can go tomorrow. That way, we can warn Yasmine that we're coming. If we meet with her after dinner, maybe we'll get some clue on how isekai normally works here."

"Does this mean you are unsure of how you feel about me?" Jason asked, a hint of sadness in his tone.

"I mean, I haven't really thought about it," Lydia said, lying through her teeth.

She'd thought about Jason a lot. She had imagined him getting close to her, eating the chocolate as she fed it to him. She imagined riding with him, the wind whipping through both of their hairs. She imagined staring at the strange stars here. She imagined a gentle kiss on a pale hand, the ghost of it tickling her skin as it left her.

When she imagined these things, though, she wasn't dressed as Lorelei. It was her hair getting flung around. It was her eyes taking in the stars. It was her hand giving him the chocolate; Her hand being kissed.

Suddenly, Jason blinked. "Lydia, I believe we were discussing something earlier."

"Tell me, Jason," Lydia said. "Would you rather keep asking me questions you know I won't answer today, or would you rather figure out how to get me to stick around?"

Realizing that he wouldn't get anywhere, he dropped it. Meanwhile, Lydia dropped the issue into her Pit of Forgetting. It wouldn't help to think too much about it. That would only make her sad. It wasn't like thinking about it was going to do anything. Keeping it in her mind would only hurt her. No, better to simply push it out.

Modern problem, modern solution.