Survivor of a Twisted Fate 2

Crush

That late afternoon, as Joseph, Damian and Mandy were on their way home from school, and Mandy explained to the boys her plan on how to sneak out.

"Look, grab extra blankets, pillows or clothes and stuff them in your beds, make it look like you are asleep," Mandy explained, as she turned onto the county road the boy's house was off of, and Damian thought for a moment.

"Okay, I see what you're saying on that part, but how do we get out of the house?" he asked, and Mandy gave him a dumbfounded look.

"Stuff your beds and sneak out of your window at bedtime," Mandy clarified as she turned into the driveway.

They got out of the car, and Mandy walked down the trail to her cottage. Gratefully and silently, Mandy cheered to herself when her parents had turned in early that night. Her parents said their goodnights, and they told her that they were summoned to be at the cave early in the morning to help Leonard Maverick.

Mandy really disliked that creature, and there was something about him that raised the tiny hairs on the back of her neck. She didn't trust him at all. Her parents told her that she should be grateful to the beast. He protects the community from the evil of the world.

Evidently, Mandy had heard Leonard's speech, time and time again, about how the outside world would not accept them and that the humans would hurt them out of fear. If the human world ever discovered them, they would be killed by the human weapons, project A and T. She decided that humans were not all bad and if the monster ever interfered with her life she had built outside of the community, or as he called it, Haven, she would go rogue.

More like hell! she thought, as she slipped out of her window.

She and the boys decided to meet away from Haven, in the forest by the shoreline. Mandy made her way to their said meeting spot, and the boys showed up at the same time.

"No problems?" asked Mandy, and Joseph and Damian shook their heads.

Mandy smiled.

"Great!" she said happily.

At that moment, they phased into the wolf forms and raced through the forest.

********************

Jasmine had her stereo on and she had just finished getting dressed. She had a pair of jeans on with a white half-sleeved shirt. Happily, she stood at her full-length mirror and braided her hair into two braids. Her braids reached to her waist. There was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Come in,” she said, as she turned to the door.

It was Justin.

"Hi daddy!" she said, cheerfully, as she turned her stereo off and hugged her dad, and he hugged her back.

He couldn't believe how much she had grown to look like her mother. Jasmine was about to turn seventeen and start her senior year after the summer.

Where has the time gone? he thought to himself.

"Hi honey, so where are you going tonight?" Justin asked, as he looked at one of her pictures of her and her friend Chelsea on the wall. He looked back at Jasmine and smiled.

"Daddy, I told you. They invited Kevin and I to a small get-together down at the shoreline with some of the seniors,” she explained, as she put her hands on her hips.

Evidently, Justin couldn't help but laugh. Jasmine was definitely her mother's daughter, especially when she stood like she was. Justin put his hands up as if to surrender.

"Okay, okay!" he said, and Jasmine laughed.

Justin stopped smiling for a moment and looked at her seriously. He was worried because of the rabid wolf attack.

"Please, be careful,” he said seriously, and she nodded.

"Of course daddy, I always am."

"Okay, well you better hurry up, Kevin is here,” he said, as he looked out of the window and saw headlights coming up the driveway.

Jasmine smiled and grabbed her satchel bag. Jasmine and her dad walked down the stairs.

"Home by one!" Anna said, as she looked up from her notebook.

Jasmine looked at her mom and gave her a funny look.

"What?" she asked her mother in shock with wide eyes.

"One in the morning? Have you gone crazy? I'm sixteen, I have school tomorrow, and I like my sleep. Let's say eleven at the latest,” said Jasmine, firmly, as she looked at her parents.

Surprised, Anna and Justin looked at each other, and he shrugged. His daughter took after him in the responsible department, and he was impressed with his daughter. Anna looked at Jasmine in question.

"Excuse me, who are you and what did you do with the rebellious teenager that has forever roamed this house?" Anna asked, as she stared at her daughter like she didn't know her.

Jasmine looked at her mother thoughtfully and stuck out her hand as if to shake Anna's hand. Anna looked at her sideways and took her daughter's hand.

"Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Jasmine, and I am your daughter."

Justin and Anna looked at each other and laughed.

"Okay, get out!" laughed Justin, and pointed to the door.

Happily, Jasmine laughed and ran out of the door. Justin and Anna walked out onto the porch and watched the kids drive down the driveway.

"That's your daughter!" said Anna and laughed, as Justin smirked at her.

"Well, what can I say? With my charm and your beauty, gorgeous, we made that child, together. So yeah, she is my daughter, but even better, she is our daughter,” said Justin, softly, as he wrapped his arm around Anna, and she looked up at him and smiled.

"Absolutely!" she said, proudly.

He looked into her eyes and kissed her, and they enjoyed the rest of their evening together.

******************

Kevin parked in the designated parking area for the shoreline, and they got out of the car. Contently, Jasmine looked out at the shoreline. The dark sky was lit up by the high and bright moon that hung above, and the air was crisp and cool as it whispered across the body of water that lapped at the sandy edge of the beach. Also, with the sound of waves crashing in the distance, it just made this place peaceful.

Jasmine and Kevin followed the beach to where the edge of the forest started. At that moment, they saw a campfire surrounded by two washed-up old tree trunks. Joseph, Damian and Mandy were sitting on the logs, talking to each other while they waited for them. Kevin and Jasmine looked at each other and smiled. Happily, they ran to their friends.

"Hey!" exclaimed Mandy, cheerfully, as Kevin and Jasmine reached them.

"You made it!" Kevin exclaimed.

Mandy grinned and nodded. Chelsea was there already. She and Damian were sitting in the sand, snuggled up with each other as they leaned against one of the trunks. Jasmine grinned at Chelsea and she grinned back.

Jasmine saw Joseph and shyly smiled. He smiled back at her and patted the tree trunk he was sitting on. Kevin walked over and sat next to Mandy, and Jasmine sat next to Joseph. They chatted amongst themselves for a little while, then Mandy stood abruptly. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her.

"Let's make a pact!" she said, and looked around at all her friends and cousins.

"What?" Damian laughed as he rolled his eyes.

He thought that his cousin came up with the most childish ideas sometimes. Jasmine looked at Damian with disgust and turned her attention back to Mandy.

"Okay!" said Chelsea, cheerfully, as she ignored Damian's snickering.

Jasmine looked at Joseph and he nodded.

"Sure, why not!" he said with a smile.

He patted her leg, and she looked at him. Joseph took his hand away quickly and looked at her sheepishly. Jasmine giggled. Mandy laughed and grabbed a six-pack of wine coolers that was next to her. She handed everyone a bottle. Damian looked the bottle over and held it in the air.

"Let me guess, your dad was out of the hard stuff, so you had to resort to Aunt Lynn's stash!" he said with a grin.

Mandy smiled a knowing smile and raised her eyebrows at him. He and Joseph laughed. Chelsea gently elbowed Damian in the ribs, and he looked at her.

"Stop it, let her speak!" she said, as she looked at him.

He grinned at her and nuzzled her neck.

"I'm sorry,” he mumbled in her ear.

Chelsea shivered as his voice sent chills down her spine. Mandy smiled and held up her bottle. Everyone followed and raised their bottles.

"No matter what, let's always be friends,” she said.

"No matter what!"

They all cheered and tapped their bottles together. They all took a gulp and made a face.

Surprisingly, they didn't like the taste of the drink, and they dumped the rest of the liquid out of their bottles. Joseph looked at Damian nervously.

Evidently, Joseph told his brother that he had a crush on Jasmine and wanted to tell her how he felt about her. Even though his brother was an asshole at times, his brother was always there for him. Their parents always had to work or tend to Leonard's wishes, so they raised each other.

Not that they weren't close to their parents, they were just closer as brothers and friends.

Damian told Joseph that if he didn't tell her, then he would never know how she felt about him.

Damian gave his brother a reassuring look and nodded. Joseph nodded again and took a deep breath. Jasmine looked at him oddly. He smiled at her.

"Walk with me,” he said, and stood up.

He held out his hand to her, palm up. Jasmine looked at him for a moment, and then nodded as she took his hand. He gently pulled her up, and they walked down the shoreline away from their friends.

****************

Seemingly, the walk was silent, and Jasmine listened to the sounds of the waves crashing as she wondered what was up with Joseph. He seemed nervous to her.

What was on his mind? she thought. He didn't just not talk to her.

This was weird! she thought.

He glanced up at her and noticed her staring at him. He smiled at her as he started to relax.

"Okay, I'm enjoying the walk Joey, but the quiet, not so much. What's up?" Jasmine said, curiously, as she broke the silence. He sighed.

"I need to tell you something," Joseph said softly.

She felt the base of his voice tingle, every nerve ending in her body sensually, and she felt goosebumps as they raised on her arms. They stopped walking and turned towards each other. She looked at Joseph, and he seemed worried about something.

"What is it?" she asked, as she looked up at him, and he studied her eyes for a moment.

Which part should I tell her? he thought to himself. The part that I turn into a wild animal and a descendant of the creatures that destroyed the city years ago or that I am completely in love with her?

Jasmine waited patiently. She could tell he was deep in thought about something, and then she touched his arm gently.

"It's okay, you can tell me anything,” she said, honestly.

For a moment, he searched her wide eyes and then he decided to tell her how he felt about her. If she had felt the same, sometime down the way he would tell her his secret. He looked into her eyes.

"I like you, Jassy,” he finally said, as he shyly looked away.

Jasmine put her palm to his cheek and brought his face back to her as she searched his eyes and giggled.

"I like you too, Joey,” she said, as she grinned at him.

He smiled at her and chuckled.

"No, I mean I like you, like you,” he said, deeply.

She loved the depth of his voice, she could lay her head on his chest and listen to it all day. She had always felt an invisible pull from Joseph.

"I like you, like you too!" she said, softly, and stepped closer to him.

Joseph smirked at her and put his palms gently on her face. Before Jasmine could react, he pressed his lips gently to hers. She was taken off guard for a second, but she sighed happily and kissed him back.

For a few moments, the whole world had disappeared, and they were the only two beings in the universe. Jasmine pulled her head back and looked at Joseph as she bit her lip and looked into his eyes. He instantly melted, and he chuckled.

"I have been wanting to do that for a while now,” he whispered, and she smiled at him.

He felt a sudden urge and pulled her close to his body.

"Careful,” she whispered, and smiled.

He looked at her in question.

"You may have gotten off more than you can chew,” she whispered, and he looked oddly at her.

Did she already know? he asked himself as he looked at her oddly. No, she couldn't possibly know. However, if she did know, she had made the perfect joke, he thought, as he laughed to himself.

Gently, he put a palm to her face.

"I have liked you for a while now,” he said, and Jasmine chuckled.

"And you just now have the balls to tell me!" she joked and made a face at him.

Joseph looked at her and laughed. She looked down and intertwined their fingers together.

"Come on, let's head back,” she said.

Happily, they walked back to their friend's hand in hand. As they approached the campsite, they stopped in their tracks, and their mouths dropped open. Jasmine and Joseph couldn't believe their eyes. Damian and Chelsea were making out in the sand, and Kevin and Mandy were huddled together by the fire.

"What did we miss?" asked Joseph suspiciously, as he and Jasmine sat on one of the tree trunks as he stared at his brother.

Damian looked up at his brother and he grinned. He saw him holding hands with Jasmine and smiled.

"Looks like the same thing we missed!" he said, and pointed to Joseph and Jasmine's hands.

Joseph, Damian and Mandy knew it wasn't going to be easy having a relationship outside of Haven. They thought about the idea for a moment and came to a conclusion about what they were going to do. They decided that they didn't care what anyone had to say; they loved who they loved, and that was that.