by Brent Miller
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Josh?” He asked, laughing softly. Shaking Cailean’s hand with one arm, he reached over and jostled his hair with the other.
“If my father found out I disrespected you that way, I’d probably be grounded,” Cailean countered. He was fairly confident he was hyperbolizing but it wouldn’t have surprised him. One of Aldric’s rules had always been to respect his elders and failure to meet those rules was never met kindly. Cailean’s father never seemed able to deem which of his rules were more important than others. He seemed to believe that any slight slip-up would alert the hunters and put their lives at risk.
“One could argue that it’s more disrespectful to use a more formal title when granted permission for informality.”
Cailean fell silent for a second as his eyes widened. Dropping his hand, he desperately listened for Brooke as he waited for his escape. Speaking with humans had never been one of his favorite pastimes, but he had never felt so awful at it.
“I’m messing with you, bud,” he consoled, patting Cailean’s shoulder.
“Are you ready, honey?” Mrs. Cassidy called, dropping her purse strap on her shoulder and tossing the car keys to her husband.
“When you are,” he smiled, barely managing to catch the keys. Cailean wondered if her throw had been weak or his reaction too slow. He surmised, though, that it was both as he watched them walk toward the door. Even their walking seemed slow to him, but he was sure that was just a predisposition against humans he was still working through.
“Are you sure you don’t need a ride to school?” Mrs. Cassidy offered. She had given them the option every day for the past three years – even after Brooke and Cailean moved to high school so the stop would be out of her way. Every day Cailean declined, but he never stopped appreciating the thought.
“No thanks,” he replied. “I like the walk.”
“I know you do,” she laughed, walking out the door as her husband opened it for her.
“Behave yourselves,” Mr. Cassidy added, turning to face Cailean before he left. Already standing straight, Cailean tried to straighten his back even more as he nodded. The moment the door closed, he collapsed onto the couch with a sigh.
“When are you going to stop acting so weird around my dad?” Brooke teased, stepping out of her room. Wearing blue pants and a black brassier, she stood before him with a shirt draped over her shoulder. Struggling to compose himself, Cailean searched for an adequate response. Instead, he found himself babbling, so he fell silent.
“It’s not like you haven’t seen them before,” she scolded as he stared at her. She pulled the shirt over her head and pulled her hair out from where it was trapped between the shirt and her body.
“Sorry,” Cailean stammered, dropping his eyes. Since Brooke had started her transformation two years ago, they had changed together every month and while he tried not to look, he hadn’t managed to avoid it every time. She was far more open and comfortable with her body than he would have expected, which made it easier for her. For him, though, he found himself feeling strange every time he saw her less than fully clothed.
“You’re too easy,” she sighed.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Cailean groaned, standing up and leading her to the door. Even when she was intentionally making him feel uncomfortable, Cailean still somehow felt more himself around her than anywhere else. Smiling despite her teasing, he added, “Let’s just get to school.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Feigning an obnoxious smile, Cailean laughed as Adam, one of the upper classmen on the varsity team, punched his arm. Realizing that the force of the blow would have caused a reaction from the majority of humans, Cailean swung to the side a bit. Cacophonic cackling erupted from the rest of the group as if any form of physical assault was the most humorous thing they’d experienced all day.
“You can’t pretend she isn’t hot,” Adam whispered with a surprising degree of urgency as he insisted upon the validity of his flawed argument. Turning his attention from Cailean, he watched as Kristin turned the corner, revealing more of her shapely figure. The senior had drawn the eyes of every male in the hall as she paraded past them suggestively swinging her hips and accentuating her practically bare legs with each movement. To Cailean, nothing about her desperate plea for attention was enticing.
“Whatever man,” Cailean shrugged. “She’s just not my type.”
“How?” Ryder, Adam’s right-hand man, asked in shock.
“She can probably hear you,” Cailean groaned in a futile attempt to change the subject.
“Who cares? She knows she’s hot,” a forgettable junior on the team piped up.
“Hold on, I’m really curious, is human perfection not your type?” Ryder asked, pushing Cailean into an answer. Cailean knew it was his job to blend in with the jocks around him, but he found that increasingly difficult. Their minds were guided by nothing more than girls and sports – and babbling about their human interests was dull. Over the past few years, though, he had grown significantly better at unashamedly objectifying and insulting the people around him. While it wasn’t a difficult mindset, it simply failed to entertain him.
“Not particularly,” Cailean muttered. Sighing, he tried to turn the attention from himself by providing an actual explanation. “She’s just too… boring. You know, there’s nothing for me to chase.”
“You calling her easy?” Adam spat.
“Look at her,” Cailean retorted.
“Fair enough,” Adam agreed, punching his arm once again. “Alright, so what is your type then, Freshman?”
Only one name came to Cailean’s mind, but he pushed it away despite it burning through his other thoughts. If for no other reason, simply because he couldn’t tolerate the idea of his peers objectifying her like they did the others. Suddenly, as if summoned by his will alone, Brooke sauntered past them and Cailean instinctively followed her with his eyes. A quiet teasing befell Cailean as the others followed his gaze.
“Hey, hot stuff,” Ryder called out to her, overshadowing the whistles which erupted from his friends.
“She does have certain… assets,” Adam admitted in a hushed tone as Brooke turned over her shoulder.
“Why don’t you come over here baby?” Ryder continued to tease.
“Who, me?” Brooke asked, her voice raising an octave as she expressed a clear interest. As she moved toward them, Cailean felt as though he’d been punched in the gut.
“I don’t know why you cover up those legs of yours,” Ryder winked at her as he lowered a hand to slap her butt. Before he made contact, though, she caught his wrist and twisted his arm. Falling to his knees, Ryder gasped in pain and tried to follow the direction of the lock. Releasing him, Brooke pushed backward and he stumbled away. The group around Cailean began spurting profanities and insulting her as if truly believing their friend had done nothing wrong.
“You’re more than welcome to look,” Brooke coquettishly murmured, silencing their stammering. “But only one of you is actually good enough to touch.”
Cailean froze as she winked at him, clearly having heard the entire exchange. Sensing his discomfort, Brooke had stepped in to make a scene for him. With a flourish, she turned and walked away, intentionally walking as seductively as possible. Once again, she had been the rock he needed. As much as he’d grown accustomed to faking his friendships, Cailean still found feigning humanity difficult and Brooke was always there to make it easier. If nothing else, simply by distracting them from his momentary lapse in acting ability.
As she walked away, Cailean found it impossible to avert his gaze from her. His mind drifted to the moment he’d scratched her – which he could barely remember. The following days had been terrifying as he expected her to hate him, but she had never wavered. Brooke had been by his side through everything.
“Brooke,” he called out confidently.
“What’s up?” She asked, turning back around. By the time she faced him, he had already covered the shor
t distance between them. Without another word, Cailean wrapped his fingers in her hair and moved toward her. As his lips met hers, every doubt he’d ever had faded away. He wasn’t sure exactly what his father meant about only loving once, but he knew there was no one with whom he’d rather share it.
“So this is love?” He whispered, gazing into her shining eyes.
“Took you long enough,” she laughed, throwing her arms around him. Nothing about him regretted his declaration. In that moment, Cailean Phoenix knew he would never want to live a life without Brooke Cassidy in it.