The Breeze Trials

Chapter 4

​"Y-you...what?" I could feel my face flush, I know I sounded rude, but...he has feelings for me? "Gee, I feel great about that reaction. I pour out my heart to you and you say that?" He murmured. "No, I'm sorry. I was just surprised is all. You couldn't have really expected me not to be." I sighed, trying to calm my beating heart. "I just don't know what you want me to say..." I said quietly. He just shook his head before laying it on the steering wheel,hands on either side. "I don't know either. I never thought when we first met that I would ever feel this way about you. Just seeing how you look at Jay makes me so angry." 

​I knew he wasn't lying, that much was obvious by his voice, but did I feel the same way? Sure, i felt a bit flushed when he did some things and I always got kind of sad when he wasn't in class, but I like Jay, right? I glanced at him, still face-down on the wheel. I noticed how near he was, only a console between us. We aren't even friends, but if that's the case, why is my heart still racing?

​"Breeze, please say something, you're embarrassing me." Aaron said quietly and shaky, it slightly amazed me that he still tried to stay charismatic. In a second, he was looking at me. I could see pain and confusion in his eyes. "Aaron, I'm thinking, okay? I don't know if you remember why I agreed to going to that stupid thing with you in the first place." I replied. He said nothing, just waited patiently for me, and at that moment everything he'd said or done or shown came flooding through my mind. He hadn't really been that bad to me. Never once did he try to hurt me and if he thought he'd gone too far, he'd always make sure I was okay. I decided to trust my instincts and kissed him. 

​He made a noise of surprise. His hesitation made me start to doubt if I should've followed the impulse, but then again, it felt right to. Just as I was about to pull away, Aaron turned his body and grabbed my waist, forcing me to rest one knew onto the armrest console. A tremor of warmth ran through as he kissed me back. His lips were soft and he tasted like sour apples. An ember of endearment lit inside of me as I realized he must've grabbed a snow cone when I wasn't looking.

​Kissing him, I felt like I was a cat again, running through the forest. The sounds of prey would make my mouth water and every color was vibrant; everything seemed to sigh happily in the wind. "Bond?" I asked.  The memory came to mind. Oh? Had I just made a bond with Aaron?
​I pulled away from him and looked at him. His eyes were once again filled with the familiar humor. Our breathing mingled together, mixing with the sound of the A/C.

 I had to wonder if I could ever say I had feeling for Aaron, especially since I had thought I was in head over heels for someone else until a little while ago. "Breeze..." Aaron whispered. Butterflies flew in my heart when he said my name. Isn't that what love feels like in the books? Or am I just imagining things because we kissed?

​He opened his mouth as if to say more, but before he could a faint glow came from my necklace, illuminating him in a pale emerald light. Panic showed briefly in his eyes as one hand flew upward before he could catch himself. I watched him and only him.

​The glow grew fainter and once again I remembered my trials. I had actually completed another one. Two more and I could return to being a cat. "What was that?" Aaron asked. It struck me as odd for a moment that he might be by something so supernatural, but he hadn't seen the stone glow, not as many times as I had. "I-I don't know, must be the moonlight or something. I'm sure it stopped because of a cloud. " I stuttered the lie. He didn't seem convinced, but also didn't press further.

​My face flushed as I remembered that I was still close enough to feel his breath on my face. "Aaron, would you maybe mind letting go of me?" I asked quietly for the second time that night. His eyes widened with shock, and he hesitated slightly. "Oh, uh, yeah sure, my bad." He replied as he held up both his arms like he was surrendering. I awkwardly scrambled back into to my seat and smiled towards the window. This was going to be a long, awkward ride home, and here I thought me talking would have solved that.

  I walked into the house quietly, as all the lights were off. It wasn't that late, but I guess Miranda was asleep, or maybe she went out with her friends. She was young and always complaining about how she couldn't find a good man. I sighed silently. Aaron and I hadn't spoken at all since the kiss. He had mumbled a soft goodbye when we arrived at my house and that was that.
I held up my necklace. The faint moonlight from the window made it sparkle. What had happened tonight? Out of nowhere, everything flipped on me and I ended up making a bond with someone. Bonding; I'm not sure I like that word, It seems so formal and trapping, though I guess these trials were supposed to sound pristine and official. To think that something so intimate happened between the two of us, it was such a surprising turn of events.

Regardless, that meant I only have two more trials before I can go back to normal. That meant I'd have to tell Aaron what I am, then I still have to find that mysterious cat from that day. Problem was, there was no doubt that he'll think I'm insane. I sighed again and made my way up the stairs to my room.

I smiled as I opened the door. The walls had a mural of a big tree and a forest behind it. I'd almost forgotten about the old piece of art. I still don't think it was coincidence that Miranda had found me and taken me in. I was so happy when I found I was talented with paints and she let me paint my tribe by the tree, everyone looking well-fed and happy. I missed them, I really did. A tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away quickly. 

Pulling pins and hair clips from my hair, I let it tumble down my shoulders before falling onto my plush bed. I unzipped my shoes and let them thunk onto the floor. I went tot take of the pale green sweater, only to stop and let the scent wash over me again.

 My first day as a human flashed into my conscious. After that last encounter with the tom, I ran as fast as I could to find the patrol. I remember telling them that I'd found the trespasser and that he said he couldn't live like us cats. Then we all went back into the clearing and, within a few days, I told them the truth about that day. 

Of course, no cat believed a single meow, but just like with Aaron earlier, the stone had glowed afterward and my body had begun to heat up and prick. I barely remembered leaving or ending up at my rock, but when I was able to think clearly, it was struck out again by pain, nothing excruciating, but enough for my vision to go fuzzy. I felt like I was losing all of my fur and my ears felt like a snake were biting them over and over again.

Miranda had showed up some time later after I was able to breath somewhat properly again and the burning had become dull throbbing. She spoke softly and I found that my brain could translate the words. "It'll be alright, sweetheart. You need to get up though, I'll help you." Luckily, when she saw that I couldn't hold myself, she carried me. I couldn't even fight back if I wanted to, but Miranda turned out to be fine with my nonsense, saying she knew magic was real.

The whole thing was strange and it took three days before I was able to fully merge with my new body and get it to listen to me. If I could deal with that, then what's a boy or two? A new determination sparked in me; I had to finish these trials soon, and I knew now that I had the potential to.