I stretched awake on the bed I was currently laying on. Wait bed? How did I get here? I remember falling asleep in the car and don't remember getting out of the car. I look around and see that's it's my room at the cabin. Ah, I remember getting here but then falling back asleep expecting someone to wake me up again.
"Hey, Elle?" Jack says from the other side of the door.
"Yeah?" I say hoarsely. I go into a coughing fit. Jack opens the door. "Hey," I smile. He sits on the end of my bed.
"Theresa called this morning to tell you that she got out of the hospital and is taking the twins home." he says. I nod and sit up. I grab a ponytail holder from the bedside table and put my hair into a messy bun. "Ready for breakfast?" He asks.
"Yeah, just let me get dressed appropriately." I say. He leaves my room and closes the door. I was too distracted with waking up and Jack to notice the quiet rumbling in my throat. My eyes widen. I'm not supposed to be able to do that. I was purring. I grabbed my phone anxiously and failed my dad. He answered brightly.
"Hey, baby girl." he says.
"Dad, I'm purring," I say.
"What?" He says.
"I'm purring," I repeat slowly. "That's not supposed to happen right?" I ask.
"No, no it's not. Well don't panic we'll go to the doctor when you get back, ok? Just be careful and watch your emotions don't let them get excessive." he instructs. I agree and hang up. I grab my fuzzy pajama pants and a sweatshirt and walk downstairs. I look around to see that Jack is the only one in the living room. I lean up against the back of the couch.
"Where are your grandparents?" I ask. Jack looks up at me.
"They left," he replies.
"What?" I say dumbly.
"They said they thought that we could handle being here alone and that it would be good to have more quiet time. They said to tell you goodbye and Granny said she hopes to see more of you." he explains. I lean back farther and fall back onto the couch upside down. Jack laughs. I laugh too but then I realise something is about to happen so I stop. I was about to bark. Because of holding down the bark I sneeze for some reason but it doesn't sound human. Jack looks at me strangely.
"Sorry, sometimes that happens." I say acting like that always happens. I felt a tingling in my stomach. I quickly flip off of the couch and run upstairs before Jack could ask what was going on. I shut the door to my room just in time before I shrink down to the floor. Great, my least favourite shift. A lizard. All shifts start with some feeling in my body. A dog is near my foot. A lizard is a tingling in my stomach. A cat is my ears getting warm. A fish are my legs getting weak. A bunny is my arm twitching and so on. I pretty much know all of the feelings of all of my shifts but this was just strange. First, I'm involuntarily purring and then I almost bark and now I'm a lizard.
"Elle? You okay?" Jack knocks on the door. I start to panic. I kept thinking of my human self and I couldn't change back. I try shifting into a dog which is the easiest shift if you must know. It still won't work. And then suddenly I need to sneeze. I have the tiniest sneeze and then suddenly I'm myself again. Jack's knocks start to be more persistent.
"Elle! What's going on?" he asks.
"I'm okay. I'm just not feeling too well. If I could just lay down for today then I might be better tomorrow." I explain.
"Are you sure?" he asks.
"Yeah."
"Can I come in?"
"Sure," I reply. The door opens and Jack slips in. I sit down on the toilet seat. He kneels in front of me.
"We could go home if you want to." he says quietly. I shake my head.
"I just have a headache and I just need to lay down." I lie. I wasn't feeling good but I didn't want to leave. Jack helps me from the bathroom and upstairs. When we get to my borrowed room I take off my sweatshirt and slip under the covers. Jack closed the curtains and exits the room. I close my eyes and fall asleep easier than I thought I would.
________
I wake up coughing dryly. I get up and go to the bathroom. I turn on the faucet an splash some cold water on my face. My nose starts tingling and suddenly I sneeze. That leads to another coughing fit. I grab some toilet paper and blow my nose. I pad back over to my room. I hear footsteps on the stairs. I open the curtains slightly and jump back into bed. I sit up and lean against the headboard. Jack pokes his head in and smiles when he sees that I'm up.
"How long did I sleep?" I ask honestly. He shrugs.
"About an hour and a half. You deserved it though. I bet it was that night at the hospital. Now it's catching up with you." he says solemnly. I nod. He walks over to the bed and sits down by my feet. I swing my legs out and sit on the edge with him. My legs are almost touching his. I try to act like I don't notice but I'm pretty sure it's obvious.
"Elle?" I look at him. "I wanted to thank you for coming with me. It's been a lot of fun." he smiles but his eyes say something else. I don't realize that he's coming closer to my face until he's about three inches away. His eyes flick to my lips and back up to my eyes. I instinctively lean closer. His lips get closer and closer until I can smell his breath that smells like Dr. Pepper.
Then suddenly his lips are on mine. His lips are soft and taste like Chapstick. He's gentle and not rough with the kiss. He inhales deeply through his nose then he tilts his head to the side and lightly deepens the kiss. His right hand is on my waist. Then slowly he retracts. I look at him with shock. He reads my expression.
"I'm sorry. Was I wrong?" he asks. I laugh and shake my head.
"Are you kidding? I've had a crush on you for almost two years." I blurt out. I look down and put my face in my hands.
"Really?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. I look back up at him. I nod. "I started to like you a couple months ago. Maybe a little bit before we really started becoming friends." he says sheepishly. I break into a grin. I'm pretty sure my eyes are sparkling.
"Really?." I squeak. I let out a small cough, shaking my head.
"Look, I know this kind of went fast but would you want to go out tonight? Like a date?" he asks.
"Absolutely!" I say. "I think if I load up on water and take some allergy pills I'll be fine." I say. Jack nods.
"There might be some in the kitchen cabinet." he replies. "I'll bring you some bottled water and then let you rest." he smiles and gets up. I watch him go and then burst into my happy dance. I squeal as quietly as I can and then tell myself to take deep breaths. I can hear Jack knocking around in then kitchen. I think that he thinks I can't hear him because he shouts,
"Finally! Thank you, Lord!" I chuckle at his outburst. I feel really tired so I swing myself back into bed and lay down. After a little bit Jack sets a bottled water on the bedside table and an allergy pill. I roll over to take a drink and get the allergy pill then turn back over and fall asleep.
YOU ARE READING
Shift
Teen Fiction"I know what you are." He says hesitantly. "I don't know what you're talking about." I said. But I was shaking and he could tell I was nervous. "I think you do. And all I want is for you to be honest." **** Eleanor McCartney is a normal sixteen year...
