Lunaticus

11

I became aware of the sensation that something was riding me. Only my chest was the horseback in this scenario and it was painful as hell.

I spluttered, coughing, and wretched my eyes open. Black spots dotted my vision as I blinked into the gray light. There was a faint ringing in my ears, and I found my limbs were made of noodles given how I couldn't feel them at all.

And someone was bloody calling my name. Did that person not realize that I was in the middle of being resurrected?

"Holy Goddess," The beating to my chest stopped. "Are you alive? Hey Chloe? Chloe baby, are you breathing?"

I spoke, though it felt like a million shards of glass were rubbing in my throat. "Mm."

"Thank-Thank the moon. Oh, thank the goddess." I was finally able to localize the location of that gritty voice.

Lyell cupped my cheeks in his hands, wiping the wet hair away from my face. "Hey, hey. How are you?"

Shit. I trembled under his touch. Flashbacks of last night filled my head. Fear latched into my heart, but my damn limbs wouldn't work for the world.

"Are you cold? Here." He shrugged off his shirt- where had he gotten his hands on that- and placed it onto my chest, leaving him bare. He seemed to shiver. I realized it was freezing.

"O-oh." My tongue worked. "I-I'm. G-get away from m-me."

His brows slanted into an upside V, and he gave me that stupid puppy face that had me turning my head. Whenever my neck muscles decided I'd be able to do that next.

"I'm sorry Chloe. I didn't want you to know like this." He covered his face with his fingers. "It must have been horrible for you. But I had no idea you'd be there. I swear I'd have told you earlier. But I-I just didn't know how you'd react. I didn't want you to be horrified by me."

He parted a finger, letting one silver eye blink from the slit, then clasped the finger back. "I can see that you are. Damn it."

Slowly, I felt the numbness in my fingers get replaced with sensation. He was sitting on his bottom, arms around his knees, hiding his face from me. I sat up, groaning at the ache that seemed to thrum in my body.

"Lyell."

He didn't acknowledge me, nor did he turn. When I touched his shoulders he flinched, either to keep me away or from the sparks, I didn't know.

"Hey," I tried to make my voice as plain as possible, which was hard given how afraid I still was.

Plus the cold and the chattering of my teeth made it near impossible. "Hey, I'm not mad."

He is such a child, I thought, as I tried to pry his chin up. But goddess burn me if he doesn't trip my heart like crazy. 

Fine, he wanted to act like a kid. I knew how to make a kid talk.

"If you don't look at me right now, I'll march right up to the pack house and make out with the first male I see."

Snob. His chin became loose, and he finally looked at me. Was his lower lip actually shaking- how did he manage that?

"Y-you're not mad?"

"No." I paused. "You are."

There were actual, literal tears in his eyes. I swallowed the guilt- he had made me feel guilty when it wasn't even my fault- and tried again, "I was just joking. You're not mad. Scary, terrifying, freaky, keeping-secrets-big-enough-to-keep-someone-awake-for-a-century, all of those things, but you're not mad." I hesitated.

"Because if you had truly lost your mind, you wouldn't have jumped after me."

He exploded, "What the hell were you thinking? You could have died! Yes I know I was equally as dangerous but I- I would have never- I couldn't- I don't think I'm capable of killing you, Chloe. Even if I had lost my mind."

"Had you?"

He averted his eyes, looking out into the water and hitting the pool below. "I don't know. I only remember after the night has ended. But when- after I have shifted, I don't have control. It's kind of like I'm possessed by something so powerful that I couldn't do anything of my own will. Only that something is me."

He grabbed both of my hands in his and looked me straight in the eyes. "You don't hate me, do you?"

I think he was a hypnotizer as well as a mind-reader. The soft steel in his eyes was so alluring, that I found my gaze falling down in hopes of avoiding getting pulled in. Only to land on his lips, red and slightly petulant.

"I-" I swallowed and tried to meet his eyes. But his weren't ready either, having found solace in keeping them focused on my lips. "I-Umm, what were you ask-"

He kissed me. Just a tiny peck, only slightly better than the one I had received in kindergarten. It was so swift it caught me off-guard. I found myself leaning forward, just as he pulled back.

"S-sorry, I- You-"

I tangled my fingers in the curls of his pale blonde hair- had I mentioned how I had been dying to do so since the beginning?- and whispered, "Shut up."

Then I kissed him like the universe depended on it.