.: DANTE :.
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~The night before~
Dinner was interesting, to say the least. Sam, Ela and I made our way up to the dining room after she finally got a game over in her 78th round of Black Ops Zombies. We kept asking her why she was so good at video games.
“It’s an art form, boys. I was just born with the natural talent, however, I’m still much better with real guns,” She explained as we walked up the stairs. She then disappeared to go change into her normal clothes and get out ‘of this death trap called a dress’. Chuckling, Sam and I made out way to the dining room where almost everyone was already seated. Colette was cleaning up from her tea and Karin was getting all the food on the table.
“Would you like some help, Karin?” I asked with a small smile. She looked shocked for a moment but then she smiled and nodded. Together, we set the table for everyone and put all of the food in the table along with some drinks such as milk or water.
“Dinner!” Karin announced. Everyone who wasn’t in the room, now flooded in and grabbed a seat. We all started eating then, like one huge family. It felt amazing, sitting around with people you got along with all eating dinner together. This was really starting to feel like a family. It was comforting and peaceful.
Until, that is, Akira came crashing in with fur starting to sprout out of her body. I realized then that I almost forgot she was a werewolf. It must have been a full moon tonight. She looked…scared?
“As you all know, I’m a werewolf and tonight’s a full moon so... I have to go and um...”I didn’t know what to say and it seemed most people didn’t either.
“We will take care of anything while you are on leave, Akira. If anybody comes, we will treat them with respect, right everybody?” Colette piped up, taking full responsibility for everything, like she always did. The rest of us shook out heads and murmured in agreement.
“Go, Akira,” Karin said. “Go feed.” Akira mumbled something that sounded like a ‘thanks’ than ran off with Griffin following her closely. Were they…? I didn’t even want to know about them. A part of me hoped that Akira was going to be okay though I figured she would probably kick as much *ss in her wolf form as she did in her human form.
After dinner was done and Colette started to clean up, I decided to go for a walk in the garden. I kept wondering how much work it must take to manage a garden that large. Probably a lot of work but it seemed to pay off in the long run. It was beautiful, the garden, especially when the sunset made different colours gleam all over the follows and the trees. It almost had a majestic and mystic feeling to it.
I didn’t know how long I was walking around the garden but before I knew it, it was already nightfall. Sighing, I decided it was best if I went to bed. I had a long day tomorrow. The face that I had a date tomorrow made my heart beat a little faster. Faster than I had walking outside, I retreated inside and walked up to my room, which was located next to Acacia’s. I slipped off my shirt and my jeans, trading them for just a pair of grey sweat pants.
For a while I just lie in my bed and let my mind wander about different things. Finally, I felt sleep threaten to taken over me so I closed my eyes and drifted off.
~The next day: Around 8a.m~
The bright rays of light infiltrated my room, rousing me from my slumber. Groaning, I barely opened my eyes and checked the clock next to my bed. The fluorescent blue numbers read that it was 8 in the morning. Two hours before I was going to go get Acacia. I groaned again and threw the blankets off of me. Rubbing my eyes to try and wake myself up, I slowly sat up in bed and stretched. My breath caught in my throat and my jaw dropped with a huge yawn.
Almost gracefully, I stood up and went over to my closet in search for a shirt. I didn’t really want to walk around the house half naked. As I start to pull on a grey t-shirt I noticed my wings weren’t out. That meant that sometime in the night, they retracted back into my body. It was going to be a huge pain to get them back out again. Though I figured it was best since I was going out among humans, I dreaded the time when I had to.
I finally pulled the shirt over my head and fitted it against my body. After putting my iPod and cell phone into the pockets of my sweat pants, I headed downstairs. There wasn’t very many people up yet, only Ela, Sam, Karin and Colette. Colette was muttering something about more tea, Ela and Sam were arguing about video games and Karin was just bouncing around, being her usual happy, giddy self.
“Hey, Karin? Have you seen Acacia this morning?” I asked her. She smiled and nodded.
“She’s out in the garden tending to some flowers,” She explained, bouncing up and down.
“Thanks,” I then walked outside to see if I could find her. I knew our date wasn’t until ten but I still wanted to see her anyway. Call me crazy, but I kept thinking that I might have feelings for her. Feelings that were more than friends. Shrugging, I discarded the thoughts and kept on searching for Acacia in the garden. After a few minutes of wandering around, I finally spotted Acacia, trimming a few roses near the pool.
“Want some help?” I asked causing her to jump and turn around. She looked as if she was about to lash out at someone offering her help again but when she saw it was me, she calmed down a little and smiled.
“Actually, I was about to go inside, if you want to accompany me then,” She said, still smiling and walking away from the flowers. Chuckling, I silently followed her back into the mansion.
“Did you have your water this morning?” I asked. It was weird, saying water instead of breakfast but I knew Acacia didn’t eat anything. She nodded quickly.
“Did you…eat?” When she asked that, she had this weird look on her face, like it was almost physically paining her to say it. I laughed softly.
“No, not yet. I’m not that hungry, though.” She waved her had dismissively.
“You need to eat. I’ll only get ready if you eat,” I knew what she was referring to. If I didn’t eat, she wasn’t going to get ready for out date. I groaned and made my way to the kitchen in search of something quick to eat. I look a quick glance at the stove and saw it was about 8:30. Another half-an-hour before we would leave for our date.
Opening the fridge, I saw there was still some leftover pizza from last night. Grabbing two slices of cheese pizza, I kicked the door closed and made my way over to the uninhabited couch in the living room. Acacia followed me there and took a seat next to me. Realizing I was really hungry, I took a big bite out of one.
“So, what were your plans for our…date?” She asked, wringing her hands tightly on her lap. Finishing the bit of pizza in my mouth, I answered, “It’s a surprise,” She groaned in response.
“Je déteste les surprises.” She grumbled. That time, I laughed loudly.
“With me, you might have to get used to them.” Acacia made very clear she hated that fact but smiled anyways. Swallowing the last bit of pizza, I stretched my arms. She sat up suddenly.
“Well, I’m going to go get ready,” She announced with a small smile. I creased my eyebrows in confusion.
“Already? It’s only like 8:45. We still have a little over an hour.” I said. She shrugged softly and grimaced.
“I told Colette I would let her help me and you know her.” She giggled. “I’ll see you at ten.” With another small smile, she left. Colette was helping her get ready? Why do women take so long? I sighed. Well, better go up to my room. Nothing to do down here. I thought, standing up. Slowly, I made my way through the rest of the living room and walked up the stairs.
I didn’t go straight to my room; instead I started wandering aimlessly around the halls. I still had a little over an hour before I went to go get Acacia. It would probably only take my ten to fifteen minutes to get ready. Unlike Acacia who, with Colette’s help, was going to take an hour.
Women. No matter how hard men tried to understand them, it never worked and never will work. They’re just too…complicated. No one knew why they were, they just were.
Once again, I sighed deeply and knowing that I would never fully understand women, I walked into my room, going straight for my easel. Staring and the empty canvas, I realized with a jolt that I hadn’t drawn, let alone painted, in over ten years. The inspiration never came to me anymore.
Suddenly, without warning, a flash of inspiration hit me. I quickly grabbed my pencil and started sketching out what I was thinking about painting. Long, waist length hair, black vest, maroon sneakers… I was lost in my drawing. After I finished my sketch, I ransacked my drawers in search of my acrylic paints that I always used. I despised watercolor paints because they always made the canvas thin and worse to paint on. I found my acrylic paints and squirted some out and a scrap piece of paper. Grabbing a brush, I dipped it in the paint and began to go over my sketch.
Just as I finished painting the hair, I realized I forgot to mention to Acacia that we were going to a river. Crap. I set down my paintbrush and exited my room, going straight next door. I knocked and waited.
“Who is it?” It was Colette that asked not Acacia.
“It’s Dante.”
“NO! You must not come in!” She yelled. Jeez.
“I was just going to tell Acacia to wear a swimsuit and she can bring a change of clothes in a bag. She might want to wear something casual over her swimsuit. ”
“A swimsuit?” Acacia asked, bewildered. “I don’t think I have one.”
“Dante, please go away.” Colette said.
“Okay…” With that, I walked back into my bedroom. She didn’t have to be so insistent. However, when I looked back at my clock it read 9:42. Well, I understood why she was so persistent. I had to go get Acacia for our date soon. Colette was probably doing her finishing touches when I interrupted her. Well, better get ready, I thought with a smile. I was more nervous than I had been in a long time and it felt….nice, if that was the word for it.
I shrugged and opened up my closet. I put on a pair of black swim shorts and over that I wore a pair of nice jeans, a black V-neck t-shirt that clung to my chest and grey converse. I grabbed a quick bag and put my more…formal clothes in it and slung it over my shoulder. I cast another glance at my clock again. 9:55. Five minutes. Well, who cares if I’m five minutes early? I hope Acacia doesn’t. I smirked to myself, wondering how she would react and how Colette would for that matter.
I took my sweet time getting to Acacia’s room. Even though it was right next door, I moved slowly just to make sure she had enough time to finish getting ready. The moment I walked up to her door, I took a deep breath before I knocked. It was probably only five seconds before the door swung open. Standing before me was Acacia in a way I’ve never seen before.
Though she was only wearing casual clothes, a black strapless shirt, skinny jeans and maroon sneakers, she still looked amazing. Colette had done her makeup, probably to Acacia’s dismay. It was simple, only some eyeliner and a small amount of eye shadow. Her white hair was up in a ponytail where the ends were curled. She was…beautiful.
“You look…stunning.” I said with a smile.
“I’m only in casual clothes,” She pointed out, looked to the side. I chuckled.
“I know but still, it’s true.” I saw a small smile grace her lips. “You ready to go?” She nodded and walked out of her room, closing the door behind her.
