Okay guys so I am officially the worst person ever. I realize that most of you probably just stopped reading after a while, but hopefully you'll still like it. It's been a while since I wrote, so I'm probably going to have to shake the cob webs off. Tell me how this goes.
Chapter 22
"Dimitri! Why the hell would you do that?" I yelled at him. He looked at me with puppy dog eyes; the jerk knew I couldn't resist those. But it didn't matter. Rules were rules, and the fact that we were preparing for war did not make it okay for people to punch each other randomly. I gritted my teeth to prepare myself for what I was about to do. "Get to the Dorm. I will deal with you there." I said the words quietly and threateningly, but with my eyes closed. He nodded and left quickly, knowing that I was not to be trifled with in this state.
I squatted down to check Andre's injury. He was completely unconscious, but the black eye hadn't even started forming yet. Wimp. I thought back to how hot it was that Dimitri had been jealous, so he had just punched him, even if it wasn't that hard. Then I looked down at Andre, unconscious and whimpering slightly, and realized something. Dimitri was so much better than Andre would ever be. I laughed at myself for ever liking the guy. But then, compared to perfection, everything looks bad. And as soon as my little crush was gone, I saw what Andre really was. A selfish, jackass with good charisma.
I sighed and hoisted him up, carrying him over my back fireman style. He was heavy, but nothing I couldn't handle. The dead weight slowed me down a little, so it took us a good ten minutes to get to the Administration buildings. When we did, I simply dropped him off at the nurse's office and left. I didn't want to have to deal with him anymore.
On the way back to the dorm, I stopped at the stables and rode up to the cliff. I needed to think about what I should do about the whole Dimitri thing. Regulation was house suspension for three days; meaning he couldn't be in any practices, Battles, school, or go off campus. For three days. Any sane Krijder would quickly become crazy with boredom. But missing a Battle probably meant defeat for us. I weighed my options the whole time, trying to decide between what was right and what was best. I finally decided that even if it meant losing one battle, I had to do what was right.
When I got back to the dorm, everyone was just lounging around. Kylie and Nick were helping each other with science while Sam read on the couch. Abby and Matt were in the kitchen talking, and I waggled my eyebrows at her. She blushed, and I chuckled a bit. I asked around and Paul had taken Lissa and Jean to watch him play a bit of soccer, and Dimitri was chilling on the balcony.
I stepped out as gingerly as possible, but I knew he heard me. When he turned, his face was a mask, completely unreadable. I took this as a bad sign, but I had to give him the punishment. He knew it too. I started slow. "So…about earlier." He kept his face blank, which totally freaked me out. After a bit of silence, I decided to plow through it in my official voice. "What you did was not right. As per regulation, I hereby sentence you to three days of in house suspension, including all extracurricular activities and Battles." I noticed his eyes widen a bit, like he couldn't believe I'd actually do it. To be honest, neither was I.
"You're kidding right?" His smooth voice sounded rough, which meant that something was seriously wrong. "I was just protecting you. I mean, you saw the way he was holding your hands. It was clear you didn't want him to." I just stared at him, disbelieving.
"I don't know what you saw, but it sure wasn't that. I mean, just admit it. You were jealous. It's okay. Just serve the time so we can get back to reality."
"No. I'm not going to let you ruin our perfect record like this. Just- no." I felt my mouth drop. He was disobeying a direct order.
"Dimitri, I'm sorry. But don't make this any harder than it already is. You did the crime, and now you have to do the time." He just shook his head, his eyebrows knitting together in frustration. I could tell that he was trying to fight the fire again. He took a couple of deep breaths and I walked up to him. Dimitri noticed and motioned me to stop. I did, trusting him. After a minute or so his face relaxed and I walked up to him, giving him a gentle kiss. "Don't worry. I won't let us loose. I'm too proud for that." He chuckled a little and then pulled me back.
"I know. I just wanted an excuse." I laughed at that, and we spent the rest of the night comfortable in each other's presence. At the end of the night (or early in the morning depending on how you look at it), I decided we both needed our rest, me a little more than him. So I turned to say goodnight. He was just staring at me, his arm draped around my shoulder. He looked so god like at that moment, it was amazing.
"I love you Dimitri." Once the words slipped out, it was too late to take them back. I closed my eyes, waiting for the awkward response. Instead I got another kiss and an "I love you too." I smiled, and then had an idea. "Go get your comforter and pillow." I instructed him. He looked at me questioningly, but did. I did the same and we made a sort of large sleeping bag, with his comforter on top and mine on bottom. We snuggled, and eventually I fell asleep.
I woke up to the rising sun, which meant I was late. I jumped up, shaking Dimitri to get my comforter back. I snuck inside. Thankfully, all of the girls were still asleep, so none of them had to know. I made my bed and then hopped in the shower. Today I would be going through the first four periods alone, which was alright for everything except conditioning, which sucked. Dargan made me do twice the running I normally did to make up for Dimitri's absence, which made me late to my next class.
The rest of the day passed by, if slowly. When I went home for lunch, Dimitri was sitting on the couch, just staring into space. I sigh and go over. We snuggle with each other for a bit before the rest of the Pack gets there. Then I laugh with them and pretend like nothing's happened. Towards the end of lunch, I tell everyone to go ahead, I have to print something. They leave, and I go sit on Dimitri's lap. He hugs me, and I sigh contentedly. "I love you." I say again, just to make sure last night wasn't a dream. "And I love you." He says, kissing my neck. I'm about to turn around when there's a knock at the door. I groan, but go to get it.
"I can't get it-" I start to say to one of my Pack members. Then I realize that it's the last person I want to see right now. "Hello, Andre. Can I help you?" My voice sounded as tired as I felt. He seemed to realize that something was wrong, because his arrogant smile faltered.
"I- uh- just wanted to see you. You're not busy are you? They're not making me take any classes so I have nothing to do all day." I just stare at him. He just wanted to see me? He knew I had classes.
I sigh when he doesn't get the message. "No Andre, I have classes. Which I'm going to attend like a good little girl." I hated stating the obvious. But he still didn't get it.
"Oh okay. Maybe I could just wait here for you."
I rolled my eyes. At that point, Dimitri chose to stand up and cross his arms menacingly. I held back laugher and then added, "Ya. I'm sure you and Dimitri will get along just great. Have fun with that." I start to push past his now half-cowering body. He turned and started walking with me. This guy just wouldn't take a hint.
"Well maybe I could come with you to your classes? I'm sure your teachers wouldn't mind." I shake my head, looking up at the sky to ask the God I didn't believe in what I did to deserve this silently.
"No, I'm pretty sure they would." He sighs and stops. I keep walking, not really caring what he does. But the stupid guy suddenly lit up, and ran to catch me.
"I'm sure if I ask politely enough, Lissa will let me stay. She can grant me permission." I sighed again, knowing he was right.
"Fine. But so help me if you distract me or any of my Pack members at all during your visit, I will kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit for months."
He smiled like the jackass he was and said simply, "You're so pretty when you're angry." And then he had the nerve to reach up and tuck some of my hair back into place. I threw up in my mouth and slapped his hand so hard he stumbled back. Then I said in a low voice, "Next time, it'll be ten times harder and at your face." He visibly gulped, and I strode off, leaving him standing there.
The rest of the day was boring and annoying. The one upside was that Valentine's Day was that week, and then Dimitri would be off of suspension. I kept that in mind as I went through the boring arithmetic and notes.
February fourteenth was an interesting day to say the least. I woke up to a kiss from Dimitri. I smiled and pulled him closer. Kylie and Abby both giggled, and I remembered that they existed. I stopped and pushed him away. Kylie sighed and Abby said in an exasperated voice, "Oh, its okay. It's not like we didn't know already anyways. And we promise not to tell." Dimitri looked at me and shrugged. I laughed and then pulled him in again. Kylie laughed, "Isn't young love nice?" After several more minutes of them spying on my and Dimitri's moment, I had to get up for school. I quickly threw on my black skinny jeans, a blue tank top, and a black leather jacket. I rolled the sleeves up and then added a big heart necklace. Satisfied, I went to smear on some make up. When that was finally done, I went to meet Dargan for another fun filled day of running.
During lunch, Dimitri and I ate a picnic at the cliff. It was very romantic, and I made sure to show him my appreciation. The rest of the day I ignored my teachers, trying to strategize for playing with only nine people. It was going to be tough, but I thought I might be able to manage if we didn't get some ridiculously hard Pack or Objective. Battle time came, and I was giving my Pack a not-so-convincing pep talk back in the dorm. To top off the great mood, Andre popped in. I would have yelled at him as soon as he set foot inside the place except for the fact that Lissa ran up to him, hugging and laughing. He grinned at me over her back, and I made a gagging motion. Classy, I know.
"Just wanted to tell you all that I'll be rooting for you. Hope none of you die." He said the last part with a little laugh, like it was funny. No one else laughed.
"We're kind of busy." My cold voice was like a slap in his face, but he just nodded and smiled.
"I figure you'll be even busier later." That joke got a laugh out of Matt, but no one cared. It was Matt. "Anyways, see you later. Good luck." And then he was gone, and I lightened up again.
"So let's get down their and kick ass. I will not let this guy," I pointed at Dimitri affectionately, "ruin our winning streak." Everyone cheered and laughed, and then we trooped down to the Arena, one member short.
It was another night fight, only this time, when we stepped out onto the Arena, there was nothing but tall grass. The trees had all been cleared, the bases were gone. Just tall grass blowing in the mountain's wind. I could even see where the other Pack's gate would be open about a mile away. I run up to Dargan, not liking the looks of it at all. Sure enough, Dargan didn't even hand me a map. All he said was, "Death match," right before he sent me away. I grimaced and looked at the other Alpha. He was a big, buff guy; probably one of the bigger sophomores at Littman. Just great. A death match was a simple fight. Last Pack standing won. Dimitri was our best fighter. We were doomed.
I went back to my Pack with the news, and they groaned. "Don't let this get you down you guys. We still have a chance," I lied through my teeth. Without the canopy of trees, I was able to see Harks in his booth way up high. He was grinning evilly, and I knew that this was his doing. Harks was sick of us winning so he was putting an end to it. Plain and simple. I sighed and turned back to my team.
"Alright guys. Here's the deal. I've seen these people practice. They're tall and good, but we can take them." Another lie. "If we match their weaknesses to our strengths, it won't even be a competition." What weaknesses? I asked myself. "So Kylie, you take one of the Guardians. Nick, you take a Heks. Abby and Matt take the Genezers. Paul and Sam, you take the Jaegers. Jean, take the other Heks. Lissa, you're with me. I hope you're all ready. It's gonna be a hard match." They all nodded, my fake plan seeming to have given them hope. Too bad it was about to be crushed.
The whistle sounded, and their Pack started running towards us. The Diefs disappeared quickly, and the Genezers and Heks stayed far back. The Jaegers sent their pets, a dog and a mountain lion, charging ahead of them, standing just in front of the Heks and Genezers. The Guardians were a little behind the pets, but still coming fast. I made a few hand motions, whispered a few things, and then we split up. In a few moments I had 'killed' the dog and ran ahead. Paul and Sam were no where to be seen, and Lissa was following me as I charged the Alpha I had shaken hands with.
He charged just as fast, so at the last moment I tucked my feet and slid. This was the wrong move. The thick grass stopped me almost immediately. Luckily, he was running to fast to counter my immediate stop with more than a slice to the shoulder. His heavy axe could have done a lot more than that. I had nicked his thigh. In a moment, I felt a cool sensation where I had been injured. I looked down for a split second and saw that Lissa had healed the scratch. "Save your strength for the bigger stuff." I called without taking my eyes off of my opponent.
After a few clashes and many cuts, I had bested him. I was amazed by my own strength. Suddenly, Lissa screamed. She had been cut by an unseen Dief. But I saw him as he made his way back into the shadows. Quick as I could, I whipped out a small knife and thrown it at the air right in front of the place I had seen him vanish. It tumbled end over end, but found its target with a low thud. The Dief was suddenly visible, and fell out of the shadows onto the ground.
I ran over to Lissa. She had been 'killed' by a stab in the back. Then I went over to the Dief. She had been hit in the same place as Lissa, only in the front. Both of them would survive thanks to the more experienced Genezers that would get them in a few moments. I quickly left so that they could come.
My eyes scanned the area, and I saw too many things, and too few things to know what had happened. So instead I screamed, "Report!" at the top of my lungs. It took me a few moments to realize that no one was going to answer. I gulped. "Regroup!" I yelled. They did respond to that. Within 30 seconds, I had the survivors of my Pack around me. Kylie and Nick were both alive (though Bowser and Boo had both been subdued), as Abby.
"Guardian Beta neutralized!"Kylie said. "Genezers one and two done. But so is Matt." Abby whispered. "I saw Sam and Paul take out both of the Jaegers, but then Jaeger 2's pet got Sam. Paul was finished by two." I nodded, trying to take it in stride. "Heks one and two are both finished," Nick said. I knew that Jean hadn't survived. "Lissa was killed by Dief 1, who I killed. Guardian Alpha is also gone. Dief two is still out there. Which means it's just him and the Jaeger's pet." They nodded, and I felt some sense of pride. We hadn't died. Yet.
I had us form a ring facing outwards so that if any of us were hit, we would know where the enemy was. We all just stood at the ready. It took two hours of suspense before a knife was lodged into the bone in my shoulder. I grit my teeth to avoid screaming. Kylie and Nick both noticed immediately, shooting arrows like crazy to the area where the knife had come from. The sky flashed behind us and we all heard a boom of thunder. "Jaeger's pet is dead. I hope I didn't actually kill it." Poor thing. That means that the Dief is the only thing standing between us and an impossible victory.
Suddenly, another knife comes at me, this time into my thigh from the side. This time I can't help it. I look down, gasping in pain and keel over. The pain is unbearable. There's an even brighter flash of light, followed by more thunder, and then I see a Dief lying on the ground, our eyes meeting. He smiles, and I laugh. Smiling when you've just been struck by lightning is like giving Karma the finger. Or Abby I guess. The thought makes me laugh again, and then I black out from the pain.
When I wake up, I'm in the hospital wing. Again. The first thing I do is laugh. We won! Our streak was intact and I'm grinning like a stupid kid. I go home to tell Dimitri. But he's already heard the news, and we celebrate with the rest of the Pack. I let everyone onto the Balcony, and we party like there's no tomorrow. I actually intake some alcohol, but not enough to make me drunk. We celebrate and cheer, because that was all we had to get through, and everyone is fine. We got through it.
The doorbell rings. I open the door, and Andre is just standing there, smiling. His arms are extended like he wants a hug. I laugh and slam the door in his face. What a great day. Dimitri is waiting for me with open arms, and I spend the rest of the night snuggling with him under the stars. The Pack lets us have our night, and in the morning I feel like nothing can break or beat me. I feel invincible.
Okay so to make up for how horrible it is that I said I was going to post this chapter soon and then didn't, I tried to make it extra long. The next chapter actually is coming, just after Christmas. Reviews please, even just to tell me that it's horrible that I didn't write sooner. Merry Holidays! (Can't offend haha)