Decisions Ch. 07

Good thing Stasi wasn't as unpredictable as I was.

Stasi's face lit up and her mouth hung open, revealing her elongated fangs. "For me? You got pancakes in bed for me?" She asked, shocked. "What for?"

"Uh... I've just... it's Christmas." I said, dumbly, hoping that it'd explain everything. When it was clear that it didn't, I continued, walking to the edge of her bed. "You know, I just... I love you and all so I thought that you'd want to have a great start of your day. You used to say that chocolate pancakes were your favorite. It's ok if they're not! I can eat them, I just... thought it'd be nice to surprise you." I was stumbling over my words and I had no idea why. She was my best friend and I was suddenly finding myself tongue tied!

Stasi held out her hands and took the plate, looking at it with astonishment and delight. It certainly looked appetizing. It looked like the advertisement pictures at IHOP, except this time they actually came out looking like the advertisement pictures! Stasi took a deep inhale of the steamy meal. Then she did something I didn't expect. She sniffled.

"Woah!" I said, alarmed at the fact that she was crying. "You don't have to eat them if you don't want to! I can just go back and make someth-..."

"Nyet, dummy!" She cried, her blue eyes watery with tears of blood. The only way those blood tears came out was when she was really distressed, really sad, or really happy. Now, I'm no psychologist, but I think it was the third one. "I just... I woke up ten minutes ago feeling like crap. Then you come in and surprise me with this! I can't believe you remembered that I love chocolate chip pancakes. I can't believe you did this, for me!" She set the plate down on her empty night stand and threw her arms around me, pulling me down to her. "Chris, I love you!"

"I... uh.." I replied, overwhelmed by her reaction. "I... mmph!"

She had moved her hand to the back of my head and gave me one of the most toe-curling kisses I ever had from her. It made my mind feel fuzzy, my brain turning to complete jelly. When we finally came up for air, Stasi stared at me, her chest heaving. Neither of us made the move to separate. "Oh... I shouldn't have done that." She murmured to herself.

"What? Why?"

"Because now I'm in the mood and my parents are downstairs." She giggled, planting another kiss on my jaw. "Maybe if we... no, too risky. Screw it, let's eat."

"For once, I'm going to agree with you on that." I laughed, sitting down on the bed.

Call it teenage hormones, our fairly large libidos, or whatever you liked, but we never could get enough of each other. However, now was not the time to for that. We respected both sets of our parents enough to not get up to anything while they or any of Stasi's siblings were in the house.

I watched Stasi getting ready to dig into her breakfast. Except she didn't. She simply studied it like a biology specimen, her eyes darting all across the plate.

"What?" I asked, nervously. Was she suddenly allergic to maple syrup? "Is something wrong?"

"No, zaichik. Everything is perfect. It all looks so good." She admitted, giggling. "But, where's the fork?"

"Chert." I swore, which made her giggle even harder. "I'll be right back." I didn't realize that I swore in Russian until Stasi pointed it out.

"Watch your language." She teased at my retreating back as I hustled downstairs to grab a fork and come back. I couldn't believe I forgot the fork!

Within minutes, I was back on the bed flush against Stasi once more, the both of us sharing the breakfast in bed as the sun began to filter in through her window. It was quite a good way to wake up, our backs against the headboard and her thick blanket on our laps, the stack of chocolate chip pancakes in between the both of us.

"So..." Stasi began, picking up the last piece of pancake with her metal fork and popping it into her mouth.

"So..?" I repeated, nudging her with my shoulder. "What's up?"

"What'd you get me for Christmas?" She asked, with a bright smile on her face.

"I was supposed to get you something for Christmas?" I asked, innocently.

Stasi bared her fangs and lightly punched me on the arm. "No! But it'd be mightily appreciated if you did. Ugh, just say it, lyubov. I'll tell you what I got you if you tell me what you got me."

"Hm... that sounds like a tantalizing offer." I lead her on. There was no way she was going to find out what I got her until it was time to unwrap her gift! "Nah, I'm fine." I decided, tossing a strawberry into my mouth. "Unlike you, I actually have patience!"

"Chris!" She wailed, adorably. "Can you please just tell me?"

"Nyet." I replied. Stasi pouted, giving me the puppy dog look. It certainly looked like a puppy dog... except puppy dogs don't have fangs.

"Please?"

"No." I said, wavering only slightly.

"Please...?" She drew this one out, sticking out her bottom lip.

"N-no." I replied, my voice faltering.

Like a predator stalking her prey, Stasi closed in for the kill. She edged closer, her lips centimeters from mines. "Please?" She asked.

"Fine, I'll tell you." I relented.

"Really?" Her eyes widened. "You will?"

"No." I laughed, pecking her on the lips. "I've known you for all my life. You're my best friend. I know all your tricks!"

"It was worth a try." She huffed, picking up the empty plate and setting it on her nightstand. "That was a really good breakfast, Chris. It made my morning." She gave a content sigh.

"Want me to go make some more?" I offered.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks, zaichik." She planted a kiss on my lips. "I owe you breakfast in bed one of these days."

"You don't owe me anything." I said, firmly.

"Maybe not, but I'm still going to get you breakfast in bed one of these days. A free breakfast in bed. Not a coupon breakfast in bed." She replied. The coupon book that she gave me for my birthday had a 'breakfast in bed' voucher that I was going to save until I was feeling really down.

Stasi nuzzled her face in my chest. "You always find a way to spoil me, don't you? Your blood, your food, and your love. It's only right that one of these days, I spoil you for once." Her hand, which was resting on my waist, began to snake itself down to my groin. "In more ways than one." She said, mischievously.

"Stasi... your parents are downstairs... and awake." I pointed out, despite my heart and body yelling for me to shut up.

Stasi sighed, closing her eyes. "I know. I wish we had the house to ourselves. Then, I could just slip my head under the covers. " She said, regrettably, pushing the covers away. "I need a shower if I'm going to fully wake up."

"I got the dishes." I said, picking up the dirty plate. "Or... dish, rather."

"Thanks, lyubov." Stasi said, stretching as she sat up. I swear, she did it that way on purpose. The way she thrusted out her breasts and exposed her pale tummy. She caught me staring and flashed me a teasing smile. "Like what you see?"

"Are you fishing for compliments?"

"What if I am?" She challenged.

"Then I'd tell you that I like what I see. Very much." I replied, making her blush and bite her quivering lip. "I love what I see, in fact. It's the most beautiful sight I've ever seen."

"You silver-tongued devil, you." She replied, before looking at my erection with a wanting look in her eyes. "We're going to have a raincheck on that, ok?"

"You know it. " I replied longingly, watching Stasi's tight butt wiggle as she hopped off the bed and scampered to the bathroom, yelping as her feet made contact with the cold floor.

Laughing, I carried the plate downstairs as we began to get ready for what was going to be a very eventful Christmas.

Chapter 2.5:

I had to drive home to get ready separately from Stasi. The outfit that she had meticulously picked out for me was still in my closet. I had forgotten to bring it over. Much to my dismay, I couldn't have my parents bring it over since I forgot my phone at home too! Of course, I could've used Stasi's phone to call my parents, but I kind of didn't want to go the entire day without my phone in my pocket. What if I got kidnapped by aliens and didn't have my phone on me?

So, it was with that in mind that I bid goodbye to the Yulia and Anton, telling them I'd be back before noon. I said goodbye to Viktor and Elena as well, who were both gorging themselves on the pancakes that Yulia and I made. I gave Stasi a quick kiss, told her I loved her and that I'd be back soon, and then I took off.

I was shivering by the time I pulled up to my house. My car heater had decided to break... right in the middle of winter. Sometimes, I hated my car, the beat up BMW that had managed to somehow keep running, but most of the time, I loved it. It had character.

"Stupid goddamn car." I mumbled, twisting the knob and trying to get the heater to work. No dice. I hit my head on the steering wheel, my forehead making a dull thud as it impacted the freezing leather. I made a mental note to call Ricky and have him come over to help me take a look at my car. That guy was a complete gearhead. He loved to work on cars.

I opened the door, the light coming on in the interior as the sensor activated. Hey, at least that worked! No one ever hurt their eyes looking on the bright side. I chuckled to myself, closing the door behind me and walking into my house.

"Is that you, honey?" My mom called out as I closed the door to the garage.

"Yeah!" I called back, rubbing my arms and willing the blood in my body to start thawing and flowing again. I walked into the living room, finding my mom and dad sitting on the couch, enjoying their morning. "Hullo, mom. Hullo, dad."

"Hello, stranger. What are you doing in my house?" My dad replied, a glint in his eye.

"Oh, quiet you." My mom said. "Hello, Chris."

I turned my attention to the TV, gesturing to it. "What are you guys watching?"

"CNN." My dad replied.

"Oh yeah? Turn up the volume... please." I added, after my mom gave me a look. She turned up the volume on the remote, the Asian reporter on screen speaking.

"-ment. South African officials are calling the incident the most deadliest and sophisticated terrorist attack in the city of Cape Town in years. The two bombs struck during the middle of the Christmas parade, turning a celebration into a bloody scene of destruction."

"Jesus." My dad mumbled, when he saw the soundbite of the attack. It was fuzzy and shaky, showcasing a street with people running around in every direction. Two large plumes of smoke rose in the distance. I nodded mutely, still watching.

"Hospitals report at least 200 being treated, scores in critical condition. Many of the patients, children." The reporter continued.

"They said it was a bomb?" I asked.

"Bombs. Two." My mom replied. "Honey, why don't you turn the TV off?"

"Hang on a second, I'm trying to hear." My dad said.

"The C-10 Counterinsurgency police unit have warned civilians to be on the lookout for two lamias in connection with the attack. Both male and female. The man was seen with a black backpa-..." My mom shut off the TV.

"Hey, I was watching that." My dad complained.

"Yes, well, now you're not." My mom frowned.

"What's C-10?" I asked.

"No clue." My mom answered before my dad could. "How was Christmas Eve with Annie? Did they go to sleep late?"

"Yes, how was Christmas Eve with Anna?" My dad grumbled.

"We all knew this was going to happen once Chris admitted his feelings for Annie! He has a right to spend Christmas Eve with the girl he loves. Isn't that what you did when we were in high school?" My mom reminded him.

"Woah, what? You guys never told me that story." I said, a grin spreading across my frozen features despite what I just saw on the TV. I hoped my teeth didn't chatter too much!

"Oh, you don't want to hear the boring old story of how I met your mother." My dad said, giving my mom a kiss on the cheek. "But me? I'd relive it all over again if I could."

"As would I." My mom said, happily. She turned to me. "Here, I'll get the ball rolling. Your father chased me all throughout high school. It wasn't until junior year that I finally decided to give him a chance. It was going to be a date at a diner. I expected to last only 30 minutes, but as it turns out, the high school running back that I thought was an imbecile, turned out to be quite the conversation partner."

"Hey!" My dad complained. "It wasn't my fault that I had a crush on you. You had to have been the smartest girl in our year. But, I don't think you're giving him the full details! If I remember correctly, it was you who was obsessed with me! Why, I remember after our third date, you we-..."

"Bye." I said, flashing the peace sign and turning around to go upstairs. I loved to hear my parents go off on their anecdotes, reliving their lives at my age. Except... some of those details... some of those details are better left unsaid!

"Chris, where are you going, I'm getting to the good part!" My dad exclaimed.

"No, you're not!" I shouted back, making the both of them howl with laughter. "Even though I'm an adult now, I have limits as to what adult material I can absorb!" I walked upstairs to my room, closing the door softly behind me, my brow furrowing. What was C-10? I swear I heard it before.

I booted up my laptop, stripping off my jacket and tossing it on the bed, beginning to change.

By the time I had finished putting my outfit together, my laptop had finished its startup process. I opened up my internet browser, typing in C-10 into the search engine. A few results came up and I clicked the first one. The result took me to the actual government website, detailing everything about it. It turns out that C-10 was a South African Police counterinsurgency unit, directly equipped to help and accommodate other species.

"Accommodate." I scoffed, making a mental note to ask Anton about it.

Despite South Africa ending it's state of Apartheid, racial discrimination against blacks in 1991, it still existed... just with a different group. More like a different species. The system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination, not unlike the DTOSA, was still prevalent. Although they were similar, the DTOSA had a policy of 'separate, but equal'. Apartheid was simply just separate. Other species were forced to live in separate areas from humans and use separate public facilities, and contact between the two groups is strictly limited.

Such a small country, yet such a large problem. Atrocities were committed by both sides. Yet, the entire world seemed ignorant. Stasi and I had Anton to thank for teaching us and keeping us informed of what went on outside of our world. Maybe sometime in the future, they'd use the country as an example, to show how far racial discrimination and hate can escalate. To realize that, how senseless such a conflict would be and how narrow minded it is to judge by what someone is.

It kind of put perspective into things, didn't it? I thought that we had it difficult here. It was nothing compared to what was going on over there. We actually had rights.

We.

There goes we, again.

I'm a human, aren't I? I should use they... but that'd be wrong. I could never use they consciously. By using they, I'd be implying that they're different. They're not. They're just like my parents, me, Coach Freddy, and Mrs. Speers. They... no, not they... we all have a heart. Everybody has a heart. We bleed, like I do when I have a rough time on the field or ice. We think, like Stasi does in excess when she encounters a problem. We love, like our parents. We get angry... like Edward Banks, the man who threw the brick at me (The court date was still being decided).

My eyes roved all across my desk, settling on the picture of Goren Virven, scowling back at me.

And.. we all get hurt. Some more serious than others. But, we all get hurt.

Doesn't that make everyone the same?

Chapter 3:

"What is the anterior cingulate cortex?" I read aloud off my phone screen. "What the hell is the anterior cingulate cortex, Jazz?"

"Hell if I know. I'm not a neurosurgeon." She replied, furiously typing away on her phone. "Wait... I think I got it. It's a cortex... that's situated somewhere in the anterior part of your body. It's also cingulate."

"No way!" Lucy gasped, all eight of her eyes widening in faux astonishment.

No way, indeed! The more you learn everyday!

We were all huddled in Stasi's basement, playing a party game on our phones. When I say we, I meant Jazz, Lucy, Stasi, Ricky, Elena, Viktor, and me. The idea behind the game was answering ridiculous trivia questions. The catch was, the multiple choices we're given included the correct answer, as well as a bunch of incorrect answers which were provided by the other players. So, for example, if the question "Who is the coolest guy in the room?" showed up, "Christopher Williams" would probably be in there somewhere, along with whatever else anyone playing decided to toss into the mix.

I tapped out my answer, submitting it. 'A part of your body that regulates brain function.' I watched enough of Grey's Anatomy with Stasi to know that the cortex had something to do with your brain.

"Hurry up, Ricky." Viktor complained. "What's taking you so long?"

"Stop rushing me! Geez!" He submitted his answer. "There!"

"Ok... let's see the answers." I chuckled. I tapped my phone, the list of answers popping up across our screens.

"What kind of answer is 'Idk bruh lol, it's christmas'?" Lucy giggled. "Ricky, was that one you?"

"No, I swear! Why do you guys always think I do that kind of stuff?" Ricky scowled, defensively.

"It was me." Elena giggled.

"See!" Ricky cried, triumphantly.

"Who said that the anterior cingulate cortex is a muscle in your knee?" Stasi laughed. "You're not even thinking of a muscle. It's a ligament. Doesn't everyone know that it's called the anterior cruciate ligament? Hence the term, ACL?" I looked around the room, examining everyone's faces. Everyone looked normal... except someone.

"Shit.." Ricky mumbled, making me spit out my water in laughter.

"Ew!" Jazz yelped, slithering away from me.

"Sorry." I coughed. I wasn't surprised that he got the question confused with an ACL. ACL tears, aside from concussions, had to be the most common injuries in football. When you tore your ACL, it meant your season was automatically over. No butts, no ifs. It was completely over.

I scrolled through my list of answers once more, before deciding on one. 'A part of your brain' sounded about right to me. I paid enough attention in the anatomy section of biology to know that the cortex was... somewhere in your brain. I selected it, waiting for everyone to finish.

"Stasi, can you hurry up, darling?" I asked.

"Didn't you tell me earlier that unlike me, you actually had patience?" She rebutted, her eyes roving all over the screen.

She had me there.

It didn't take long for everybody to finish selecting their answers and our results showed up. I stared at my screen in shock. I lost my first place to Lucy!

'VIK GOT YOU!'

When my screen said 'VIK GOT YOU', it means that I fell for his answer because I thought it was the right one. Instead, it was a fake answer provided by another player, hence the 'got you' part.

"What the hell?" I exploded, shrilly. "The answer was a brain region that monitors our actions and checks for answers?! Are you kidding me?! I picked the same thing!"

"Technically, the more specific answer is usually the right one." Lucy said, in an attempt to be helpful.

"It was still the right answer... technically." I grumbled. "Man..." I tossed my phone onto the carpet, picking up my empty plate and standing up. Stasi looked up at me.

"Where are you going, lyubov?" She asked, with a teasingly arrogant smile. "Are you just mad that I'm catching up in the leaderboards?"