The Immortal Beast

Chapter 13

                                                                                         Rogue

We pull into my driveway and before I could move Mason hopped out of the car and ran over to open my door. He helped me out and then helped me gather all my stuffed animals.

"Ill see you at school then." Mason said.

"Yeah, see you at school, and thanks for tonight." I said.

I carried my prizes towards the door and let my magic open the door for me. I walked inside and shut the door. I carried all of my things into my room and drop them onto the floor I looked at the clock, it was midnight. Oops missed moms supposed curfew. I take off my outsit and slip on my pajamas and walked into the bathroom and washed off my makeup. Then finally brushed out my now very knotted hair and through it into a ponytail. Then flopped onto the my bed I went on a date and was just kissed for the first time in centuries. I mean damn. Mason and I had a great time.

I stared up at the ceiling, my room dark except for the faint glow of the moon through my curtains. My head spun—not from the carnival rides, not from the sugar overload, but from that kiss.

The first kiss I'd had in centuries.

Centuries.

And of course, it had to be from Mason Davidson. Sweet, decent, stupidly charming Mason, who probably thought this meant something bigger than it did.

I groaned, grabbing the nearest stuffed animal (a giant panda Mason had actually won me) and burying my face into its soft head. "Why do you smell like fried Oreos and regret?" I muttered into the fluff.

Because here's the truth: the kiss wasn't bad. In fact, it was... good. The kind of good that made my stomach twist and my brain short-circuit. If I hadn't been so caught off guard, I probably would've kissed him back. And that's the problem.

I can't. I won't.

I made a promise when the fire consumed me on that pyre, when I clawed my way out of the ashes of my first life. Love destroys. Love betrays. Love kills. And I swore I'd never let it touch me again.

So what the hell am I doing letting Mason Davidson kiss me under fireworks like we're in some cliché teen rom-com?

I rolled onto my side, staring at the ceiling like it had answers. I didn't love him. I wouldn't love him. Not in the romantic, hearts-and-flowers way. Mason was safe. Mason was... nice. He was like Sam, Morgan, and Nora—someone I cared about, someone I wanted to protect. That was all. That had to be all.

Still, my lips tingled with the memory of his, and I hated myself for noticing.

I sat up, glaring at my reflection in the dark window across the room. "Nope. We're not doing this," I told myself firmly. "He's a friend. That's it. End of story. The end. Roll credits."

Except, of course, my brain didn't listen. It never does.

I flopped back down onto the bed, dragging the panda on top of me like it could crush the thoughts out of existence. "You're a menace," I whispered at it. "Both of you."

Sleep didn't come easy. My body was exhausted, but my mind kept replaying the night, the rides, the laughter, the fireworks, the kiss. Repeatedly, like a carousel I couldn't step off of.

And that was the worst part. For someone who'd lived hundreds of lives, who had sworn off romance and love and everything messy in between... it was terrifying how easy it was to forget all of that for one stupid night.

When I finally fell asleep. I dreamed again.

I was walking through the dark woods, you could see nothing through the trees and it only added more confusion. Finally, through a break in the trees I come across a large meadow showered in the moonlight.