Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Flowers of Occultism ❯ Hiding ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I've edited this a lot cause I can't get it off bold. If anything below is in black and is bolded, please note that it's not supposed to be.
updated

Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Fantasy / Mystery / Occult / Romance / Supernatural | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.03.2008 | Updated On: 09.09.2010 | Pages: 7 | Words: 10.3K | Visits: 302 | Status: Completed

Chapter 7

Hiding

Nerchem'na'germinkahdo (Translation: I is confused)

Kimattara'altenro'inka'na'bakken'nero'mizelian'Steven'kermanichi(Something weird there is about new girl Steven found)

Nerchem'viacarmen'Sorcerers'apprenchita'i'jiro..(I smell Sorcerers coming to city.)Uku'Demonike..(Demonikes too.)Pinca'nax'occilupen..(They are everywhere.)

Sarqian'nax'oica'forcanylami'cret'velin't(What are we going to do now?)

***

Now, don't get the wrong idea. I may have been raised as a modest girl, but I'm not some sheltered nineteenth century high-class lady who thought even a man without a top jacket, never mind a shirt, was simply scandalous.

No, Steven bare-chested didn't really bother me all that much. But, living with four other women in the house, I'm not around guys that often and he just kind of…surprised me a bit. I mean, okay, try to look at it from my point of view. A weird but genteel and nice-looking guy that I've only just met and I've been walking around with for pretty much the whole day invites me to apartment, and then I just happen to catch him with no shirt inside his bedroom. I think surprised is a small understatement, at least.

I scowled inwardly as I realized that something like this had happened before, when he had been singing in the church. Most people would look on me as a stalker.

Steven had evidently just gotten out of a shower, or something close to it. He was working a fluffy white towel through his silver locks, but that seemed to be the only thing that was wet (I only took now to thank God that he had pants on; not his slacks, but not lounge sweatpants either…somewhere in between), like he'd stuck his head under the faucet or something.

If it wasn't for that towel covering up his eyes, he probably would have noticed my presence a lot sooner. Nevertheless, eventually his eyes inevitably focused on me. He smiled, albeit nervously, and his cheeks tinted up a little. This was probably the most embarrassed I'd ever seen him. My face sure heated up real quick. I was just about to turn around with a hasty `sorry,' but Steven stopped me.

“It's all right Hali, you can come in,” he said without a hitch in his perfect voice. He shook out his hair lightly, scattering water droplets that glittered as they fell towards the carpet.

I followed his request hesitantly, and began to take in the room around me. Judging by the spacious main room, I thought for sure the bedrooms couldn't be very big. I was wrong. This one room alone could have easily been the size of the whole apartment! To my right there was a large, glass patio door (on the same side that the window had been on in the other room, I noticed) that led to a small outside balcony. On the wall facing me was a huge king-size plus bed (I didn't want to think about that particular piece of furniture too much) that stretched toward surprisingly moderately-sized TV that was on the same wall as the doorway I was standing in. Next to the TV was a rather large desk with several ordinary things like cologne and a hairbrush, but also some very odd objects like an hourglass-shaped bottle filled with a silvery liquid and a huge book that could have easily covered one of the school desks back home. Across from that was a large wooden dresser full of drawers (everything about this room was big), which, I thought, for belonging to a boy, was surprisingly neat. On the far wall from the glass patio door was a door which led to a bathroom and from what I could see that was pretty spacious as well.

I wandered further into the room after taking it all in, still looking around. Finally my eyes rested back to Steven, who was sitting on the edge of the colossal bed with one leg dangling off the side and the other pulled up to him on the bed, just like he had been when I first saw him on that car in the Holland Tunnel. Had that really been only yesterday?

I thought he had pulled on the same red shirt from before, but it looked different now. The neckline looked even lower; the fabric tighter against his chest…..ah! Why was I thinking like this?!

I probably stood there gaping like an idiot for a good two or three minutes, which definitely made NO sense whatsoever. I mean, what was there to be so interested in? I mean sure, he was nice, different…good-looking, mysterious, charming………but, honestly! I'd been with this guy for how long? .....Wait that came out wrong….I didn't mean that too personally! I mean, just as a friend…maybe… Well, it's not like we can be anything else. Er, not that I want to be! I've just been following him around all day! ……Does…does that make me a stalker? Well, in any case, it's not like he would ever really like me like that. An amazing guy like him, he probably has someone…….not that I care! And he's not that amazing! I'm sure plenty of guys could do the things he…has…..okay, maybe not but……what does it matter if he has someone or not?! Why should anything he does matter? It doesn't! Does it? ……Wait a second, WHO THE HELL AM I ARGUING WITH???!!!!!!

My mental disagreement was shattered when he spoke.

“Can I help you?” Steven asked impishly, quirking and eyebrow and turning his head slightly to the side, like a dog.

My face flushed up again, and by that point I just really wanted to bolt in the opposite direction as fast as I could. That's what I usually did when I got into situations like this. I cursed my overly cowardly demeanor and tried to smile at him as calmly as I could. “Sorry Steven, I was just……thinking about something and I kind of spaced out.”

He didn't buy it for a moment; I could see that clearly in his eyes. I heard the bed rustle again and by the time I looked up, he was, yet again, standing close to me.

I should have expected this, but I couldn't help blinking in surprise. “Why is it every time I look up you're always right in front of me?” I had meant that as more of a light joke, but my tone came out bitchier than I intended it to. Uh-oh…..

I expected him to say something about it, but he didn't answer. I couldn't describe the look in his eyes……they looked pained, excruciating even. He deftly placed a hand on my arm, and looked at me like I was doing something that absolutely scared him to death.

When he spoke, it was in a small voice. “Why are you hiding from me?”

What the…..what kind of question…… “Hang on a minute…who's hiding?” Oh no, it was happening again. Whenever my emotions ran high, my temper flared up. “Well what about you?!” I exclaimed, pushing him back form me. I squeezed my eyes shut so I couldn't see any more of his expression. “You've done all this weird stuff and haven't given me any explanation at all! I keep telling myself it's not any of my business but…” My voice choked and I realized that I was probably crying, but I was so keyed up I hadn't felt the tears yet. No dang it, not now, not in front of him………Steven I don't mean it I…..

He kept silent throughout my whole rant, even as I was trying to choke down the lump that was forming in my throat. I was kind of glad. I hated crying, and I cried very easily. People's pity made it so much worse. But it was hard not to start bawling on the spot when my cheek met the soft fabric of his shirt while his arms flitted around me.

“Vent if you want, say whatever needs to be.” He whispered to me gently, and I felt a hand in my hair. “Yell at me if you want, I justly deserve it. Cry if you want, though my heart bleeds at your tears. Cover my body and soul with wounds, but please, please don't you hide from me.” His arms tightened a little as he spoke.

I raised my eyes to his and stared at him in awe. “Steven…did you just come up with that?”

His eyes grew infinitesimally sadder. “No…my mother used to say that to me. Apparently I hid from her a lot too.”

And then something really strange happened. I started laughing. I honestly don't know why, there was absolutely nothing even remotely funny about this situation. But, I couldn't seem to stop. I realized that I was probably going into hysterics, and now I could actually feel the tears on my cheeks. I was crying and laughing at the same time? This was way too irrational!

Steven regarded me oddly for a moment, probably asking a bunch of the same questions I was. But instead completely weirded out or making some dumb ass remark like all the boys back home, he did one of the nicest, oddest things in the world.

He started laughing too.

I don't know why that one simple act was so special to me. Anyone looking in on that kind of situation probably thought we were a couple of lunatics fit for a rubber room. But, it was just so……different, having someone whom I trusted right there with me, before my eyes and completely tangible, instead of halfway across the country (in the Midwest, anywhere is halfway across the country). He was one of the very few people, and definitely the only guy (not counting Aya, he was always more of a brother), that I could just be really happy with. I mean, the last time I laughed that hard was when Jo and I were watching this really morbid horror movie. Now what the heck was that title……?

As our laughter started to wind down, Steven gently reached forward and wiped my tears away with the towel he had been using. He gave me another breathtaking grin, and the sunset light from the window seemed to radiate off him. “There you are,” he said softly, like we were two kids who had been playing hide-and-seek.

I let one last giggle pass at the reference. He was so kind and gentle, it was hard to believe I was just yelling at him. “What did you mean by hiding?” I asked him curiously. I knew I sometimes had a tendency to tune people out (which was why I didn't go insane every time I was yelled at), but I had never heard it described in such a way before. “What was I doing?”

He pushed a few strands of hair away from my face and shook his head. I could feel his hand lingering toward my hairline but not really going anywhere. “You didn't really do anything. I guess since I've done it a few times myself, I could notice when you wanted to go back into your shell. I saw you hide from your family before, and……..I guess I just didn't want to see you do that with me.”

My heart thumped as he said `with me,' but my brain was confused. “Why?”

His smile faltered but didn't disappear as he looked at the floor and thought about it. Eventually the smile rekindled itself and he looked back up to me again. “I really don't know.”

I thought back to last night, though it seemed like ages ago, when Cali had said those exact words to me. The topics were distinctly different somehow…or were they? It seemed too long ago. And tomorrow there was……

Tomorrow? Lo and behold, ADD had caught me in its vile hands again. “Oh, shoot!”

Steven actually seemed more surprised by this than anything else that had happened. He didn't say anything, his eyes merely widened and his eyebrows rose, all the while wearing a very amused grin.

I meanwhile, was too wrapped up in my ADD moment. “Tomorrow's the wedding, isn't it?” How strange those words seemed coming from me, especially at this time.

He pulled out that pocket watch again (this time from his shirt pocket) and clicked it open. I assumed it held the date as well as the time, for he said, “Why so it is.”

His calm greatly contrasted my own emotions, almost frustratingly so. “And I just remembered,” I ranted, starting to pace, “that I forgot to pack that dress I was supposed to wear.” Since it was deemed such a formal event (rightfully so, a wedding in New York? Come on), Dad had insisted that I absolutely had to wear a dress, so we had gone shopping (joy) back in Iowa to get me one. “I kept it in my closet so the cats wouldn't kill it, and when I was packing I plain forgot to put it in there.” This was definitely a thing to worry about, but why the heck now? Just how random was this going to get? I go from getting mad at a guy I hardly even know, to laughing in hysterics with this same guy, to freaking out about something that happened, what, five days ago?!

I hadn't even realized I had been speaking aloud until Steven started laughing again. He shook his head and mumbled something (it sounded suspiciously something like “where did that come from?”) and rose up from the bed, which he had seated himself upon during my pacing. “You'll probably need a new one then.”

I stopped pacing. “I was going to get one while we were out shopping, but I was otherwise distracted,” I said while staring pointedly at him.

He raised his hands in defense. “I'll admit to that, but there was a good portion of events that were entirely not my fault.”

I thought back over the `events.' “Well, I suppose that's true.” My mind switched back to the dress problem and I groaned. The reason I hadn't told anyone about it was that I didn't want to be dragged over half of Manhattan looking for `the perfect one.' “Shopping any more though just sounds like personal torture.” I groaned, leaning against his desk.

“I don't think you could find anything anyway, it's too late. Most of the formal shops are closed by now, and the ones that remain open I don't think will have the type of thing you're looking for.”

Confused, I turned to look out the window, and found out that he was right. It was very dark out, probably around ten-ish or so, give or take. What I had mistaken as a sunset before was actually hundreds of street and building lights, more numerous than a swarm of fireflies in the backyard.

“Whoa.” They made me think of Vegas, which had more lights than I'd ever seen outside of Christmastime. While the lights of New York were far less flashy and decorative, the city made up for it by having the sheer numbers of them.

I looked back to Steven again. “How in the heck do you get to sleep?” I couldn't sleep if even the hall light was on or there was a streetlight shining in my window.

Steven smiled coolly and quirked up his eyebrows again. “You're in New York City. Ever hear the phrase, `the city that never sleeps?' This is what they're talking about.” His expression jokingly questioned my intelligence.

I put my hands on my hips like a child. “Well excuse me for being a country girl,” I retaliated, adding the slight southern Iowa drawl to my voice. Most Iowans don't have that much of an accent (especially around the tri-state area where I'm from), but you go down to the counties by Missouri, where my mom and dad grew up, and you might hear some pretty strange things. Like an “r” added in the middle of the word “wash,” the double “e” in “creek” replaced with a short “i,” or, the most common, the “o” in “or” replaced by a short “e” sound, making it sound like “er.”

He laughed again, but something about it made it seem like it was strained. Something was on his mind. His smile didn't hold the kind of glow it usually did, and his eyes were brooding.

“What's wrong?” I asked him warily, not wanting him to get angry. Some people tended to do that when that kind of question was asked, for any number of reasons. I'd had enough people freak out on me for that kind of thing that I couldn't help but be cautious.

But, I should have known a guy like Steven wouldn't be like that. His smile turned more tender (by the way, don't ask me how a guy could have different kinds of smiles. You just had to be there, okay?), but he had an awkward air about him, like he wanted to say something but he wasn't quite sure how to put it. “Well…..it's just...something you said earlier, about how I haven't given you any explanations.”

I couldn't help a grimace. “I'm sorry about that, I-

“No, no,” he cut me off. “You're right, and I do remember promising that I would. I just….” He sighed. “I'm not sure how lay everything out so it becomes a clear explanation, and if I reveal too much…….I fear it might put you in danger.”

I stopped myself from saying `from what,' knowing he probably wouldn't tell me anyway. We stayed silent, each alone with our own thoughts. Needing movement in the awkward silence, I moved over and sat on his bed, scooting to the near center and crossing my legs. Steven took a perch leaning against the desk a little ways away from where I had been. After we were both situated, I came up with an idea. “Twenty Questions,” my voice sounded out of the blue.

He threw me an amused look. “Really? I thought you would have much more than that.”

I made an un-amused face. This guy really needed to come up with some better humor. “No, I mean like the game Twenty Questions. I'll ask you yes or no questions only, and if it's something you really don't think you should answer, or can't answer, you don't have to. And with such a simple answer, you don't have to worry about explaining too much.” Of course, I had no idea how I would form some of my questions into such a simple form, but it was better than nothing.

Steven seemed happy with the idea. “I suppose it couldn't hurt to try.”

I nodded, excited that I would finally shed some light on our situation. I took a moment to decide where I should start. I figured my best bet would be to start off with stuff I knew and branch off from there.

“Okay,” I said after a little while, finally thinking I was ready. “So, your mother died some time ago, and afterwards your father left the city. And this was back when you were a kid, right?”

“Yes.” The silver-haired boy was still smiling. I figured he must be trying to treat this like an actual game. I was glad for that; I didn't want to make him uncomfortable. I made sure to focus my total attention on his words and any minute change in his expression.

“Alright,” I paused there for a moment, hoping my questions wouldn't offend him. My greatest fear seemed to be disconcerting him, and I couldn't really figure out why that was. But it was a real fear, even stronger than anytime I looked at my father. “And, could your parents do the same….extraordinary things you do?”

A small pause and the smile disappeared. I seemed to have displeased him. “Yes,” he said after a while.

My blood ran cold at his reaction, but my brain was on spin cycle, eager for information. I changed gears. “When I was talking with William earlier, he mentioned something strange. He said something about a Demonike.” I saw his entire posture tense up and his gaze seemed to pierce through me. Oops, sorry Will.

But, this one I think I had pretty well figured out. “That's…….that's what those black things are. That one in the park and the one I saw in the alley.”

“What?!” Steven asked sharply, looking at me wide-eyed. I had brought my eyes down to the bedspread, recalling the earlier encounters, but upon his interjection my head snapped back up so our eyes met again. “What about an alley?!” he prompted.

I blinked. I had just realized that I hadn't told him about that yet. “On the way to the park this morning, something that looked just like what we saw in the park was in an alley and it tried to draw me in. I ran away at the last minute.” Thoughts ran through my head as I spoke: were the two creatures the same being? And what would they want me for?

He frowned and narrowed his eyes throughout my explanation. After another pause, he dropped his piercing gaze, closed his eyes, and sighed. “Yes, those were Demonikes.” He said in a low voice just loud enough for me to hear. He opened his eyes and looked at me earnestly. “And they're not something you should go near.”

I nodded, being sure to keep my face carefully controlled. “Yeah, I got that part.” I could tell that I figured out something he would have been happier had I not known. Part of me was happy about that, but another prominent part didn't like to see him even the tiniest bit distressed.

I let the silence carry on for a few more minutes, and then slowly began again, my voice sounding almost shy. “Which kind of brings me to my next point….” I swallowed. “There was something that happened in the alley that made me run away at that last minute. I'm not really sure what it was, but….well, since then it's happened a few more times. The only way I can describe it is….it's kind of like a voice inside my head.” I was frustrated that it sounded so stupid.

He nodded, and I took that as an invitation to continue. He had a more curious air about him now, almost in a hungry sort of way. Boy I knew that feeling. “Before…..back in the park….you heard it too, didn't you?”

He didn't have any change in his look, but it was a really long while, longer than any of the other pauses, before he finally answered, “Yes.”

My curiosity flared at the little word, and I guessed that my expression must have almost matched his. “And this voice……………..it has something to do with you, doesn't it?”

Another really long pause. I didn't understand how he could stay that still so long. “Yes….I believe it does.” He sounded thoughtful, like he didn't know himself. I suppose I wasn't really surprised, I mean, why did I expect him to know any more than I did? Most people don't have weird little voices in their head.

“…..I think…I just have one more.” But there's no way I could ask, not so straightforward like this. Of course, I didn't think about the oddness of the question until I had already brought it up, which didn't do me a whole lot of good.

Steven eyed me expectantly.

“No, never mind, it's too stupid,” I chickened out.

“No, tell me,” he insisted, smiling. Quietly, stealthily, he moved from his perch to the edge of the bed, face to face with me. Of course, I was sitting and he standing, so I had to look up at him. He slowly leaned over, agonizingly so, placing his hands on the bedspread to steady himself and bore his glittering eyes into mine. “Please?” he said almost childishly, and before I knew it our heads were close again. I thought it was just his eyes that were drawing me in with their magnetic pull, but once my nerves started properly something in my brain let me know that he had a hand behind my head and that was what was pulling us closer.

I had to get out of this before I started hyperventilating. Why did he always do things like this? He knew exactly how to drive me crazy, almost like he really could read my mind. Or was it just luck?

I actually had to take a moment to remember what it was that I had wanted to ask. “I was…wondering…..” Come on mind, this has happened enough times that by now you should be used to it! “Well…..you're….you're not exactly human, are you?” The words came out in a rush.

Now his eyes widened. Whatever he had expected to hear, it wasn't that. “No, not exactly.” He seemed just as surprised at his answer as I did.

I let that sink in for a moment, casting a look at the large window. It reminded me of my egress window back home, which was annoying when the sun was up but so pretty at night. Before the silence could get tense, I said, “So, should I try and call a cab or are you going to fly me back?” Not the question I truly wanted to ask, but I hoped to lighten up the mood a bit.

Steven picked up on it. “Well,” he began with a slightly coy smile, “Actually, with all the lights and everything, I'd be much easier to see at night, and I'm really too tired to…..er, make people ignorant, so I was wondering if you would like to stay here?”

Stay here? With him? I couldn't let my mind wonder too much about it. “I don't want to intrude…..” But I found that I did want to stay for some reason.

“Not at all,” He waved my comment off. “But, perhaps, you could give me one thing in return?” He was pacing slowly, and he held up an index finger.

I blushed at the context. “All right, I guess…….”

His grin took on a mischievous look. “You asked if I wasn't human before, but to me it sounded like you had already put some thought into the concept.” He stopped and the smile grew. “If you didn't think I was human, what did you think I was?”

Dang it. I should have never agreed until I head the question. I turned redder. “You'll laugh at me.”

He shook his head, and his smile and voice grew softer and kinder. “No I won't, just one little guess is all I want. Besides, what did I say about hiding?” He said chidingly, and he turned the full power of those eyes on me; I knew now I couldn't refuse him. Not just now, but I probably couldn't from this point on.

I pulled one of my better-known myths from my head. “Um, maybe a vampire?” I stammered, not knowing what to expect.

It was dead silence (ha ha) for a moment, then Steven absolutely burst out laughing. To my surprise, I was actually angry at him again. “Hey now, you said you wouldn't laugh!”

He didn't answer for a moment; he couldn't, his hysterics made any speaking impossible. After a while he eventually started to settle down and a string of apologies were let loose.

I was still a little miffed. I don't like being laughed at. “Well, are you?!”

He shook his head, taking a few breaths so he could speak. “No, I'm not a vampire.”

I glared at him, a surprisingly difficult task. “Then what the heck was so funny?!”

He chuckled, and then came around the side of the bed to sit next to me again. The smile was still in place, but his tone was now abruptly serious. “Hali…I wanted to you out of this, keep you out of what's happening, for your own safety, but I can see now that you are far too much involved. And I believe that if you're kept in the dark much longer, I might even hinder your safety.” He took both my hands in his and clasped them together between his own. “And…I think I…..” He fumbled over words for a moment, and then seemed to change his mind about what he wanted to say. “Tomorrow night, at the wedding…….I will tell you everything. I promise.”

I gulped. Everything? Was that really something I wanted to know? And besides, how did I get involved in something I don't even know about? But, my brain's thirst for knowledge was riddled with anticipation. Well, at least I actually had a reason to want to go to the wedding now.

He smiled again (Mr. Smiley, I don't think I'll ever understand how he does it). “But for now, you should get some sleep. I imagine it will be a big day tomorrow, for both of us.” This was officially weird. Sure, we were hardly involved in the wedding at all, but still…. “I'm sorry we don't have much to offer you here but a couch, unless you'd lie to sleep in here……”

I held up a hand quickly to stop him. “Couch is good.” All this wedding talk was awkward enough; I didn't even want to think about beds.

Suddenly I heard a hard thump against the door, like something had been thrown against it. With all of the weird things that seemed to conjugate around here, I eyed the door warily. “What was that…?”

Steven also gave the door a curious look and shook his head to symbolize that he didn't know. He rose, walked over to it slowly, and turned the knob.

Well, things happened kind of quickly after that.

I heard a very familiar squeal and fast as I'll get out the little blue blur I knew had to be Gigo shot in from the open door. He moved so fast that I couldn't see where he was going, and I hoped he wouldn't hit anything. Steven jumped back from the door in surprise, but he hit the end board of the bed and, to my surprise, actually lost his balance. I didn't really have any time to react, but somehow I knew what would happen seconds before it did. He fell back, but had enough grace in doing so to turn in midair and, of course, ended up landing………

………..right on top of me, with his hands bracing himself up on either side of my shoulders.

He had closed his eyes for the fall, and when he opened them a blush quickly tinted his cheeks. Our eyes were directly even with each other, and we both seemed frozen by some hypnotic trance, because neither of us made any movement. He muttered something along the lines of, “Umm….” The only coherent thought I could formulate was: if he actually was a vampire, he would probably be going nuts with all the blood running to my head now. It was rushing so past I felt like I had gone too deep underwater.

To top this whole dandy situation off, I head the door swing open again (I guessed it had shut after Gigo burst in) and Steven and I both looked over Steven's shoulder to see who it was.

“Dang it Gigo, give me back my-“ William stalked in (which was really no surprise, I mean honestly, who else would it be?), but he stopped, wide-eyed, when he saw us. He quickly whipped around, and held up his hands like he had just been caught doing something and was trying to defend his innocence. “I'll come back a little bit later…..”

“Will!” Steven border-line shouted angrily. He hastily rolled to the side so he was on his back next to me for a moment before he rose off the bed, albeit stiffly. After a few deep breaths, I did too, trying to be careful to not reflect too much on what had happened. He shot Gigo a glare, and the little guy (who was now over by the window) drooped his huge ears. He had a maroon-colored tie in his mouth, no doubt William's.

Steven angrily thrust out his hand, and Gigo slunk over and gave it to him, a forlorn look on his face as he left the room. The tie was thrown onto Steven's odd desk, and he cast me an apologetic and cautious look. “Sorry……”

I had a hard time trying to think of a response that didn't either sound coy or immature (because in my mind it was nothing to apologize for). Finally I settled with, “Don't worry about it.” I stifled a yawn. I was really more of a morning person (yeah don't hit me) and I couldn't take super late nights.

He chuckled, and led me back into the living room. He pulled a blanket from a nearby closet and handed it to me. “Well, good night,” he said softly, almost like he wasn't sure what to do. After a moment, he turned to head back to his room.

“…..Steven, wait,” I said before I could stop myself. I wanted to thank him for all he did and…..well; I'm not really sure what else. There was something I really wanted to say to him, but I couldn't form any words to copulate the idea.

He turned and eyed me curiously. Gigo looked at both of us from the couch with huge eyes, like he was expecting something.

“There's….there's just one more thing I've been wondering.” I had too rally: I was too tired to try to find words for…..whatever it was I was trying to say before. “Do you….mind if I….” I touched a few strands of my own hair, hoping he would understand that, for I was too embarrassed to ask outright.

He did, and separated a few locks of his own hair from the rest. Hesitantly, I reached out to touch them, not sure of what to expect.

I made a small gasp. It was the softest thing I'd ever felt in my life, but…it didn't really feel like hair. I compared it once to the likeness of metal, but that only characterized the color. It felt more like a thick, soft thread, or like the downy feathers inside a pillow (as a kid, I'd had my share of pillow fights). The color was also more breathtaking up close. Even the slightest movement sent glittering diamonds all across it.

He smiled that one smile from before; one I somehow knew was for my eyes alone. “Tomorrow,” he whispered softly. I took that to mean that even his hair was on the list of to-be-revealed secrets.

I smiled nervously at him. “No more hiding……right?”

His own smile grew wider. “No more hiding.” With that he disappeared into his room.

Gigo jumped down from the couch so I could lie down on it. I threw down an extra pillow for him and he hopped upon it. He wrapped his tail around himself and drooped his ears, and those were the only clues I had of him falling asleep. I guess he really did sleep with his eyes open.

I smiled down and pulled the blanket Steven gave to me up to my chin. It smelled of roses.

Key: (honestly, there's not much)

I knew I sometimes had a tendency to tune people out (which was why I didn't go insane every time I was yelled at)--Almost every teenager does this, from what I've seen anyway. They're tired of being yelled at so they just completely ignore whatever it is the parents are saying. It's not very respectful, but it is an effective defense mechanism. Hali recognized it for what it is because she started doing this at a young age.

Ever hear the phrase, `the city that never sleeps?'--I'll admit, when I first heard the phrase, I thought it meant Vegas ^^;;;. Another thing I don't get about New York: Why is it called the Big Apple? I get it that there's a huge Mac store there…is that their headquarters?

Like an “r” added in the middle of the word “wash,” the double “e” in “creek” replaced with a short “i,” or, the most common, the “o” in “or” replaced by a short “e” sound, making it sound like “er.”—Yeah, complicated lingo. The words these actually spell out are warsh, crik, and the last one given. In my early school years, I didn't even know `wash' was a word until the spelling test. My mother said `warsh' all the time.

Ugh, this chapter's so boring to me -_-. I hope you romances like it though. And sorry it's been so long. I don't really write much in the summer. I'll try to get 8 out as soon as I can though. Thanks for reading!