Decisions Ch. 09

Stasi and I walked out into the late January afternoon. It was cold and raining, a light drizzle of water battering us as we hurried across the quad to the safety of the Cafeteria. I opened the door for Stasi and she inclined her head, murmuring her thanks. I followed after her, walking over to our table.

When it was raining, the Cafeteria was always crowded with people seeking shelter from the cold and the water. It was an exception this time. The Cafeteria was still crowded, but it wasn't as packed as it should have been. I guess more people stayed home than I thought.

"They'll come." Stasi said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"The students. They'll all be coming to school. Their absence isn't permanent."

"How did you..." I began.

"I saw it in your face. You had that brooding look in your eyes. Vy vsegda mozhete sdelat' eto."

"I don't always do that." I said defensively.

"Yes, you do." She giggled, sticking out her tongue.

We playfully argued back and forth until we arrived at our table. Lucy, Jazz, and Ricky were already there. Viktor was sitting next to Abby at a secluded table in the corner and Elena was off on the other side at one of the booths with her own group of friends. Everybody greeted us and once we took our seats, conversation resumed.

"She was completely amazing," Ricky explained, waving his huge arms. "She even surprised some of the workers at the field hospital. Only a senior in high school and she was putting some of the nurses there to shame! I don't know how she did it."

"Lots of research and books." Jazz said shyly. I was surprised how timid her voice was. She sounded a bit like Lucy... not that that was a bad thing! It was just surprising because of how outspoken and boisterous Jazz usually was. Jazz was loud and to hear her so quiet when Ricky gushed about how great she was... that was strange, to say the least.

"I don't know how much research you've been doing, Jazz. It was amazing! She was helping people left and right, diagnosing injuries and performing triage to the max. You guys should've seen it."

"How many days were you guys there?" Lucy asked.

"Three." Ricky said. "Once the riot really got out of hand did I manage to convince Jazz to leave."

"I don't know how you managed to pull the wool over your parents' eyes and say you were sleeping over at my house." I said. "The instant my parents found out there was a riot going on in the city, they would've wanted me home in an instant."

"They probably thought I was safer at your house than at home, I don't freakin' know." Ricky said. He nudged Jazz on the arm. "All I know is that Snake Eyes here was totally amazing. Mucho bueno."

Jazz narrowed her slit-eyes. "Snake Eyes?"

"Yeah, Snake Eyes. You have Snake Eyes."

While Jazz and Ricky bickered and Lucy watched, amused, my eyes trailed across the cafeteria. They settled on the siblings Vincent and Brenda Nguyen, the Alpha and Betas of the Nguyen Pack. Both of them looked haggard, angry, and irritated. I only had to guess why. The Nguyen Pack was right in the middle when it came to pack size here at Belcourt High School. Including them, they had a small pack of around seven weres. Three were forced to transfer to a different school or face expulsion.

I single handedly took out almost half of their pack.

Christopher Williams, Werewolf Hunter.

"Are you going to talk to them?" Lucy asked, tracing where I was looking with my eyes.

"Yeah. Maybe not now, but I will." I replied.

"Yes, I don't think it'd be smart to do it now." Stasi noted.

"You're right." I said.

"When am I not?" She quipped, giggling when she saw my face. She patted me on the cheek with her cold hand and turned back to conversing with Lucy. I simply looked at her and took in her beauty, her awesomeness, just... everything. When everything seemed to go so wrong, I was with the people that made everything just go right. I wasn't just with my friends. I was with my family.

******

"So..." The waitress began, looking at her notepad. She was a cute college-aged arachne, with brunette hair and brown eyes. She sucked on the end of her pen, all eight of her eyes blinking nervously. "That will be three sandwiches, a hamburger, a milkshake, and a extra large fries. Did I get that right?"

"Yeah, thanks." Ricky said, sliding over his menu.

"Ok, what will you two be having?" The waitress asked, turning to us.

"I'll have a water and a small fries." I said, sliding over my menu.

"I'll have the same." Viktor decided. "Can I have a synthetic blood pack on the side?"

"Sure. In a cup or bag?"

"Cup, please." Viktor said. "Thank you."

"Not a problem." The waitress said, taking the menu and skittering off.

"Now you guys just made me look fat." Ricky complained, even though he was anything but. He was really spending alot of time in the weight room. No more was he the freakishly tall but skinny Mexican kid with unruly hair. Now he was a freakishly tall but somewhat muscular Mexican kid with unruly hair.

"I'm watching what I eat after practice. Otherwise i'll cramp up." I said. "Can't eat fast food this close to a playoff game, anyways. I'll probably throw up on the ice."

"Pre-game fuel for me." Ricky said, patting his stomach.

"Why did you even invite us out?" Viktor asked.

"What? Can't we have a bro night every now and then?" Ricky asked.

"Well, I mean, we can." I said, diplomatically. "I just prefer to have the 'bro night' planned in advance and not planned thirty minutes ago by getting a text that says 'Meet me at Donny's at eight.' Besides, I don't think my parents want me to come out at night too often. There's so much police around, they're probably scared i'll get shot in the street on accident."

I was actually fairly mad that Ricky picked Donny's. Donny's served the best Tri-Tip sandwiches... at least, it served the best Tri-Tip sandwich that a nonhuman could get. After the San Francisco Riots, it seemed that all the businesses in San Francisco were ready to keep monsters from becoming patrons.

I hardly cared. Donny's had great sandwiches.

The kicker was, I couldn't eat said Tri-Tip sandwiches because of hockey. Well, I probably could eat said Tri-Tip sandwiches, but Stasi was in charge of making sure I stuck to my strict diet and she always knew when I ate something I wasn't supposed to.

"I mean..." Ricky stammered, before running his hand through his unruly hair. "Alright, fine. I called you two here today because I need some help. A lot of help."

"What kind of help?" Vik asked.

"I need Relationship Tech Support, man. I think I have a crush on Jazz, bro."

"Wait... what?!" I exclaimed, making Ricky jump in his seat.

"Keep it down, will you!" He hissed, looking around the diner. Donny's wasn't as popular a hangout spot as Scaletta's, but it was still popular with Belcourt students nonetheless. The least he probably wanted was for some chatterbox of a dwarf to hear what I said announce it to the entire school. "Yeah, I know, it's surprising, isn't it?"

"I mean... yeah!" I said.

"Well, it's not!" Ricky said. "I spent so much time with her over those three days at the Pacific Mall and trust me, I caught feelings. She's such a legitimately great person, super kind, and funny as all hell, bro. What do I do?"

"What do you mean?" Vik asked. "Just go for it."

I looked at Vik. I felt a small tinge of pride. It was deja vu all over again. I was reminded of the time when I had to drag him to go say hi to Abby. Now, he was his own love guru.

"What do you mean just go for it?" Ricky asked, flabbergasted. "I just can't go for it."

"Uh... yes, you can." Vik said. "Do you text her?"

"Every night."

"Do you talk to her?"

"Every day."

"Then go for it!" Vik insisted.

"No man, I just... I feel like I'm on a timer because it's the second semester of senior year. She's going places and I'm not, bro. I just..."

"I know, Ricky." I said. "It feels like we don't have a lot of time and it's true, we don't. You and I are out of here in four months. Four months until we graduate. That's alot of time and that's not a lot of time. But, it's better to spend that time doing something with someone that makes you happy than standing on the sidelines and wishing for it to happen, you feel? Imagine if we had another event like what happened at the Pacific Mall. One day, you might have your chance taken away from you forever... god forbid that happens, though."

"Yeah, I feel. Man, I wish I had the perfect relationship just fall into my lap when I was in Kindergarten like you, Chris."

"My relationship is far from perfect." I said. "It feels like it, but I know in my heart that it isn't. No relationship is. Say," I turned to Viktor, narrowing my eyes. "Did you tell Abby that you loved her yet?"

Vik suddenly found the stains on the dirty ass table fairly interesting. "No." He mumbled.

"Bro, what the hell."

"What? It's harder than it looks!" Vik argued. "I can't just come out and say it, you know. Every time I want to, I just clam up and I can't even say anything."

"Here, tell Ricky that you love him. Right now." I ordered.

"Wait what?" He asked.

"Say it."

"No. Why?"

"Say it!" I insisted.

Vik's nostrils flared and he took in a deep breath. He stared at Ricky with a deadpan expression on his face. "Ricky, I love you."

"Love you, too, Vik."

"See?" I said. "Was that so hard? Now replace Ricky's name with Abby and you're golden."

"Chris, it's not that easy." Vik said.

"How is it not?" I challenged.

I honestly didn't know how hard it was to say I love you. I said it all the time to my parents and especially to Stasi. I never said it out of habit or because I was forced to say it. Rather, I said it remind the people I loved that they were the best thing that ever happened to me. My parents were the best thing that ever happened to me. They molded me into the person who I am today and Stasi... Stasi was by my side since the very beginning and I wanted her to know she was the greatest thing that I ever received in my life.

"It's just... it's just..." Vik struggled. "Fine! FINE! I'll say it! Happy now!?"

******

"Chris, I don't want to do this anymore." Vik said, adjusting his bucket hat nervously. Even though it was cloudy, he still had to protect his skin from the UV rays. Drawbacks of being a vampire, I suppose.

"Do it, or i'll tell Elena." I said savagely.

Vik gave me one last pleading look, but I simply wasn't having it. I pointed to the fenced enclosure and Vik sullenly walked. The fenced enclosure was the Belcourt High School Aquatics "Complex". It was an outdoor pool. It wasn't Olympic sized, but it was still large enough that our swimming team could practice in it. It was heated as well... which was probably why some of the mermaids wanted to swim in February.

Vik and I walked into the pool, waving at some people that we knew, but we were solely focused on the brunette mermaid that was lounging on the concrete, her tail gently bobbing up and down in the warmed water. She was wearing a neoprene suit that covered her torso to keep her warm and decent. Her hair was in a swimmer's cap and unlike some of the 'normal' swimmers, she wasn't wearing goggles. Mermaids didn't need them. Their pupils were different from a regular human in that they could see underwater. It was actually kind of cool.

"Hey Abby!" Vik greeted.

Abby stopped splashing her tail absentmindedly on the water and looked up at him, her eyes widening in surprise. "Hi Vik!" She enthused, waving. "Hey, Chris!"

"Hi Abby." I greeted, waving back. She was usually so shy. A complete wallflower. But around people she knew, she was super outgoing and talkative..

"Don't you two have hockey practice right now?" She asked.

"Not until another hour." Vik explained. "Coach Butler is getting held up in traffic because of all those extra checkpoints the police are putting up."

"Oh, cool." Abby nodded. "Well, no actually, not cool. Actually, forget I said anything before I dig myself a bigger hole." She moved to get out of the water, but Vik stopped her, waving his arms.

"No, no. You can stay there." Vik insisted.

"But I want to sit next to you." She replied, looking at her wheelchair forlornly.

"Yeah, I know. I want to sit next to you, too. I'll just..." He kicked off his shoes and peeled off his socks, making me raise my eyebrows. Vik rolled up his jeans, revealing inch after inch of pale, hairy leg and sat down on the concrete. Gingerly, he dipped his leg in the warmed waters, hissing. "That's a bit hot."

"It's a bit warm, yes." Abby giggled, wrapping her arm around him. "You're just cold... in more ways than one."

Vik flashed her a fangy grin. "Yeah, I know.. I just... hey, I wanted to say something to you that I've been wanting to say for a while now."

"What's up, Vik?" Abby asked, cocking her head. I just noticed her gills. Three thin slits on either side of her neck. They weren't so distinct when Abby was out of the water because she always wore her brunette hair down, but now that her hair was up, they were clear as day. Of course, she wasn't using them because she wasn't in the water.

"I um... I... I... I... whew, is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?" Vik asked, withering under the gaze of her green eyes. "It's feels like I'm in a banya."

"Oh my good god." I mumbled, cringing and turning away,

"You were inside a banana?" Abby asked, baffled.

"Banya." Viktor corrected. "It's like a Russian steam room. I only went in one once when I went to Russia and trust me, I was miserable the whole duration. It was so hot."

Huh. I didn't think it was that bad. It was actually kind of therapeutic. But then again, the entire Sokolov family were vampires so their lower body temperatures must've not liked the muggy and hot steam of a banya.

"That's pretty interesting. I've never been in a steam room even though it'd probably be good for my tail, but it must be pretty hot in there but it's only about 70 degrees out here, so it might just be you." Abby shrugged.

"Right I... sorry, that was a dumb question. But I have another question for you." Viktor said. I watched in anticipation, leaning forward. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to go to Prom with me."

Oh my good god!

"Um... sure." Abby said, awkwardly although she did have a smile that lit up her face. "I'd be delighted to go to Prom with you... even though prom is in April and we're in February. I'm glad you asked, to be honest. I have to go shopping for a specially modified dress and we have to coordinate colors and I didn't want any of those huge 'promposals' or wha-..."

"No, I take it back, I didn't want to ask you to prom." Vik interrupted.

OH MY GOOD GOD!

"Oh.. alright." Abby said, looking and sounding very hurt. "That's... fine, I guess. It's not like I can even dance with this tail anyways. I'll probably just be a drag like at the homecoming dance."

"No, I take that back, too! You weren't a drag at the homecoming dance, either. I had a blast!" Vik blurted, hastily. We were attracting a few looks from the other merpeople at the pool. Some nosy mermaid was even bobbing in the water closer, trying to hear. "I do want to ask you to prom and trust me, I'm doing a huge promposal for you but since you already know I'm going to ask you to prom, we should get the color coordination down first. I think blue or green would suit you because of your tail and I'm so so sorry, I'm word vomiting, I just can't stop talking because I'm so nervous and I really wanted to tell you something but I don't know how. Alright you know what, here it comes. You ready? Ok. I just, I wanted to say something. I just wanted to say that, Abigail MacDonald, I love you." He said, rapidly.

"You... you what?" Abby choked out.

"I love you." He declared, giving her a goofy, lovestruck, fangy grin.

"Vik, I... I..."

Aw shit. Here it comes. I began to think up ways to apologize to Vik for insisting that he move too fast in his relationship.

"I love you too!" Abby exclaimed, sealing his lips in a kiss. The entire pool burst into applause with the merpeople clapping, whistling, and cheering furiously. Abby wrapping her hands around him and down they went. They legit went down into the water. I yelped in surprise, running to the edge to look down beneath the depths. I still saw them, their lips sealed against each other.

But, judging from the bubbles coming up from Abby's gills, I don't think they were going to come up for air any time soon.

Wait a second... was she breathing for the both of them?!

"Don't worry, i'll keep an eye on them." The mermaid who was trying to eavesdrop said. "They'll probably be a while."

"Uh... thanks." I replied. "I'm just gonna... I'm gonna go. Make sure he gets dry before he comes to the hockey rink. I don't want him to get sick."

"You betcha'." She winked at me, before swimming back to her friends.

******

"So, let me get this straight." Stasi asked. "He asked her to prom first."

"Yep." I breathed.

We were in her room. She had the house all to herself with Viktor at Abby's, Elena's at her friends, and Anton and Yulia out. I decided to drop by just in case she was lonely.

"Then he told her he loved her. Prosto tak?"

"Prosto tak." I replied. "Oh!"

Stasi stopped her massage, her cold hands resting on the tender spot on my back. "Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?" She asked, worriedly.

"No, I just took a bit of a shot there at practice. The Kelly Twins really know how to lay a hit." I said, groaning in a strange mixture of pain and pleasure when Stasi gently worked the area with her cold nimble fingers. She gave the best massages. There was nothing quite like a massage on her comfy bed after a rough practice or a game.

"Which one was it? Was it Dan or was it Henry?"

"Henry." I gasped.

"You know, he reminds me of you."

"Who? Henry?"

"No, dummy. Viktor!" Stasi said. "On napominayet mne o vas."

"No way. I never would've blundered like how Vik did."

"Yes, you would've." She giggled.

"No, I wouldn't have! I'm actually quite smooth if I may say so myself."

"Smooth as velcro." She snorted.

"Hey, I got the love of my life being smooth as velcro, didn't I?" I asked.

Stasi hummed before she began to knead the taut muscle on my shoulder. "Yes, you did." She muttered, before kissing me on the cheek. "Did you hear from that football recruiter from Berkeley, yet?"

"Yeah." I replied. "Even though it's not exactly UCLA, he said he liked what he saw on tape and in the classroom. He said he'd also take a look at our applications."

"Our?" Stasi asked, her hands absolutely still.

"Yes, 'our'. I told him that I wasn't going to attend if you weren't going to be accepted."

"Chris," Stasi began, softly. "That was stupid. Isn't your dream playing football at the next level? I want you to know that I'm not going to stand in the way of your dreams."

"Stasi, move for a sec, I'm going to get on my back." I said, rolling around so I was on my back. Stasi propped herself up so I could move, then dropped back down, straddling me with her soft body. I sighed when I laid eyes her pale, delicate face and large crystal blue eyes. Perfection. "Playing football in college isn't my dream. You're my dream, I told you that."

"Do you mean that, lyubov?" Stasi asked, stroking my cheek gently. She had a soft smile on her face, a smile accentuated by her twin fangs.

"I do. With all my heart." I declared.

Stasi softly cried and stooped low, attacking me in a cold, tight hug and a passionate kiss. Although I simply went with it, I couldn't help but make a noise of pain. My body was sore from practice, but my best friend didn't seem to care. She was planting kisses all over my face, my neck, and my head. It was certainly doing wonders for my hard-on and there was no way that Stasi could not feel it through the thick material of my sweat pants and her basketball shorts.