A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! YAY! I want to thank everyone for reading and sending me PMs about updating this fic and my others. I love that you guys love my work. Means a lot. I had some computer problems but it's all square now.
Ok, so this chapter is long because I felt like I owed you guys some good stuff. It's a Mercedes/Maverick heavy chapter but no worries, Sam is still every much in the picture.
ProTIPs:
In this chapter Mercedes visits the Daculette Reservation and the are having a celebration; Mir Sakisch (you'll find out what that is in the chapter) and Maverick explains some of the inner workings of the tribe to Mercedes. As a guide and for future reference I wanted to add this part. My Native American friend and his tribe have, for a lack of a better term, tribal names. They use theirs all of the time while the Daculettes do not but it is important that you know them, again as a guide and future reference so that I don't have to do this again.
Travis Blue - Chief Strong Wolf
Maverick Blue - Thundering Storm
Courtland Moore - Dancing Fox
Garth Hightree - Laughing Bird
Matthew Brown - Blazing Sun
Garrett Hiller - Darkest Sky
Dylan Culen - First Warrior/Black Feather
Gail Smith - Brightest Star
Winston Littleleaf *DECEASED* - Swooping Crane
Mary Littleleaf - Setting Sun
Tara Littleleaf - Raging Waters
Mikey Littleleaf - Green Leaf
Martin Longman *New Character* - Shaman/Rising Moon
Courtland Moore III *New Character* - Swaying Branch
Amanda Wayland - *New Character* - Quiet River
This chapter is different from the Eclipse book and movie. Again, with advice, guidance and permission from my friend, as not to offend, I made the Daculettes follow the flow of his tribe. He had never read nor seen Twilight so I told him about the telling of the histories and how it was only a small group of people, the pack and the council, who knew them; he thought that was stupid and the tribe's history is for the tribe to know. Thus, this was born.
The histories were created by Princess976 (Author of Glee World and I Did It for Elena). Which is where Mir Sakisch came from.
Thanks for reading that informative Author's Note. I know, I know, shut up and get to the story.
Thank for reading guys! I love ya!
And as always, REVIEWS = LOVE!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Glee, any words, phrases, characters, places from either, Escort, Luther Vandross, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Tim McGraw, Rice Krispies or anything else you can find outside of fandom.
The room was silent for a long moment after my phone call before the Schuesters began to leave the room one by one. I knew that none of them were too hot on the idea of working hand in hand with the wolves but there was no other option. Sam wasn't going to change me so that I could protect myself and my dad so this was what we were working with.
"Will?" I asked getting to my feet once only me, Will and Emma remained in the room. "You understand, right?"
"Yes," Will smiled, "and Sam will too; in time."
"I don't want him to feel…" I trailed off. I didn't want to say the next part out loud because what if his parents hadn't thought this.
"Feel what, honey?" Emma questioned.
"I don't want him to feel emasculated," I said. "I didn't ask Maverick for help because I don't think that he or any of you aren't capable. I just…"
"We understand," Will said grabbing my hand.
"The children will come around. They care about Sam's happiness," Emma explained. "You are that happiness and they will do whatever they can do to protect you."
"Thanks for saying that but they all seem less than pleased with me right now," I commented.
"That has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the wolves," Will told me. I nodded. I hadn't meant to hurt or offend or anything. I was only trying to help and this was the best way that I knew how.
"Are you ready?" Sam asked solemnly, stepping back into the room.
"Yeah," I said. He walked out without another word. "I guess that's my queue."
"We'll see you soon," Emma said with a warm mom hug. Will patted me on the shoulder then I took my leave. I met Sam out front by the car. He opened my door and I climbed it. He was starting the car before I had my seat belt buckled.
"Are you just not going to talk to me again?" I asked in the palpable silence.
"What would you like me to say, Mercedes?" Sam inquired his eyes still on the road.
"I don't know. Something. Anything would be better than this damn silence."
"Would you like me to stay tonight?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered.
It was silent again for a long time.
"What did you and Maverick decide?" Sam asked, still without eye contact.
"He'll be over in the morning to check out my room," I answered.
"I'll rest on the floor as not to mix the scents," Sam told me as we stopped in front of my house. I nodded. I glanced down at my cell phone; we were back at my house with fifteen minutes to spare. "I'll see you upstairs," he said with a gentle kiss to my temple. I unlocked the front door and stepped inside.
"11:45," Gordon said from the living room.
"That's fifteen minutes early," I said kissing my dad on the top of his head.
"I see that," he said. "Going to bed now?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Nah. In a little while," Gordon said. "I'll see you in the morning."
We waved goodnight and I headed up the stairs. When I opened the door, Sam was sitting in my rocking chair. He smiled at me then nodded toward my bed. I giggled when I noticed that he had laid out my pajamas.
"Thanks," I said grabbing the t-shirt and flannel pants.
"You're welcome," he smiled.
"Gotta brush my teeth. I'll be back," I told him leaving the room. He nodded as I exited. When I returned he was standing in the middle of the floor. "You ok?"
"I'm sorry," Sam blurted out, his eyebrows furrowed together.
"For what?"
"The way I reacted about the wolves. I hate them. That doesn't mean that you have to."
"I only suggested it because I know that you and your family need to hunt," I explained again. "I don't think that getting the wolves to help out is such a terrible thing."
"It's not but I want…need…you to understand that this is not going to be the seamless amalgamation you're hoping for," Sam said wrapping his arms around me.
"I'm not hoping for anything," I told him, my arms snaking around him, "except for everyone to be safe."
"And everyone will be," he said pulling me close to his chest.
"I believe you," I said peering up at him. I inhaled sharply as he leaned down and our lips touched in a fiery kiss.
"Let's get you in bed," he said as he broke our kiss. I nodded and climbed into bed. Sam tucked me in and returned to my rocking chair. I watched as he pulled out his phone and scrolled through it and soon Luther Vandross began to play. I smiled at my quixotic boyfriend before I drifted off to sleep.
When I got up Tuesday morning, Sam was still sitting in the rocking chair reading Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.
"Morning," I said stretching.
"Morning," he smiled. "Gordon's gone already. I went to the front door and he told me that you must be feeling under the weather so he left you a note for school since we'll be late."
"That was nice of him," I said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "What time is it, anyway?"
"9:30," Sam said. "Maverick text and he should be here soon." I nodded and headed to the shower. I dressed and Sam and I went downstairs to wait. At about 10:15 there was a knock on the door.
"Hey," Maverick said when I opened it.
"Hey. Come in," I said stepping aside.
"I'll wait outside," Sam said his eyes locked on Mav's. He pushed past my Native American friend and closed the front door behind him.
"You ready?" I asked.
"Yeah," Mav smiled and followed me upstairs to my bedroom. I stood in the doorway as Mav used his super senses to sniff around the room. When he was done we headed downstairs and out to where Sam was standing. "Whoever it was, he left his stink behind," he told Sam. "It'll be had to miss when we cross it again. We'll handle it from here."
"We don't need you to handle anything," Sam said, his voice deadly, "or anyone."
"I could care less what you need," Maverick said matter-of-fact.
"All right, we're done here," Sam said grabbing my arm.
"No, you're done here," Mav said angrily grabbing my other arm.
"Stop!" I yelled. "I'm tired of this. From now on, I'm Switzerland, ok?"
"Let's go to school," Sam said coldly, his eyes still locked on Mav as he pulled me toward his car. Once we were inside the car Sam sped off. I realized that the vampire/werewolf schism was much too large for me to try close the gap on my own. Sam hated the idea, but it wasn't about rivalry anymore. It was about my safety; and Gordon's.
We went to school and put on a successful air of normalcy. In the days that followed I got to them all to at least try to work together. The changing of the guard outside my house was seamless. Tense; but seamless. The wolves took over so that the Schuesters could hunt. It wasn't exactly an easy alliance. I would watch from my window every night. Just to make sure that an unnecessary supernatural creature fight didn't happen.
Friday night, Sam sulked around my room.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked.
"I'm not all that excited about tomorrow," he said sitting on the foot of my bed.
"Why not? You love hunting with Finn," I said looking up from my homework.
"The hunting is the least of my worries."
"Huh?"
"I don't want you to go to the reservation tomorrow," he said leaning in toward me.
"I'll be fine," I said kissing him light. "You need this. Go." Sam groaned and dropped back on my bed.
"Are you going to do homework all night?" he asked holding one of my books open above his head.
"I'm sorry. I haven't taken this class before and can't answer the homework questions without cracking a book," I joked. "I'm gonna be doing it until I'm done, Sam."
"Number four is x+y-69=456," Sam said glancing at my paper.
"What?"
"You put x+y-68, that's wrong. It's 69."
"I don't recall asking," I grinned.
"I didn't know you wanted to fail," Sam joked.
"Shut up!" I stuck my tongue out at him and erased the eight and replaced it with a 9.
When I was finally finished all of my work, I climbed into bed and Sam turned on his playlist of Tim McGraw ballads to lull me to sleep.
The next morning, I showered and grabbed a bowl of Rice Krispies before Sam and I hopped in his car and headed toward the line that defined Schuster and Daculette land. Sam was silent most of the ride except when we were singing along to the radio.
When we got to the practically deserted Rt. 9, Mav was there waiting; leaning against his Escort.
"Doesn't he own a shirt?" Sam asked as we got out and met in the front of his car. I chuckled at his tone of jealously. For the life of me I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. There was literally only one word that described Sam with his shirt off; photoshopped.
"I'm good here. You should go," I told him, realizing that he was getting more and more agitated because Maverick had a bad habit of yelling his thoughts.
"I'm not going to be gone long," Sam said.
"Don't rush. You need to hunt," I told him. Sam leaned down and gave me a passionate, soul reaffirming kiss. "Maybe rush a little bit." I turned and walked across the line to Maverick.
"Hey, beautiful," he said with a brilliant smile.
"Hi," I smiled back as he hugged me tightly. He held on a tightly until the sound of Sam's car starting pulled us apart. We each walked to our respective side of the car and Sam sped away.
"So, what do you wanna do today?" Mav asked. "We can bike."
"No. That's to manual or motor," I said holding my finger up.
"Ok," he laughed. "Hike?"
"Pass. I'm wearing Jordan's."
"Ok, just hang. Whatever, it's your call."
"Cool."
"But we're going to a party tonight," he said climbing into the car. I followed suit.
"What's that?" I asked.
"What?" he asked. I reached into the backseat and grabbed the black, white and red headdress that sat there.
"This?"
"Uh, it looks like a headdress," Mav teased.
"I see that but where did it come from?" I asked examining the craftsmanship.
"I made it; like two years ago," he informed me.
"You made this?" I asked surprised.
"Yeah! You know I'm good with my hands," Mav said. "Don't act so shocked."
"I'm sorry. What's this for?"
"The son of the chief is supposed to have one."
"It's beautiful," I smiled.
"Thanks. So you've never been to rez on a day like today. Things are a little…different," he told me.
"Explain."
"Thundering Storm."
"It's not stormy out," I said peering out the window.
"No, dummy. That's my name," he chuckled. "My paleface name is Maverick," he continued when I was looked confused.
"Oh. I didn't…no never mind," I said shaking my head.
"What?"
"I don't want it to come out wrong."
"Just say it," Mav grinned.
"I didn't know you had Native American names," I said softly.
"Oh," Maverick said with a loud laugh. "It's cool, Mercy. A lot of people don't know. It's not a thing we do all the time, you know. Just on special days like today."
"Can I know what's so special about today?"
"No."
"Fine. I'm patient. I can wait," I grinned.
"Ok, so you want the run-down of the who's who?" he asked as we drove across the familiar Daculette Reservation.
"Hit me," I smiled.
"Ok so I told you my name. My dad's name is Chief Strong Wolf. He prefers Chief," Mav began.
"Chief. Got it," I said.
"Dylan who is also First Warrior, is Black Feather and Gail's is Brightest Star," he said. I nodded and he continued. "Courtland's name is Dancing Fox and Garth's name is Laughing Bird."
"Got it," I said.
"Alright, Matt's is Blazing Sun and Garrett's is Darkest Sky," Mav listed. "So for now that leaves Tara whose name is Raging Waters."
"I think I got it," I smiled.
"We'll see," he chuckled as we parked in front of his house. We spent the rest of the day watching TV, hanging out with the Pack and Gail taught me how to hollow out a gourd. As the evening turned into night I watched the sky darken on the front porch of Maverick's house. "You ready?" he asked stepping onto the front porch, headdress in place and wearing what looked like a buckskin shirt.
"Yeah," I nodded getting to my feet. "You look great."
"Thanks. It's heavy," he said. "We're walking," Mav said as I made the slight turn towards the car.
"Ok," I giggled. The farther we walked the more people I noticed walking in the same direction as us. Every man, woman and child had on feathers and buckskin. "Are you sure this is ok? I really hate being a party crasher."
"Ok so, technically, you're crashing a council meeting," Mav informed me.
"What?! Seriously, Maverick?" I asked my eyes wide.
"Chill out. Look ahead, There's my dad and Raging Waters' mom," he pointed.
"Miss Mary," I said.
"Right but she's Setting Sun today and that little old man is Court's grandpa whose name is also Courtland but today he's Swaying Branch."
"It's cool that…um…Setting Sun is on the council," I said as we got closer to the building that everyone was making and exodus for.
"She took over for Win after he died. The council granted her the seat even though it's not actually hers," Mav said.
"I don't understand," I said.
"Winston was our shaman, so that means that next shaman in line takes his seat on the council but because the Littleleafs are such outstanding members of the tribe she and the shaman both got seats," Maverick explained.
"That's still cool," I shrugged.
"Thundering Storm," a very handsome young man called as he raced by us.
"Late as usual, Rising Moon," Mav called back.
"Can't break my record," Rising Moon laughed before he entered the building.
"Who is Rising Moon?" I asked.
"Shaman. Any other time he's Martin Longman," Mav told me as we stepped inside the brightly lit, warm building. It was decorated with flowers and hand carved wooden statues. There was a large firepit in the middle of the floor. The council sat at a long table behind it up on a dais and everyone else sat on curved wooden benches on the opposite side of the pit.
"Ok, I should not be here," I said stopping in my tracks.
"You're ok. I thought…" he started, "I mean, they thought it would be good for you to hear the histories."
"The histories? The tribe's histories? Aren't they like…secret?" I asked.
"To people outside of the tribe but we all got a role to play and you're part of this. I mean, it's the first time that Mikey, Tara and Court will hear them as members of the Pack," Mav said. "But you are the first outsider. Ever."
"If I had known that, I would have, like…" I began, "I don't know, dressed better. You've could have gotten me one of those dresses." Mav just laughed.
"Thundering Storm!" a lithe teenage boy called as he came barreling down the aisle toward us.
"Hey," Mav said turning his attention to the boy.
"It's about time you got here. Matthew was trying to take your seat but I saved it," the kid said proudly.
"Thanks, man," Maverick said fist bumping him. "Mercedes, this is Mikey Littleleaf, Tara's brother. Also known as Green Leaf."
"Hi," I said as we shook hands.
"He's the newest member of the Pack," Mav informed me.
"Newest. Bestest. Brightest," Mikey said with a bright smile.
"And slowest," Mav joked as he put Mikey in a headlock and gave him a noogie. The fire began to roar and the two broke apart.
"Come on, your dad's about to start," Mikey said before running back up to the front row. Maverick pulls me toward the front.
"Ok, sit here," Mav said pushing me down on the second row bench beside a nice looking lady.
"Dancing Butterfly, this is my friend Mercedes. Will you make sure she's comfortable?" Maverick asked her sweetly.
"Of course, honey but you better go before your father calls you out for holding up the meeting," she giggled taking my hand in hers.
"Thanks," he said. He kissed me on the temple then took his place on the front row beside Dylan.
"We meet here tonight in celebration of our tribe," Travis Blue said eloquently. "This is our first council meeting without or beloved Winston Littleleaf; Swooping Crane. We pray now that his soul has met our ancestors and that he has helped The Great Spirit bless us," Chief Strong Wolf continued.
"Ah luka roh luka bo," the entire room chanted simultaneously as the flames flickered higher.
"Now our new shaman, Rising Moon, will bring us our histories," Chief said gesturing to Martin.
"The Daculettes have been a small tribe from the beginning," Martin began, "but we have always had magic in our blood and with the aid of a trusted ally and the will of The Great Spirit we have been granted the ability to shift into the powerful wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies and protect our tribe," he said majesticly. "One day, the chief Rah Lu Kah and his warriors were in the woods surrounding their village when they came upon a man. His skin was dark and one of the warriors, Lor Tu Loki, knew what he was.
'That man is a slave of the palefaces. He must have runaway," Lor Tu Loki informed them.
"Then we must take him to our village and hide him. We will not let the white man have him," Rah Lu Kah said.
Lor Tu Loki put the man over his horse and they rode back to the village. They tokk the man directly to the shaman because he many cuts and he seemed very sick. For many days the shaman, Bah Su Mor, tried to heal the man. After a month the man, whose name was Solomon, began to show improvement. He was grateful to the Daculette people but he told them he could not stay. He was evil and he would bring harm to them. Rah Lu Kah did not believe him.
"You have been here many days. No white man has come to look for you. You have harmed no one. You may stay here among our people. We will build you a lodge and you will become one of us," the chief said.
Solomon wanted to say no but he had nowhere else to go, so he stayed. He had a place among Rah Lu Kah's warriors. Solomon settled peacefully into his new life. He didn't talk of being evil anymore or his time before becoming a Daculette warrior.
One day while on a hunt, the warriors came across the bodies of two women who had been drained of their blood. The braves returned the women to the neighboring village and returned home. They held a council meeting to talk about the strange deaths.
"Evil has come to us," Solomon said. "We must not venture outside the village," he said.
Bah Su Mor agreed, "Solomon is right. Legend speaks of a monster who drains the blood of the living. A monster who is unbeatable. We must keep to the village and hope that the evil passes."
"The Fallen can be beaten by a creature as evil as he. He has but one enemy. The man who takes the form of the wolf," Solomon said lowly.
Before Rah Lu Kah could ask about the wolf man, a scream ripped through the air. The warriors rushed from the lodge to see one of the Fallen draining a man of his blood.
Before anyone could act or even think, Solomon attacked. He became the wolf he had just mentioned. He fought fiercely with the Fallen until at last Solomon ripped its heart from his head.
"Throw the body on the fire," he said turning back into a man before making his way to his lodge. He knew his time in the Daculette village was over. Before he was able to get away, Rah Lu Kah and Bah Su Mor entered his lodge.
"You saved us. Where are you going?" Rah Lu Kah asked.
"Away. I am not fit to live among decent people," Solomon said.
"You must not leave. You are a part of us," Rah Lu Kah said with quiet intensity.
"I was bitten by my massa's enemy. He wanted me to kill all of the massa's family. I could not do it. I ran," Solomon said tearful.
"That took great courage," Rah Lu Kah said. "I asked you to have that courage again. You must bite me and a few of our warriors. Bah Su Mor will envoke the Great Spirt and ask that the magic be spread down the generations so that no one else must be bitten," he explained.
"We much protect ourselves if the Fallen come back. If you do not help we will all die," Bah Su Mor told him seriously. Solomon could see the sense in their arguments and reluctantly agreed.
They held a secret ceremony and the bite was given and the magic performed. And now whenever one of the Fallen are near the men who are of age, they turn into wolves to protect the tribe," Martin said with finality. "Over time, our enemies have disappeared. But one remains; the Fallen. Our magic awakens when they're near and we sense it now. We feel the threat in our blood. Something terrible is coming and we must all be ready. All of us," Martin said to the room.
I suddenly felt like all eyes were on me. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I averted my eyes and kept them on my lap.
"The chief Rah Lu Kah had many sons and because of the wolf, lived for many years, long past his life expectantcy. He suffered many losses. The warriors discovered that when they ceased from shifting the aging process began again.
After the death of his fourth wife, Rah Lu Kah stepped down as chief and his son and First Warrior, Tah Lo Sor became chief.
Tah Lo Sor was one of the warriors who had been bitten during the secret ceremony. Even though his father had only just stepped down, he was an old man as well. There hadn't been a Fallen in the village in decades and the warriors didn't need to shift; some of the younger ones had never made the change.
Rah Lu Kah died not long after his son took over. Tah Lo Sor grieved for many months. The entire village grieved. They didn't notice that people from nearby villages were being killed. Lor Ru Mah, the First Warrior to Tah Lo Sor, ventured into neighboring villages for trade and he was told that many people had been found dead. Their bodies drained of blood. Lor Ru Mah fearing the Fallen had returned, rode quickly home.
Lor Ru Mah told his father the news of the Fallen's return. Tah Lo Sor called a council meeting to address the threat. Many of the young warriors wanted to hunt the creature down. The older warriors wanted to wait. Lor Ru Mah told his father he agreed, they should hunt the Fallen and killed them. Tah Lo Sor was unsure because many of his warriors had never become wolves but in the end he agreed to the hunt.
The shaman and Tah Lo Sor prayed to the Great Spirit for protection of the warriors and the tribe. It was decided that Tah Lo Sor would stay behind to protect the village.
The warriors had been absent from the village for several days. Mir Sa Loh, Tah Lo Sor's wife, was on edge as well. She was nervous that her son and other family was in the forest hunting a monster. She had been saying for a few days that it was time for the warriors to return.
Tah Lo Sor agreed but he had no recourse. He could not leave the village to bring them home and he didn't know how far they had travelled.
Tah Lo Sor became the wolf at night and patrolled the village. The Fallen, it seemed, were more comfortable in darkness; therefore, the chief was hyper vigilant. The villagers stayed inside at night and tried to go about as normal as possible during the daylight hours.
After another night of inactivity Tah Lo Sor ventured to the edge of the woods. He became he wolf form and sent a telepathic message to his warriors to return home.
When Tah Lo Sor reentered the village he saw his people going about their day normally. At the opposite end of the village, where the children were playing, was a woman he didn't recognize. She looked to be from a neighboring tribe. She was talking and laughing with the children. Tah Lo Sor was immediately on alert. Where had she come from? He made an advancing step and the woman turned to face him, one of the children in her arms. Her eyes had become glazed over, the irises bright red, the lids rimmed red and black veins crawled down her face. The children fled and the child in her arms cried for his mother.
Tah Lo Sor became the wolf and charged forward. The Fallen woman tossed the child to the side and raced to meet the wolf in battle. Tah Lo Sor was a fierce warrior but he was also an old man and it hindered his ability.
Mir Sa Loh watched her husband struggle to fight the much stronger Fallen woman. She feared she would have to witness the death of her beloved. Desperate not to have that happen, she decided to cause a distraction. She grabbed her husband's hunting bow and loaded an arrow. She knew she could not kill it but death wasn't her goal. She shot and her aim was true with the arrow landing inches above her heart. Tah Lo Sor took advantage of the distraction and finished the fight.
Mir Sa Loh was a hero and greatly honored by her chief and her tribe. Because of Mir Sa Loh's bravery and resolve, she saved this tribe from extinction. We owe her much and that is why we celebrate Mir Sakisch, it is to commemorate the day she saved us all,"Martin finished. Everyone stood up and cheered.
Drums began to sound and the Pack and the warriors began to dance around the fire. It was not lost on me why the council wanted me at the celebration of Mir Sakisch. They fully intended for me to hear these legends and understand that I was on the wrong side of this situation. I guessed they missed the memo that Mercedes Jones was Switzerland. No side picking over here.
I clapped along to the drums as I watched everyone dance. They were all so happy.
"Hey," Mav said once he made his way through the crowd.
"Hey," I smiled.
"You having a good time?"
"Yes I am."
"Good," Maverick smiled. "You hungry?"
"Famished," I joked.
"Come on," he said leading me from the meeting hall toward another large building. There were tables lining the walls and they were all covered in food. "I hope you don't mind traditional food."
"I'll try anything new once," I said as he handed me a plate.
Maverick and I spent the rest of the evening dancing and talking to different members of the tribe. It was a great experience to see Maverick in this element. He was even warmer than usual if that were at all possible and everyone seemed to love him. He told me about Amanda Wayland or Quiet River and how Garrett had Branded on her. She was in their his, Court's and Garth's class but one day Garrett saw her at the beach and they've been like glue ever since.
"You ready to head back?" Mav asked as the celebration came to an end.
"Yeah. Thank you for this. It was amazing," I said as we walked back toward his house.
"I'm glad you had a good time," he said bumping into me. When we got back to the car, he opened my door for me. I climbed in, he shut my door then climbed in behind the wheel.
When we got back to the line that divides the land, Sam wasn't there yet. I checked my phone and apparently, he wouldn't be able to pick me up tonight.
"Do you mind taking me home?" I asked.
"Not at all," Mav said starting the car again. We sailed over the blacktop. We laughed and talked the entire time about anything either one of us could think of. When we pulled up in front of my house, Mav cut the car off.
"I really did have fun today," I told him. "Even if you made me look out of place in my plaid shirt."
"You look great," Mav chuckled. "It is wrong that I'm glad your life is in danger?"
"Yes!" I laughed.
"I just mean that I've missed spending time with you and because you're being threatened, it's just like old time," Mav said softly.
"Kinda," I added.
"Kinda," he said. The air got thick and I opened the door to allow the fresh air to get in.
"Goodnight, Maverick," I said getting out.
"Night, Mercy," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. I closed the door and he sped away from the curb.