Lauren Jauregui walked down the busy street with her head down and her hands in her pockets. She was just starting her everyday routine. Wake up. Bathe. Walk to the coffee shop. Walk home. Wait for nightfall. Hunt for dinner. Feast. I guess you could say Lauren was different...
She was ten when she realized what she was. Her parents weren't like her. No one was. She was probably the only one in the world who was what she was.
The days leading up to her discovery, she began feeling and seeing herself change. Her hair darkened, her strength increased, she developed an odd appetite, and from sunset to sunrise, her eyes were jet black.
One day without even realizing, she lost control. The only thing she remembers from that night is waking up in a pool of her parents blood. She blacked out before that and can't recall anything else. It didn't even seem to faze her. She just got up, washed the blood from her hands and went back to her room. She knew the neighbors would find the bodies soon so she called all of her stuff and left. Does she even want to remember the rest of that night?
She's been living in the dark, secluded woods ever since. There was nowhere else to go. She's learned a lot about herself over the past eight years. It wasn't hard to survive on her own (but surely the perks of being a demon helped). She could easily kill any human or animal that got in her way in seconds, but luckily she hasn't run into any problems of that sort. Yet.
Once she got to the little coffee shop, she grabbed her awaiting drink and left exact change on the table, exiting as quickly as she entered. The workers knew Lauren arrived at the exact same time every since day and ordered the exact same thing. They also knew she didn't like talking or making eye contact. Unusual they called her once she was out of earshot. Unusual indeed.
Lauren's house, if you will, was deep in the forest away from all civilization. It took her a while but she built her living space from scratch and she was very proud of it. It was perfect. To her, anyway. But that's all that matters, right? The house (which was more of a little shack) was fully furnished with abandoned furniture she found on the side of the road. She had a couch for a bed, a table, a bookshelf full of her favorite novels and old magazines, and even a pantry with crackers and granola bars.
It was still too early to go hunting. The sun wouldn't set for another five hours and hunting in daylight was extremely risky. The demon sighed to herself and stood up from the couch. It was hard to entertain yourself without TV or internet. Lauren read every book in her collection three times and she explores the woods to often, she knows it like the back of her hand.
Today she didn't feel like reading or taking a walk, though. She wanted something new. She's been doing the same routine for years and she has been craving excitement for months. As she walked circles around the room, she heard approaching footsteps. She froze in place for a second before turning toward the door and straining her ears. It was probably just some dumb kid on a dare to go as deep into the woods as possible before chickening out (which happens more often than one would think).
Lauren enjoyed messing with those kids whenever they entered her territory. She would crack twigs or throw rocks in a bush to freak them out, which helped a lot with her entertainment issue. She smirked to herself and peaked out of her makeshift window (a hole in the wall covered by a thin cloth) and saw a teenage girl that she guessed was around her age.
Maybe I won't pick on this one, she's cute. Lauren thought to herself. Instead, she watched the brunette look around the area. She seemed determined to find something. A twig snapped in the distance and Lauren watched the girl quickly turn her head to the noise. The poor girl must be terrified. Why did she even agree to a dumb dare like this one? Lauren thought again. Yet, the girls' face never faltered. She walked toward the noise slowly, almost as if she wasn't trying to scare what ever it was away.
Lauren quickly exited her shack and followed the girl at a distance. She watched her beautiful, chocolate brown hair lightly skim the exposed skin on her back. Her hands were in fists firmly at her sides. And her shoes which seemed to just glide over the ground, barely making any noise. The girl stopped in her tracks and Lauren looked up, spotting a coyote standing just ahead of them.
Lauren backed up slowly (though she wasn't scared of the animal) and hid behind a tree, still watching the girl. She watched her stand there for a moment, thinking. In an instant, she took off, lunging toward the animal and tackling it to the ground. Lauren stopped watching after that. She didn't want to see that poor, innocent girl get hurt.
Lauren's eyes slammed shut as she heard a painful cry. She really didn't want to look but her head peeked around the tree anyway. What she saw was unbelievable. The girl was standing over the animal that laid still on the leafy ground. Lauren took a step forward in utter confusion, crushing dry leaves beneath her. The girl snapped her head up and Lauren quickly stood behind the tree again.
The girl took off, leaving the animal behind her. Lauren followed. For fifteen minutes, Lauren followed the girl who was just walking around in big circles. Was she lost? A few paces later, Lauren blinked and found herself pressed against a tree, the girl she was previously behind held her in place.
"Why are you following me, huh?!" She yelled at Lauren who's arms were pinned above her head.
"I just- You were- I..." Lauren seemed to forget how to speak. The girl knew she was being followed.
"Why are you following me?" She repeats, her grip on Lauren's wrists staying tight.
"I just... Wanted to know what you were doing." She spoke softly. Wait. Why is Lauren letting this girl just control her like this? She had super strength for gods sake! Her eyebrows lowered and the dark haired girl swung their bodies around so the stranger was in Lauren's previous position. The girl stayed there for a second before bringing her leg around to push Lauren off.
Now Lauren was REALLY confused. How could a small, weak human just push a demon like herself to the ground? Lauren watched the strangers' eyes close for a second before they reopened, pooled black and glossed over. She lunges at Lauren who's eyes widened in surprise. The two girl wrestle around for a few moments before the stranger can pin Lauren back down. The girl positions one hand on top of Lauren's head and the other under her chin. Just as she's about to twist Lauren's head around with great force, she stops. The two made eye contact and the stranger was no longer looking into beautiful, emerald eyes, she was looking into black, empty ones.
Just like hers.
A/N: Hello! I have this story posted on 5HFanfiction but I decided to start posting it here as well.
Just so you know, the first couple chapters are kind of short (because I wasn't quite sure where I wanted to go with this) but they get longer starting at chapter 7.
Thanks for reading!
-Nina