Bound By Forever(17)

Why must Aydean be rejected so? Alas, poor boy. Young Romeo is shot down by a more than spiteful Juliet! Didn't see that one coming, did ya' Shakespear? Yeah. Me neither. I should talk about the story...

I hurt her. I caused her pain. Even though I did, she stuck by me. She loved me. She helped protect me when things got rough. Even though others looked down at us, we stayed strong. I was happy. She was happy. Wasn't she? Did she spend all those years of pain beside me because of pity? No. She loved me. And I her.

 

Criss's POV.....

 

"No," I whsipered under my breath. I was afraid. I knew what he was going to say. He was going to leave. I already knew, but it only made the pain more unbearable if he admitted it aloud. It took as much will power as I could muster to break away from his haunting gaze. Those eyes. It was like they saw right through me. They knew everything. But they were kind and understanding about it.

"Criss, I..." he stopped himself midsentence. His warm breath caressed my cheek as he let out a long sigh. How hard is it to say goodbye?  He was making it harder than what it needed to be.

I broke away from my mini prison that, an hour ago, was my comfort, and rushed around towards the back of the house. Dirt and leaves stuck to the bottom of my bare feet as I dashed over the wet grass. I dug my heels into the dirt and skidded to a stop, remaining still long enough to pinpoint Aydean's location. He was right behind me, running faster and faster. Like a bullet, I shot up the steps and through the back door.

"Criss! Please, let em explain!" he shouted from the other side. The whole house started to shake as he banged his fist against the large wooden door.

I just turned and walked into my room. Once the door was locked, I slunk to the floor. The cool air felt good on my itchy skin. I sighed in relief. He had left. The air was silent and still. Other than the sound of me breathing, of course.

"Criss, please!"

I jerked my eyes open and stood up. Aydean was standing next to the window, holding his arm. Sweat poured from him as he let out short pants. What had he been doing? Sure enough the run around the house wasn't that bad. My eyes lowered to his arm that was craddled in his left hand. Scars and bruises were present on his skin. They were fresh.

"H...How did you get in here?" I stuttered, becoming frightened. I reached over for my knife that was lying atop my dresser.

"Window," he answered underneath a gasp for air. Sure enough, the glass had been removed from the frame and the screen was hanging on by a thread.

I sighed and shook my head. He wasn't going to give up. He insisted on hurting me even more by telling me what I already knew.

"Why do you have to make this so hard?" I asked.

He looked at me strangley. "What are you talking about?"

"Goodbye. Why do you have to make it so hard?" I cried, punching the wall.

He looked completley dumbstruck. His bottom lip quivered and he took a step back.

"You really are leaving me," he said shakily. He was mostly talking to himself. "She really is leaving...I was hoping that maybe she wouldn't go." He looked at the carpet and then looked back at me. "Alright. If that's really what you want."

"What the hell are you talking about? Weren't you gonna leave me?" I asked unsurely. This was confusing.

He shook his head as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet. "Of course I wasn't. When I left earlier...I was beign stupid. I was planning on leaving. But, then I relaized, I couldn't leave you. And let's just say I have a very persuasive friend." He grinned at some private joke he had obviously made. Then his face turned serious again.

"Then...If you weren't going to leave, then what were you going to say to me?" I asked, trying not to sound too desprate.

He sighed. "Please, I want to know."

I let out a long breath. It was time to tell him. I trusted him. So I had to say it.

 

Aydean's POV...................

 

This was it. I was going to find out how she really felt about me. I bit back a cry of joy and took a seat in the red bean bag chair that was stuffed in the corner. The pain had returned to arm, causing it to become temporarily useless.

"Aydean. A long time ago, I went out with a boy," she began, looking at the carpet. She completley avoided eye contact. Well, actually, she avoided looking at me at all. I, on the other hand, couldn't take my eyes off her.

I didn't know what possed her to think I was going to leave her. It was crazy. I recently discovered that even if I tried, I couldn't walk away from her. My best friend wouldn't allow it. Yet, I couldn't help but think. Even if Kriss hadn't talked to me, would I have ever come back? What held me back? If Kriss was right, I would soon find out.

"He was amazing.Kind, funny, romantic, great looking, and so much like I had hopped he would be, minus a few things. My friends agreed that he was definetley the one that I would walk down the aisle for. I was thrilled, because I believed they were right." She paused for another breath. I wasn't sure where she was going with this, but I was hoping it was in my favor. Fear that she might be saying she still wants to be with this guy instead of me swept through me faster than the speed of sound. She continued.

"Well, one day, after school, he told me he loved me. I was thrilled, shocked and overall confused at how someone other than my family could love me so quickly. I told him that I loved him too. And at the time, I thought I did. About a month or two after that, I caught him kissing another girl. I was devestated, but wasn't sure how to break up with him. So for another three weeks, I had to deal with him breaking dates to go hang out with the other girl. He didn't think I knew. Not long after, he sends some random kid to come tell me it's over. He broke up with me and didn't care to do it himself."

Her eyes turned to me. "So, I've decided that I'll never love anyone unless I know for sure I am willing to die for them, or spend the rest of my life with them. So Aydean, I'm sorry to say that..." I saw a tear threaten to show in the corner of her eye. She held it back.

It felt like a hammer had slammed into my chest, only to be followed by a cannon. The impact of knowing how she felt hurt. Kriss had been wrong. She didn't love me. She never had and never would. I should just leave now and make it easier on her. And me. I stood to leave, but she stopped me. She grabbed my hands in hers and looked at me softly.

"You have the dissaopointment of knowing that I love you."

What the hell did she just say? Did she just say what I thought she said? There was no way, was there? It was impossible. But she did. She said it. I felt her skin heat up for a second, and then quickly cool. Oh no! The first part of the Bond had been commited.

All the joy and hope in her face vansihed. She realesed my hand and backed away. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry."

What was wrong with her? She couldn't have! But she had. She had taken my silence as a no. She thought I had rejected her and her confession. I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her, but I couldn't without performing the second phase. And that would be bad. But If I didn't tell her, she would think I didn't love her and I would loose the one thing that mattered most to me. I know I had told her my worst fear was loosing my fmaily, but it wasn't. I still couldn't tell her just yet what it was. Besides, If I didn't speak up, then my nightmare would become reality.

"You can't call pleasure dissapointment. That boy has nothing on me..." There was no way I could finish.

"Yes?" she asked, getting closer to me. "Aydean?"

God. The way she said my name made me want to cry. The passion behind it was enough to make the sanest of man and mythical creatures alike get a free trip to the mental instituion.  The inetensity in her eyes...There it went. I couldn't hold it back.  
 "I love you too, Criss.  I have for such a long time. I loved you the moment I..." I couldn't tell her this. Not wihtout revealing my being a wolf. So, I pushed it way further than when I first found out I was crazy about her. "We hid beanth the hollow cave in the bank that one time long ago. I loved you the minute you first touched me.I was just...afraid to admit it. To you and myself."

She looked at me strangley. "Really?"

I felt my skin heat up and quickly cool. The same way hers had when she confessed to me. Second phase, check.

"Really," I assured.

An estatic grin spread across her face as she sprang forward into me, knocking us both to the ground. It was hard to hold back the final phase when she was giving it all she had to drive me even crazier. I bit my lips, trying to keep my eyes away from her moist lips. We were both lying there on the floor, her on top of me. Her body was molded into mine in such a perfect way. She looked at me and batted her long eyelashes. Snap! There it went. Every ounce of will power. My left hand rested on her waist, while my sore hand slid through her hair and pushed her face into mine. Her hands slid up and down my arms as she kissed back.

A fire blazed to life inside my feet. It started at my ankles and slowly rose up to my knees. At that pint, my blood felt like it had been replaced with fire. Yup, you guessed it. My blood was literally boiling. I can't describe how bad it hurt. But it did. The atoms in body sparked and sent electrical currents into the fire. I now had an electric flame blazing inside me. The pain rested around my mouth. I felt the spark as the pain and energy transfered from my lips to Criss. She began squirming in my arms, feeling the affects of what was happinging. I could only imagine how bad she was hurting. But I couldn't let her break the kiss. If she did so, then the charge could back fire and kill us both. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Criss went limp in my arms. The pain had left. It was over.The Bond was complete.

I released her and she jumped to her feet. She was gasping for air. The kiss had lasted at least a solid minute, so I could see why.

I couldn't believe it. What had just happened? Why did I give up so easily? I just destroyed her life. Her worst dream...I made it come true. I felt my jaw drop open at realization at what I had just done. Not only had I harmed her, but I would now be abandoned by the pack. They were going to be furious. Aydean, you fool! Why must you always cause trouble!?

"What the hell was that?" she demanded franticlly. I stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aydean Thompson! What the hell just happened?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry. I can't explain what just happened, but I can tell you the truth."

"What truth?" she said, calming down.

I bit my lip. Aydean, dont do it! You're risking so much!

"My name isn't Aydean Thompson. It's Aydean Brookes."

She looked at me distantly, thinking something over.

"Yes, Crysta. I'm Hank and Sabrina Brookes son, you're next door neighbors," I admitted, brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes.

"But, they said they didn't have any kids!" she protesed. The amount of skeptism in her voice was surprisingly low.

"Yes, I know. But they do. Me. I'm their son."

She shook her head. "But why? Why would they lie to us?"

So, that's how she found out about the beatings and the abuse and the secret life I had locked away in my room. I explained how I had found away around the window, and that was how I escpaed almsot every night. She was both shocked and disgusted as I described each and every beating with as much detail as posisble. Of course, I was more than happy to leave out the whole wolf ordeal. For all she knew, I was still a human and there was no such thing as werewolves and what-not.

"I'm gonna kick their stuck up asses! How freakin dare they. Oh my freakin god!" she screeched, heading for the door. I slid in front of her, blocking her way. "What the hell are you doing? Get out of the way!"

"Criss, no! Please, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine! See?" I held out my arm to show her the scras that were healing. Bad move. This only ticked her off even more.

"D****t Aydean, get of my way!" she cried, trying to move around me. Again, I blocked her. She dropped to the floor and crawled between my legs. She's one hell of a runner, I'll give her that. It wasn't easy catching her, but I got her. I had to completley pin her to the ground before I could even talk to her.

"Criss, I promise to you. I'll be fine. I don't want you going up there. Ever. Do you understand me?"

She sighed in defeat. She agreed, but it was a grim agreement. I stood back up and helped her to her feet.

"Can we keep this our Dirty Little Secret?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't get it. She grinned.

"Sure. I bet it Gives You Hell."

My mouth fell open. She knew the All-American Rejects. The pack thought they were lame and my paretns had never even heard of them. She was the only person I had ever met that liked them as well.

"You like the All American Rejects?" I cried.

She nodded. "Hell yeah. How can you not? They are awesome!" She raised an eyebrow. "And Tyson's pretty hot."

I grabbed her tightly in my arms and gave a playful squeeze. She gagged as I immitated that CPR thing where they grab your waist and try to get you to breathe.

"Stop it, you dumbass!" she giggled. "Tyson's hot-" I applied a little more pressure to my grip. "But he's nothing compared to you!"

I let go. She faced me and flicked me a bird. She was obviously a fan of sarcasm. "You kiddin me? I'd dump you in a second if he asked me out!"

Even though I knew it was a joke, I couldn't help but make a bitter comment. Well, I kept it myself of course. If you could leave me.

"Well fine, it that's how you feel, then I'll just go!" I said mockingly. "But not without a goodbye kiss."

I grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to me. She placed her finger on my lips, preventing me from proceeding with my departure plans.

"You better Move Along if you don't want to get caught by the wardens," she said, continuing the song title sentences.

I hated to say it, but she was right. It would be 3:00 A.M in about fourty minutes. Mother and Father would be back at about Three-thirty.  I kissed her forehad and hurried home.

 

Three Days Later....

 

"So, What do you think?" Criss asked, tunring in circle, displaying her new clothes.

I was sitting on her bed and she was continusly trying on the clothes she had bought the other day in town. Her Mother had taken her school shopping. Of course, the mini fashion show was my request. She had the same view of shopping as any guy: Yuck. 

She smoothed the wrinkles in the blue bouse she was sporting. When pulled out straight, it stretched down to her knees. I guess that was the way it was supposed to be. 

"Beautiful," I cooed.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really. And the shirt looks nice too."

"Oh you flatter me so," she said, using her hand to mimick a fan. She used a southern belle accent. Wow. She's like all of them. Smart like Derek, Moody like Kriss, Sarcastic like Scott, and always picking a fight, just like Trey. Now that I thought about, Scott had done the exact same thing before I left.

She left the room and returned in a diffrent shirt. This one was red with plaid patterns and a few buttons.  

"Why do you keep leaving the room to change?" I asked curiously. "You got some nasty scar to hide?"

"Think hard.  Your a guy, I'm a girl, and we're in my room," she said.

I knew where she was going with this. She didn't have to worry, though. Second base had never even occured in my mind. And it never would. She wanted to wait until she was married and grown. I understood and agreed completley. Kids now today were too into stuff like that when they shouldn't be. It's just annoying and rather irritating.

"Very good. Thanks for clearing that up for me, I was at a loss!" I said sarcasticlly. "Really, what do you think I'm going to do to the girl I love? Besides, you might wake up that by on the couch if you keep running back and fourth. Then we're both in trouble."

She sighed. "You're right." She slipped off her shirt and quickly changed into another.I didn't understand why it was such a big deal. She had a tank top underneath. She never took that thing off. Well, besides for washes and crap. The entire time she changed she kept her hands in front of her stomach.

I stood and grabbed her hands. I did that whole dip thing guys do when they ballroom dance. "Crysta Hanks, how dare you be self concious around me!"

"My self esteem issues have nothing to do with you!" she growled, returning to her feet.

"What do you think?" she asked, spinning around. 

"It looks perfect. Now lets go," I said, grabbing her hand and walking towards the window.

"Where are we going?" she asked nonchalantly, allowing me to lead her outside. We ran down the road, hand in hand. I knew exactly where I was going. Due to late night strolls around the area called Jackson County(It may be just me, but that's a weird name.), I had come to regconize the area.

"Aydean?" she said, her voice becoming a little more nervous. "What if we get caught?"

I quickly pulled her into a ditch in time for a car to pass by. I waited until the tail lights had completley dissapered into the night before returning to our descreet sprint down the dark road.

"Aydean?"

I stopped long enough to grab her hands and try and sooth her. I had to say, in her messy ponytail, red plaid shirt, dirty jeans, and beat-up tennis shoes, she resembled the farmers daughter you saw in movies about the south. "Hey, don't worry bout it. Kay? You can trust me."

She nodded unsurley but followed me anyhow.

 

Criss's POV....

 

I wasn't sure why, but Aydean had led me into town. We walked down the sidewalk, arm and arm. At one point, he made me close me eyes and led me through a set of doors.

"Alright, open em," he said.

I opened my eyes and looked around. I had already known where we were by the smell. New paper, ink, and wood could only mean: Barnes&Nobles bookstore. There weren't too many people in the store. A few older couples and the cashier. And us.

"What are we doing here?" 

 "Here. Think of it as a thank you," Aydean said, handing me a small wad of money.

"What the? What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, turning the money over in my hands and observing it. "Where the hell did you get all this?"

"Well, back when was I loved, I got an allowance. I saved it up. And since I can't spend it, I thought I'ld let you. You love books, don't you?"

"Yes, I love books, but I'm not going to spend your money! You spend it!" I protested, shoving the money back to him. He refused. After a rather heated argument tat landed us a few odd stares form other customers, who should come out on top but the annoying a*****e. No, not me!

"Fine, I'll spend some off it if it will shut you up!" I cried, snatching the money from his hands. Satisfied, he followed me as I scanned the aisles. I picked out a handful books. I even got him something. But of course, I wasn't going to tell him. I was going to wait until he couldn't return it.

"Happy?" I asked, handing the cashier a few bills. There was still a good bit of money left, and that was going back to him.

"As a clam," he grinned. "And you still have some more to spend."

D****t! I grabbed the bag full of new books and headed towards the door. Aydean, the a*****e, picked me up and tossed me over his shoulders. I pounded my fists against his back.

"Aydean! Let me down!" I said through a series of laughs.

"Not a chance!" he chuckled, holding the door open with his foot so an elderly woman with a cane could hobble inside. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you, son!" she croaked. She looked up at me and let out a small snicker. As she walked away, I heard her mutter "Young love."

Everyone stared at us as we made our unforgetable exit from the store. Seeing as how I wasn't getting down anytime soon, I decided to just enjoy the lift.

"You have a good bit of money left. Want some ice cream?" I asked him, waving a twenty dollar bill in the air.

"If that's what you want, then sure," he said, stopping. The light was red, meaning we couldn't walk across just yet. Once the traffic light turned red, and all the cars were backed up, I pushed the button. It took a second to turn green. I looked over my shoulder at a pine green minivan. A bunch of little kids had their faces pressed against the glass watching Aydean and I walk past. The parents also had the same bewildered expression on there faces. Of course, they were aslo smiling. I waved at them as we made it to the other side. The light tunred green and all the cars zoomed past. The little kids kept their eyes on us as they passed by.

Once we made it to Dairy Queen, Aydean made me order while on his shoulders. We took th receit and went to teh next line to wait. The bell sounded as a family walked in the door. There were several kids and an exahusted looking mother and father. The kids rushed to the counter and started to order. Once the parnets had ordered, they handed the lady the money.

"Oh, I'm sorry. This isn't enough for the complete order. This will only cover two small ice cream cones," the lady behind the counter said.

"I'm sorry kids, we don't have enough for ice cream," the momma said soothingly.

A perfectly sychronized harmony of "awwws" filled the air. One little kid started to cry.

"Aydean, let me down!" I said urgently. He obeyed. He had watched the comotion too and knew what I was doing.

I walked over to the counter and asked the lady how much their order cost. I handed her the money and ran over to the family.

"Excuse me?" I said tapping on the dad's shoulder. They all turned around. I regconized the little kids from the van earlier.

One of the little boys tugged at his mom's pants legs. "Mommy! It's the lady! Can we play piggy back, too?"

"Yeah! Please?" they all asked at the same time. I couldn't help but smile.

"Of course you can! But you might want to eat your ice-cream first! Now, who had the chocolate-chip sundae?" I asked holding out the tray full of frozen treats.

They little kids cried in joy and began grabbing for their treats all at the same time. The mom and dad also took their milkshakes.

"Thank you, so much. You really didn't have to do that!" the mother said, digging around in her purse.

"Think nothing of it!" I said happily.

"May I have your name and adress so I can mail you a check?" she asked.

How would momma and dad react if I recevied a check in the mail? I would have to explain, and that would be pretty difficult.

"Please, don't do that. It wasn't my money anyway," I said, nodding to Aydean. They all followed my nod.

Aydean, realizing that we were talking about him, smiled and walked over to us.

"Hello, nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand. Both parents shook it happily.

"Thank you both so much!" the mother smiled.

"No problem! It was all her," Aydean said, pointing to me.

 "Yes, but I understand it was your money. So, If I can have an adress, I'll send you a check."

I knew he defintley was going to say anyhting.

"Oh no, please. I would feel so much better if you didn't," he insisted. In the end, we won! Go Aydean and his persausion skills!

Suddenly, Aydena was jerked backwards. I looked over at him as he let out a choked up cry. Two pairs of hands were latched onto his shoulders. Another pair was wrapped around his waist, and two more pairs were climbing up his shirt.

"Piggy back!" they all cried. I doubted any of them were over six.

The momma rushed over to them and started yelling at hem, telling them to get down.

"Oh no, don't worry. Besides, these little guys want a-"

"Ah-hem!" a little voice sounded angrily. Aydean looked down at a set of girl twins. They had there hands on there hips.

"Oh I'm sorry. These little guys and girls want a piggy back ride," Aydean said, sitting them all on his shoulders, one at a time. He ran around the place, neighing like a horse. Each kid was giggling like crazy.

Me and the mom and dad laughed as they pulled on Aydean's hair. He didn't seem to mind.

"Excuse me? Pretty lady?" a quite voice called. I looked down at the little boy who's big brown eyes were fixed on me.

"Yes, sweetie?" I bent down to his level. He lifted up his arms. I knew what that meant. I picked him up and held him in my arms.

"That's little Damien. He just turned three last week.," the momma explained.

"Well happy birthday, Damien!" I said excitedly. Something crossed my mind. "Damien, do you like to read?"

He nodded sheepishly. His parents bursted into prideful speech about how he had been readin since before he could speak.

"Well, I have a birthday present for you!" I reached into the Barnes&Nobles bag and pulled out a little kids book. I had orginaly gotten it for Tanya's next birthday, but I knew I could always get her another one. Besides, she wasn't one for reading anyway. I handed him the book and his eyes lit up. He flipped it open immediatley and skimmed through the pages.

"What do you tell you the nice lady?" the mom said.

"Thank you, ma'am!" he said estaticly. I smiled as he started reading.

The dad and I talked about different types of guns and what they were best suited for, while the mom enjoyed tlaking about chruch and different cleaning supplies.

"Come on kids! tell the nice people bye-bye!"

They all groaned in dissapointment as Aydean peeled them off his shoulders and sat them down.

"Bye-bye!" they called as the father loaded them into the van.

"Where's Damien?" he called.

"Wight here daddy!" he called, closing his book. He looked at me. "Bye-Bye nice lady! Bye-Bye nice man!" 

Aydean smiled and hugged him bye. When it was my turn to get a bye a hug, I got a kiss too.

"You got any kids?" he asked in his adorable toddler accent.

Aydenan and I looked at each other and smiled.

"No sweetie, we don't," I said.

"We're not even married. We're too young," Aydean said walking Damien over to the van. The mother looked at us both approvingly. They all waved goodbye and drove away.

 

"That was very nice of you to help out that family," Aydean said, throwing his empty and half-eaten cone onto the ground. I had finished mine a while back. I had found myself back on his shoulders like a sack of beets as we walked down a very vaccant back road.

"I have you to thank. And besides, you were great with those kids! They really loved you," I said modestly.

"What about you? I thought that little boy was gonna steal you away from me. Makin a move on my woman. Bah, he better be glad he's a kid."

"Awww are you jealous? How cute."

We walked in silence. Well, he walked in silence. I rode in silence. Finally, it was broken.

"Do you want them?" he asked seriously.

"What?"

"Kids. Do you want to have children?" his voice was serious and his eyes were fixed on the road.

I didn't know what to say. Was he asking me if I wanted to have kids with him, or just have them in general? To be honest, the question kind of scared me.

"Um, yeah. I would love to have kids one day. I love them. They're so cute and sweet," I answered honestly.

He didn't say anything.

"What about you?" I asked, hoping he would make a sarcastic comment. Serious Aydean always kind of freaked me out.

"Sure, I guess. It would be cool to have a little tike," he said frimly. A big smile broke through on his grim face and his eyes brigthened. "I hope they're not like me. They would be quite a handful."

I smiled. Yeah! He's back! "Yeah. That would be a problem. Maybe their momma will be somewhat sane." 

He grew silent again. I wanted to know what he was thinking. He looked so upset about something, but I wasn't sure what. If all went well between us, I sort of kind of hoped my kids would be able to call him their father. Of course I couldn't tell him that. Girls who talk about marriage and kids and stuff end up getting dumped. So I didn't say anything. But I couldn't help but wonder if he had the same hopes as me.

"Well, here we are!" I snapped back into reality. We had stopped in front of a small gas station with an old coke sign hanging over the door. I knew exactly where we were.

"Oh Aydean you didn't!" I cried.

"Oh but I did!" he declared, setting me down on the dusty concrete.

We had come to Dan's store. It was an old Cheveron gas station that Maw used to take me and Kodi to every day after school. He would get a bag of doritos and Dr.Pepper, where I would get a pack of blueraspberry gum and glass bottle coke. We would both get a scratch off ticket that Maw had to buy us becuase we were too young. The owner, an indian man named Dan, would always give us a handful of tootsie rolls. I never liked tootsie rolls, so Kodi got mine once we were in the car. It was great. But I hadn't been back since Kodi left a few years back. I peered through the windows to make sure Dan wasn't behind the counter. Nope. Instead it was some blonde kid with his vidoe game stuck to his face. 

"I'll be right back," Aydean said, heading towards the bathrooms in the back.

With the five dollars I had left I bought a small pack of gum and two cokes. I placed the stuff on the counter and waited for the guy to scan them. Finally aware of my presence, he pressed a button on his game. All the noise stopped and he set it down while he scaned the stuff. 

" That'll be three twenty five-" he looked up at me. A sly grin slid across his face and he propped an elbow on the counter. "But you get a special discount."

"Not interested buddy. I think I'll pay full price," I said, curling my lip in disgust and handing him the five dollar bill.

"Aww come on! Half off. You know what, scratch that. You can have it all for free," he purred. I had an odd feeling he wasn't talking about the gum.

"No thanks. Will you just me give me the change and check me out!?" I said angrily. I was becoming irritated.

"Sure. I'm ahead of you there though. And trust me, I'm liking what I'm seeing," he said, looking at me up and down.

"On second thoguht, keep the change!" I grabbed the stuff and headed for the door.

"Forgetting something?" he hummed.

I turned around. He was waving the gum in the air, inches form his face.

"Give it back!" I cried.

"You want it? You really want it?"

"Yes, I do! Now give it here!" I reached for it, only to miss.

"You know what you have to do," he said, puckering his lips and closing his eyes. I sighed and leaned in, pretending I was going to kiss him. I rearred abck my fist, ready to sock him in the jaw. But someone bet me to it.

"What the hell was that?" the boy cried, rubbing his jaw.

Aydean grabbed him by the shirt collar and jerked him over the counter.

"Hey man, you better put me down!"

"Are you giving this young lady any trouble?" Aydean asked furiosuly.

"None of your buisness man! Now let me go before I call the cops!" blondie hollered.

"Oh believe me, it's my buisness. Now, were you messing with my girlfriend?" Aydean's grip on his shirt tightened.

"You're girlfirend? Hey man, I didn't know! Honest!"

Aydean lowered him a bit. Not much, but a bit.

Thinking that he had gotten away with it, the little a*****e decided to push it a little farther.

"You might wanna keep an eye on this one. Little loose with the boys, she is."

Aydean started laughing. He completley pulled the boy over the counter and sat him down. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Not very smart, buddy. It was nice to meet you, though. Enjoy Hell."

"What?" he asked.

Aydean pointed to me and stepped back.

I walked over and socked him as hard as I could in the eye, causing him to tumble to the ground. I kicked him in the groin, and twisted his arm as far back as it would go without breaking. He screamed in pain, but I didn't stop.  

"Done?" Aydean asked calmly.

"Not quite yet," I said, kicking him in the temple. I thought I heard a crack, but soon came to relaize he had just landed on a bag of chips. Damn. I leaned over and spit in his face. "Now I'm done."

I grabbed the pack of gum while the boy tried to stand.

"How's that for loose?" I called as I walked out of the store, my arm locked in Aydean's.

We laughed the entire walk home. We ditched the bottles and gum wrappers in a trashcan at the end of the Thompson's driveway.

Once we were back in my room, I kicked off my shoes and plopped straight onto my bed. Aydean climbed on beside me and laid his head on my shoulder. We relaxed for a few minutes beofre I decided to give him his present. I sat up and he just placed his head in my lap while I dug around in the bag. I handed him the book. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open. I wasn't sure if it was fear or shock.

 

Aydean's POV......

 

I couldn't beleive what I was seeing. My fingers rubbed over the white wolf on the cover. It's eyes were yellow and it was standing on top of a large rock, howling at the moon. I read the title: AncientPrints: Werewolf legends and stories from around the world. She had gotten me a book dedicated to...well, me. It was crazy. I swear every country was in there. Ireland, America,Germany, Russia, China, Italy, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arbai, and much much more.

"Thank you, so much. I love it," I said, unsure of whether I did or not. I know I said I had gotten used to her werewolf craze, but somethings still took me by surprise. I had to question how much she really knew about me. Whenever she talked about wolves, she always stared straight at me the entire time. Anything else we talk about she looks everywhere.

"You don't like it," she said without emotion. "That's fine. Just sya it. It's not gonna hurt my feelings."

"Why do you want me to lie?" I asked, kind of wanting to keep the book. "I really do love it. Thank you so very much."

I was interested in finding out about how other cultures saw my kind.

"Don't you want to read it?" I asked. "A werewolf fanatic like you would probally enjoy it."

she shrugged her shoulders. "I've already read that one. It's got really good folktales and illustrations. I've even read the one they made about Vampires. It's very good too. But I thought you might like to know more about them. Werewolves, I mean."

"Thank you so much. I'll read it as soon as time will allow it," I said, kissing her forehead.

"No big deal. Take your sweet time," she said, laying back down. I rolled over on top of her, balancing my weight with my elbows.

"Trust me, I will," I whispered, leaning in for a kiss. She made sure I got one. I moved my mouth inches away from her ear. "I have to go."

She sat up and sighed unhappily. "Okay, fine. If you have to."

"I do. I'm sorry. I'll be back as soon as possible, though," I said, slipping my shoes on and heading for the window. She walked over to me and gave me a quick goodbye kiss.

"Be careful," she instructed.

"You too."

"I love you," she called as I took of running across the yard.

"Love you, too!" I shouted back, but she had already shut the window.

I kept my new book gently wedged between my teeth as I climed up the side of the house and scurried along the roof. I jerked open the window and slid through, landing softly on my feet. I walked over to my bed and sat down. I looked over the cover and skimmed through it.

She really was a strange girl. But this why I loved her. Well, one reason anyway. She was right, the pictures were amazing. I sat the book down and buried my hands in my face.

"S**t," I whsipered aloud. "D****t, d****t, d****t!"

I shook my head and laughed at my own insanity. "I'm such a dumbass!"

"I'll say," a voice taunted.

I cried out in surprise and stood quickly, grabbing the book to use as a weapon.

A figure moved in the doorway to my bathroom. I gripped the book tighter and prepared to swing.

"Whoa, dumbass. I wouldn't do that If I was you," the voice said again.

"Kriss?" I called.

"Excuse me? Who?" the voice said worridley. It wasn't Kriss.

 The figure stepped into the moonlight that shone through my window. The book almost dropped out my hands. But, I did end up falling onto my bed in shock.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I cried out in fear.