Finding Love in Unusual Places
By Veronica Van Pelt
"Michelle!" Mr. Jones yelled to get my attention. I was daydreaming in class again. When you look at Mr. Jones imagine your most boring teacher in the world and that's who and what he is, because that is the only way to describe him. Now, you see why I was daydreaming in the first place.
"Yes Mr. Jones?" I finally answered when I actually heard him.
"I just asked you a question and were you paying attention at all? No, like always!"
"I'm sorry." I said a little regretfully, yet again. I didn't blush this time because it wasn't my first time when he called on me and I was daydreaming and it wasn't my last time either. I went back to my hiding place, drawing on my notebook, it was either the notebook or the grocery bag covered text book.
Mr. Jones left me alone after his rant. After about ten minutes the bell rang and Ashley, my best friend, came over and we headed to our lockers. She was talking about some guy, of course she was always talking about some guy, so I zoned out, I know mean right but she understands me more than anything in the world. So I zoned out until I got to my bus and she headed to hers.
I headed to my usual seat, but I couldn't go too my seat because a new student was in it and… well… he is hot! He had short brown hair that was spiked up with hair gel, striking green eyes that caught my attention quite fast. He was wearing a white t shirt and blue jeans. He has great defined muscles under the t shirt. I was going to ask him to move but when I looked around all the seats were full except for where he sat.
"Hi" I said to the boy "can I sit here?"
He looked around noticing the seat next to his was the only one open. "Yeah I guess." I sat down with my backpack on my lap. "I'm Derek by the way."
"I'm Michelle." I said blushing then looking around noticing that the whole bus was quiet, which it never is, and listening to his beautiful voice the whole time. "When did you get to this shadowy place we like to call Shadow oaks?" I asked just a little curious. While talking my hair blew in my face because someone had the window open.
"We moved in a couple of days ago; we just finished unpacking yesterday. I am the only one in my family still in school." He said a little tartly.
"Oh well, its nice to meet you. What bus stop do you have?"
"13th and Chicago" he said short and quick as if he wanted to stop talking.
"That's my bus stop too."
After I said that it went quiet. I took out one of my favorite books that I like to keep in my backpack, Dark Prince, and went on to lose myself in it like I always do. I heard a soft sound that only I could hear and I looked up. Derek was looking at me with a grin on his face. He seemed to be laughing at me or something like that, maybe even a knowing smile. I don't know. I gave him a glare and went back to my book.
When we got to the 5th stop, my stop, I got off and headed to my house when something stopped me. I never really look straight ahead of me, I always look at my feet or I read while I am walking. Today I was reading, when I bumped into someone. When I looked up it was the neighborhood bully and of course my ex- idiot boyfriend, Nathan Van Bogart. I don't know why I went out with him in the first place.
"What are you doing bumping into me!" he exclaimed.
"Just walking and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, I'm sorry that I bumped into you. Don't get all mad. Yeah we broke up but that does not give you the right to push me around a lot more than you do to the other kids." I said quickly getting mad. I don't even know why he is so angry with me. "We broke up a year ago. What did I do to you to make you mad at me? If you are not going to answer it will be best for the both of us if you stepped aside." Realizing he is in my way of me getting to the door of my house. His face gat really, really red, purple even. Then all of a sudden he was twenty feet away from me and Derek was by my side. I quickly looked at Derek then back at Nathan. Nathan looked like he was choking on something. I looked back at Derek, who looked like he was truly concentrating on looking at Nathan.
Realizing he was the one choking Nathan I started talking Derek into not hurting him.
"Please stop your hurting him." I said calmly trying to get Derek to stop. "I know he can be a jerk but that does not mean he has to die." Calmly but not concerned at all for Nathan but more concerned about Derek and wondering why he was doing this for me, a plain girl with just her books and drawings to live for. Well until he came.
"Do you realize what he was about to do?" he said while slowly releasing Nathan. "He was going to push you to the ground then beat and rape you all because you broke up with him. He has some kind of tainted blood in his system that is telling him to kill you or either to capture you, not sure which one though. There is something about you that he wants you so badly." He was more talking to himself than to me.
I couldn't really understand what he was saying it was all jumbled and didn't make any sense to me.
"Get into the house please, so that I know you are safe." He said more directly to me now.
"Please don't hurt him. Yes he is my ex-boyfriend but he still was my friend." I said pleadingly.
"All I'm going to do is help him. I wouldn't dream of hurting him if you did not wish it." He said softly almost intimately and a little bit of an order in it too.
I'm a senior in high school, you would think a guys order, and he did order me, wouldn't phase me at all. But I was too shocked that I listened and went inside. I went to my room and sat heavily on my bed.
Later that night, waiting for my dad, Mike, to get home, I finished my homework and headed downstairs to the kitchen so I could find food to make for dinner. Finding noodles, sauce and meatballs, I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Mike wouldn't get home for about 15 minutes, so it would be perfect timing. Getting everything ready, all the pans, water, meat, bread, and everything else, I put it all on either the counter or the stove. That's when the doorbell rang.
Going to the door, wondering who would come to my house. I didn't invite Ashley and if I did I would have told her to come right in because my dad wouldn't have cared at all. Opening the door the person there was…
"Derek" I said softly barely audible. He looked more alive, more, I don't know, more dangerous. There is something about him that I couldn't put my finger on. His stance was, I perceived, protective but gentle at the same time.
"What are you doing here?" I asked quickly. Just standing there, my stomach doing a little flip when I saw him.
"Um… I came to talk to you. Are you going to invite me in or are you planning on standing there staring the whole time?" He answered.
"Oh … yeah come in" I said coming out of my stupor. I led him into the living room and shut the door. "Come sit at the kitchen table I have to finish with dinner." Leading him to the kitchen table, I went to the stove to check on the noodles and sauce.
"So you're cooking dinner?" he said after a pause.
"Yeah my dad should be home in about 10 minutes, he can't cook a thing. My mom and dad are divorced. No, wait why am I telling you this I barely know you! Why are you here?" exasperated for the first time since I met him.
"Oh… Well… I really don't know why I'm here, but since this afternoon I had this feeling that you are going to need someone," he said a little reluctantly.
"Why would I need someone here? It's just my father and I and well I guess you since you are here, but I don't understand why you are here. In my house!" Now again I am rambling. He just seems so irritating.
Chapter 2
Derek could tell she was getting angry. He couldn't really tell her his secret, that could mean moving once again, but he couldn't and wouldn't leave this place. There was and is something special about it and also something dangerous coming after Michelle because of what happened after school. She was reading Dark Prince on the bus; it was complete irony for him.
One thing he did know is that he could see color for the first time. For the past two centuries he hasn't had any color or emotion in him, but when he was in that class with Mr. Jones and he started yelling at her and she answered all of a sudden he saw the color of her hair and the color of the class room. Her hair is a beautiful deep brown which was also curled.
"Oh… well its kind of hard to explain, let's just leave it at that so I can tell you something." He said calmly but with a little compulsion in his voice.
"Ok." She said without hesitation, probably because of the compulsion but she barely recognized it, she normally could but not with him in proximity of her.
"Ok, well when your dad gets home he isn't going to be the same person. Don't ask how I know this; please it's hard to tell you this enough as it is. There is something about you that draws this…this thing here…"
"Stop, please!" she interrupted him. "What are you talking about? I don't understand. What do you mean my dad will not be the same person when he gets home? What is it that made Nathan come after me this afternoon?" she started getting frantic now that she was yelling at him.
"Shhh… calm down." Derek said soothingly. He got up and went to her turning of the stove because everything was done; she just didn't realize it because of what he was telling her. She immediately took a few deep breaths when he held her. She didn't know why she felt safer with him near than her own father.
"Please, just tell me why my dad will not be the same person when he gets home…" she was interrupted by the front door opening and slamming. She jumped because her dad never slammed the door except the last time was when her parents got a divorce.
Michelle quickly got everything on the table before her dad fully got into the kitchen while Derek snuck up to Michelle's room, how he got there without being seen she couldn't imagine, which she told him while quickly getting everything done.
"MICHELLE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Mike yelled not fully seeing Michelle in the kitchen with him. Michelle was too scared to answer she went running to her room, to her amazement not tripping on her own two feet. When she got to her room to lock her door and with Derek's help put her tall dresser in front of it.
"I need to get you out of here to my parents or rather more my friends. The situation now is really bad considering what I told them. We can pack your stuff and get out of here."
"What about my dad, what is wrong with him? You're so smart, give me that answer."////
"I cant right now. We need to get you out of this house. I will tell you when we get to my house. You will be able to go to school just pack some clothes, your homework and make up or whatever you need but quickly. We need to get you out of here. Please just listen to me and I will tell you I promise. I always keep my promises..." With a bang on the door Derek was interrupted. "Please just hurry"
Hearing how scared he felt for her she quickly got her gym bag and put her clothes and went to her bathroom and got her toothpaste and brush and everything from there. She grabbed her laptop and backpack and homework and handed that to Derek so he could help. Once she got everything they opened up her window all the while Michelle's dad was banging on the door and getting closer to opening it.
Michelle's room was on the second floor, how Derek got down was a mystery to her.
Derek moved to the side of the house so he wasn't seen and to help Michelle down.
"Jump I will catch you. No matter what." Derek said. Michelle looked at her door as is banged, then looked and Derek. She closed her eyes and jumped.
"I'm going to hit, I'm going to hit, I'm going to hit." She kept thinking, apparently saying it out loud when she heard something in her ear.
"Open your eyes."
She opened her eyes and she was in Derek's arms.
"How did you do that? I didn't even feel you when you caught me
