Hybrid Princess

Chapter 3

I am so late…so late; Noah is going to kill me. I am going to be dead. He is going to string me up by my toes and leave me to die. I laugh to myself, walking up the steps reaching for the front door. All around it is lit brilliantly with golden shimmery lights. Wham, the door flung open when the first step creaked. Out bursts the explosion that is Noah.

“I should have known you were going to be late! You have an uncanny ability to always be late. And after the seventeen years I have known you, I should not be surprised.” He says as he laughs at me, he faces sweaty from running around getting the house ready. He reached out grabbing my hand yanking and pulling me through the threshold into the basement. “Come on!”

“Relax Noah, I made it didn’t I?” I laughed. “I could have blown you and this entire shindig off, but I didn’t. I am here. I came. I came here for you. So guess what buttercup…you get to accept my lateness.” A slow grin spread across his face. His eyes burned with a desire to punish me for my comments.

“Girl…Watch it. I will spank you.”

“Ohh you know I like it rough…” I’m dead…His face flashed red, before his eye glazed over like he was thinking about it.

“It…It…It’s the first blow out of the summer, you need to live a little. You little pervert. You will have plenty of time to sit at your house and be a party pooper later.” His stutter is the cutest. I laugh. He laughed and grabbed some bags off the floor. “Here take these cups and put them by the table. I have to go to the basement to get some more drinks, come down when you have finished.”

“Yeah, whatever.” I smile at him and grab the bags. I take the shiny red plastic cups out and leave to place them on the tables. He leaves to go down stairs. Slowly I begin to realize that this party might not have been the best idea for me, I am not a party type of girl. I don’t care if it is the night before the first day of summer. Maybe I should leave. Noah really doesn’t need me here. Turning around I head downstairs. I felt as if I were being watched from the window, I dared not turn around, so I walked downstairs to be with Noah.

“Took you long enough. All you needed to do was place the cups on the table? What? Did you get lost?” He laughed.

“Ha-ha, hilarious laugh it up. I just had the oddest feeling upstairs.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” He looked puzzled.

“I am sure it was nothing just in my head. You know I am just jumpy. Maybe like we were being watched?” I chuckled. “But you know I am just nuts. Ha.”

“Are you sure?” He looked towards the door with a concerned expression.

“I know. I said it was nothing I promise, it was just in my head.” Just as I said that the doorbell rang. We both grabbed a few cases and went upstairs. The person at the door was growing obnoxiously impatient as the doorbell began to repeatedly sound throughout the house.

“Hold on I am coming good grief. You press that doorbell one more time!” Noah yelled, answering the door. “Come on in the party is just about to start.” As he said that at least twenty people came in. Most of the girls barely had any clothing on and the guys were ready for the strip club the living room was about to become. Noah’s eye scan each as the came in. You flirty jerk…

The music started, and I looked around the living room everyone seemed to be having a few laughs, and before I knew it, I was actually having fun. Pure adolescent teenage girl fun. I was having the best time I had, had throughout this entire year. No dirty glares, or whispered remarks behind my back, what was done was done. Before I noticed, I was dancing with everyone, Noah and I were being our flirty selves, dancing on and around each other. I missed this. I missed having fun. It felt so good to be around people for the first time in forever. For the first time since that night I let my guard down. Just in time for the summer, my last summer in my home town. My only mission this summer is to have fun. Sliding over to the table grabbing Noah and I something to drink, I couldn’t help but to overhear a conversation between a group in the corner, but it was blurred words and hushed tones. They were talking about something serious I could see the looks on their faces. Whatever it was it peaked curiosity.

“Yeah, my dad is on the force and they found another body about 10 minutes ago, it was at that bus stop about 20 miles out.” The slenderer of the girls mumbled nervously twirling her hair. The others murmured something inaudible.

“That’s crazy, it’s the fifth one this week, within 150 miles of here. What is this guy a traveling salesman? This killer isn’t wasting anytime, is he…?” A boy stated. Looking over his shoulder.

“But my question is why haven’t they cops joined up and upped the police force Shelly? Or at least tell the public, have the curfew again until he is caught. He is clearly moving south if the trend continues this guy will be here tomorrow evening?” Asked a girl her glasses glinted in the light, she looked scared. She cowered into the slender boys’ frame. He hugged her shoulders.

“Shells, Aria has a good point. What about your dad Bobby? And why haven’t they at least issued a warning to the town?” Questioned the boy holding Aria. I know him it was her boyfriend Jason, they had just arrived and were talking with their friends Bobby and Shelly.

“I don’t know, personally I think it is to keep us from a major panic. I mean we have a right to know about what’s happening but think about it. How many of our parents would lock us in the house. My dad knows I am safe because I can protect myself, as can Bobby. But you two and approximately ninety-five percent of the people in this house right now don’t even know how to drive properly let alone defend themselves. And how would putting the curfew back in place help it barely works during the school year, good luck trying to get that to work with the summer.” Shelly bluntly pointed out.

“Not that I am agreeing with all that you are saying I still…” I couldn’t hear what he said one second, I was standing there facing them and the next I was spinning around. Finally, feet firmly on the ground, my stomach trying to catch up with my body. I could feel that it was Noah’s arms around me.

“Hey, slow poke get lost?” Giggled Noah. I turned around and the group walked away to the dance floor. Damn it. I wanted to know what they were talking about.

“No I was just listening to something. And you pulled my attention away you jerk.” I playful slapped his arm. “Have you heard anything?”

“Heard what?” He winked at me as his hands roamed around my body.

“About the dead bodys?” I said pulling out of his reach. His eyes seemed confused.

“Yeah, but the last time I heard anything about it a plan of action hadn’t been made? Why?”

“I just over heard Shelly telling Bobby, Aria and Jason, that there was another body found at the bus stop about 20 miles north of here a little bit ago. It is scary to think that if he continues his trend he could be here. Plus I literally just told someone that this was one of the safest towns to live in.”

“What? Who? Why did you walk here, I could have come to pick you up, you know that? What guy are you talking about? Did you know him? I don’t think you should go home tonight. With your brothers out of town I think you should stay here tonight it would be safer.”

“Easy dude, chill…I didn’t call you because I live fifteen minutes from here, and I highly doubt that anyone is going to be sleeping tonight.” I giggled. “As for the “Who?” question just some guy, I don’t know he was kind of hiding behind a tree I couldn’t see him.”

“So, the fact that he was hiding didn’t give you the idea that he might have wanted to hurt you? For all you know you could have talked to the killer, just having a normal conversation. God damn it, do you have something against turning and running in the other direction?” He was angry with me. He is always so worried about me. I wish he’d stop sometimes. The party started dwindling down as the night was coming to an end. The last few stranglers helped us pick up as little as they were exiting. I went to grab my things. I was pulled to a halt when he grabbed my wrist.

“Nope. You have no choice I can and will lock you in my closet.” He chuckled but there was no glint of humor in his voice. I knew he was being serious.

“You know one day I will have a reason to run and will. But I didn’t get any feeling that I was in any danger when I was with him. It was odd, but he was familiar.” His eye flashed a golden metallic color and back to his emerald eye. I am definite too drunk to walk home. I smiled.

“You know I don’t think that would ever happen.” His smile spread like wildfire across his face.

“You’ll have to lend me something to sleep in.” He laughed and grabbed my hand, we finish getting everyone to leave.

“I will also have to take you to get an outfit in the morning. When are your brothers getting back from your aunts?”

“I have no clue it really just depends on if they decide that they want to stay there and go to school, or if they’d like to come home and finish here. Just because I decided to stay doesn’t mean they want to.” I grabbed the trash heading outside to the end of the driveway. The farther away from the house the more I felt like I was being watched. My focus was no longer on the garbage I was carrying but on the rain that had come to a standstill and the clouds that had cleared leaving only smell of wet pavement and a clear black sky, with pin prick stars. Noah came and stood by me as I sat down on the curb looking up into the sky.

“Tori, why are you sitting on the cold, wet and dirty ground, when you could be sitting inside next to me on the warm couch?” He says as he looks down at me smiling. He was trying so hard not to be sarcastic it was terrible. He has no face when it comes to joking around.

“Because I love to look up at the stars, and you? You jerk, kept flirting with all the girls, maybe I don’t want to sit with you.” I pouted wrapping my arms round myself. “If you are going to try and be sarcastic you need to work on your face.” He laughed. “Would you like to come and sit with me for a while? The rain finally stopped. Please?”

“Fine. 5 minutes.” He laughs. “You know we do need to sleep right, we are not vampires, our bodies need sleep to function." He snickered as he sat down next to me on the curb. I pressed up closer to him for warmth and he wrapped his arm around me pulling me in tight, as I laid my head on his shoulder. Sitting here in this moment it feels safe and I feel protected, I know that Noah would do anything to protect me, he already has done so much for me and I don’t know what I would have done without him. We sit there talking for what feels like only minutes which turned into hours, and before we knew it, we were cuddling watching the sun come up over the water. The sun glinted of the water spreading rays of the early morning across houses and building the town sprang to life in a matter of seconds.

“Well now that everyone else in town is up would it be okay if we go shower and get some sleep?” He asked yawning, squeezing my hand.

I nodded looking at him. We got up off the ground. Looking into his eyes they were a golden honey color today, the way the sun reflected off them was magical. I gasped and ee looked away, pulling me to the house. It made me think about pressing my lips to his and never leaving this spot on the curb. My body was vibrating I wanted to kiss him. To know what it would feel like to press my body against his and feel his lips feather kisses along my neck. He is my best friend…but could he be more???