"Arm Yourself" - Zebra & Giraffe
I guard the cage / That I built around a lie / That's scared and ever so afraid / Will they take the things/ That make me everything / Well then / I might as well die
Okay, something was totally up. Paul never came to get me after I stole his police car and drove to my house. I was willing to bet my first born child that he would barge into in and drag me out by the hair. Then he'd chain me up in his basement and keep me there in a hole like Silence of the Lambs. I trembled, just knowing he'd be there, chanting "It puts the lotion on its skin" watching me lather my sexy form in some cheap-ass cream he got at the 99-cent store.
I couldn't fall asleep last night, fearing that the second I closed my eyes, a love obsessed werewolf would kidnap me. Every few minutes, I found myself peeking out of the blinds at the window to double check that there was no giant wolf standing outside. Paul knew I was afraid too. I heard a howl out in the forest behind my house, and then a few noises that sounded like laughter, if a beast was capable of doing so.
"Paul you motherfucker!" I yelled out my window, "If you don't leave me alone, I'll call Animal Control and have you neutered!"
I was responded with another howl, this one a little shaky due to the laugh the animal tried to suppress.
I growled under my breath and laid down in my bed, using my pillow to cover up my ears to drown out Paul's animal song. So he's not going to kidnap me, but he's going to keep me up all night with his extensive howling?
Eventually the sun came up and the howling stopped. I groaned, forcing myself to roll off the bed to get ready for school. Normally, I would've called in sick, giving myself the week off. However, with the psycho wolf-bitch harassing the fuck out of me, I'm desperate to go to school where I'll be surrounded by the regular people whom I hate and can't stand.
I turned on the radio as I took a shower, listening to the weatherman say the temperature was going to be in the low nineties, an anomaly for La Push. I chuckled, making a private joke about global warming and how I prayed for it to be real so I could get a break from the cold, rainy climate here. Heh, be careful what you wish for I guess. I got dressed in a regular white t-shit and black basketball shorts, even wearing my flip-flops again so that I'd be comfortable in this hot weather, unlike yesterday with what Paul made me wear…insecure asshole.
I grabbed my backpack and ran to the bus stop, wanting to avoid Paul at all costs. On my way to the bus stop, I kept looking over my shoulder, ready to sprint at the sight of a large, fuzzy animal. Luckily, I made it, thanking God for my new-found good luck.
"Why'd you run, you're not late or anything," Henry Tudor asked. He stood there waiting at the bus stop, looking at me curiously. He was a tall boy, and he had a nice muscular tone, not as big as Paul's, but more like a skinny muscular. His hair was shaved in a mohawk and he wore a loose fitting tank-top that had some metal band on it. The looseness of the shirt allowed it to sag a little near his collarbone, permitting me to peek at his chest, which was pretty impressive. On his right bicep was a tattoo of a black and white jester, with some words under it that I had a hard time deciphering. My eyes stopped on the gold tooth on his upper jaw, shining in the unusual sunlight.
"Oh…I-I forgot to…uh, change my clock," I stammered, blushing a little in his presence. I'll admit it: I have a thing for Henry, ever since sophomore year when I sat next to him in history. He let me copy his notes everyday, so soon enough, he'd write little blurbs on them; stuff like "Hope you're having a nice day" and "I'd tap that" and my favorite, "You look nice today".
Henry bought my lie. "Gotta be more careful," he said, not looking at me. His gaze was fixed on the sun, squinting at its radiance that we barely got to see. God, what I wouldn't do for him to look at me with those eyes, gazing deep into my soul, searching every corner of my depth.
But instead, I got stuck with Paul. Life's a bitch…
"How was your weekend?" I asked, trying to stir up small-talk.
Henry looked down at me and smirked. I nearly melted at the look his chocolate eyes gave me. Even his crooked grin sent shivers down my spine and I had to squint, the glare from his golden tooth being too much for my eyes.
"Well," he mused, "my cousin told me a funny story. It turns out he went to this party in Forks and met some girl. 'Best girl I've ever seen. May be the one,' he told me. It turns out he tried to impress her by showing her how to take tequila shots and doing shrooms with her. However, she had a bad trip and told him to leave her alone. So I was playing the crying shoulder all yesterday. It was lame. How was your weekend?"
My jaw was hanging low. Please don't let him be talking about who I think he's talking about. "Uhh…just the same ol' stuff. My parents left me alone with the house for the week, so anyone could come over whenever they wanted to." I then nervously smiled and batted my eyes at Henry. "Just an idea."
"Somethin' in your eyes?" Henry asked. "Here." He leaned forward and I lost my breath for a second. I was about to pucker out my lips when Henry blew a big puff of air in my face, drying my eyes up.
I quickly closed my eyes, feeling them water up with irritation from being dried up. "Thanks," I mumbled, rubbing them.
"No problem," Henry said, feeling as if he actually saved the day. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.
The bus pulled up in front of us and we got on, Henry moving to the back to sit with his friends and me sitting alone up front. The whole ride I just looked out the window, expecting Paul to come running up and slamming into the bus, making it crash. I actually chuckled at the thought of him doing that; I imagined a giant wolf running out from the tree line and doing some sort of karate kick.
Eventually we reached school and I went to my first period class: computers. I took my seat at the back, logging onto my computer and immediately going onto a site that allowed me to play Tetris. I was about to beat my high score when the teacher, Mr. Deans, asked me a question, mainly trying to get my attention.
"What?" I asked.
"I asked, what does it mean to defragment a computer?" He crossed his arms and smiled, knowing very well that I wasn't listening to his lecture at all today.
"Uhh…to make it better?" I guessed.
"Better how?"
I shrugged.
"Then I suggest you pay more attention Ms. Chapman. I wouldn't want to have to call your parents and have them come over for a conference."
Ooh, I'm shaking! I rolled my eyes and exited out of my game, writing down the notes that Mr. Deans was writing on the white board. He was going on and on about how to defragment your computer and which anti-virus software was the best when I began to doze off.
I stared at the clock; only five minutes have passed by since I got in trouble. Odd, it seemed as if the whole school day should be over now. I guess I'm just eager to get home that way I can see if Henry took the hint I was giving him and comes over. I just hope Paul doesn't eat him…
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!
The fire alarm rang. Maybe the chemistry teacher caught his tie on fire. From what I hear, he's pretty stupid. Everyone in class calmly stood up and pushed their chairs back into the desk.
"Please get into an orderly-fashioned line and exit to the meeting area. Bring nothing!" Mr. Deans told us. Well, if he didn't want me to bring my backpack that had all my unfinished homework in it, who am I to say that's wrong?
We all got into a line as instructed, me being near the end, behind some really tall chick in a lot of pink. We left the classroom and walked outside to the meeting area, which was just the football field behind the school, in front of the forest. I never understood why we had to stand near the school while if was burning. Were we supposed to just watch it burn to the ground? Even if that would be an awesome sight to see, I'm not sure that it's what the teachers intend for us to do.
I heard the sirens of fire trucks off in the distance and looked over at the school to see a small black smoke rising from it. It looked like it was coming from the main entrance or something. Wow, this is the real deal. I glanced over at Mr. Ortega, the chemistry teacher, and he still had his tie on with no burn marks. How did the fire start then?
Mr. Deans took out his clip board and began to call out roll to make sure everybody was there. I already knew that since I was bumped into his class after registration began, I'd be near the end of the list, so I could wander off for a while. "Lori Akain!" he called out.
The rest of the school, maybe about two-hundred students at most, filed out onto the football field to watch the school roast. The typical cliques were already beginning to form, meaning I'd be left all by myself in a sort while. Desperate, I began to search for someone I knew.
"Peyton Brown!" Mr. Deans yelled out.
I saw Henry sitting all by himself at other end of the field, away from the crowd. I took a few steps forward and then stopped dead in my tracks as I came face to face with fucking Amanda and Cassandra.
"What the fuck do you whores want?" I sneered, eager to get away from them.
Amanda smiled that stupid ass smile she wears that reminds me of Santa with his gigantic cheeks. "Me and Cass were just wondering how the fire started. And all we could come up with was that you were smoking pot to numb the fact that you're all alone and no one likes you."
"Tatiana Bunsen!"
I rolled my eyes. "Only you would come up with an insult as lame as that. I figured that with as much time you spend thinking about food, you lost your touch with thinking mean." I folded my arms, smiling at my comeback.
"That was a lame-ass comeback," Cassandra said, putting her hands on her narrow hips. Damn, I wish I had her figure.
"Bitch," I scoffed, "if I wanted my cum back, I'd wipe it off your dad's chin!"
"Derek Cunningham!"
Amanda looked confused for a moment as she thought over my joke. I was fighting with myself to not burst out laughing at what I said.
Cassandra got it though. All she did, however, was flip me the bird.
"Travis Dane!"
"Yea, why don't you just shove that up your fucking pussy, you stupid bitch!" I yelled. "That's all you can get bein' so damn ugly with your toucan nose!"
Cassandra sharply exhaled. "Oh please Lesbo. You and I both know you just hate us because we discovered that you're hot for girls and not guys like you're supposed to be. Sick bitch."
"Okay first of all," I began, "nothing's wrong with being homosexual. And second of all, if I was, I wouldn't waist my time with your skinny bitch-ass or Amanda's pumpkin body-type."
"Chenoá Harris!"
Amanda just gave me a cold stare. Her fists balled up and her nostrils flared. Maybe she was a little sensitive about her weight…my bad. However, in my defense, she's been calling me lesbian for the past few years.
"Oh, and we noticed that those fake Facebook pages were deleted," Cassandra smirked.
"Vanessa Inez!"
What Facebook pages? I thought for a while and then remembered making fake pages about them with Lauren! I smiled. That was the greatest. "Yea," I said, "only because two bitches couldn't take a joke and told the fucking police." I looked down at the field and saw Henry still sitting all by himself, listening to his iPod. He was nodding his head to the beat of whatever music he was listening to, his neck muscles flexing with each nod.
"Matthew King!"
"So was that all you wanted to tell me?" I asked, already bored with talking to the meanest, most nastiest girls on the planet.
Amanda nodded. "I'll get him," she said, walking off into a crowd of students, comically emphasizing how she was so much fatter than them. Seriously, how does she find clothes that fit? Fine, maybe she's not that fat, but I fucking hate her.
She then waddled (haha!) back with some really buff dude trailing behind her. He was really pale and looked like someone on the football team. He wore a muscle-tee and gym shorts. He even had some lame-ass sweat-band around his forehead that had the school logo on it. What a typical jock! He walked up to Cassandra and put his beefy arm around her, towering her by at least a foot.
"I heard you where being mean to my girlfriend," he grumbled in a bass-like voice.
Motherfuckers! They brought some jock to fight their battles?
"Daniela Chapman!"
I looked up at the bodybuilder those bitches brought to come beat me up. I briefly considered running off all the way to my house, screaming for someone to help. By the look of the way his thighs are all muscled and wide, he'd have a tough time catching up to me. Hey, worse case scenario, I yell out Paul's name and he'll come save me.
I shook that thought from my head. I don't need Paul!
"Who are you?" I asked in a bitter tone, attempting to look tough.
"Name's Tyler," the bodybuilder responded.
"Daniela? Daniela Chapman!"
"Well Tyler," I scoffed, my tough façade still on, "I don't know what they told you, but you need to mind your own business and back the fuck off."
"Daniela Chapman!"
Amanda and Cassandra smirked at me. "I'll let you handle this Babe," Cassandra said as they walked off, leaving me alone with the Hulk.
"Seriously, what'd they tell you?" I questioned.
"Enough to know that you're some nasty bitch who needs to be put in her place." Tyler popped his knuckles and stretched his arms.
"Daniela's still inside! Tell a fireman!"
I nervously glanced around me. None of the other students were paying any attention to me and Tyler. Henry was off by himself still. He looked up and flagged someone down.
"What 's the girl's name sir?" "Daniela Chapman! C-H-A-P-M-A-N." "We'll find her!" "Daniela!"
"What the hell do you mean by putting me in my place?" I asked. "Would you seriously hit a girl?"
Tyler laughed. "No. But you're a dyke, not a girl."
"I'm not a lesbian! I like penis!"
"Whoo! Yea you do Baby!" some idiot from the chess club yelled out at me. I rolled my eyes. The last vagina he probably saw was his mom's as he was being squeezed out of it.
"Okay, I can take you, let's go," I said, hoping to God Tyler wouldn't be able to tell I was bluffing and would just walk away. Seriously, there's no way I can win a fight against some steroided-up jock. I raised up my fists and began to do that little back and forth jump I'd seen wrestlers do on TV.
"We can't find her!" "The chemistry lab roof caved in!" "Daniela!"
Tyler grinned. "Fine." He raised up his beefy fists. He took a menacing step forward, getting ready to swing when we heard a voice call out.
"Hey!" a mad person yelled.
We both looked in the direction of Henry and some other guy running over to us. Yes! I knew Henry liked me! And now he's here to save me from this meat-headed freak and he'll ask me out and we'll be the best couple in La Push High School history!
"What the fuck were you thinking, hitting a woman?" Henry asked in disgust as he reached us, giving Tyler the stink eye.
"Yea, lay off my woman!" his friend shouted as he put his arm around my shoulders. I turned to look at him, my jaw dropping as I realized it was Joseph from Mike's party. I had a hard time recognizing him at first because he shaved off his mohawk, leaving only dark peach fuzz on his head. I hope he's not trying to be a skinhead.
"Daniela!" "Check the computer class!" "She's dead isn't she?"
I tensed up in Joseph's hold.
Henry smirked in my direction and then glared at Tyler. "Back the fuck off before I tell your coach all about how you take steroids," he threatened, his voice a creepy low.
Tyler's eyes widened with fear. "Dude! He can't find out!" How the fuck doesn't he know? Tyler looked like he should be in some kind of freak show with all his unnatural-looking muscles.
"Did he hurt you Danni?" Joseph asked, interrupting my fantasy.
I shook my head. "I was just about to drop-kick his ass." I did a little douche bag swagger to look all cool, but I think it looked more like I had a cramp in my leg.
"She's not there!" "Call her parents!" "They're not answering their phone!"
Henry eyed me suspiciously. "You were about to fight Tyler?"
I nodded, proud to look like a total bad-ass in front of him. And besides, if things don't work out with him, Joseph looks kind of hot with his new hair style. "But now that you're here, I guess I can let him live."
"Call an ambulance for when we find her!" "Daniela!"
Joseph smiled down at me. "Yea, you can let him live. Let me take you home. I'm guessing school's out for the day."
I didn't even know he went here. I suppose that shows how much I really pay attention. Maybe Mr. Deans is right. I need to be aware of my surroundings more, listen and look more carefully. I smiled at my epiphany, feeling really mature about coming to that conclusion. Joseph took my hand in his and led me down the field to where the parking lot was. We passed in front of the teachers and-
"Oh my God! We found her!" Mr. Deans shouted as he snatched me out of Joseph's grasp.
"What the-?" I wondered.
I was ushered into the back of an ambulance where a technician forced me to lay down on a gurney. Mr. Deans got in with me, asking me all sorts of questions. ""Are you hurt? How did you get out? Any burns?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked, angry that the technician was trying to put some oxygen mask on my face. He succeed, putting it over my mouth and nose.
"It's okay," Mr. Deans said, "you don't have to talk now if you don't want to. Just rest. We managed to get a hold of parents who said to just release you in the care of a Paul Meraz. We managed to contact him and he's meeting us at the hospital."
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" I yelled out. I collapsed on the gurney, knowing that in just a few short moments, Paul would have me and my life would be over.
Son of a bitch!
PPOV
I'll admit it: it was childish of me to keep my Danni up last night with all my howling. I just love it when she's mad, it turns me on for some reason when her face gets red with rage and she clenches her fists. My favorite part is when her gorgeous eyes target in on the source of her aggression, usually me.
When Danni's mad, she's forced to pay attention to me.
Oh well, a plus to staying outside her house all night gave me the chance to patrol the area nearby for that bloodsucker Sam told me about. I found no trace of the bastard, but the thought of it getting to my Danni prompted me to search for a few more hours. Eventually the sun came up and I saw Danni run out of her house and to the bus stop. I was about to phase back and offer her a ride, but my gaze settled on the boy wannabe-gangster she was flirting with.
No! She belongs to me! I was all but holding myself back from ripping that kid's throat out, showing Danni who was the alpha male in her life. ME! It's me! Instead of further making her hate me, I stayed behind, watching the bus drive her off to school.
I growled and phased back into a human. I walked over to the mailbox where Danni's mom put the spare house key. I grabbed it and walked inside the house that smelled of my angel. I sighed, the aroma of my imprint filling my nostrils, overtaking my senses.
Realizing I was naked in her parents' living room, I decided to just steal some of her step-dad's clothes since I forgot to hide some extra shorts out in the forest last night. My bad. Her step-dad was thinner than me, his shirt straining over my chest, the sleeves actually ripping a little over my biceps. I had to use gray sweatpants since I knew there was no way in hell his jeans would fit me. I laughed at my overly-leisured outfit, deciding it was alright since I didn't have to go to work today. I figure today I'll just do some snooping around Danni's entire house to get a better idea of who she is.
I already memorized her room with all the times I've snuck in and slept with her, so I was able to skip that room. The kitchen was filled with junk food and barely any vegetables were in there. That's good. I consider myself a carnivore anyway, so I won't have to sacrifice taste for my Danni. I noticed that there was a box of Cheez-Its in the cabinet under the sink, hidden away from the other food. I laughed, knowing very well that this was the work of my imprint. Well if she loves Cheez-Its enough to keep them away from her family, I'll buy her the whole damn factory and stock our house full of them!
Danni used store brand shampoo and conditioner, which I guess was good. I wouldn't have to spend so much money buying expensive brands just for the name of some goop you plop on your head. She preferred minty toothpaste, no other special flavor. Also in the bathroom, I couldn't find any make-up, hair products, no girly stuff at all, with the exception of tampons.
I shrugged and went down to the basement to look through the boxes in there to see what I could find. The first five were just old clothes from her mother and sister that they expected Danni to wear. I laughed, seeing all the sequins and frilly dresses, knowing damn well Danni must've had a stroke seeing these. The sixth box I picked up had papers from Danni's elementary years in it. She wasn't very smart, the highest grade I found being a 78, and that was on a map she was supposed to label and color. Apparently she got confused and thought that the U.S. was China, labeling Beijing and Hong Kong in Texas and Florida.
I heard my cell phone vibrating upstairs. I ran up to go answer it, seeing on the caller I.D. that it was a local number, but one I didn't save to my address book.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Paul Meraz?" a woman responded on the other line.
"This is him."
"I work at La Push High School and we've just recently had a fire that burnt down the west wing of the school."
My breathing grew raspy and quickened. Shit! My Danni! Was she alright? Was she hurt?
"-And it's come to our attention that you're temporarily in charge of a Daniela Chapman, am I correct?"
I nodded, then realized the lady couldn't see me. "Yea," I responded. "She's mine."
"Well, she was caught in the fire and is now being driven to the hospital where you'll have to pick her up. There appeared to be no physical injuries, but it's school policy-"
I slammed my cell phone on the counter, letting it smash into dozens of pieces. I dashed out of the house, leaving the front door wide open and leapt into my cruiser, starting it; I did that all within two seconds. I floored the gas pedal, speeding off to the hospital.
I'm coming Danni!
