Luna

"I'M SORRY," I ADD and his face drops.  Theo's arms remove themselves from my waist and he steps back.  The hurt on his face makes my throat tighten with guilt.

"No?  Why no?  Did I do something wrong?"  I shake my head and step toward him.  He takes a step back just as I do and he continues, "Was it because of what happened at the hospital?  If it is, that's pretty damn hypocritical don't you think?"

I ignore the jab as the timer on the microwave goes off again, interrupting whatever he was going to say.  I take the chance to step towards him again and he let's me stand close to him.

"No, it's not anything like that.  I'm saying no because I'm not sure about my feelings for you."  He's ready to defend himself, but I hold my hand up.  "I can't tell if I like you because of you or our history.  I want to be sure I'm not jumping into a relationship with you because you're the only thing left from my old life."

"So, you were just kissing me because you miss your family?  Because you don't have any feelings for this Theo?  Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, Luna."  He rolls his eyes.

The timer goes off again and I open the microwave door in frustration.  I check to see how hot the chocolate is by pressing my fingers to the side of the cup and set the timer back to a minute.  Slamming the door shut and starting the timer, I turn back to Theo.

"Of course it doesn't make sense!" I can't stop the shrill in my voice.  "When has anything in my life made sense?  I just want to be sure about how I feel about you!"

Theo pulls me into his chest where our breaths mingle from the shared frustration.  Keeping a strong arm around my waist, he lifts me up so my toes are barely skimming the floor.  His lips brush against mine, but he makes sure they don't make contact to tease me.  The pounding of my heart is in my ears, and I can hardly hear his voice over it.

"If you're not sure how you feel about me, listen to your heart.  You hear how it's pounding and how it does that every time I put my hands on you?  And when I kiss you?  That's how you feel.  Stop using your head so much."

My feet are flat on the ground as he sets me back down.  Then, he removes himself completely from me, taking the warmth with him.  The timer goes off and I'm forced to pay attention to it this time as he walks out of the room.  I groan and finish making the hot chocolate that should've been done ten minutes ago.

I carefully carry the coffee cup filled with a mountain of little marshmallows, whipped cream, and chocolate chips into the living room.  As I hand it to Corey, he looks very thankful for the interruption from whatever was going on in here.  By the awkward way Lydia is standing behind the chair and Theo with his muscular arms crossed over his chest, the silence must've been horrible.

"I really hope you like it," I say as I watch him take a sip.  His brows shoot up in surprise.  "It's bad, isn't it?  I'm sorry."

'No, no," he disagrees when I go to take back the cup.  "It's really, really good.  The chocolate chips are a great touch."  He smiles appreciatively up at me to ease my worries.  The smile doesn't last long, but I'm thankful for it.

"Let's take a look at your neck," Lydia suggests.  Corey places the cup on the table and sits straight up.  She peels back the cloth and finds his neck completely healed.

"It healed, didn't it?" Corey asks.

"Yeah.  Completely," Lydia agrees meeting my gaze.  Corey gets up from his seat and turns to face us all.

"Okay, then.  It's been fun.  Especially the part where a werewolf forced his way into my brain with his claws."  He makes a move to walk out the door and Theo and I move to follow him.

Theo speaks first, "I don't think leaving is such a good idea, Corey."  The boy turns around, but he's clearly agitated.  "You know, Lydia's a Banshee."  Theo motions to the red headed girl.  "It means she can tell when someone's close to death.  Lydia, what happens if he walks out that door?"  He shoots her a look that she immediately picks up on.

"It's bad.  Very bad," she says, not at all convincing as she steps around the chair.

Corey scoffs, "I'll take my chances."  Darting for the door, all three of us follow after him.

"Then, give us a better chance at finding our friends," Theo compromises.  "What else did you see?  Come on, Corey, there had to be something else."

"There was the hospital and.. they took me outta my room."

"And then where?" Lydia asks, shifting closer to Corey.  I move to lean against the wall to make room for her.

"The tunnels.  Like I already told you.  That's it."  Corey grasps the door handle, stopping when he hears Theo speak again.

"Yeah, nothing after that?" Theo asks accusingly.

"No."

"Well, there has to be more.  Think.  Corey, for one minute, just-just think."  Theo urges desperately.  It's a different side to him I don't remember seeing before.

Corey sighs, staring down at the floor as he tries to remember what he'd forgotten.  After a few seconds, realization dawns over his face and I notice.

"What is it, Corey?" I ask, leaning closer.

"There was a basement," he states while meeting our stares.

Lydia asks, "Where?  Like, in a building?"

"A house.  It was old, covered in dust and.. there was a broken stone wall with a large hole in it.  Like a bomb went off."

"Lydia, the werewolf with the talons," Theo turns to her.  "The one who attacked Scott.  Didn't Parrish say that he smashed through the wall of a basement?  Wasn't it something like that?"

"No."  The place coming to mind, she looks up at him.  "It was exactly that."

"Where is it?  I'll go there right now," Theo says, already making the necessary steps to the back door.

I yell to him, "I'm coming with you!"  Too giddy to hide my excitement at the new found information, I turn to Corey and grab each side of his face to force a kiss on his forehead.  "You're awesome, kid."

Leaving him with a surprised, yet amused, expression, I take off after Theo.  Jumping into his Toyota truck, we peel out of the driveway.  Lydia texts him the address and we drive there in awkward silence.  Unsaid words hanging in the air as we focus on getting to two teenagers stuck in a basement. 

The truck stops in front an abandoned, creepy house that was most likely built in the early 1900s.  I glance at Theo to show my disgust, but he's already slamming the door shut and jogging into the building.  I'm quick to follow him and catch him disappearing down some stairs when I pass the threshold.

"Liam?  Hayden?"  Theo's voice echo's up into the room I have to cross from the front door to the basement.

"Theo, wait!  Don't!"  I hear Liam yell before the sound of electricity and there's a grunt following after.  My feet carry me down the stairs faster, almost tumbling down them in the process.  "Theo?  Theo?  Theo, you all right?"

I spot Theo on the ground when I jump off the last step.  Without thinking about it, I'm on my knees beside him with one hand on his shoulder and the other gripping his hand.  His entire body is still and he's not responding to our calls.  I lay my head on his chest, my ear where his heart should be and I focus my hearing to find the sound of his heartbeat.  When I hear the first couple thumps, I sigh in relief.  I run the hand not holding his through his hair and to the side of his face, rubbing the padding of my thumb over his cheekbones.

"Theo," I say softly, but there's no stopping the crack of panic that trembles my voice.  "Theo, you need to get up."  His eyes begin to flicker behind his eyelids and he shakes his head as he starts to come to.  "Theo, are you okay?  What happened?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.  The gate is electrified," he grunts.  He stands up on his own as the pain recedes.  I stand with him, and we examine the gate.

"You think you guys can get help?"  Liam asks, standing with an injured, dark-haired girl I am just now noticing.

"We are the help," Theo states.

"How are we going to op-" I'm interrupted as Theo grabs hold of the chain linked fence and starts pulling it open.

The electricity crackles as Theo interferes with its current through the gate.  Sparks are flying everywhere as the rest of us cower away from them.  I can hear loud grunting turn into roaring as the shock runs through every part of his body.

And when I'm standing there, watching Theo rip open the gate that's keeping the two young werewolves enclosed, I notice just how much I like this Theo.  The guy who is willing to put himself through an electrical shock to save people he barely knows.  The same guy who killed to protect the lives of the people around him.  Theo, who's been trying to help me move on from the worst night of our lives and move on with mine.  He was right when he said my heart sped up every time he touches me, but it's not only then: it's when he smiles, it's when he laughs, and it's when he stares at me with that glint in his eye I can't ever figure out.

I want to be with this Theo.

Once the door is open, Theo and I shuffle in to stand by their sides.  I look over Liam, lifting his chin up and side to side to see if there was anything bleeding out, almost like a mother.  I move his arm so I can check out the rest of his body, but it seems everything had healed like it was suppose to.  Theo does the same to Hayden, only less thorough.

"Luna, I'm alright.  I heal, remember?"  Liam reminds me.  I send him a glare.

"I was worried about you guys."  I look to the girl who I have yet to introduce myself to.  "How are you doing?  Everything okay?"

She shows me the gash on her side without saying anything.  I unintentionally cringe at the sight of it.  Giving her an empathetic pat on the shoulder, I point to the stairs with my other hand.

"Let's get you out of here."  Each one of them nods as Theo and I lead them out of the room.

The couple holds onto each other, as if afraid they'll be pulled apart if they let go.  The sun is gone and all that's left is the night sky as we walk to the truck.  Theo and I help Liam and Hayden into the truck and shut the door behind them.  Theo walks towards the back of the truck so he can get into the driver's seat, not even glancing at me.

"Theo," I say so low I'm surprised he hears me.  He stops at the corner of the truck's bed.  I get slightly closer, but leaving a good amount of space between us.  When he doesn't answer, nor look at me, I continue, "I was really worried when you weren't responding after grabbing that gate."

He taps the truck agitatedly, "Well, that's what happens when an electrical current shoots through your body."  He walks farther around the truck and I chase after him.

"I put my ear on your chest to make sure your heart was still beating and when I heard it," I bite back my emotions, "all I could think is 'thank god I didn't lose you, too'."  He meets my eyes this time, but they're scrutinizing me.  "And how I never want to lose you," his blue eyes are cold, "but I might already have."

"Yeah," is all he says as he walks away.  In a desperate move to stop him, I grab for his hand and pull it.  The unexpected touch makes it easy to turn him around into me.  "Lu-" I interrupt him by putting my lips on his.

My arms move to wrap around his neck as he stands stock still.  I don't move my lips, waiting for him figure out whatever he needed to figure out, whether he still wanted to be with me.  Although, I don't know how he could've changed his mind about me in these past short hours.  I don't have to wait long, he's quick to win the battle about what he wanted.  With his strong arms, he lifts me in the air so he doesn't have to bend down to kiss me.  I focus on his lips and how they fit almost perfectly on mine.  They're still just as soft as the first time they'd touched mine, and the taste of tangerine on them is better than the original fruit.

The kiss stays soft, but it's passionate to say the least.  When we finally pull away, I lean my head back to run my eyes over his face.  My fingers brush over his bottom lip as we stare at each other with so much affection, I'm dumbfounded that it's even possible for two broken people to have.

I whisper, "I want to be with you."

He smiles and pecks my lips once.  Then again.  Then again.  And again.  He continues until I'm in a fit of giggles.  Once satisfied, he plants me back on my feet.

"It's about damn time you made up your mind."

"It's literally been two hours.  If anything, I probably should have let you suffer for a few days."

"Mhm," he pecks my lips again.  "You wouldn't've been able to stay away from me that long."

"Hmm, you're probably right."  I laugh as we part to get into the truck.

〰〰〰

Liam and Hayden fall asleep on Scott's couch as we wait for him, Mason, and Malia to get back.  Lydia had texted them right when she saw the four of us walk through the door.  Corey had left soon after Theo and I did since we'd gotten the information we needed from him.  Hayden's side had healed once Liam was able to take her pain.  I was leaning into Theo, my arms wrapped around his torso and my face buried into the center of his back.  I was beyond exhausted after being up for the past two days straight, and I hadn't ate since last night.

The sound of the door opening makes me straighten up.  Scott, Mason, and Malia walk in as Lydia covers the sleeping teenagers with a blanket.  Scott visibly relaxes once he sees them.  Theo walks around the chair and pulls Scott into a hug he wasn't expecting, but returns none of the less.  When they let go of each other, Theo moves onto hug Mason and Scott makes his way to me.  Sharing a tired smile, we wrap our arms around each other.

"I'm glad everyone's okay," I say under my breath.  He just nods as he pulls away.  Mason's next to hug me, and I accept happily.  I see Malia pull Theo in for a hug over Mason's shoulder, but I'm too tired to care.  When he let's go, I'm sure that's it.  Until I see Malia walk towards me and pulls me into a hug just as she did for Theo.  My shoulders slump and I wrap my arms tightly around her slim body, happy she was finally okay with me.  Theo takes her place when she pulls away.  I lean against him with my eyes closed.

"I'm gonna get her home," I hear Theo's voice rumble through his chest.  "Is it alright if her truck stays in your driveway?"  If Scott says anything, I don't hear it.  My feet swing up into the air as Theo picks me up with one hand tucked under my knees and the other around my back.  The last I remember is being placed onto rough seats and a truck door slamming shut.

Hey, guys!  Sorry for the late update.  So, many of you were upset or surprised by the ending of last chapter and I hope this chapter calms those feelings lol. What did you guys think about the chapter?  Leo is now official! Do you guys thinks its been rushed or is this moving at a good pace?  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please vote or comment what you think!
- chelsie

word count: 2758