Matt slept a hell of a lot better than he was used to. Although he wasn't sleeping on his bed, the floor was still just as nice. Being a werewolf did that to you. He coud sleep anywhere if he felt like it. It wasn't as if he was complaining.
When Matt woke up, he turned onto his side and yawned quietly, stretching before he realised that there was a girl in his bed. Startled, he sat up straight, brushing the blanket, which was draped over his body, aside.
As the memories of last night came flooding back, Matt had to smile slightly. He was glad that he had been able to tell someone about his secret. It was as if a weight had been lifted straight off of his shoulders. He'd needed someone to listen to him. Despite the fact that he'd told Kristen so that she would be scared, pushing her away from him, he was glad that she'd stayed to hear the whole story. He was also kind of glad that she wasn't completely terrified of him.
She had understood his pain. She had realised what was bothering him so much. Matt knew that that weight would have helped him sleep, especially as now, when he turned, he could see Kristen lying as still as a statue on his bed, flat on her back with her eyes delicately closed, her hands resting on her stomach. She looked so peaceful but so still that it slightly worried him.
Was she dead? He had been staring at her for the past minute now and she stillhadn't moved. She hadn't even taken a breath. Usually he could see someone's heart beating in their chests but with Kristen he couldn't see a thing. Even turning on his radar, which he struggled to do considering as he'd been neglecting it lately, didn't show anything different. Her temperature was still the same block of colour which it usually was.
Maybe she was ill.
Though, right now, as she lay in his bed, a feeling of dread came over him. What had happened after he'd sorted out his room for her to sleep in? Had he attacked her? Had he killed her just like he'd murdered his family? He'd never slept in the same room as someone before so he didn't know what he did in his sleep. Could he have possibly killed her whilst sleeping?!
He quietly got up from the floor after carefully folding back the blanket and leaned over his bed to look at Kristen's sculptured face. She was even more beautiful close up. Her face had a natural striking feeling about it. Her lips were still the colour of blood and her hair contrasted startlingly with her pale skin.
Matt leaned further forward so that his head was close to her face and he listened for an intake of breath. When there wasn't one, Matt's heart broke.
He'd done it again.
"Kristen?" He pushed a strand of hair from her face and touched her forehead. She was definitely cold. "Kristen please." He whispered and took hold of her shoulder, gripping his fingers into her flesh gently.
He shook her slightly but she stayed motionless.
"Kristen!" He said louder and shook her even more, her shoulder almost slamming into the bed in Matt's panic.
Suddenly her eyes slammed open and she sat immediately upwards, causing Matt to crash to the floor in a breathless heap. "Matt! She exclaimed and jumped out of bed to try and help him up. There was no point, however, because he'd already pushed himself into the standing position. "I'm sorry!" She fussed as she reached out towards him.
Matt stepped backwards away from her touch before he sighed in relief. He looked up through his eyebrows at her carefully. "I thought I'd hurt you. You don't move at all when you sleep. You didn't even breathe."
Kristen licked her rosy lips and dragged her teeth across the bottom one. "Oh. Yeah. I have a condition where I stop breathing every so often when I sleep. Many people have it. I've been to the doctors about it."
Matt frowned but didn't want to question it any further. Though he'd never heard of a condition like that, he didn't want to call her a liar. It wasn't completely unreasonable. He was just glad that he hadn't killed her during the night.
Now that he wasn't panicking anymore, he was able to study what Kristen was wearing: nothing but a large top from his wardrobe. His eyes travelled down her legs before he realised and turned away, blushing. He didn't want her to see that. He didn't need to show off the fact that he hadn't been with a girl for well over a year by now. He was inexperienced and wasn't used to hiding from the temptation, especially when it was stood right in front of him in his own clothes next to his bed.
As if she'd just noticed, Matt heard Kristen go 'oh' and a load of shuffling. Once he'd controlled himself and turned back around again, she had her own clothes on from last night and had pulled her hair to one side of her head. Her facial expression was sheepish but she didn't refer to the situation and merely just tossed the top back at Matt, who gripped it in his fingers, still frozen to the spot.
She had some great legs.
Matt cleared his throat and went over to his wardrobe to pick out his clothes for the day. He was still in his jeans, which had been surprisingly comfortable, so he just plucked out a dark top and shrugged it over his shoulders.
He turned back to Kristen and tilted his head slightly, as if just considering something. "You can use the shower if you want."
She shook her head and fiddled with her fingers. "I'll get one when I get home."
"Do you want breakfast?" He asked and his chest constricted with the words. He'd never asked that to someone before. He'd never even considered it being Kristen who he'd ask it to.
Again, she shook her head. "We can just go if you want."
Matt nodded and stood awkwardly in the doorway, wondering what to do. He definitely didn't have a clue what to do in these situations. No wonder he was never going to have a girlfriend. He ran his fingers through his hair and adjusted his top slightly before he grabbed his leather jacket which hung on the hanger. "Well, when you're ready we'll go. I'll be downstairs."
Without waiting for a response, he closed the door and rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, breathing out heavily. What was wrong with him? Why was be acting like a stupid awkward little thirteen year old boy? Surely he was past this by now. It was only Kristen, for God's sake.
Yeah, only Kristen...
He poured himself a glass of water and glugged it down quickly before pouring himself another one. He needed to get a grip. Just because she'd stayed over didn't mean that anything was going to change. Just because she knew his secret didn't mean that he was going to treat her any differently...
But wasn't he doing that already?
Matt jumped as Kristen entered the kitchen, fiddling with her hair. He looked up at her and nodded before he grabbed his bag and went out of the front door, leaving Kristen to shut it behind her.
It was silent as they walked. Matt didn't know what to say and he didn't want to risk saying anything which he'd regret later. Kristen seemed lost in thought but she had a frown on her face as if she was confused. Despite the obviously deep sleep which she'd had, her eyes said otherwise. There were dark circles which were starting to make an appearance on her face, ones Matt hadn't noticed before, and they shadowed her dark eyelashes.
Maybe she needed a lot of sleep, Matt thought. After all, they hadn't had many hours to catch up. The night had been too busy and his mind had been whirling too much for him to sleep properly. Maybe she'd been restless until just before he woke up, which would explain the dead look she seemed to have. It was probably exhaustion.
As they both got up quite early, Matt couldn't help but go into his regular coffee supplying shop to order a coffee. Kristen followed, of course. This time, he didn't mind quite so much. The waitress quickly gave him the coffee without him even uttering a word and he went through the back doors to his original table, this time dragging another chair with him almost subconsciously. Kristen quickly followed after she'd ordered some water and she sat opposite Matt as he cupped his coffee on the table and sipped it.
"I'm glad you told me." Kristen said after a while. Matt almost choked on his coffee at how sudden and abrupt it had been. He licked his lips and looked up at her, watching as she stared straight back at him. "I'm glad you trusted me with your secret."
Matt grumbled and sipped his coffee, suddenly defensive. "If you tell someone, I'll kill you."
Kristen didn't even react to this statement. She just shrugged, "I wouldn't say anything even if you didn't tell me not to."
Matt nodded and drank more of his coffee, suddenly very interested in the rim of it. He didn't know what to talk about but he certainly didn't want to be discussing this in public. He didn't want anyone overhearing and he especially didn't want her getting the wrong idea of them being able to have a casual conversation about it.
"Thank you for letting me stay too." She said into her glass as she took a tiny sip of her water. "Your bed is really comfortable."
"It was a one off." Matt said quietly and started drawing small shapes with his fingertips on the table. "It wont happen again."
Before he realised what was happening, Kristen had hold of his hand and his eyes widened with the shock. She looked straight into his eyes. "Stop trying to back off, Matt. It's not going to work." She pocked his skin with her nailed before she unclasped herself and watched him.
He studied his hand for a moment before looking up at her. "I was telling the truth. The only reason you stayed was because it was late."
Kristen crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair, causing Matt to scrunch his fist up irritably. "If you really didn't want me there you would have taken me home. Don't lie because you're only trying to convince yourself."
Matt growled and hit the table with more force than he intended, causing Kristen's cup to slosh water out of the edges. "I was being a gentleman."
Kristen's eyes widened and she leaned forward again, her hands on the table now. Matt grunted and rolled his eyes. He didn't need this mider when he could have just not told her a thing. He was doing a nice thing and she had to throw it back in his face. She watched him carefully. "There wasn't any other reason?"
Matt glared at her and took a big gulp of his coffee before putting it back on the table and leaning away from her, allowing the chair to creak. "No."
"Oh." She bit her lip then looked at her lap. Matt didn't even care. He didn't want her to think into it any more than it actually was. He was being nice, but he reminded himself that he wasn't going to be nice in future. If it was such a pain then he'd rather not have the hassle. She flicked her hair behind her shoulder and watched as Matt pocked at his cup before she sighed. "I'm sorry."
"For what."
"Jumping to conclusions. You were being nice. I shouldn't have made a big deal out of it. After everything..."
"Forget it."
"But Matt..."
"I said forget it." He downed his coffee then stood up, pushing his chair back abruptly. Kristen's eyes flashed wide as she processed his movements. He couldn't help but study her face when she did that, much to his annoyance. "Are you coming or not?"
Kristen nodded and stood up, pushing her hair down her back and almost smoothing it down. To stop himself from watching her even further, Matt turned and stormed down the alley, back to the road. Kristen was close behind and almost bumped into him when he stopped to look right.
He could smell the raspberries and they were coating his lungs but he was pretty much immune to it now. Last night proved it. He no longer gagged at her scent and it was almost pleasant to him compared to the other smells. At least it overpowered the disgusting ones.
Her hair dragged along his forearm and he closed his eyes momentarily to take in the soft tickle of each strand. When he opened his eyes, Kristen was leaning close to him, watching his expression, curiousness dotting her features. Before he was able to move away, she reached up and pushed some strands of his hair off of his forehead, causing a gentle grumble to escape from his lungs before he realised. She smiled and dropped her hand to the side, satisfied with his reaction.
Matt hufted and stalked down the road, allowing Kristen to catch up with him, unable to think on any words to explain what his reaction was for. He couldn't lie. She would know. Not saying anything probably confirmed her suspicions more but it was too late now.
Damage done.
They got to college and Matt crashed onto the bench just outside the corridors, pulling his notepad out without a blink. Kristen plopped down in front of him and watched as he pulled out a pencil and started drawing.
It was a large eye. He knew immediately as soon as he started drawing. The eye was large and all seeing but it was sad. There was a tear coming from the corner and the eyelashes curled in a beautiful arch. The eye was covered in patterns and swirls until Matt got frustrated and slammed his pencil onto the pad, startling Kristen.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
Matt grumbled and pulled his pad back into his bag quickly, pressing his pencil roughly down the side. "Nothing."
"Then why..."
"I said nothing, alright?" He snapped and sighed, slumping his shoulders. He was perfectly aware of why he'd got frustrated but he didn't want to admit to Kristen, especially when it was because of her. He couldn't seem to get the image of her in his top out of his head. It was messing with his mind. He didn't realise how much so until he'd started drawing shapes in the eye symbolising his emotions.
"Matt, please..." She touched his hand and he tried to snap it back but her grip was like iron. He blinked with shock before he looked up at her face. Slowly he relaxed and slumped downwards, keeping his hand in her grasp. He didn't have the energy to pull it back anymore. She realised this and threaded her fingers through his, causing his heart to hitch slightly. He inwardly scowled it for reacting in that way but she didn't seem to notice this argument between his head and his heart. "I'm going to be hanging out with you. You're allowed to be friends with me. You can tell me things if you need to. Don't bottle them up. It's not healthy, remember?"
Matt licked his lips and slowly, ignoring the warning signs in his head which were currently screaming at him, squeezed her fingers gently.
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree and she leaned forwards, matching his grip, a smile dancing across her lips. "I'm going to be here for you Matt. You're not alone. We have more in common than you realise."
"Do we?" Matt looked carefully into Kristen's eyes and suddenly he saw them cloud over before slowly coming back again.
She gave him a playful squeeze of her fingers and smiled slightly. "Of course."
Matt frowned and pulled her hands closer so that she had to lean in to stay connected with him. Their faces were only a few inches apart and he studied her face whilst her fingers dug into his tightly. He watched her face as her eyes fluttered slightly, obviously thinking about something he clearly wasn't thinking about. He stared into her eyes, studying them, and lifted his other hand slightly to tilt her chin upwards before he leaned closer and whispered quietly, "Prove it."
His surprised her and her eyes opened wide, watching him. "What?"
"Tell me. What do we have in common? I want to hear this." His voiced leveled out into a bored tone and her eyebrows curved downwards.
"Well..."
"Go on." Matt smirked and leaned backwards, pulling his hand away from hers whilst she was distracted. This was going to be good.
"We both know what being alone feels like. We both know what it's like to lose someone..." She trailed off and looked up at Matt, who still stared at her, willing her to continue. He didn't know whether what she was saying was true but he wasn't going to ask right now. He liked to see her struggle. Anyway, he knew that she'd tell him eventually. He could almost read her like a book. Whoever she lost probably wasn't going to be as bad as his. "I have a lot of guilt on my hands too." She murmured and watched Matt's lips for a reaction.
Matt shrugged halfheartedly. "That all?"
Kristen sat up straight and stared at him. "No but..."
"But..."
She groaned and leaned back on the bench, glaring at him. Result, Matt thought, grinning. "I don't know, okay? We just do."
Matt smirked and rolled his eyes before he stood up from the bench. He didn't need to talk to Kristen to know that she didn't know what she was going on about. She just wasn't in the same position as him.
Kristen stood too and they both proceeded into the corridor, leaning against the window sill. Kristen moved closer to Matt as he placed his bag on the sill but he ignored it, slightly enjoying the coolness radiating off of her body. She leaned on the side and moved so that her arm lay close to his before she shook her head, allowing a strand of hair to break across her cheek. Before Matt even thought about it, he reached and tucked it back behind her ear, causing Kristen to smile and bow her head slightly.
Matt cleared his throat and picked at his fingers as he listened to people starting to enter the corridors. He didn't mind being in the corridor quite so much as he thought. It was probably because Kristen was such a distraction that he just tuned out to the rest of the population. It was scary to realise this fact but it was also soothing. Being able to numb the noise was one of the best things he'd ever achieved and it was probably all down to her.
He wasn't going to tell her that though.
"Do you do the same routine every night then?" Kristen asked casually and Matt stared at her as if she'd grown a second nose. She looked at him. "What?"
"I'd rather we didn't discuss this right now." Matt murmured under his breath and Kristen sighed.
"When can we talk about it then? After class?"
"Preferably."
"Great. I'll come to yours afterwards."
"What?"
Kristen grinned and Matt felt her fingers probing his behind her back. They were stood so close together that no one would have been able to see it.
Slightly enjoying the sneekiness, Matt allowed her to curl her fingers into his palm behind them and he gribbed her fingers, feeling her soft marble skin against his own rough fingertips.
"I don't think you should come over again." Matt whispered as the corridors became more packed.
"Where else are we going to talk?" She raised an eyebrow and leaned into his side, testing the water. Matt grunted but stayed where he was. He didn't know whether to agree or not but it looked as if he didn't have a choice.
"If I hurt you then it's..."
"It's my fault I know." She cut him off then smiled as she moved their enclosed hands behind his back, allowing her to tug at his top slightly. Matt gulped, unsure what was going round in his head right now. Kristen seemed oblivious. "So I'll come back to yours after class and we can talk, okay?"
"I'm not happy about this."
"You love it. Don't lie." She leaned close to him and Matt tensed as she stroked his cheek with the back of her other hand, causing looks from passersby. Matt grounded his teeth together but didn't react to it. Inside, he wanted to scream or push her away or drag her closer or...something. "Don't think about me too much now. I know what was going through your head this morning." She winked and kissed his cheek.
Matt didn't have time to respond before she'd ripped herself from his grip and bounced down the corridor, leaving him frozen and confused with a burning cheek and an icy hand.
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I hope you like it!
Sorry it took so long. I'm in the middle of my exams and I haven't really had time! I'll upsate more closer to Easter!