•She Can Laugh?•

Back and forth, one person after the other, we play a question game. One where you have to answer a question, then the last letter of the question asked, you ask a question based off it.

"Have you ever ate eel?"

"Nope, have you ever liked someone before?"

Ophelia tilts her head, not frowning, but not smiling either.

"I have never 'liked' anyone before, I never found the need to." I sit slightly slouched, understanding where she is coming from, I have never dated before, I have loved someone though, it was one sided, so my feelings for that person disappeared.

Ophelia starts up a grin again, "Have you ever earned any awards?"

"Yes, a couple art and school based awards, I have had my art displayed in a museum one time for a couple of months."

Her face lights up with an even wider grin, making her face look interested in what I had just said.

"Really? Ollie, that is amazing, I would love to see that, do you have a picture by chance?" My cheeks glow red from the praise, making me get a little bit bashful.

I take my phone out and type in my password frantically.

"000..22," I mutter to myself as I finally unlock my phone, making my way to the gallery. I scroll past a bunch of memories frozen in time, I scroll for a good 10 seconds before finally reaching what I was searching for.

I raise my hand to hand Ophelia my phone, she grabs it from me with a gentle smile.

"Ollie, that is you? You contrast nicely with the yellow background, ah, what a silly little face you're making, so cute," Ophelia's eyes look up to me before once again staring at my phone, "Yes, you contrast so nicely, being in gray tones."

I nod before reaching my hand out for my phone. I notice as I grab it that there's a great difference between Ophelia and I, her being vampire white, only the warm pink tones making her seem real, and me being a very light tan color, my pigmentation being way darker than hers. The waiter catches my attention behind Ophelia, he arrives with our meals.

"Ah, let us eat."

I say a quick grace in my head, "God is great, God is good, let us thank you for this food, in Jesus name, amen." I look up feeling a gaze on my head, I see Ophelia's hair flutter briefly, her eyes focused solely on the food displayed before her. I am uneasy, but I dig into the free dinner. Ophelia has ordered me a steak, well done by my request, and it came with some quick sides. I cut into the meat, stabbing my fork into it which causes a little bit of juice to leak onto my plate. I take a big bite, not holding back my appetite.

It melts on my tongue, every taste bud dances with excitement as I place more and more meat between my lips to chew. The flavor reminds me of home almost, it tastes like it was made with love and care, something I was not expecting, but since Ophelia suggested it, maybe I should have known better. Every bite I take is fast, and chewed hastily to make room for more steak. Before I can finish my final bite, a sharp pain stings my tongue, causing me to let out an involuntary yelp. I feel embarrassed once again as Ophelia stares at me in concern.

"Ouch, I had bit my tongue, cause I'm eating too fast," I over explain feeling silly.

"Ah, let me see how bad it is bleeding," she beckons me to lean forward.

I look away for a split second before getting a quick swig of my drink, making sure I clear any food that might still be left on my tongue. Ophelia waits expectingly, I finally slowly poke my tongue out showing the tip only. Her hand reaches for my face and pulls my bottom lip down with the other. My entire face flushes, I immediately feel awkward and uncomfortable but does not want to take her good actions for granted.

"Ah, it is bleeding a bit, Ollie you must be careful. You have many healed wounds, I see." She snatches up an unused napkin then dabs my bleeding tongue, refusing to release my face.

I slowly try leaning back, but her hold on me is strong and unrelenting. The amount of discomfort I feel increases, making me voice my concern to this stranger.

"Opeelia, 'm opay," she ignores me and continues gently pressing down on my sore tongue. I quickly sit back, forcing her to release me as I feel drool start to drip down past my lips. I wipe my mouth with my sleeve feeling utterly flustered.

"Hm, are you done eating? Drink some more," Ophelia sits back into her seat without smiling, but her right brow is raised slightly, giving me the impression she is irked.

I nod my head deciding I should just listen to her, she seemed to only have the best intentions in mind. She hums the tune I heard earlier in the Cathedral, her foot taps quietly at the floor, I take that as a way of her telling me to be finished. I look directly at her eyes, making eye contact. Her eyes are half lidded, her lips not smiling, just slightly frowned while her right brow remains irked. I start feeling slightly guilty, she was only trying to help me since I let out such a dramatic sound of pain. Mustering up the courage to thank her, I start to scratch at my thumbs.

"Ophelia, thank you for tonight, also…my tongue feels a little better now."

She stares at me blankly before smiling, "There is no need to thank me, Ollie."

I only nod, not wanting to ruin her good mood. She waves the waiter over, paying for the meal and leaving down a hefty sum of money for a tip, both the waiter and I stare in disbelief.

Ophelia stands up straight, "Come, Ollie." I feel a little irritated, feeling like she is calling my name like I am a dog, but none the less, I stand and follow behind her silently. We walk out the way we came, her once again opening the door for me, not leaving until I sit down and buckle my seat belt. The awkward silence is killing me inside, making a mushy mess of my brain, causing my head to start aching. Trying to keep myself occupied, I scratch at my thumbs again, breaking skin, leaking blood. I am use to the familiar sting, so I zone out not thinking twice about it.

"Ollie, don't do that." A white hand grabs my wrist roughly, forcing me to stop my actions. I look at the culprit, a little shocked. Ophelia exams my thumbs, taking the appendage in between her fingers.

She calmly speaks, "Hm, you must have been doing this for a while now, your thumbs are scarred over a whole different color. It is the same color as your palms."

I feel humiliated in a way, so I take my hand back.

"Yeah, it's a bad habit of mine."

She frowns, probably upset by my sudden jerk away from her grasps. I feel guilty again, knowing she only has the best intentions. Ophelia just leaves me be before sitting back down, making her way out of the parking lot. We sit in awkward silence again.

"Where do you live? I will take you home." I smile, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I live on Ars Street, the one across from the school." My smile seems to work because Ophelia returns it, starting a conversation.

We talk about many things, and laugh whole heartedly at the stupid little jokes I make, we also make fun of each other in a friendly way. By the time we arrive at my home, both of our faces are stung red, and wet with tears of laughter.

"Ollie, what's the impression of my uncle again? Do it again." She pleads while her arms lean onto the steering wheel, trying to keep her head up.

I grin cheekily, preparing my voice to mock the kind bishop I met earlier.

"'Phelia, you touring people? Let me make my way through to tell ya something, pat-pat, now ya hair nappy. I was gonna do it to that Ollie kid too, but her hair already nappy, matter fact, let me try and fix it."

The impression is awful and the joke is very lame, but I smile anyway because Ophelia finds it absolutely hilarious, she lets out a deep laugh that had shocked me the first time I heard it. She keels over grabbing her stomach as she lets out a loud laugh. She finds the lamest jokes to be funny. I start to giggle, only joining her in laughter because her laugh made me laugh. We sit there laughing like a bunch of idiots before we gasp for the breaths we lost.

"Ollie, you're funny…" Ophelia lays her head on the steering wheel, making me notice how her long hair falls gracefully around her face, capturing it in all its glory, "…I have never laughed like that before, my cheeks sting, is that normal?"

My heart pounds in excitement and pride, I puff my chest out with a grin because I was able to make someone laugh so heartedly like that.

"Yep, that's normal, my face stings too!"

She stares at me, unblinkingly. Her hands reaches over to my face, this time I don't feel the discomfort from earlier, only slightly conscious of the fact I met her a couple hours ago. Her palms holds my burning cheek, and her thumb pulls my bottom lip down, showing my teeth.

"Does your tongue still hurt, let me see." As if I'm in a trance, I poke my tongue out just enough to show my wound. She exams it with focused eyes. I look away, reality crashing in on me once the high died off. She retracts her arm with a satisfied smile.

"Tonight has been something different, I almost don't want to part," Ophelia chuckles a bit.

"Yeah, I had fun, I hope we can hang out again soon."

She closes her eyes and smiles.

I hesitate, but I ask, "Maybe…the Cathedral will be open tomorrow? Um, do you think I can stop by again?"

Ophelia grins widely, revealing her white teeth, I notice her canine teeth are well defined.

"Yes, we'll be open, we are open all night and all day. Will I have the pleasure of hanging out with you tomorrow?"

I nod quickly, laughing.

"Thanks for the ride and food, 'Phelia," I say the last part in a funny voice to try and entice a laugh.

"Eh- Good night, Ollie!" She lets out a laugh, her eyes widening into a playful gleam.

"Good night!"

I walk the increasingly familiar pathway to the apartment complex. A couple chuckles and giggles escape my lips as I think about the jokes Ophelia and I shared. It was shocking to hear such a hearty laugh come from a person like Ophelia, it makes me feel proud of myself. I have always loved making people laugh, back at my true home, I use to make my younger sister laugh all the time. In a way, Ophelia reminds me of a sister, makes me want to spend more time with her, to become a really good friend. I skip my way out of the elevator and into the hall of my apartment. I can do nothing but smile with glee.

I drink water, feeling refreshed. Only then do I start to notice how my feet ache from walking, my back is slightly sore as well. Deciding to take a quick shower, I gather underwear, just a pair of plain dark blue panties, and a big baggy tshirt. Undressing, I make my way to gather a wash cloth, then I hop into the shower. Noticing I forgot to turn the shower on, I step out again. I turn the warm water on, making sure the temperature is right before pulling the diverter. Finally I hop in and begin to wet my body. The days mark starts rinsing off my body, forming a puddle around my feet, slowly leaving down the drain.

The pallet in my room is cold at first, but it quickly warms up as I cuddle into it. Surrounding me are pillows and stuffed animals, my favorite stuffed animals being a monkey and dog. I have name the monkey, PJ, and the dog, Ralph. I give both of them light kisses before watching whatever entertains me on my phone. Slowly, sleep beckons my eyes to shut. I hear myself snore quietly before I lose consciousness.