Animal Attraction

“That was before I met you, Landon,” I told him as soon as the guys left.

Landon gave me a weak smile, “It’s all right, you had every right to be pissed at me, at times I was too.”

“Why?” I asked.

Landon sighed, “Because I… you know what, never mind. I want to know more about you. You’re sneaky like a ninja, I know that and you like to get in trouble.”

I laughed, “I do not like getting trouble… it just happens to follow me.”

Landon laughed and I noticed we had the same laugh. It made my own laugh die down a bit.

“Have you thought about the future? What you want to do?”

“I wanna be a rock star,” I joked. “Seriously, I have no idea, in such a small town there really isn’t much I can do. I think I’ll end up working with my mom at the diner.”

“But you have potential, I’ve seen your grades.”

“You’ve seen my B’s and C’s?” I scoffed.

“I’ve read your essays, you’re a wonderful writer!”

“How did you read my essays?” I asked.

“Your mother showed them to me… she sent me one and I still have it,” Landon grinned. “You are gifted when it comes to writing.”

“How is that going to get anywhere? It would be better if I had photographic memory or something, then I could remember every single thing in a book and become the smartest girl in the planet… I rambled,” I sighed.

Landon nods, “You could be a writer, have you ever thought about that?”

“Honestly? Absolutely not, I love to read,” I said.

“You could become an Editor, you get to write and read many possible books,” Landon pointed out.

I smiled at Landon, okay so I might’ve misjudged Landon just a tiny bit. He seemed like a great guy and I think we were having a daughter-father moment. After the ice cream we went back home. Sean, Angie and Margaret were all on the couch watching TV.

“Ah, you’re back, Erin,” Margaret said. “You have a knack for getting in trouble, don’t you?” She meant in a joking matter but it didn’t sound like it.

“Yeah, well, sorry for making you worry yesterday. I didn’t think anyone would panic. I was just going to be a few hours and you guys were asleep and I didn’t want to bother,” I said.

“I’m surprised you can drive,” Sean muttered.

I chuckled. I wanted to say ‘I’m surprised you function without a brain, dumb ass’ but I bit my tongue.

“I can, I am seventeen after all,” I said.

“Well, dinner is going to be ready in an hour,” Margaret said. She cooks? “I took the liberty of ordering Chinese and convinced them to deliver to the house.”

Oh, should’ve known someone as fancy as her didn’t know how to cook.

“Oh… that’s new, I should shower then. I’m all dusty from work,” I said as I pointed upstairs.

“Where do you work?” Angie asked.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, “At a bookstore, you know those things that are like magazines, but are much thicker and informative, I’m just messing with ya, Angela.”

“Angie!” Angie growled.

“Angie, please,” Landon said, “your name is very uncommon around here.”

“Daddy--” Angie scoffed.

“Angie, please behave,” Landon said and then turned to me and winked.

I smiled. When Margaret and Landon went to the kitchen I stuck out my tongue at Angie who huffed and crossed her arms. Sean just shook his head and whispered something in Angie’s ear and she smirked evilly. I shrugged it off . I turned back to the stairs and went to my room. I let out a soundless shriek which after a couple of seconds turned into a shriek.

My room… was clean! There was no clothes there was just… space and Angie’s suitcase at the corner of the room. The door opened and Landon and Margaret walked in.

“What happened dear?” Margaret asked. “Oh, you’re just surprised your room is cleaned, it was just a pig stake in here.”

I looked at Margaret in awe and behind her were Sean and Angie who had a triumphant smirks. So that’s what they were so happy about, I thought. I pursed my lips and forced a smile.

“I. Am. So. Happy, thank you, Margaret. I’ve been meaning to clean but with all of the community work I do, I just can’t seem to find the time to do anything,” I said.

“You do community work? How wonderful!”

“Yes, I go to the… elderly place and help them,”

“Retirement home?” Sean said.

“Yeah… in… Port Angeles… it’s very self-rewarding and the elderly are so kind,” I placed a hand over my heart and made a face as if it touched my heart.

“That is so generous of you, most kids your age would just throw off their valuable time doing nothing. Sean doesn’t even want to go to Sixth Form because he wants to go to Las Vegas. He was supposed to go this summer but I told him no and that he was going to Sixth Form,” Margaret said.

I had no idea what sixth form was, “What is sixth form?”

“Oh, it’s like being a senior here,” Landon said.

“Oh, if I had the chance to go to college I would,” I said. “Education is very important, especially during these times where a degree does matter.”

“You are going places, dear,” Margaret said and turned to her children. “You guys should take advice from her.”

Margaret gave me a hug and I returned it. Landon waved and they went down stairs. Angie and Sean entered my room.

“That was the biggest ass kissing I’ve ever seen,” Angie spat.

“I do whatever it takes to win,” I smirked. “You’re just going to have to stand there as I take your daddy and possibly your mummy away from you.”

Angie let’s out a frustrated squeal.

I laughed, “What the heck was that? It sounded like a pig in pain.”

“Listen to me you intruder, you are not going to mess up my perfect life with your existence!” Angie stomped out of my room which left Sean.

“Going to do that little spoil brat lecture too, Sean?”

He shook his head, “I know eventually you will fail because that’s all you’ll ever be in life, Erin, a failure and a bother.”

His words hurt more than Angie’s, maybe because somehow I thought I was a failure too. Deep down inside I was a failure. Sure, I could put up the mask of tough and witty, but underneath that mask I was just a vulnerable girl.

I could easily be broken.

I have never achieved anything good in my life. I’m not smart. I don’t have perfect grades and people around here always gave me the stink eye, I might’ve as well worn a scarlet letter on my chest. They looked down on me and somehow I started to believe I wasn’t worth anyone’s time, if it wasn’t for Jared’s friendship I’m sure I would be jail.

Later on at the night after Chinese dinner I went outside of my porch. I looked around and made sure no one was around. I reached in my sweater pocket and took out a packet of cigarettes, I’m not an addict, but I do enjoy a smoke every once in a while. I placed it between my lips and took out the lighter and I was about to light it when a large hand came into my face and snatched away the lighter.

“Jared! What the hell?” I whispered, but it wasn’t Jared.

I watched as Paul stood next to me from the rail. He snatched my cigarette too.

“Cancer sticks,” he muttered as he ripped it in half and stomped on it when he threw it to the ground. “You should know better.”

My defensive shield went up in half a second.

“You’re not the boss of me,” I took out the packet again, but Paul snatched it, threw it to the ground and once again stomped on it. “You owe me a packet!”

“This is the stupidest thing you’ve done,” Paul growled.

“Nah-uh, taking that stupid kiss dare from Embry was,” I said.

For a second hurt flashed through his eyes. Guilt washed in, damn freaking guilt that now seemed to always go up whenever I insulted him. I never used to have it.

“What are you doing around here, anyways?” I asked.

“It’s a free country, Erin,” Paul said.

“And you’re just a stroll so near to my house? You’ve always avoided coming here, why the sudden change?” I asked.

“I could ask the same thing, why did you kiss me twice?”

I scoffed several times as I made up an excuse, “I did not… loser.” Yeah, greatest comeback ever, sarcasm.

Paul grinned and jumped over the rail to be face to face to me, “Yeah?”

I nodded as I moved backwards and he moved forwards. I hit the house when his hand blocked my way out I became nervous. Nervous because I could kiss him again.

“Are you really going to deny it?” he asked.

“It’s kind of hard to admit I like to kiss my worst enemy,” I said.

I didn’t know his smirk could get bigger but it did, “You liked it?”

I nodded, all part of the plan.

“But I know you’ve enjoyed my kisses as well,” I grinned.

His eyes were on my lips and it made it hard for me to concentrate for smart comebacks. His face got closer.

“Yeah, I have,” he didn’t deny it.

“Why aren’t you denying it?”

“There’s no point to it, it would just waste time when we could be doing this,” he kissed me.

I melted right into his arms the second his lips met mine.

How could it be possible to feel this way? I was so sure just a few days ago that I hated Paul with everything inside of me. I wanted to hurt him in ways that would make you cringe. He really did make my childhood have some bad times.

He tortured me emotionally and verbally.

I’ve always hated him, yet there I was kissing him like the whole world depended on it. If we stopped kissing the world would explode so we continued to kiss. All of those bad memories with Paul vanished like they never existed.

It’s stupid, right? In real life it shouldn’t work like this, but then again in ‘real life’ vampires and werewolves don’t exist, but I was kissing one, a werewolf or shape shifter. Real life didn’t fit in my world anymore. Whatever was impossible was now possible. I could be President and rule the world because I lived in a world where I was kissing Paul Parker.

His kiss was passionate yet gentle like he was holding back. When our tongues met it became more wild. He pressed me against the wall and picked me up and held me up by my butt.

Someone cleared their throat. Paul and I turned and saw Landon standing there at the door frame. Paul set me down and I straighten myself out and whipped my mouth.

“Hey, Landon… this is Paul, Paul this is… Landon,” I said.

“Her father,” Landon stood straighter but was nothing compared to Paul’s huge built body… with his ripped muscles and dark skin and lush lips… hmm… uh… yeah.

“We’ve met before, sir,” Paul said as he took out his hand and Landon shook it.

“It’s almost eleven, boy, you should be at home,”

“Yes, sir… just came to chat with Erin,” Paul said and turned back to me and kissed my cheek and walked away.

I pulled on the sleeve of my sweater and twisted it in my fingers. Even with the cold wind on my face I felt my face burning.

“I--”

“Hate can always be mistaken for love, Erin,” Landon smiled. “But I would appreciate it if you didn’t do it so loudly.”

Please let there be a ditch I could fall into and never be seen again.

“Gosh, so sorry… we got carried away. It won’t happen again, I promise,” I said.

Landon nods, “It’s bed time, kiddo.”

“Isn’t like morning in England?” I asked.

Landon nods, “Yes, but I think in a couple of days our bodies will fall asleep the same time as you.”

“Well, good night, Landon, and thanks for being cool about… what just happened, you’re really cool,” I said as I put up a fist and Landon looked at it and chuckled.

“Oh, right,” he said as he pounded it and then made his hand ‘explode’ and even made the ‘psshh’ sound.

I laughed, “Okey-dokey then, night.”