Authors Note: Hey guys, I'm sorry for the long period of time with no update! I am so busy with all my school work (Damned AP World History, I'm telling you, this college shit is going to be the death of me!) And I've been writing on and off for the past two weeks, and in all honesty, this chapter is much shorter than average. I'm sorry I didn't make it better, or longer. This is just one of those chapters you know...But, nonetheless, I hope you all enjoy! :)
My Body is a Cage – Chapter Fourteen
"Look," Brian sighed to himself as he looked out the passenger side window then back at his young daughter. She wouldn't turn to face him; she was too upset for that. He could sense the tears building up in her eyes as with a strong hand, Brian reached over a patted his teenager's shoulder. "I know you're tired of starting new schools left and right, but you'll like this one."
"You don't know that."
"You're right, I don't, but I'm pretty sure you will. The teachers here are great and the students are smartest in the district."
"I'm just so tired of this Dad."
"I know, this will all end soon, I promise."
"You've been saying that for eight years now."
"I know," Brian sighed again as Khloe allowed a single tear to fall from one of her bright blue eyes. It broke his heart to see his pride and joy so upset, he knew what we was doing was hurting her, but any other way would kill her. "Please try and have fun."
The young brunette shook her head, wiping the tear from her bright pink cheek and unlocked the door, making her way into the freshness of the morning Seattle air. This was her eighth high school in just two years. She'd just come from her seventh high school in Colorado, and she was sad to leave the first friend she'd ever made behind.
Friends didn't come easy to Khloe; she was always the new girl. That was a title that seemed to lurk over her and obviously the other students took note of it immediately. She felt the piercing stares of a hundred eyes following her as she made her way down the hallway. Then the crowd of teenagers parted like the Red Sea had for Moses. The opening was wide enough for a small group of letterman clad boys to make their way through the mass.
Khloe pressed herself up against one of the dark blue lockers that lined the walls, and watched as the boys strutted down the corridor, when suddenly a strong force knocked the brunette out into the cleared hallway, right into the arms of one of the muscular teenagers.
His hands jerked back as he allowed the young girl to fall to the ground, the few books she had scattered in each direction. The large gathering laughed and pointed. Khloe felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she struggled to collect her books.
The boy who had caught her took a step forward, knocking the heavy Chemistry book back onto the ground, grazing past the brunette's foot. "Watch out next time bitch."
"Leave her alone Tanner," A tall, brunette boy shoved the jock out of the way as he kneeled over to help the young girl assemble her books. Though he was also sporting one of the blue and black varsity jackets, this slightly shaggy haired boy didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the group. His intense green eyes locked with the brunette's for a moment until he smiled and placed her books back in her shaking hands. "I'm sorry; everyone here is kind of an ass. I don't think I've seen you before, are you new?"
Khloe allowed herself to smile sheepishly as she tucked her books back into her backpack, "Yeah, I'm Khloe."
He smiled softly as he helped the young girl back to her feet, by this time most of the crowd had begun to carry on, probably making last minute trips to their lockers, or chatting with friends outside of classroom doors. "I'm Grant," He turned to his posse and gave them a stern "fuck off" before spinning around again to face the girl, "I'll show you around."
Khloe allowed a slight smile to flicker across her face as the young boy dragged her down the hallway, "So, where're you from?"
"All over, but I was just in Colorado."
"My aunt lives in Denver, it's a pretty state. Seattle is pretty cool too, I think you'll like it here," Grant obviously sensed the young girl replaying the event that had just occurred in the hallway, "Don't worry, they won't always be like that, especially if you just stick with me."
The brunette boy finally led the young girl to her first class, Geometry, and as he walked off, he made sure to let her know that he'd be waiting outside the classroom for her.
And that's how everyday went.
The end of class bell would ring, and every day, the tall boy would be standing, back pressed against one of the lockers, his back pack slung over his shoulder. They would greet each other with warm smiles, and then make their way to their next classes. But, after a month the warm smiles turned into warm kisses and sometimes instead of class, they'd find themselves under the bleachers in the gym. But they'd sit and talk, maybe share a few kisses, but mostly they'd talk, hands intertwined. That's what Khloe liked about Grant, he didn't rush things.
It wasn't long until after school study sessions turned into nights at the movies. The shorts walks to class turned into long walks during the night. They were in love. And, the love was young, the love was pure, and the love was sweet.
Maybe a little too sweet.
The couple had been inseparable and going strong for nearly seven months. The summer had come at last, but while the days were fresh and full of summer time bliss, the sweet ecstasy of the young love was slowly ceasing from its euphoric high.
It was the middle of June, a cloudy overcast dangled low from the heavens, casting a melancholy shadow over the city. Khloe sat on her window seat, draped in an oversized sweater, knees pulled up to her cast as she watched the rain ricochet against her window.
She hadn't spoken with her boyfriend in a week. He had wanted nothing to do with her. The boy's behavior was rather odd, from his cancelling plans to dropped calls, something didn't feel right. And Khloe wasn't about to let this beautiful, beginning love fall.
The young girl found herself making her way towards the windy river not far from her house. It was there that the two had shared their first kiss, and Khloe could only hope her love might possibly be sitting on the pointed rock near the river's small basin, reflecting on everything, all alone in the rain.
And to her surprise, her partner was there, sitting on the pointed rock near the river's small basin.
But he wasn't alone.
The brunette boy had his back pressed against the boulder, his hands running up and down the waist of a petite blonde. There was a popping-leaking sensation in the young brunette's chest, like her heart had burst and she was internally bleeding.
"Grant," That was the only word she could even manage to sputter. Was this what things had come down to? Had this been the underlying secret in the young boy's peculiar behavior?
The boy tossed the young blonde off of his soaked body and stumbled to his feet, his hands flew up in exasperation and he couldn't seem to be able to conjure a plausible explanation. "Khloe…I…-"
The brunette with the clouded blue eyes shook her head, allowing small droplets to fall from her eyes. "I don't care Grant, save whatever excuse you're going to use for the next girl, I don't want to hear it," the young teenager turned to leave, but something inside of her stopped her. "We had something Grant, or at least I did. You made me feel things no one else in my life has ever. I thought you were different, but I guess you had me fooled."
With that, Khloe tore off through the green forest, tears streaking her cheeks and the only sounds were her feet hitting the earth with each step and the silent chokes that she allowed from her throat. What she said had been true, she had thought he was different.
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," Khloe thought as she twisted the door knob to her home, "But there won't be a shame on me, I'm no fool."
Khloe's heart stopped in her chest, this couldn't be real. No, this was just a dream – a nightmare.. She was still asleep back at the hide out, curled up against Derek's side.
That was what the worst part about it was, this was a living nightmare. Grant Watson, the man who broke her heart and more, was standing in front of her for the first time in five years. Every memory from the brunette's teenage years hit her like a brick wall. The pain of mixed emotions filled the young girl's body from the pit of her stomach to the top of her brain; it was a sensation Khloe could only assume was similar to drowning. She was drowning in her own emotions, her own pain.
The brunette couldn't find the verses speak; her brain was searching through every word in her vocabulary, but couldn't seem to find the right ones to use. "G-Grant?" Okay, that was close enough…
"Fancy seeing you here Khloe Parker, I mean, what are the odds?" His smile held an underlying truth that Khloe couldn't place. His emerald orbs pierced through her like a thousand knives as she felt as if the young man could sense every thought within her.
"Yeah," The brunette shifted uncomfortably as the lump in her throat began to throb in sync with her pumping heart. Her heart was thrusting against her rib cage with so much vigor, Khloe was sure the young werewolf back at the hide out was able to hear it.
The brunette man clearly sensed the uncomfortable tension in the air and tauntingly smirked. The emotional wreck the girl was inside seemed to please him, "You don't live here in Beacon Hills, do you Khloe?"
"Yeah," That was all the young brunette was willing to utter out. She was dying for the young man to end the conversation with one of his teasing smirks and head out the double glass doors. But, this was Grant Watson, the destroyer of Khloe's happiness and sanity, the last thing he wanted to do was leave without mentally fucking the girl over.
"What a coincidence, it really is a small world after all, isn't it?" The shaggy haired young man quoted the song from the Disney adventure park ride as his shoved his hands into his pockets, making himself comfortable in his stance. His green eyes drifted to the young brunette's chest, making her uncomfortable, until she realized he hadn't been checking out her breasts. "I see you still have my necklace."
Grant's tone shot an injection of pathetic numbness into the young brunette. She knew the young man just wanted to provoke her, and wasn't going to stop until the girl cracked.
"I have to go," And with that, Khloe turned on her heel, making her way toward the double doors.
"Letting you go was my biggest mistake Khloe Parker," Khloe stood frozen in front of the doors, but she didn't turn to face the man. Grant wanted to twist his way into her head, just like he had before. But she wasn't going to let that happen, no, not again.
Fool me once, shame on you Khloe thought as she began to the short journey through the parking lot to her Sedan, Fool me twice, shame on me.
"Khloe?" Derek had been spending the past half hour lying on the new bed, reading one of Khloe's books she'd already tossed to the side. He'd only bothered to slide back into his jeans; since he had a feeling there would be a little more action when the young brunette returned. But, Derek immediately sensed the girl's mixed emotions. He wasn't sure whether she was afraid, surprised, or hurt. What had gone down during the short time she had been out, Derek didn't know. He rose from the bed, concerned about the brunette, and placed a hard hand on her shoulder. "What happened?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it," Khloe pushed past the young werewolf and planted herself down on the bed. For anyone else, Derek would leave it at that, but Khloe Parker wasn't exactly anyone else. There was something bothering the brunette, and he was going to get it out of her, claws out or not.
Khloe rolled over on her stomach, burying her face in the pillows. Derek could hear her breathing increase and he stood at the foot of the bed, not sure on how to handle the situation. He shifted his weight on to his left leg, shoved one of his hands in his pockets, and pursed his lips together, waiting for the brunette to compose herself.
Was he supposed to say something? Was she waiting for him to make his way over to her and comfort her? Basic human actions confused him at times, and woman actions weren't any clearer. The werewolves' first instinct was to walk to the other side of the dimly lit station and busy himself with repairing broken chains, but something felt wrong about leaving the young girl alone on the bed.
"Khloe…" was all he managed to get out. What was he supposed to say? "Khloe, I can't help unless you tell me what's wrong."
The brunette rolled over, she hadn't been crying like the werewolf had thought, but she appeared to be on the verge of tears. She grabbed the pillow from behind her and brought it to her stomach, wrapping her arms around the cushion. "I just ran into someone at the store, that's all."
Derek normally would have left it at that, and he probably should have. "Seems like it's more than that."
The brunette sighed and tossed the pillow next to her, "It was…I ran into my old boyfriend from high school, ok?"
"That's why you're so upset?" Derek shook his head and sighed, trying to understand why this would trouble her as much as it did. She had said high school, had she not?
"He was the first guy I ever loved Derek," Khloe snapped as she jumped off of the mattress and folded her arms against her chest. "You don't know what went down, so don't judge me."
The young werewolf rolled his eyes, "Should I be concerned?"
"No."
"Okay then," Derek turned to find something around the station he could busy himself with. He probably needed to pick up a hobby, but it wasn't like there was anything out there that interested him. But, something inside of him tugged on his heart, telling him there was more to the situation than was being told. All Derek had to do was read between the lines and the problem became obvious, Khloe still had feelings for this guy. It was all making sense now, the heart necklace she always wore now had significance. The whole thing actually made Derek angry…or is the word jealous.
No, he wasn't jealous, why in hell would Derek Hale be jealous of some girl's high school boyfriend? But, like he had realized before, Khloe wasn't just some girl. And, now that her ex-lover was back in town, anything could happen. It wasn't like Khloe was his. She could walk out of his life at that moment and it would never matter. There'd be no relationship to end, no divorce papers to fill out, no nothing. She could just leave, leave and never look back.
The young werewolf sighed as he made his way back to the brunette. "You have feeling for him, right?"
Khloe lifted her lustrous blue eyes from the edge of the blanket she'd been fiddling with and locked hers with Derek's. She felt the lump tighten in her throat, and it was true. She did have unresolved feelings for the brunette man that kept her whole body locked in a cage. "Yeah, I guess I do."
"Don't."
Derek's demand caught the girl off guard. She hadn't been expecting that from the werewolf and didn't even know how to respond. "What?"
"Don't have feelings for him, if he was worth it, he would have stuck around."
Khloe merely blinked at the young werewolf, his words were extremely out of character and she couldn't believe he actually had a sentimental side to him. Maybe underneath all that anger, and all that hate was a nurturing soul. "You're right," the brunette instantly felt much warmer inside as she scooted down to the edge of the bed and interlaced her fingers with Derek's. His hands were warm and she brought one of his strong hands to her cheek.
Derek showed no emotion in his face, like usual, and Khloe couldn't even guess what he was thinking. His eyes were hard, but not filled with rage or animosity. His jaw was clenched, but again, he wasn't angry. He was just…Derek.
Authors Note: Like I said, sorry about the length and the wait! Hopefully I can get on track again. I'm going for another chapter today, and I'm not sure if it's going to happen. Depending on how far I get tonight, possibly tomorrow, but my brother has a football game...ugh. Anyways, what about Grant, eh? And awww sweet Derek.
Thank you for reading :)
-Victoria
"The truth about love is,
that is's all a lie.
I thought you were the one,
and I hate goodbyes." - P!nk (The Truth About Love)