The

Real World: What Goes Bump in

the Night

By

Tatiana Sangadzhieva

 The Real World: What Goes Bump in the Night

I have had my eye on Derek Fillin for a long time.
I watched, trying to figure out what was so funny, as he laughed with a
bunch of his football buddies, his handsome, brown haired head thrown back
as the muscles in his chest rippled, showing clearly through his tight, black
shirt.
“You know, if you stare at him any harder, your eyes will burn off,”
Sasha Sanders, my beautiful, ginger best friend said, not looking up from her
book.
“I know he knows I exist. Hell, we talk almost every day in the classes
we have together, which is like five,” I replied, not taking my eyes off the
boys.
“I know,” Sasha said drily, turning a page. “I have to see you two flirt to
the point of clothes removal on a daily basis. It’s kind of sickening.”
I rolled my eyes, but then immediately dropped them and pretended to
be looking in my notebook as Derek looked my way.
“What’s sickening, besides Theresa’s face?” Christian Smith said
plopping down on the other side of Sasha, planting a kiss on her cheek.
I rolled my eyes again, glancing out of the corner of my eye to see if
Derek was still looking at me. Not that I needed to; I could feel the heavy
weight of his gaze, warmer than a bonfire. I tried to act casual.
Turning to Christian, I fixed my dark brown eyes on his dark blue ones.
“My face is not sickening, it’s stunningly beautiful,” I replied haughtily.
Christian put a mock-sympathetic look on his face. “I understand why
you think that, since you haven’t looked in the mirror in...well, your entire life,
since they break when you’re reflected, but I hate to break it to you...” He
hesitated, looking at me pityingly. “They don’t break because they can’t stand
your beauty, as your mother says. They break because you’re so ugly.”
I couldn’t help the smile that curled my lips up. “Well played. How long
have you been working on that one?” I asked, smirking.
Christian gestured to himself. “What, this? I didn’t have to work on it at
all; this perfection is totally natural.”
I burst out laughing. “When’s the last time you saw yourself in a mirror
that didn’t break?”
“He’s a vampire; he can’t see his reflection. Of course, he’s so ugly the
mirror breaks anyway,” a deep male voice joked, startlingly close to my ear.
I felt myself jolt to attention, the hairs on my entire body standing up
with awareness. My breathing deepened as the sweet smell of his cologne
wafted into my nostrils. Derek.
After a second used to gather my thoughts, which had scattered with his
voice, I turned to him playfully. “How did you know he was a vampire? Was it
the pale face, snarky attitude, or the fact that he’s totally morbid that tipped
you off?” I let a smirk make itself at home on my face.
His eyes trailed my face, taking in every part, before they returned to
look deep in my eyes.
“It was the fact that he is clearly allergic to sunlight,” he said huskily,
lowering his voice as if we were sharing some private joke.
Keep cool, keep cool. I chanted to myself. This is the closest he had ever
been to me; in class, we were always separated by the individual desks, or
other people. Suddenly, I was thanking every God I knew for the fact that our
teacher had left suddenly, and there was no sub to take over the class so we
had to be sent to the library.
“Mm, I was thinking more like the fact that he clearly sucks the life out
of everyone,” I murmured back, looking up at him from my eyelashes. He
shifted in his chair, which was only five inches away from mine, moving his
leg closer to mine.
I was hyper aware of how close our legs were to touching, and
desperately tried to find some casual way to let them.
Derek chuckled lowly, looking down at me. His shoulder length hair fell
forward, making me want to move it out of his gorgeous, dark green eyes.
It seemed as if my subconscious took over for a moment; my hand was
halfway to his face before I realized it had moved. Instead of dropping it, like
any normal, sane person would have, and suffered the slight awkward moment
it would ensue, I allowed my hand to travel all the way up to his face and
brush his hair back behind his ear.
His hair felt like the silk it looked like, something I had always
wondered about. My fingertips lightly brushed his skin, sending a warm
current through me. I swore I could see sparks forming where we had skin to
skin contact. I retracted my hand.
It took me a moment to realize what I had done, but when I did, I looked
down, embarrassed. My mind entered panic mode Why had I been to
forward?! I think I just blew all chances of him asking me out. I cursed myself
out silently, wishing a hole in the floor would appear and swallow me up
whole. My face felt on fire as I faced the dilemma of either ignoring this
moment, or apologizing. I swallowed nervously and dared to look up once
more.
Derek was staring intensely at me and suddenly the rest of the world no
longer existed. Of course, the world always disappeared when I was with him
previously, but now it was as if it never existed in the first place.
“Tiki.”
It was the only word he whispered, but it felt like a whole page of
words. The nickname he had given me years ago, product of a mishap at a
barbeque and subsequent rescue by him, was filled with meaning, overflowing
with it. His hand caught mine underneath the table while his other hand raised
to my face. He tucked my black hair, which had swung forward when I looked
down, back like I had his. I swallowed again, this time in anticipation. I took a
deep breath and felt my tongue dart out to lick my lips as Derek leaned
forward. I mimicked his movement, and we were inches apart when the rest of
the world came rushing back.
At first, I was so lost and dazed that I didn’t realize what all the noise
was, but then Derek closed his eyes in frustration, before opening them again
and looking at me apologetically and pulling back with a sigh. I blinked
several times, trying to clear the haze in my mind that our near kiss had
created. When it was finally cleared, I realised that the noise was Derek’s
teammates making catcalls and hooting.
I felt my face burning as I looked away from Derek. God, this is so
embarrassing, I thought. Belatedly, I realized that we were still holding hands.
Looking down, I wondered if I should let go. It felt so good to have his hand
in mine, however, that I didn’t want to ever let go. It was like I had been in
pain or burning and didn’t realize it until the pain was gone,.
The boys were still hooting when the librarian told them to either quiet
down or leave. Slowly, they calmed down, but I could tell from the looks they
were giving Derek that they were simply saving it for later, in the locker room
or on the field.
Derek sighed, making me glance over at him. He looked frustrated and
slightly upset. He glanced at me sideways, a boyish smile dimpling his cheek
as he realized I was looking at him too.
“I’m sorry for that,” he murmured, leaning close to my ear so that we
could talk privately.
I felt my cooling cheeks start to burn again as he reminded me of what
happened only moments ago. What is happening to me? I wondered, horrified.
I never blushed!
I cleared my throat. “It’s alright,” I whispered back shakily. Where did
that leave us? I wondered.
Derek seemed to be thinking the same thing, because his smile widened.
Glancing down at our conjoined hands, he looked up at me almost shyly.
“Will you go out on a date with me?” he blurted out, then looked down,
his cheeks reddening. I could tell he was mortified as he tried to let my hand
go, as if I was going to laugh at him.
Sadly, I proved him right. I couldn’t help but chuckle at how absolutely
adorable he looked right now. He was now almost frantic in his attempts to let
my hand go, but I held on tight. Something told me that he could have easily
gotten out of my grip, but let me win.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh,” I murmured, looking at him with a
smile.
He must have taken it the wrong way, because I could see his muscles
tense and his jaw clench. I almost thought that his eyes changed color, but
decided it was a trick of the light.
“Oh, no, not like that!” I hurried to reassure him. I frowned, trying to
phrase my thoughts properly. “I mean...” I took a deep breath and used my
other hand to turn his face toward mine. He swallowed and took a deep breath,
a blank expression showing on his face, as if readying himself for rejection.
His eyes, on the other hand, spoke legions. He was clearly nervous and
hopeful, but also terrified.
“Yes, I would love to go out on a date with you,” I said quietly, looking
deep into his eyes.
He slumped, defeated, and I felt my brow furrow. Isn’t that what he
wanted?
“I understand,” he murmured, pulling away from me. Gently, he pried
apart our hands, so mine just dangled at my side while his was clenched in his
lap. I could see him swallowing several times, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Suddenly, I realize that he had thought I was going to say no, so he had
prepared his words beforehand. I felt a smile creep onto my face and tried to
suppress it as I waited for my words to hit him.
Derek sat slouched for a good minute, before my words registered. I
could see the exact moment they did, too, because he froze, then looked up in
disbelief. He seemed to be running my words through his mind, trying to
figure out if they were real. His head whipped to look at me, his eyes
searching mine. I could no longer hold my smile back and let it loose on my
face.
“Did you just say...yes?” he asked, looking as if he had just been tackled
consecutively by five pro football players.
I giggled. “Yep.” Giggled!
“That’s - that’s great!” He looked astoundingly happy.
I looked at him curiously. “Why did you think I would -” I was cut off
by the bell.
He looked at me ruefully. “Someone up there doesn’t want us to talk, it
seems, or do anything else for that matter,” he added the last part in a mutter.
I smiled. “Walk me to class?” I asked hopefully.
Derek grinned at me. “Why of course, milady,” he joked, holding out his
arm.
Laughing, I reached down to get my books only to realize they were no
longer on the table. Glancing at Derek, I opened my mouth to say someone
had taken them, only to realize that they were in his arms.
“You didn’t really think I’d let you carry your own books, did you?” He
smiled at me slyly.
I rolled my eyes, but smiled back. I hooked my arm around his and we
walked out of the library to the highway that was the hallway. Waiting for a
break in the traffic of people, we got a lot of second looks. I didn’t think that
anyone had expected that the great Derek Fillin, football extraordinaire, would
be arm in arm with Theresa Halth, odd girl with about three friends, who was
mostly insignificant in the grand scheme of things but with a list of detentions
longer than a Chinese phone book.
There was a slight break, and we took advantage of it, joining the stream
of people on the left side of the hall.
We couldn’t walk arm in arm any longer, since there wasn’t enough
room for two people to be side by side comfortably without knocking into
people, so we held hands instead.
This got us even more looks, and the whispers began. I sighed. High
school.
“So, after practice tonight...” He paused as we veered off to my locker.
“Yes?” I nodded for him to continue as I got books for my next class.
The crowds in the hallway were thinning, meaning the bell would ring in
about a minute.
“Wanna go somewhere, I don’t know, like the movies? Or dinner,” he
hurriedly tacked on, as if afraid I would think he wanted to be with me solely
for making out.
I chuckled. “Yeah, sure. Want me to stay after school?” I closed my
locker. “Do you need to go to your locker?” I added as we began to walk to
my class.
Derek shook his head. “No, I’m good. And you don’t have to stay after
school; I could pick you up.”
I thought about it for a moment as we stopped in front of my class.
Glancing at the clock in the classroom, I looked back at him.
“You’re going to be late, you better get going,” I said, having to crane
my neck to look at his face.
Derek shrugged. “No one ever cares if I’m late,” he replied. “So...?”
“I’ll just stay after school. I usually do anyway, since Sasha has play
practice and she’s my ride,” I said, shrugging too.
He looked at me for a long moment, before nodding. “Alright, meet you
at your locker after class?”
I nodded. “Yeah, sure. Where- never mind,” I cut myself off hastily.
He smiled. “I’ll sit with you,” he said, guessing I was asking about
lunch. The bell rang, reminding us that we were in school. “Alright, I’m
heading off. See you in forty-five minutes.” He leaned forward and kissed me
on the cheek quickly, before striding off to his class. I stayed there, stunned,
for several seconds, before walking into class and to my seat.
~*~
“Ugh, I hate math!” I groaned, slamming my locker shut.
Derek chuckled as we began walking to lunch. “It’s not so bad. Besides, it’s
senior year. In a few short months, you won’t have to worry about math any
more,” he said cheerfully.
I rolled my eyes. “Christ, don’t remind me. I still don’t know what I’m going
to major in college, or what college I’m going to.” I sighed.
“You still don’t know?” he asked in disbelief.
I shrugged. “No, not really. What about you?” I looked up at him briefly
before going back to watching where I was going.
“Well, with my football, I can get a scholarship to pretty much any school.”
He hesitated, seeming to debate about something before deciding to tell me.
“I’m thinking about staying close to home, though. My major...as weird as it
sounds, I want to be a history teacher.”
I looked at him curiously. “Why stay close? I’d love to get out of this
small town, maybe travel the world.” I stopped myself from blurting out a
bunch of personal information that no one but my own mind had heard, like
how I would love to hitchhike the world, join some kind of animal welfare
program, maybe help with some wild life reservation, or how I wanted to
maybe write a book someday about the many places I'd traveled.
“I-well, my family...we’re close. Who would be there to protect my
mom and sister if I’m gone?” He looked oddly vulnerable in that moment.
I wanted to say something, anything, but the burning in my throat
stopped me. My family was fractured, a shadow of one. Hearing him care so
much about his family, I couldn’t help but wish my own was as close and
loving. I didn’t know what it was about him that brought out the emotional
side of me, and I didn’t know if I liked or hated it. I was tough; nothing hurt
me. Suddenly, this emotional talk seemed too serious, making the air feel
heavy and almost closed in, like I was wrapped in plastic wrap.
I dropped his hand and hurried to the lunch line.
“Oh, look, it’s Stromboli, my school favorite,” I called back. “Hurry
before all the good pieces are gone.” I cut in front of a bunch of juniors,
snapping, “Senior privileges,” when they complained.
Derek stepped into line behind me, and suddenly the juniors were very
glad to let us in front of them. I grabbed a tray with both hands as an excuse to
not hold his hand. Pretending to be totally focused on food, I thought out loud
about the food choices.
“Hm, do I want a heel? Of course, I do! Corn? Yeah sure. Oh, and rice,
that’s...” I avoided conversation as long as I could. Usually, I really was this
excited about food, but today, for some reason the thought of eating turned my
stomach.
I paid for my lunch, then quickly walked to my table at the back of the
cafeteria, near the windows.
“Theresa? Theresa! Wait up!” I felt Derek walk up to me so we were
walking next to each other. “Are you really that hungry?”
“Uh huh. You’ll learn quickly that me plus food equals no one talks to
me until my tray is empty,” I joked, staring straight ahead as if I was worried
about bumping into someone.
Once I reached our table, I dropped my tray on it with a sharp thump.
The noise startled Sasha and Christian, who had been making out, apart.
“Thank you,” I said primly as I sat down. “I’d rather not barf up this
delicious lunch.”
“Sorry, Theresa,” Sasha apologized, blushing.
Christian snorted. “Don’t apologize, Sasha. It’s not like Theresa needs to
eat anymore.” He smirked at me.
I rolled my eyes and ignored him, knowing he was joking.
 Derek apparently did not.
“Don’t talk about Theresa like that,” Derek snapped, glaring at
Christian. His eyes looked almost black, but I figured it was because he was
mad and the lack of lights - the lights by the windows were always off - just
added the effect.
Christian rolled his eyes. “She knows I’m kidding. No need to get your
fur in a knot.”
I frowned at his choice of words, as did Sasha.
Derek’s glared intensified. “I don’t give a damn. You have no right so
much as looking at her.”
Christian suddenly looked mad. Very mad. “Oh, and you do? At least I
can control myself,” he taunted Derek.
It appeared as if Christian crossed a line that should not be crossed,
because Derek was so mad he started to shake.
I put my hand on either side of his face and forcefully turned his head so
I could look him in the eye.
“Chill,” I said sternly. “He didn’t mean anything by it, it was just a joke,
and I know that. It’s just the way we are, like siblings. No need to freak.”
Feeling his skin on mine, the sparks started flying again. Derek slowly
calmed down, and so did I. I didn't realize I had reacted the same way as
Derek on a subconscious level. The effect he had on me unnerved me, but I
couldn’t see myself walking away. I had wanted this, and still did, far too
much for too long to back out now just because my feelings and reactions to
him were more intense than I had anticipated.
After his breathing evened out, Derek continued looking into my eyes. I
felt a thrill go through me from the look in his eyes.
“Are you done with your temper tantrum now?” This time it was my
turn to grit my teeth in anger.
“Seriously Chris? Your head was almost torn off by the Varsity star
quarterback and you come back for seconds?” I snapped at him.
I could feel Derek chuckle next to me as Christian stared at me in shock.
Derek put his arms around me and pulled me back into his chest.
“Chill,” he murmured into my ear, his breath hot on my skin, causing
goosebumps to form. My back felt searing hot, but a good kind of hot, one that
spread from Derek’s body into mine in a slow burn, like lava slowly pouring
down a volcano. “He didn’t mean anything by it, it was just a joke, and I know
that,” he continued to mimic my words, while his body wreak havoc on my
hormones.
“Wow, what’s this? Free porn?” Derek and I simultaneously sighed and
pulled away at the voice.
“I didn’t know you invited your teammates to sit with us.” I looked
questioningly at Derek.
He shrugged. “His choice. I just said I wasn’t sitting with them,” he
replied, taking a bite of Stromboli.
 Steve Wilson sat down on the other side of Derek, leaving a scent trail of
cigarettes and booze in his wake.
Steve was followed by Jason. “What are they here for?” Jason asked
sullenly as he sat next to me.
I swallowed my mouthful of food, knowing his distaste of the football
players. “Derek is here cause he’s my boyfriend, and Steve is here cause he’s a
loser and follows Derek like a lost puppy,” I replied before inhaling more
food.
Jason’s scowl increased. “Since when was he your boyfriend?” he asked.
I shrugged, unable to answer. Derek answered for me.
“Since the end of the period before last,” he said promptly.
Fred arrived before Jason could respond. “Didn’t know we were having
a party,” he remarked as he sat down next to Jason, oblivious of the tension.
“We’re not,” Jason snapped, suddenly in a foul mood. I knew it was
because he had a crush on me, but I also knew it would never turn into
anything more; I saw him as my brother and best friend, nothing else. It was
really unfortunate because I knew for a fact that Fred was completely in love
with him.
“Anyway...” Derek turned to me. “You’re staying after school still,
right?”
I nodded. “Yup. Where are we going? Have you figured it out yet?”
Derek nodded. “Yeah. I’m taking you to the restaurant in town,” he said.
Sadly, he didn’t have to specify which one; there was only one.
“And then this Friday, I’m taking you on a real date, hopefully out of
town,” Derek continued.
“Cool,” I said casually, while on the inside I was screaming with joy. I
couldn’t help but be ecstatically excited for this. I had been after Derek since
freshman year; we’d often talked in class, and flirted at times, but never hung
out outside of school, except for those rare times when I was staying after with
Sasha and football had been canceled and he had to wait for his mom or
brother to pick him up. Of course, that had also ended at the end of sophomore
year when he got his license. We had come across each other several times
over the last summer vacation, which was probably why he had asked me out
now, in the middle of September. Derek and I could never really be called
friends; we came from different circles. He was gorgeous, tall, strong and a
football player. Many girls were after him, but oddly, he was never with any
one of them. I was just me.
Lunch and the rest of the classes flew by. Derek met me after each class
and walked me to the next one, even if it was completely on the other side of
the school from his. I was surprised he was so gallant and chivalrous; most
guys didn’t do that for their girlfriends even after months of dating, and here
he was, doing all this on the first day. I asked him why he was doing it,
carrying my books, walking me to class, meeting me after class, and his
response was that was how he was raised. Well, however he was raised, his
mother did it right.
School finally ended and I met Derek at my locker for the last time.
Together, we headed off to the football field hand in hand. Derek led me
toward the bleachers.
“You’ll have to sit here,” he said apologetically. “If you don’t want to sit
out here, you can leave. It’ll probably get really boring.”
I shrugged. “It’s warm out today, it’s sunny, and it’s beautiful. I’ll hang
out here. If I get bored, I’ll do homework or whatever.” I gave him a flirty
smile. “Or, you know, you could find some way to practice shirtless; I’ll never
get tired of watching that.”
Derek gulped, his eyes darkening. “Keep talking like that and you’ll get
yourself in trouble,” he growled, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me
into his chest so that my feet were dangling off the ground.
I let out a small shriek at the sudden movement and wrapped my arms
around his neck. “Derek!” I cried out, laughing.
“Yes? That’s my name.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Put me down!” I laughed.
“No, I don’t think so,” He replied, and continued walking to the
bleachers.
I surrendered myself with a pout.
“Anyone ever tell you how adorable you look like that?” Derek asked.
I shook my head. “Nope,” I replied, popping the ‘p.’
“Well, you do.”
He set me down at the bottom of the bleachers. “Now be a good girl.”
He smirked.
I rolled my eyes and smacked him lightly on the head. “Go away,” I
joked.
Derek smiled once more, then kissed me on the cheek and jogged off to
practice.
~*~
After practice, Derek took me to the restaurant, as promised. Even
though the restaurant itself was nothing special, the date was awesome.
I always thought that if we ever went out, it would be the usual awkward
first date, just getting to know each other on a different level than friends, but
it was as if we had been together our entire lives. We never ran out of topics to
talk about, although I stayed away from the heavy ones, such as family. We
were so comfortable around each other, there were times where I wondered if
it was all a dream; surely, nothing in real life was this perfect?
During a lull in the conversation, Derek brought up Homecoming.
“I know it’s still over a month away,” he began, “but...will you go to
Homecoming with me?”
I smiled at him. “Of course!” I replied as casually as I could, while
silently I was freaking out with happiness. I had gone to Homecoming every
year by myself and had danced with him at least one dance, but that was all. I
couldn’t wait for the dance now that he was my date; I would be able to hang
around him the entire time and not be called weird or stalkerish.
Derek grinned back happily. “You know, the only reason why I ever
went to the dance was because, well, I had to, but besides that, I went just to
see you.” He looked at me shyly.
“Seriously?” I asked incredulously.
Derek nodded.
“Why didn’t you ever ask me?” I asked.
Derek shrugged. “I didn’t think you would say yes. I mean, you went to
the dances and you danced with me a couple songs, but every other one you
danced with Jason and Fred, and all your other friends. And your friends are
the type to not like football players, so I figured it was like that with you. Even
though you flirted with me, I didn’t think it went beyond that.”
“So how come you never asked any other girl out?”
Derek shrugged again. “I wasn’t interested, and I didn’t believe with the
whole, ‘make her jealous to find out if she likes you’ idea that all the guys
seem to have,” he replied matter-of-factly. “And if you did like me, something
I highly doubted, then I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t interested, or have
your opinion of me change.”
I nodded in understanding. “So, what about Sarah?” I asked teasingly.
Sarah had been a senior girl whom he’d not dated, but kind of had a thing
with. She had pretty much declared him her boyfriend and was all over him
until he finally stopped it.
Derek blushed. “Don’t remind me,” he muttered, shuddering. At
Homecoming our freshmen year, she had been literally all over him,
practically having sex with him on the dance floor. He had been so mortified
that he had dumped her right there on the spot.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sure you didn’t love her with all your
heart?” I asked sarcastically.
Derek snorted. “Oh, yeah, absolutely,” he replied, voice dripping with
sarcasm. “No, in all honesty, not even my dick liked her.”
I spat out the soda I had just taken a drink of. “Seriously? Dude, you
were a hormonal teenage boy! She was pretty good looking! And you found
no interest in her? Are you gay?” I questioned him.
Derek outright laughed. “No, I can assure you, I am not gay.” He looked
deep into my eyes, his own darker. I swallowed, the air suddenly nonexistent.
After a minute, he broke the eye contact. “I found no interest in her because
she was so forward and didn’t really give me a choice. Maybe if I was more
comfortable, I would have found her attractive, but my mind was mostly
focused on you,” he admitted.
I felt my cheeks blaze with heat. What was he doing to me?
“So, what made you ask me out?” I questioned.
“Well, it’s senior year. I figure, now or never, you know?” Derek replied.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t asked me out earlier, though.” I shook
my head with disbelief. “I mean, I never thought you liked me, either, but I at
least had a valid reason. I mean, you’re the football captain with girls throwing
themselves at you. Why would you notice me?”
“Because you’re so unique and didn’t throw yourself at me,” Derek
replied, taking a long drink out of his soda. “You are so beautiful and funny,
and yet you never assume you should get any special treatment.”
I shrugged. “I’m not anything special,” I said matter-of-factly. “I’m just
me.”
Derek simply shook his head. “Someday, Tiki, someday you will see
you’re not.”
~*~
In the days following our date, we fell into a comfortable routine. Derek
started to pick me up in the morning for school, then walked me to all my
classes. After school, I would go to his practices unless I had to watch my
little sister, then we would hang out. We didn’t always go somewhere;
sometimes we just went to the library and did homework. It didn’t matter to
me where we went, spending time with him was good enough.
Every day, Derek sat with us at lunch and I began to notice something
odd: there was unexplainable tension between Christian and Derek. I brought
that up in one of our conversations and Derek simply told me that something
happened a long time ago that’s carried over to now. Something told me there
was more to the story, but I didn’t press, figuring it was a private matter which
he would tell me about when he felt comfortable.
One day, about two weeks after we started going out, Derek began to get
twitchy. He was almost feverish and very restless. At first, I wasn’t concerned,
figuring it was because the team had an important football game coming up,
but when he didn’t show up to school the day before the big game, I began to
get worried.
“What could be wrong?” I fretted as we sat in the lunchroom.
Sasha frowned. “Maybe he just needed a day away? I mean, he can still
go to the game, right?”
Christian, on the other hand, didn’t seem concerned at all. “Maybe he
just got moon fever,” he joked.
I looked at him like he was insane. “Moon fever?”
Christian shrugged. “Just a thought. Maybe he was out way too late last
night and crashed today?” Christian smirked.
I glared at him, then smacked his head. “Don’t say shit like that! Derek
isn’t like that at all!” Still, he planted a nugget of doubt in me. It would
certainly explain why Derek had been so twitchy lately; recently he had barely
kissed me on the cheek before leaving and hardly talked to me.
Christian rubbed his head. “Ow, that was unnecessary, you bitch. I didn’t
even mean it like that.”
“Spreading rumors and doubt about our boy, leach?”
I jumped a mile at Steve’s voice. “Jesus Christ!” I cried out, putting a
hand over my heart.
Steve plopped down next to me. “Hey, sorry, Theresa,” he said
flippantly before turning to Christian. “You better not be.”
Christian rolled his eyes. “Or what? You’re gonna hit me? Try to catch
me first,” he said arrogantly.
Steve growled low in his throat, glaring at Christian.
I blinked. Did he seriously just growl at him?? I thought. I shook my
head to clear it. “Okay, shut up both of you. Where the hell is Derek?” I asked,
turning to glare at Steve.
“Don’t worry, doll, Derek is fine. He just wasn't feeling well these last
couple days and didn’t want to infect you. That’s why he stayed home today;
throwing up and all that,” Steve replied, looking utterly unconcerned.
I, on the other hand, freaked. “What? Why didn’t he tell me?” I cried
out. If he was that sick, why didn’t he at least call me to let me know?
“Because he didn’t want you to worry,” Steve replied.
“Oh, so it’s better to leave me hanging and wondering where he is than
to simply send me a text saying he was sick?” I said sarcastically.
“Look, Theresa, I’m not him. Don’t ask me questions I can’t answer,”
Steve snapped.
I looked at him in surprise. He had never spoken to me that way. For the
first time, I really looked at him. He looked worn out and rough around the
edges, but his eyes were bright and almost relaxed. He looked as if last night
had been the best night of his life, but he was tired from it. Suddenly, I
remembered that he hadn’t been here this morning; he must have come in late.
What was going on?
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“All’s forgiven,” he replied, suddenly back to himself.
I sighed and went back to eating.
~*~
The weeks to Homecoming flew by. After missing that one day, Derek
had come back and apologized for worrying me and promised to call me if he
was going to disappear again. I of course forgave him; not that there was really
anything to forgive, but still.
Things became somewhat normal afterward. Christian even became
more civil towards Derek, which was shocking. Every day, I found myself
falling for him even more. My intense feelings for him actually terrified me,
but also exhilarated me at the same time. The first time we had kissed, I was
afraid I was going to fly away; now, it was all I could do to keep those three
little words inside me, and that scared the hell out of me. I had never been in
love; the thought had never really crossed my mind. The thing that scared me
the most, thought, was the fact that I had no idea if Derek felt the same for me.
What if he didn’t? What if after graduation we split up and never saw each
other again?
Recently, he had begun to talk about me meeting his family; yet another
terrifying notion. He wanted me to meet them before Homecoming, so they
could take pictures of us. I said yes, but inside, I sincerely considering
completely ditching Homecoming and running away; I could never actually do
that to him, but the thought did cross my mind. Derek assured me that they
would love me and I them, but I wasn’t so optimistic. My own family barely
liked me; why would his?
~*~
It was finally the Homecoming dance. Our team had won the
homecoming game, naturally, and Derek and I had celebrated privately. We
didn’t have sex; we had decided long ago to wait for that until we were
together longer. Instead, we’d gone to his house and made out for a while
before being rudely interrupted by his family coming home. It had been
slightly awkward, but less so since we were both fully dressed. I’d found that
Derek was right; his mother, father, and sisters did love me, and I them. We
ended up talking for so long that I had to eat dinner with them. Not that I
minded; my little sister was with a friend, and it wasn’t like my mother, who
was always working, or my father, who was always traveling, would notice I
was gone. The thought had put an ache in my heart which I ignored. I had
Sasha, my little sister, and now Derek; I didn’t need anyone else. Too bad I
couldn’t convince myself fully of that.
Homecoming this year had ended up later than usual; it was the 30th,
just a day before Halloween. Because of this, Derek, and I by default, had
been asked to a post-Homecoming Halloween party. Derek had instantly said
no, but after a bit of begging from me, he finally agreed to go, though
reluctantly. I didn’t understand why; we’d gone to several parties before but
once more, I didn’t question him. It was becoming a habit I didn't particularly
like, but in the grand scheme of our relationship, it was such a small blip, I
could ignore it.
~*~
The dance itself was fun now that I could spend the entire time with
Derek, but the party was what I couldn’t wait for.
Since it was a Halloween party, it was mandatory to dress up. The
previous weekend, I had gotten the most amazing costume ever. I hadn't been
sure what to dress up as and didn't feel comfortable wearing something just for
Derek in front of everyone else, so I decided on something more known. Since
Derek loved video games, I decided to dress up like Lara Croft. The outfit was
quite easy to put together and I was sure he would love it.
I applied the last bit of my makeup and adjusted the vest just as Derek
pulled up in my driveway. I couldn’t help but smile at my reflection; I look
totally hot. I couldn’t wait to see Derek’s reaction.
Derek knocked on the door just as I was coming down the stairs.
Quickly, I walked through the kitchen to the door. I slowly turned the knob
and let the door ease open.
When the door finally opened enough for Derek to see me, I was leaning
against the counter in a sexy pose. He simply stared at me, wide-eyed for
several minutes. I smirked as I waited for him to come to his senses.
While he stood frozen, I allowed my eyes to trailer over his outfit. He
was wearing a werewolf costume, and it was pretty good. He had on tattered
clothing and his arms appeared hairy. He must have been wearing multiple
layers because he looked bulkier than usual, as if he was a werewolf half way
between man and wolf. He had contacts in, giving his eyes a yellow, feral ring
around the iris.
“Tiki, are you trying to kill me?” he finally strangled out.
I giggled, something I had found myself doing more and more since
dating him for the last month and a half.
“Maybe,” I flirted.
Derek bound forward and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me into
his chest and crashing his lips on mine in one quick movement, a movement
way too fast for me to even follow.
He kissed me passionately for several minutes until I had to break away,
gasping for air. He finally pulled away, breathing as heavily as me. My arms
were wound around his neck, where the costumes hair met his own. I was
surprised at the soft and realistic feeling of the fake fur; I wondered how he
got it to look the exact same color as his own hair.
“What was that for?” I asked breathlessly.
“Because you are gorgeous and I love you,” he replied, staring at me
intensely.
My breath froze in me at his words. He loved me? It was my turned to
stare at him wide-eyed.
He gave me a puzzled look as I stayed silent, then seemed to go over his
words in his mind.
He pulled away as he realised what he'd said.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it quite like that,” he said, nervously
shifting.
I blinked a couple times, trying to remember how to breathe. I finally
gasped in a breath.
“I-um, I love you too,” I said quickly.
“Tiki, you don’t have to repeat it for my sake,” he said gently.
I rolled my eyes. “Dare, when have I ever said anything for your sake? I
mean it.” Dare was a nickname I'd given him after he had agreed to a dare
involving embarrassing himself in front of me a week into our relationship.
Apparently, the revenge he would have earned if he hadn't done would have
been worse.
Derek stared at me incredulously. “You’re serious?”
I nodded. “Deadly.”
Derek frowned. “Don’t say that,” he warned me.
I sighed, then changed the subject. Yeah, I love him, but talking about it
wasn’t my thing. “Are we going? Or are we gonna stand here for the rest of
the night?” I asked.
Derek smiled. “Is that an option? Because I’m not sure I want to take
you to a party near the woods with a bunch of hormonal boys dressed like
that,” he teased, but something in his eyes told me he was serious.
I rolled my eyes. “Nice try, but you’re not getting out of this party.
Come on, or we’re gonna be late.” I closed the door, which had been open the
entire time, and walked out to his Jeep. I jumped into the passenger seat and
waited for him to get into the driver's. He finally did and we were on our way
to Avery James’s house for the Halloween party.
When we got there, the place was packed. There were many different
costumes, the guys going mostly traditional vampire, ghost, ghoul, while the
girls wore much skimpier clothing. Outside, the light was fading.
“Sasha, Chris! I didn’t know you guys were coming,” I exclaimed,
coming up to them.
Sasha smiled, looking exactly like the angel she was dressed as. “Well,
Derek extended the invite to us, so I figured, why not?”
“Yeah, and dragged me along,” Christian muttered.
Sasha giggled. “Oh, you love it!”
I snorted. “Vampire? Really? So creative,” I said sarcastically.
Christian bared his fangs, which looked creepily realistic. “No more
creative than your boyfriend’s costume.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go dance.” I pulled Derek with me.
About halfway through the third song, Derek pulled away. “We should
really go back, Theresa,” he said, sounding utterly serious.
I frowned. “No one has tried to hit on me or anything; I don’t see what
the problem is.”
“Theresa, just...” He sighed, frustrated.
“Derek,” I said softly, putting my hand on his cheek. “If you don’t want
to stay, go; I’ll just hang out with Chris and Sasha.”
“No! I’ll stay with you,” he said quickly, his eyes darting around. It was
then that I noticed how feverish he looked.
“Are you okay?” I asked, worried.
Derek have a jerky nod. “Yeah, fine.” All of his limbs were twitching.
I frowned, growing very worried. “I’ll go get us drinks,” I said.
Derek nodded. “Yes, please.”
I weaved my way through other partiers to the kitchen, where I grabbed
two unopened soda cans. Then I made my way back to where Derek had been.
I circled the room twice and the rest of the house once before I finally
gave up looking for him. I approached two random people standing by the
doorway. As I drew closer, I realised it was Ashley Delaney, a junior
cheerleader, and Mike Vess, another football player.
“Hey, have you two seen Derek?” I asked.
Ashley nodded. “Yeah, I just saw him go out not too long ago. To the
woods.”
 I nodded, forcing myself to appear calm. “Thanks.” I walked passed
them outside.
I was now almost frantic with worry. He hadn’t looked good at all in
there; I shouldn’t have left him. He could be hurt.
I hesitated on the edge of the woods, wondering if I should have grabbed
a flashlight. Then I steeled my resolve; Derek didn’t have one, so I didn’t need
one. Besides, the moon was full tonight, lighting up the woods more than it
would usually.
I began stumbling around in the woods, calling out his name.
“Derek! Where are you? Are you okay?” Something told me I was being
an idiot (something like every horror movie I had ever watched), wandering
around in the woods in the middle of the night, but when I turned to go back, I
realised I was completely and utterly lost. I swore out loud, feeling like the
stereotypical damsel in distress everyone seemed to love to read about.
“Dammit all to hell,” I muttered. I began walking in the direction I thought
would take me back to the house.
After about ten minutes of walking, I became acutely aware that
something was either following me or watching me. I felt my heart begin to
speed up as fear made its way through.
It’s nothing, I insisted, trying to convince myself. Just some animal. It
won’t hurt you.
Just as I thought this, a growl echoed through the woods.
“Fuck!” I swore again and sped up.
Soft footfalls started following me. I began jogging. All of a sudden, in a
flurry of leaves something furry jumped in front of me.
It was huge.
It was huge and had fur.
It was huge and had light brown fur and large teeth.
It was huge and had light brown fur and large teeth and it was salivating.
It was huge, had light brown fur, large teeth, it was salivating, and it had
emerald green eyes with a golden ring around the iris which looked creepily
humane.
It looked like Steve.
I let out a bloodcurdling scream and ran like the hounds of hell were
after me. Because they were. Or it was. Whatever.
I was scared, but a detached part of me found this almost amusing. Some
intuitive part of me said that that was indeed Steve that I saw, and my terrified
brain didn’t even consider contesting that conclusion; it was too focused on
fleeing and so believe it immediately.
Trees whipped passed me as I ran, trying not to look back. I could hear
Steve behind me, speeding up then slowing down, as if he was playing with
me. That’s exactly what he’s doing, stupid! my mind screamed at me
hysterically, every natural science class I'd ever taken (two) coming back to
me with a fury.
 I sped up, my breaths coming out in little spurts as I tried to escape the
monster behind. The full moon, which was at first so comforting, now seemed
cold and like a spotlight on me, helping other monsters find me. This thought
was once more proven true as another set of paws joined the first.
I was so terrified now that I wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Tears began
dribbling down my face. Unbidden, the thought of the saying Ignorance is
bliss came to mind. Yeah, I thought sarcastically. Ignorance is bliss-until
you’re about to get eaten!
One of the wolves - I couldn’t say the actual word - leaped in front of
me. I skidded to a halt, my breathing labored. I could almost feel the wolves’
excitement as they circled me, forcing me to back up until my back was to a
tree. I let out a pathetic whimper. This wasn’t how I thought I’d go.
Well, if this is how I was going to die, I was going to do it Theresa style,
not a whimpering little girl. I stood up straight, burying my fear deep down in
my mind, and stared the wolves into their eyes, my head swiveling back and
forth between the two of them. I tried to place the second one; after a moment
of staring at the dark blue eyes with the golden ring around the iris and the
darker brown hair, I realised it was Ivan Vess, Mike’s cousin. My breath
caught. Was the whole football team wolves? No, not Derek. He would tell me
if he changed into a wolf, right?
The wolves began to stalk closer to me, no longer playing. I glared at
them, though something told me I wasn't fooling them. Maybe the growling?
“Wow, talk about picking on someone smaller,” I said sarcastically,
proud of myself for not letting my voice shake. My knees were a whole other
matter.
Steve paused and cocked his head to the side, as if pondering my words.
He shook his head and took another step, before pausing to listen again. All of
a sudden, a dark brown blur flew into our little group, stopping in front of me,
but facing Ivan and Steve. The new wolf growled ferociously at the other two.
The two wolves snarled back. The new wolf crouched, as if ready to attack
Steve and Ivan and suddenly I was terrified for them. What if they got hurt?
They weren’t themselves!
But for some miraculous reason, Ivan and Steve backed off, slowly
walking back into the woods backwards so they could keep a wary eye on the
wolf in front of me. As soon as they disappeared into the woods, the wolf in
front of me turned around.
He approached me slowly, wagging his tail, as if to say he wasn’t going
to hurt me. I stayed frozen as I stared into the wolf’s eyes. The familiar green
stared back at me, the golden ring glowing. My mind made a million
connections in an instant. The speed, the growling, the eye color changing, the
near shifting when mad...
“Derek...” I breathed.
The wolf let out a soft, high pitched whine and lowered his head. He
continued coming towards me until he could touch me. He sniffed around my
body, almost as if to make sure I was okay. I held my breath, still scared,
wondering if at any given moment he would take a chomp out of me.
“Theresa?”
I jumped a mile at Christian’s voice, causing wolf Derek to give a slight
growl.
“Christian?” I cried out. “What are you doing here! You’re gonna get
killed.”
Christian snorted. “No, you’re the one who will get killed if you stay
here any longer.” He looked at wolf Derek. “Why the hell would you let her
go into the woods during the full moon?”
Wolf Derek gave an odd grunt and looked at Christian with almost
accusing eyes.
“And don’t even think about thinking about blaming me for this! You
should have just told her you weren’t feeling good and gone home,” Christian
snapped.
Wolf Derek bowed his head and let out another whine, this one louder.
Christian gave a huge sigh. “Alright, Theresa. Let’s go. Here's to hoping
that none of my family are out here.”
Wolf Derek cocked his head to the side, perking his ears, then shook his
head.
“Sure about that?” Christian asked skeptically.
Wolf Derek nodded his head.
Christian sighed. “Alright. C’mon, Resa, jump on my back.”
I snorted. “Yeah, okay. What are you gonna do, carry me out of here? I’d
be better off being the one to carry you.” My voice edged on hysterical. What
the hell was going on here?
Christian rolled his eyes...and disappeared. I let out a yelp when I found
myself in the air. After a second, my brain caught up with what happened.
I stared Christian in shock as he gave me a toothy smile, showing his
fangs.
“Please tell me those are fake,” I pleaded.
Christian shook his head. “No can do. But don’t worry, I don’t bite.
Much.” He chuckled.
Derek gave a growl. Explained their animosity. My brain froze. I closed
my eyes for a moment and tried to breathe.
I opened m eyes in time to see Christian rolled his eyes again. “Yeah,
yeah, take a joke, dude. I’m leaving now.”
“Derek-” was all I was able to strangle out before I was flying.
In less than a second, I was back at the house and on my feet, swaying
next to Christian.
“Theresa! There you are! Where were you?” Sasha’s voice called out
from somewhere behind me.
“Don’t say anything to her, okay?” Christian said pleadingly.
I blinked at him, the words taking a moment to register. “You mean she
doesn’t know?” I finally managed, my voice hoarse.
He shook his head. “No, but I’ll tell her, promise.”
I sighed, suddenly tired. “Take me home please,” I pleaded. My body
couldn’t handle this anymore; my brain had long ago checked out.
He hesitated. “Okay,” he said quietly, just as Sasha came up to us.
“Theresa - why are you cover in leaves?” Sasha asked.
I looked down in surprise. Huh. I did have several leaves on me. Must
have been from when I was running. I shrugged, unable to even consider
speaking.
“I’m taking Theresa home; are you gonna come with?” Christian asked.
Sasha nodded, looking concerned. “Yeah. What about Derek?”
How do I begin to explain? My boyfriend is a werewolf and so is his
whole family and your boyfriend is a bloodsucking vampire who just carried
me from the middle of the woods to hear in mere seconds? That would go over
well. So would the trip to the insane asylum. Did I even believe it myself?
“He had to leave. Family issue.” Christian answered for me.
I nodded in agreement mechanically.
“Oh...” Sasha nodded in understanding, though looking slightly
confused.
We drove to my house in silence. Once we got there, I simply left the car
and walked into the house and up to my room. I stripped out of my costume,
put on a t-shirt I’d stolen from Derek and curled up in my bed.
I wanted my brain to simply shut down so I could sleep, but of course I
wasn’t that lucky. My brain had come back in with a storm. So I resigned to
the hurricane which was my mind.
Derek is a freaking wolf! He turned into a WOLF at the full moon!
Christian is a vampire! This is impossible! It’s possible! I experienced it!!
Maybe I was sleeping. It was a Halloween trick. No, that’s impossible!
Werewolves and vampires are impossible!! I saw it, I felt it, I heard it! Ivan
and Steve are werewolves too! Was Sarah a vampire? Was the rest of Derek’s
family? Were they really going to kill me? Oh, my GOD! I almost died today!
The thoughts didn’t stop, even when I finally fell asleep. They simply
turned into dreams, into nightmares, from which I couldn't wake up.
Tiki.
He was chasing me.
Tiki, wake up.
He was going to kill me.
Tiki!
He was going to -
“Tiki! It isn’t real! Wake up!”
I sat up with a jolt, breathing hard.
“Derek?” I asked, glancing around bewildered.
“I’m right here, Tiki,” he murmured, caressing my cheek softly.
I leaned my head against his hand, closing my eyes, before remembering
my nightmare. My eyes snapped open and I sprang away from him, moving to
the opposite side of the bed. He watched me, his brown eyes sad and
remorseful.
“Don’t be afraid of me, Tiki,” he whispered. “I won’t hurt you.” He
stayed away from me, on the opposite side of the bed, though.
“You - you- you...” I couldn’t get the words out.
Derek sighed. “Yes, I am a werewolf. Yes, I change at the full moon, but
I can change at any time; the full moon is mandatory, though. It’s genetic; my
father passed it down to me and my siblings. We change once we hit puberty.
We don’t kill. We become wolves whenever we feel like it, with the exception
of the full moon, of course. We always make sure no one is in the woods. I’m
sorry you got caught up in that.” He sighed. “I was going to tell you, soon.
That’s why I didn’t want to go to the party; I knew I would change and I didn’t
want you anywhere near me because of this.” He gestured to where I was
huddle underneath the blanket far away from him.
I relaxed slightly, feeling cautiously safer and more sure-footed.
“Tiki, I love you, I really, truly do. I have since the first time I saw you.
Please, please, forgive me for not telling you. If you need a couple of days to
digest this, take them. Just...please, don’t hate me,” he begged.
“I could never hate you,” I said softly, not even realising I said it until he
looked at me with surprise. I sighed, knowing it was the truth. “I love you,
Derek,” I continued. “I think I always have, I just didn’t want to get my hopes
up. I’d say that I need a couple days away from you, but they won’t really
change anything. I mean, yeah, I’m kinda pissed that you didn’t tell me and
still a little afraid, but I understand at the same time. It’s a big thing to tell
someone. I just wish it hadn't happened like that.” I sighed again.
“Tiki...” Derek hesitantly stretched his arms out for me to crawl into.
Slowly, I unraveled the blanket from around me before crawling to him.
He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly to his chest. “I love you,
my Tiki. I’m so, so, sorry you were almost hurt yesterday. I’ll never let
anything happen to you.” He kissed my hair.
I leaned my head against his chest. “I love you too, Dare. You’re the best
thing that’s happened to me.”
We stayed that way for a long time, just basking in each others warmth.
“We'll be alright, right?” Derek questioned against my hair.
I nodded. “Yeah. Is that why you're staying close to home?”
Derek nodded. “Mhm. I'm sorry.”
“It's okay. At least I know. I'm sure we can go to different colleges and
survive.”
“You think so?”
I leaned away from him so I could see him better. “I'm sure,” I assured
him, running a hand through his hair. “If we can survive the full moon without
either of us dying, what's a few miles?”
Derek grinned down at me. “Well, when you put it like that...And we
can still travel.”
I looked at him with surprise. “What?”
“I know you want to travel. And after college, we can travel. As long as
we find a place surrounded by woods before the full moon so that I can run. It
would just take some adjust, but we can do it.”
“I wouldn't – you don't have to do that for me,” I protested.
Derek waved me off. “I would enjoy it. It would be fun.”
I grinned up at him. “Thank you.”
Derek smiled right back. “We're going to be great.”
***

Liked This Book?

For More FREE e-Books visit Freeditorial.com