Between Two Hates - Chapter Two

Counting the days that Stefan saved the young French girl, he was astonished that it had been two weeks, already. Of course, she had been asleep for nearly half of the time, but it was odd that in that small amount of time the two bonded. Stefan was rather surprised by this, considering he hated being close to anyone. He would rather fist fight with someone than talk about his feelings, but there was something about this girl that made him sensitive. He cared about her well-being and worried for her health. It was a new sensation to truly care for someone. What was mind boggling to the young German soldier was that she was French! It was well known that Stefan hated the French, but when Stefan saw the girl, laying there with her neck cut and bleeding, unconscious, he felt such pity and worry that he didn't think.

One week after the girl had become conscious, Stefan awoke to the loud sounds of someone cooking. Smells of eggs and bacon filled his nose and his eyes opened, his mouth watering. The girl was there, cooking furiously. She seemed bothered for unknown reasons and was trying to ignore the pain in her neck. Stefan suppressed an urge to make her stay still and lay down. Her neck was still far from healing and he had used a sling to make sure she didn't move her injured shoulder. Her bandages needed cleaning and she was jostling about so much that he knew the cuts would reopen if she continued. He sighed, disapproval embedded into his features. The girl did not seem to care, however, and tried to use her arm anyhow. It was a bit amusing to Stefan, watching her grunt in pain every time she moved her arm, but the thought that moving it caused pain didn't seem to register to her mind. She tried to use it over and over, each time she grunted that same way and clutched at her arm, but then tried again! Stefan lay there, in his bed roll, watching as she did this continuously.

Around the fourth time she did this, Stefan chuckled, sitting up and stretching, a loud yawn interrupting his amused laugh. The girl jumped, yelping in surprise. When seeing that it was only Stefan, she laughed nervously, saying something in French that Stefan didn't understand. She looked at him, as if she had asked a question and Stefan shrugged, showing he didn't understand her. Within a few seconds, it registered to the girl that she had spoken French and not English.

"I said that you scared me." She explained in her heavy French accent. Stefan nodded, trying not to think about how much he loved her voice. Even when she said things he didn't understand, he practically melted. When she spoke, he listened to her intently, drawn in by each and every word. They caused a feeling of euphoria in him that he had never known before. Breaking from his momentary trance, Stefan shrugged, picking up a chunk of wood and instantly chipping away with his knife at the surface.

The girl nodded, going back to her cooking and seeming to try and ignore his entire presence. He chuckled again at her amusing behavior. Though he didn't understand it, she was acting comically. After a few silent minutes, she turned to look at him, straining her neck painfully.

"You know, you never told me your name." Stefan paused in his carving and looked up at her, his face blank.

"Is that a question?" He said, looking into her eyes seriously. She rolled her devastatingly brown eyes and turned back to the fire. She said "oui" which Stefan remembered meant yes. He smiled, remaining silent and going back to his carving. By ignoring her question, the girl became bothered. He was only teasing and she knew this, but it still bothered her. When she finished breakfast, she settled down and asked him again, but he only shrugged, eating silently.

Finally, in a mixtured cry of triumph and giving up, she turned to him, a glare on her pretty face. "Fine! You won't tell me yours, I will certainly not tell you mine!" Stefan shrugged, laughing at her and continued to eat.

They ate in complete silence. Stefan continued to enjoy the torture he put through the girl, while she tried her best not to show how much his teasing was bothering her. It took her nearly an hour before she burst out with something close to anger, but mixed with laughter.

"Oh FINE!" Stefan chuckled his amusement, looking over at her, a smirk on his face. She took a deep breath, calming herself and laughing along with him, "My name is Adelaide." he inclined his head politely and smiled.

"Stefan." Adelaide smiled that beautiful smile and Stefan gulped, a smile instantly on his own lips. She stood, gathering the dishes, and Stefan watched as she did so, pondering what it was about her that effected him so. She reminded him of someone, but at the same time, she was someone completely new and different. He bit his lip, watching as she added wood to the fire, finally giving up on trying to use her hurt arm. Was it her voice? Her voice that caused him to go into a trance and feel as if he were falling into a deep void that he wanted to stay in forever. Or was it her smile? Her smile that sent him to the moon and made him feel giddy and childish. Maybe it was the way she was up and about, instantly. Always moving. She baffled him. That much was for sure. Never had he seen someone act as if they recovered so fast. Suspicion arose that she might have been pretending or trying to make herself heal faster. He shrugged it off, no one was that dense to try and pretend they were well.

~

She was warm, comfortable and she loved feeling so content, even in the cold wilderness. The fire was warm and her small bed of blankets and moss were comfortable. She lay on her back, looking up at the night sky, feeling completely serene. Unfortunately, teamed with this serenity was an overpower urge to look at Stefan. The completely desirable German soldier who just so happened to save her life. She tried her very best not to think of him. The way he looked, the way he moved, his laugh, his smile, even his scowl. She watched him every now and then. She couldn't help but glance when he changed his shirt or when he was just settling off to sleep. His body was unlike anything she had seen before. It was nearly perfect! Ripples were in all the right places and the hair that led to places unknown sent her mind reeling with imagination at what those places were. These thoughts occupied her mind and made her blush when she recalled her dream that morning.

She'd awaken, startled by the dream she had had of her handsome rescuer. It had baffled her that she had such thoughts of a man and it bothered her quite a bit. She had to busy herself, to try and get her mind off of him. Despite the fierce pain in her shoulder, she had built a fire and began cooking eggs and bacon, which she had found in his bags. Every time she moved pain shot through her, but she ignored it best she could. She only concentrated on cooking, trying to block anything out, but it had not worked. She had found, to her despair, that working so close to the man of her dreams didn't quite work to get her mind off of him.

It was obscene! She couldn't stop thinking about him! The thoughts she had were awful, but she couldn't help but think them. She fell asleep at night, thinking of him lying so near to her. She bit her lip and wished that he would do things to her. Things that made her body tingle with desire and her legs clench tightly together. Then her eyes would snap open and she would wish that God would punish her for her thoughts.

With a sigh, Adelaide tried her best to concentrate on the night sky above her. She wanted nothing more than to talk with him, to learn about his life and his history, but she knew that if she asked him, she wouldn't want to stop. She wouldn't be able to stop until she knew every detail of his life. She felt a second sigh escape her lips, this one sounded much more melancholy and with dread, Adelaide knew Stefan would question her apparent sadness. And to no surprise, he did.

"Why such a moody sigh?" His voice was so heavy with a German accent that most of the time she could not understand his English, but she knew that her own was much the same. There was something about his voice, his accent that made her feel odd. She felt her stomach flip over whenever he spoke and many times she thought she would be sick, but she also cherished the feeling. She loved every minute that she felt that way. She didn't understand one thing she thought or felt, but for some reason she loved every bit of it.

Adelaide shook her head, staring up at the sky with such intensity she thought the stars would fall on her.

"I was just thinking." She said, almost lapsing into her native tongue, yet again. She did that quite often, even without realizing it. She was so used to going back and forth between French and English that it was natural to her to speak that way, but of course Stefan didn't understand her. He only knew German and English, and Adelaide spoke very quickly which made it hard to even pick up the words that are much similar to English.

"About?" Stefan asked, lowering the small chunk of wood and knife, his eyes staring intently at her.

Adelaide shrugged, a sly smile coming to her lips. She glanced at him, her eyes moving on their own accord. The moment she met his stare, her words faltered. The light from the fire illuminated his face. Every feature stood out. The color of his eyes went from a deep, chocolate brown, to a fiery, dark red. There was a pout to his lips that she had never noticed before. His eyes seemed so intense that she didn't want to look away. Her breath caught and it took her a moment to tear her eyes away. When she did, she took a deep breath and said something incredibly brave for one like her.

"You." Stefan was quiet. His eyes staring into the fire now, instead of at her. Adelaide frowned, wondering if she'd gone to far with her bold word.

"I wonder about you." She said, trying to redeem herself. Despite her better judgment, her eyes drifted over to the boy sitting so near her. He was staring at her again, intently watching. Those eyes... She felt her heart beat quicken at the sight of him in the fire light.

"What do you mean?" Stefan asked, his voice quiet. He was staring at her with a look that Adelaide couldn't read. She took deep breaths, it was hard for her to speak when he looked at her that way. She wanted to answer, but it was so hard. Finally, she found a way to speak.

"I want to know... about you." she was whispering and she had to force the words from her mouth. She was staring at him as intently as he was her and it took most of her concentration and energy. Stefan looked away from her, staring instead into the flames of the fire. If he was thinking or just ignoring her, Adelaide didn't know. She felt a pang of disappointment and looked back at the sky. Minutes dragged by without a word. Finally, Adelaide gave up with a large sigh.

"Forget it-"

"My name is Stefan." His words were quiet as he repeated his name. Adelaide looked at him, surprised. "I'm 18 years old and I've been a soldier since I was 15. My parents..." His voice trailed off, but he had spoken so suddenly that he surprised Adelaide and she looked at him quickly, her wound ripping open. All kinds of pain shot through her neck. She bit her lip, forcing the scream of pain that hovered on her lips. Stefan was gazing thoughtfully into the fire, not noticing her sudden pain. She gulped, tears coming to her eyes as she tried forced the pain away.

But it was no use. The cry escaped and she clutched at her neck with her uninjured arm. Stefan snapped to attention, his eyes suddenly caring. He came to her quickly, opening the bandage and stuffing cotton on the wound to stop the sudden bleeding. Adelaide stared up at him, her heart quickening to such a fast beat that she could feel it in her throat. He seemed to be trying very hard not to meet her eye.

When he'd finished, he re-bandaged it and finally met her eye. She felt herself breath in sharply and she wondered what it would be like if he kissed her. Her eyes glanced at his lips, again on their own. She looked up at him sharply. His expression was unreadable as he stared down at her, inches from her face.

"My parents are dead." he said softly. She gasped as his breath tickled across her lips.

"I...I..." she couldn't speak. Her entire body tingled and every inch of her wanted to reach out and touch him. Her mind instantly recalled his perfect body and she bit her lip, forcing herself to say something... anything!

"I... I'm sorry." Was all she could muster. She wanted to say something about her own father, but somehow she couldn't continue. He was too close to her. His lip, barely inches from hers. Finally, it became too unbearable and she was about to lean up and kiss him. Just as she was about to move, he leaned back, moving back against the tree. All sorts of disappointment wound through her. She turned to look at him slowly, her neck sore. She sighed.

"What were their names?" Adelaide asked, her voice still heavy with an accent. He looked off into the night, looking melancholy. Without looking at her, he answered.

"Nikolas and Hanna." Adelaide smiled softly, but he didn't turn to look at her. She let the subject drop, laying down once again. How long they both sat there in silence, neither could tell you. Minutes went by, the only sound being that of the crackling fire. For once, it was Stefan who broke the silence.

"What about you?" Adelaide looked over at him once again, her eyes questioning but satisfaction came over her at the same time. She felt herself smile, looking over at him.

She proceeded to tell him her age and her mother's name and about their home, but without knowing it, she had lapsed into French once again. A sigh interrupted her and she looked over to see Stefan looking at her. She realized what she had done and giggled.

"Sorry..." She said, a smile coming to her lips just as a blush came to her cheeks, "I'm seventeen and it's just me and my mother. We live on a farm just on the outside of town. It's a small place... but she keeps it in good enough order." Stefan smiled and Adelaide about melted into the forest floor. She hadn't seen him smile that way before. His whole face lit up with happiness and she had to look away before any thoughts came into her head.

Finally, exhaustion came over her and a wave of nausea as well. She swallowed hard, thinking that her wound was causing her to feel sick. She ignored the feeling and turned to look at Stefan, carefully turning her entire body to lay on her uninjured side. Stefan had gone back to carving and Adelaide tried to get her mind off of her sudden sickness by watching him carve.

It fascinated her as he chipped little by little off of the chunk of wood. It went from a plain, common hunk, into a smooth figure of a fox. Almost as if he transformed it, slowly. He was so precise, smoothing the ruff texture into something as smooth as marble. She watched his fingers work with a dream like faze coming over her. The sudden sickness that came over her became much worse and she felt her exhaustion increase double-fold and she drifted off within seconds.

~

As the younger girl fell to sleep, Stefan couldn't help but watch her sleeping form from the corner of his eye. He couldn't understand what it was about her that made him want to know her so badly. Then there's the other wants that run through his head. Being so close to her face as he helped her suddenly bleeding wound, made him feel uncomfortable and his heart quickened to exciting tempos. It took every single muscle in his body, every restraint he had to stop himself from kissing her. At one point, he nearly did, but at the last second pulled away. These new feelings were scaring him.
As the fire crackled near his feet, Stefan set down the now completed form of a fox and picked up a nice, fresh chunk of wood. His knife instantly chipped at the surface. He glanced at Adelaide every now and then, using her nearly perfect sleeping form as a model for his sculpture.

When Stefan awoke the next morning, the air cold and snow just beginning to fall, Adelaide had not waken. He didn't think anything by it, shrugging it off as her being tired. Stefan began to cook breakfast, humming softly, his attention directed at the food. He was so preoccupied with his morning routine that he didn't notice Adelaide's shallow breathing and sweat beading on her forehead.

He ate his breakfast, saved her a bit and settled down with his carving.

Hours went by and Adelaide didn't wake. Glancing at the sky, Stefan saw it was past noon and she was still asleep. Confusion swept over him and he checked the sleeping form of the younger girl. Checking her pulse, he realized she was burning hot with a terrible fever. Her skin was so warm it shocked him and his hand snapped back. With horror, Stefan saw the signs of a the sickness he'd seen kill his friends at home. He panicked, taking snow and placing it under her neck. He lined her blankets with snow, replacing it as it melted.

As he fussed over her, he checked her wound and found it was infected badly. He cursed at his stupidity and did everything he could to bring down her temperature. He was incredibly worried for her as he watched her the entire day, doing his best to help her. He felt helpless, but tried anyway. She was unconscious the rest of the day, trembling and sweating heavily. Her fever was stubborn, her temperature, if anything, rising.

For days Stefan obsessed over her. Her fever only got worse. She thrashed about violently, usually tearing her wound open again and causing Stefan to re-bandage it. He couldn't sleep and if he did, he would wake often to check her. Sometimes she would seem to waken, her eyes wide. Stefan would hover over her, begging her to speak. Instead she would scream so loud, the trees shivered, and then fall back into unconsciousness. Moaning and yells of pain occupied her sleep. She never stayed still, always thrashing about and screaming things in French that Stefan couldn't understand.

Five sleepless days and finally, her fever broke. She trembled ever the more violently, but her skin felt increasingly cooler. Stefan's obsession with her only got worse. He didn't sleep, only sat by her side, comforting her and caring for her best he could.