Shape Shifting Love

Chapter Seven

Chapter 7

Michaela

Once Catherine has shown me around the place we return to the living room where Leo and Kate are still huddled on the sofa but Mason is not there. I’m just about to turn around when someone comes up behind me and covers my eyes with their hands, “guess who?” and once he has spoken I know exactly who it is. I push his hands away and turn towards him with probably the most ugliest smile on my face but I don’t care. “Where have you been mister?” I say before hugging him and nestling my face into his shoulder.

“I just went to the toilet, that ok madam?” But I can sense something inside of Mason has changed, even though he still makes me tingle inside every time I touch him something seems to have shifted. I grad his hand and pull him over towards the sofas where we both collapse into the cushions. “Guys I’m going to go up to my room, catch ya later.” I watch as Catherine makes her way up the stairs and placing her earphones back into her ears. As I shift my gaze back from the stairs to where Leo and Kate are sitting and I see that they are no longer interested in each other, well not as much, but instead are watching the TV.

Still hand in hand but there is nothing but silence, I turn to Mason who looks back at me and shrugs and by the look in his eyes I can see that he has something on his mind. Something that he is unwilling to share with me but I’m sure I will find a way of getting it out of him in the end. Kate flicks between channels with the big, chunky remote whilst Leo stares at the screen waiting for her to decide and settle back down. I see him briefly squeeze her hand and she turns to look at him with her expression in a frown, but all it takes is for Leo to give her a small smile and her face immediately softens.

She settles on some ‘reality show’ and snuggles back down into Leo’s arm as her pulls her in tight. They must have been through a lot together to be so comforted just by looking into each other’s eyes. When I turn back to Mason who has fallen asleep on the sofa next to me, he looks so peaceful after everything that has happened today. I nudge his arm and softly say in his ear, “Hey wakey, wakey.” He wakes up with a jump which makes me spring to my feet, “Sorry I didn’t mean to make you jump,” I say feeling guilty for waking him.

“It’s Ok; I wasn’t really asleep I was just resting my eyes.”

“Fine,” I say as I roll my eyes and smile, “maybe we should go up to our room, I mean it’s getting late, what you think?” Mason nods in agreement while he tries to keep his eyes open. I grab his hand and pull him off the sofa which definitely wakes him up. I literally drag him up the stairs and along the corridor towards our room. He opens the door for us and we walk straight in.

I make my way over to the chest of draws and take out some pyjamas for the evening. I turn around to see Mason staring right at me with wide eyes. Then, after a moment of thinking I realise why he seems so uneasy at seeing me standing here with a bundle of clothes in my arms, “Oh god, you didn’t think I was going to get changed here did you?” he looks at the floor with his hands in his pockets and shakes his head, trying to not show his face as it slowly turns a light shade of red. “I was going to go to the bathroom, I’ll be back in a minute.” I slide past Mason and make my way down the corridor to the bathroom. Once inside I change into the new clothes and brush my teeth and when I’m finished I grab the rest of my clothes and open the door.

I make my way down the corridor when I come across Hayley’s room. The white light blasts out of the doorway which is slightly ajar. I’m about to walk past when I hear Hayley talking to herself so I stop, I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop but there seems to be something strange going on in there.

“Look I’m trying alright, I know that it will be fine.” Her voice seems odd coming from her mouth, it sounds older than her. But just as I’m about to continue back to mine and Mason’s room only thinking she is even weirder than I first saw her, another voice starts to speak.

“It better be fine,” this voice is much deeper than anyone I know in the building. Then another voice joins the conversation but it has a light tone to it.

“Well if it doesn’t turn out ‘fine’ as you say there will be trouble.”

I look through the gap between the door and the wall. First of all I see Hayley and then two figures that stand before her. Their skin is perfect and they are both as thin as a twig. The girl stands with her hand on her hips, her long, blonde hair reaches down to her waste with the boy stood beside her. He has his arms firmly crossed over his chest and with short, slick hair matching the colour of the girls. They both glare at Hayley but she stands her ground, her face emotionless. Until she sees me. Her mouth drops and her eyes widen and begin to sparkle with fear.

Before she can change her expression the other two turn to face me and their eyes. The brightest shade of orange, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And that’s when it happens, their bodies crouch to the ground and before I can move they have been replaced by two hawks. Their wings open to an easy metre, or maybe even more, wing span. But instead of chasing me with those beaming, orange eyes they race towards the window in Hayley’s room. Creating a gush of wind behind them that sends the papers on the floor flying over Hayley’s head on as she still looks at me with those huge green eyes. I run back to our room and slam the door behind me whilst I push my back against it. I don’t know why I’m out of breath; I haven’t even ran that far. I slow my breathing down and sink to the floor when Mason comes over and holds me in his arms.

“What happened?” he says as he looks into my eyes. For the first time for as long as I can remember I see a glimmer of protection and confidence flash across his eyes. Then I realise I can’t tell him the truth, if I did he will think I’m crazy. I mean only a crazy person would see two people transform into another being and believe it.

“It’s nothing, I was walking back here and something flew through the window and it really spooked me and sent me running back here for no reason,” I shrug it off as if it’s no big deal but obviously in his mind it is. I try to break free of his grip on me but when I do he only pulls me in tighter. After a few minutes he decides to get up and sit on his bed. I push my bundle of clothes under my bed; I can deal with them later.  Mason climbs in between his covers without even changing his clothes and says, “Night.” As he turns to face wall.

“Goodnight,” I walk over to the light switch, turn off the light and make my way over to my own bed. Then I slip in between the covers and drift off into sleep.