Lupophobia (Ultima Series)

|Chapter Twelve| Be brave....

I'm wearing a light pink large tee shirt that reaches to my knees with a pair of black shorts (the shirt covers them) and I french braided my hair into two braids. The only thing lighting the underground urban town were the city lights they created.

I keep walking until I spot Aaron with a white tee and black shorts as well. He notices me and gives me a warm smile. I give him the same one until I reach him.

"Hey." I say.

"Hey." He says, extending his arms out and wrapping them against me, hugging me. I can feel the heat rise only face as his grip gets tighter on me. I think he realizes what he's doing and pulls away, "Was that okay?"

"It was okay." I squeal out, but he doesn't look convinced. His ears were floppy and his tail wasn't wagging anymore.

To make him feel better, I decide to give him another hug. He immediately hugs me back, his little wag returning. "Now where were you going to take me?"

"Right!" He pulls away and grabs my hand. "Um follow me." He's so nervous. I give him a reassuring smile and he starts leading me away from the cave exit.

"Huh? If we aren't leaving out of here, then where are we going?"

"Just wait."

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We've been walking a good five minutes, just talking. He hasn't let go of my hand yet but hey. I'm not complaining. As we walk, I heard the sound of water gushing into another pond of water.

"Welcome to the Howl Hollow." He shows me a water opening that resembles a waterfall and it's flowing into a large body of water. Vines crawl through the water hole and lay against the orange rock, only to see green leaves all over the area.

"Wow." I stare in awe, "This is so beautiful." I never thought an underground city could have a little bit or nature pouring out from the surface.

Aaron takes off his shirt and dives in the pond, a little water splashing me. He swims back to the surface, ringing out his hair and looking at me. "Come on in."

"Oh, I can't swim." I admit. I feel like I'm a little late. "I should've told you beforehand." He swims over and rests his arms on an on-growing vine.

"How come?"

"Well, I grew up not getting to do much of anything, including swimming. You know, overprotective parents and all that." It's true. I grew up to my father always saying "I'm protecting you" or "It's not safe with Ultima running around". So I was homeschooled from kindergarten to high school graduation. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't always home. I'd sneak out occasionally but 95% of the time? I was home.

"Yeah, my father kept me inside the house all the time because he was afraid. Afraid to lose me to the Ultima werewolf." I mock my dad's voice. "So I didn't get to do things normal people did."

"I'm... so sorry."

"It's not your fault my dad's crazy."

"But isn't it?" He jumps out of the water but stays seated on the ground. "You were stuck home your entire life because of me. Because of what I... your father thinks I am." I sit down next to him.

"Don't blame yourself for this. I'm fine. I'm allowed out of the house now. Everything's cool." Aaron's eyes linger down to me. He jumps back into the water and faces me.