Even If It Hurts

The days had gone by and after a week and a half Cheryl noticed that Pablo ran out of food. Panicking she rummaged through her refrigerator and obviously she found nothing to feed her baby. Looking apologetic at him she asked with her best puppy eyes.

"If I order some stake will you forgive me for forgetting to buy groceries?"

"Miaw..." Bumping his head on her hip and hugging her with his tail, he finally looked at her with his beautiful yellow eyes. He was too good for her, sighing she placed the order on her phone, and waited on the couch with a cup of coffee and her morning cigarette. She noticed that for the past two days Danny was often absent and when she would ask him why, he would always brushed her off, saying he had things to prepare for when he would come back to the living soon. How soon, he wouldn't tell, and she got tired of questioning him, even if the curiosity was eating her alive.

Cheryl still had a hard time grasping the things she found out in that night, but was slowly starting to accept that this was her reality now. A fucked up one, that she once thought it was possible only in movies. It somehow answered her questions about that night with her ex. Shivering, she warmed herself with getting closer to Pablo, who was cuddled next to her on the couch. He was so big, that he took almost all the space. Most of the time, when she walked him, people thought that he was a cheetah, getting scared and walking on the other side line, but she didn't mind it. For Cheryl, he was a fluffy ball full of love, that rescued her from the depths of insanity. Even now, he was slowly making her function again.

The banging on her door brought her back to reality and she marched happy that she could finally give her baby a nice piece of stake. Unlocking her door she was startled when the kid Jimmy from the chinese restaurant was the one delivering her groceries.

"Hello Miss Blossom! How are you?" He had dimples when he smiled, but his eyes were full of worry and she wondered why.

"Hi, Jimmy. Are you by any chance the only delivery guy around this town? Do they work you to the bones?" Propping a hand on her hip, she took the bag from his hand.

"No, it's just that, when I heard in the intercom the address, I choose to be the one delivering it. I was a little worried about why you stopped calling to the restaurant." Sheepishly he scratched his neck, blushing profoundly. "Also, my brother lives across from you, and I could crash at his place." He added when he didn't hear her replay, he was actually worried that Ace had done something to her in the past few days.

"You sure are a sweetheart. I bet you make all the girls your age, fan over you like chickens for corn. Come inside, I need to get my wallet. I just woke up a couple of minutes ago, and my head is still asleep." She left the door ajar, and went looking for her wallet in her bedroom, at least that's the last place she knew about it.

Jimmy got inside, a little wary of Pablo, but the damn cat started sniffing his shoes, working his way up on his pants. Trying to get away from his prying nose, he almost crashed the little table full of candy and keys, that was next to the door. And when he looked up, on the wall, was a frame, with a photo. He would recognize his idol everywhere. For Jimmy, Dante, the singer of Sinner's for Pleasure was the most incredible artist. And he was right there in front of him, in a photo with Miss Blossom, when she was a teenager. It was clearly Holloween, as ahe was dressed as a cup of chocolate pudding, with a spoon as a hat. And his idol was on the ground, a little bit younger then he knew him, with his hair dyed in green, caging her lovingly between his outstretched legs, with his hands on her shoulders. And they both had the happiest smile.

"I was the one that dyed his hair in the awful shade of green. He was starting his first tour, and I wanted him to have his hair in my favourite colour." Cheryl was looking up at the picture frame, next to him.

"Ow my God! You are 'Puddin'! You are the one tattooed on his ribcage!"

"He has a tattoo with that?! Sneaky bastard, he never showed me!" It was the first time in forever, that Cheryl was smiling with all her heart. She couldn't wait for Danny to come back and tease him.

"He is like, for me..I..the best! I'm sorry, it's just that I can't believe that you're his sister and I'm talking to my idol's sister!" He was stammering in a very cute way, and she raffled his hair, unable to hold herself.

"If he would've heard you, his already big ass ego would've hit sky high!"

And then it was silence between them, as Jimmy just realised that she was the sister who was present at Dante's suicide, the one on the news.

"I'm sorry Miss Blossom... I didn't think before I spoke. He was and is my idol, as someday I hope to be like him and it just slipped my mind that you lost a brother along the way..."

Cupping his cheek, she kissed his forehead tenderly, then whispered in his left ear.

"He's not gone,yet." Then she left him there in the hallway while she went to her bedroom again.

Baffled by her comment, he stood speechless waiting for her return. And when she came back and handed him a t-shirt, he was even more confused untill he saw what it was.

"Is this... For real?!"

"Yes, if you ever meet him don't tell him that I kept it. I might've lied him and told him in one of our fights that I threw it away." Smiling with all her face, she nudged him to take it.

It was a simple black t-shirt with a snake wrapped around a cherry on the front, and below the design it was his signature in white pencil.

"Thank you so much, Miss Blossom! This is the best birthday gift ever!" Jimmy was hugging the life out of Cheryl, and all she could think about was how the fate works.

"Happy birthday, Jimmy! I didn't know today was your birthday, or I might've prepared something more special."

"Nothing can be more special then this!"

Jimmy was so excited that he stopped to breathe when he heard her giggle. It was so melodic and calming that he instantly thought of his brother Ace, how he would like this sound.

"Miss Blossom, if I'm not intruding, would you like to come to our pub tonight? I have a gig there, and I'm also proposing to my girlfriend, I will really appreciate your support in the audience."

"I don't know what to say... I don't really like public spaces with too many people, and I don't go anywhere without Pablo, so..."

"No worries, it's my family's pub and we have a wolf, others have snakes or opossums, everyone takes their companions with them, we are a little more open minded then the city pubs."

She was tempted, more now that he said it was his family's pub. That meant that Ace Andrews was a possible appearance there. And Dante was away, not in the firing rage to stop her curiosity. Biting her lips, anxiously she asked him with a small voice.

"Are you sure I wouldn't impose? I hadn't had a chance to mingle with the people from here, and I heard that your family doesn't really like Yennefer's family..."

"So, you..."

"I just found out I'm her niece, I didn't even met the woman, but I was warned about your brother..."

"Ace can be difficult, I know that first hand, but under all that tough appearance, he's a cool guy, you just have to give him a chance. And as long as you don't do some black mambo jambo, he ain't gonna do shit. It will be against our number one rule. So yeah, please Miss Blossom, come tonight to my gig. If you go on the lane with Shelly's caffee, you will find the Pub. It's called Serpent's Den."

She giggled again when she heard the name, but covered her mouth, not wanting to offence Jimmy's family.

"It's ok, I also think it's cringe." He was already out her door, walking backwards and waiving her. "I'll wait for you in the crowd Miss Blossom. I can't wait to introduce you to my girlfriend. She will be so ecstatic when she'll meet you!"

She was still laughing, after she closed her door. Shaking her head, she thought about the way Danny was, when he was young. Jimmy brought back happy memories, a time when she was truly content with her life.

Sighing, she started to cook Pablo's stake, only four minutes on both sides, as he liked it. And poured herself another cup of coffee.

It could be the perfect opportunity to finally meet this mistery Ace. She had questions, lots of them, but the most important one, was why she felt like her world stopped and started when he locked eyes with her for the first time in that night. If she was sincere with herself, she didn't ignore his hand because Danny said so, she was afraid what she would've felt, if she touched him. It was something so entrancing about him. Every since that night, he made himself known in her dreams, be the villen or the hero. And suddenly she was ranking her brain, if she had something to wear for Jimmy's gig. Snorting, she decided that a pair of leggings and a hoodie will do the job, for now. Even if she truly wanted to dress herself pretty, she wasn't ready yet.

"Please don't bite anyone tonight, Pablo."

The only response she got, was his grumbling while licking his steak.

He will try to, at least.