-- FROM ME TO YOU

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

It hadn’t even been a whole day since he’d seen her, and already Denver missed Annie. In some ways, it was sad. Denny had never been one to be really attached to too many people, but after all of the shit he’d gone through since he was 17, he had pretty much been a loner…and a criminal. And that was kind of when he’d met Annie. So to speak, anyway. He’d met Annie at a time in his life where all he did was sit around playing his guitar and writing lyrics of blatant self hate. He’d met Annie at the pivotal time in his life where any influence from the outside of his bedroom would likely infect his life for the rest of is existence. And that was just what Annie was; an infection. That wasn’t a bad thing in this case. This type of infection was…..intoxicating. It was just something that didn’t have a metaphor to go with it, which then just meant to Denny that he couldn’t describe what he knew.

Still, it had only been less than 24 hours. They’d seen each other yesterday, just like they did practically every day. Annie was his best friend, and quite frankly one of his only friends. She knew him best, knew him better than even himself sometimes. At times, he thought the same about her. Actually, that was most of the time, but in most ways Denny was totally okay with that. He was okay with Annie knowing exactly who he was and what he was about. He was okay with her knowing that he hadn’t actually hit the girl back when he was seventeen and that his sister had. He was okay with knowing that he trusted her to not tell anyone, as it would ruin his sister and for that he would never forgive himself. Denny was okay with Annie knowing that he shifted into some wimpy birds while she became this awesome, fierce wolf-thing that she’d explained to him a million times and he still didn’t comprehend the animal. For now, he was okay with them just being friends.

It was like he had anxiety issues when it came to being away from Annie for too long. Maybe Denny was just clingy because she was the closest person to him in his life, but in that case he didn’t really care. Annie never had seemed to. As far as he was concerned then, seeing her pretty much every day was okay. It was better than okay. Not to be cheesy or anything, but it was kind of keeping him in town, alive even. Denny couldn’t imagine his life without Annie constantly in it, even if they did have a few predicaments or what have you every so often. He was pretty sure his life would be empty without her, even if that did sound like some cheesy, gross fairy tale or whatever. Truth was, Denny loved Annie (in more ways than he really knew), and the honest truth was that he was in love with her. Annie didn’t know that, as Denny hardly really figured that out him self just yet, but it made sense since he couldn’t stand to not see her every day.

All of that just lead down to the fact that he’d made plans with her today. In their IM, she’d said something about having someone Denny needed to meet, and in some way that made him nervous. Denny wasn’t actually one to really care too much about what others had to think of him, but if it was someone that Annie knew…well then, that was a different story. He didn’t know what to wear. He didn’t know what to do with his hair. He didn’t know if this person was someone that was going to get in the way of him and Annie or if he was just blowing things out of proportion. Honestly, Denver didn’t know what to think. He was confused. He was burning up. He was nervous. He was twitching. He really shouldn’t have been acting like that, because that was so out of character for Denny. Plus, he was going to meet Annie at the store before he went to meet whoever this person was for dinner with her.

Oh good, that calmed him down a bit. The thought that he was going to see Annie first was enough to stop the shaking, the heating of his skin, and some of the nervousness. The thought that followed, that if he needed to he could just fly away, helped a little more, but not as much as the first thought had. Still, it was enough for Denny to get onto the main street without freaking out and going home. It was enough for his feet to carry him to the store, where he was going to meet Annie, and it was enough for him to get the courage to walk in there and see her. Of course, the plain thought of just seeing her was enough for that, but with the thought of a second party to their usual hangouts he was starting to doubt himself. So he walked into the store, looked around, and pulled out his phone. Denny was, in his anxiety, a bit impatient, and so he opened a new message, chose to send it to Annie! <3, and then wrote in, ’I’m here. Where are you missy?!’

Putting his phone back into his pocket, Denny took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Calm was his image, among other things. He was the kid that didn’t give a fuck in town unless you were a fan of his band. Denny was the kid that got arrested, so by default he was a bad ass….or so he thought. He liked to think he was the kid that didn’t care, that he was the kid that everyone talked about because they thought he had some weird drug addiction since leaving jail. He wasn’t, and he knew that (and Annie knew that), but the gossipers of the town totally didn’t need to know that. The only person that did matter to Denver Hurley was the very person he was stuck waiting for.


1038 -- seren bby/annie duh. -- i made the everything k. -- eh it was kind of rambly but i was excited and stuff and this is like the first post with denny! >< so yeah anyway. i wasn't sure where to put this so if you have any other idea to put it just move it; i can take a hint. but bby ily. <3

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

can't seem to explain
THE SPEED OF MY HEARTBEAT, CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE AND STAY A WHILE

Annie sat at the end of the couch, all senses directed towards the spot in front of her, where a cat sat watching her. The girl frowned as the strange, hodge-podge appearing cat regarded her rather coolly. "I don't even know if cats are allowed here." she mentioned to it, insinuating her apartment. The cat still just stared at her coolly, obviously unpreterbed by what she was saying. "Why did you even follow me?" the cats eyes narrowed slightly,like she was stupid for asking a question like that. "Whatever. You're a cat." she said it like it was the answer to her question. And maybe cats did do cray stuff like that. She wouldn't judge.

Annie closed the laptop and stood up, walking away until she looked down to see that the cat had jumped ship and was following her again. She groaned and just kept walking to her bed room. She slammed the door shut, leaving the cat at her door. He scratched and howled in protest. Annie plugged her iPod into the stereo and blasted it in an effort to drown out the feline's cries. She had a ceiling to floor mirror on the back of her door, and when she walked by she stopped, caught by her reflection as usual. She studied her face, tucking q chunk of hair behind her ear, frowning and unsure ofthe face looking back at her. It wasn't that she didn't know what to wear or do, it wasn't that being around Denver made her sel conscious.... physically anyway. Because she might as well admit it: being around him made her insides a mess. She was a wreck, a mess. She bid it kind of well.", she supposed. There was a lot of soul searching to be down around that boy. In the wake of that fluttery feeling that congregated in her stomach when she saw Denny, that awkward nervousness that took up residence in her hands when she thought about him. Admit it! her conscience seemed to scream at her. You like him! Annabelle watched herself, biting her lip. The accusations seemed to filter through her mind and register as you care too much. Honestly, Annie had never thought about Denny's feelings towards her, it wasn't that it was an issue of feeling rejected. She was just stubbornly pig headed and wouldn't let herself admit anything. She finally braided her hair messily, seccurring it with a ponytail holder from her wrist, stepping away from her mirror feeling confused and a little bit self destructive.

She opened her bedroom door and breezed past the cat, ignoring his fervent and annoying chatterbox behavior, grabbing her keys and leaving her apartment anxious and excited to see Denver. What she hadn't been expecting was the little furhall scoffing through the open door and ripping down the hall. "What the hell?" she called after, following the cat as it flee down the stairs. What was this things problem? There it stood by the door, waiting with that same condescending look on it's face. "Godammit cat." she muttered. When she opened the door to leave, she left it open for the cat to follow, because it was useless to leave him inside, so she might as well let the critter follow her again. "I'm walking, just so you know. I hope you're willing to partake in some excercise, eh?" she needed the exercise, she knew. If you knew Annie well (and only one person did) you would be well aware of the fact that she preferred her shifted form much more than her body. She had low bills because she spent almost every moment that she wasnt sleeping or with Denver (or singing. But she really only did that when she was with denny, so it was a moot point) shifted, trapaizing through the New England country side. (An alterior motive to this was her very secret, as in not-even-Denny-knows-it's-that-secret, level of self confidence, which was in fact very low and lead to what she would call a "tiny" eating disorder. Honestly, besides her minor stint as a prostitute, it was the only secret that she kept from him.)

After haning out with (Annie's mind automatically did this) her man almost all the previous day, then going straight home and crashing, and basically being lazy this entire day, she was left with having not been any sort of thing other than herself in over twenty four hours.

And it was starting to get to her.

Like, really get to her, fucking eating her away. but she could starve it off a couple hours longer just to see Denver. Admitting this to herself was sort of a scary thing for Annie. She just shrugged it off though, and looked at the cat, who padded along dutifully beside her. Without even thinking about it she scooped up the little thing and folded it into her arms like a baby doll. "You're lucky you're cute." she muttered, unwillingly smitted by his content expression.

The walk was brisk and chill, but her anticipation for seeing Denver, accompined with a big hoodie, fended off the cold of a Northern Fall, and soon she saw her destination, Denver waiting for her, and her face just lit up; it was everything she could do not to run. After that it seemed like it was taking forever to get to him, like she couldn't walk fast enough. She looked at the car. "Now, you freaking beast, you are going to meet smoeone very special to me. And if you plan on staying in my life, which I'm pretty sure you do, you're going to pretend you care, m'kay?" And with that she dropped the car down. He kept following her, though lagging behind every so slightly. Around the turn, through the parking lot... Her heart thumped excitedly, and her smile seemed to get so big that it threatened to break her face in half.

"Hey.." she exhaled, wrapping her arms around him, her head only going about halfway up his chest because she was just short like that. It was almost like everyday that went by, their hugs got longer and longer, she would hesitate just a moment more before letting go, just to feel his warmth, smell his scent, and just reassure herself that he was there, and, yes, somebody did care about her. She stepped away, a little smile still on her lips like she had a secret. Her secret was Denny, (not to mention that not many people would be all over the town "badass") her inside joke was their relationship, he was just her's. And the way he looked at her gave her a secret satisfaction, like he knew what he was thinking and he agreed with her. Annie pointed to the ground. "That," she said "Is my cat. 'Fucking followed me home and everywhere inbetween..." she paused and thoought for a minute. "He still needs a name. I think I might just call him 'cat'. Any other suggestions...?"

Honestly, it took every ounce of self control she had to just not blurt out something along the lines of 'Hey, Denny, I think I love you, and you should just come home with meeee, and live with me foreveeer, and we would neeever be alone, and our band would be famous, and we can even take that stupid cat with us.' It was just that he made her feel so... not herself. But in a totally awesome way, because "herself" was some secretive, cynical bitch that she really wasn't too fond of. But this Annabelle, Denver's Annie, was talkative, loving, and open. Open to him and only him. She was pretty sure he was well aware of that fact; they'd been together around other people. And if she didn't shrug them off, she insulted them every chance she got. Sometimes, though, she'd just freak out around him. Especially at a gig or something, like she was just one big mess of contradiction, and after their set she would just stalk towards him, spare him a kiss on the cheek, and pass by, stop outside for a cigarette (another bad habit... but this one he knew about; although, what he didn't know was that she mainly did it in an effort to curb her appetite) and then she would shift and just leave, whether leaving be to home or somewhere in the big bad woods.

Talk about mixed signals.

Maybe the biggest mixed signal of them all was just being herself. Annie was, by trade, mysterious. And if it wasn't for him, she probably would be the town badass; the new girl in town who no one really knew anything about, who more or less stuck to the shadows and said little to nothing to anyone. The one who was more or less a nomad. And she hoped that he knew that; one day she would probably leave this town, too. Disappear, and not many would remember her.

Today, though, there were no mixed signals. She was in a good mood, and that let her be more open. She almost went on auto-piolet, but that necisarilly wasn't a bad thing because Annie's self concious was happy to think about falling in love; and it showed as she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the store, leaving the cat outside to cry bayfully again. "I'm thinking spagehtti, or something..."


1561 --- YAY FOR RAMBLERICE AND AWESOMESAUCE...? omgomg, so long. sorry it took a while...

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

Without his text ever being answered, an answer was given to him. He should have seen her coming, and any short jokes wouldn’t have ended too prettily, but still her entrance was a bit of a surprise to Denny. However, and this was one of his traits for turning into a vulture mostly, he could smell her before he saw her. Because his vulture form was keen on scent (vultures relied heavily on scent to find food, after all), Denny was more aware through scent than any other sense of the body, which then meant that he smelled people before he knew where they were, and with Annie that was good. He liked the way she smelled, even if to other’s she smelled off and/or bad. Along with Annie’s familiar smell, he picked up something else, but he didn’t even think about it. He couldn’t think about it. The second smell was insignificant to Denny compared to Annie; it hardly existed to him.

With her arms around him, hardly anything besides them existed to him.

Though hugs were as far as they’d gotten physically, Denny couldn’t live without them. He was okay with just hugging, because at least he could do that. Some people didn’t even want to look at him for something he did like over half a decade ago. Not Annie; she believed in him, she was his best friend, and she was one of the only people that still gave him hugs. Besides, it was Annie. She was the girl that Denny relied on. Annie was the girl Denny really wanted in so many ways, even if some of those ways were ways that he didn’t ever think he could express. He couldn’t put in to words how he really felt about Annie, especially if he didn’t think she felt the same way. Telling her things she didn’t want to hear from him would cause tension, and eventually things would get so awkward they’d stop being friends – and even that thought was impossible for Denny to bear. All things aside, he pushed that thought to the very back of his mind, keeping it out of reach for the time being. The constant reminder to live in the now ran through Denny’s head, and so he was forced to smile (though he wasn’t putting up much of a fight with Annie near him). “Hey you.” The greeting was week, but it seemed Annie had something more important to say anyway.

That she did. The very person he’d been so nervous about meeting before, the very being Annie had nearly scared him half to death with, was that second scent. In fact, it wasn’t a person at all. Annabelle started talking, and instantly Denny looked down. The little animal stood close to Annie, but that was okay with him. Maybe the cat sensed his connection to the vulture, which would likely eat the cat if it were already dead. However, the cat was very alive, and so it was going to stay that way as long as it could and Denver knew that. He wasn’t in predator mode just yet. “Cute,” he said, still smiling. Denver gazed between the feline and his best friend, trying to make out what she was asking. Or rather, he was trying to come up with a witty name for the animal. He needed something immature…..but not stupid or childish at the same time. He needed something that fit something Annie could expect from him; he needed the sort of name a best friend would come up with. “’Cat’ is a little generic.” Obviously because of the original question, Annie thought the same. “Beast. We should call him Beast!”

That was the kind of name Annie could expect from her Denny.

Thinking of the name kept thoughts from entering his head again. He wasn’t sure how the two were linked, but he knew one prevented the other, and quite successfully for that very moment. Still, as he looked at the girl he knew he had such strong feelings for that he couldn’t even name them himself, Denver realized how hard it was to keep him self from just leaning over and kissing her. He wanted to feel that, to be in more than just a friendship with a girl that truly understood him, trusted him, and knew everything about him. He wanted to be in a relationship with Annie, and he knew it, but he didn’t know if she wanted that or if she even knew he wanted that. He hadn’t told anyone, but it wasn’t always hidden so well. There were times when she would be in a mood after a show and nearly kiss him but walk away, and he was stand there, watching in awe as the only girl he’d ever come close to loving made her way away from him. He did believe in that saying, ‘if you love something let it go; if it comes back it’s yours,’ but that didn’t mean he liked watching Annie walking away after nearly making all of his wants into realities.

There were times where Denver doubted himself and all he could do was talk to Annie, and she was the one that was there for him. She set him straight and hardly cared about holding back her strong words. He loved that about her; no other girl he’d ever come across was strong enough to want to stand up and make themselves heard when they had a point. That was why he trusted her so much; she was honest….for the most part, and she told him like it was. At least, until she kept secrets and got into the moods she happened to be susceptible to. Then Denny felt….alone. In fact, he felt more alone when he knew that Annie was lying to him than he did in the month he’d spent in jail. He felt even more alone when he knew that she would leave one day, with or without him. But when that particular thought came up, Denver knew what would happen without hesitation. He would drop everything and anything in his life for Annabelle, and so if she wanted to leave, he’d go with her. He needed her in one way or another, despite lying and secret keeping. All of that was a part of the human condition, which still applied to the humane beings with or without special ‘abilities’.

All of this thought process was stopped abruptly when she started speaking again. As soon as the mental images had started, they’d stopped, and suddenly Denver found himself being pulled into the market. He smiled, though it wasn’t nearly as bright or big as the smile before, and followed Annie through the front of the store, hand in hand. He loved the feel of her hand in his, but said nothing on it. He tried to focus on dinner, which was increasingly easy as they made their way deeper into the store sans ‘Beast’ (which was what he was going to call the cat regardless of its actual name). He looked at Annie, smiled some more, and just let her guide him to whatever aisle she wanted to venture into.

He was a man; he’d eat anything she wanted to feed him. “Spaghetti’s fine with me. Any particular flavor you’re in the mood for”



1225 -- seren bby/annie duh. -- i made the everything k. -- i feel like that was much fucking better. he has ave's cheesiness at times XD

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

can't seem to explain
THE SPEED OF MY HEARTBEAT, CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE AND STAY A WHILE

Annie could be quite anamalistic in nature, such as now, when she felt like her body and everything else was just moving too fast. Her wolfish side came out and she was too aware of everything. With out those satellite-type ears that all canines seemed to sport, she had to move her head every five minutes to hear or see the things that were distracting her. It was like getting whiplash. "We should hurry..." she murmured. "I'm like a caged dog in here." She smiled at the light humor, and didn't let go of his hand, because she really liked the feeling of his warm skin against her's. Maybe he could already tell that she hadn't shifted in, like, two days. He knew her weird bit about being more wolf than person. She felt like his hand was the only thing anchoring her to the ground. She felt like she would just drop into a dead run to somewhere new if he wasn't there, keeping her in place. She kind of liked the disapproving, side-ways stares that people gave the pair; the freaky new chick and the town criminal walking hand in hand. There was some kind of poetic justice to it.

She moved silently through the aisles. Some people would have tried to talk, to fill up that void. Like it was an awkward or unneeded space. Annie was all too comfortable in it. She didn't need some stupid chatter to fill it. She liked it the way it was; all silent and relaxed. She liked holding Denver's hand, and she knew that she should probably tell him that. She liked her lips like she was going to, but just kept walking, moving though the aisles with his hand in one of hers, and a basket in another. First she got some pasta. She looked at the different choices for like a second before randomly grabbing some long spaghetti thing and dragging Denver on with her. She didn't really lead him anywhere, but stayed close to his side. Again, another dog kind of thing (even though her main shifting form was more fox like than dog like, they shared a lot of the same qualities) she stayed close to him, defensive, protective, loyal. It showed as she stuck to his side like glue. She'd read somewhere that dogs liked warmth, and she knew she did. She liked feeling him there. And, of course, it helped that she had those crazy feelings for him.

And on with their adventure, she led him to the pet aisle, because if that cat was still waiting when she got outside, he'd want something to eat. And even if it wasn't, there was always some stray that would appreciate something in it's belly. She grabbed a little box, just in case the cat did decide to leave. The silence was getting a little awkward, but for some weird reason she felt like talking would be keeping them up, like keeping them in this place longer. And that was a no-no for Annie. When she was feeling this humane it was better to be outside, even if she was still Annie. It was just easier. Maybe she was kind of loosing it a little, but that was okay, because with her you just kind of expected things like that. All she knew is she needed to get out, and soon. She was pretty sure her body language showed it. "Ugh. I don't feel so good." She just kind of whispered it, like it didn't really matter. Annabelle was just way too into nature, sometimes. Her (so far) monadic lifestyle and weird upbringing left her not exactly able to function in the modern world. She preferred the woods or the solitude of her apartment. The end.

Finally some sauce to cook and that was it for her. Not that she could have walked around in there for much longer. She hurried to the cheek out line, toting Denny behind her, not having let go of his hand once in the entire fifteen minutes that they had been in here. And in the line for cashing out she couldn't help but grab a reeses cup thing. (Honestly, she was never sure what to call them. Maybe just Reeses would sufice.) Because she had a sweet spot for chocolate and peanut butter. Didn't everyone. And when she had pulled out some cash from her hand she was left with having to let go of his, and, admittedly, her heart sank a little when she did so. She waited impatiently for everything to get bagged. "Thanks." she murmured to the cashier, somehow mustering a smile for her. And then she grabbed his hand without thinking again, walking outside.

Once she was out, where she could taste the air again and not some stale building air conditioning mingled in with the smell of tortured fruit, it was easier to open back up. It was sad when the changes were that visible. She liked to think no one could look through her. The cat was there. She smiled at it. "Ready to go ho- er, to my place?" she didn't let on that she had to catch herself, she just started walking with him. Funny, because valiant and brave Annabelle was left without any courage to say the thing that she sad next. Somehow she gound her guts. It was funny that he left her somewhat speechless like that, because she wasn't like that all the time. Call it what you will, although it was irritating, she didn't mind it. She swung their hands. "I like this..." She somehow said, looking at him through the corner of her eye and smiling a little.

949 --- YOUNG LAHVE.

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

It was proven that every boy had at least one girl that they were so sure of. Every boy wanted to keep that girl in their lives. Every boy knew that girl better than they knew themselves sometimes, and for Denny that girl was Annie. Meeting her was a blessing in itself, he believed, regardless of whether or not he really believed in blessings. All he knew was that he wanted to be with her all the time, and part of him was scared by a thought like that. He wasn’t the kind of boy that fell for anyone, and he most certainly wasn’t the kind of boy that fell for a confusing, secretive, completely non-understandable woman such as Annie herself. Denny was confused by everything he felt, especially when it came to how he felt about Annie. Sometimes he wanted to pull his hair out over her, and sometimes all he wanted to do was…well, what they were doing now.

To be honest, the thought of coming home and knowing that Annie was there for him, whether she had been out or whatever (mostly he was just adding that in so that no one thought he was a sexist bastard), was the best thought he had ever come up with. He wanted it. He wanted it to be true, and he wanted it to be his life. He wanted to take care of Annie, to keep her safe and to encourage her to be her true self around him no matter what. But what he wanted and what he knew was reality were two very different things, and so Denny, being he kind of boy he is, just settled. He was okay with just being her friend and holding her hand, regardless of what anyone else thought. Denny stopped caring about miscellaneous people’s thoughts a long time ago, and he had no intention of picking that thought process back up any time soon. He really only cared about few things these days, and most of those pertained to Annie.

Being pulled into the market wasn’t bothering him at all. He actually liked it, but he wasn’t sure that he would if it were any other girl on the planet – maybe even in the entire universe. As long as it was Annie dragging him about, he’d follow her and keep her hand in his. It didn’t matter if he turned into a raptor-bird and looked for dead animals to call food; Annie’s hand in his was one of the most pleasant things he’d ever felt. Her hand was soft and warm, the way he always imagined her fur to be when she was in her wolf form. His vulture form was feathery, kind of twisted looking, and, thankfully, not bald, but he never really imagined it to be as warm as a wolf. That was just another reason he loved being around Annie; whether or not she was in a mood, and whether or not she was close to him, she was warm, and Denny knew it. So being inside the market with her and her warmth just made it all easier to concentrate on them holding hands then them being inside. Oh yeah, Denny knew how Annie felt about being inside some of the time, though he didn’t fully understand it. He liked to be in the air, but being on the ground wasn’t so bad since there were birds that didn’t fly. Being inside didn’t stir him like it did Annie.

When she started to squirm a bit in her human skin, Denny moved a bit closer. Instead of pulling her to him, he pushed himself to her, and tried to keep himself there in an attempt to make her feel a little better. He hoped being around another shifter settled that feeling, but he didn’t think it did too much justice. “Just a few more things and we’ll be outta here,” he said to reassure her they weren’t going full on food shopping that would take hours. They were two kids who didn’t even live together; the most food shopping they did together was on days like this, where they were out to find stuff to make dinner. Still, he hoped his reassurance helped her on top of in him staying closer. He thought it was kind of funny that he was the one staying closer the longer they stayed in the building, because wasn’t it a wolf’s instinct to protect the pack? Either way, he mentioned nothing of the sort and kept closer to Annie anyway, making sure to keep the corner of his vision on her incase anything happened.

Making their way to the front lines made Denver sigh. It was a sigh of relief, but not for him self. They were closer to getting out of the store, which was obviously a good thing for Annie. Her squirming that he’d noticed before had lightened, so when she let go of his hand for a brief few minutes that really felt more like hours, he felt okay about having her stand on her own for the moment. Usually, she was strong enough to stand on her own, even if she was in a mood that drove Denver off his wall, but Denny could tell somehow that she needed to be outside, that she needed to shift soon or she’d really go completely insane. Something occurred to him then; that he worried so much more about Annie than he did himself, and for one reason or another he really didn’t mind. Worrying about her more made him feel more like a good friend…..more like the boy that he wanted to be for her than some selfish ‘criminal’ regardless of who really committed a crime. It made him feel strong and reliable, which he really didn’t feel around most other people these days.

Thankfully, as soon as she was done, she grabbed his hand again. To everyone, it probably looked like they were a couple for real, and as much as Denver liked to think that, he didn’t care what they thought. If you asked him, anyone could hold hands and not be in a relationship. They were holding hands because they both liked it, and whether he knew it or not, they both liked each other (which was a huge fucking understatement). Leaving the market was the easiest thing to do, bag(s) in one hand while his other in hers. He chuckled at her question quickly and nodded, trying to come up with something that wouldn’t be taken the wrong way when it was put into a verbal sentence. “Sure am!” was all that came to mind. How lame, Denver! This is the girl you pretty much can’t live without and all you can say is that? What planet are you from anyway? Denny mentally rolled his eyes at himself, pushed those thoughts to the back of his head, and let Annie swing his arm wherever she wanted to.

With her words though, something stirred in his whole self. Just that simple, I like this was turning his stomach in a way that he would never forget….for the best. It wasn’t one of those repulsion things or even something that he could really explain. However, it made him feel like Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic when he stands on the rail and screams to the world that he’s the king of the world. That was the kind of sensation he was feeling, all because Annie had told him she liked what they were doing (even if it was just holding hands and being like a couple to other people). That feeling made him happier than he’d been in a long time, which could only mean one thing. He was realizing that he really was in love with Annie, even if he couldn’t tell her because she wouldn’t feel the same way. But she’d said the words to make him feel that way, so maybe there were feelings? Either way, if he even doubted that, he wouldn’t tell her what he was feeling. He didn’t mean to keep secrets, but Denver didn’t want to ruin what they did have by any means, and he didn’t want to send her into one of those moods. So simply, he just said, “Me too. I like it a lot.” His smile widened when he looked at her, just like it did every time.



1457 -- seren bby/annie duh. -- i made the everything k. -- mine keep getting longer but the rambliness is like fluctuating or s/t anyway. XD they're so a door a bull.

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

can't seem to explain
THE SPEED OF MY HEARTBEAT, CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE AND STAY A WHILE

Me too. I like it a lot. Dammit. Why did those words put such a feeling in her stomach? It felt like she was gonna puke, but in a good way if that was possible. She swamy their connected hands, quietly walking. Annie lived in a touristy part of town, but the quiet mind, like streets of incredibly small beach houses that had been in one family for generations mtgs kind of families win a geriatric matriarch or patriarch who liked to spend their ambling summers onthe water. This time of year, though, it was deserted. Annie liked to take a certain path from this in-land bit to her condo-thing, which was incredibly small. We're talking like three floors and maybe three apartments on each one. The upside to this was the awesome sense of quiet she could get. And it was on a pretty nice stretch of private beach. But, anyway, she stayed off the main roads, choosing instead to take this one, an overgrown dirt road that winded itself through an isolated patch of forest. She could help but to loosen up a bit as they turned onto it.

A bird fluttered sharply through he bushes, making a cacophony as it beat it's wings to get past the treetops. Annabelle watched as it circled intothe sky. She squeezed Denny's hand. "I don know why but I love birds. They've always kind of fascinated me." she watched as the little pidgeon, or whatever it was, beat it's wings once more and drifted out of their sight. "I tried being a bird once. A mockingbird. 'Cause all through my life I'd only seen three birds enough to remember them enough to shift into them; a crow, a vulture, and a mockingbird." She left no space for comments, just for licking her lips as she got pulled deeper into her story. "There was a problem with being a crow or a vulture though; with a crow, I didnt really like them. They're annoying, selfish things. And a vulture... In retrospect, I don't know what stopped me there. But now I know it was just never my thing, 'cause I was always meant to have a vulture of my own." She bumped him with her hip playfully. "I remembered mockingbirds a lot from when I was little, back in Alabama. Whole flocks of them just chilling in a dog wood tree. If you sat under an empty tree for a while and stayed real quiet they would all come roost above your head. You just had to wait for a little longer an then stand up, startle them. And they would flys ll around you, chaotic, close enough for you to grab one." She smiled lightly at the memory. "I guess they were jut never smart enough to fly away."

-----

Dinner (and making it) had reallygone smoothly and nicely for Annie. Normally it would have irritated her that it kind of felt like a cheesy montage from some MTV sitcom, but side it was with Denver... Well, let's just say she was otherwise occupied. The effect he had on her always astounded her a little because it was just so, well, surprising to say the least. He riled her up and calmed her down at the same time. He made her feel energetic and alive, like every nerve was a little on fire, but he also made her calm, made her levelheaded. The effect was weird because it was like convincing a rabid dog to sit and stay in the same spot for, like, half an hour. And that's what he was doing; keeping her crazy side caged in. At this point she was starting to realize that she should never take that kind of thug for granted.

She hummedto herself like some kind of housewife as she dipped the dishes in the lukewarm, soapy water of the sink, Denver somewhere behind her cleaning the rest of the kithchen. Things bad gotten a little messy towards the end. She bit her lip, her mind moving too far ahead of her. "Hey, you wanna stay over tonight?" It didnt make sense for her to ask that. Quickly, Annie, back it up with some reasoning! "I mean, it's kind of late..." Lie, it was like nine. "And it'd be kinda cool." True, although understatement of the year. And her mouth kept going! "You could go home toyon lumpy, boring bed or stay here with me in my really comfortable, nice big bed." Fuck, why couldn't she shut up? Her arms felt like rubber and her tongue like a dead weight in her mouth, but both kept moving, hands scrubbing, lips talking. "I think the sheets have a pretty unbeleiveable thread count, too." She had a little giggle, an effort to laugh the whole thing off. On the inside, though, she wanted to smack herself and yell at herself. And she was suddenly very afraid to turn around.


whatever --- FINISHED. LATE. YEAH.

[/quote]

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

Nature didn’t seem to have the exact effect on Denny that it did on Annie. She felt better surrounded in nature. Denny just felt indifferent. Sure, he felt better outside than indoors a bit, but it wasn’t to the degree he could see in his best friend/the girl he knew he had feelings for. Being surrounded by trees made him claustrophobic a bit, as where being on top of them, perching and watching for whatever movement he could find made everything in his head clearer. Denny could think at higher ground. When he was in flight, he could see everything and know that this was who he was, for better or worse. He was whole when his feet weren’t planted firmly on the earth below him. Annie was the other way around; as long as she was outside she was free and whole at the same time. And that was probably the biggest difference between the two of them, but somehow it brought them closer. They made a great team, and anyone that really knew them the way they knew each other (no one did) knew that.

Denver hardly noticed the bird fly above them, but he could hear the wings, and he could almost hear the animal’s thoughts. That wasn’t all that possible, but sometimes Denver was convinced he could hear birds talk. He wasn’t paying too much attention to the bird though; he was busy listening to Annie going on about birds. He was flattered by what she was saying, honestly, even with the whole crow part. Honestly, Denny didn’t like crows too much to begin with; he was way too much of a vulture/hawk person himself. He liked big, masculine, strong birds that prayed on the week for whatever reason he had in his head, not the little whiny ones that kept everything to themselves. And then Annie was speaking about having a vulture for herself, and Denny tried his hardest to hide a blush that was rushing to his face. He figured his tan skin would do most of the work, but a simple smile and a bump back might actually finish it off.

“I guess not,” he said, simply stating that he’d been listening all along to her whole story about the mockingbirds.

---

Annie’s apartment was just the way he remembered it. Of course, it was the same way every time Denver went and hanged out. He didn’t expect any differences and was actually really comforted by the familiarity of the place. That helped, since he hardly knew how to cook anything that didn’t require microwaving. He just listened to what Annie told him to do until everything was cooked, and then they were on to eating and cleaning. He was distracted with a damn spot on her stove that wasn’t even identifiable when she started talking. He scrubbed while Annie started to ask him questions, and the first one actually made him stop and turn around. He watched her fumble for words and smirked, almost shaking his head at the way she was trying to catch her words with every next thing that came out of her mouth.

Denny looked from the back of Annie to the clock on her wall, checking the real time. It wasn’t late at all, but he wasn’t going to say that. The invitation to stay was enough for him, and there was no way in heaven, hell, or wherever that he was going to turn that down. When she was done, Denver just leaned back on the stove carefully and shrugged, even if she was turned away from him. He didn’t care. It made what he was going to say more relevant to himself, and that was kind of all that mattered at that moment. His smirk never faltered as he said, “Sure.” It was simple, and his tone was just as simple, and he hoped it would startle Annie almost. He didn’t want to scare her, but he wanted to make her turn around and face him. He’d rather see her eyes than the back of her head.

When she didn’t, Denny pushed himself to stand next to her and put his hands out in front of him, standing on his tip toes like he was ten instead of twenty two. “You’re right. My lumpy bed won’t be half as much fun as beating you in a pillow fight will be,” he said playfully, at that instant being the Denny that really only Annie herself knew. This Denny was the Denver that was playful, that liked to crack jokes and play games and be the teenager he didn’t really get to be because of the accident. This was the Denver that was nonchalant about pretty much everything and never really got mad at much. This was a stark contrast to the Denver that everyone else thought they knew, but leading a double life for Denny wasn’t anything like it was for that Montana girl. Leading this double life was as simple as being around Annie or not. “Plus, I don’t think we’ve had a sleep over before, so I say let’s do it!”

Now that he thought about it, even if it wasn't late, he was tired. Denver was straight up tired and he didn't really understand why. He was never tired; he could never really afford to be tired as a predatory bird. If you were a tired vulture, you'd miss dinner, and if you missed dinner, you'd go hungry until something else died. It was his nature to be awake and alert, and to get enough sleep every night. Maybe that was why he was tired now; he needed to get to sleep to be awake and alert in the morning. Either way, maybe sleeping over really was a good idea; he didn't know how long it would take him to get home and Denny didn't like flying while even the tiniest bit tired. It left a risk of him falling asleep while trying to flap his wings and plumeting to the ground. That would just not be good.

So when Annie was done fiddling with the dishes, Denny pushed himself away from the sink, still with that smirk on his face. He was just in a smug, almost egotistical mood, which could only lead down so many path ways. But those weren't on his mind; spending the night in Annie's bed with Annie in it too was. There were some things in Denny's life that he could live without, like nights when his sister called and told him how his father never really asked about him. But then there were things that Denny's life wouldn't be complete without, like tonight. Days and nights and endless amount of hours, days, weeks, whatever spent with Annie was what gave Denny meaning and a sense of 'hey asshole it's another day, get the fuck out of bed!'

"I'm about ready to hit the sack now," he said. Denny wasn't sure that his choice of words had been exactly the right thing to say, but he didn't much care. He wasn't really one to watch what he said anymore since the only person that listened was Annie anyway. Simply, he shrugged and moved on to the next thought in his mind which was to turn away and start heading out of the kitchen. He stopped halfway and turned around, looked at Annie like she was going to say something to him. He waited, and just in case she wasn't going to, he spoke up himself. "Tired? I mean, if you're not we can just hang out." He waited for a response before turning around again with a smile, heading off in the direction of Annie's bedroom. Once he found it, he ran and sprung himself onto the mattress, completely screwing up whatever order (or maybe a lack thereof) of the sheets and blanket(s). Again, he didn't care much, so after the impact he just laid back and put his hands behind his head before kicking his shoes off and smiling.

"You're right Annie, this is super comfy!"

lost count -- seren bby/annie duh. -- i made the everything k. -- i like this one :)

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

can't seem to explain
THE SPEED OF MY HEARTBEAT, CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE AND STAY A WHILE

No one could have fathomed the huge irritation that Annie had with herself when she head him just say "Sure". No one could have imagined the level of the conflict that was bubbling in her brain. She was in a huge battle with herself at that moment, and scrubbed at that one spot on this dish a little harder, because she suddenly had this huge urge to just kiss him, and she was pretty sure if she acknowledged it or turned to look at him she would just be overwhelmed by this desire. She bit her lip like that would keep it all in, she shifted her weight like he could tell that she was kind of going crazy on the inside. And she was just struck stiff at how suddenly it had appeared and how strong it was. It left her flailing mentally, in a very un-Annie like way. Because this was something that was so unlike her. Usually she was grounded, even, sarcastic, bitter. She wasn't sure how to react to this new feeling, and it left her lost and confused, and reeling, because there was no experience to back this up. And it made her a little angrier knowing that this kind of thing had been lurking all along, like cancer in remission, and now it was reeling it's ugly head. She didn't know how to react to it, she just... didn't know. So she just concentrated more on what she was doing in an attempt to thwart such a thing because she wasn't even sure that she could admit something as treacherous to her nature as love.

She put things in the dish washer, keeping on keen ear on Denver and another on her heart because this was not her territory, and she knew that she had to tread carefully, and honestly it scared her to hell and back. "Yeah, sure." she mumbled in acceptance to whatever joke he was trying on her, but she was still kind of lost. Only half of her really minded it, the other half was kind of smirking because they knew this was gonna happen all along, that she'd fallen too hard, too fast for him. Although, it really wasn't fast at all, but for someone as sluggish and slow moving, emotionally, as Annie, it was just going way too fast. He came over to the sink next to her, rolling up on the balls of her feet and again she was hit with just a huge wave of how much she loved him. But was she in love with him? What the fuck! Why was she even asking herself that question? She couldn't be because that messed up the order of things, and Annabelle very much liked her current state of affairs. But after she finally caught her breath and he moved away (thank god, she thought her fingers were going to shake; and again she was struck with the stupidity of Annie Windosr being stuck on some guy) she started to wonder if that was really true. She doubted it.

She followed him idly into the next room, but while he jumped on her bed just throwing things everywhere she stopped for a second to brush her hair because it was just bothering her a bit. Small things like that, and being inside and ectera could just get to her more than post people could really believe. When it came to Annie's little quirks you just kind of had to take them in stride because that was the only way not to get caught up in her weird ways. Most shifters pulled off being human pretty well, but if someone were to take the time to study Annie she would be revealed shortly because she was just too anamalistic. She didn't really fit in anywhere, she was a reject among people, a freak among people her own age, a slacker and hermit in the medical world, an oddity among shifters and a sore thumb in her own shifter class; what kind of canine would rather be alone than have a pack mentality? What kind of wolf would spend their time with a vulture? That was the thing; people tended to forget that Annie was mainly a kalak among all things which was more or less a glorified fox with a worse reputation. It was, in short, the vulture of the dog world. It even ate dead things and looked like the reaper himself. And so she fit no where. But here, she fit here. She fit perfectly fine with Denver, and maybe that was why she was feeling so weird about him. Because if he was the only person that she could enjoy, she might as well get all she could instead of just be his friend because then they would both be stuck on that friend field seeing as both wanted more but were unsure how to get it. That would change, she decided. When she turned and say him lounged across her bed (a-fucking-dorably, she might shamefully add) she knew that such a thing had to change. She wasn't quite sure why but her life suddenly felt very fast and out of her hands, like she was going to die at the end of the year and this was one of the things that she had to fix, and soon. And so she would.

She walked over and picked up a pillow that had fallen to the floor in his wake and acted innocent about getting it, like she was just being a good citizen to her bed, or something like that, and then turned and smacked him across the head. Fairly hard. "Pshh, that's what you get for messing up my bed, hoe." She plopped the pillow down and then hopped on the bed, not-so-gracefully rolling across him so she was laying on his other side, kind of smashed up against him. She laughed a little at the idiocy of it, but completely enjoyed it, even if it produced some not-so-attractive sounds. She just liked being so close to him. She laid staring up at the ceiling. "Besides, you sound sort of idiotic." she murmured. And turned her head to kind of study him, even if he wasn't focusing on her. Just memorizing that particular side of his face, like she was setting some goal at that point to somehow get to build an entire map of it in her head, slowly, piece by piece. See him smiling from every angle, laughing, and maybe even crying, just watching in that silent, discerning why she had about her. It made the atmosphere change kind of and made her hyper aware of the feelings she had about him again, and it busted her rips up like all her organs were swelling so big, and, honestly, she would be okay dying at that moment. She had two parts that were stuck in one body, the Annie that she was and the Annie that he made her. The Annie she was wasn't too sure of what was even happening right now. Denny's version just kept repeating this silly mantra to herself, Please kiss me. kissmekissmekissme.

LOTS OF WORDS. OMG IS ANNIE IN LOVE?!

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

What was wrong with him? Why hadn’t Denny made a fucking move already? Oh yeah, because he was scared of ruining what he already had. Was it that great for him to just be Annie’s friend that he wasn’t willing to do anything to move on to the next step? It was already a classic case of best friends falling in love. If he was smart, he would know that. If he knew what love was entirely, he would have made Annie his and only his a long time ago. As far as he could see though, they did need each other. Sure, naturally their animalistic tendencies were to travel with at least one of the same species, but the both of them saw that tendency one way. They didn’t need another wolf or another vulture. They didn’t need to be around anyone else except each other. To him, that was enough even though he wanted so much more. He had to push those feelings back though, and keep the fact that Annie was his best friend, not his girlfriend, at the forefront of his mind.

Denver chuckled when she hit him with the pillow. He’d pretty much been waiting for it as soon as the idea to jump on her bed sprung into his mind. “I deserve it,” he said with what his smirk would sound like in his voice. He was still being smug, and as long as he didn’t get cocky with that, this was the Denver that Annie had created within him. There were only two layers to Denver, as explained before, and the layer that was on the outside now, and the inside, was the Denny that Annie had made. He was positive he’d done the same to her, but he said nothing about it. Denny didn’t even talk about the fact that he wasn’t himself without her around. He thought it would just repulse Annie, that it wasn’t something she wanted to give time to think about. Denny didn’t know why he was so insecure about that, but he kept quiet and enjoyed what she did give him, because anything more and Denny was convinced their whole relationship would crumble.

There was something so wrong about that. Denny should have known.

Having her in the bed with him, having her lying right next to him with her body against his, Denny didn’t know what to do. Sure, he’d been with girls before and it wouldn’t be correct to say he hadn’t had feelings for a girl before. But Annie was different. If he hadn’t been in jail and grown up over a month, he was sure Annie would have been the girl to teach him how to grow up. As disarrayed as she could be sometimes, she had taught him so much. Denny, if he’d known Annie before taking the fall for what his sister did years ago, would have fallen for Annie and her strange antics way before he actually had. He would have let her make him more than just the party-driven, ‘let’s get drunk every weekend’ boy that he had been in high school. But the fact of the matter was that Denny hadn’t met Annie back then. He didn’t love her back then – but he did now. He loved her now. He wanted to be with her now. He wanted what they had right at that moment right now. So what the fuck was wrong with him? He had every chance right there and then to make what he wanted real, and he was passing it up. He was staring at the ceiling, avoiding having to look at Annie at all costs because he was scared.

“Probably do. When don’t I?” he asked. Denny was now half awake and hurriedly feeling sleep creeping up into his mind. There could have been a massive asteroid heading right for him, and Denny still would have fallen into a comatose-like state. Let’s face it; when the boy’s tired, he’s tired. But – what was this? Denny was fighting the sleepiness that was moving over him. He wanted to stay up all night and just watch Annie. He wanted to keep his eyes open and attack her face with his lips, which he’d never do. Not unless he just lost all control of his body and mind and went for it. Not so secretly (at least to himself) though, he wanted to do that. He wanted to let go of every inhibition he ever had and just kiss Annie. He wanted to make her all his, and keep her that way forever. They were practically together anyway, and they spent every waking moment that they could together. Why could he not just turn to her, tell her that he loved her, and get it over with?

He let out a yawn (a real one, not one that people let out to fake going to bed when they don’t want to be up anymore for whatever reason), then turned his head and looked at Annie. She was so beautiful – he’d never seriously thought that before – and she was lying with him. She wasn’t out partying like she should be, like he should be because they were both so young. They weren’t out being with people that didn’t truly make them happy. They were together, on her bed, in her apartment. Denny’s mind was starting to black out, with holes in his thoughts because he was fighting so much against sleep. Still, he knew one thing. There was something wrong with him as a guy if he didn’t want to just take advantage of the situation him and Annie were in then. There was something really great about him being her friend for the same reason though. Denny would never do that to Annie, especially if he was ready to just pass out with her curled up to him.

“Shit I’m so tired.” That might as well have just been him being a killjoy. That came out exactly the opposite way he’d wanted. He would have just been better off without saying it at all, and through the haze that was taking over his mind he knew that. But there was no taking it back and, as far as Denny could tell, he hadn’t offended Annie. He was just saying he was tired; how would that offend his best friend in the entire world that knew him better than everyone else in the entire universe? Still, he sighed before forcing his eyes open again. Almost subconsciously, Denny’s hand moved around Annie and pulled her just a bit closer to him before his eyes closed. He felt good having her that close and getting ready to sleep. It felt right to him, and once he was out it didn’t matter if Annie felt the same way. She could push him off and reject him, and he wouldn’t even stir. It wouldn’t be a personal thing, obviously, it would just be a ‘hey Denny is in a deep slumber and he won’t wake up until he’s not tired anymore’ type thing.

However, he did manage to let something slip out. At least, he thought it slipped out. Maybe it was just in his head, but he knew if it did come out of his mouth it would just sound like a little blurb to Annie. She might have been a Kalak, but he was sleeping. Or almost there, anyway. “I love you.”


1243 -- seren bby/annie duh. -- i made the everything k. -- AWEEE WHAT IS DENNY DOING?! XD

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

can't seem to explain
THE SPEED OF MY HEARTBEAT, CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE AND STAY A WHILE

Annabelle was essentially a loner. She was, at the core, alone, preferring the company of her thoughts rather than anyone else. She made expectations for the best of people though, and she knew that Denver was obviously the best at this moment. He was so close to her, and breathing on her, and to her well-adept senses his breath smelled ungodly sweet, which might seem really weird to some people. But considering that she ate dead things half the time... it wasn't that surprising, okay? Pair that with the smell of just him, in general, and she was just in over her head for the moment. Denver smelled fresh, like air. She guessed that was only fitting, since he spent most of his time in it, but sometimes that kind of thing would just surprise her with it's sharpness, the pungent scent of what she imagined a cloud, or maybe sunlight, to smell like. Yeah, he smelled like the sun, like obsidian feathers absorbing the colors and experience carefully only to dump it on her now.

His arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him, and she tentatively leaned her head against his chest, cautious, and afraid. She scared herself this way because she wasn't sure of anything anymore. But this did feel pretty safe, she would admit. Safe enough for her to dream, anyway. But she knew she wasn't tired at all, all her cells were super charged and she wouldn't be able to relax until she shifted, and she didn't even know- wait. What was that? She back tracked her mental thought, wishing she had the power to rewind time. She was lucky she was so close, lucky that the room was so silent, because other wise she would have missed that last little murmur before he slipped into sleep. I love you. She froze, like she was under a gun. What could she possibly say to that? She didn't know why, she didn't know at all, but she just drew a little heart on his chest with her finger, tracing the pattern on his shirt in the darkness. She looked up at his closed eyes. "I-I...I guess... I think I love you, too." She she kind of thought she did.

She slipped out from his arms then, and quietly rolled off the other side of the bed. Her feet felt watery on the floor, like it wasn't really there, and her steps were unsure. She walked to the other side of the room, slipping off her jacket before she left her apartment. But she turned, and leaned down to kiss his forehead, brushing his ruffled hair back along his forehead. "Yeah. I guess I do."

-

Kalak, funniest thing you ever did see. Some people called them maned wolves, but they're really kalaks, like hyenas, but better because they don't laugh. That way the joke really is on you. They're as cunning as a fox, and twice as pretty, twice as tall. Thin as toothpicks, with pillar like legs that send them into the sky. On second thought, they can't be real, can they? They were. Annie knew too well how real their thin physique was and how it felt to be crammed inside it. Okay, that wasn't doing her russet-haired body justice, it wasn't a curse or a cram, it was better than her real body, and she would much rather just shift all the time. It was easier being in the thing skeleton that walking around in her own. But, honest, Annabelle hated girls that were obsessed with the way they looked. She hated the bulimics and the bingers, and the anorexics. But she couldn't find herself hating anyone when she decided to skip breakfast. She knew a lot about all sorts of bodies, and she knew what was healthy and what wasn't. This wasn't healthy, but she couldn't stop herself. It was like trying to shove a square peg in a round hole, the way she looked at herself. And even though you knew it never did work, it won't work, never will work, the ignorant kid just keeps trying. And Annie couldn't stop herself from trying, though she was far from ignorant.

It's just, what skills did she have? She could shift into the vulture of canines, and she could handle any sort of gore with a smile on her face, but that didn't seem to be any of the qualities people were looking for. So pretty, that's what was left. And Annie was pretty enough. But, not pretty enough, apparently. And there was nothing that she could outright change but her weight. It was something she did subtly, no one seemed to notice, unless you knew her pretty well. But not many people could stake a claim at that.

The entire arguement was null when it came to her shifting; she wanted to spend every waking moment in her kalak body. It was easier, it was sleekier, she was happier. No one looked at a maned wolf and made asumptions. It was just there, the end. No one had to worry about the thing, except wondering if it would steal your lunch. And, rest assured, this one wouldn't.

It was always liberating for Annabelle to be in her shifted form; her muscles felt like they fit better along her bones, She moved better, felt better. She wasn't self conscious about the way her body was situated, she wasn't haunted by bad mistakes she had made, the emotions that she felt too hard. Maybe that was the good thing about being an animal with a small capacity for emotion, thought and brooding. The air stung her lungs fresh and sharp, and she ran as soon as she had slinked past the most open places, charging into the underbrush of places that most other inhabitants of the town wouldn't want to go. Maybe you would have thought she was smart, experienced enough to do such a thing. But she had only been living here for a couple years. It wasn't ignorance either. It was just... running. And most people tended to over think a simple thing like that, she supposed.

-

Annabelle always forgot how cold this state could be until she got back inside her apartment and realized that her fingers were numb and her teeth were chattering. She closed her door clumsily, going back into her room to put her sweatshirt on. And then she grabbed a pack of cigarettes of her dresser and went out to her little patio. Because, stupidly, she missed the cold. She slid open the glass door, and laid flat down, shorts only going half way down her thigh, so her skin hit the cold pavement harshly when she was laying on her back this way. She lit a cigarette, noting that it was pretty hard to smoke it like this, but she didn't really care. She also knew that being the medical student she was, she shouldn't be smoking. She also shouldn't be bulimic. But whatever, to each her own.

She turned her head as the cat walked out to join her, coming and sitting by her side. "Hey...you." The cat blinked at her condescendingly. She didn't even know if someone could blink condescendingly, but that cat did it. "I'm going to call you Cheshire. Because that is one of my favorite fictional cats. There's also Dinah, but you're no Dinah." She sucked in from the cigarette. The cat narrowed it's eyes. "Whatever, Chess. You don't know anything. Do you know what it's like to be kind of in love? Do you know what it's like to be unsure of yourself? Do you know what it's like to be alone?" The cat just stared at her, and Annie took another breath in the silence. "Of course not. You're a cat."

1295 WEEERRRDSSS. ANNIE'S A PUNCK BITCH.

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

He could feel the air moving around him. It was a cool day, and the trees leaned in the direction of the moving wind, which made him tip over to the West every so often. When a really strong wind came by and blew his tree over too far, Denver’s talons let go of the tree branch and he was air borne. His feathers ruffled a bit at the first feel of being in the air with nothing directly below him but more wind, but his frankly large body adjusted quickly. His wings spread to a span that he couldn’t calculate himself, but it all felt familiar. It all felt natural to him. It made the curves of his hard beak turn up a bit into a vicious-looking smile, when really he was purely happy where he was. The air, the sky, the sun, the clouds…all of it made Denver feel right at home. All of it – wait. All of it was suddenly disappearing. Where was it going?

’NO!’ Denver thought. He opened his beak and let out a terrible cry. The sky was literally falling around him, and the trees beneath him were disappearing. They were leaving. The ground was opening under the trees and pulling them all in. Fires were starting all around him and all he could do was fly through the falling pieces of the sky and try to get away from all f the chaos that so suddenly ensued around him. What had he done? All he’d been going at was flying West with the wind. The only place he would have gone before turning around and flying hard against the wind was Port Angeles. Why was that causing his world to fall apart?

Suddenly (again), Denver’s eyes were open. He wasn’t staring at the falling pieces of the blue sky anymore, but rather a quite familiar ceiling. The color wasn’t foreign, neither was the texture. He could see it perfectly, and he knew it was no longer a dream that he was seeing. He wasn’t going to be hit by a falling piece of cloud and pummel to the ground with a broken wing. He knew that he didn’t even have feathers in this body. All he had was an epidermis, two legs, two arms, a mouth, a nose, and two ears, all of which his vulture body didn’t visibly have. His anatomy was different than in the dream, and with that affirmation, Denver realized where he was. His breathing restored when his mind calmed from the impact of what had happened in his dream-turned-nightmare. With that, his eyes blinked and he slowly sat up. His hand instinctively ran across his face while his breathing slowed and calmed. He was freaked out beyond belief, but he needed to get his mind off of the images from the nightmare. He wouldn’t be able to shift all day if he kept thinking about it because all he’d be able to concentrate on is the sky falling and the trees lighting on fire and the ground disappearing into itself. What really freaked him out, more so than the dream, was that he was alone.

He distinctly remembered going to sleep with Annie right next to him. He remembered cuddling up to her, for whatever reason his subconscious mind had. He remembered saying something, but he didn’t know what exactly anymore, and he remembered falling asleep right after that. So where was Annie? Of course, she could have woken up before him. She could be making herself some breakfast or watching TV in another room or something….but when Denver thought on those possibilities, he realized how un-Annie like they sounded. Annie would rather be outside with the cool air on her skin, or her fur (mostly the latter) than inside cooped up waiting for Denver to wake up because he was a vulture and he slept way too much for one human being. Or any being for that matter. Annie wasn’t the type of character to sit around and wait for many people just because they were sleeping, so Denny wasn’t offended. He was just surprised that he’d woken up without her; he’d secretly prayed he’d be able to just once. Obviously, whoever was listening to his prayers didn’t care what he wanted. He just had to deal with it.

When his head wasn’t swimming with reminiscing thoughts of the nightmare mixed with the shock he felt when he saw the empty spot next to him, Denver slid off the side of the bed and stood up. His arms automatically reached up and nearly touched the ceiling as he stretched. His fingers curled down before he pulled his arms back to his sides and finished the yawn that had started when his limbs started their trek in the opposite direction. He looked around the room and took in what he saw (or lack thereof) before moving his feet in the direction of…whatever room was on the outside of Annie’s bedroom. Before he made it al the way out, he saw something. He thought it might be a naked bird or something from the corner of his eye (maybe one of those gross hairless cats he’d seen pictures of before), but when he actually turned to see what he was viewing, he realized it was one of Annie’s legs. Her shorts were way too short for what he knew was the extremely cold air outside, but he didn’t seem to want to say anything to her about it. He didn’t want to be her mother, just her best friend (and really he wanted more than that but he had already gotten past those thoughts for the next 24 hours – or so he thought then anyway).

Denny saw the cat from before out there with Annie. He couldn’t remember if the cat had walked home with them last night or not, but either way it was back, and it was occupying Annie’s time that Denny could use to find himself a bowl of cereal or something, but he wasn’t all that hungry. Actually, even if he was hungry, he would have been in the mood for something……dead, for lack of a better term. He wouldn’t be in the mood for some frosted flakes or honey nut cheerios or whatever. So breakfast was out of the question; because of that, Denver knocked on the door to the patio before pushing it open and walking out. He stood in silence next to the cat for a few long, drawn out seconds before looking at Annie. She was smoking, and while usually he would let her make her own choices, that sort of thing was going to tear her body apart from the inside out. Still, he wasn’t going to comment on it. Annie could do what she wanted, and she would, no matter what Denver said. “Hey,” he said, as boring as he could be. He was still kind of tired from sleeping, which wasn’t unusual for him. He was used to it by now.

“Don’t mean to sound like a creeped out boyfriend or whatever, but I woke up and you were gone. It just kind of….surprised me.” He felt like a disappointed, creeped out boyfriend. Why? Denver wasn’t Annie’s boyfriend. He wanted to be, but he doubt it was going to happen any time soon, if ever. He just needed to shake his head, which he did, to clear his mind. “Sorry, that totally sounded possessive.” Denver sounded really lame. He felt lame, too. He just….he was just standing there making a fool of himself pretty much with nothing better to say than lame shit because he was still in a tired haze. He looked at Annie with a pretty blank stare before sitting down, glad he still had on his black and white hoodie and pants on. It was cold out, which wouldn’t be so bad if he’d been in the sky close to the sun. Above the clouds, everything was warm. Denny liked it there, but he was grounded with Annie. So really, the situation wasn’t too bad – his half-awake mind was just making it seem that way.

He thought about asking Annie for a cigarette, but passed the thought over. He didn’t want to smoke. He didn’t want to be congested while flying because of a stupid stick. He needed to be able to breathe and carry himself without falling, like he had in his dream. The nightmare; maybe mentioning that might help justify his weird mood. Then again, maybe not. He couldn’t figure out what to say to Annie; he didn’t know what was the right thing to say and what wasn’t. His head was swimming again, and soon he had to shake it once more to clear whatever was going through his train station of thought. “I’m just a little freaked out. Had a freaky dream. And then I didn’t know where you were so it just……screwed with my head.”


1495. i think that's the longest i've ever written and not much happens? -- seren bby/annie duh. -- i made the everything k. -- OKAY JUST LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. i mean i like it but. yeah.

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

can't seem to explain
THE SPEED OF MY HEARTBEAT, CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE AND STAY A WHILE

She felt him start walking out. She was like that. When your biggest source of food was dead things, froot loops, or extremely small and agile mammals, you learned to adapt to certain smells and movements. She was more aware of slight changes in the atmosphere than Denver because she was heightened to be aware of tiny footsteps, quick heartbeats and shallow breathing. Something as loud as the lumbering foot steps of a freshly awake young man were something she would easily noticed, and she did. She turned her head as he walked towards her, a lazy motion for her, coupled with the seemingly lazy act of smoking. Which she knew was not a good thing for her, but at this point she wasn't really caring too much about that because she had much worse habits.

She was easily calmed around him, which kind of surprised her, which was a little bit of a big deal because it was weird for someone to effect Annabelle like that. She was normally a calm and collected person, maybe a tad rebellious or maybe stubborn. She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth and pursed her lips slowly, blowing out a smoke ring (and secretly pleased with herself that she could). She blew two or three more as she waited for him to finish up his sentences and then she stood up, letting the last bits of the smoke disapate from ehr lips with almost no effort on her part before she spoke. "Well, you probably had a bad dream because I wasn't there." She smiled at her sad little joke. "I'm like a dream catcher, or some shit." She laughed lightly, because things suddenly felt very heavy on her part.

Annie felt like something amazing had to happen in her life soon. She couldn't help it. Having Denver around changed almost everything about her, and she couldn't really help her. He made her stagnant life feel like it should have some meaning, and she was afraid to fade away, whether it be from him or just life, or just memory, or just history, like she might even forget herself, which might have been a stupid thing to think, but she thought it nonetheless. She looked at the slowy diminishing cigarette hanging between her fingers, and frowned, just dropping it onto the floor of the balcony, twisting it out with the ball of her foot, because there wasn't really that much left and she didn't really mind if it singed her skin a little, because, being who she was, she didn't really care much at all about stuff like that. She took a breath. "I've had a lot of bad habits in my day. A lot of bad habits and a lot of bad people. But I'm gonna change that now." she blinked, and looked down, because suddenly this was a little hard for Annie. But then she looked back up, because she knew she had to. "Starting with you. Starting with you, just good habits and good people." She turned her body kind of away, looking back out at the wiilderness that every part of her body wanted so desperately to go back to. He was the only thing that kept her here, on this patch of humanity. And she remembered why. Because she though she loved him. She licked her lips.

"You know what happened last night....? You told me you loved me."

She paused, suddenly unsure. Suddenly unsure in what may have been the first moment in her life when she ever felt truly vulnerable, like any hit someone took at her right now would have her on her knees in agony, which was totally weird for Annie, and she never would have thought she would have gotten in this situation, but looking back at Denver she didn't know how she could have not gotten into this situation.

"And, damn, I hope you meant it. Because I think I might love you, too."

660 words. pathetic. but it was worth it to end it the way i did.

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

Denny could hardly believe what was going on. Not so much the sleeping in Annie’s apartment, because that was just something he’d already gotten over. But there he was, watching Annie smoke right in front of him as she spoke about starting over…with him. Why him? He was a criminal; what made her be so delusional as to think he was the perfect guy to start over with? And what exactly did starting over entail? Denny was almost scared to know, but not scared in the way that he wanted to hide in a closet and keep quiet. He was scared in the way that he wanted to face this head on and find out – the fear fueled some sort of strength that he didn’t always feel in himself while in human form. Usually, when no one could tell who he was because he was just that pesky bird flying over you, was when he felt this strength, but with Annie in the picture, talking about wanting to start over with him…..it rejuvenated all of the feelings that had died in him when he’d taken the fall for his sister. Annie just sort of had that sort of effect on him. No one else even came close to that.

All of this sounded so nice, it brought Denny to his feet. Literally. It wasn’t a speech made at some seminar or even at some dingy event. It wasn’t lyrics Annie wrote and this wasn’t some poem she’d written for fans or whatever other situation could possibly come up as a substitute for what this really was. This was Annie metaphysically restoring Denny’s faith in him self. This was a testament to how much he’d redeemed himself…at least in some ways. He’d still lied to his parents for his sister. He’d still gone to jail and lied to the whole town for his sister. He’d still lived the life of an after-high-school-education-less criminal because of his sister. His car still got toed and his license still got suspended (thank god that girl’s family hadn’t pressed charges; Denver’s license would have been history!) all because of his sister. And yet, none of that mattered to him. What mattered right there was the feeling of complete happiness with both himself and Annie, as well as what she was saying. She was giving him everything he’d lost in just a few words and……man did it feel good!

Denny was so caught up in this extraordinary feeling, that he almost missed what Annie said next. Thankfully, his hearing was not only attuned to small noises, but it was also attuned to anything Annie said practically. She was the only person he really listened to anymore, so his hearing picked up whatever it could that she said, directed to him or otherwise. Thanks to that tune, he did catch what she was saying, and in an instant his face went from a huge smile to a tiny, pulled in expression. What? He did not say that. He couldn’t have. He didn’t remember telling Annie that he loved her! He didn’t even remember thinking it – even though he knew it was true and he knew that all the time regardless of really thinking about it. Therefore, he couldn’t lie and take it back. Denny couldn’t lie to Annie; she knew him better than that….and he wouldn’t ever lie to him. Couldn’t if he wanted to, I bet you. He could try to hide it and move on to another conversation, but he doubted that was possible with Annie. She wasn’t that type of girl with him.

Still, he couldn’t figure out how he’d let something like that slip out. Denny was so scared of what Annie would think if he’d told her that. He was scared worse than he was before; he was scared now in the way that he did want to hide. He wanted to keep his face from the world because hey, he was a guy and hey, he confessed an emotion to a girl he cared about almost too much for her own good. He was utterly defeated, with nothing to do and now his guard wasn’t just down, but it had been completely thrown off. He could sigh and huff and puff all he wanted but…the truth was that the truth was out. He couldn’t really do much else except become a fish out of water – or rather a vulture out of the sky.

“I-I.” He couldn’t even say anything else. Denver was literally speechless, and his mind was running out of reasons why. He couldn’t just come up with some bullshit excuse for saying what he’d said, and he couldn’t just blame it on being tired. He knew he meant it, and he knew he’d regret it if he took what he’d said back. Again, he was utterly defeated. Things would change, he knew that, but this time he was really scared of that. What if she was bringing this up to laugh in his face? If she was in one of those moods, he wouldn’t put it past her, regardless of how close they were or not. Denny knew how unpredictable Annie could be in the mood, and with the right fuel she could take something so little and make it a huge deal. But maybe Denny was just blowing it all out of proportion. Maybe she was just brining it up to refresh his memory – but Annie wasn’t exactly a mind reader. Sure, she knew him well, but she wasn’t inside his head. Denny had thoughts – or at least he’d had thoughts – that he didn’t always share with Annie, and for the most part she didn’t know what they were. But most of those thoughts were in her hands right then and there, and that scared Denver shitless, for lack of a better term.

But then again, she’d said that. Did she really? Was Denny really hearing this? Could Annie really be doing all of this….positive emotional stuff to him all at once? Maybe she really was serious about starting over and…..maybe Denver really was ready to go along for the ride. In fact, he knew he was. He was ready for a clean break, a new start, also. Maybe this whole thing could help him….you know, get over the feelings he’s lived with since being in jail. Regret, jealousy, easy irritation, longing to be more. Maybe now, Denver could move past all of – wait did Annie just say she loved him? Here he was, focusing on himself, and Annie had just told him that she loved him. His mouth, which had turned from a smile into a flat line, was increasingly widening again. He must have looked deranged, but he didn’t care. He felt like a little kid again, and to him that was a huge ordeal. Being a shifter wasn’t even thought of yet; flying was like a past life; the accident had been millennia ago. Everything was relative tot hat moment, right there, with Annie and their confessions that were now both in her hands. And Denver was pretty sure the world had just gotten ten times brighter.

He didn’t know what to say, so Denver just stepped closer to Annie and ignored the cat that was poking at their feet. He didn’t care what the fur ball did, so long as he got this fucking moment. “Have I ever told you anything that I didn’t mean, Annie?” Now that Denny had gotten to think about it, even in the slightest way, he couldn’t think of anything. He’d always (at least tired to be) one hundred percent honest with Annie. Obviously, all of it was worth it, just like he knew it would be (just like his mother had always told him). Denver stepped closer yet again, as close as he could get, and he thought about taking her hand. For a moment, the overwhelming scent of her cigarette invaded his personal space but…he didn’t care. Annie had just told him she loved him, and the night before Denver had told her that he loved her. Smoke remnants were like the flying for him then; even if it was a part of who he was, it was so diminutive right then that it hardly felt like the Denny he was feeling like. “Didn’t think so,” he said, and with that he grabbed Annie’s hand and totally surprised himself by leaning in and (seriously) kissing Annie.


1409. -- seren bby/annie duh. -- i made the everything k. -- again lemme know what you think. um yeah i liked it XD

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

can't seem to explain
THE SPEED OF MY HEARTBEAT, CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE AND STAY A WHILE

Annie was taken off guard as he got closer to her, and she had to catch her breath, and look up at him with big eyes. Was this really happening? She bit her lip, and tried her hardest to stay stuck to the spot because now instinct was taking over impulse, and she wasn't really sure which was stronger or which to follow. Closer, closer, closer still. She didn't know what to do about it, so she just let her lip slide out from between her teeth and tried not to start breathing too hard. Didn't think so. And then he tucked her hand into his and started to kiss her. Really kiss her. And, honestly, Annie didn't think she could get enough. She couldn't think of the last time she had ever been this close to someone, in more ways than one. She wracked her brain harder and she couldn't think of a time when she had been closer to anyone ever. Because she was just so infatuated with Denny at this moment, and she really knew that she should tell him about everything that had ever gone wrong or had ever gone right in her life but she wasn't sure how to say it. And it was terrible, because he was more than truthful with her and she just wasn't done keeping secrets yet.

But this, this was better than anything Annie could ever remember, seeing as she couldn't even think of a thoughtful kiss to date. And maybe that's why she hadn't really had any issue with more or less selling herself, because she didn't really care about intimacy, or see anything intimate about it at all. But having Denver holding her like that, and kissing her like that... it changed everything. In one moment, everything changed, and she suddenly felt very, very nasty. She felt like he should be holding her at the end of his arm, as far away as he could, because she was not a good girl for him, or anyone. But then she knew that he would think differently, because he considered himself a criminal, which he wasn't. Sometimes Annie thought he got too wrapped up in that mind set and started to treat himself like a fugitive, which he wasn't. He was a good kid, he was sweet, maybe he had a harsh exterior, but if you happened to crack through that outer layer he could be one of the best things to ever happen to you, as she was now discovering.

She made herself get over it though, made herself get over it with the feeling of friction sparking on her lips, she made herself forget with the feeling of his hand around her's, she made herself forget when she wrapped her hands around his neck, she made herself forget when she kissed him back more seriously than she had ever really given anyone else the time, the feeling. All ehr reserve was here for Denver, she was here for him, she realized. She knew she probably would have been out of here a lot sooner if it hadn't been for him. She realized that Cape Cod would have been a meer memory in her large brain full of other menaingless times in her life. but he wasn't meaningless. He made her feel different, and she really loved it, she loved him, she knew now, she knew.

When Annie needed her breath, she pulled back just a little, but stayed close to him because he was nice to have around, and she leaned her forehead against his collar bone, just taking a deep breath of his scent which washed over her like a salty spray, the ocean just a block away. She chuckled a little. "I bet I taste nasty, like cigarettes and dead rabbits. Sexy, right?" She was tired, to, she hadn't slept for a while, but she didn't want to let this moment go, because it was weird for her. It was weird that she knew him so well, he was so open. Denver knew almost everything about her, he knew her quirks, he knew what got to her, he knew so much about her habits and traits. But what did he know about her history? Little to none. She was sorry for that, but for now she wasn't sorry enough to change it.


like 700. had writer's block alskjdalksjdlkajd. enjoi.

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

Of course she would bring something like that up. It wasn’t ruining the moment, Denny knew, but just Annie’s humor. Cynical, he’d call it on any given day, but not in an evil way. Actually, at that point it was quite comforting. He liked her humor – cherished it, even, because it was some of the only humor he had in his life. So it made his smile return to his face after the…..magical, for lack of a better, less cheesy term, feeling of the kiss lingered. He was incredibly happy, and there was no other way to put it. Finally, he’d made a move on Annie, and even thought hat sounded so typical of a guy, it was true. There was no one on the planet that Denny cared for more than he cared for Annie; no one in the entire universe. When it came down to it, all Denny really had was his shifting and Annie. He didn’t care if she’d been rolling around in the dumpster by the market or if she’d been spending her day in the forestry around the apartment. She was always perfect and beautiful and so completely…..mind consuming to him. Even if she was in those moods where he didn’t know what to think, all he wanted was to be around her. Either there was something so wrong with that, or Denny was just….he wasn’t even going to think about it.

The fact of the matter was that he’d grown balls enough to fucking kiss Annie. And now, with her head against him, it was really sinking in. He’d kissed his best friend, and part of him was freaking out. What if he’d ruined their friendship? Friends that end up together don’t ever become just friends again – but then again maybe because of his and Annie’s relationship, that didn’t matter. They were already too different from their neighbors and fellow Cape Cod dwellers. What if the fact that he’d kissed her was good, and not destructive to what they have – or what they could have? Well, then Denny had pulled the right move, for once. For once in his life, he was completely proud of himself, but he wasn’t about to let that pride get the best of him. Cocky wasn’t his thing; brooding and reserved was. Cocky was never his thing, and it most certainly wasn’t around Annie. That was a good thing though, because it kept them both at ease with each other. They could be around each other without worrying about one of them being high on themselves.

Of course, that was just another reason Denny found himself thinking that Annie was pretty much perfect for him. He hadn’t really been out to turn their friendship into more because of the fact that he didn’t want to loose Annie for good, but he always sort of just knew….they fit well together more so than anyone else he’d ever met. He’d never met, and never would meet another person like Annie ever. He liked that thought. He liked the thought that they were both shifters, but he couldn’t quite explain why. He just…..pretty much liked any thought of them together. How he’d gone from freaked out wreck to this…almost lovesick piece of mush in that little amount of time he didn’t know, but Denny liked it. It was a new side of him to him, and it made him feel less like a criminal and more like an actual being. He couldn’t say human being because he was a shifter, but that much was obvious then. He didn’t need to be a human though – he just needed to be right where he was, with Annie as close to him as she was.

He chuckled at her comment. His tastes were different from a human, most definitely, and the taste of dead animal really didn’t bother him anymore. Maybe at first it had, when he’d first had the craving outside of his vulture structure. But now? After years of having been a shifter? Not even the scent of dead, rotting flesh bothered him. In fact, that smell kind of drew him in to eat, as gross as that sounded. It made his mouth water and….the taste of dead animal from Annie really hadn’t even fazed him. The cigarette after taste he could have lived without, but really the taste of the animal was more……there to him, if that made any sense at all. His senses were just that much more attuned to that taste. “Ah, doesn’t bother me.” He said it so carelessly that it almost sounded like he just didn’t care. Well, he kind of didn’t, but just not in the way that he didn’t care at all. There was too much emotion right there, to much right in front o him to not care about something.

“I probably don’t taste too much better.” It was another situation that could just be shrugged off, because it was simply the fact that the last thing Denny had consumed was pasta, and he hadn’t brushed his teeth or anything since then. He probably just tasted just as rancid as Annie thought she did to him, but hey she’d let her kiss him. If she really didn’t like it, she’d force him to use his finger to brush his pearly whites, and Denny would do it. Not because he was scared of Annie, but because, at that point, his throat was starting to burn with bad breath. “I haven’t even touched the mouthwash in your bathroom this morning, so you got a mouth full of night-old pasta and morning breath.” Though he didn’t want to ruin the mood of the morning, he also didn’t want to make Annie feel like she was the only one that felt gross. He wasn’t a jerk, and he would never make Annie feel that way intentionally. “So….yeah sorry if that totally repulsed you,” he said, sort of half-smiling at the thought. He didn’t know what was so funny about it, but Denny couldn’t help with the face.

Suddenly, the urge to get out of the apartment and just be out with Annie came over him with such a force that his foot moved a bit. He sighed a bit and said, “I think it’s about time we found something to do today. But first, mouth washing!” With that, Denny took Annie’s hand, because there was no way he was going to let her out of his site for the time being, and headed back into her room. He looked at the bed and realized that the night before, he’d told her pretty much his deepest, darkest secret, and she’d….actually returned the feelings. It made him feel amazing; it made him want to say it again, but he wasn’t sure if now was the time. Stop being an asshole. She’s probably waiting for it. Denny shook his thoughts off and just looked at Annie. “I think you got it but I did mean it last night.”



1166. -- seren bby/annie duh. -- i made the everything k. -- i think it got a bit rambly but i love the ending. (: anyway. hope you like it bby <3