A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. This is that new update that I promised and I will keep updating as much as possible.
Nikki Ann PoV:
Days passed with Brendan and the others at my side, each day passing with one random conversation after another. I constantly found these topics on my mind and I had decided to share them with my friends. I liked that I could talk about what was on my mind with my friends but I couldn't talk about everything with them. Kim and Trisha had become my two girly friends and the others were practically one with my mind. Brendan…he was the best. I really did believe in love at first sight and my eyes had chosen a rather good choice.
Eventually it was Friday and we had to leave for the weekend on my first week of school. I had changed into something rather acceptable; a red pilgrim shirt with a white pilgrim skirt. I wore the same brown flat-soled boots as usual and my grey trench coat on the outside just for warmth. The skirt reached mid-thigh and flushed out partially. It was freeing to me. I liked it.
"You are looking charming this evening, Nikki Ann." Collin complimented, as he usually does. He does this just to annoy Brendan and from what I hear they usually fight about these comments. I've never seen them actually fight though. I think it might be interesting. "Thank you, Collin." I said as I reached out to grab onto Brendan's hand. As usual his hand was overly warm and the heat remained flushed against my palm, the best glove there is. This week I'd had fun in the forests, playing with Nicole, Micah and Song. They had become regular visitors to my side of the forest and Nicole was showing signs of growing.
I glanced over my friends again. Kim was with Jared, Trisha with Danny and I was with Brendan. Collin was alone again. This was becoming kind of sad. But then again, I didn't really have any human friends that I could set him up with. I had the Gang and then I had my animal friends. I doubted that Collin wanted to date a songbird unless he was just that kinky. Hmm…
"What're you thinking 'bout, Nix?" Brendan broke through my thoughts as he carefully swiped a lock of hair from my face. I smiled at him. "I'm wondering who I could set Collin up with." I said. Brendan chuckled as Collin cocked an eyebrow. "Collin's hard-headed; I pity the girl you come up with." Brendan joked. I rolled my eyes as I swung Brendan's arm around so that it was around my waist. I liked the feeling of his hand against my waist, the warmth seeping through the red cloth of my shirt. "I doubt that Collin's that bad. I mean, I can't really come up with anyone because I don't really know anyone who's single but…" I trailed off, letting my mind wander. Finally I slapped my fist into my palm, surprising everyone. "That's it! I will find someone for you!" I announced, pointing a finger at Collin. He was definitely surprised.
When Collin regained his composure Kim was giggling and Trisha was smirking. "Thanks but no thanks." Collin said, waving a hand in my direction. I frowned at him and shook my head. "I will not take no for an answer. I just have to find someone who's utterly compatible with you." I said with a shrug. In my mind, it was pretty easy. If I could find the right person then there would be no missing link. I could practically see the bleeping arrow and dotted outline of the person that Collin was missing. I would find her.
=X=X=X=
This mission was easier said than done. I knew nothing about Collin truthfully and I had nothing to base the survey on. I had a blank sheet of paper, ready to write down the questions and yet I had no questions to ask because I didn't know the answers that Collin would give. I had to ask him at lunch so as I waited I returned my eyes out the window. The vegetation was generous and mossy, grown to a full dark bloom. The shadows that showed behind the deep crevices between the trees were eerie and yet inviting. I was tempted to leave and go explore the vast outreaches of the trees but something held me back just this once. I was not going to go into that forest right now.
When the bell rang, signaling lunchtime, I was eager to go and ask the questions that nagged at my mind. The others were already at the table when I got to it with my lunch and the piece of paper caught in hand. "Alright, I need to take a survey on you." I announced to Collin as I settled beside Brendan and poised my pen on the front row of the paper. Collin cocked an eyebrow before smirking. "What about?" He asked. I rolled my eyes. "So that I can find the perfect match, duh," I answered as I wrote down the first question. Collin sighed before rolling his eyes. Then we started.
Favorite animal: Gecko
Favorite Song: "Like a G6" (Far East Movement)
Favorite food: ice cream
Favorite movie: Mega-mind
Favorite comic book: does Playboy count?
What you could not live without: food
Favorite place to be: First Beach
A deep secret: well, if I told you it wouldn't be a secret, would it now?
What would you do with a million dollars: Games, Playboy, ice cream, stripper
Are you a pig: Proud to be one
If I called you a man-whore right now you would say…: Proud, proud, proud!
I think we're done now; find me a new girlfriend.
I have to admit that this list was pretty comical near the end. I chose those questions because they seemed to fit the previous answers. I wondered how girls would react to these questions; this couldn't mean that Collin was gay, could it? I mean, most of these answers were meant for guys and that would be quite…hmm…
Kim and Trish were still giggling while Seth was rolling on the floor in laughter. Brendan's hefty chuckle made him vibrate from his stance beside me with his arm around my waist. Collin seemed completely unfazed. "Fine; once I ask the girls in my classes, I will know who your soul mate is." I said with a smug smile. Collin cocked his eyebrow again. I rolled my eyes before looking down at my answers again. Eventually I decided to eat and folded up the paper, shoving it in my back pocket before digging into my Mac & Cheese. I really like Mac & Cheese.
"I wonder how I'll get a girl to admit to getting a stripper with a million dollars…" I mused aloud, causing Seth to roll in a new bout of laughter. "At least I hope it's a girl." I finally muttered my thoughts aloud before turning to Collin. "Have you had any strange attraction to men lately?" I asked. Collin blanched at this question, completely caught off guard. Seth kept on rolling in his laughter. I suppose we really were quite comical. "Are you calling me gay?" Collin snapped at me. I shrugged. "Those questions are based off of previous answers and the wording indicates a guy so…" I explained. "Those questions were your choice, not mine." He retorted. I rolled my eyes but left it.
Eventually I finished my Mac & Cheese and never wanted to eat it again. It didn't have near enough cheese on it.
=X=X=X=
Girl #1:
Favorite animal: cheetah
Favorite Song: "First Kiss" (3Oh!3)
Favorite Food: chicken
Favorite movie: the Wedding Planner
Favorite comic book: Cat-woman
What you could not live without: my cell phone
Favorite place to be: the mall
A deep secret: I farted at Mary's sleepover and blamed it on her cat.
What would you do with a million dollars: chain of malls (to help those in need of a makeover)
Are you a pig: No! Wait, why would you think that?
If I called you a man-whore right now you would say…: Look! I'm sorry if I sounded superficial but!
I think we're done now: NO! WAIT!
Kim sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Girls like her give us a bad name. Who even did this survey?" Kim questioned. I frowned at her. "I didn't bother to hear her name because I didn't find any of her answers matching Collin's. But I think she's kind of sweet. She did apologize for being superficial." I reminded Kim who only rolled her eyes again. "The boys will get a riot out of this as soon as we show them." Trisha giggled as she leaned back in her desk seat. I had fourth hour with both of them and for that I was grateful.
"Let's just get onto girl number 2." Kim sighed as she crossed her arms in exasperation. I sighed myself but nodded nonetheless.
Girl #2: Lucy Crumb
Favorite animal: lizard
Favorite Song: Down to Earth (Justin Bieber)
Favorite Food: rice
Favorite movie: According to Greta
Favorite comic book: Spiderman
What you could not live without: my heart
Favorite place to be: the beach
A deep secret: hmm…
What would you do with a million dollars: take over the world
Are you a pig: I wonder that sometimes too.
If I called you a man-whore right now you would say…: I'm not exactly a guy. Do you need proof?
I think we're done now: Okey-doke.
"Not a perfect match but I guess she's cool." Kim muttered. I suspected she was tired of not being around Jared. Those two couldn't breathe without the other. "They're a perfect match!" Trisha exclaimed, seemingly ignorant to what Kim had just said. I grinned at Trisha, noting for future reference that she was definitely a girly girl. I suppose that not everyone is matched with their perfect match; Danny didn't seem very girly. "I know what you mean but I took other surveys so that I might find the perfect match. I'm still taking surveys so…" I trailed off and shrugged. Kim rolled her eyes again and I noted that she wasn't herself when she was without Jared. She was more exasperating.
Girl #3: Farah Jane
Favorite animal: eagle (they're bold)
Favorite Song: Follow Me Down (3Oh!3)
Favorite Food: banana split sundae
Favorite movie: Pirates of the Caribbean 3
Favorite comic book: does "Mad" magazine count?
What you could not live without: jeans
Favorite place to be: the forest
A deep secret: I secretly love demons more than angels
What would you do with a million dollars: get a million tattoos
Are you a pig: I don't know; what do you think?
If I called you a man-whore right now you would say…: Nope; just a regular whore.
I think we're done now: I think so too.
Trisha was laughing too hard to comment while Kim was laughing just as hard. "This girl seems like a Satan-follower." I observed with my brow furrowed. This only refreshed a new bout of laughter. I shrugged to myself as I looked over it. "She's got the food correct and she also didn't exactly name a comic book when I asked…" I observed. "They're still not a perfect match and Collin might kill you for trying to set him up with a Satan follower." Kim rasped as she swiped some laugh-tears from her eyes. I glanced back at the girl who I'd taken the survey from.
The girl, Farah, was sitting at her desk, reading over a novel; Everlasting Corrections. I grimaced. I'd read that novel before and it had nothing but extreme gore and horror. Though I usually liked this genre, Collin would most likely not. The girl had thick black hair down to her waist and her skin was faded into a sheet white. Her eyes were rimmed with black mascara and eyeliner, rimming a set of hazel eyes. She wore a black tank top and a pair of khaki cargo pants with a set of high tops. Her neck was straddled by a thin leather black choker with a red/brown feather dangling in the center of her collarbone. She seemed like my kind of girl. I liked her.
I finally pointed at Farah. Kim and Trisha looked to where I was pointing. "I want her with him." I said selfishly as I sat up straight in my seat. Kim burst into a fresh bout of laughter whereas Trisha looked serious. "Are you positive that you want to set Collin up with someone that you only think you want to be friends with?" Trisha questioned, hitting it straight on the mark. I frowned at her and shrugged. "I don't know; I think we could have the occasional affair together if we ever decided to give one of our boyfriends a good birthday present." I said blankly. Again, Kim burst into laughter again whereas Trisha looked a bit disgusted.
Before Trisha could protest again I stood up and headed in her direction. I sat beside her, just staring for a moment and imagining her beside Collin. Yes, I liked that picture. My gut was telling me to send her on over to Collin and let fate take its course. I would do just that! After a few moments Farah glanced up, not moving her head from the direction of the book and only giving me a side-glance. "What?" She asked suspiciously as she eyed me. I frowned at this. "I want to set you up with one of my friends." I told her. She frowned at me but shut her book and gave me her full attention. Her lips formed only one-worded questions it seemed. "Why?" She asked.
"I took that survey to see who would be hard-headed enough to be able to take on Collin Reeve and actually make it to the first date without being absolutely appalled with him." I admitted honestly. I don't believe that the girly girls would be honestly appealed to Collin's sense of…humor. He was a straight-out flirt and liked to bug people. Farah smirked at this answer and gave me a once-over. I waited for her to ask a question or respond in any way. "Collin?" She confirmed with a cocked eyebrow. I nodded simply. There was no other way to answer that.
"And you think that I would be a 'good match' with your 'friend'?" Farah questioned. Oh, my Jesus! She spoke more than one word! "Yep," I answered with a proud smile. Farah narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What's in it for me?" She asked. I cocked an eyebrow at her this time. "Well, Collin's a good guy once you get around the whole flirting issue and I think you would be the type of person to set him straight." I said. "You would get him as a boyfriend and a damn good one at that." I said. Farah rolled her eyes and snapped her book open again. "Nope."
I blanched at this. "What do you mean?" I asked. Farah glanced up from her book to me and shook her head slowly. "I will not date Collin Reeve." She explained as though to a child. I blinked at the girl. "But Collin's a great guy and I don't understand why…" I admitted to the girl. But if you must know the truth; I liked her. I really liked her. This girl had balls (even if not physically). She had told me something I hadn't heard in a while; no. "I don't see the point." Farah said to me. I frowned at her, furrowing my brow in confusion. "In Collin?" I confirmed. She shook her head. "No, in dating," She answered explicitly. I frowned even steeper. "The point in dating is to find your soul mate and life partner and to test relations with a boy or man to see if you two are compatible and will produce a great family and if you have an acceptable companionship." I explained to her. Farah shrugged. "I don't want a life partner; thanks but no thanks." She responded stubbornly. I was frustrated but only a bit.
"There's a theory that souls once had two faces, four arms, four legs but Thor was threatened by them and so split them in half. Without your other half, you'll never know what it feels like to be whole! Isn't that what you want?" I stated. Farah shook her head. "I'm fine with being only a half." She retorted. I blinked again at her. "But what about Collin if you two are soul mates? That's not fair to him, to only be half of what he's meant to be!" I exclaimed. Farah cocked her right eyebrow again, questioning me. "I will not date him because I see no point in having a life partner. I find that it is utterly useless to be burdened with another." Farah reasoned with me. I gawked at this girl. "What about friends? Their lives depend on you too!" I reminded her. "I don't have any friends either. They are just as pointless." She muttered as she retreated her eyes.
Now Farah's full attention was to her book. I was confused as to why she even turned to me in the first place if she saw it so pointless. "But…" I started but that was it. I couldn't think of any other way to reason with this stubborn girl! If the bell hadn't rung at that time I would have tried again with the same logic. But the bell did ring. And Farah left me, stunned in my seat as she walked out the door as if she hadn't crushed my whole hope of having Collin find his soul mate vicariously through me. I could only stare now, still seeing her in that spot, so cold and so…she shrugged me off. She had merely shrugged me off. So cold…she was so cold…
"Um, Nikki…?" Kim's voice barely registered as I thought over Farah's and my conversation. NO! Collin needed Farah and Farah needed Collin! They were a perfect match despite the survey! They were the perfect match, just like Brendan and I are, like Kim and Jared, like Trisha and Danny…Farah and Collin were perfect together. I was left, only gawking at the spot where Farah had sat and now registering our conversation. I tried to think of where I had gone wrong. How could she think that life was fulfilled with only one half of what she was meant to be, to have?
"Nikki," Brendan's husky voice was what brought me back to reality. I blinked out of my memory of Farah's and my conversation. I hadn't exactly registered that Brendan and Collin had gotten here. "So…" Collin said with a small smirk. "Did you find my 'soul mate'?" He chuckled. I blinked as I glanced back to where Farah was sitting. "Yep," I answered as I sat up straight in my seat. I had a new mission. I would persuade Farah into going out with Collin. "And she will be persuaded," I stated aloud, to add to the motivation.
Brendan furrowed his brow at me, obviously concerned. "What?" I asked him as I registered that he was knelt beside me, his face level to mine despite that I was sitting down and he was kneeling on the floor. I lifted my chin, reaching forward and brushing a small lock of his black hair from his forehead. He was so beautiful… "What were you thinking about?" He asked and glanced to where I had been staring, at Farah's seat. "Farah didn't want to go on a date with Collin." I muttered in a pout. "Farah?" Brendan questioned. I frowned at him. "Collin's soul mate; I know that they're a perfect match!" I exclaimed exasperatedly. That girl really would be the death of me.
=X=X=X=
ROAR!
I giggled as Nicole's "roars" only came out as small meows. She was attempting to imitate her parents as I watched her. Song had taken Micah on his first hunt since he had broken his leg. I was entrusted with the baby cub so that I could reason with any animal that dared to try and screw with her. I wouldn't let a single animal get near her if they posed a threat. I reached forward, scratching behind her ears and listening to her purr.
Nicola, that is not helping my roar! I want to roar! Nicole thought towards me with a feeble meow. I chuckled lightly to myself, withdrawing my hand and holding it up in surrender. Nicole stood on all fours, her fur bristling as she attempted to roar. But all that was released from her muzzle was a feeble meow that could never hold any danger in it. Nicole was adventurous, pure. She was just a mere cub, only up to my ankles in height. In width, she was barely the size of my fist. But she was growing; gradually but she was still growing.
Try roaring, Nicola! Try it! Nicole urged me as she looked back towards me with her soft ginger eyes, shrouded in a mass of tan fur. "I don't roar. I'm human; we just kind of laugh maniacally. It's much creepier." I joked to Nicole. And here it was; the mountain cub version of puppy dog eyes. I could never resist her puppy dog eyes. "Alright," I sighed as I opened my mouth. I was trying to remember how to roar. I couldn't very well roar like a mountain lion. I was interrupted, however, by the crackling of twigs behind me. I flashed to my feet, instantly guarding Nicole from the attack line of any predator.
When I saw no one where I had seen, I swept Nicole up into my arms, nuzzling her deep into my chest. Nicole struggled beneath my arms for a little before I shushed her. Another wave of snapping twigs came from the opposite direction of where I'd heard it before. Was it fast or were there more than one? I shivered against the frigid night air. I whirled to face the snapping of twigs. This time, however, I was greeted by what had snapped the twigs. Or rather who.
A/N: I'm sorry to leave you with a cliff-hanger but I needed to do this. I'm going to start working on the next chapter as soon as I post this.