Michael was practically vibrating with joy when you agreed, leading you by your hand to his car that you had already been approaching. It was a nice thing really. A white convertible that had only come out a few years ago. Michael was a hardworking boy and he wasnโt afraid to show it off.
He held the door for you and you bashfully sat down in the passenger seat, the same place you had been when he picked you up from your home, greeted your parents, and drove you here. As he shut the side door, you noticed he was still wearing that manic grin. It was charming, but not the charming Michael you were used to. Something was different about him tonight, even if it didnโt seem so necessarily bad. And for some reason, it seemed that strange behavior was increasing as the night went on. Was he always like this? This was their latest date by far, apart from late night telephone calls.
Michael revved at the engine until the car growled to life. Satisfied, he pulled out from your parking spot into the empty lot, and began to drive off.
โSo where are we going?โ You asked. You noticed he wasnโt driving the usual route toward either of your houses. You watched his content, calm face as the roads became increasingly unfamiliar and woody.
โThereโs this trail I walk on a lot. Itโs real nice, quiet, youโll love it.โ He shrugged, his eyes fixed on the road as he spoke to you. You smiled. โWell where is it?โ You repeated. It was slightly irritating how vague he was being, considering the fact he had been so eager to come here.
โYouโll see.โ He replied, his words collected and in no way addressing your distress. You felt a pang of nerves in your chest, though they were easy to shake off by the simple action of looking at the face of the man next to you.
God, he was beautiful. Practically glowing under the moonlight, almost ethereal. โOh, Michaelโฆโ The words escaped your lips before you could realize. Low and deep with emotion.
Your tone alone was enough to take his eyes off the road, meeting your flirty gaze for a tantalizing moment. Though to your disappointment, he only shook his head. โYou have no idea what youโre doing to meโฆโ he chuckled, though his voice was breathier than before.
Not long after that hungry interaction, you arrived at your so-called โdestinationโ. It was less of a trail and more of a desire path dug at the edge of a forest.
โHere it is. Follow me.โ Michael went to take your arm, but you couldnโt help but hesitate. It was already so dark, and the trail did not seem very popular place- at least for humans. It was little more makes than a thin path of dirt in between dense trees and brush, now dyed an eerie dark green under the minimal daylight remaining.
โI donโt know, Michaelโฆ is it even safe? What if thereโs animals?โ You asked, your eyes a clear reflection of your fear. His eyes hooded. โAnimals?โ He repeated, as if the question was somehow amusing to him. There was nothing funny about that.
โJust come on- itโll be alright!โ He playfully tugged your arm. The boyish glint in his eyes was the sole reason your feet obeyed.
As you stepped into the forest, your world narrowed from the wide, dark concrete road and the light of the convertibleโs headlights. The thicket above you blocked out even more of the ever-littling moonlight, the slivers that did escape illuminating the dirt path before you. You watched as small creatures skittered by, a centipede or two.
Michael wrapped his arm around your waist, and as your familiar surroundings faded. A snapping twig just a few feet away from you made you flinch into him. You clung even closer to him, your hands fisting at his leather jacket. He giggled, biting his lip to stifle a further laugh. โYouโre silly, Y/N.โ His voice was extremely fond between the teasing.
You glanced back over your shoulder hesitantly, but his finger caught your chin and gently forced your gaze back to him. Your lips parted to speak, but the change in his face suddenly alerted you. He looked nervous.
โMichael, whatโs wrong?โ You asked, your eyes dilating with concern. He took a deep breath, staring down at you with a new expression that completely disregarded his previous behavior. Complete seriousness.
โThereโs a reason I brought you here Y/Nโฆโ He murmured. โIโve been meaning to tell you something for a while now.โ His hands disappeared into the inner pocket of his jacket, wriggling in and out of the fabric before retrieving a single, feminine gold ring with a solitary diamond as the centerpiece of the jewelry.
โI wanted to ask,โ He hesitated, glancing to the ground for a moment before looking back deeply into your eyes. โโฆif you would be my girl.โ
Your gasp was silent, raising your eyebrows in shock and delight. You couldnโt choose between looking at his beautiful face and the gorgeous, modest ring in his hand. โOh, Michael, itโs beautiful!โ You cooed, reaching out and taking the ring from him, slipping the gorgeous piece onto your finger.
You raised your hand up to the light to admire the sparkling, dainty diamond. โOh, I love it!โ You squealed, unable to take your eyes off of the ring. You twirled with joy, little sounds of cheer escaping you as you did, your skirt fanning around your legs. โOf course Iโll be your girl!โ You turned back to him, expecting to see him beaming just as much as you were.
Instead, now a few feet away due to your physical expression of your joy, Michael stood in the middle of the path, completely still except for the breaths you could see his chest struggling around.
His head was down, the whites of his eyes a stark contrast to the dark of his silhouette. The few strands of hair that fell across his forehead, earlier beautiful and human under the sun, now only added to the eeriness of his presence. He looked so disheveled.
Your heart skipped a beat. A heavy sense of dread began to crawl up your throat, escaping in a wavering question. โMichael?โ Your voice lacked all previous playfulness. You couldn't help it. Something all of a sudden felt terribly, horribly wrong. Michael had never acted this way before!
His breathing only became more apparent in response, now audible in the distance and woodland sound.
โY/Nโฆโ He heaved, his voice gravelly with what sounded like pain. โTheres something Iโve been meaning to tell youโฆโ He moaned, his composure crumbling with every struggling word. His hands began to tremble, coming up to clutch at his own chest. Was he having a heart attack?!
โAre you alright?!โ You asked, your voice rising in pitch along with your spiking panic. Michael did not reply, only groaned as he doubled over, clawing at his own chest as he did so. You watched the pain in his face as he lowered, his teeth gritting together and eyes screwed shut.
You began to approach him but his arm shot out from his defensive position, his fingers curling with hurt. โSTAY BACK!!โ He suddenly bellowed with an urgency you had never heard from him before- or in fact anyone else. It terrified you.
Your feet suddenly felt nailed to the floor beneath you. You were frozen in fear, in shock and hesitation. You had no other choice but to watch in horror as your newly proclaimed lover began to transform from the form you knew him as.
Michaelโs moans of pain began to evolve into more violent sounds to express his agony. His screaming echoed throughout the forest, wracking his frame and making his body only curl further into itself like a dying spider. You could barely make out his words between the animalistic sobbing. โOH GOD IT HURTS!! HELP ME!! Y/N!! Y/NNNNโฆ.โ
His knuckles popped from their sockets, arching and stretching with his swiftly elongating fingers, which were simultaneously growing sharp, cat-like claws at his fingertips. His hands were quiveringโฆ
Michaelโs leg joints were met with a similar fate, detaching from their natural, comfortable placement inside his body with a sickening, horribly wet pop, his bones forming a low grating like two rocks grinding against each other as they grew swiftly. His heels, now coated in a dark brown fur, bursted from the tail end of his sneakers, the fabric snapping to make way for his new body. On the other end, similarly sharp claws sprouted with paw-like toes.
His back twitched and arched, writhing as if being burned alive, desperately searching for a position to ease the shooting pain. When Michael titled his neck back, youcould see his nose forming into something much more feral, and thin whiskers growing from his cheeks. His jaw trembled open and closed, showing glints of newly developed fangs.
His curls rapidly fanned from his scalp, dripping down his back and curling around his jaw. His ears shifted from their humanoid place, crawling atop his head, unfolding into two chocolate colored triangles, large and tuft full. His now fully transformed hands raised to claw at them, only further arching his back. The sharp sound of clothing tearing rang through your ears as a fluffy brown tail emerged from the small of his back. His sounds of ache continued, shrinking into smaller whimpers and sobs. In a way, the scene unfolding before your eyes was just as much sorrowful as it was horrifying.
You were unable to even process any of the many thoughts forming in your mind- the scene before you was unlike anything you had ever seen before, let alone thought was possible. The sweet boy you once knew, and stored love for, was now transforming into a creature of the night- a monster you had only heard of in fairytales- and in such a horrific manner that you were sure would haunt you until the day you died. You were a bystander to the traumatizing horrors unfolding right before your eyes, unable to even help yourself.
You almost felt the urge to approach him, to comfort him- but the idea was quickly snuffed out when instead, Micheal made the first move. How romantic.
His neck cracked as he whipped his head toward her, eyes glowing a deep golden, mirroring the moon in the now almost completely blackened sky. His lips curled back in a snarl, baring a set of saliva coated fangs. The sound emanating from him was utterly primal- a sound no human was capable of naturally making.
You felt the world around yourself narrow, the once refreshing night air turning suffocating. Your lips fell open, a choked scream escaping your lungs as you had never screamed before. Your eyes were wide with terror, your skin gone pale with the blood that did not dare to flow. Finally, the fear that wracked your mind caught up to your body, your feet detaching from the floor that had held you prisoner through Michaelโs transformation. If what your boyfriend had became even qualified as himself anymore.
You didn't dare look back when you gained back your privilege to move, immediately turning the opposite direction and booking down the trail. You had never ran so fast in your life, body fueled by adrenaline and fear. The growling coming behind you became louder, expanding into more aggressive sounds, and by no means getting quieter. You sobbed at the fact, continuing to run, the cold wind nipping your skin. You noticed a break between two trees coming up to the side of the trail. Without hesitation, you took a turn, continuing your escape into the deep of the forest. You were terrified of getting lost in the dark, unfamiliar woods- gosh, who knew what was out there? But right now, the possible wild animals felt not nearly as daunting as the otherworldly beast tracking you down now.
You ran through puddles and damp leaves, the murky water soaking through your pristine socks and sneakers, the mud capturing your footprints. Snapped twigs caught the end of your skirt, tearing the fabric and leaving trails of your presence. You didn't have time to hide the evidence. A piercing howl cutting through the crunch of the dead, decaying vegetation under your feet, low and completely wolflike. Yet still somehow possessed just a sliver of the voice you were ever familiar with.
Your lungs burned with the effort of your escape. How long you had been running, and moreso where you had been running was the last thing on your mind- you only knew you had to get as far away from this monster as possible. Death almost frightened you as much as what you imagined he would do to you if he caught up.
Exhaustion began to catch up with you, slowing your pace. You huffed, attempting to catch your breath. Had you even breathed this entire time? Though the sound of panting, and even more the sound approaching, sent you into a flurry of panic all over again.
Distracted by your desperate thoughts, you failed to notice the fallen branch obstructing your path, and in your flurry of panic, the object catching your ankle and twisting the joint beyond its comfortable placement. You yelped as your body hit the floor beneath you, this part of the forest lacking any mud or piles of leaves to cushion your fall. You landed on your back with a thud and a jolt of pain, specifically from your foot. Before you could collect yourself- a pair of yellow glowing eyes locked onto your vulnerable state.
โNo,โ You whispered to yourself- rapidly trying to stand, but a sudden sharp pain in your ankle sent you sprawling back onto the ground all over again. You winced as the figure approached painfully slow, more and more visible as he stepped into the minimal light. You could see every inch of his fully transformed anatomy now. Arched fingers with pawpads and claws, glowing yellow eyes, and a large, monstrous furry body clothed in the scraps of his human fitted clothes.
His muzzle was parted like a dog panting, his tongue lolling as drool dripped from his jaw, hitting the forest floor. He didn't seem to notice anyway, too busy stalking his prey. You sure felt like prey. Your heart was beating out of your chest, unable to take your eyes away from the snarling beast closing in on you. You attempted to stand once more, but the pain that was blooming in your left foot only disabled you more as you struggled.
Michael drew closer, close enough that you could feel his hot, heaving breaths across your face. He leaned in, presumably to intimidate you, baring his teeth. Saliva splattered down onto your blouse with every huff. Once again, your ability to scream was taken away from you, the sound trapped in your throat under the suffocating shock.
Michaelโs hands, or rather paws, twitched at his sides, aching for a delicious human being to sink his claws into. You knew he meant to attack. You could see it in his eyes. Nowhere in those black slivers was the gentleness or charm of your boyfriend. The being pining you to the ground was a killer- through and through.
You only had a few seconds to act. You knew this. Your head whipped from side to side, desperately looking for any mercy the universe would grant you. Luckily, you were blessed. A gray stone about the size of your palm laid just in arms reach of you, buried under a thick layer of dried dirt. You grabbed the stone, your shaking fingers clutching the makeshift weapon.
Without another moment of hesitation, you raised your arm to strike, bringing the rock down with all the force you possessed, crashing it onto his wet nose. Instantly, you heard the crunch of thick bone fracturing under skin, blood spurting from his snout.
Michaelโs body jerked back, his eyes widening- but you didn't have time to be guilty. Again, you wound up the force and crashes the sharp end of the rock into the middle of his face, right between his eyes. The skin instantly bruised. Again. Again. He cried like a dog, howling in pain, choked with sobs and blood in his throat. But you moved too quickly, urged on by your sudden strength. The crack of bone came again and again. More and more blood formed, caking across his fur and dripping down your arms. Your repeating blows began to intent in his skull. In a way, the motion was comforting- each violent hit another chance of your own survival.
You dropped the rock after the 10th strike. Or was it the 100th? Whatever it had been- it sent his eyes rolling back in his head, and his paws slipping on the dry ground under him. Your view was blurred under a layer of tears, though the last thing you saw was his body crashing to the floor with yours, limp and vulnerable.
You took in your first breath you had in ages, glancing up at your own hands, caked with blood and gore. You wanted to vomit. You had never hurt anything in your entire life- not even a mouse- and now you were laying next to the potentially dead body of your highschool sweetheart.
In response to the realization, the universe granted you another mercy, as your eyelids grew too heavy to fight against, and your head fell back onto the ground beneath you. As your world slowly faded to black, all the stress and tension inside of you melted away simultaneously as you submitted to the sweet release of nothingness.
You would never expect in a million years that Michael would hurt you in any sort of way! He was a soft spoken boy, eager and friendly. Not to mention he was loyal as a dog and wasn't the most threatening physically. What did you have to fear?
Your previous dates had been safer. Milkshakes at their local diner, shopping at the mall, and a picnic in their schoolโs courtyard. But that fateful night had been different from the start. Moreโฆ thrilling. You see, Michael was this big slasher movie fanatic. You didn't get all the fuss he made about those stupid movies. All of them were the same, a busty blonde and your dumb jock of a boyfriend stumble into someplace they shouldn't have, and then comes the fake blood and guts and screaming. How could he enjoy that stuff?
Still, his charm was persistent. โCome on, youโll love this one! Itโs different from the other ones, itโs interesting! I promise.โ He beamed at you, both of his hands wrapped around your arm. You stood smushed between other groups and couples all waiting in the same line as they were for the cinema. You made a sound of disapproval. โCanโt we just watch somethingโฆ Iโm not sure, nicer?โ you begged, your head falling to the wall of posters for the currently showing movies. You were locked onto the poster for a romantic drama, the paper couple wrapped in each other's arms, lips painfully inches away. Though Michaelโs mind was set on a much different scene.
The revving of a chainsaw was painfully loud, echoing throughout the crowded theater. The blond shrieked as the once warm blood of your highschool lover splattered across your made-up face, your blue eyes wide with horror. โOH, GOD! OH NO!! PLEASE!โ
You couldnโt stand it! You buried your face into Michael's jacketed shoulder. โHow can you watch this!?โ You stage-whispered to him. He was grinning ear to ear up at the screen. You could feel his jaw moving around the popcorn you hadn't even touched, and his chest twitching as he giggled. He was laughing! He craned his neck to lean into your ear. โNo, no, this is the best part!โ You could hear the delight in his voice. You just couldnโt stand it! He was acting a complete maniac. What happened to the sweet Michael you knew?
With a frustrated huff, you rose from your seat, and with prominent effort, scooted your way out of the row whilst still keeping your eyes away from the massacre happening on the big screen.
Michaelโs brows furrowed. โWhere are you going?โ He called, though you was already halfway out of the door.
You shut the door behind you, the sudden whoosh of cold night air immediately prickling your skin. It felt nice- anything was better than being cooped up in that horrible theater anymore. You could still hear the theatrical screaming coming from behind you. Just the mere memory of that chainsaw slashing through fake flesh sent a shiver down your spine. Or maybe that was only the cold. You wrapped your arms around yourself, closing your eyes and breathing in the October wind. You allowed the feeling to calm over you, your eyes fluttering shut. Maybe you were overreacting. It was just a movie after all, what was there to be afraid of?
Fingers curled around your shoulder suddenly, and you practically jumped from your own skin. Your head whipped around at lightning speed, your hand already held up to defend yourself from whatever masked-killer dared to put their hands on you. Though instead, only Michael's wide eyed, grinning face greeted you. โWhatโs the problem?โ He asked, smiling, his breathing clearly amused. His arms were open in surrender, seeing your obviously jumpy and terrified state.
You only stared back at him for a moment, your eyes blown wide as you recovered from your shock. โMichael?โ You breathed, voice wavering. He only giggled, lowering his head before glancing back at you with those ever charming eyes of his. The eyes that had convinced you on this date in the first place. Instead of reassuring you as you hoped, he only bit his lip in delight at your fear.
โYou were scared, weren't you?โ He teased. You turned your head in stubbornness. You pouted, your face turned away from him with a childish persistence. โI was not scared.โ
Michaelโs smile widened, creeping up his face and crinkling his eyes. โYou were scared.โ He stated. You began to walk the opposite direction from the theater, and Michael was quick to follow, his footsteps following you closely like a loyal dog at your heel.
It was almost impossible not to notice the night sky. Above you, the world was dark and foggy, the specks of light blurred between navy blue. All except for the beautiful gold moon. โIsnโt it beautiful?โ Michael whispered, his voice hoarse and soft, closer to your ear than you anticipated. His hands found your shoulders, snaking up your arms and gripping you close, close enough that he was pressed against your back. โDonโt you just love the night?โ
When you dropped your head to gaze into his eyes, you saw the ecstatic grin plastered across his face, his eyes wide and slightly darker than you remembered. It was probably just the dark. Yes, it was getting pretty darkโฆ
Without a response, you glanced down at the dainty watch in your wrist, a gift from your mother. It was already 9:30. โMy, itโs getting late.โ You said, the hairs on the back of your neck suddenly standing. Perhaps it was his breath.
Michael whined, his once eager face contorting into a look of disappointment. โWhy?โ He stepped in front of you, trailing his hands down to your hands, taking them into his own and bringing them to his own chest. โThe night is just starting, my dear.โ He murmured, his brown eyes locked onto yours as he raised your wrist with the charm of a prince, kissing the tips of your fingers lightly.
Despite the slightly uneasy wording, his charm sure was effective. You felt your cheeks flush at the sight of his boring eyes. That face that had taken you out, caressed you tentatively and charmed you submissive time and time again.
The comfort and beauty was familiar, though there was something different that possessed his figure tonight. A force of more confidence. Dangerous and seductive. It was a feeling that was so far off from typical sweet Michael, and yet fit him so well.
Michael suddenly perked from his depression, breaking their gaze to gaze up at the full, golden moon watching them from above. The way he watched the object was as if it was a familiar companion to him. Slowly, he peeled his eyes away from the sky back to your face. He had a thoughtful look on his face, curling his lips upward. โWhy donโt we go for a walk?โ He whispered with excitement, his eyes sparkling in the fog of the night. His emotions were so strong and quick to change. Jennyโs brows furrowed.
โA walk? Iโm not sure, itโs getting quite lateโฆโ you muttered, glancing away at the growing shadows. Your rush had nothing to do with a curfew- your parents thought you were staying over at your best friendโs house for the night- but you couldn't deny the fear and unease that was blooming in your chest beside the excitement from Michaelโs charm.
โItโll be great! I just-โ He cut himself off, his eyes fluttering shut as he took a blissful deep breath in. โThe night just feels so- so energizing! I donโt want it to end.โ
Michaelโs eyes locked onto hers for another persuading moment. His puppy dog eyes were extremely hard to deny. โI suppose a walk would be nice.โ You smiled, partially forced. you just had to get rid of the underlying dread the night brought her. So youcould enjoy this night with Michael.
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