Love Like This (Book Three of IFHLS)

Chapter Six

"Now I'm sure the paper cups and plates are in the far back of the store. I think Tristan wanted the black and orange ones to go with the Halloween theme," Pristine said as she pushed in the door of party depot.

There was cool wind as we entered the depot and immediately we were surprised with bright colors and costumes hanging on the walls and the aisles. There was so much going on the store that it might take us a while to actually locate what we were looking for. The thing that really bothered me about the store was the costumes. Rows of stereotypical vampire attire and skimpy nurse dresses all lined up at one wall, stretching onward in variety. A hint of the past struck me when I was in my sophomore year just before my discovery with cancer.

I was going to a Halloween party with a bunch of my friends and I was dressed as a vampire with the cape and the fangs and all. It got all the girls swooning especially because it was when the whole Twilight thing was a big hit. I realized the crude irony of it all and turned away from it.

Pristine looked at me worriedly. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I lied. The costumes startled me.

"You know, I was a vampire for Halloween last year," Pristine said with a mischievous look on her face.

"Were you now?" I smirked, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Yeah, I had the whole fang and blood thing going on. I did quite some scaring that night," Pristine laughed, reminiscing about that night.

"Bet your dad went crazy," I laughed, wondering how an Elder would say seeing his daughter dress up like that.

"He went ballistic but my mom thought it was cute and funny," Pristine laughed and then frowned. "She sent a picture to Derek."

"I guess I will have to ask him later if he still has the photo," I smiled with a small wink when Pristine's eyes opened wide.

"No, it's embarrassing!" she said a little too loud. The music was thankfully blaring but she covered her mouth. When I gave her a winning smirk, she punched me in my arm.

I recoiled, although her playful punch had no effect on me but my laugh at her demeanor made the hood of my hoodie fell off, revealing my pale face. I immediately felt exposed and I quickly put it back on and looked away. I hated putting down my hood and the hoodie was always a shell for me to crawl into.

The first few weeks Derek tried to burn my hoodie but I just bought another with his credit card. He did it quite a few times before he finally gave it up. My style since then really hadn't changed. My chucks, jeans, and hoodie was all I needed to feel comfortable and safe.

"Why do you always hide your face like that, Jeremy?" Pristine asked her voice full of innocence and wanting to understand. I began walking down the aisle to find the cups and plates, knowing she would be following.

"Jeremy," Pristine pressed and I felt her fingers grasping the fabric of my hoodie, immediately shooting up sparks of electricity up my arm, making my dead heart warm. What the heck?

I turned around to Pristine but she quickly let go my hoodie. "Um, sorry," she said blushing red and then kept walking, stepping in front of me and avoiding eye contact. Now it was my turn to say something.

"What was that?" I asked, catching up to her in a few strides. Two of her steps was one of my strides.

"Oh, sorry. You know it's getting chilly and dry and whatnot. It was probably static electricity." Pristine didn't look at me and walked faster, making sure there was distance between us. I was getting frustrated and odd being away from her so I caught up to her again, this time using my vampire speed to speed ahead of her and trap her.