So please, for the 15 something views that read and that don't comment, feel free to do so
Enjoy!!
Chapter 15
"You should go rest," someone screamed.
"I'm not fucking leaving her!" another person yelled back.
Waking up abruptly, I groaned from the pounding in my head. "Stop shouting!" I rasped, my throat dry. Bringing a hand to my temple, I pried my eyes open and was momentarily blinded. When I’d adjusted to the brightness, I noticed I was lying on a bed, in one of the mansion’s bedrooms, with Tony sitting on a stool by the bed and Jason standing behind him. I turned my head towards the single window to see pools of morning light. Then I jumped when I felt something touch me, and turned my attention back to the two men.
"Hey," Tony spoke softly as he brushed the hair away from my face, "how do you feel?"
"Like I've been whacked with a shovel a couple times."
Jason, still standing behind Tony, chuckled. "Ah, the joys of hangovers."
Gigi swiftly came into the bedroom. "How would you know, chéri? Didn't you tell me you never drink?" She put her hands to her hips.
Jason's body stiffened and his face blanched slightly. "Of course... I mean... I never... It's only..."
Tony barked out a laugh. "You're so pussy whipped, dude."
"What did you say, pansy boy?" Jason shot daggers at him with his eyes.
Tony got up from him stool and both of them stood menacingly, ready to wrestle each other. Gigi stepped between them to intervene. "Not here, boys. Go play elsewhere." She started scooting them towards the door.
They both went while glaring at one another. Gigi closed the door right after they’d left. As soon as it was shut, you could hear them go at each other.
I shook my head. "How can they always be fighting?"
Gigi came back and sat by the edge of the bed. "If you give men the power to kill each other, they're bound to challenge themselves. Mostly though, it’s the hormones."
"I guess... They're still big babies though," I stated.
She giggled. "That they are!" Then she turned to me with a serious expression. "Except for your headache does everyone seem normal?"
"If you consider growing wings as-" I sat up straight with a gasp. Stretching my arms behind me, I tried to feel them. "What happened? Where are they?"
She put her hands up in a gesture to calm me down. "It's okay, don't worry!"
I let out a sharp breath. "I'm sick of everyone telling me that! If it weren't for these stupid situations, I wouldn't be worried!" I all but shrieked. Then I sighed. "Sorry, I know it's not your fault. I'm just... I'm sick of all the bullshit problems."
Her eyebrows shot up. "Did you just swear?"
I laughed humourlessly. "Yeah... Ben's been nagging me about my politeness!” I rolled my eyes as I spoke, “He says I need to learn to give attitude, to swear more. In his words; telling a demon to go away doesn't have as much effect as telling him to fuck the hell off." I slumped my shoulders. "It's just not my thing to be... Mean."
She nodded as though she knew what I was talking about. "I used to think that way too. But after some black witch tried to kill me, let's just say my perception on things changed." She smiled at me. "You'll see."
I cleared my throat. "So where'd they go?" I asked.
“They only appear when you’re a Shifter, not when you’re human. How else would people hide them or else?” she said, laughing softly, “Plus, you don’t always have to have them. You can retract them.”
“Whoa. Really? Well that’s...practical.”
She laughed again. “Yes it is. They’d probably get in the way or else. Now, let me see.” She came behind me, lifting up the shirt I was wearing to check my back to see its condition. It’s only then that I realized I was wearing one of Tony’s sweaters and not my own.
“Um... Why am I wearing this? I-“
“Well we couldn’t leave you naked now could we?”
“What?!” I jumped.
Sighing, she pulled down the shirt, and slightly rubbed my back. After what must’ve seemed an acceptable condition, she came back to sit on the edge of the bed. “When wings grow, you have to make sure there aren’t any obstructions. So they tore of your clothes before they fully came out. I’m guessing you hadn’t noticed.”
Heat crept my face. “They...They.....I was.............Naked?”
She nodded. “They had no choice,” she said, trying to reassure me, “it could’ve stopped the transformation or else. Normally it’s just men, so there isn’t a problem with that. Plus they said you were glowing so much they could barely see your skin anyways, so it’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad!? They just saw me topless! If I’d known I would’ve-“
“Would’ve what? You can’t plan something like that. It just happens. Although I’ll give you one thing, you are advanced.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Generally Shifters get theirs after about a year or two of their first Shift. You got your weeks after. That’s unusual. Everything about you is unusual; you’re female, you came into your powers later than you’re supposed to, your combat skills are highly advanced and now this. And every one of your medical tests and files reveal nothing...abnormal.” She gave off an air of frustration.
I shrugged. “What can I say...I’m special.” I winked at her, trying to lighten the mood. Thankfully, it worked. With a laugh, she stood up and I slowly followed. Surprisingly, except one major headache, I felt in tip top shape. Thank God.
“I suggest you go eat breakfast. Shower. Relax. You’ve been out for a couple of hours, partly because of the transformation, partly because of some... underage drinking?” She raised an eyebrow in a playful reprimanding way.
Laughing, I made my way towards the door. “Me? Never,” I said in a mocking tone. Opening the door, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. I found Jason and Tony in there, the first one holding a bag of ice to his jaw, the other an ice pack to his groin. At first stunned, I then giggled. Both glared back at me, knowing they were the cause of it. Moving around, I grabbed everything needed to have a bowl of Fruit Loops. Having poured the milk in, I leaned against the counter and watched both men. They both looked irritated and in pain.
“Idiots,” I mumbled. Both of them heard what I said, yet neither denied it. In fact, they said nothing at all. None of us did. I was too busy looking at my knuckles that Gigi had bandaged.
Why had I done that again? My parents. No, the ghosts. As bad as I felt for their deaths, that’s all I would ever feel. I wouldn’t let myself suffer for their sake. Nevertheless, I needed to keep myself busy. If I wanted to stick to my resolution, I needed to take the necessary steps towards it. In other words; no thinking.
Ben slowly came into the kitchen, in a I’m-still-half-asleep fashion. But when he saw me, he froze to the spot and looked away, as though the sight of me embarrassed him. Which reminded me of an immediate fact; they had seen me topless!
Red stained my cheeks, and I looked down at the bowl clutched in my hands. “You saw me naked, didn’t you?” I murmured.
I heard a sharp intake of breath, and looked up to see all three guys looked...uncomfortable. Although Jason not so much since he hadn’t been there in the first place.
Tony tried to reassure me. “We didn’t really see anything. Honestly. You were glowing so much; it’s surprising we could even look at you. And I mean, I covered you with my shirt the minute you passed out, so really there was nothing to see.”
My eyes narrowed. “If you covered me, then you had to have looked at me first.”
“And what a view that was!” Ben replied. At my look of outrage, he shrugged. “It’s not me you should be worried about, not like I’m interested.” He walked over to the fridge and grabbed himself an orange juice carton.
“Oh yeah, make me believe that seeing a girl without a shirt doesn’t affect you any way,” I retorted.
He took a swig of juice directly from the carton, wiped his mouth and turned to me. “It doesn’t; I’m gay.”
I chocked on the spoonful of Fruit Loops I’d just shoved in my mouth. “W-what? I...um....didn’t know that.”
He chuckled. Ben actually chuckled. “Don’t worry, everyone reacts that way. Especially when they find out Tony’s my secret lover.”
My eyes grew wide and I gaped at Tony, stunned speechless. I was relieved though when I saw him shaking in anger. “Don’t drag me into your shit problems!” he spat, then moved his fists threateningly.
Ben smirked. “Don’t worry. You’re not my type. Straight, that is.” He chuckled again.
I was surprised to see him like this. He was normally so calm, psychotic and weird. He never joked around! “What’s made you so....cheery?” I asked.
“Got a date, actually.” He put the juice carton back in the fridge, and Jason made a face at him having drunk directly from it. “Really nice guy, although not the sharpest pen in the box.”
I nodded. As happy as I wanted to be for him, it was kind of weird. I had nothing against homosexuals, but hearing about him going on a date with some guy, it seemed like something my girlfriends would say. “Well, um, have fun then!” I set my bowl into the sick and moved to leave.
Ben caught me by the back of the shirt and stopped me. “I don’t think so. The date’s just tonight. I have a couple of hours left to contribute to you.”
I gulped, not liking the sound of that. “For what?”
He smiled that creepy, crooked smile of his. “You’ll see.”
* * *
That simple sentence was becoming my worst enemy. You could never know if it’s a good or bad “you’ll see”, up until the moment you see “it”. And then it was too late! “It” had happened.
Thankfully though, this wasn’t a bad one.
Ben led me into the gym, grabbing a book of his on the way. We walked into the room, where Ben immediately crossed over to lay himself on a bench. I stood there, waiting for him to tell me what this was about; he wouldn’t even let the other guys come with us, saying they would only be a distraction. But a distraction to what?
“Now, we’re going to hit the next level of your training; your powers. First thing I want you to do, is Shift.”
I waited a couple seconds for him to say something else. He didn’t. “That’s it? You’re kidding? I don’t even know how!”
“Well you’re supposed to figure that out, that’s the point.”
“What? What kind of crap is that?”
He sighed. “It’s not crap. Here, I’ll give you a hint. Most Shifters use memories or thought to trigger it. Try maybe remembering what happened the first time you Shifted. Now go.” He laid himself on the bench, opened his book and started reading.
Disbelief was my first reaction. He couldn’t possibly think I could just magically figure out how to do this, did he? Then I got angry, thinking he knew I wouldn’t be able to. “What-“
He used a hand to gesture me to shut up, not even removing his gaze from the book. Now really angry, I stomped my way to the middle of the room, and sat down with a huff. I probably resembled a child throwing a temper tantrum, and that’s exactly how I felt.
Lousy jerk! I glared at him from my seated position. Then I looked around the room, taking the time to study everything, from top to bottom. What was I supposed to think of? The first time I’d Shifted, he’d said. What had happened again?
I remember the rhino-thingy. What could I remember about it? Being scared shitless, that’s what? I found myself closing my eyes as I recalled everything about the creature. The look, scent and feel of its horn. It running after me out of the house, me almost being killed.
I opened my eyes and glanced at myself. Nope. I was still the same. I peeked over at Ben, who was still reading peacefully, although now he was sitting down. I sighed, closing my eyes again. How long was this going to take? I didn’t even know what it felt like to Shift!
Wait a minute! I thought about that. What had happened exactly when I’d Shifted? I remember feeling warm, cozy, like I could sleep in that bubble. The bubble! Was that it? I had to recreate my bubble? I mentally pictured the yellowish aura I’d been trapped in. I’d fallen asleep in it for a few seconds, feeling safe and tired. It had been a protection for me from the outside world. A protective bubble.
I pried my eyes open, hoping that was the answer I needed. Looking towards Ben, I noticed he was now standing, leaned up against one of the walls. Man, he was sure agitated for someone who liked to read. Then I took the chance to look down at myself. Sure enough, I was still wearing the same huge shirt. Tony’s shirt.
Tony... He’d been there when I first Shifted, saving me from the rhinos. Although, it does bring to mind him getting slashed by them a couple times. And that brought me to when I’d been almost scared to death. I thought he was going to die. That I was going to be the cause of his death, and that I was powerless to help him.
A light fluttering formed itself in the pit of my stomach. It intensified and spread all around me. I opened my eyes, knowing that this was it. And I was right. My protective bubble surrounded me once again, the yellowish aura blocking everything else from my view. Yet, it wasn’t as big as last time; in fact, it was getting smaller every second. A small sense of panic overcame me, feeling as though it was going to reduce and cripple me within it. A ridiculous idea, I know, but it was a claustrophobic feeling I couldn’t shake.
I stood up quickly, hoping to help the sensation. The bubble kept reducing its size, soon not even covering my entire body. Seconds ticked by and my legs and head were exposed to the outside air. I couldn’t see anything though, having gone from a bright light to a darker place. Hands, pelvis, neck, shoulders were quickly uncovered. By the time my eyesight came back fully, all that was left of the bubble was a small sphere encircled over one place and one place only: my heart. And in the blink of an eye, it was gone.
Ben had gotten up from the bench he’d been sitting on and was standing before me. By his smirk, I’d have guessed he was pleased. And I had to admit, I was damn proud myself.
I gazed down at myself and was surprised by the outfit I’d unintentionally donned. It was the exact same as the one I’d seen Tony wear; a black leather suit along with a long white leather coat. It looked like a kick-butt outfit, that’s for sure. “Cool,” I said just before I started to twirl myself so I could see the flair of the coat.
Not one step had been taken before I fell to the ground in a very ungraceful heap. “What the hell?” I shrieked. Ben, trying to muffle a slight laugh, lent me a hand to get up. With a great deal of difficulty, I was able to get back onto my feet. I held on to Ben's arms though, not wanting to fall again.
“I’m surprised,” Ben admitted, “you really are a fast learner. It normally takes Shifters a couple of days to be able to Shift again. It only took you two hours.”
“Two hours!? Wow that passed quicker than I thought!” Then I thought of something else. “Days?! You never said it would take that long!” I complained.
“Why would I? You’d only have discouraged yourself.”
“I already am!” I confessed, “I thought I was going to be able to kick some demon butt soon, but first things first,” I glanced down at the long black, high heeled boots on my feet, “I’m going to have to learn to walk in these!”
Makes me happy. I know, doesn't take much.
*
Just glad it isn't Tony!
