Wish (Wishing Well #1)

Chapter 33

Taehyung knew what Lily thought of him; she made her disdain painfully obvious.  Despite the cold shoulder she was always giving him, he still found himself drawn to her, much the same way he’d been drawn to Emily, but this felt different, stronger.  That was how he found himself in his current situation; the siren song of her being finally over riding his better judgement as he paraded around looking like someone else. 

Luckily for him, Lily was off in lalaland and everyone else on the campus was apparently oblivious.  Taehyung didn’t normally shift in public for all the world to see, but when Lily had tripped he knew this was his opportunity and that she would never want or appreciate help from him as himself.  So now, Lily knew him as Jack. Sort of. She’d seen his face and he’d given her his name, but that was all.  

As Taehyung turned a corner to circle back around and pick Emily up to walk her home he could hear the pounding of footsteps behind him.

“Wait!” a familiar voice called after him.  “Wait!”

Turning, Taehyung’s jaw all but dropped when he saw Lily jogging toward him.  When she reached him she braced her hands on her knees and breathed deeply.

“Uh,” Taehyung started, “Are you okay?”

Lily nodded and held up one finger and she continued to take deep breaths.  Taehyung waited while Lily caught her breath, feeling immensely glad that he hadn’t shifted yet.   Suddenly, Lily straightened.

“I don’t know why,” she said, splaying her hands in front of her, “but something inside me keeps pushing me to offer you some kind of repayment for saving me back there.”

Taehyung’s eyebrows shot up.  “All I did was keep you from falling.  There’s no need to pay me back for that.”

“See, I know that,” Lily answered.  “But for whatever reason, something in my gut says I need to do something for you.”

Taehyung cocked his head at her.  This all sounded so familiar, someone feeling this way, but he couldn’t remember why.

“Well, if you feel that strongly about it, I won’t keep telling you no,” he answered.  

“Great!” Lily answered, hefting her bag a little higher on her shoulder.  “What kind of food do you like?”

“I’m not picky,” he answered with a shrug.  “Whatever you would like to eat is fine with me.” 

Lily groaned, “You’re making this impossible.  I want to do something nice for you, not for me.”

Taehyung chuckled at her frustration and she shot him an exasperated look.  “I really don’t mind. I will be perfectly happy eating whatever you want to eat.  I don’t really have a favorite. The world is filled with so many different kinds of food, why limit myself to one type of cuisine?”

Lily gaped at him. Taehyung could feel his ears turning red; he shouldn’t have gotten so deep, especially about food, so soon.

“That actually makes a lot of sense,” she answered, snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts.  “I’d never thought of that before.”

It was Taehyung’s turn to gape.  If he had said this to Lily as himself and not Jack she would have acted like he was nutty, but since “Jack” was saying it, she could see the merit in it.  

“Okay!” Lily exclaimed.  “I’ve changed my question.  I’m not the most adventurous eater, and I’ve decided I should be open to new things.  What cuisine are you going to help me try tonight?”

Taehyung opened his mouth to answer when his message tone went off.  Shoot!  Emily! I told her this morning I would walk her home tonight.  Taehyung thrust his hand into his pocket and dug out his phone. 

“Just a second, I have to answer this.” Taehyung said as he typed out a message to Emily.

Okay.  Don’t hate me, but the girl I like just asked me to go grab dinner with her.  Do you care if I go? I promise to walk you home tomorrow for real!

Emily answered promptly:

Whaaaaaat?  There’s a girl you like? And this is the first I’m hearing of it?  Go have fun! When you get home I want to hear all about her though!

Deal!  You’re the best! Taehyung replied before shoving his phone back in his pocket.

“Okay!” He exclaimed. “What type of food have you never tried before?”

///

Taehyung was happy to be back in his own skin again.  Realistically, any form he took was his own skin, but being truly him felt the most comfortable.  He’d had a lot of fun with Lily. She was just as funny and witty as he’d thought she seemed from the first time he’d run into her. He couldn’t understand why she didn’t like him as him; he’d only run into her that one time and had left her alone ever since.  Taehyung was glad to get to know her better though, even if it was as Jack.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Taehyung stepped off the sidewalk onto the crosswalk, making to cross the street.  When he was going home he always kind of preferred to do it in cat form. It was easier to get places as a cat; no one paid attention to you and there were other, faster ways to get home.

Taehyung was halfway through the crosswalk when bright lights illuminated him and the sound of squealing tires reached his ears.  Taehyung turned toward the sound, throwing his arm up to shield his eyes. As the vehicle careened toward him, Taehyung realized too late what was about to happen.  Shifting into his feline form as quickly as he could, he tried to dart out of the way. 

He wasn’t fast enough.

Pain radiated through his body as he felt himself transitioning back to his human form.  Whoever that was had hit him on purpose, of that he was certain. Watching the taillights of the car speed away as his vision darkened one thought crossed his mind:  I should have walked Emily home.

Then everything went black.