“Jesus! Don't scare me like that!” I gasped, bringing my hand to my chest as my heart jerked around. Damien's hand was over his mouth, suppressing his laughter and his smile. “It's not funny!” I snapped at him.
“Come on, I left for 5 minutes. Nothing could possibly happen to you in that short amount of time...” The look on his face straightened out. He found it way too amusing nearly giving me a heart attack by disappearing like that.
“Where did you even go!” I was yelling mostly from my own fear rather then my anger towards him.
The look on his face hardened now.
“Nothing for you to be concerned about.” He muttered now.
I stared at him, somehow knowing what he ran off for. He left me for blood. He ran off to feed. He did it quickly, but still...Damien furrowed his eyebrows at me.
“Don't look at me like that, Kimberly.” He laced his fingers around mine. “You did good tonight. Better then usual. You weren't as clumsy.” He changed the subject and I narrowed my eyes at him. “And all that mud caked into your hair and dirt on your face kind of makes you look sexy. That is quit a turn on--”
“I still hate you sometimes.” I interrupted him. He squeezed my hand and smirked. That smirk really just confused me now. I almost loved it but a part of me also hated it. But he wouldn't be Damien if he didn't smirk like that.
“You keep saying that but it's really getting harder for me to believe you.”
I pulled my hand away from him and headed back to Melissa's. We actually didn't go too far.
“Well you should believe me.” I mumbled. I heard him chuckle behind me. I turned to look. He was gone again! I huffed and turned back around, sucking in a deep breath.
“Damien!” I hissed at him in front of me.
“You love me.” He taunted. I stopped walking and so did he. He cocked his head. “You like me at the very least then.” His lips twitched, seeming amused once again.
“Like is a very strong word.” I informed him, knowing way too well that my face was heating up but it was his first words that was getting me flustered. He said it so bluntly, like the idea of me actually loving him didn't bother him the way it would have not too long ago.
“So is hate.” He spun on his heels, continuing on ahead of me. I stared at the back of his head. He did have a point. And then I blinked and he was in front of me again, making my heart try to jump out of my throat. He was still smirking. He leaned down, kissing the bridge of my nose. I shut my eyes.
“You know I'm right.” He said in a low voice. I frowned a bit.
“Right about what?” I muttered, my mind felt lighter then usual.
“You're thinking about me naked right now. You want me. You love me.” He spoke into my ear.
My eyes shot open. “What?!”
He looked at me with a satisfied expression on his face. I wasn't thinking about him naked but my reaction was exactly what he was looking for. Jerk! He tugged on my arm and dragged me behind him, holding tightly to my wrist. He kept glancing back at me as if we just had the most amusing conversation ever and he couldn't keep his eyes off of me. First it was sexual torture and now this? Typical Damien...
I left Damien's side once we got inside the safety of Melissa's mansion. I was irritated with him so I was happy to leave him standing in the doorway as I made my way upstairs and into the bathroom. He was right about the mud and dirt all over my body. There was also dried blood that Damien had done well at ignoring when it was fresh. If there was one thing he took seriously, it was our training. He forced me to work so hard that every ounce of my blood, sweat and tears came running out of my pores, trying to escape him much like my heart always tried to do.
I showered fast but still made sure every inch of my body was well cleaned. I was just leaving the bathroom, freshly cleaned when someone cleared their throat from down the hallway causing my whole body to jump at the sound. My heart pounded as I spun around.
“Is everyone trying to scare me to death tonight?!”
Vincent smiled at me warily.
“Sorry.” He apologized, scratching the back of his head. “I just need to talk to you, Kim.”
I couldn't tell by the way he was looking at me if he was still upset about Damien marking me but I'm sure this conversation was going to be about just that. I watched him, standing there silently. He shook his head, his hair bouncing from side to side as I've seen many times before.
“I'm sorry I got so mad and reacted the way I did. You shouldn't of had to see me like that.” He looked upset with himself.
“It's ok Vince. You obviously had every reason to be upset. What he did changes everything, doesn't it?”
He sucked in a deep breath, dropping his shoulder against the wall. He knocked his head to the side and stared at me. He finally nodded.
“It means you're going to be at a higher risk of Venom getting a hold of you and causing you harm.” He narrowed his eyes in a thoughtful way. “But you already knew that. You have more confidence in Damien than any of us do.” He stated. I became quiet again. “Do you trust him, sweetheart?”
I blinked at him. What kind of question was that? He had to of known that I trust him by now.
“I trust him with my life.” I admitted.
There was a long moment of silence, as if he were trying to evaluate my words carefully. I started chewing on my lip as he stood there still as stone. They do that a lot. He finally pushed himself away from the wall and came towards me, stopping not to far from me but not close enough for us to accidentally touch. I had a sudden urge to hug him, because that's what friends typically do when they fight and make up. I had a feeling we both needed a little bit of comfort right now. His hands tightened at his sides.
“I love my brother, maybe not as much as you do,” He smiled handsomely at me. I narrowed my eyes at him now, but not in a thoughtful way. He seemed happy with himself for throwing that in there without me being quick enough to correct him as he continued; “And I also love you. So with those confessions out of my way, I'll back you both up either way, even if I don't necessarily agree with what's happened.”
I smiled at him, forgetting to correct him on the loving Damien part.
“I knew you couldn't stay mad at us.” I wrinkled my nose at him. He laughed. His laugh warmed my heart. He moved and I knew what was about to happen. I ducked under his arm and he dropped his arms abruptly. He turned around with a sigh because I was behind him now.
“You should talk to Damien. You two didn't exactly leave off the way we did.” I suggested, thinking about the way Vincent punched Damien the last time they were in the same room with eachother. Vincent must have been thinking about the same thing. To my surprise a crooked smile appeared on his face. It was times like these where Damien and Vincent really did look like brothers.
“Vincent?” I asked, trying to get his attention because the look on his face made him appear very far away. He blinked now, looking at me.
“I'll get right on it but I'd better do it alone. Damien probably will get embarrassed with you standing there while we discuss his failure to block my punch...” He winked at me. I gave him a scolding look. He laughed lightheartedly once again and turned on his heels to go find Damien. Well, he did have a point...I automatically shook off the thought and scurried off to find Zero or Sam, or with any luck I would find both of them.
I did find both of them down in the kitchen, whispering quietly. I should have known they were in here. They both stopped talking when I was close enough to hear them but not in their vision. But I knew better.
“Is that Kimberly around the corner?” Samuel asked with a curious tone to his voice.
“I believe it is.” Zero confirmed.
“How could you tell?” Sam asked him thougtfully.
“How could you not?”
“Well, Damien isn't clinging to her side...I wasn't sure.”
They both began snickering. I rolled my eyes and walked the rest of the way into the kitchen.
“You guys are hilarious.” I informed sarcastically.
“Oh come now, we're just teasing you, love.” Sam flashed over to me, winking then flashing away from me.
Zero appeared in front of me now. He lifted his hand hesitantly then dropped it on my shoulder as he shut his eyes, preparing to feel pain. I sucked in a breath. After a few long seconds of his warm hand sitting there with no pain, he opened his eyes and we both let out a relieved sigh.
“Good to know I can continue to protect you as well.” He flashed his K9's at me, handsomely as usual.
Sam muttered irritated behind Zero. We both looked at him.
“There are other ways to protect me then just carrying me off to safety. Like just being there for us--”
“Us.” Sam scoffed but with a gleam in his eyes.
I ignored him. “I still love you Samuel.”
His face brightened. “I love you too! We've confessed our love, now let's run away together!”
“What?” I blinked at him.
“Hey! That's my thing!” Zero pouted beside me as Samuel took up his role of being the obnoxious one for once.
“Quit being annoying. You guys are going to scare her off one of these days trying to win her over...” Damien's voice from behind me made me jump. My heart did the usual, picking up into a quick drumming. They were seriously trying to give me a heart attack! I turned to him, scowling at the way he scared me. He smirked, knowing why I was looking at him like that. I stopped scowling when I noticed Vincent standing beside him.
“Are you two done fighting?” I asked right away.
Vincent nodded triumphantly as Damien made a bit of a face. Well whatever happened, at least they were able to be in the same room now. I smiled happily at them. Damien narrowed his eyes at me as if he couldn't believe how happy I was, and Vincent smiled back handsomely. It was times like these where it was really hard to believe they were related at all...
“If we can keep this up, you'll probably be able to stand a slim chance against Venom.” Damien said proudly as he dragged me back to the mansion. My body was soar and tired, we were training non-stop these past couple of weeks, of course I was going to walk sluggishly behind him.
“A slim chance?” I repeated, not even hiding my hurt tone. He squeezed my hand and pulled me beside him, forcing me to keep pace with him.
“You're still only human. But at least now you have skills to get away from him if you're caught without me.”
“You're so full of yourself.” I muttered.
He glanced down at me with a smirk. “I have reason to be. I'm amazing.”
“Damien, you--”
“Shh...” He interrupted me, covering my mouth with his hand. I widened my eyes at him because I knew someone or something was lurking in the distant trees. I could hear the rustling sound of movement.
Damien began growling, low and deep from the depths of his throat. He was glaring at something behind me. He let me turn to look just as a man, who looked way too much like Zero for my liking, came out of the darkness.
His clothes were tattered and his dark brown hair was tossled, much like Zero looked the first time I met him. His eyes were a beautiful golden brown. He was as tan as Zero, but he flashed his K9's at us threateningly. His facial features were what reminded me of Zero the most, as if they were somehow related. That's what scared me the most. Damien took hold of me tightly, pushing me behind him protectively.
“Well, well, Damien. It's been awhile, hasn't it?” The man's eyes beamed at him devilishly.
Damien didn't respond. He stared at him. His back muscles were tense beneath his shirt. The man frowned now.
“There's something different about you...I just can't put my finger on it...” His condescending voice made a chill run down my spin. Damien's grip on my wrist tighten when he felt my body react to his voice. I heard the man stepping closer. “Oh, I know what it is. It's that girl attached to your arm. Your little pet.”
“You shouldn't get involved in a vampires battle, Vash.” Damien warned through clenched teeth.
Vash, obviuosly a werewolf just by his resemblance to Zero, laughed coldly.
“I was just about to say the same to you! What happened? Getting involved with a human?” He tsked at him. “Shame on you, traitor traitor.”
“What are you doing here?!” Damien snapped, annoyed with the game this guy was playing at.
Vash shrugged. “Simply the girl, my friend. Well, I don't want her...”
“And you're saying I'm a traitor? Wasn't it your brother that was blinded by my kind? Isn't it a werewolves worst offense to befriend their enemy?” I could tell by Damien's tone he was smirking.
“That doesn't concern you!” Vash hissed.
“Neither does she!” Damien hissed back.
I could feel the threat in both of their voices. Something was seriously about to happen and I wasn't sure if I wanted to be in the middle of it. Lost in my thoughts, I was suddenly shoved away from Damien, further down the path leading back towards the mansion.
“Run, stupid girl!” Damien growled at me after I stumbled into a tree.
I wanted to turn a glare on him but decided against it. I pushed myself away from the tree and took off running down the path. I was running pretty fast, because that was one of the first things Damien taught me, speed. Speed was my key to surviving he had told me every other time we trained.
I finally saw the lights of the mansion after what seemed like hours of non stop running. Finally. I could get help. But as this thought crossed my mind I slammed into something hard. I hit so hard I got knocked backwards a few feet. I landed hard on my back, gasping to catch my breath. I forced myself to sit up. My head spun, making me feel sick. I groaned when I saw the hard thing I hit was actually Vash.
“Awwe poor little human, did I hurt you?” He cooed at me in a way that made me cringe. Well, maybe some of that was from the pain still jabbing at my back from the hard landing.
He smiled at me. I preferred to see Damien's smirk then this guys smile any day. Then something inside of me knew what was about to happen. Something told me that my training with Damien was about to be tested, that he didn't train me for no reason. This was my test, and if I failed...No, I couldn't fail.
I jumped up, ignoring the way it made my head spin. He took a surprised step back. I probably looked weaker then I knew I was. I am just a girl after all. He shook off his surprise and came after me, targeting my neck of course. My reflexes had gotten so good I managed to get around him. I ended up behind him now. He spun on his heels to catch me behind him. Not a single thing crossed my mind, I instinctively balled my hand into a fist and punched him as hard as I could in the face.
I heard a crunching noise. It definitely wasn't his face, the pain told me it was my hand. But the punch managed to make him stumble away from me and he let out a sound of irritation. I took this as my chance to run past him back towards the mansion. He grabbed my hair, I forced my foot backwards. Remember, everything I was doing had no thought process to it. It was like someone else was controlling my body. Vash groaned and let go of my hair. I took off running again, getting away from him finally.
I was in the property of the mansion when I heard a noise behind me. I stayed oblivious to whoever was following me. I tried to sense where they were until I knew they were right at my heels. I spun around, swinging my fist, trying to hit them in the face. He ducked, gasped and was glad I missed.
“Damien!”
He was standing in front of me, a bit hunched over. My eyes scanned his body and there it was. His shirt was torn at the side, a deep gash peeking through the material. He always had scratches on his arms. They weren't too deep though. They couldn't have hurt him as much as that gash did.
“Inside...” He ordered. I nodded, ducking under his arm so he could lean on me. “You don't have--”
“Let me. You can hardly stand. I want to help you.” I wrapped my arm around his waist, careful not to bump the gash. He muttered under his breath how he didn't need help but he still didn't try to pull away from me. I smiled to myself when I noticed this.
The second we got inside I forced him onto the couch.
“Take off your shirt.” I demanded. He smirked up at me. I narrowed my eyes. He sighed and did as I asked. I had to clean it, and then he would leave it open. It was no different then the gash on his forehead. Although it was a bit bigger.
I took a moment to search a few rooms of the mansion. No one was around. They must have been out hunting or something. I found a wash cloth and made my way back to Damien where he was sprawled out on the couch. I sat down, not saying anything and began to clean his wound. His body jumped slightly, making me jump in return.
“Damien...” I muttered in a scolding way. His head was tilted back, his eyes closed, but he still smirked when he heard me mutter at him because he knew his reaction caused me to react as well.
I finished cleaning it, getting out the dirt so it wouldn't get infected. Could their wounds even get infected? Was this even necessary? Uhg, I wasn't sure but it seemed like the right thing to do. I dropped the cloth on the coffee table and stared at him now. His features were sharp. His skin smooth. He looked so beautiful. And then my eyes met blue gems gazing back at me. I blinked at him.
“Are you ok now?” I asked, cocking my head at him with concern.
“I was never not ok.” He informed me. I made a face at him.
“You're not fooling anyone.” I mumbled. He leaned closer to me.
“I heard that.” He whispered at me. I looked up at him, leaning a little closer as well.
“I know.” I whispered back. We had a staring contest for a long minute then he let out a sigh.
“Did Vash catch up to you?” He asked, seeming concerned.
I thought carefully about my answer. I didn't want to make him angry and go out after him, especially right now. Then again, he needed to know I was capable of taking care of myself. I nodded but didn't say anything. He sat up abruptly.
“Did he hurt you?” He demanded to know, looking me over for bruises.
“No.” I denied instantly, even though he kind of did. “I hurt him.”
“You did?!” His eyes widened but then a look came across his face that made me widen my eyes back at him. He looked proud of me.
“Are you--” I tried to ask him if that's what the look was for. I might have been reading him wrong, but I swear that's why he was looking at me like that.
“Aha! Look! We finally caught them in the act!” Vincent's voice taunted from the doorway.
We both looked at them. Vincent was grinning slyly at us. It made me realize the position we were sitting in and what this must have looked like to them. Our faces were so close we could have moved just a tiny bit and our lips would have locked. My face heated up because this did look pretty intimate. I tried to squirm away from Damien but his arm tightened around my waist.
“NOOOO!” Zero cried, dropping to his knees dramatically. Samuel stood beside him, his arms crossed, a stupid smile on his face as he nodded approvingly at what they just walked into.
“See,” Damien sighed. “This is why we always have to disappear. We have no privacy...”
I looked at him sideways, my face burning even more now. Why did he have to play along?!
Zero was on his hands and knees shaking his head at the floor.
“All my hopes and dreams, crushed! Crushed I say! Curse you!” He cried out dramatically, standing on his knees and shaking his fist at Damien. The other two were laughing beside him. Damien tightened his hold on me.
Uhg, men are real idiots sometimes....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
yay i got it to work :)
and sorry for such a long wait on an update. i get so busy it's hard to make time for my stories sometimes. I also couldn't find a picture that works for this chapter so im just giving you guys the picture of Kim...
well as always,
comment/vote/fan/enjoy!! <3