by Kitty Parker
Smiling, I leaned over further so that my head was resting on his shoulder. The only problem was the pesky armrest between us. Niels evidently knew something that I didn't, however, for he reached over and pushed the darn thing back so that it was behind us.
I officially loved this theatre.
Niels and I continued to cuddle like that throughout the film. It was so sweet. I felt completely at ease with him, as though I had known him forever, even though we'd only met the day before. I really wanted him to kiss me, just to see what his lips would feel like.
Niels must have had ESP or something creepy like that. Either that or I was sending out some kind of "KISS ME" signal that could be transmitted through the skin. In any case, Niels gently rubbed his cheek against my hair, seemingly trying to start something.
"Why do you hate me? What have I done to you that you should ever hate me so?"
"You tried to take her place. You let him marry you. I've seen his face - his eyes. They're the same as those first weeks after she died. I used to listen to him, walking up and down, up and down, all night long, night after night, thinking of her, suffering torture because he lost her!"
"I don't want to know, I don't want to know!"
"You thought you could be Mrs. de Winter, live in her house, walk in her steps, take the things that were hers! But she's too strong for you. You can't fight her - no one ever got the better of her. Never, never. She was beaten in the end, but it wasn't a man, it wasn't a woman. It was the sea!"
Ok, perhaps not the best moment in which to kiss, when Mrs. Danvers is getting all creepy, but whatever. I turned my head up to face Niels, who was smiling sweetly down at me. He began to lean in, and just as our lips met…
WHAM!
Some douche kicked the back of my seat. Livid, but trying to appear calm, I turned around to face the culprit.
I'll give you three guesses as to who it was.
Yes, yes, and yes again.
"Kurt!" I whispered furiously. "What the hell is your problem?"
He grinned back at me like a maniac. "Shh, Lotte! I'm trying to watch a movie!" He gestured condescendingly to the screen as though I had no idea it was there.
If I had been a cartoon character, I'm sure that steam would have been coming out of my ears.
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After Niels dropped me off at my room with a sweet goodnight kiss, his contact information, and a promise to keep in touch with me when I was back in America, I was immediately accosted by my three roommates, frantically asking about the details of my date.
"How was it?" asked Eden.
"Did you get his number?" demanded Jane.
"Did he kiss you?" squeaked Brigid.
"Good, yes, and yes," I said simply. "I'll give you guys the details later, alright? Right now I've got something to take care of…"
And by "I've got something to take care of," I naturally meant "I've got to go kick Kurt's ass right now!"
Evading my beloved but nosy friends, I slipped out of the room and stomped over to the next door down, pounding loudly with my fist.
"Kurt Matthews, I know you're in there! Let me in right now! Kurt! KURT!"
The door swung open mid-pound, almost causing me to punch Elliot in the nose.
"Whoa, cool it, Lotte!" he said, throwing his hands up in defense. "Come in. I'm just going upstairs, but Kurt should be back in a minute. He went to the movies."
"Yeah, I know," I said bitterly.
Elliot cocked an eyebrow in amusement. "Alright then…" he trailed off. "I'll see you later, then."
With that, he left the room, leaving me to sit on one of the chairs and fume.
I was so pissed off at Kurt. It wasn't so much that he had interrupted my date with Niels. I knew firsthand that long-distance relationships were hard to deal with, so it wasn't like I was expecting to forge a bond that would result in marriage. It was just the principle of the thing. A date is a private, special moment in time! It should be Kurt-free and enjoyable. Besides, someday I might be on a date with a man that I could potentially spend the rest of my life with. If Kurt messed things up then, it could affect the course of my entire life!
I looked up at the sound of the door being unlocked and stood, ready for the inevitable confrontation.
Kurt looked fairly surprised as he entered his room to find me standing in the middle of the floor with my hands angrily planted on my hips. He just stared at me like I was the ghost of Hamlet's father or something. I waited for him to say something. An apology would have been nice. Groveling would have been even better.
Instead, I got this: "Lotte? Why are you in my room?"
"Why do you think?" I spat angrily.
"Because…you're pissed at me?" he ventured.
"Why, how on Earth did you know?" I huffed sarcastically. "Whatever gave it away, Kurt?"
He bit his lip and didn't answer.
I sighed. "Sit down." Alright, so it was a little weird to tell someone to sit down in their own room, but it's not like I really cared.
Whether or not he found it strange, Kurt obeyed and sat down on one of the chairs. I began to pace in front of him, trying to figure out how to word my grievances. After passing him three or four times, I whirled around to face him accusingly.
"Why did you kick my seat when I was about to kiss Niels?" I demanded.
"It was funny?" he suggested unsurely.
"It totally ruined the whole moment!" I threw up my hands in exasperation.
"I know," he answered, narrowing his eyes and looking down at his feet.
I sighed and rubbed my temples a bit with my fingertips.
"That was a total dick move," I said.
Kurt was silent for a minute.
"Sorry," he said softly, raking a hand through his light brown hair.
"Well, it's not like I was going to end up married to him, anyway."
Kurt nodded, not knowing how else to respond. There was a long moment of silence between us.
Suddenly, Kurt looked up at me earnestly. "Can we call a truce?" he asked.
I was completely floored. I hadn't been expecting that. "What?"
"A truce," he continued. "I'm sick of this whole "mutual antagonism" thing. Lotte, I don't want to fight with you anymore."
"So what do you want?"
He hesitated while I waited expectantly.
"I want us to be friends."
That left me speechless. I mean, what can you say to that? There was only one thing to do, really…
"I guess we can try," I said. The key word here was try. If the "friendship" failed, it would not be my fault.
Kurt smiled. "Truce?" he asked, sticking out his right hand.
I looked at it for a moment. "Truce."
We shook on it.
Chapter 7: Why Can't We Be Friends?
"You what?" shrieked Jane as the gorgeous Norwegian countryside rushed past the window.
"I made a truce with Kurt," I answered, shrugging. "Well, actually he made the truce, but I agreed to it." I looked back out the window of the high-speed train, preferring the rolling green hills of the fjord region to my friends' stunned faces.
"Whoa, Lotte, this is huge!" exclaimed Eden, a huge grin plastered across her face. "You've never gotten along with Kurt."
"This is Kurt Matthews we're talking about, right?" asked Brigid incredulously. "This isn't some weird pod-person Kurt or something?"
I just sighed and rolled my eyes.
Yes, it had really happened. Kurt and I had made a truce. He'd proved that it wasn't all just some psycho dream that morning when we got off of the cruise ship and he waved at me happily, a big, stupid grin across his face. I'd waved back awkwardly. Now we were all on a high-speed train from Bergen, Norway, to Oslo, and I could only thank God that I was sitting in a different compartment than Kurt. I honestly wouldn't know what to do if we had been put in a tiny, six-person compartment for six hours together. I'd probably blush myself to death.
"This is what we've all b
een waiting for!" Jane clapped her hands together in excitement. "Now that you're getting along with Kurt, you can go confess your undying love for him, have mad passionate sex, get married, and have adorable half-German little babies!"
Apparently Jane was more of a romantic than I had thought.
"Whoa now," I said, waving my arms a bit to signal that she should stop right there. "I have absolutely no intention of doing any of those things. And I never said we're getting along, we're just trying."
Jane shrugged and flashed me a knowing grin. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Lotte."
I glared at her.
"You have to at least admit that he's cute," Brigid said, as though stating that two plus two was four.
I sniffed and tossed my head back haughtily. "I admit nothing!"
Eden rolled her eyes.
"Don't you give me that look, Miss Oh-no-there's-nothing-going-on-between-Matt-and-I!" I reprimanded, pointing a finger at her accusingly.
"Completely different situation!" she squeaked, defending herself.
"Hardly," Jane muttered. Eden shot her a death glare. I began to suspect that something was wrong. Eden's death glares were quite rare. She rarely mustered up enough anger to merit such a facial expression.
"Come on, Eden," I said gently. "We're not blind. You really should do something."
She turned her death-ray vision on me instead. "Hey, you don't like it when we bug you about Kurt, so just drop it about Matt, okay?"
My eyes widened in shock. I was quite taken aback, really. Eden rarely snapped at anyone, let alone her best friend. My suspicions were confirmed. Something was clearly wrong, and what kind of a best friend would I be if I just ignored it?
I bit my lip, thinking. Finally, I made up my mind. "I'm going to go check out the café car. You want to come, Ede?" I stood up and started toward the compartment door, looking back at her.
Sighing, she nodded and followed me, sliding the door shut quietly behind her. She knew full well that we weren't going anywhere near the café car.
As soon as we were a safe distance away from our friends, I pulled Eden down a little side aisle near the bathrooms and looked her squarely in the eye.
"Spill."
Usually, that was all she needed. This time, though, she just looked at me like a little lost lamb.
"Eden," I sighed. "Something's bothering you. I can tell. What's going on?"
She sighed, looking down at her feet, and leaned back against the wall, sliding all the way down to a sitting position on the floor. I sat next to her and looked at her expectantly.
Eden inhaled deeply. "I'm scared," she said simply.
"Of what?" I asked, confused.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Well, sort of, but it's…complicated…" she trailed off.
"Well, it's a long train ride. Take a crack at explaining it. I'm listening."
There was a long pause. I sensed that Eden needed a bit of time to gather her thoughts.
"I really like Matt, you know," she said in a very quiet voice. " A lot."
I nodded in understanding. "I know."
"But…I'm just…sort of…scared."
"Are you scared that he'll hurt you?" I couldn't imagine Matt doing that. He was far too sweet.
"It's not like that." She shook her head. "I know he wouldn't…"
I waited patiently for her to go on.
"I guess I'm scared of myself."
"How so?"
She bit her lower lip, then looked at me. "You remember when we were playing chicken the other day and I was sitting on Matt's shoulders?"
I smiled. "How could I forget?"
A ghost of a smile graced her delicate features, but it quickly disappeared. "Well…I started…I started feeling…"
I had a feeling I knew what she was getting at, but I also knew that if that was the case, it would take her a while to get her head around it.
"I started feeling kind of…horny."
If Eden had been anyone else, I would have said something to the effect of 'Well, duh! His head, your crotch, do the math.' Having known Eden ever since I first moved to the United States, however, I understood why the idea of physical attraction freaked her out so much.
"I understand, Ede."
She smiled at me gratefully.
"It is natural, you know," I went on. "It's probably just that his head was so close to you-know-where."
"I know," she said, blushing. "But it's not just that. I'm really attracted to him, Lotte.
"That's natural, too."
"Yeah, I know, I just…don't trust myself, I guess."
I nodded in understanding.
"I mean, Lotte, you know that I've never really done anything with a guy."
"I know." I put my arm around her, letting her lean on my shoulder. "I know that it's scary. It's just a part of life."
She nodded, her red hair tickling my cheek. For all of Eden's jokes about finding "hot French lovers" in Paris and things like that, she was really scared to death about anything in the physical realm with regards to the opposite sex.
"Are you worried about kissing him?" I asked.
"Oh, no!" she said, surprised. "I want to kiss him. I think when the time is right, it'll happen. It's not that. It's…the other stuff." She took in a deep breath. "Lotte, I had a really erotic dream about him last night. He had this chocolate body paint, and…oh my gosh, why am I telling you this?!?"
Aw, Eden's first wet dream! They just grow up so fast, these days…
Wait…chocolate body paint?
Wow, who knew Eden's subconscious was so kinky?
"You can't control what you dream, hun," I said, hiding my smile.
"I know, but even consciously I know that I want him. That's what scares me."
"Is it because of your church?" I asked.
She furrowed her brow. "Kind of, but not really," she answered. "My church isn't really that invasive. Reverend Jacobson doesn't ever preach about how we should be handling our love lives or whatever. It's more that I don't know if my parents would approve of me getting involved with someone. I also worry about somehow disappointing God. I don't know about the whole 'abstinence until marriage' thing, but I think God at least wants me to wait until I'm really in love with someone."
"I'm sure Matt would respect that," I said, rubbing Eden's arm gently. "He's a really sweet guy and, after all, he's a Christian too. For all we know, he might be just as freaked out about the whole thing as you are."
"Yeah, I guess," said Eden, smiling a bit.
"And I'm sure God isn't going to be disappointed in you no matter what. You're the best Christian I know. You really exemplify the whole 'Love thy neighbor as thyself' thing, and isn't that what it's all about?"
Without warning, Eden turned around and embraced me. I squeezed her back tightly.
"Thanks, Lotte," she said when we finally pulled away. There was a genuine smile on her face. "I really needed that."
"Hey, what are best friends for? Now come on, we should go get some kind of snack at the café car so Jane and Brigid won't get suspicious."
"Cause we couldn't have that, could we?"
"No, not at all."
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By the time we got off in Oslo, I was pretty damn sick of trains (six hours on one will do that to you). This was fairly unfortunate, as we still had six hours to go on a second train from Oslo to Stockholm. Luckily, we had an hour in between to chill out, visit the shops, and grab something to eat. If we hadn't had that hour, I just might have castrated Mr. Faulkner with one of those plastic knives they give you with the food in the dining car. I really was getting a bit loopy.
The train station in Oslo had a little enclosed food court off to the left of the platforms. Eden and I made our way over there. Upon seeing a smoothie bar, my mood brightened considerably. I all but dragged Eden to the counter, eagerly scrutinizing the menu.
"Hey!"
I t
urned to face the sound. Kurt had magically appeared beside me like some sort of teenaged genie. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Er, hey?"
"You getting a smoothie?" he asked.
I opened my mouth to retort, most likely with something sarcastic along the lines of 'no, I'm trying to light that menu on fire with my superpowers,' but then I remembered the truce.
"Um, yeah, I guess…"
He smiled. "So am I. Here, I'll buy. What do you want?"
I looked at him skeptically. "Since when does 'getting along' entail buying me food?"
"Since I said it does. Lotte, I'm offering to buy you a drink. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, alright?"
I just stared at him. "What?"
He looked confused. "What, what?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked. "What horse?"
He stared at me for a second before comprehension dawned on him. "Oh, right. You've never heard that expression before?"
I raised an eyebrow in response.
"Yeah, well it's an idiom. It just means, if someone gives you a good thing, don't question it. Something like that."
"Oh…" Well, talk about a weird idiom.
"So, I'm buying you a smoothie."
"If you insist."
We ordered, Kurt paid, and I sat down on a nearby bench, awkwardly sipping my "Jordbær Eksplosjon" (Strawberry Explosion). Eden plopped down beside me.
"Well I feel kind of shafted," she said, pouting.
"Hm?" I questioned, mid-sip.
"No one offered to buy me a smoothie, not that I wanted one." A grin began to creep onto her face. "Gee, I wonder why Kurt bought one for you of all people."
I waved her off. "Oh, he's just sucking up to prove that he's going along with the truce or something."
"Shh, here he comes." She nodded behind me.
Kurt sat himself down on my other side, noisily slurping his "Banan Torden" (Banana Thunder).
"It was so nice of you to buy Lotte a smoothie, Kurt," said Eden sweetly, subtly elbowing me.
"Er, yeah," I piped up. "Thanks."
"Anytime." Kurt beamed at me. It was kind of unnerving. Still, if he was going to put in that much effort to making the truce work, I'd have to at least try. I smiled back at him.
