Hush, Hush: Chapter 8
ZeldaQueen: This here? This is another one of those infamous chapters. Just...be ready with the anger
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 8
ZeldaQueen: Nora returns to her group all dazed and confused, and Elliot comments that she seemed to have done a good job smoothing things over with Patch. Vee is disappointed at this, because "[she] was hoping for some excitement". What a great friend! Oh, and we're reminded that Jules is still in the bathroom. Vee starts to cotton on to the notion that he doesn't like them, and Elliot insists that no, he's just shy.
Elliot heads off to find Jules and as soon as he's gone, Nora calls Vee out for lying to him earlier. Vee continues to maintain that telling Elliot that Nora had ten guys calling her every night was a fantastic move, because it got him jealous. Or "It's the law of supply and demand" as she puts it, because clearly romance and affection and real freaking people can be compared to goods and services. Did I mention that I hate Vee?
Nora makes up some story about how she needs sugar, and leaves to get cotton candy for everyone. And yes, it's quite obvious what's going to happen. As soon as she catches sight of the Archangel, she feels compelled to head over to it. You know, given that these random urges and feelings are the only thing getting in the way of Nora's common sense in regards to Patch, I'm going to chalk them up to being Fitzpatrick hijacking the story to go the way she thinks it ought to go.
As she heads over, Nora gets the feeling that someone's watching over her, and surprising that is not what everyone probably expects it to be. As she's looking around, Nora runs into Patch. Literally. She tells him to leave her alone and tries to walk around him, and he grabs her elbow. Ehhhhhh, save it for later.
He notes that she looks ready to throw up, and she replies that he tends to have that effect on her. He laughs and she feels the urge to kick him. And people wonder why this is called "Twilight with angels". Patch decides that Nora needs something to drink, and because The Man Hath Spoken and He Knows Best, the fucker literally drags Nora by the elbow to a nearby lemonade stall. She tells him to let her go and he replies by sleazily commenting on how nice her hair looks when it's all disheveled. Again, this could be nice if it came from someone else, preferably someone not leading Nora around like she's a naughty dog.
Nora quickly tries to make her getaway by saying that Vee is waiting, and Patch of course ignores her and demands that she ride the Archangel with him. Nora once again pretty much says "Fuck no" and Patch tells her that if she keeps running from him, "you're never going to figure out what's really going on".
Yes you piece of dick cheese, extort favors from her that way. Spoilers, ladies and gentlemen. Near as I can ever tell in this book, there's nothing actually keeping Patch from telling Nora about himself or angels in general. In Twilight, there was the handwave that the Volturi had laws requiring that vampires keep quiet. In this, there's nothing keeping Patch from hiding stuff from Nora besides his own desires. And Nora herself realizes that Patch is saying and doing this stuff just because he knows it keeps her curious and interested. This guy is sick.
Nora continues to make excuses, including outright telling Patch that she's afraid of heights. Except that randomly and all of a sudden she's not afraid, because "In an absurd way, knowing I'd be with Patch made me feel safe"
...And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the start of Nora losing every grain of common sense she's shown thus far. This isn't the point of no return, but it's getting there. I must ask, why the fuck would she feel safe with this guy? He's done nothing but belittle her and harass her and force her to do things on his terms. When has he ever done anything for her? There's no reason for her to think that he'd protect her! And given how things turn out later, that statement is even more ludicrous!
Patch then sweetens the deal by saying that if Nora makes it through the ride without screaming, he'll get their biology teacher to switch seats so she won't be stuck next to him anymore. Nora takes the screaming thing as a personal insult, and takes the bait. So they get in line, and Nora asks if Patch spent his years out of school hanging out at the amusement park. He refuses to answer that, as it would require telling her about his past and "The things I have to confess aren't the kind of things you tell your flippant bio partner". "Flippant"? Oh, you have balls, buddy!
Apparently the ride is very unpopular for something newly renovated and open on a weekend night, because it only takes a few sentences for them to get seats on the car. We get our description of the ride
"The roller coaster's construction didn't inspire my confidence, remodeled or not. It looked more than a century old and was made of wood that had spent a lot of time exposed to Maine's harsh elements. The artwork painted on the sides was even less inspiring.
The car Patch chose had a grouping of four paintings. The first depicted a mob of horned demons ripping the wings off a screaming male angel. The next painting showed the wingless angel perched on a headstone, watching children play from a distance. In the third painting, the wingless angel stood close to the children, crooking a finger at one little
green-eyed girl. In the final painting, the wingless angel drifted through the girl's body like a ghost. The girl's eyes were black, her smile was gone, and she'd sprouted horns like the demons from the first painting. A slivered moon hung above the paintings"
ZeldaQueen: Besides being foreshadowing (and very stupid foreshadowing, as we'll find out later), I must say that it certainly is sweet of Patch to choose something to ride that Nora doesn't feel at all comfortable with riding. And before anyone says that Nora isn't showing fear, I'd like to say "Bullshit". Given how this bastard has spied on her and tunnels through her mind and knows all sorts of stuff about her, I can't believe he couldn't at least guess how unnerved she is.
The ride sets off and Patch comments that Nora is very pale and keeps calling her "Angel". She focuses on how close she's sitting to Patch, and how he smells like mint.
As Nora tries to distract herself from how fast they're going, she looks down and notices that her seat belt has come undone. As she is thrown around the car, trying frantically to fasten it, she's thrown against the car door. The door flies open and Nora tumbles out of the car, across the tracks, and down to the ground. Just before she makes impact however...
"The next thing I knew, the ride screeched to a stop at the unloading platform.
My arms hurt from how tightly Patch held me. 'Now that's what I call a scream,' he said, grinning at me.
In a daze, I watched him place a hand over his ear as if my scream still echoed there. Not at all certain what had just happened, I stared at the place on his arm where my nails had left semicircles tattooed on his skin. Then my eyes moved to my seat belt. It was secured around my waist.
'My seat belt ... ,' I began. 'I thought-'
'Thought what?' Patch asked, sounding genuinely interested.
'I thought ... I flew out of the car. I literally thought ... I was going to die.'
'I think that's the point.'
At my sides, my arms trembled. My knees wobbled slightly under the weight of my body.
'Guess we're stuck as partners,' said Patch. I suspected a small degree of victory in his voice. I was too stunned to argue"
ZeldaQueen: *snarls*
You fucker.
Right, let's have a look at that.
First of all, minor spoilers which everyone probably already knows because they're not stupid - that hallucination about her falling out of the car? That was Patch's doing. Let me repeat that. Patch mind raped his love interest and made her seriously believe she was going to die. And how does he react to that? He laughs. He smugly tells her that oops, she screamed so they're stuck together! He basically ruined any and all chances of playing fairly and letting her get away from him. And that's what's so disgusting about him - she can't escape.
Second of all, we're going to find out that this whole scenario is actually a lot more sinister than it originally comes across as (and that's saying a God damned lot). But I'm not telling you how that is right now. You can wait until later and be horrified like I was.
Third of all, even if you try to handwave the two points above, look at it from Nora's perspective. She was just tricked and pressured into riding something that she had no desire to ride and suffered a horrific hallucination. She gets off of the car, literally staggering and shaking and saying without any hint of humor or hyperbole that she thought she was going to die. And how does Patch, the guy that she feels inexplicably safe with and attracted to respond? He mocks her. He pretty much says "You silly little girl, of course you felt like you were going to die! You just are a wimp, walk it off!"
I HATE PATCH!
They get off of the ride, and Patch smugly (the books' description, not mine) tells Nora that archangels are high-ranking angels and "The higher up, the harder the fall"
THIS IS FORESHADOWING! CAN YOU TELL?
For some reason, Nora is now absolutely certain that she fell out of the car on the ride but that a mysterious force pulled her back in. Normally I'd chalk this up to the usual bad chains of logic we tend to see in these books but, like I said, we're going to find out things later that make this conclusion a good bit more sinister.
To Patch, Nora comments that she's more of a fan of guardian angels, which besides being VERY blatant foreshadowing is also rather disturbing, given how it comes into play later in the book. Such is the levels of ick of this book, that it makes even the concept of guardian angels creepy.
And we leave off the chapter with Patch taking Nora back to the arcade. And I'd be glad this is over, except that I know what's coming up in the next chapter and...Jimminy Christmas, this book scares me!
Onward to: Chapter 9
Back to: Chapter 7
Return to to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 8
ZeldaQueen: Nora returns to her group all dazed and confused, and Elliot comments that she seemed to have done a good job smoothing things over with Patch. Vee is disappointed at this, because "[she] was hoping for some excitement". What a great friend! Oh, and we're reminded that Jules is still in the bathroom. Vee starts to cotton on to the notion that he doesn't like them, and Elliot insists that no, he's just shy.
Elliot heads off to find Jules and as soon as he's gone, Nora calls Vee out for lying to him earlier. Vee continues to maintain that telling Elliot that Nora had ten guys calling her every night was a fantastic move, because it got him jealous. Or "It's the law of supply and demand" as she puts it, because clearly romance and affection and real freaking people can be compared to goods and services. Did I mention that I hate Vee?
Nora makes up some story about how she needs sugar, and leaves to get cotton candy for everyone. And yes, it's quite obvious what's going to happen. As soon as she catches sight of the Archangel, she feels compelled to head over to it. You know, given that these random urges and feelings are the only thing getting in the way of Nora's common sense in regards to Patch, I'm going to chalk them up to being Fitzpatrick hijacking the story to go the way she thinks it ought to go.
As she heads over, Nora gets the feeling that someone's watching over her, and surprising that is not what everyone probably expects it to be. As she's looking around, Nora runs into Patch. Literally. She tells him to leave her alone and tries to walk around him, and he grabs her elbow. Ehhhhhh, save it for later.
He notes that she looks ready to throw up, and she replies that he tends to have that effect on her. He laughs and she feels the urge to kick him. And people wonder why this is called "Twilight with angels". Patch decides that Nora needs something to drink, and because The Man Hath Spoken and He Knows Best, the fucker literally drags Nora by the elbow to a nearby lemonade stall. She tells him to let her go and he replies by sleazily commenting on how nice her hair looks when it's all disheveled. Again, this could be nice if it came from someone else, preferably someone not leading Nora around like she's a naughty dog.
Nora quickly tries to make her getaway by saying that Vee is waiting, and Patch of course ignores her and demands that she ride the Archangel with him. Nora once again pretty much says "Fuck no" and Patch tells her that if she keeps running from him, "you're never going to figure out what's really going on".
Yes you piece of dick cheese, extort favors from her that way. Spoilers, ladies and gentlemen. Near as I can ever tell in this book, there's nothing actually keeping Patch from telling Nora about himself or angels in general. In Twilight, there was the handwave that the Volturi had laws requiring that vampires keep quiet. In this, there's nothing keeping Patch from hiding stuff from Nora besides his own desires. And Nora herself realizes that Patch is saying and doing this stuff just because he knows it keeps her curious and interested. This guy is sick.
Nora continues to make excuses, including outright telling Patch that she's afraid of heights. Except that randomly and all of a sudden she's not afraid, because "In an absurd way, knowing I'd be with Patch made me feel safe"
...And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the start of Nora losing every grain of common sense she's shown thus far. This isn't the point of no return, but it's getting there. I must ask, why the fuck would she feel safe with this guy? He's done nothing but belittle her and harass her and force her to do things on his terms. When has he ever done anything for her? There's no reason for her to think that he'd protect her! And given how things turn out later, that statement is even more ludicrous!
Patch then sweetens the deal by saying that if Nora makes it through the ride without screaming, he'll get their biology teacher to switch seats so she won't be stuck next to him anymore. Nora takes the screaming thing as a personal insult, and takes the bait. So they get in line, and Nora asks if Patch spent his years out of school hanging out at the amusement park. He refuses to answer that, as it would require telling her about his past and "The things I have to confess aren't the kind of things you tell your flippant bio partner". "Flippant"? Oh, you have balls, buddy!
Apparently the ride is very unpopular for something newly renovated and open on a weekend night, because it only takes a few sentences for them to get seats on the car. We get our description of the ride
"The roller coaster's construction didn't inspire my confidence, remodeled or not. It looked more than a century old and was made of wood that had spent a lot of time exposed to Maine's harsh elements. The artwork painted on the sides was even less inspiring.
The car Patch chose had a grouping of four paintings. The first depicted a mob of horned demons ripping the wings off a screaming male angel. The next painting showed the wingless angel perched on a headstone, watching children play from a distance. In the third painting, the wingless angel stood close to the children, crooking a finger at one little
green-eyed girl. In the final painting, the wingless angel drifted through the girl's body like a ghost. The girl's eyes were black, her smile was gone, and she'd sprouted horns like the demons from the first painting. A slivered moon hung above the paintings"
ZeldaQueen: Besides being foreshadowing (and very stupid foreshadowing, as we'll find out later), I must say that it certainly is sweet of Patch to choose something to ride that Nora doesn't feel at all comfortable with riding. And before anyone says that Nora isn't showing fear, I'd like to say "Bullshit". Given how this bastard has spied on her and tunnels through her mind and knows all sorts of stuff about her, I can't believe he couldn't at least guess how unnerved she is.
The ride sets off and Patch comments that Nora is very pale and keeps calling her "Angel". She focuses on how close she's sitting to Patch, and how he smells like mint.
As Nora tries to distract herself from how fast they're going, she looks down and notices that her seat belt has come undone. As she is thrown around the car, trying frantically to fasten it, she's thrown against the car door. The door flies open and Nora tumbles out of the car, across the tracks, and down to the ground. Just before she makes impact however...
"The next thing I knew, the ride screeched to a stop at the unloading platform.
My arms hurt from how tightly Patch held me. 'Now that's what I call a scream,' he said, grinning at me.
In a daze, I watched him place a hand over his ear as if my scream still echoed there. Not at all certain what had just happened, I stared at the place on his arm where my nails had left semicircles tattooed on his skin. Then my eyes moved to my seat belt. It was secured around my waist.
'My seat belt ... ,' I began. 'I thought-'
'Thought what?' Patch asked, sounding genuinely interested.
'I thought ... I flew out of the car. I literally thought ... I was going to die.'
'I think that's the point.'
At my sides, my arms trembled. My knees wobbled slightly under the weight of my body.
'Guess we're stuck as partners,' said Patch. I suspected a small degree of victory in his voice. I was too stunned to argue"
ZeldaQueen: *snarls*
You fucker.
Right, let's have a look at that.
First of all, minor spoilers which everyone probably already knows because they're not stupid - that hallucination about her falling out of the car? That was Patch's doing. Let me repeat that. Patch mind raped his love interest and made her seriously believe she was going to die. And how does he react to that? He laughs. He smugly tells her that oops, she screamed so they're stuck together! He basically ruined any and all chances of playing fairly and letting her get away from him. And that's what's so disgusting about him - she can't escape.
Second of all, we're going to find out that this whole scenario is actually a lot more sinister than it originally comes across as (and that's saying a God damned lot). But I'm not telling you how that is right now. You can wait until later and be horrified like I was.
Third of all, even if you try to handwave the two points above, look at it from Nora's perspective. She was just tricked and pressured into riding something that she had no desire to ride and suffered a horrific hallucination. She gets off of the car, literally staggering and shaking and saying without any hint of humor or hyperbole that she thought she was going to die. And how does Patch, the guy that she feels inexplicably safe with and attracted to respond? He mocks her. He pretty much says "You silly little girl, of course you felt like you were going to die! You just are a wimp, walk it off!"
I HATE PATCH!
They get off of the ride, and Patch smugly (the books' description, not mine) tells Nora that archangels are high-ranking angels and "The higher up, the harder the fall"
THIS IS FORESHADOWING! CAN YOU TELL?
For some reason, Nora is now absolutely certain that she fell out of the car on the ride but that a mysterious force pulled her back in. Normally I'd chalk this up to the usual bad chains of logic we tend to see in these books but, like I said, we're going to find out things later that make this conclusion a good bit more sinister.
To Patch, Nora comments that she's more of a fan of guardian angels, which besides being VERY blatant foreshadowing is also rather disturbing, given how it comes into play later in the book. Such is the levels of ick of this book, that it makes even the concept of guardian angels creepy.
And we leave off the chapter with Patch taking Nora back to the arcade. And I'd be glad this is over, except that I know what's coming up in the next chapter and...Jimminy Christmas, this book scares me!
Onward to: Chapter 9
Back to: Chapter 7
Return to to: Table of Contents