HYBRID

CHAPTER 5

ELI'S POV

After the k********g incident, instead of feeling exhausted, I actually feel refreshed. But still I can't forget Mila. I wonder how she is right now. Nate doesn't want to talk about her anymore.

Every time I asked about her, it was either he would pretend he didn't hear me or he would just leave. And ever since then, I can feel that Nate has been acting strangely, he's a bit more protective than before. ''Are you sure you can do this?'' he asked me,

''Of course, I have had enough rest already.'' I told him. ''Alright if you say so, just don't push yourself ,ok?'' he said. He looked so worried that I felt like teasing him a little bit.

''Yes Dad'' I told him. ''Call me dad again, and I will kiss you.'' I was not expecting him to respond like that. That's why I was not able to hide my expression, he's been really weird lately.

''Eeww.. that's gross, stop it!'' I just showed him that I looked disgusted, but actually I was shocked to hear him say those words to me.Just in time, I saw Cherry coming, ''Cherry! over here,'' I waved at her.

''Wait.. let me breathe.'' she said, ''that was just a short distance and your tired already?'' Nate teased her. Then Cherry suddenly asked me, ''Hey Eli, can you win this for me?''

It was the first time she asked me to win. Normally she would just tell me to enjoy the game. She sounds different today, even though I still said, '' Sure! You know I'm a runner and I never lose.'' I assured her.

Then we saw Tiffany and her friends approaching us, ''Hi there Cherry, thanks for the invitation.'' she's smiling but somehow I feel like she's irritated with me.

After that, Cherry said she would go to the toilet. She looked tense when leaving. That's why I asked her to comeback soon, since the game is about to start and I need her to cheer for me.

I was stretching while looking for my friends. I was wondering where they were sitting, then I saw Tyler and Nate sitting beside each other. I waved at them and they waved back, then suddenly

I heard someone talking behind me. It was Tiffany, ''I wonder.. how did you manage to get close to those two?'' she said, looking annoyed.

So I answered her, '' Everyone knows that Nate is my childhood friend and Tyler... '' I paused, actually I didn't know how we became closer. I know I was being friendly to him, since we're partners in a project but,

''Yes, what about Tyler? Did you seduce him?'' she asked, leaning closer to me, ''What are you talking about?!'' I wanted to say more but I heard the whistle, indicating the game would start.

I felt irritated about what Tiffany said, me? seducing Tyler?. Then I heard the first whistle, meaning to get ready. I glanced at Tiffany, I saw her staring at me! I looked away and started focusing.

I suddenly feel the desire to defeat her, I need to win! I heard the second whistle, then I started running. I could see that the other players were far behind me, except for Tiffany, who was there at the moment running side by side with me. Then she passed me. Oh no! I can't lose! I told myself, so I started running faster.

Then I can feel my body starting to feel lighter. I kept running afterwards. I finally passed Tiffany! But I felt strange, my feet were almost not touching the ground. I'm losing control.

I can see the finish line now, but I'm still running faster and faster! Then I saw a mascot waiving his hand, as if asking me to go to him. A few seconds later, he bumped into me,

''Sorry, did you get hurt?'' I asked, trying to help him remove the head of the mascot. To my surprise, it was Tyler, ''Hey! why are you wearing these?'' I asked, smiling at him.

''Well, I just want to be the first to congratulate you, Coz I know you will win,'' he said while laughing with me. Tiffany came to me and smiled, "Congratulations!'' she said and glared at me while walking away.

Me, Tyler, Nate and Cherry went to the newly opened restaurant near our school. I told them it was my treat since I won the game. I was happy to see Cherry enjoying the food.

And me, on the other hand, trying to act as normal as possible while Tyler was staring at me. I could see on the side of my eye that Nate was glaring at him.

These two, when will they ever get along, I asked myself. As I looked around the place and saw Tiffany approaching our table. ''Can we join you guys?'' she asked, then Nate said ''This table is good for four people.'' he sounded sarcastic.

''But I think Eli and Cherry are done eating, since they have already finished their dessert,'' she insisted, as if telling us to leave. Then Cherry suddenly said that she was done and left. I followed and ran after her outside.

''Hey Cherry wait! what's wrong? why did you leave?'' I grabbed her shoulder and asked, because she looked tense. ''Nothing, I just really need to go home.'' she said without looking at me.

We just stood there for a while. I knew there was something going on, but I understand if she can't tell me right now. That's why I let out a sigh and said, ''Alright, if you really need to go, then I'll see you tomorrow.'' She just nodded and left.

''Don't worry so much, she'll be fine,'' it was Tyler tapping my shoulder. I turned and smiled at him, ''Yeah, let's go'' I said. He suddenly held my hand, so I looked at him.

''Ahmm.. Eli, can we... go out? just the two of us?'' he asked. At that moment, I felt like everything had stopped. I could only hear my heart, which was beating so fast as if it was about to burst!

The next day, I'm at a cafe inside a mall waiting for Cherry. She promised to go out with me to look for a dress that I would wear on her birthday. While staring at my coffee, I remember Tyler.

I didn't expect him to ask me out on a date. Just thinking about it makes me feel happy already! Wait.. does this mean I like him? I asked myself, when Cherry popped out in front of me. ''Eli? why are you spacing out?'' she asked.

"Oh! Nothing.. I just..ahmm I was just thinking about what kind of dress I should wear,'' I told her, trying to make an excuse. ''Well, any dress would fit on you'' she said, smiling.

''Hey Eli, yesterday.. '' she looked apologetic, ''It's alright, we all have days like that, you know.. even me sometimes I want to be alone.'' I told her, reassuring, that everything is ok with us.

We were walking for two hours now non stop, going from one store to another. But Cherry still couldn't find the right dress for me. I mean, I'm not picky about anything, but not for her.

"Can we sit for a minute? I can't move my legs now.'' I complained. I'm actually not tired, it's just that the more dress she sees, the more I need to try if it fits. Then she said, '' Oh my gosh!'', covering her mouth.

She stood up and went inside to the store in front of us. I followed her and saw she was holding a blue off-shoulder satin cocktail dress. It's narrow at the waist with a bow in the center and an A-line skirt. She asked me to wear it and so I did.

When I went out of the dressing room, I saw her smiling widely and said ''This dress is made for you!''.

She asked me to turn around a couple of times and when she was finally satisfied she told me to remove it.

After changing, I told her, "I'm not the birthday celebrant, just in case you forgot." and smiled at her. I paid, then we left the store. We decided to eat lunch at a nearby fast food chain.

We finished ordering, so we looked for a table and waited for our order to be ready. Our number has been called, Cherry stands up to get our food.

When she turned around, she bumped into a girl, and all the drinks were spilled on her. I went to Cherry to help pick up the food that was thrown on the floor.

Cherry said sorry, then I heard a slap sound. I quickly turned and saw Cherry holding her left cheek looking at the floor.

Everyone was looking at us. I got furious. I ran to her and checked if she was alright, then looked at the girl who slapped her.

I was surprised to see that it was Tiffany! I was so mad for the first time I felt like punching someone, but instead I asked, ''Why did you hit her?'' trying to be calm. ''Are you blind? you didn't see what she did to me?'' she shouted.

''She said sorry!'' I talked back, ''Do you think it's enough?'' she said, trying to grab Cherry's hair, but I tried my best to block her. Then one of her friends pushed me and was about to hit me when someone grabbed her hand.

''Erick?'' I was relieved to see him come just in time. "You know.. fighting is not good. Why don't you girls try to cool down?'' he said, then released her hand.

Two security officers came and talked to Tiffany. The latter then left after a few talks but glared at me before finally leaving the place.

Erick helped Cherry to stand up and brought her to our table. I followed them and said, ''Thank you!'' Erick looked at me and smiled, ''Don't mention it, I'm always willing to help someone in need.'' he said.

''Yeah, you are really a life savior,'' I smiled at him, then turned and asked Cherry, ''Are you alright?'' looking at her red cheek, it looked like Tiffany hit her hard.

''Sorry, you got hurt because of me,'' she said. Her voice was shaking. ''Hey, don't worry, I'm alright, I'm not hurt.'' then I smiled at her.

"You know what, it's not your fault,'' Erick said, "Really! I saw everything from outside. She intentionally blocked you when you turned around, that's why you bumped into her." Erick explained.

Cherry looked at Erick with disbelief, and then looked down as if she was thinking something. So in order to cut her thoughts, ''She's crazy!'' I said, "Yup, she is!'' Erick said.

"Ahmm.. Cherry, do you want to go home?'' I asked, since she looked exhausted. ''Yeah, sorry Eli I can't have lunch with you.'' she said. ''Want me to take you home? I brought my car with me.'' he offered.

We had already dropped Cherry at her house, when I felt awkward all of a sudden. Then Erick asked, ''Do you want to grab something to eat before going home?'' ''Sure! I'm actually starving,'' I smiled at him.

After we finished eating, he stopped his car in the parking lot near the dorm. I didn't ask anything. I just looked at him, then he said, ''I want to spend more time with you, so I'll walk you home instead.''

I couldn't find the proper words to respond to him, so I just said, "'OK,''. I stopped near the front gate of the dorm, ''It'll be fine here,'' I told him. He didn't say anything, he was just staring at me.

I felt a little conscious and so I said, ''Is there something wrong with my face?'' He smiled and said, ''No, nothing.. I just.. you look prettier up close.'' then he grabbed my face and kissed my left cheek. I was stunned.

I have never been kissed before! is this the payment from earlier? I asked myself. I'm still in a state of shock when someone pulls me from behind.

I looked up and saw Nate. He was looking at Erick as if he was about to punch him. So I held his arm and, since I didn't know what to do, I decided to introduce Erick to him, ''Ahmm.. Nate this is--,''

''I don't care! YOU go inside!'' he said to me in a firm tone, then he looked at Erick and told him, '' And YOU, don't you dare do it again,'' Nate looked so mad.

''Why? are you her boyfriend?'' Erick asked. I saw Nate clenched his fist, that's why I pulled him closer to me and said, ''Erick, please go and.. thank you for today.'' Erick smiled at me and said, "Anytime''. then he left.

Nate removed my hand from his arms, ''Go inside, '' his voice was icy. He's really mad right now. I remained standing beside him, waiting for him to look at me, but he didn't. This is the first time I saw him get mad, so I didn't push myself towards him.

''I'm going in,'' Before I entered the gate, I looked back to check if he was looking this way, but he was still standing there facing the opposite side. I feel like crying. I'm not used to Nate getting mad at me.

NATE'S POV

I can't forget the words that Tyler told Eli, he wanted to go out with her, and the worst is, Eli said YES! She didn't even hesitate, but she told me before she didn't like him.

I need to think of a way to spend more time with her. I must! I heard my phone was ringing, so I put down the dumbbells and picked up my phone. It's Doctor James, ''Hello, Nate? how are you, how's Eli?'' ''We're good Doctor, no changes from the last report.''

"Good to hear that, do you still have enough stock of sedatives?'' he asked, ''Yes, I haven't used any'', I told him. "Is she with you?'' ''No I'm in the gym, she's with our friend to look for a dress,'' I explained.

''I see, but try to keep her with you at all times.'' ''I'm actually planning on training her starting next week,'' I said, ''That's a good idea!'' After giving me some instructions, we ended our conversation. I finished my exercise and went out to see Eli.

I tried calling her, but her phone was off, so I dialed Cherry's number instead. ''Hello Nate?'' she answered, ''Hi Cherry, are you still with Eli?'' I asked.

"No, they dropped me, I'm already home,'' she said. ''Who's they? She's with whom?'' I asked, though I think she was with Tyler, but to my surprise..

"She's with Erick,'' Cherry said, "Erick? who is he?'' ''He's also a transfer student at our school.'' she told me. ''Ok, Thanks Cherry.'' then I hung up. Who on Earth is this Erick? Why is Eli surrounded by boys lately?

I went back to the dorm, it was better to wait for her there. Since I didn't know where to find her, after hours of waiting, I sensed Eli was nearby. I went out to the main gate.

I was excited to tell her about the training that she would do with me. When the gate opened, I saw a guy kissing Eli on her cheek. I felt a sudden rage of anger. I walked fast, then pulled Eli, then I scowled at him.

After a moment of silence, Eli tried to introduce the guy, but I cut her, and told her that I was not interested. I looked at the guy and warned him, then he asked me a question that was too difficult and complicated.

''Why? are you her boyfriend?'' I couldn't answer him, I just clenched my fist. Eli holds onto me. I guess she was thinking that I was going to punch this guy.

She asked him to go. When the guy left, Eli didn't leave my side. I removed her hand and told her to go inside, without looking at her.

Afterwards, she said, she's going in, I know she's looking at me, I can feel it. I can't look at her, since I don't know what will happen if I do. When she was finally inside, I ran away from the dorm. I didn't know where to.

I just wanted to be alone. It hurts whenever I see her with Tyler, and now another guy came and he even kissed her! This is too much for me to handle right now. I guess this is my punishment for rejecting Mila.

I ran as far as I could, I needed to be away from Eli. As I was entering a neighborhood, all of a sudden I smelled blood! It was getting nearer and stronger.

I followed the scent and saw three vampires, sucking the blood of a teenage girl who was, at the moment, already unconscious because of blood loss.

I caught their attention, so I unleashed my claws and my fangs also started to come out. This is good, I needed something to vent my anger on. I attacked them, and the three of them charged at me.

I grab the first one on the neck and pull it out. The two saw what happened, they got very angry. They both targeted my arms, but they were too weak for me.

I lifted them both and I smashed their heads on the ground. Then they slowly turned into ashes.I can still hear the girl's heartbeat, but it's too weak. I turned back into my human form.

Then I carried the girl. I needed to bring her to the nearest hospital, otherwise in this state she would die. When I reached the road, five vampires were approaching me. This is not good, I told myself. Any delay and this girl will die.

They started attacking me. I just keep avoiding them, I have to lure them out. Suddenly, one of them was able to gash me on my back. I stumbled and fell down but I was able to keep the girl safe,

And then she said, in a very weak voice, ''Thank you..'' Then I heard her heartbeat stop. I put her down slowly, closed her eyes and I whispered.

''This is for you''. I turned to the vampires, unleashed my claws again and, because of the emotions I'm feeling right now about Eli, and a helpless young girl who had just died in my arms, in an instant I slashed their heads off!