Disclaimer: The characters belong to Charlaine Harris, i'm just playing around.
AN: italics is thoughts, and i did try to not have so many this time. I love your comments, that helps me improve, to thanks to everybody that has helped!
Also, anyone up for betaing?
Thanks for reviewing: DD (you make me feel like i have critters inside, thank you so much), carry (actually, i know you have to be both of the two natured to produce a kid were, and there are times when it does not happen, but as far as shifters are concerned, they never quite explain it, i just assume that one shifter is powerful enough to make his first kid two natured, but only a were as opposed to a shifter like him, does that make sense? anyways, thanks), Mayra, GaijinVamp and Maggie79.
AN2: Heads up, this is me reminding the readers that the girls are still high schoolers, so the situations are simply more high school-y for this chapter. One time thing, i promise. A lot of interesting made up characters in this one, so I hope you enjoy.
Ch.7
Be curious, not fearsome.
Fear is actually a basic human instinct, and it is quite difficult to face the unknown with curiosity (which is learned) rather than fear. I think I am afraid if sex, I mean, I am curious, maybe a bit too bi curious, but I am doubly scared of STDs and teenage pregnancy. Maybe that is why I do not like boys so much.
I thought back to my ex girlfriend, she lives in Ohio, where we were living a year and a half back. I was fourteen, she was fifteen. We still write to each other regularly, but she never knew about my telepathy. But it is because she was so sincere in the way that she liked me and so honest about it, that lured me towards her. She never lied, not to me, not to anyone. I felt terrible for not telling Dad about her, but I had a feeling that he was not as homo accepting as Mamma. And Delia definitely, definitely liked boys. This was just another ship to be nearly alone in, I never really told anyone but Delia about her.
On second thought, I did not even give them a chance to say that the whole beating him promise had nothing sexual involved, but I would rather be on the safe side. Bill is down for the day by the time I get up anyways, so no chances of seeing him in her bed.
My alarm clock sounds as I am thinking about these few things in bed, already awake but not up. I push the covers off and then get up and stretch. School day. After such a weekend, I am ready for one of those.
A shower, a pee, and a pair of underwear later I am rummaging my closet for a clean uniform skirt to wear. I found it quick enough. I pull out a button up white blouse and my school vest to go with it. I go down for a quick breakfast: fruit.
Delia is having eggs that she made for herself. Mamma usually gets up later than us, and we manage okay. She works at night, we understand.
"Anything interesting happen last night?" Delia asks. She is an honors student, but even though she misses three days of classes per month, still manages to stay on top.
"I helped Mamma beat Bill at chess." I say.
"You've warmed up to him" she says, sipping on some coffee. I am drinking a glass of cold milk, yes, call me chat.
"Oh, you will once the moon starts to wane, he is a pretty nice guy. A gentleman too." I say.
"I do not know what to think of him yet." She says.
"Should we tell people at school about Dad?" I ask. She shakes her head quickly.
"No. The less people know, the less questions they ask." She says. I silently agree. She leaves to her room to get her books.
I finish my papaya and apple and make my way upstairs again. I brush my teeth before tucking the toothbrush in my bag. I check the battery on my tablet to see if I should take the charger or not. Huh, not today, goody.
I pull my backpack over my shoulders and make my way downstairs. Delia missed classes last Friday, because it was the full moon the night before and she had had a rough night. She looked quite all right yesterday night.
I stood by the door and waited for her. When she took a bit longer than usual coming down again, I scanned the house for her brain to see where she was. She is still up in her room. She's okay, a bit tired, but okay.
"So, will you tell me more about Ethan the bear from Vermont?" I tease as she comes down the stairs.
"He's from a pack" she tells me. "has a younger sister like me."
"Not as nice as me" I say with a mocking smile.
"His mother is divorced and has a second marriage with a human, she is a second cousin of his father. They married for the pack. But their duties have been filled."
I lock the door behind me as I listen to her talk.
"He likes Manson just like I do." She ticks on a finger on her left hand. "He is pretty hot, I'll show a picture later, and he thinks that lions are one of the most powerful animals." She says. I'll believe it when I see it.
"Hmm… and what are his intentions?" I say in mock imitation of Bill.
"Dunno, he is fun to talk to though" she tells me about him until the bus arrives for us like two minutes later. We get in and sit with separately. I sat with Dave, my friend who is still in the closet.
"Hey" he stirs awake when I plop besides him. He is as normal as can be, well, maybe a bit on the shallow end, but he is fun.
"Hey yourself" I say with a smile and pull my knees up against the seat in front of me to sleep the half hour to get to school too.
He dozes off a second later too. I close my eyes and try to sleep, but the buzzes around me are a lot, and it takes me a while to drown them all out and then fall asleep, or at least as asleep as I could be.
I wake up a few meters before reaching the curve of Xander Wills High School. Yeah, private school afforded by the money I have no idea where it comes from, I do not know if it is a shifter fund that Sam secretly uses for both of us or if it is money that Mamma has saved from working for Southern Vampires. Either way, I like it here.
We lazily get out of the bus and go to the building, it is not chilly anymore, but I always rather be inside. Dave follows with me.
He nudges me to see some guy showing off his biceps to some girl. A jock and a cheerleader, how unusual. I sneer.
"What do you make of that?" That he thinks that if he shows her the size of his arms she'll relate it to his dick, which is not so relat… similar. She thinks that maybe by getting close to this one the one she really likes, that is dating Sarah, will look at her by association of his buddy.
"Neither one likes the other, not really." I say, it sounds safe enough.
"I mean, he's hot." He says. I smile.
"Yes, Dave, off course he is. I mean, like, really, like, look at those biceps and triceps. He must really work out." I say, fake gushing seeping through me.
"Thank you." He says.
"My turn" I snap.
"Hmm, look at that nice cheerleader ass, you can bounce golf balls on that. And nice curves, wanna just grab her and bone into her." He says.
"Bone into her?" I glare at him. "More like grab those sensuous curves slowly, finding where it tickles her, licking slowly to her thighs and then finding out the mystery of how much of it she lasers off."
"You are so gay." He tells me.
"Ditto, Dave" I say with a smile. Unfortunately for me, there are a lot of gay guys prancing around this school. Not even proper snooping in the girls locker rooms gave me a hint of any girl being at least a bit curious about the other side. And I am more the girl rather than the guy in the relationship, at last I had been in my only prior one.
We get to class a few minutes later. He knows I am reviewing in my head, so appreciates a few male butts without my comparing false remarks.
As I walk in, I notice nothing strange. This would be a normal school day. Then Lyn walked in.
Lyn is a year older than me, she is in my sister's year. She has long silky hair that trails all the way down to her back, nearly reaching her butt. She is oriental and has pretty, small dark eyes. She has a small mouth too, which quirps upwards at every chance she gets. She is not flat chested, but definitely has more boobs than me. She has small curves and a delicious dip before her butt. I tear my gaze away, even though I am at the back with Dave, and he knows I long for her unlike any other girl.
She is the student council, so these rounds are often. I think she is talking about the prom that will be in about two weeks.
"Do you have a date for the prom?" someone asks. She blushes a bit at that comment, oh my, I want to make her blush. And then looks down.
"No, put that is irrelevant." She says. "I need to know which of the two themes you side with the most. So just send a vote to my address. I trust you all have it? Saying if you prefer Threesomes and more, or Wildlife Escapade. I knew a few people that I had a bit of a trouble reading that would definitely go for Wildlife Escapade.
I do not care, I will most probably not attend it anyways. Suddenly, a felt bold.
"Can we take a vampire with us?" I ask. A few heads turn my way. Did I just say that?
Oh my god, can we? … I am taking a vampire … Vampires? … Might as well tell any were to join us too … I am not coming if there are going to be … No, not in this school … I closed my eyes. I opened them a little. Oh yeah, I had made her blush. Score one.
"Sorry, I did not catch that." I say to her. She had mumbled something underneath her breath.
"Well, there is really nothing written about it." Wow, she did not strick me as the type to be around vampires, I thought only Goths did that, Lyn thinks, and I am ready for it.
"Okay thanks. See, Dave?" I tell him. Just to get to him. He blushes furiously and lowers his head too. "Thank you, Lyn" I say and smile prettily to her.
She just nods and makes to go out of homeroom. I hide my grin from everybody in the classroom.
"Wow, if you were aiming for her. That was awesome. What prompted that?" Dave asks me in a whisper.
"My aim is pretty good, ain't it?" I ask him as we get up to go to biology.
"Vampires? That was the best you could come up with?" he says.
"I spend my weekend with a vampire. My mamma's ex boyfriend and my godfather. But you cannot tell a soul. And I will know if you do." I tell him. He nods his head cautiously.
"He's gonna come?" he asks. I snort.
"Not even I am gonna come." I say
"Come on, after that you have to go after her!" he tells me.
"I'd do it in a more creative way." I say to him.
"Oh, Le Jude is up to something!" he says a bit louder than necessary. Elisha and Piper look back towards us, both of them glare nastily at me. I ignore their thoughts and wink at Dave.
"Hey, girls, see something you like?" I say. One looks at me disgusted, the other one did understand me and looks at the eye candy that is Dave. Is she letting us ogle at her boyfriend? … Nasty.
"No…" Elisha says, not really meaning it.
"No, not me" Piper says, but she does.
"Oh, okay" I say.
They walk a bit ahead trying to put some distance between us. I cup a hand to my mouth and enjoy a laugh.
"I am unsure whether the influence of a vampire is good or not on you" Dave says. I roll my eyes.
"Oh, let it be, I'm horny." I ask.
"Let it be?" he asks. I shrug. He got me.
"You're weird today… Did you drink blood or do V or something?" he asks me. Ew, no.
"No, Dave." I say sweetly. "Nothing wrong with me except that I want sex." I say, did I really mean that?
"Okay, no, that's not it. But I am not allowed to say it. I am trying to cope here and nothing makes sense and exams are just around the corners, but I cannot deal with all of this shit." I explain as ambiguously as I can.
"Sure" he says, a bit disappointed that I do not trust him with this. Gee, if he knew how much I hide from him.
"I'm sorry, it's not my secret to tell" I say to him.
"Okay, brief me on the last history chapter, I did not have time to read all of it" I smile. Off course he did not. I summarize most of the book and share a few things that Jade Lily told me. He listens, but too quickly, we arrive in biology class.
As I turn on my computer, I see a screen prompting me for my account or Bills, I had forgotten about that. I click on mine. Judith Merlotte, Bill had typed that in I just might have to change it to Judy M.S., looks and sounds better too. His read William Compton. I will change that too later.
Dave is peering down on my tablet as he takes out his handheld computer. I think it is pretty cool, but I take my gadget anytime over his. I write big.
"Oh, someone got pretty comfortable with you." He says. "Why did he set up an account?" he asks.
"Apparently he will be staying indefinitely." I say.
"Oh, all the more fun. Can I meet him? Is he straight?" he asks. I muffle a giggle.
"He is obsessed with Mamma." I tell him. "Sure, you can meet him." I say, unsure if he can.
"Good morning class" Mrs. Norris enters and I stop chatting and pay attention.
By lunch I had lost Dave, I have honors chem while he has honors physics. We are more alike than we care to admit, not just because we are gay. I go the cafeteria and see Lyn talking to some guy. She is quite straight, but, oh well, I have my fantasies.
"Sean, stop it." She says, I look and see that he is kinda pushing too much for a kiss. They are standing just before the line to get served, but they are both in their own world.
"Come on, Lyn, we have talked about this." Whatever this is, he is holding her waist like I would like to hold it. I fail to notice that his hands are a bit too rough on her.
"I know, but." She says, I think she notices me looking attentively. I look away and pretend to be consumed listening to the conversation of two girls that are standing in front of me.
"I need to go to the bathroom." She excuses herself from him. I wait like half a minute before going after her. I go to the bathroom and wash my hands slowly and cautiously. I know she is in one of the stalls. Crying.
After a short while, she emerges wiping her tears with a bit of toilet paper. I look up at her when she gets out, but then focus back on my lathered hands.
"It's Judith, right?" she asks me. I am surprised.
"Judy, yeah." I say. "I am sorry about this morning." I say.
"For what? The vampire comment?" she says. "Believe, it was on everybody's mind, you simply had the guts to say it." Boy do I know about it being in everyone's mind.
"Do you know any vampires?" I ask her.
"Yes, my great grandfather is a vampire. He is one of the few that are from the area." I do a small check list of the seven names I know. There are two registered vampires in Washington that came here from Asia.
"Oh, wow." I say. "Do you see him often?" I ask. She nods.
"Yeah, he had to leave us for a while, but as soon as he could, he returned to us. Rather, he returned to my father when the vampires came out of the closet. He did not remember him." She says. I wanna hug her. She is spilling to me in the girls bathroom.
"Well, I just found out my godfather is a vampire." I tell her. Not too many details, I am playing it safe.
"Really? Can that be done?" she asks me.
"Apparently so." I say.
"I don't even have a godfather." She says.
"Well, you have a great grandfather." I try to say politely. She laughs. Score two.
"If you don't mind me asking, what was that with Sean?" I ask trying to be soft and polite about it.
"You saw that?" she sniffles.
"Me and half the school." I say, with a sigh, because I know it was ugly.
"He says I'm a dyke because I do not want to have sex yet." She says. I stop my eyes from popping.
"Personally, I would take no offense in my preference, let them think whatever they want to think. And I am scared to death of STDs and pregnancy, no matter what medical breakthroughs are happening." I tell her, hey, as long as we are being honest.
"I guess that is part of it. I know he sleeps around a lot, but he is being nice to me." I restrain myself from saying nice like just outside.
"I guess" I merely say as I take a cloth towel to clean my hands from a sanitizer that had just finished its cycle.
"Who am I kidding? He is shit, asides from good looking, he could take a hike, but I care too much about my reputation." She says. I had not seen that coming.
"I don't have a reputation to care about, I am always moving." I share with her.
"Do you keep in touch with people you have met in other places?" Only with my ex-girlfriend.
"One or two." I say. "You know how it goes, out of sight, out of mind." I state, she nods.
"Yeah," she says, she has stopped crying, but her porcelain nose is still a bit red. "You are so different from your sister." Not the time to compare us.
"What makes you say that?" I ask with a smile.
"You like to listen to people. Delia is always talking about herself, and is proud of… what she is." She says.
"Well, I may not be a were like her, but Delia is not that egotistical. Maybe you just do not know her too well." I say with care, I do not want to ruin what we have just built.
"Yeah," she says. "Still, thanks for listening." She says. I give her a small smile.
"You feel better?" I ask rhetorically, I knew she did, her thought were much less disperse now, and she was breathing normally.
"Much" she smiles.
"You're welcome then." I smile genuinely.
"So, are you and that David guy an item?" she asks. Dumb question.
"Dave?" I say unbelieving.
"Yeah, I always see you with him." She shares. I bend my head at an angle.
"Well, he's gay. I am quite certain he is gay." Just as much as I know I am.
"Oh." She says.
"And I think an item would mean that we are something that the rest of the school acknowledges and gossips about. So no." I say. "And I am sorry if this might be a shocker, but I'm a lesbian." I say. Might as well put it out there.
"Oh" I do not like the sound of that oh.
"Yeah. I'm not sorry, I am glad you feel better now." I say to her. Yeah yeah, call me sentimental, I do not care. I start to leave.
"I am curious." She says. Excuse me?
"Excuse me?" I say.
"I have only had boyfriends, but I have always thought that being with a girl would be… better." She finishes.
"Well, if you're every interested, I'm here" I say. I smile a little. Score three.
"Well, I do not have a date for the prom" she says back quickly. Whoa. My smile turns into a dumbstruck grin
"Why not?" I say.
"It's a date." She tells me. I had not expected this turn out when I followed her in.
"Do you want to go out this weekend? Before the prom?" I say. The word prom sounds foreign in my mouth.
"Sure. Here, I'll give you my email." She takes out a chip from her necklace and I take out my tablet mechanically. I import the email from the chip and that is that.
"I'll drop you a line then." I say. I stop smiling, though on the inside I still am.
"That will be lovely." She comes towards me and gives me a small kiss in the cheek. She walks out. I follow suit, surprised.
"See you later" I say, coming back to earth.
"Definitely." She says with a smile. I make my way to where the food is almost up and go to sit with Piper, Bastian, Erika and, of course, Dave.
"Where were you?" Erika asks me. I swallow.
"In the bathroom" I say.
"Were you doing naughty things in the bathroom?" Bastian kids around. I glare at him
"Oh yes, I just had a huge orgasm thinking of you" I say acidly. He is taken aback and goes back to the veggies he does not want that are in his plate.
I eat quickly because I know lunch hour is almost up. I notice Dave giving me a sideways glance but ignore him. Erika and Piper are deep in conversation about the prom and who they are going with.
Bastian finally finishes picking on the broccoli and sweet potatoes. He settles the fork and looks at me.
"Hm?" I say as nicely as I can with my mouth all stuffed.
"You want my veggies?" he says. I nod. He pushes the plate towards me.
"Thanks" I say. I only take the food that I want, not everything that is on display. I know he only takes the veggies because he knows I always get up for seconds of those. He is a nice guy.
"Oh, I have not done the econ homework!" Dave remembers when Piper says something about it.
"Get to it" I say to him. He fishes his handheld out quickly and starts writing and typing with one hand.
The bell rings as we start to get up to go to the last period. Bastian and I have double Art, while the other three were heading to economics.
We split at the end of the hall, art class is in the other building.
"So, today we have to finish the oil paint project." I nod. Unfortunately, yes and I am nowhere near finished.
"Yep, only tests next week" I say.
"N.E.T.s" he says. I laugh. "Are you going to go to the prom?" wait one second, I had to check where this is going.
Please go with me to prom, please, please, this is the best time to ask, when Dave is not around, because him and her are inseparable, beats me why he has not asked her. Oh, please say yes. Please say yes to both my questions. Okay, I should not have done that.
"Actually, I am not sure if I will be around for it." I say. "My parents are talking about moving again."
"Really?" I nod sadly. I did not want to leave either.
"Yeah, they have been talking for a few months now." I say.
"Where to?"
"Central America"
"That's pretty far."
"It's warm."
"So, if you are still around for prom, would you go with me?" he says.
"Bastian, I am sorry to tell you this under the circumstances, and I really want you to know that it is not my mean way of saying no" I say. He braces himself.
"I'm a lesbian" I say. I have said it to two different people today.
"You are?" he says.
"Yes, I have an ex-girlfriend in Ohio, and, well, I have simply never liked boys." I say sincerely. He is completely let down.
"Are you going to prom at all?" he says. I shrug.
"I am not sure" I say.
"Well, if you are around, can we go just as friends?" he asks. I nod, not knowing what I am doing.
"Unless some girl asks me" I say to him.
"Sure"
The class is working independently, so I went to sit by my booth. Bastian was kinda close nearby, but he did not bother me at all during class.
I opened my shields a bit too hear him. Wow, what a waste, but I guess that I kinda saw it coming. She prefers to hang with boys like Dave, and she never has kissed any guy that I know of. I relax a bit. He'll be all right.
"This needs to be done today" Mrs. Stromm says to me. I nod. "If you are not done by three, you may still until four thirty, no later than that." I nod.
"Thanks" I say and keep working.
"Make sure it is done by then" she says. I concentrate hard. I finished my coat of paint. Then a take a minute to decide what exactly I visualized going into this work. The vines around the left and down border went to wrap a blooming flower, and it was just sunset in the horizon. A bit of water from a faraway ocean was just covering the last glimpse of sunlight. You can find the contours of a womans face in the clouds, and there is a shadow of a hand reaching in towards it all. I have been working on it for two months. I darkened the shadow and gave more light to the flower, making it seem as if fairy dust was coming out of it.
"You staying?" Bastian asked me while he crossed his messenger bag over himself. I nod.
"Yes, I am almost done" I say. He takes a glance at it.
"It's amazing" he says. I thank him and go back to working the shadow in the vines.
"Is that you in the clouds?" he asks.
"No, it's Mamma" I say. He nods.
"Wwant me to stay behind with you?" he says. He has a thought or two about how to change my mind about boys. I shake my head a bit.
"Don't worry, I have to get to work after this anyways." I say. He takes his leave and goes out. Only two other of the twenty five in the class are staying behind like me.
I was so wrapped into my work that I did not notice my cell phone vibrating until it erupted in sound with an old song. Its funny how many people have never heard some songs. This one is called Falling Slowly.
I answer it immediately.
"Hey, Judy, where are you?" Delia asks.
"Art" I say, not bothering to put down my brush as I talk to her.
"Still?" she says. I nod.
"Have to finish today. Then I will be late to chess and then late to work. I have to hurry." I say. She nods.
"Okay, talk to you later then," she says and hangs up. She is probably by the chess room trying to catch me going to it.
I look at my work one last time. Suddenly, the image of Sophie-Anne fills my head and I know that I can place her face in my clouds. It's not difficult.
I barely make it to chess. Willy, the team captain, looks at me warily. I explain myself.
"Don't sweat it, half the guys skipped since it is the second to last week of school. Many are cramming" he says. I smile.
"Thanks, Willy" I say to him. He blushes a bit when I smile at him. I so could have done without that. He is just not used to female attention, being a gay geek. His boyfriend is on the team too, and we go to state tournaments and so. I went once, we had fun.
"I'll see you around" he says. He's two years higher than me, he is actually a senior. I smile again and make to leave. If he blushed again, I do not notice.
I make it to work on time, somehow. Meela is just signing out, she says it would lie in my shoulders if I was late, she was not going to stay a minute over time.
Being a secretary is not really though. I picked up the phone and relayed messages, either through email or by connecting the call. I had time to do a bit of homework when it is not ringing. Only two people come it in person, it is a lot.
"Good evening, how may I help you?" I ask. It is already dark out, I get out at eight, the shifts are short and it allows for the people to have a better presentation for the company.
"Yess" he says. "I am looking for Merlotte"
Yes, hang in there.
Thank you all for reading! I will love to see more reviews, when i see the amount of hits compared to reviewers, it makes me sad. :( so please review! I'll post ASAP.