Enjoy,my peoples.i work hard on my stories just for you!
I race myself to the cave, hoping that everyone is gone by now. I pass the crystal stream that me and Liam swam in earlier, and know that I'm close. I run into the clearing with the cave and see no one. I smile with relief and turn to walk away when I hear a little mewing sound that iv only heard baby kittens make.
I look where the sound came from and see Zack lying in a ditch. "Zack! What are you doing here? Why didn't you go with everybody?", I ask worriedly. "I fell in this ditch and twisted my leg. It really hurts", he cries. I can see the pain on his face, his tail twitching. "Okay...um, I'm going to pick you up and carry you to the others. Can you shift back?" He shakes his head. "We cant shift while we are in pain. It distracts us. We can't concentrate", he explains. "Ahh ",I had forgotten about that. I shift back and scoop him up in my arms, trying not to jostle his hurt ankle. For a cheetah, he sure does weigh alot.
I start running to god know where. I just know its the opposite way of the Hunters. I reach a road and start walking down it, hoping to find someone to help. But who the heck would help a cheetah? And what would my excuse be? 'Oh, i found him on the side of the road. Yeah, sorry his ankle is twisted up bad. He was running away from some blood thirty hounds and crazy Hunters'. No, I can't get a human to help. I have to find the Pride.
"Zack, which way was the Pride headed when you fell?", I asks him gently. "They...they were going to... Oliver was taking us to his dad's old warehouse. Its big enough to hold us all", he whispers. Looking about to faint. "And where is that? Where exactly? ",I urge him. "It's ...uh... I think its next to the...mall ", he says, and passes out. I continue trudging down the road, sighing heavily.
I keep my guard up, listening for talking, sniffing for smells. Nothing. This is both bad and good cause it means no Hunters near, but it also means no Pride near too.
I keep walking...and walking...and walking. With every step, Zack getting heavier in my arms. Its gotten dark already. Something shiny catches my eye in the forest. I figure its just a creek or something but when i look at it closer, I see a car.
Liam's car to be exact! Moonlight is reflecting off it's hood. I quickly run/walk over to the car and set Zack down next to it. I run my hand in the wheel rim and find the key. SUCCESS! I unlock the driver's door and start the engine. Grinning as I hear the radio come on.
I unlock the passenger door and put Zack on the floor, under the dashboard. Cant have any cops seeing me giving a cheetah a detour around town, can I? I look in the back and find a orange Hollister hoody and put it under Zack's head, as a pillow. I sit back in my seat and take a deep breath. I could get in ALOT of trouble if i got caught. I only have my permit, no license. And no adult. So I sit up strait, try to look as much older as I can, and drive the car onto the road. This is so much better than walking. No heavy weight, no wariness in my legs, and we are making so much progress.
In no time im back in town. The loud noise of people is already giving me a headache. The smell of pollution in the air is already stinging my nose. The bright car lights are already making me dizzy. But it still, feels like home.
After about 20 minutes, I find the warehouse. I park the car and pick up Zack off the floor. He has shifted back into human form. 'Thank god', I think. There's too many people around here, and if they spotted a cheetah, there would be problems. I walk over to the warehouse and knock on a small door.
"Who is it?", I hear Misty ask. "Its Star. I found Zack. He is hurt", I say briefly.
The door opens. Misty is standing there, beckoning me to come in. Zoë comes running over, her long brown hair streaming behind her. "Where's Zack? Is he okay?", she asks. I set Zack on the ground, glad that I brought the orange hoody with me to use as a pillow once more.
"Oh gosh Im glad he's okay", Zoë says to no one in particular. "What happened?", a bunch of voices ask at once. "Zack said that he was running with you guys and he fell in a ditch and twisted up his ankle. It looks bad. He hid in a corner so that if the Hunters passed, they wouldn't see him. I found him and he told me you all were here".
"Im sorry. I didn't realize that he was missing until we were already half way here. We couldn't go back. The Hunters surely were there already. I figured he made it. How'd you get here? ",Vrent asks. "I found Liam's car...",I say, blushing when I see Liam. "Ahh. Well the important thing is that you are here now. Safe and sound ",Vrent says. "Would you like some dinner? We bought sandwich fixings", Misty asks. "Uh, no. I have to go see my mother. She's probably freaking out not knowing where i am", I say. Misty looks surprised but nods her head. I hear rain pouring outside. Just my luck. I leave the warehouse and am about to shift when I see Liam coming outside. I wipe the raindrops from my eyes and face. "What do you want?", I ask him.
"Let me give you a ride home. Its raining for Pete's sake", he says. Who's Pete? "Im just fine, thank you", I say a little too prissy. I don't need any more of his help. He left me stranded in the freaking woods while Hunters were coming. But the more I think of it, the more i realize it wasn't his fault. He might of though I followed. Or that I went a separate way.
"You'll catch a cold", he suggests. I snort.
"In the middle of April? I don't think so". I want to hear him beg before i got back in that car with him.
"Oh come ON Star! Quit being a bitch. Please?", he says. I smile and walk over to his car. He unlocks our doors and I get in. Liam turns on the heater and I savor the warmth. I shake the water from my hair. "Watch it!", Liam complains. "Sorry", I apologize.
When we get to my house, my mom runs out the front door. I get out of the car and walk over to her. "Where have you been ,Starlet?", she asks. She looks back at the car and waves and looks back at me, waiting for an answer. Then her eyes go wide. She looks back at Liam and asks me ,"Who's that?" "A friend", I say. "A boyfr-", my mom starts to ask but I say ,"No! No just a friend Mom. Clove's brother couldn't drive me so I asked my other friend to take me home. He wasn't busy", I explain, watching Liam pull out of the driveway and leave.
"Okay well get inside and dry yourself up. Your soaked!", she exclaims. "Yeah. I see", I mutter sarcastically.
I walk inside with my mom and get in the shower. 'Ahh. That's the stuff', I think. I scrub away the dirt on my body and I wash my hair. I nearly choke looking at all the filth I see going down the drain. My arms don't have any more scratches or tears on them. Just faint, white lines.
I get out of the shower and put on my comfy Mickey Mouse pajamas. I open a window, listening to the rain pattering the leaves on trees. I sit down on my bed and grab my laptop. I check my Facebook for notifications. I have seven. I look at them and when im finished I shut my laptop loudly. I look at my iPhone. Two texts from Clove, three calls from my mom, and one text from a boy named Justin. 'Ick', I think. Justin has had a HUGE crush on me since 5th grade. I press DELETE.
I sigh and just sit on my bed, thinking over the day. I didn't do much. Not much at all. Slept, swam, learned, carried, drove, showered...doesn't fill a girls day, you know? I guess I didn't shut my door all the way because it slowly opens and my cat Cali walks in. She's a calico, hence her name. She jumps on my bed and starts purring, though I haven't even petted her yet. I scratch her behind the ears and she closes her eyes to slits.
"What ya been doing girl? Haven't messed with none of my stuff have you? No of course you haven't, cause your an angel like that", I say to her. Yes, I talk to my cat. No, im not crazy. We seem to share a deeper connection now that im a werecat and all. I look around my room, glad to see all my belongings surrounding me. My pure white carpet, my pink walls with my Twilight, Hunger Games, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Owl City, Micky Mouse, and Hello Kitty posters all over them. My desk, my TV, my dresser, my book shelf, my window with pink curtains, my pile of colorful stuffed animals and pillows. I have no idea why I would give all this up just for some cats. I set a pillow right next to me. It has the words CALI'S AWEOME PILLOW sewn on it. Custom made, just for my kitty. She gracefully leaps to the pillow and starts rolling all over it.(Yeah...I might of put a pinch of catnip in the stuffing when it was being made...)
I pull my blanket up to my chest and lay down. "Goodnight, Cali ",I whisper, and turn off the light.
The sun shines in through a gap in my pink curtains. Wind blows through the open window. Birds chirp at the rising sun. Something fluffy is next to my me. Sunlight hits my face, causing me to see red behind my eyelids. "Mrow", Cali meows. I groan, wanting to sleep more, and open my eyes. "Star. Wake up for school. Your going to miss the bus", my mom calls from downstairs.
I sit up in bed. My alarm clock says 6:30. 'Oh crap'. I jump out of bed and get dressed quickly. My selection today: Gray tank top with leather half jacket, skinny jeans, and black sparkly designer flip-flops. Oh, Im sorry. Did i forget to mention my mom is vice president of the AMC Theaters in the mall? Must of slipped my mind. Yeah, so we're practically rich. We call it 'wealthily living the life'.
I brush my teeth, straiten my hair, and pack all my school stuff into my green and blue checkered bag. I fling open my door and gracefully run down the stairs. Before I was a werecat, I used to trip down those stairs almost every morning. No more tripy-trip now. "Good morning, baby. Did you sleep well? Im pretty sure i heard you snoring. Or maybe that was Cali. You two could be sisters; you spend so much time together lately", my mom says. Yeah, I know. She talks alot.
"Yeah. Her boyfriend broke up with her", I laugh. My mom hands me a plate of pancakes and I realize im starving. I haven't eaten anything for a day. I get a spoon from the silverware drawer, cut the pancakes into small squares, and shovel them in my mouth. "Whoa slow down there, girly ",my mom teases. I tap my watch, telling her that I don't wana miss the bus.
When im done eating breakfast, I hurry out the front door and walk the sidewalk to the bus stop. I see Clove walking too and I wave at her. She is a small girl. Smaller than me, even. She has sandy-brown and strait hair, a thin waist, and a flawless, height cheekbone face. She could be a freaking super model. She lives with her mom, dad, and two sisters, Macy and Rosy. We met in the 3rd grade, and she's stuck by my side ever since. The loyalist friend anyone could ever have.
Wait, Im telling everything about the people around me and I haven't told you anything about me. Well my name is Starlet Aro, but i prefer to be called Star. I have elbow-length dark brown, almost black, wavy hair, eyes the color of storm clouds, freckles sprinkled across my cheeks and nose, and pale, air skin. If you saw me ,you'd probably think im in the 8th grade because of my height, but actually im in the 11th grade. Im only 5 1/2 feet tall. That's pretty sad for my age. Anyways, Clove walks over to me and puts her hand on my shoulder.
"You are in trouble young lady. You didn't text me AT ALL this weekend! What do you have to say for yourself?", she asks sarcastically. "Oh I am so, deeply sorry. I hadn't seen the necessarily of texting my dearest friend for a WHOLE weekend. What is my punishment?", I play along. Clove breaks the game and laughs. I do too. I love how i can be myself around my friend. "So where were you this weekend? Did you go to a slumber party without me?", she asks sounding genuinely hurt. "No, I wouldn't last through a party without you there", I assure her.
"Okay, good. But where?", she urges. "I was um...just with a friend", I mumble. She gasp and whispers," Were you with a boy? What's his name? Does he go to our school?" Im both shocked and hurt by her surprise. "Yes, I was with a boy, his name is Liam, and no, he doesn't go to Wilsonville High", I say. "Details!", Clove says ,jumping up and down. "Brown hair, brown eyes, abbs ,possible Egyptian", I say. "Abbs? I like this guy already", she says.
The bus pulls to our stop and we get in. We go to the very back where a seat is empty. I start explaining lies to Clove, hoping to get her off my case, but she come back with more questions. Im going to tell her the truth later anyways.
When we get to school, I run off the bus and get some water from a soda vendor. I open it and let cool, spring water rush down my throat. Clove comes skipping up beside me. "What'd you need water for, Star? ",she asks.
I look in her eyes, very bored at the minute. I see pure curiosity and kindness in her startling blue eyes. I see why every guy loves her. She is the best friend anyone could hope for. But poor Clove, she has been in ALOT of bad relationships. They always take advantage of her, she it too nice and down to earth that she doesn't see it until she gets mentally or physically hurt. I am always trying to help her, but she has false pride.
"My throat hurts from talking so much", I smile. "Oh, sorry. Well here comes the football team. Go Wildcats!", she says, excitedly waving to the passing football players. (Yeah, I know the irony of it all. 'Wildcats' is our school. We are the Wilsonville Wildcats. But seriously, if you look up 'Wilsonville Wildcats Oregon', you'll know im not lying. "Woo. Go Wildcats", I say meekly. "C'mon. Show some spirit for our cats!", she says. Im about to scream 'Go Cats!' to make her happy, but someone catches my eye.
"Oh...my...god...", I'm staring into they eyes of the young Hunter named Christophr.
Sorry,but i love cliffhangers. they are wat keep the people reading. until tomorrow ;)