The Valiant

Chapter 5

I wake up in my bed and stretch. I study the room for a few minutes before my phone vibrates on the table beside my bed. I grab it and look at it.

"Hey, where do you live now? Your mom said that you moved out. Text me the address so we can hang out please

~Maddie

I quickly send her the address and then jump out of bed. I quickly dress in jeans, boots, a black t shirt with a jean jacket over that. I quickly comb through my hair and leave it down. I grab my phone and stuff it into my pocket and leave my room and walk down the stairs. I stop when I see Maddie talking with Drake, smiling and curling her hair. She is the flirty type and I smile as Drake stands there awkwardly. They haven't noticed me yet so I stay where I am, listening to their conversation.

"-cool. I would love to be a shape shifter also," Maddie says, "Payton is really lucky," Drake smiles and goes to walk off before Maddie reaches out, grabs his arm and pulls him back. Drake looks around to see if he can find an easy way to escape. He spots me and I laugh at him. He smiles before sneaking off from Maddie while she is distracted.

"Did she give you a rough time?" I ask him, a smirk playing its way onto my face.

"Wouldn't let me leave," he says, running a hand through his black hair, smiling slightly. He opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by a new voice.

"Payton! Drake!" The voice shouts, throwing its arms around my shoulders as well as Drake's. I look up to see Sammy between us, smiling widely, "let's have a party!" I furrow my eyebrows and look at Drake, who shrugs and looks at Sammy, removing her arm from his shoulders.

"But-" he starts and Sammy covers his mouth with her hand, making shushing noises. I hide my smile from behind my hand as I to, wiggle out from under Sammy's arms.

"We are having a party," she decides, "and that's final," she then jogs away and grabs a nearby phone and starts dialing phone numbers, taking away.

~~~

Guests walk through the doors, greeting everyone and just smiling warmly at me. Soon, music starts to play loudly and everyone starts dancing and having fun. I stand to the side, alone, as I watch Maddie dance with a descent looking guy, flirting with him as well.

"Enjoying the party?" A voice asks suddenly from beside me. I turn my head to the side and smile slightly when I see Drake, who looks bored as well.

"Yeah," I say, "standing alone in a corner is a blast," Drake smiles.

"Well," he says, "would you like to go for a walk?" I furrow my eyebrows, thinking, "it's just a small walk, away from this party," I look up at him and nod. We then exit the place through the front door and walk down the steps and onto the sidewalk.

"So," I say softly, "what do you want to talk about?" Drake shrugs.

"Uh," he says slowly, thinking, "what's your favorite color?" I look at him and raise an eyebrow, a small smile plastered on my face. I look back in front of us and sigh.

"Hmm," I say slowly, "I have to say it has to be black and orange," he smiles at me then looks ahead of us, "what is your favorite color?" He smiles faintly and blinks.

"Green," he says and I nod, not knowing what to say, "what's your favorite hobby?"

"Reading and track," I answer, already knowing the answer, "you?"

"Football and basketball," he answers, "and a bit of running, but not competitive running, like track," I smile and get an idea. I touch his shoulder and run off, whilst saying tag loudly. He looks up, shocked and blinks once before smiling and chasing me down the sidewalk. I laugh as I run a bit faster, looking back at him as I turn the corner and duck into an alley. I flatten myself against the wall, calming my breath as I hear his footsteps come closer. He slows to a stop in front of the alley and looks around. I take a step back and step on the tail of a cat. It hisses loudly and glares up at me. On instinct, I hiss back and the cat just meows softly, it's ears rise from their flattened position, and the cat purrs a bit before walking off, acting as if that never happened. I shrug and freeze when I hear a body crumple to the ground. I go to turn around when a hand covers my mouth.

"Tag," a cold, bitter voice whispers in my ear, "you're it," that's when the world went black.

~~~~

Authors Note:

Thanks for Reading!

~NZ