Zeke

I pulled up to Stephanie and Roger's house. Before I even got out the car, the front door swung open and Valerie came out. Thinking something was wrong, I quickly hopped out the car. Surprisingly, she ran up to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. My arms wove around her waist. I couldn't stop myself from burying my face in her neck and taking a deep breath.

"I missed you" I muttered, squeezing her closer before softly setting her on the ground.

She grinned up at me. "I missed you too" She pecked my lips and grabbed my hand. Her hair whacked me in the face as she pulled me into the house. I swatted it away, making her laugh and stop moving. After we got in the house, she pulled her hair into a ponytail. "So, what are we doing today?" she wondered.

I acted like I didn't hear her as I walked deeper into the house. "Hey, Ashlyn. Leia" I greeted the girls as I walked into the dining room. "Did you do it?" I asked Ashlyn.

She made a face. "That sounds so wrong. But yeah. I did what we talked about" Ashlyn informed me. She pointed to one of the chairs. I walked over and grabbed the bag before taking Valerie's hand in mine. "Bye!" Ashlyn shouted as we walked out.

Valerie stumbled behind me as I dragged her out the house. "What's the bag for?" she questioned. Ignoring her again, I opened the passenger's door for her before going into the driver's seat. "Ignoring people is rude" she huffed.

After throwing the bag in the backseat, I leaned over the center console and kissed her cheek. "The bag is for you. And we're gonna go get food and stuff" I answered. She slowly nodded as I pulled away from the house. "Were your parents home?"

"No. They went on a walk" Valerie rested her head against the window. "What's in the bag?" she inquired. I smiled and leaned back to grab the bag. I placed it on her lap and she hesitantly opened it. "My clothes" she said slowly.

I nodded my head. "It's just a small portion of your clothes to keep in my room for now" A smile broke out on her face. "You can move more stuff if you want to. I just thought some clothes would be a good start" I stated.

She closed up the bag and threw it in the backseat. "I would hug you. But that's dangerous" she squealed. I chuckled and reached over to grab her hand. I rested our hands between us as she began fiddling with my fingers. "I will never get used to these spark things" she mumbled.

I nodded in agreement. "I heard they get even stronger after marking and mating" I informed her. Glancing at her, I saw a soft smile on her face as she stared at our hands. "Is there anything specific you wanna do today?" I questioned.

Valerie hummed as she thought. Her spine straightened as she thought of something. "Will you let me drive there?" she asked, giving me an angelic smile. I resisted and shook my head. "Please! You did all this surprise stuff for me. I promise I'll drive safe" she offered.

I slightly narrowed my eyes. "Can you even drive?" I blurted.

She nodded. "My dad taught me a couple years ago. I don't have all those permit things. But I know how to drive" she chirped. She pulled our adjoined hands closer to her body. "Please, Bubba" Valerie begged.

My resolve crumbled as I chuckled. "Fine. You can drive. But we're going after we go where I want to go" She quickly nodded in agreement. Valerie flipped on the radio, filling the car with some pop song. She was humming along for the rest of the ride. "We're here" I informed her as I parked.

Valerie looked at all the shops surrounding us. I got out with her following in suit. She grabbed my hand as I began walking. It felt like a normal thing to do. The sparks were still surprising, but our adjoined hands felt normal- like they belong together.

Shaking the girly thoughts out of my head, I led Valerie into the ice cream parlor. "What is this place?" she asked, looking around.

"An ice cream parlor" She glared at me for my smartass remark. I slowly guided her towards the counter. "I used to come here as a kid" I informed her. "I'll tell you a story after we get our ice cream" I offered.

She nodded before ordering some type of ice cream that had caramel and chocolate. Feeling nostalgic, I ordered my chocolate ice cream with extra chocolate sprinkles. The older lady stared at me as she heard my order. Her name is Collette. She used to be the only one working here. Now there's some teenagers; but this is still an all-human working place. I smiled as a flash of recognition crossed her face. "Zeke!" the woman exclaimed.

I laughed as she came around the counter to give me a hug. "Only you order that much chocolate" she stated. I nodded as we pulled away. "I see you traded that big guy for this gorgeous princess" Collette looked at Valerie.

Resting my hand on Valerie's back, I nodded my head. "This is my girlfriend, Valerie" I told her. Collette grinned and pulled my mate in for a hug. She congratulated me before going back behind the counter. We grabbed our ice creams and sat down in a corner table. "When my sister first shifted, she would go on runs with our father and Terence. I really wanted to come along. So Terence let me ride on his back. Afterwards, we would sneak off and come here. I got this exact ice cream" I said, unable to prevent a soft smile from forming on my face.

Valerie slowly nodded her head. "So they weren't always bad?" she asked. I shook my head, eating my ice cream. It wasn't like my mother's death automatically made them how they were. It took a week or so until they got to that sick point. "This place is pretty good" she stated before taking a large bite.

I chuckled and nodded in agreement. We chatted about random things until we both finished our ice cream. I threw the stuff in the trash and said a quick goodbye to Collette. We walked out of the parlor and I fished my keys out my keys from my pocket. I held them out to Valerie. "If you crash, you're buying me a new car" I said sternly. She rolled her eyes at me, taking the keys and getting into the driver's seat. I eased into the passenger's seat as she pulled out of the parking lot. "Both hands on the wheel.

Valerie shot me a glare. "You held my hand the entire ride here!" she cried out. I shrugged and grabbed her wrist to place her hand on the wheel. She huffed, but continued driving with two hands. I was surprised when she actually pulled into a road within the forest.

She caught me confused expression and laughed. "Wherever you're taking me. I've probably been there before" I pointed out.

"First of all, you're such a mood killer. Secondly, I'm positive you've never been here before" she began going off the road, driving in dirt and bark. It was a clear path. There was possibly a road here before. But as she said; I've never been here before. The ride was took ten minutes before she stopped. She handed me the keys. "We have to walk for about five minutes" she informed me.

We hopped out the car and began walking. I couldn't see anything at all. It was just forest. "I can easily overpower you if you try to kill me out here" I said jokingly.

Valerie shook her head in amusement, but didn't respond. As we reached the five-minute mark, I could make out some structure within the trees. Valerie told me to close my eyes and after a small argument, I complied. She held my hand so she could guide me to whatever place this was. "What the fuck!" I exclaimed as I bumped into what felt like a tree.

My mate burst into laughter. "I couldn't resist" she admitted. I kept my eyes closed, but wanted to glare at her so badly. Valerie kissed my cheek, and I couldn't help but relax. "Sorry" she mumbled before continuing to pull me forward. It was only a few more steps. "Open!" Valerie exclaimed.

I blinked, my eyes adjusting back to light. In front of me was an abandoned-looking park. There was a rusty steel slide and a pair of swings. However, one of the swings were detached, leaving a single working swing. "A park?" I said slowly.

Valerie nodded her head as she walked over to the swing and sat down. "Welcome to my thinkspot!" she motioned around.

I leaned against the pole of the swing set. "How'd you find this place?" I wondered.

A frown crossed her face. I began listening intently to her story. "It was actually just a couple years ago. My parent's had this huge family reunion. Our house was packed and there were people outside too. I never met any of them, but apparently they met Ashlyn before. Whenever someone saw me, they commented on how alike we looked. Our hair. Our eyes. Our height. Then they would ask about hobbies. All they did was compare me to her. I hated it. Someone actually told me to just follow in her footsteps- to be exactly like her. Nothing is wrong with her. But she's herself. And I just want to be me, I guess. Anyways. I ended up running- just took off. I didn't tell anyone. I ran out the house and came across this place. Since then, I've continued coming here" she explained, a soft smile gracing her lips.

I pushed myself off the pole and moved closer. "You know" I started slowly. "Ashlyn is great- amazing really" Her smile faltered. "But you're better" Valerie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. You-"

"Okay. I think we've had enough cheesiness for today" she cut me off. And she says I kill the mood. "You can tell me how great I am some other time. But can you push me?" Valerie asked, giving me an innocent looking smile. Nodding, I moved behind her and started pushing her on the swing. "Higher!" she demanded. I rolled my eyes at her bossiness, but pushed her higher. Once she was moving really fast, I stopped and began moving away from the swing set.

Smirking, I waved at her. "How do you plan on getting down?" I questioned.

She flipped her hair out of her face before answering. "I'm gonna jump!" she exclaimed. I looked at the ground, then back up as she swung forward. It would be a really high jump. What if- "Don't look so worried. I can handle it" she stated. Valerie looked determined, so I bit my lip to keep myself from arguing. She began counting down from five. When she got to one, she jumped and screamed like she was on a rollercoaster.

Apparently, she lied to me. She couldn't handle it. Her footing was messed up. "Fuck!" she cursed as she landed. I rushed forward and supported half of her weight. "Dammit! Why'd you let me jump!" she blamed me. I raised an eyebrow at her. "Fine. It was my fault" she muttered.

I quickly helped her hop over to the slide. She sat at the bottom as I looked at her ankle. "It's sprained. It'll be swollen for a few hours until it heals" I informed her.

She made a face and huffed. For some reason, she decided to rotate her ankle, causing a hiss to escape her mouth. "It hurts" she pointed out. I chuckled and nodded my head.

After trying to stand up, she winced and fell back onto the slide. "I'll carry you to the car" I offered. She hesitantly agreed. I squatted down to pick her up bridal style. "You have to navigate" I reminded her. She nodded and pointed forward. "I'm never pushing you on a swing again" I informed her.

Valerie pouted. "But swings are fun" she whined. I rolled my eyes and continued walking. During the five minute walk, it seemed like Valerie was about to fall asleep.. "Your chest is comfy" she mumbled as I put her inside the car. I buckled her seatbelt since she didn't seem like she could in this state. I gently closed the door and got in the driver's side. Valerie looked like she was sleeping; but her next statement proved she wasn't.

"I had fun today, Jerk"

_______________

"When you look at me, when you think of me; I am in paradise"

-William Makepeace Thackeray

I think I might actually have a crush on someone. It sounds childish and weird. But I surprisingly have romantic feelings for a human being. Did I tell him that? No. Will I tell him? Probably not. That's not the smartest idea. But I'm a wimp. DO NOT FOLLOW IN MY FOOTSTEPS!!

Kayyyzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.