The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 36

Cody's POV:

If I'd been aware that Zoe's definition of "shopping" meant spending three hours watching her decide between two ball gowns, I never would've agreed to go.

Elijah and I bought the tuxes within fifteen of entering the mall. After that, we both trailed behind the girls as they skimmed through the ball gowns. While Zoe was completely invested in the task at hand, Alex seemed a little distracted. She kept zoning out and Zoe had to nudge her every few minutes to bring her back.

I couldn't blame her though - the core of the whole mission, and maybe even our lives, depended on what we found tonight. And if that turned out to be nothing... well, I tried not to think about that too much.

"Okay, you know what?" Zoe finally snapped, turning toward Alex. "I'm going to pick out five ball gowns. You need to try all of them on and choose the one that suits you best." Alex made a face at that but didn't protest.

"Roughly how long is that going to take?" Elijah asked wearily.

Zoe shot him a look, but Alex stepped in, saying, "There's an ice cream store on the other end of the mall. You guys check it out. We'll meet you there when we're done."

I nodded, turning to walk away, Elijah beside me. We both walked out of the store and in the direction Alex had indicated. On the way, Elijah twitched beside me.

I raised an eyebrow. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah, I've just been... feeling a little itchy lately. And I showered this morning, so don't go down that road," he added, glancing sideways ways at me.

I grinned. "Don't worry, I wasn't going to," I said. "You think maybe it's just the bite taking effect?"

His pace slowed, but he didn't stop walking. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Maybe. I kind of wanted to believe in the possibility that the bite didn't work. I guess I was in delusion."

I paused for a moment before saying, "Is it really that bad though?"

"I don't know that yet. I just knew everything would be different if I turned. I knew I would be different, and I was right. I already feel different. I feel... stronger." He shook his head. "I don't know what's going to happen once I turn."

"Don't worry," I said, nudging him with my elbow. "You can become a werewolf, but you're still going to be the guy who ditched his best friend on her knees because her eyes were glowing and then came back three years later because the guilt was eating him up."

He pursed his lips. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Nope," I answered without hesitation. He nodded, accepting the fact.

We both continued walking until we reached the ice cream store. It was mostly deserted, considering not many people chose to visit Hawaii in November, midst of their work and studies. That made me think of how much I might be missing at school, but at that point, I didn't care - it was either good grades or saving the world.

The two of us chose a table and after about twenty minutes, I ordered four ice creams, taking a guess on what the girls might want.

The girls arrived first, each of them holding a shopping bag. They spotted us and walked over, sitting down with a sigh. A minute later, the waiter strolled over with our ice creams, handing them out.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

Alex merely shrugged, taking a bite of her ice cream. Zoe, however, had a devilish glint in her eyes. "You'll find out soon."

*

Nightfall came sooner than any of us wanted. We'd spent the rest of the day going over our motives and what to do if things went wrong. We didn't have a proper plan, considering we had no idea what to expect, though I hoped that wouldn't cause too much chaos.