Did It Hurt? (bxb)

XVII

After Simon left, nobody spoke. Rebecca was still in the kitchen with Lexi, and nobody could bring themselves to say anything. Mikaela floated back and forth in the room, Angel drew on his jean with a blue pen he'd found on the floor. Olivia still sat in that stupid chair with her fists clenched to the arm rests and glaring at the wall. Oliver's head lay cradled in his hands. Angel wanted desperately to comfort him, but what could he possibly say to try and make things better?  The guilt was drowning him. Finally, Olivia broke the silence by slamming her fist on the arm rest.

Everyone jumped and looked at her. Angel followed her gaze to Oliver. Her eyes bore into him, sharp as a knife. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Angel's heart shattered when Oliver flinched. "You didn't think it wise to tell Simon about his past as soon as you found out?" Olivia yelled. "Of course not! You decided to wait until much later, at the most inconvenient time! Did you see how much you shattered him?" 

"I didn't know how to tell him..." Oliver muttered. He glared at Olivia, then sank his head into his arms. 

"Shut up, Olivia." Angel shot at her. Olivia snapped her attention to him, fixing him with the same glare she gave Oliver. "Since when do you care about Simon's well being? Ever since you've met him, you've been nothing but mean and cruel towards him. I don't know how you managed to do it, but Simon's fallen in love with you. Everyone can see it. And yet, you insist on treating him like trash!" He crossed his arms. His face felt hot with embarrassment. Angel could feel everyone's eyes on him. He'd never had the gall to speak out like this to a bully in order to defend himself, let alone someone he'd only met twenty minutes ago. But Simon was Oliver's brother, and anyone Oliver cared about, Angel would do his hardest to protect. So, his mouth was running away with him. "Since when do you care about his well being?"

Olivia didn't respond. Angel imagined if she still had the blood, it would be making her red with anger. Her gaze was murderous. And yet, he didn't feel afraid. "And what about you, Angel Green?" She hissed. He wasn't even aware she knew his last name. "You're all up in everyone else's business. You know Oliver and Mikaela almost as well as yourself, but do they know about you?" Angel raised an eyebrow, and Olivia continued, "I mean, do they even know what species you are? Or are you just a dumb, stupid human?"

"Leave him alone, Olivia!" Mikaela snapped. "For the record, yes, we both know Angel's species. He told us because he trusts us. Which is more than I than I can say for you." She floated closer to the group. 

"And keep in mind, you'd still be a stupid human clown with all your makeup and ego, not to mention dead if it wasn't for me." Oliver piped up. Angel pouted. He hadn't said anything when he noticed that his nemesis had transformed into his boyfriend's species. He'd figured something had happened, and he hadn't wanted the details. But Oliver to be the one to bite her? The thought made Angel shutter. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know, or not know even more. 

Olivia huffed. It seemed she had run out of steam. Or maybe, though it was hard to believe, she didn't argue with him because she was grateful, but also wrong. "Whatever." She muttered, and rose from the chair. The three of them watched as she stalked out of the room without a word. Once she was gone, everyone was silent. Mikaela resumed her floating. Angel could feel Oliver's gaze on him, light and pleading. Angel wished he could bring himself to look back. Instead, he found himself wanting to curl into a ball and fade, or perhaps get up and follow after Olivia. Numbness crept slowly within him. It was the same numbness he'd felt at Lookout Point, before Oliver had comforted him and gave him his number. 

The sudden feeling of Oliver's hand on his shoulder made Angel jump. The vampire frowned. "Are you okay?"

Angel swallowed and nodded. He didn't want to seem weak. He couldn't admit he'd felt angry, or even jealous about Oliver and Olivia. It was stupid and silly, but he couldn't make himself care. "Yeah. I'm just wondering what's taking Rebecca and Lexi so long."