So Sacrifice Yourself, and Let Me Have What's Left

The ride to Brian’s house was pretty quiet, considering I was too tired to talk. My head was rested against the car door as my hair brushed against the cold window as Zacky drove down the road that led to Brian’s house. I was tired, but I couldn’t sleep. The words of Maria rang in my ears as each second ticked by. I kept on thinking of how I was probably the most insane person anyone could ever meet, and yet I was the most powerful. Not only was I a teenager who had to worry about what normal teenagers worry about, but I also had to worry about how the Kingdom and the Lycans weren’t going to stop until they either used me to breed or to be used as a weapon, or, I was pretty sure that if I didn’t agree to do whatever they wanted me to do, they would kill me. None of those options sounded very pleasant.

“Candace, we’re here.” Zacky whispered, but he didn’t need to, considering I was already awake. I felt him gently shaking my arm, telling me to get up, and I decided to try to make it on my own, although I was pretty sure I would need Zacky’s help with walking.

Once Zacky and I were both on the front porch that led into Brian’s house, Zacky loudly knocked on the door, causing me to wince slightly at the sound. We waited there for a few moments, I guess even Brian has to sleep sometime. The silence grew between Zacky and me even more, thanks to me being so unbelievably tired and it being awkward considering I had just found out something that changed my life completely.

“Dude, Zack, what the fuck happened?” Brian mumbled as he answered the door. I smiled slightly at his hair that was going in all different directions and how tired he looked. “First I hear Matt thinking that you killed someone, then you take Ace away from her family, and now you’re here?” Apparently Brian didn’t realize that I was standing right beside Zacky. I coughed a bit, and got his attention. A confused look appeared on Brian’s face as he looked from me to Zacky. “What’s going on?”

“Bri, I know this is kinda gonna come as a shock, but, do you think that Candace could stay with you for a while?” Zacky asked. I could hear the sleep in his voice as well, but other than that he was trying to be as serious as he possibly could.

Brian’s eyes widened as his brows furrowed, looking from Zacky to me and back again. I could tell he wasn’t sure what to make of this whole predicament. He paused for a moment as he stared at Zacky, and something told me they were reading each other’s minds. It made sense now why they were always together. If Zacky was a Hybrid, and all of the guys went to a school for werewolves, then that meant that the guys were all a pack. Brian nodded after a while and sighed. “Yeah, I guess she can stay here. I’ve been getting pretty lonely lately.” He said, winking at me, causing my cheeks to color a nice shade of red.

“She’s sleeping in the guest room.” Zacky growled, taking a tighter grip around my waist. I was shocked by how serious Zacky sounded. I looked up at him to see that his teeth were clenched.

Brian was shocked, too, and he shook his head side to side. “I was just kidding, man.” he said, holding his hands up in mock defense, causing me to smile. I guess Brian had now realized that it wasn’t the best idea to make those kinds of jokes about me when Zacky was around. I could see that Zacky was going to be very protective over me from now on, considering what kind of person I am.

Zacky sighed, looking down at his feet. “I know, man. It’s just that…” he looked at me, and I smiled comfortingly. He smiled back, just not as wide as he usually did when he normally smiled at me.

“I know, this has to be hard for you.” Brian nodded. He looked at me, and smiled. “Well, guess we’re roomies now, huh?” he chuckled, gesturing me to come into his house.

I walked in with Zacky behind me. He kept his arm around my waist as we made our way through Brian’s familiar living room and off into a hallway that I had not been through before, and I guessed this led to the other rooms. There were three doors in the hallway—two on each side, one in the middle at the dead end.

“Sorry but there’s only one bathroom,” Brian said over his shoulder as he opened the door on the right side of the hallway. “Hope you don’t mind sharing with me.” he smirked, causing me to roll my eyes. Everything this man says has a perverted background to it. I suppose I’ll have to get used to it, considering I’m going to be living with him. Brian gestured me to go through the door, and I did as I was told and found myself in a small bedroom. This one didn’t have many decorations, I could tell no one had really been in this room, and it only had the essentials, which consisted of a TV, bed, chair, and vanity. It was a normal beige colored room, which was going to now be the place of where I would find peace and sanctity as I separated myself from the rest of the world.

Brian looked at Zacky, who nodded. “I’m staying with you, if that’s alright.” He whispered in my ear, giving me shivers down my spine. I heard Brian chuckle at my actions, and Zacky smirked slightly. “You’re not going to school tomorrow, either.” I gave him a confused look at that one. Zacky understood, and explained. “We’re taking you shopping for clothes, and stuff.” I knew what ‘stuff’ Zacky was talking about, and I smiled slightly at how embarrassed he was talking about getting me the essential things only a woman would have.
“Whoo, we’re going to the mall!” Brian sang as he looked at me. I smiled and shook my head at his actions, and then I felt another wave of sleep crash against me. I yawned, and Brian smiled. “Guess you should go to sleep, huh Ace?” he said, walking over to me. I wasn’t so sure of what he was doing until I felt his arms wrap around my shoulder blades in a hug.

I smiled, gently placing my arms around his middle. It felt good to hug someone in a friendly way. I felt Brian’s lips press against the top of my head, which only made my smile widen. It was nice to know that someone like Brian cared for me as well.

“Sweet dreams.” Brian smiled as he pulled away from me. I said my goodnights to him, and he walked out of my new room and through the door that was on the dead end part of the hallway. I guessed that was his room.

I looked at Zacky, and he smiled. “You really should sleep.” He said quietly, taking my hands. I let him lead me to the bed that was provided in the guestroom of Brian’s house.

The minute my bum hit the bed I fell down against it, the exhaustion of sleep weighing down against my entire body. I moved a bit to where my head was rested against the pillow. I didn’t even care about sleeping in normal clothes. I was too tired to care. I watched as Zacky began to make his way over to the chair, and I gave him a confused look. “What are you doing?” I croaked.

Zacky looked at me, and he didn’t even have to say anything. He wasn’t going to sleep in the same bed as me. I could tell that what his brother had said about Gena was probably ringing in his ears. He had made up his mind. He was going to protect me, but he wasn’t going to love me. Zacky sat down on the chair, and just by the way he was sitting I knew he was going to be uncomfortable for what little night we had left.

Although I had so many more questions running through my mind, I had to give my body a rest. Who knew one night could change everything? Devin was dead, Zacky was a murderer, we were both Hybrids, I was The Forbidden One, Dracula, King of vampyres, was my father, some little hussy named Abigail who couldn’t keep her legs shut was my mother, and, if I chose to, I could make this entire world tremble to its knees under my hidden power that was locked inside of me, just waiting to burst through.

--

“Matty, can you give me a piggy back ride?” Matt’s girlfriend, Valary, asked as we all walked through the mall entrance on a Tuesday afternoon while we normally would’ve been at school.

Matt groaned, but he bent his knees a bit, causing Valary to smile excitedly and place her hands on Matt’s shoulders, jumping on his back. “Thank you, hunny.” She said in a baby voice, causing Matt to roll his eyes.

“BriBri…?” Brian’s girlfriend, Michelle, twin sister of Valary, pouted, tugging on her boyfriend’s shirt as she pointed at Valary and Matt. Brian rolled his eyes, and ended up falling under Michelle’s trance as she jumped on his back as well.

“What kids.” Zacky mumbled as we walked side by side behind everyone else through the mall. Everyone was here, except Jimmy, because he had to comfort my ex-sister Leana in the mourning of Devin. I understood that much, and didn’t hate him for it. I thought it was kind of sweet of him to be thinking of her and want to help her through the death of her father.

Normally I would shop alone, so this was a new one for me being in a big group and actually at a mall. I felt the money Maria had given Zacky to give to me in my back jeans’ pocket. I was amazed at how much money Maria had, but then Zacky told me that her parents were filthy rich, and then it didn’t surprise me as much. I looked through all of the stores, not sure of which one we were actually going to shop in as I followed the rest of the guys, minus Jimmy, and Valary and Michelle, who were still on their boyfriend’s backs.

“Would it bother you if I was there with you every night?” Zacky asked randomly as we continued to walk through the mall.

I knew what he was trying to say, and I shook my head. “No, I understand that you have to protect me.” I said. I had finally accepted the fact that Zacky was now completely over me and what little spark there was between us when he slept over the first night or when we shared that kiss. He had Gena, the Perfect One, and that was all he needed. He didn’t need someone like me, the Fuck Up, to completely, dare I say, fuck up his whole life.

“How do you know it’s not because I want to be with you?” Zacky asked quietly to where I was the only one who heard. My heart did a thousand flips at what that sentence could possibly mean. “To tell the truth, I feel like I have to be around you.” he said. I could hear the embarrassment in his voice.

I looked at Zacky to see him looking at the ground as he walked on it. I began to realize that every time he was looking away from me, it was because he didn’t want me to see him blushing. His hair may have covered some of his face, but I could still see the red forming upon his pale cheeks.

I noticed everyone walking into a store, but I didn’t follow them. I stopped dead in my tracks, giving Zacky a look of disbelief at what he said. He stopped walking as well, and I could tell he was waiting for my response. “You actually l-like being w-with me?” I asked, very proud of myself that I didn’t stutter as much as I normally did.

Zacky continued to look down, digging the sole of his shoe into the ground as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He nodded, and my heart flipped. “I like being with you, Candace.” He admitted. “But, I’m afraid that I’ll do something that I could regret later on.” he looked up at me, tonguing one of his lip rings, which drove me absolutely nuts.

I knew what he meant by ‘something I could regret’. I understood that, even if he wanted to be with me, he had to control himself. He was with the Perfect One, and I understood that he didn’t want to ruin his chances with her. As if on cue, I was stabbed in the heart as I was once more reminded that the Perfect One had Zacky and I didn’t.

“Miss me?” she asked, covering her hands over Zacky’s eyes, making his beautiful jade orbs invisible.

My heart sank as Zacky turned around, completely forgetting about me, as he wrapped his arms around the Perfect One’s small waist in a hug. I chewed on the inside of my lip as I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t the best idea to have a mental breakdown in the middle of a mall. It didn’t matter if there was hardly anyone here. I still would be noticed for what I really am—insane.

“I thought you were sick?” the god asked his perfect girlfriend as I could do nothing but stand here like the belated crazy stalker baboon I am and watched as the Perfect Couple held each other in their arms.

Gena nodded, her sandy blonde hair swaying almost as if a gust of wind had blown against her perfect face. “I am.” She said, and I noticed how hoarse she sounded. “But I managed to sneak from my parents and come here with Lauren.” She said, nodding her head back towards a girl with jet black hair that was making her way towards the two.

I didn’t want to watch the rest of this. It killed me to think that, for one moment, Zacky was probably considering being with me, and then she had to show up. I began to hate Gena. At first it was envy, but now it was pure hatred that I was forming towards her. I wasn’t going to do anything rash, mainly because I knew I was too weak to. But then I heard Maria’s words ringing in my ears, and I remembered that, if her words were true, that I could easily break Gena’s pretty little neck in half like a twig. Disturbing thoughts ran through my head as I realized how strong I was, but I shook them away, trying to regain my composure.

“Hey, Ace.” Johnny smiled as he made his way over to me. Huh, I had totally forgotten he had come with us until now. I smiled slightly, too deep in my own thoughts of my hatred for Gena to show an actual emotion.

I looked at Johnny, expecting him to return the look, but then I saw that he was looking over my shoulder. I turned to see the girl, who I’m guessing is this Lauren girl Gena was talking about, looking at Johnny as well. I immediately got it. They were looking at each other like I would at Zacky. Lauren was definitely one of the pretty ones. Her straight black hair shined in the mall lights, and her blue eyes sparkled with hope as her snakebites were glistening against her full lips. Her cheekbones were at an incredible visibility as they were the finishing touch of her sweet face. Her body was at the average spot, not too big, not too small. I could tell this was Johnny’s kind of girl. Apparently I was right, because Johnny could not take his eyes off of her, and neither could she. I smiled slightly at him, and his eyes widened when they met mine.

“N-no, I don’t…” he defended, shaking his head side to side at a rapid speed as Lauren looked at Gena when she called her.

“Who said I was going to ask if you liked her?” I smirked, knowing that I had caught Johnny red handed, and, by the way he had reacted, red faced. Johnny sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, and I laughed. I was amazed at how quickly Johnny had gotten me out of this trance as I thought about my growing hatred for Gena. I could tell that Johnny was going to be one of the few that could actually help me in my time of need. “It’s okay, I won’t tell.” I said, using my index finger to make a lowercase ‘T’ over my heart, promising him that I wouldn’t tell a soul about my new discovery.

Johnny looked at me hopefully, and I nodded. “Uhm, I was just wondering…” he started, and I gave him a confused look. “If you wanted to just hang out for a while?” he asked.

I was surprised that he had actually asked me something like that. I knew he meant it in a friend way, considering he was looking at Lauren at this very moment. I nodded, smiling at him. I was glad he was going to take me away from the Perfect Couple. I wasn’t so sure of how long I could stay and watch them. “Sure, I’d love to.” I said, moving closer to him.

Johnny smiled, and it was the first time I had actually seen him smile. He had a very handsome smile, I’ll give him that. Johnny extended his hand out to me, and I took it with a smile back at him. I turned my neck to see that Lauren was no longer in sight of Johnny, meaning he was comfortable taking my hand without the one he liked seeing it because she couldn’t.

We started walking, and every now and again I would see Michelle and Brian or Matt and Valary, and let’s not forget that the twins were still on their boyfriend’s backs while they were making their poor boyfriends carry the bags of things they had bought. I then remembered that I was the reason that everyone was here in the first place.

I looked at Johnny, who was still holding my hand as we walked. “I need to get some new clothes.” I said, and Johnny nodded and began to look for a store to go in.

“What kind of clothes do you wear?” he asked as we began to enter the part of the building that mainly had clothes that would appeal to teenagers more than adults.

I looked at all of the clothes on display, trying to see if I could find something to my interest, when I saw a shirt that I wouldn’t mind getting. I tugged on Johnny’s hand. “Let’s go in here!” I smiled, dragging him into Urban Outfitters.

Johnny rolled his eyes, but let me drag him in the store anyway, and into the girls’ side. He didn’t seem so uncomfortable, so I made myself free by searching through whichever clothes looked to be my interest. It was pretty quiet as I was pushing clothes aside on their racks and Johnny was looking around the store, until I saw him get closer than before in the corner of my eye.

“So, do you like Zacky?” he asked randomly as I picked up a shirt and pressed it against my chest. He nodded, and I draped the shirt over my arm along with the now growing pile of random clothes.

I was debating whether to tell him or not. Johnny was the one who told me to go out and talk to Zacky on that fateful day that Brian had taken me to his house, and he was the one who told me that Zacky thought about me all the time—I now knew how he knew what Zacky was thinking, thanks to them being apart of the same pack and all—and how Zacky was supposedly crazy about me. I looked at Johnny, and I could see the sincerity in his eyes, telling me it was alright to tell him. I shrugged. “It’s kinda mixed emotions right now.” Of course I lied. I wasn’t going to tell Johnny that I flat out loved Zacky, which was true, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. Not yet, anyway.

Johnny nodded, and let things get silent. I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to let this kind of thing go until he got some answers. I continued to search for clothes, draping them over the layers of clothing that were stacked upon my arm as Johnny looked around, examining the store. I could tell he had never been in here before. “So, you know that we’re all a pack, right?” he asked, breaking the silence.

I nodded, looking at him for a split second, acknowledging his existence, then looking back at the endless amounts of clothes that were just begging to be looked at and possibly purchased by me. “Yeah,” I said, surprised at how quiet I had gotten all of the sudden. I noticed that the cashier woman was looking at us, and then I remembered that I knew that routine all too well. Being from a small town, people are going to want to know every detail about you, so this is sort of an instinct of mine to get quiet, preventing that woman to hear a word I was saying. “That’s how you knew that Zacky wanted me to talk to him, right?” I resisted the urge to feel my heart sink at the god’s name that escaped my lips.

Johnny nodded, clearly impressed that I had remembered the fact that he had told me what seemed like so long ago, when it was really just two days ago. “Yeah, and apparently Zack doesn’t realize that I’m listening to him the majority of the time. I know it sounds kinda weird, but I want to hear him say something about you.” he admitted, nodding as I held up another shirt to my chest, asking for his approval.

After draping the shirt over my arm, I gave Johnny a questioning look. Why would he want to know if Zacky was thinking about me? I knew that Johnny liked me, but could it be that he actually wanted me and Zacky to be a couple? That didn’t make any sense at all. “Why?” I asked, hoping to get some answers as I migrated towards the jeans section with Johnny right beside me.

Johnny shrugged and looked at me, and I could see that he was going to admit something he wouldn’t tell just anyone. “To be honest, I don’t really like Gena.” He said, waiting for my reaction.

This did surprise me. I thought everyone got along with everyone in this little group? They all seemed to be happy with each other’s company, could it be that Johnny really wouldn’t like his best friend’s girlfriend? That sort of made sense now of why he was so quiet, maybe it was because of Gena that he didn’t want to show his true feelings for her while his friends were around. “How come?” I asked, looking from him to the jeans, searching for my size.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I just never have.” Johnny admitted, leaning against the shelves the jeans were stacked in. “It’s like, the minute I met her I knew I wouldn’t like her. I feel kinda stupid now that I’ve realized why I don’t like her.” He chuckled, looking at me.

I found a few pairs of jeans that were to my liking, and started to make my way towards the accessories to find a few necklaces and bracelets that I would use to hide my now fading scars and my marking. After being told by Maria that I would be hunted down by werewolves, thanks to me being The Forbidden One, I would have to hide my marking, considering I was now going to be living with a werewolf and surrounded by them twenty four seven. I looked at Johnny as his words seeped into my mind and I couldn’t make out what he was trying to tell me. “What’s that mean?” I asked.

Johnny understood, and smiled slightly. “Well, you know that all Lycans are born with gifts, right?” I nodded, and he continued. “Mine is seeing the future.” My eyes widened, causing Johnny to chuckle slightly. “Yeah, Ace, I saw you coming. Not only do I have visions of the future, I know exactly what the person who the visions are about is like or what their purpose was in the future. Once I understood your personality, I knew that you were made for Zacky. Not necessarily Chosen…you do know what Chosen means, right?” I nodded, and so did Johnny. “But I knew that Zacky would absolutely adore you. You see, I got that vision of you about a year ago around the time Zacky met Gena.” I started to see where he was going with this. “When they started dating, I became furious. Of course I didn’t let it show. I thought about you, and I was hoping you would come into Zack’s life like in my vision and set all this mess straight. It’s not that I hate Gena, but I hate the fact that Zacky actually started going out with her while I knew he hadn’t met you yet, the perfect girl for him. Also, when I get my visions, I usually don’t want them to change, which only happens if the person who the vision’s about changes his or her mind, and once I saw you, I knew I would be determined to make this vision come true. Gena’s nothing of his type, and you fit everything in his criteria.” I could tell that was the end of his story, but there was still one question that was running through my mind.

“When you got the vision of me, what was it?” I asked, a bit curious to know what exactly Johnny’s visions looked like.

Johnny smirked for a bit and looked at me. “You sure you wanna know?” he asked, and I immediately became a bit scared, but I nodded anyway. Johnny chuckled once. “I’ll tell you when it happens.” He winked, giving me Goosebumps.

I tried not to think of what his words could possibly mean. He knew it was going to happen, whatever ‘it’ may be, and I couldn’t help but think that it was probably something that would embarrass me right in front of everyone.

After picking a few necklaces and bracelets and whatnot, I decided that this was enough to last me a few weeks. I dumped the humongous pile of clothing and accessories onto the cashier’s table, and the cashier looked very happy at her now favorite customer, and gladly checked everything and added up my total bill. Luckily I had just the right amount of money to spend. I guess Maria understood how expensive things were getting this day in age, and I carried two bags, Johnny carrying the other two, and we made our way out of the store.

“Do you need new shoes?” Johnny asked, using one hand that was holding a large bag of clothing to gesture towards my worn down black shoes.

I shrugged, and nodded as I looked up at him. “I guess so.” I liked being with Johnny, to be honest. He seemed to know how to talk to a girl in a friendly manner, and not in some perverted manner like Brian. He was also very kind to me, and knew when not to push my buttons if I really didn’t want to talk about something. I also felt comfortable talking to him about the god, considering he would listen and not roll his eyes at how stupid I sounded obsessing over someone I couldn’t have, considering Johnny wanted me to be with Zacky just as badly as I did. I could tell he was going to be one of my closest friends, which was fine with me.

Johnny ended up leading me to this store that had nothing but shoes lining all of the walls, and I immediately fell in love. I never knew how many shoes one person could ever desire to have. Johnny sat down on the little bench beside me as I tried on a few pairs, asking him if they looked good on me.

“I like those.” Johnny smiled as I showed him a red converse shoe that was covering my foot once I had tied all the laces together. I nodded, deciding to put those in the pile of shoes that Johnny and I both agreed on, and tried on another shoe. I showed Johnny, and he shook his head rapidly side to side, eyes wide, causing me to laugh and take off the shoe and put it back in its box, placing it in the pile of shoes I wasn’t going to buy. I tried on a few more, asking for Johnny’s approval, and then decided on the ones I was going to buy. I was going to buy the red converse, black and silver ballet flats, a pair of black boots—which Johnny looked at me strangely when I showed them to him, but he approved anyway—and even a couple of crazy shoelaces for my converse.

After checking everything out, I noticed I still had money left. Good God how much money did Maria give me? I looked at Johnny, who was holding the additional bag of shoes with the clothes he was originally carrying as I came up with an idea. “Wanna go eat?” I asked.

Johnny looked at me and nodded. “Hell yes! I’m starving!” he said, hurriedly making his way towards where I think the food court is, considering I’ve never been here before. I smiled and shook my head as I followed him, carrying the two bags full of clothes with me. I was happy that Johnny actually made me forget about the Perfect Couple for a while, but I knew that wouldn’t last long.