Our Hearts Stop -- PARCHY

[Parchy]

MOVE YOUR BODY WHEN THE SUNLIGHT DIES
EVERYBODYHIDEYOURBODY
[ F R O M T H E S C A R E C R O W; E V E R Y B O D Y H I D E ]

His blue eyes followed hers as she began to examine him. He smirked to himself, She’s checking me out. That’s awesome... he thought to himself as he leaned back a bit in his chair to give her a better view. Jeremy was so cocky. Everything he did just made him seem like a jerk, and for some reason he wanted to really seem like this for Annaika. He wanted to show off for her, make her want him. But then there was a part of him that wanted to be truthful and be the nice guy he truly was. But that could wait, he might never even see Annaika again for goodness sakes.

Jeremy nodded at her question about him working. He did work he had a steady job at one of the night clubs. He was a bartender. No it wasn’t a good job, and he wouldn’t be able to live off of it forever, but he had a plan and this little job wouldn’t forever. It was just so he could make enough money to go back to school and then get a better job, just because his parents were no longer going to support his decisions and whatever.

“Yeah I’m working.” He said nodding at Annaika, “I’m at the Night Club on Fifth avenue. You should come and get a drink there sometime.” He said giving her a grin. Then he shrugged, and smiled slightly, “But it’s not permanent. Don’t think that I’m wasting my degrees from Oxford. I’m just bartending till I can get enough money to go back to school, I want to be a teacher.” He said thinking through his plan, then he laughed slightly, “Though, you probably don’t care about all that.”

" Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm twenty. Good guess. And don't worry, I'm a blow at your ego will hardly make a mark." His eyes brows raised and his smile grew. He loved seeing her grin at him. It made Jeremy feel that he was actually making a connection with this girl, and it wasn’t superficial. Jeremy nodded and continued to smile, “You’d be surprised to know how my ego is actually shaped and formed around the comments of beautifully strange women.” He grinned jokingly at her.

( WORDS :: 375 ) ( TAGS :: Annaika ) ( OUTFIT :: Check other posts. ) ( CREDITS :: lyrics from "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/" by my chemical romance, template by THROUGH THE TREES of caution two-point-oh ) ( NOTES :: Still barely any muse...but it's getting better. )

[Sandy]

Annaika rolled her eyes at Jeremy. She'd probably just blown up his ego even more by making it seem like she was checking him out because she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. Humans are so shallow. “I’m at the Night Club on Fifth avenue. You should come and get a drink there sometime.”

She smiled a bit, automatically at him, and silent cursed her parents. She wasn't used to being in a friendly conversation with someone and now that she was the little things her parents had taught her automatically made her respond to him. Perhaps I will, she said. A drink wouldn't do any harm. Especially because the amount of alcohol it took a Shifter to get drunk would give a human alcohol poisoning, thanks to an enhanced metabolism.

What makes you think I don't care? I don't mind hearing it. Annaika smiled at him again, a bit of a flirtatious smile, and was so confused by herself that she nearly froze. She covered it up by taking a sip of her coffee. She was Annaika--she didn't even consider flirting, let alone doing so.

“You’d be surprised to know how my ego is actually shaped and formed around the comments of beautifully strange women.” Despite what she'd just thought, she couldn't help but laugh and lean forward a bit. You find me beautiful and strange now? Proves how smart you are. Annaika caught the humans' eyes and held them in the fierce, steady way that only a feline, such as a mountain lion, could, and allowed her bright green eyes to darken a bit, though she didn't go as far as to let them become slitted like the eyes of a true cat. She could always ride the darkening off on the lighting but there was no way to explain them slitting.

When she said how his words proved how smart he was, she was referring to the strange part, not the beautiful. It didn't matter to her if he thought she was beautiful--no, her mind chided, you're a Shifter but you're also a human. You love hearing that as much as the next girl--but him saying that she was strange proved, just perhaps, unless he was just saying it, that humans weren't completely lost to their instincts. If humans were still open enough to their instincts they would know to be terrified of Shifters, even though they wouldn't know why, probably.

words - 401
tagged - jeremy
muse - awesome
songs - where are you going, you and me, you can't take me

[Parchy]

MOVE YOUR BODY WHEN THE SUNLIGHT DIES
EVERYBODYHIDEYOURBODY
[ F R O M T H E S C A R E C R O W; E V E R Y B O D Y H I D E ]

Jeremy smiled a bit at Annaika. This conversation was going extremely well, considering that it had started in the most awkward way. But Jeremy was feeling very good about this, there was something…different about Annaika that made him baffled. She was not like any of the other girls he had ever met at the clubs or just in general. She was down to earth and not caught up in her looks or really his looks either. And although that doesn’t sound like much, it made the decent human being inside of Jeremy feel really good. Jeremy had thought that this would be just a good way to pass time, do some careless flirting, but now there was a chance that he would see her again. She might come down to the club, she might actually see him again. And at first Jeremy didn’t care, but now…if he didn’t see her again after this, he would feel empty.

" What makes you think I don't care? I don't mind hearing it." Jeremy shrugged at her words. He had thought she wouldn’t really be interested in it. He had figured that she was tired of talking to him and she just wanted the annoying person who insisted on sitting with her, to go away. But apparently he was wrong. Jeremy smirked and leaned in on the table. “Well, I want to teach grade one or two. My mom’s a teacher and she’s always saying how rewarding it is to know that she’s helping someone. And I love kids…so I thought that maybe teaching would be a good thing to do. So once I save up enough money I’m going to try to get into teacher’s college.” he said with a smile, as he stared deep into Annaika’s eyes.

He felt really good about himself, not because he figured she was interested in him. Or because things were going well, he just felt good being in her presence. Like there was something about her, that he couldn’t really figure out, but it kept drawing him in. He thought it was just her looks and her casual charm. But it was something deeper, something much more real. And Jeremy had to have it. He had to know. He stared at her as she continued to speak. She commented on his previous comment, and he smiled a bit to himself. Yes, he did think she was absolutely stunning, her beauty was really just over whelming, and that was why he had seen her first when he walked into the Starbucks. But he also thought, she was very strange.

“Yes. I do think you are beautiful and strange.” Jeremy said leaning into her on the table. He held his chin, and rested his elbow on the table. He stared into her eyes as she held the stare. He couldn’t look away, didn’t dare look away. He felt that if he glanced away from her, he would miss something, something huge. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his smile sort of faded. His voice dropped and he whispered, “Oh yes, there’s something very different about you. I’ve seen it before. But…I don’t know.”

( WORDS :: 525 ) ( TAGS :: Annaika ) ( OUTFIT :: other posts ) ( CREDITS :: lyrics from "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/" by my chemical romance, template by THROUGH THE TREES of caution two-point-oh ) ( NOTES :: lots of muse!! )

[Sandy]

Annaika listened, unable to stop herself from feeling a bit envious when Jeremy spoke of wanted to teach kids. She didn't want to be a teacher but...it would be nice to have it as an option. But she couldn't. She was horrible with kids, though she loved them. From afar, anyways. Up close and personal they were annoying and loud and messy, something that neither Annaika nor her mountain lion liked.

That sounds like it would be amazing. Annaika tapped her fingers briefly, considering. She didn't want to be a teacher, because she was horrible with kids. She used to want to be a veterinarian, but that didn't work since most pets were terrified of her, or if they weren't they wanted to attack her. She was studying zoology but would never work in a zoo. She hated those places. Perhaps a wildlife reserve, or a wildcat reserve. She could get along with wildcats.

“Oh yes, there’s something very different about you. I’ve seen it before. But…I don’t know.” Annaika jerked her attention back to the human and barely stopped the rising growl in time. Jeremy was perceptive. Too perceptive. Humans didn't have their true instincts to fear Shifters but they usually remained wary of them as a person, riding it off on weirdness or whatever. This was different. Oh, have you now? Where, if I may ask? Annaika had to stop herself from leaning forward further and looking at him with the full piercing power of her mountain lion eyes. She was also cutting it close enough, allowing the subtle color change. All it would take was a big enough surprise and she would forget her control, allowing her eyes to slit and become the eyes of a mountain lion. She'd been lucky it hadn't happened when he'd caught her off guard and she'd growled at him.

Annaika took a few deep breaths to calm the agitated mountain lion and forced herself to relax back into her seat again instead of leaning forward. She drank more of her coffee, breaking eye contact as she did so. She was almost out and half considered getting more before she rejected that idea.

words - 358
muse - great
tagged - jeremy
song - born to fly

[Parchy]

MOVE YOUR BODY WHEN THE SUNLIGHT DIES
EVERYBODYHIDEYOURBODY
[ F R O M T H E S C A R E C R O W; E V E R Y B O D Y H I D E ]

"Oh, have you now? Where, if I may ask?" Where? Where had he seen this strange difference? He couldn’t remember where. His eyes dropped away from Annaika and Jeremy stared at the ground thinking hard about whom she reminded him of or what traits she had that resembled something he had seen before? His eyes closed for a moment and he pictured all her little mannerisms and all the little quirks and he began pairing them towards others. He opened his eyes, and glanced at her, he tried to look deep in her eyes again, but she had looked away and was drinking her coffee. He sighed and looked around the store trying to figure it out.

It wasn’t that she reminded him of someone he knew, not by looks anyways. It was more than that. It was something a lot deeper than that. He shook his head a few times as he thought about all the people he knew who were strange, and he had completely forgotten about all his research about Shifters because he was didn’t think he could ever meet a Shifter in a simple little place like Starbucks. His mind began to close and it felt like he could no longer think of things, “I’ve seen it…Let me think about it.” He said glancing at her again.

The longer he thought about it, the more the picture became clear. He could almost put his finger on it. Annaika and all her little quirks reminded him very deeply of…his father. Wait what? At first Jeremy was disgusted by the thought, but then slowly the pieces fit together perfectly. He looked up at stared at Annaika. His expression was blank, except for the look of surprise and confusion in his eyes. No. That can’t be it, I would’ve noticed a while ago…wouldn’t I have? Jeremy thought as he stared at her. Then he shrugged he was probably wrong.

“You remind me of my father.” he said simply staring deeply at her. He watched her every movement, now suddenly very aware of what was going on in front of him. He sighed, and stared at his empty coffee cup for a moment or too. Jeremy leaned in, his arms resting on the table and he looked at her eyes and held the very intense stare, “He’s a…and I think you are…a....” There was a pause and Jeremy looked down. He couldn’t say it. Tell some random girl he was hitting on about the deepest darkest secret of his family. He could never betray them like that. So instead he shook his head at her, and said “Nevermind.”

( WORDS :: 438 ) ( TAGS :: Annaika ) ( OUTFIT :: ) ( CREDITS :: lyrics from "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/" by my chemical romance, template by THROUGH THE TREES of caution two-point-oh ) ( NOTES :: apparently the song "Roxanne" is a really good thing to listen too when you need muse. )

[Sandy]

Annaika shifted uneasily. He was taking this too seriously. She hadn't been expecting this, though she was curious about what he'd thought. His face was blank but humans were terrible at masking the expressions in their eyes. Surprise...shock...perhaps recognition? Annaika shifted again, only this time she was suppressing the growl once more rising in her throat.

He couldn't know. It was as simple as that. He smelled a bit off but if he was hanging around with a Shifter he'd smell of one too. But what if it's been a long time since he's seen the Shifter? Yes. That was possible.

“You remind me of my father. He’s a…and I think you are…a....” He was oh-so-close to saying it. Saying what she was, what his father was. Shifter. If his father was a Shifter then that would explain why he smelled off like he did, not completely human but also most certainly not Shifter. With the help of her mountain lion, Annaika kept her face mildly amused and raised her eyebrows. Like your father? I can't tell if that's a compliment or not. And I would really like to know what you think I am, and what your dad is, but obviously you don't want to tell me. Annaika made herself look hurt for the slightest second before wiping the look away. To her it seemed like her act was terribly good but it didn't matter what it seemed to her. Him believing her innocence was what mattered.

Actually, she wasn't sure exactly what she wanted. It would be amazing for someone else, someone not a Shifter, to know her secret. But then she remembered her ex-boyfriend. No, she couldn't do that. If she was going to be Jeremy's friend--and she found herself hoping they could be friends--then she didn't want it to be because she was some fascinating Shifter. She didn't want it to be because he found the idea of being with a Shifter, of doing a Shifter, hot like her ex-boyfriend had.

And there she was going off again. She didn't want a relationship with this man. He was a human. A horribly boring, mundane human. And yet no matter how much she repeated it to herself she found this boring human more interesting then the Shifters she knew.

words - 378
tagged - jeremy
muse - good
song - if you're going through hell

[Parchy]

MOVE YOUR BODY WHEN THE SUNLIGHT DIES
EVERYBODYHIDEYOURBODY
[ F R O M T H E S C A R E C R O W; E V E R Y B O D Y H I D E ]

He saw her shift in her chair; he knew this was getting very uncomfortable. But her nervous behaviour made him think that maybe he was right and she knew what he was going to say. But he couldn’t say it. As a child he had wanted to tell so many people about the super awesome powers his dad and grandfather had. They had thought that maybe Jeremy would’ve been a Shifter as well, but the genes had not hit him. Then they thought that perhaps the twins, or one of the twins would get the genes. But no. Sadly no one else had gotten the Shifter genes. But that didn’t change the fact that Jeremy had sworn to his parents that he wouldn’t tell anyone. Because well, Shifters were dangerous and, not everyone in the world, wanted to keep them alive.

But he was going to tell Annaika anyways. He didn’t know why he was going to do it. But he was going to do it. He wanted to know if Annaika was one. He had never met a female Shifter before; he had never actually known any other Shifters except for the ones in his family. And he had been researching and studying them for as long as he could remember. But this was the first time he was certain that he had found one, and he didn’t want to go and ruin it by her that he knew. But he had to tell her. So that was what he going to do, he would face the consequences for himself.

She spoke and he watched her so intensely that it felt as though looking away would end the world. So she wants to know what Dad is? Well, fine. He thought scowling slightly but then he took a deep breath. Jeremy leaned in across the table, his blue eyes narrowed and he stared deeply into Annaika’s eyes. He had made up his mind, screw the rest, this was what he was doing.

“You remind me of my father. Not in looks, but by how you’ve been acting.” He said clarifying that. His voice was very light, but his face was very serious. His eye brows raised slightly, and he leaned back in his chair to examine her. Perhaps he was wrong, and if he was wrong and he told Annaika what his father was…then he would be in trouble. He sighed and whispered. “He’s a Shifter. More specifically an Animal Shifter.”

( WORDS :: 412 ) ( TAGS :: Annaika ) ( OUTFIT :: other posts ) ( CREDITS :: lyrics from "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/" by my chemical romance, template by THROUGH THE TREES of caution two-point-oh ) ( NOTES :: lolz. )

[Sandy]

Annaika wasn't sure what kind of response she should expect from Jeremy but she knew now that she couldn't let herself be caught off guard again. So she kept her face carefully composed, a mixture of amusement and skepticism.

God, why had the only human in the place who'd know about Shifters, or so she suspected, come over to her? Why couldn't he have been boring and stupid and so utterly human like she'd expected? He looked like he was preparing himself to say something and Annaika dreaded what might come from his mouth.

“He’s a Shifter. More specifically an Animal Shifter.” She waited a second and then furrowed her brow. She turned on a small, slightly confused smile that she hoped would do the job. Umm...an Animal Shifter, huh? Sounds...fascinating. I'm not an Animal Shifter, whatever that is. I think I'd know, don't you think? She hated talking like he was some delusional kid but it was safest for both of them.

Annaika ran her fingers through her hair to hide her frustration. She only didn't want anyone to know because of how they would treat her, like racism, but others would hate the idea of a human knowing. And that would make it dangerous to him. Listen, Jeremy, I don't know what-what your dad tells you but you better not let people hear you talking like that. They'll lock you up in a padded room. Annaika turned her eyes on his, completely human now though that didn't stop them from having a feral fierceness to them.

He needed to understand, she needed him to understand. Because he wasn't some stupid, dull human but someone she found herself caring about. Ugh. She was turning soft. But she didn't want him to get hurt and, as selfish as it was, she didn't want him to treat her differently because she was a Shifter. She found herself loving to be treated like a young, beautiful human female.

Annaika wasn't used to be treated so kindly. Many humans avoided her like the plague, because of her loner tendancies, and that usually treated her just fine. But now...now she found herself craving more. She didn't want to be a human, hell to the no, but there was nothing wrong with wanting to be treated like a human.

Right?

words - 379
muse - good
tagged - jeremy

[Parchy]

MOVE YOUR BODY WHEN THE SUNLIGHT DIES
EVERYBODYHIDEYOURBODY
[ F R O M T H E S C A R E C R O W; E V E R Y B O D Y H I D E ]

He was offended. Actually offended. He could tell from how silly she sounded scolding him that she knew what he was talking about. That was fine by him that she was denying it, and perhaps she really wasn’t a Shifter, but Jeremy was taking it as a very cold blow that she was now treating him like a child caught up in a fantasy. He scowled at her and leaned back in his chair, as if trying to get away from her. His eyes narrowed slightly at her as she told him what would happen to him if he was heard saying these things loudly. He found himself rolling his eyes at her.

Jeremy’s fist slammed down on the table, not loud enough for everyone in the coffee shop to hear, but enough to show Annaika his anger. “Thanks for your concern sweetheart, but I know what I am talking about. And I am more than certain that you know too.” he said it sarcastically. And the moment after he had been talking, he regretted it. His face went from angry to sad in a matter of seconds. Jeremy stared at the ground and then up at his empty coffee cup.

“Well, I just wanted to sit here to drink my coffee. And that’s all gone. So perhaps I should just go.” He coughed, and looked up at Annaika. He shrugged and gave her a semi-smile. Perhaps he had been wrong and leaving was really the only best solution to this awkward situation. “Sorry for uh..taking up your time. I’ll uh let you…get back to your book.” Then he slowly pushed his chair out from the table and stood up.

( WORDS :: 280 ) ( TAGS :: Annaika ) ( OUTFIT :: other posts ) ( CREDITS :: lyrics from "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/" by my chemical romance, template by THROUGH THE TREES of caution two-point-oh ) ( NOTES :: blarg!! no muse!! )

[Sandy]

Annaika winced, from surprise of how he'd spoken to her but mainly because she knew that she deserved it. She watched him, uncharacteristically docile, but only because she was struggling with what to do. He'd made a risk telling her, something he had probably struggled with deciding whether or not to tell her, like she was doing now.

When he stood up, Annaika flinched, her green eyes stretching wide. Wait. Please just...wait. Annaika sighed and slumped against her seat, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes for a few seconds. They were still over her eyes when she spoke again. Yes, I do know what you're talking about. And I'm sorry. I deserved that. You just... don't know how dangerous it is that you know, for me and for you. Annaika looked back at him, her eyes pleading. Uck. Pleading. Annaika didn't beg but she was.

If Jeremy told anyone, Shifters would be massacred all over again, and if a Shifter discovered that he knew and thought him a threat, he could be killed. Dammit. I hate this. I'm...bad at explaining. But you're right and I was wrong to say what I did. Annaika leaned forward so that her hair created a curtain on either side and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again they were dark and slanted slightly, the pupil slitted. She flashed him a sharp-toothed grin with elongated teeth. In another second they melted back into human features.

She watched him warily now. She made a big risk, just like he had before. Now it would be up to him whether he wanted to end the only sort of world that Shifters knew or to keep silent. She was sure now that she was telling the truth about his father-- the ability to shift skipped generations sometimes, like with her family --and hoped that because of that he would have a sense of kinship and wouldn't want to tell the world. You can go now, if you want. I won't stop you. The words were a whisper and she continued to watch Jeremy, suddenly terrified of what would happen if he did just walk away. He was special, she would admit that, and just like he'd said earlier that he wanted to get to know her, she wanted to get to know him better.

words - 388
tagged - jeremy
muse - great

[Parchy]

MOVE YOUR BODY WHEN THE SUNLIGHT DIES
EVERYBODYHIDEYOURBODY
[ F R O M T H E S C A R E C R O W; E V E R Y B O D Y H I D E ]

Jeremy stood there staring at her, he was still angry. His anger was running up and down his spine making him slouch and not give a damn about anything. His eyes started to roll as she warned him again, but when he looked at her it was clear to see she was concerned. Which made him feel bad for how he had talked to her. Jeremy sighed when she nearly begged him to stay with her.

She shifted. Her eyes and teeth took the form of her Animal. His eyes widened slightly, but the excitement only lasted for a moment, as he had seen his father shift many times into a wolf. " You can go now, if you want. I won't stop you." Jeremy sighed picked up his empty coffee cup, and went to discard it. Then he went up to the counter and ordered himself a new one. With the new full cup of coffee in his hand, he went and sat back down with Annaika.

Jeremy took a very large sip of his coffee, then he placed it down calmly and leaned back in his chair. What to say first? What to break the awkward silence…Jeremy sighed and said very calmly. “I really don’t want to leave.” He gave a half smile, but his face went very hard and emotionless afterwards. He stared at the table thinking what else to say to her. He wanted her to know that he wasn’t going to tell a soul…but how to say it without getting angry?

“I know my boundaries and limits with telling people.” He said nodding his head gently. But then he shrugged. And said, “I’ve grown up knowing that no one can know. I also know the risk in me knowing, and Annaika your secret is safe with me.” That should do it. That should make things right. But woah. It all suddenly started to hit him.

He had found a female Animal Shifter. Just in general he had found a Shifter. This was huge! But he could tell from the way she had tried not to tell him that she didn’t want him to know, for many reasons he was sure. All that that meant was that he wasn’t going to make it into a big deal so Jeremy just gave her a slight smile.

( WORDS :: 389 ) ( TAGS :: Annaika ) ( OUTFIT :: Other posts ) ( CREDITS :: lyrics from "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/" by my chemical romance, template by THROUGH THE TREES of caution two-point-oh ) ( NOTES :: woo hoo muse! )

[Sandy]

Annaika watched as he walked away, ordered another drink, and returned. She wasn't going to be the first to speak. No matter what she wasn't. And she didn't have to, because Jeremy did. “I’ve grown up knowing that no one can know. I also know the risk in me knowing, and Annaika your secret is safe with me.” Annaika sighed and looked down, eyelashes shielding her eyes, and said, I really hope so, Jeremy. And still she thought of how it wasn't just that she feared of him telling others. He was acting just fine but it had to be getting to him, knowing that she was a Shifter now.

Annaika crossed her arms in front of her chest and concentrated on the table top. Now that she'd told Jeremy she honestly had no idea what to say anymore. It just felt awkward. Her mountain lion was pacing. She knew it liked Jeremy but it didn't like telling him what they were. What they were was a secret for herself and other Shifters only and now she'd told a human. It had been like this last time she'd told someone too.

Annaika gave a short laugh at the thought, though it wasn't funny, and desperately hoped this didn't end up the same. So what now? she asked, risking a peek back up at Jeremy before looking down at the table again. It was lame how she was acting. Annaika, who had faced an Alpha wolf Shifter and then a pack of real live wolves, was figuratively cowering from the human boy across the table from her.

words - 264
tagged - jeremy
muse - okay...bad post...

[Parchy]

MOVE YOUR BODY WHEN THE SUNLIGHT DIES
EVERYBODYHIDEYOURBODY
[ F R O M T H E S C A R E C R O W; E V E R Y B O D Y H I D E ]

Jeremy shrugged at her question. He didn’t know what would happen to them now. But he had an idea. Jeremy smiled slightly and then said, “I still want to know everything about you. I want to get to know you, I want to know your secrets everything.” Jeremy shrugged again but his smile faded. “That is, if you still want to talk to me.” He thought she might want him to leave or that she might want to leave because he had forced her to tell probably her darkest secret. So she might not want to talk to him, which was fine. He didn’t care anymore if she did or not. Well, no that was a lie. He did care. He cared very much. Annaika was different and from the little he did know about her, he still couldn’t imagine her getting up and walking away right then and there. So he sighed, and said in a pathetic whisper, “Please still talk to me..”

( WORDS :: 164 ) ( TAGS :: Annaika ) ( OUTFIT :: [other posts] ) ( CREDITS :: lyrics from "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/" by my chemical romance, template by THROUGH THE TREES of caution two-point-oh ) ( NOTES :: holy mother of god no muse. )

[Sandy]

Annaika hesitated and flicked at the empty air. I guess...that I can tell you more now. She grasped her cup and fixed her eyes on it and when she spoke it was as if she were repeating something she read. When I was younger I couldn't control my shift. When I was three years old my sister was born but my parents wouldn't let me meet her without a barrier between us for four years, for fear I would attack her. They home schooled me so they wouldn't have to deal with what would happen if I attacked someone else. When I was nine my mother grounded me and...it made me so angry that I shifted and nearly killed her and my sister. Only my father stopped me.

Annaika lowered her lashes to hide the wetness of her eyes, but even with that the tone of her voice didn't change. When I was entering seventh grade I convinced them to finally let me attend a real school. I never met anyone outside my family until I was eleven, I know. Wait, no, I met my neighbor once in the front yard. I was so terrified that I didn't really talk to her. I blame the way my parents raised me to how I behave today, even though I know it isn't completely their fault. Her mountain lion was responsible for that as well. It didn't like company.

Annaika sniffed and blinked the tears away from her eyes, aware of how pathetic she was, before looking back up at Jeremy, shyly this time. It wouldn't take much for him to judge her now and he didn't even know it all. But she'd have to tell him everything. Just over a year ago...I... She sucked into a deep breath, trying to figure out the best way to go on. But that was impossible, as there was no good way to say what she wanted. My boyfriend of the time was...well, it didn't matter what he was but I shifted and killed him. Annaika looked down again. He didn't need to know about how her claws had scored his bare stomach, nearly disemboweling him, or how her claws ripped at his throat and her jaws sank around his skull, killing him. They'd been outside and she'd fled after it happened. She'd been interviewed, sure, but they couldn't blame the murder on him, not since everything pointed at the attack of a wildcat, probably a cougar. The cops had decided that there was a loose mountain lion in the city, one that had been raised by humans but become unmanageable.

They'd never found the cat.

words - 436
tagged - jeremy
mused - awesome

[Parchy]

MOVE YOUR BODY WHEN THE SUNLIGHT DIES
EVERYBODYHIDEYOURBODY
[ F R O M T H E S C A R E C R O W; E V E R Y B O D Y H I D E ]

He leaned back in his chair, he folded his arms across his chest and just let Annaika talk. He smiled at her, but as she began to get into detail his smile began to fade until his face wJeremy stared in awe as she began to tell him everything. Literally everything. And everything included the truth, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Wow, his father had told him things about his childhood, but it hardly compared to how serious and crazy Annaika’s childhood was. Jeremy felt bad for her, a bit of his heart rang out and he wanted to help her or do something to show her that he understood and wanted to comfort her.

But he couldn’t do anything for her. Because he didn’t understand, he never would understand what it was like to be out of control and Shift. As much he had tried to learn about Shifters and figure out what it was like, he could never truly understand, so all Jeremy could do was sit there and nod along with her stories. His heart felt broken as he looked at her face and how sad and heartbroken she seemed to be.

She killed her boyfriend? He felt himself gulp, and he felt his heart sink in despair for how broken up Annaika must be. He didn’t know what to say to her. He didn’t know what else to do. He leaned forward, and he reached out a hand to her. Jeremy didn’t know if she would like the gesture of kindness, she didn’t know if this would be really awkward. But he held his hand out to her, and he gave her a gentle smile hoping that his little motion wouldn’t frighten her away.

As he sat there, he thought of a million things to say. A few things that were rude. A few jokes. But then something that was both a little funny and a little gentle, hopefully that would be okay. “Don’t worry Annaika, I will never ever give you a reason to kill me.” His smile grew a bit, but then he said in a more serious tone. “I wish I could say I understand what it was like. But if I did, I would be lying. And lying is something I don’t do well. So I’m sorry..”

( WORDS :: 387 ) ( TAGS :: Annaika ) ( OUTFIT :: other posts ) ( CREDITS :: lyrics from "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/" by my chemical romance, template by THROUGH THE TREES of caution two-point-oh ) ( NOTES :: bleh not a lot of muse. )