After Midnight

Chapter 26- Gage

I feel the fear that runs over her, that same feeling she had earlier is back again. I walk to the window and look out but see no one in sight. "I'll be right back," I tell her and walk out of her room. I head to the front door and motion for Ace to follow me, he gets up and walks out the door.

I step out and make my way to the side of the house. "What's going on?" Ace questions.

"Do you smell that?" I ask him, as I look around.

He looks around and nods. "Star has had this feeling of someone watching her all day." I inform him. We walk around the properties, sniffing out the scent. Our primal instincts kick in, and I feel my fangs protrude. The moon lights up our path as we search for the source of the scent.

"I've never smelled this scent before." Ace says, "It's definitely not from here."

I agree and continue searching. As we walk deeper into the woods behind our houses, the smell starts to fade. We back away and walk back toward the girls' house.

"Whatever it was, it's gone now," Ace states.

"Yeah," I say, keeping alert as we continue to walk, searching our surroundings.

As we get closer to the house, Ace starts to jog, "The one smell I know I'm certain of is Chinese food." He runs to the girl's house, and I begin to laugh.

I walk up to the house, and I hear Star ask, "Where's Gage?"

"I'm right here." I walk in and close the door behind me. She runs to me and wraps her arms around my neck. I kiss her and tell her no one is outside and that she shouldn't worry. She seems to be more at ease as she sits down and hands me a plate.

"How much do I owe you?" I ask her as she sits on the floor in between my legs.

She looks at me and smiles. "Nothing." We all sit and eat and talk about the upcoming school year. Star and I realise we have two classes together, as she was able to get into the third year of biology and chemistry.

"Damn, are you that smart?" Ace questions her.

"She's extremely smart." Laura pipes up, "She finished high school at 16."

"Didn't you say you took a year off prior to coming here?" I ask, choking on my food, hoping she didn't lie to me about her age.

"I never said that; Laura did," Star says as she takes a bite of her food.

I give her a confused look, hoping she will explain it to me. She begins to laugh. "I graduated early and worked until Laura was done. She took a year off, and I continued to work at my dad's company. And that brings us to now." She smiles.

"So my girl is a genius?" I question.

"Basically," Ace says.

I lean over and kiss her cheek. I am proud of her, and her intelligence never fails to amaze me. She is truly one of a kind. Once we finished eating, Ace and I help clean up. Laura heads to her room and comes back out with a bag.

"Where are you going?" Star asks.

"I'm sleeping over at Ace's, why?"

"On a school night?" She shakes her head. "I still wonder how you got into pre-med. Have fun."

They both leave, and it's just us. I look at the time, and it's nine p.m. She takes a seat on the couch next to me and tells me she's excited to be in two classes with me. I ask her to be my partner in those classes, and she agrees. I pull out my wallet and ask her how much I owe her for dinner. There's no way in this world that I would allow my girlfriend to pay for dinner.