Shadows

Chapter 3: It's a Date

Chapter 3: It's a Date

School finally ended a few hours later. It was perforating since no one else in the whole damn building wouldn't talk to me the rest of the day. I sat in the in the school yard for lunch, just outside of the gym doors. I watch all kinds of groups talk about everything. One girl I heard say that her boyfriend bit her neck while making out, and that she loved it, even though she started to bleed.

I smooth my hand back and forth the side of my neck, feeling the scar that had been left there one night Mason was over. He done the same thing that girls boyfriend had, to me. I can't really remember that day very well, which is odd because I feel like it was the best day of my life!

"Ouch, how did that happen?" Cody emerged from around the corner of the gym building, staring intently at the newly formed faded skin over the old wound.

"Oh, uh, my ex..." I feel the blood rush from my cheeks, leaving me both pale and embarrassed.

Cody laughs and takes a seat beside me, "I totally understand, you miss him?"

"No, it just brings back memories. I do miss my friends though, I don't have many here"

"How about, after our little date tonight I take you home to meet my family? At least you'll make a couple more friends!"

I hold in a cackle, "meet the family so soon? Damn, when's our wedding?"

"Okay, you don't have to-"

Cutting him off with a wink, I take his hand and give it a squeeze, "calm down, I was just kidding! I'd love to meet them!"

Now that I come to think of it, I have never met Mason's parents. He would never talk about them either. Maybe once I heard him say that his mother picked him up at the hospital one time when he was attacked by an animal at a party he shouldn't have been to. That night he lost a lot of blood, never felt the same, he told me.

Cody smiles, showing his perfect set of white teeth. My mind kept shifting to my hand in his, he was so warm. Just feeling that makes my thoughts wander, I wonder what it would be like cuddling with him? No, I can't think that! I only met this guy today.

"Let's get out of here, skip last period. C'mon new girl!"

Handling his mischievous smirk was impossible. I let myself fall right into his little plan and allowed myself to be carried away by him. Dragging me across the school yard, he never did once let go of my hand. I felt safe in Cody's presence, almost as if I knew there was no way he would let me get in trouble. I trusted him.

Have you ever had that feeling, where you put all your trust and faith into that one person, but in the end your heart gets broken and you feel stupid for believing that maybe someone could never hurt you? This was different. I could somehow sense that giving all this faith into Cody, would be the complete opposite of that.

"This is yours?" I stare blankly at the red, 2014 Mustang in front of me.

Cody gives another one of his smirks and opens the passenger side door for me to get in. Who is this guy? A freaking celebrity or something? He looks perfect, he has an expensive car, and I noticed he is pretty popular.

I remember back at my old school, my friends and I were popular. I didn't really care for the social status. All the students seemed to be afraid of us, afraid to stand too close, or even to talk to us. Except me, I would always talk to people myself, I didn't care if they weren't exactly as popular as my group, they're still people. Cody was just like me.

"Where are we going?" Excited, I hop into the car, buckling my seat belt.

"There is a little grill down town."

"So this grill huh? Let me guess, you take all the girls there?"

Cody laughs, "no, I took the only other girl there."

Sounding out a faked gasp, I lightly punch his arm.

"You're such a liar! You've obviously had more than one girlfriend."

I couldn't imagine this God of a guy to go his whole seventeen years of life with only one girlfriend. In fact, I thought it was impossible!

"Fine, don't believe me! Maybe I'll tell you the story some day." He couldn't erase the grin from his face, "but that day is not today."

The car rolls to a stop in the middle of the road. A clunking noise comes from under us. Oh god, you have got to be kidding me! I recognized this sound from back home, when me and a couple friends went for a road trip. We hit a bump, which left our gas tank cracked and leaking.

"Shit!" Cody's voice muffles from under the car.

He got down on his knees to see what had happened, apparently he wasn't too pleased. Cody made his way over to me with a horrified look on his face. No, it was more of a disgusted look.

"Do you smell that?!"

I couldn't have looked this confused in my life until now.

"What're you talking abou-"

"That smell! Like something is dying," Cody cuts me off and lays his hand on my shoulder, deeply sniffing the air.

He goes back to his car fishing for his cell phone and dials for a tow truck.

Eager to find out what exactly it was Cody was smelling, that I walked to the edge of the forest surrounding us. I peer into the darkness, using my nose like Cody had. Nothing. I couldn't pick up one scent except the fresh green trees.

Suddenly I feel my back hit the ground hard and it knocks the wind out of me. I use all my strength trying to get my breath back, I don't notice the guy on top of me. There's something wrong with his face. Before I could guess what it was, he plunged down into my neck.

My heart pumps slower, my blood flows quicker, as it's being sucked out of me. I start to feel dizzy and he stops. Placing his hand over my face I begin to forget what just happened. My eyes close just for a moment before I stand, pulling a small splinter of wood out of my neck.

"A.J! What happened?" Cody rushes to my side, focusing on the blood dribbling from the cut.

"Calm down, I tripped and a tree got me. Do you have any bandaids?"

He pops the trunk of his car and yanks out a red and white first aid kid. Handing me three bandaids, I know he's worried about me. I stick the little patches onto me skin and smile.

"It's a date."

"What?" Cody questions.

"Let's go to the grill, it's a date and I don't plan on missing it because of a freaking tree!"

I feel a load come off me chest hearing his tiny laugh. We pack away the metal kit back into it's original place inside the trunk and I pull out a piece of paper from one of the binders in my book bag. 'Towing needed, we will pick it up tomorrow. Got a date to get to! Good luck,' I write on one side of the loose leaf, tucking it under a windshield wiper for support.

I take Cody's hand and we head in the direction we were driving.