Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Oh the Magic of Sweet 16! ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Apparently I worried that night for nothing. Nothing happened at the party, no demons, and Cherry didn’t even give us anymore trouble. I have to admit though I didn’t really mind being in D.J.’s arms all night. I just really wished I knew if he minded.
It’s not like one of those days where I’ve been feeling crappy and I needed my bestie to hold my all night. Okay so that’s exactly what it was, but I couldn’t tell him that. This was another one of my wonderful ‘magical’ issues and I wasn’t allowed to let him know anything was bothering me.
Gosh I really wish sometimes that I didn’t have gifts; that I was normal and didn’t have that stupid prophecy to worry about. But I did and there was nothing I could do about it; at least not at this moment in time. I would though; I vowed that very moment that I wasn’t going to stop until I got at least a little bit of freedom back in my life.
If there was anything that I hated more than lying to Deryck and Lenny, it was the never ending looking over my shoulder, waiting to be attacked. I was a much more of a free spirit and seriously it was annoying that I lacked what I desired most in the world.
Deryck Jayden… wait no that’s not what I meant. I kicked myself in the butt for admitting that to even myself. I mean it was true but I didn’t even want myself to admit it. No what I wanted more than anything was my freedom. As soon as this prophecy is over and done with I s… wait wasn’t there another part to that stupid old rhyme?
I racked my brain for the ending. I was positive there was more. The harder I tried the more I couldn’t figure it out. I would have to ask my mother.
The night came to an end and I wished it hadn’t. I would miss Deryck Jayden, a lot. I knew I would see him tomorrow for my annual day-after-birthday celebration. It didn’t ease what was troubling me in the back of my head. We left the party and I was trying to figure a way to stay with him longer. I came up empty handed.
I was in my black sweat pants and favorite hot pink t-shirt, walking from my place back to his. It was after a little midnight and I was tired so I didn’t see the crack on the sidewalk. Needless to say I tripped and fell. I went down and D.J. tried to help me up but ended up falling with me. He landed on top of me then rolled off. We were about half a block away from my house so we decided to turn around walk back to my house and he slept in the guest room.
That is until about two in the morning when I woke up screaming. Deryck rushed into my room as his was right across the hall. He immediately knelt next to me on the bed pulling me into his lap and he held me until my screaming stopped.
I think I got a few good punches on his arms too. He didn’t seem to care though... I soon realized that I was in his arms instead of watching demons eat my father alive. As soon as I did I began to sob into his sleeve. He picked me up and carried me down the stairs and out the backdoors.
Instead of the usual tree house sob-session, we climbed in to the huge hammock in between the maple trees. He continued to hold me until I stopped shaking and crying. I swear I saw my mother look out her window shortly after but I was far too busy trying to erase the images of my father’s death from my mind.
My nightmares were getting worse. They had stopped for awhile back when I was taking care of Deryck and his breakup with Cherry. However they showed up again on our last two trips to Amperia. Every time I shut my eyes the pictures would flash past them. I could hear my father’s screams through the howling of whatever creature it was that was eating him.
Throughout the whole time Deryck Jayden never asked what had made me so scared. He knew that it was about my father. All he could do was hold me closer to him each time I tried to sit up. I welcomed his embrace. His cologne was still evident through his muscle shirt. I buried my face in his chest and took in a deep breath. Something about his smell always calmed me down when I was out of it.
It was at this moment that I knew if there was anyone on this planet or, in the known universe for that matter, that I could trust with my secret it was Deryck. He was rubbing my back as I calmed myself down.
Then I felt it. The wind blew across my back as I realized my left shoulder was exposed. I tensed in his arms as Deryck started to trace my birth mark with his index finger. It sent a new kind of burning through my shoulder, then my back and soon my whole body was on fire.
I relaxed when he stopped, but I instantly missed the warmth of his body when he pulled away from me. That same look of pain from earlier etched onto his brilliant features. I couldn’t understand why he pulled away from me. I reached to pull him towards me, but he quickly untangled me from his arms and stood up. I didn’t believe it. He hasn’t done this in two years… since he told the story of his parents. Why all of a sudden is he acting like he’s going to get hurt again?
Then it clicked. I had tensed at his touch. I never do that. I hadn’t done it the whole night. Not once while we were dancing, and he had pulled flush against him for half the time. I mean there could have been a piece of paper between us and it wouldn’t have fallen. I hadn’t flinched then why had I now? I’d hurt him, confused him. My Deryck Jayden…. Whoa wait o second. He’s not mine.
“Deryck, I’m sorry,” I started not really knowing what I was going say to him. I knew I wasn’t going to let him go though. Not after this night, not after he’d been so close to being mine, and especially not if it was me that had caused his pain. “I didn’t mean to flinch when you touched my shoulder, I just … I don’t know what happened I guess. I mean I guess I’m more ticklish there than I thought,” I laughed through the lie. It sucked to lie to him about the mark. Wasn’t I just thinking about telling him my secret anyways?
Mom would kill me if I did though and I knew it, but still it couldn’t hurt to tell just D.J. could it? Yes it could because as the Fairy Guard had told me many times mortals are big mouths. My mentors had told me the same thing when I first thought of telling Lenny. I’d decided against it then. I knew I needed to keep the secret.
So again, against my better judgment, I opted not to tell him. He looked at me and grinned though. Again my friends always fall for my lies and I’ll never understand why. Then I recognized the grin that had captured his perfect lips. “DON’T. YOU. DARE!!!” I screamed at him.
It was too late of coursed as he pounced on me and began to tickle my sides. Okay so the ticklish excuse not my brightest idea. Will I ever learn that whenever that word comes out of my mouth, I end up with him tackling me to the ground and attacking my sides?
Soon a full blown tickle war erupted and we were rolling around on the grass. It wasn’t until the sun came up that we actually fell asleep again; my head rested on one of his arms the other draped around my waist. My mom must a have thought it was funny because we both woke up to a camera flash and her laughter.
It was around nine o’clock. I rubbed my eyes and stood up. I looked at D.J. and cracked up. His hair was sticking up all over the place.
“Hey not everyone can look perfect first thing in the morning.” he said. He was right I was the only one in school who could roll out of bed put on some shoes and walk out the door. I knew that my high ponytail was still perfect from when I had first pulled it up after the party. It was weird though; I was the one having nightmares and yet he looked like he’d had a long night.
In retrospect he probably did have a long night, longer than mine. Sure I had been afraid to go to sleep. I hadn’t wanted to see the sight of my father’s death again. Thinking about it though, Deryck always stays up when these things happen. He makes sure I don’t get scared again. If I even look like I’m having a nightmare, he either shakes me awake before I start screaming or, he holds me until my nightmare disappears.
I helped him up and went back inside. Half an hour later I was already waiting downstairs in on the couch in dark purple skinny jeans, black-and-white zebra print shirt, and I had a dark purple vest on too. I was sitting on the couch waiting for a certain 17 year old bestie of mine to walk down my stairs.
And they say girls take forever. My hair was already re-brushed (like it needed to be?), and my make-up, which matched my outfit perfectly by the way, was on before ten minutes had passed. It doesn’t take half an hour to take a shower do your hair and get dressed, does it? It’s not like it’s the first time he’s ever ended up spending the night in the guest room. I mean I have breakdowns every other month ... Yea didn’t need to mention that. Anyways he has his own closet here for crying out loud.
Okay it’s not like I didn’t have one at his house too. Still it only takes me ten minutes to get ready there, 15 if I really need a shower. And that’s rare because I normally take mine at night so there.