Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Surprise

"Ugh these heels are killing me!" I exclaim as I step out of the car. We just got back from out date, and I never knew high heels could be so uncomfortable....then again, I've never worn heels before. Maybe I just need to get used to them.

Ace flashes me a smirk and says, "I can give you a piggy-back ride to the front door."

"You're such a dork." I say, rolling my eyes and laughing.

"But I'm your dork." Ace replies, winking at me.

"I'm not five," I scoff, "I can make it to the door."

"Alright," Ace says putting his hands in his pockets, "If you insist."

I do end up making it to the door, where I discard the heels immediately. Ace opens the door for me, and I smile at his chivalry, but when the door opens, my eyes meet with Katelin's eyes.

She looks rather....pleased.

Ace and I only make it five steps inside, trying to evade Katelin's game of twenty questions, when Katelin's voice rings out.

"I take it the date went well?"

We turn around slowly; she asks with a knowing smirk on her face.

"It was great. My favorite part was the food! Wait...no...the food was great, but my favorite part was spending time with Ace-" I say, stopping mid-sentence.

Just stop talking.....

I glance over at Ace, and he's smiling like some sort of idiot. I elbow him in the ribs, trying to get him to help me out of this awkward situation, but he just seems to be basking in it at the moment.

I guess I just have to take matters into my own hands.

"Do you hear that?" I question.

"No, what?" Katelin and Ace ask at the same time, alarm lacing their voices.

"It's the sound of my bed calling me. It was nice talking to you, Katelin." I say, waving her off as I dash up the stairs.

I change into my pajamas, and settle onto the bed, when a knock sounds at my door. "Come in." I call out.

Ace walks through the door, smiling at me shyly. "I had a great time tonight." He says.

I smile back and reply, "Yeah, me too. Thank you for taking me out, it meant a lot to me."

"Oh, yeah....it was no problem, glad you enjoyed it." Ace replies as he sticks his hands in his pockets, trying to play if off cool.

For a moment, he just stands their in silence, and I sit their on the bed awkwardly.

"Is there anything you'd like for your birthday? I want to get you something I just don't know what...."

"Oh, you don't have to spend anymore money on me. I'm just happy with a cake and a small party." I say, chuckling.

"I don't have to, I want to, Dakota. Now give me ideas before I decide myself and buy you underwear." He says.

"Well, puppies are nice. I like mini Aussies with those pretty eyes and coats." I say, shrugging.

Ace just smiles at me and says, "Puppies are nice." He winks at me, and backs out of my room slowly. He disappears behind the wall but I can still here him as his voice calls out, "Sleep well!"

I laugh, before I lay my head down onto the pillow, before doing just that--sleeping well.

Tomorrow I have school and a birthday to celebrate, and I was looking forward to it.

But my nightmares still continued to haunt my sleep. Even from the grave, my dad still has some sort of a hold around me, and I hate it it. It seems as if can never completely peel his cold hands off of my neck.

The nightmare consisted of him bringing down a leather strap upon my back, leaving stripes. It felt more like a memory, rather than a dream. It was too vivid.

But I guess you can never completely blot out the past....

And as Ace runs into my bedroom every night to wake me from my nightmares, I start to feel bad. I wake everyone up every night, I'm just a nuisance to Ace, and I feel bad.

They care for you. Stop thinking like that. I tell myself.

Ace runs a hand through his hair as he approaches my bed. He sits on the edge and says, "Nightmares again, huh?"

I just nod.

"I will let you in on a little secret. You can keep secrets, yes?" He asks.

I simply nod, and give him a sad smile.

"I get nightmares too." He says quietly.

"You do?" I ask, a bit surprised.

"Yes, I do. Crazy, I know, that this big, bad and scary gang leader gets nightmares almost every night. And yes, even this big, bad and scary gang leader finds these nightmares to be terrifying." Ace tells me.

To the world, he may look bad and scary. But in reality, he was human. He had emotions, because he was just that, human. There is nothing wrong with having emotions, and I can tell Ace has quite a lot of them, just by looking at his eyes.

I guess it feels good that I'm not alone in my struggles; Ace can relate to this in a certain way.

"What do you do about them? Will they ever go away?" I ask, my voice quiet.

"It's hard to say," says Ace, "Sometimes they just become a normal occurrence in life that eventually, you just learn how to deal with. Sometimes they're a result of a traumatic event, and may be the symptoms of some sort of disorder. Maybe....a therapist could help...."

I nod. I'm desperate to try anything to get rid of these nightmares. And as much as I didn't like talking to strangers, I'm willing to give it a go.

Ace walks over so the side of the bed, and I look up at him. He proceeds to carefully reach his hand out, and wipe away the stray tears on my cheeks with his thumbs. As he does so, he gazes into my eyes, and not once do I look away.

Ace won't hesitate to shoot someone, but he's gentle enough to wipe the tears from my face and pick me up again. His eyes look at me with longing and compassion, but he abruptly pulls his hand away and turns his head away from me. "Get some sleep. It's late." He whispers.

He turns his back on my and walks back to the door. "Sleep well." He says, before disappearing behind the closing door.

I sigh and collapse back onto my pillow, my heart pounding from the encounter with Ace. I'm not used to these types of feelings.....

* * *

"Dakota."

Zzzzz.....

"Dakota?"

"Hmphhhh...."

"Dakota!"

The voice belongs to none other than Ace.

"Wh..what? Ugh...f-five more minutes..." I mumble as I fold the pillow over my head, successfully blocking the uncomfortable light permeating my eyelids.

"No, it's time to get up." Ace says as he pulls the pillow from my head.

I grumble and sit up, where I stretch and yawn.

A pillow hits the side of my face, and my hair sticks up from the static electricity. I glare at Ace, who is picking up another pillow to aim at me, in which I throw my hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'm up."

Ace just chuckles and says, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

But then excitement courses through my veins as I remember it's my birthday, and I beam.

"Happy birthday." Ace says cheekily, "Come eat your birthday breakfast."

And let's just say.....the breakfast was amazing. Katelin and Ace cooked it up for me, and it was easily the best breakfast I'd ever eaten in my life.

Soon after, I am whisked away to school.

I can only hope it goes well.

* * *

When I arrive at school, I immediately head to my locker to grab my books. However, once I'm done, I realize that I am alone in a sea full of unknown fish, and I'm just standing their alone awkwardly.

So, what do most people do in an awkward situation?

They pull out their phones and act like they have friends.

So, that's what I do. I start mindlessly tapping away at my phone, doing absolutely nothing.

I was just minding my own business in bliss, when a group of girls walk up. My bet, just by looking at them, is that they are the classic group of popular girls, who get all the dating rights and live blissfully at the top of the high school pecking order.

Drama is something I will stay clear from.

Don't look up, and they won't notice you.

Don't look up, and they won't-

"Hey, new girl!"

Annnnnd I'm caught.

I forcefully bring my head up, and meet the faces of three girls. They look smug, one girl has brown hair and green eyes, the other is a platinum blonde, I can see the dark roots seeping through. The other girl, has black hair.

"We saw that you were new, so we just wanted to say hello." The first girl with black hair says. "My name is Olivia." She says, her fake niceness coating her voice like plastic on a barbie.

"Okay." I simply say.

The girl's smiles quickly fade, and they give me glares.

"What do you mean by, 'okay?'" Olivia questions.

"Okay, as in, okay, I know your name now. Okay as in, you can leave me alone now." I reply, shrugging.

"You can't treat me that way." She says in a snarky tone. But I just choose to look off into the distance, thinking about how I can get these girls to leave me alone.

"What are you thinking about?" Olivia asks.

"Oh, me? Well I was just thinking that you need to shut up, but currently, I don't know how to get you to shut up....hmmm...." I say, "Oh wait! I know! You should use glue instead of lipstick, that would definitely work."

Olivia glares at me, and brings a hand up to twirl her hair, and she says, "You know, I don't like you."

"And I'm sorry you feel that way. I'll make sure to pencil it in my notebook sometime to cry about it later. Now, I was waiting for you to leave me alone, but since you obviously didn't get the hint, I guess I will leave. Have a fantastic day, my little ray of sunshine." I say winking, before walking away to my first period class.

As usual, I had to sit next to Kevin, who told me all about his video games, and how he plays approximately seventy-two hours of video games a week. He also told me about his multiple exes he has in his life.

Needless to say, I was bored by what he does in his free-time, and he somehow believes that his experience with women would make him a great dating partner.

But when I told him I was already taken, he pulled out his journal and proceeded to tell me that his therapist tells him to write down all of his intense emotions as a means of an escape. His emotions were of tragic rejection, or, that's what he told me any way.

So, the school day over all was okay, but what I'm really looking forward to is my birthday. I could just taste the cake already.

And when the bell of my last period class rung out its freedom cry, I wasted no time, and zipped right out of the school. I started to text Ace, but when I looked up, Mark was suddenly standing right next to me.

I jump back in fright, only to realize it's just him. "Shoot, you startled me." I say.

He just chuckles smoothly and says, "Sorry about that."

"What do you want?" I ask him.

"Oh," He says shrugging, "Thought we might talk about our plans for the project."

Mark and I were assigned a group project in Spanish class to do together.

"Oh....right-" I begin.

"You can come to my house." Mark says in a flirtatious way, but I can't help the uneasy feeling that hits me as I see hidden intentions flash in his eyes.

"Nah, I don't want to. We can just do it here." I reply.

Mark's mood changes, and he just rolls his eyes and says, "Whatever. If you insist."

The flirtatious attitude is gone, and I am shocked at his sudden coldness.

Hmph....he must want to get laid. He can go satisfy his needs elsewhere.

Luckily, I see Ace nearing us in the distance, and a wave of relief washed over me. "Well, I've got to go. See you later, Mark!" I say before quickly walking to Ace.

Ace and I greet each other, before hopping into his car.

"How was school today?" He asks casually.

"Pretty okay, I guess....wait....Ace, you missed our turn. The house was back there." I say.

Ace just smirks and says, "I know."

"Where are we going?"

"You shall find out." Ace says, winking at me. "It's just a little surprise for your birthday."

I smile at him brightly, I am over-joyed.

"Ace, you really don't need to do this-"

"Yes, I don't need to, I want to, remember?" He says, raising his eyebrows.

I roll my eyes and nod, as we continue onto our mystery destination. But, when he pulls into an animal shelter, my heart leaps.

"W-what are we doing here?" I ask, excitement lacing my voice.

"Why don't we head on inside and see?" Ace replies, a smile gracing his face.

You don't need to tell me twice.

And with that, we end up inside. A kind lady who works there then proceeds to show me a litter of puppies.

But just not any puppies.

"Miniature Aussies?!" I exclaim in excitement. Their short tails wag eagerly back and forth. They all tackle me, their little tongues licking my face and their large, colorful eyes staring into my soul.

Ace stands outside their pen, and laughs at the display.

"Go ahead and pick one. You can have one." Ace says.

My jaw drops.

"Really? Are you serious? I can actually get one?" I say, not trying to hide my excitement anymore.

Ace just smiles and nods.

While I love all the puppies, one in particular catches my attention. He lies in the corner, with his little head rested on his paws. His fur is patches of black, white, and grey, and his eyes are a bright blue.

He wears a small, blue collar around his neck, and his eyes seem to be peering off into the distance.

I approach him carefully, and he sniffs my hand. But he curls up in a ball, and doesn't pay much attention.

"I want this one." I say.

"You don't want a more lively one? Don't you want a playful one?" Ace asks.

I just shake my head. "No....he....he reminds me of myself when I was a child." I say.

Ace nods in understanding, and once the adoption fees are paid, we go home. The puppy is wrapped up in a light blue blanket.

"What are you going to name him?" Ace asks.

"I don't know, I think I'll wait till I can see his personality a bit more." I say.

All it took was the ride home and I was already in love with this puppy. Maybe he just needed someone who shows that they care about him. Maybe then, he will realize that life is worth living.

And while we were blissfully doting over the puppies, we were not aware of the spy lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack. We were unaware that the storm which was once brewing in the distance is settling upon us closer, day by day.

And I am not ready.