Decisions Ch. 11

"No problem," He replied, preparing to head back upstairs before stopping. "Hey Chris, do you remember what bus the swim team was on? I completely forgot."

"I have the list on my phone," I said. "I think it was Bus Ten. It's the one decorated with water stuff."

"Thanks." Viktor replied.

"Why did you need to know what bus the swim team was on?" Stasi asked.

"Huh? Oh. Abby's going to need help getting off the bus with her wheelchair. I think she's the only one that trusts me enough to help her with the chair. She gets super embarrassed when it's anybody else." Viktor explained.

"How nice of you," I said. "She's lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have her." Viktor admitted, heading back to the top deck. I smiled at his words before turning to Stasi. She was already looking at me, her crystal blue eyes boring into mine.

"That's a recurring theme," I mused.

"What's a recurring theme?" Stasi questioned.

"Luckiness. More specifically, how lucky I am to have you."

"I'm the lucky one." She said, smiling softly at me.

"No, I am." I argued.

"Nyet. It's me. If I didn't have you in my life, I'd probably be wallowing my own self-pity." She shot back.

I made to reply, but my voice faltered. What would happen if we didn't have each other in our lives?

I was so dependent on her to hold me up and be my other half that I never once thought of where I'd be without her. I'd probably be finishing up my senior year at Jefferson, for starters. It was closer to home than Belcourt. But, that was superficial thinking. Would I still be the same Chris as I was now? Instead of donning the royal blue, would I instead be wearing the blood red for the DTOSA Advocate Group? (DAG)

What about Stasi? What would she be doing? I was her only friends growing up (as she was mine, which showed how close we were.) If I never came into her life, what would she be doing now? Would she still be the same kind-hearted, beautiful, intelligent woman that she was now? Or would she be wasting away inside her room, trapped and isolated from the world?

There were so many ways that my life could've turned out, some better, some way worse.

I'm glad these were the cards that were dealt to me. I liked them.

I liked them alot.

"Lyubov?" Stasi sing-songed. "Are you spacing out on me again?"

"What? Oh, no. I was just thinking."

"Thinking?" She asked.

"Yeah, thinking. By the way, let's settle it at we're both lucky because I'd be wallowing in my own self-pity right now if you weren't in my life either."

"Spravedlivost." She giggled. "I love you, Chris."

"I love you too, Stasi. Always have..." I said hopefully, brushing a few tendrils of raven hair away from her eyes.

"Always will." She finished. I drew my head down to her, giving her soft lips a quick and chaste kiss and tasting strawberries. It was all we could do in public. Some people in the bus were already looking back at us. It was still enough to take the both of our breaths away.

"What did Principal Finch say she wanted us to do again?" Stasi asked.

"She said to see her when we're near the end of the route." I told her.

"Ugh..." Stasi groaned. "Let me re-apply some sunscreen."

The whole reason Principal Finch wanted us to see her when we were near the end was so she could authorize the bus driver to let us disembark and walk the rest of the route, hand-in-hand. The large crowds attending the celebration rally were going to be able to see us. It was a pre-planned show of unity between nonhumans and humans.

Even though a small part of me never wanted the parade to end and to bask in the feeling of euphoria forever, a big part of me was happy that we were close to finishing. I was tired, sleepy, and wanted nothing more than to go home, gorge on my mom's food, have a big bowl of ice cream, and to cuddle in bed with my best friend and pass out from a food coma.

Preferably after making love, but given my current state, that was optional. Just her presence was enough to make me content and happy.

We walked to the front and I tapped on Principal Finch's shoulder. She was holding court near the front of the bus, entertaining some of the more 'important' guests. When she saw us approaching, she interrupted the slime to talk to us. Even though the slime woman must've been irked, when she saw who we were, that irritation went away in an instant.

"Are we near the end already?" Principal Finch asked.

"Yep. Viktor just told us." I replied. "Do you want us to disembark?"

"Disembark?" The slime woman simpered. "Elmyra, are they going to walk the rest of the way?"

"Yes, they are Molly." Principal Finch replied, standing up. As an elf, she towered over us with the height and elegance of a very tall runway model. "Are you two ready?"

We both nodded our heads. Principal Finch smiled softly. "Good," She declared, clasping us on the shoulder. "I'll tell the bus driver to stop. You two enjoy yourselves when you get out on the street. Remember, these moments are your life. Be proud of what you have accomplished and what you are to accomplish later. We are all proud of the both of you." She gestured to Stasi. "Some more than others."

"Hey," I complained, making Stasi giggle.

"I'm only jesting, Chris." Principal Finch said, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You make us all proud as well. Only slightly though." She turned her head to the bus driver, a goblin, and nodded her head.

"These two will be disembarking." She said stiffly. Her distaste for the goblin driver wasn't lost on me.

"Aye," The driver grumbled, slowing the bus to a halt. He pressed a button and the door opened with a hiss of air. "The bus will move with you two so try not to walk slow. We're late enough as it is. If you feel the need to get pampered or your feet get tired, just hop back on."

Stasi started sputtering angrily at the goblin's rudeness, but I simply interposed and cut her off. I never had good experiences with goblins. To me, they were all rude little midgets. Of course, that'd be racist if I thought of them all that way, but it wasn't like goblins were doing anything crazy to try and change my opinion.

"Thank you." I said cordially. "We really appreciate this."

"Off." The goblin commanded, before turning back to looking at the road so we wouldn't see his crooked grin. "So I can tell the other drivers that I had Chris Williams and his girlfriend on my bus."

We disembarked from the bus, stepping off onto the street to a huge ovation. The people nearest to us gasped, then cheered, screaming their approval that echoed on both sides of the street. With our free hands, we waved and acknowledged the crowd before we intertwined our fingers and began the walk to the end of the parade route, showing everyone that humans and nonhumans could co-exist peacefully (and in our case, lovingly)

Even though I was looking forward to a moment like this in all my years of playing sports, it was bittersweet. Not only were the circumstances of the win capable of leaving a bad taste in my mouth, I hadn't received any offers from college or the next level... much less Stasi and I's shared dream of UCLA. I wouldn't even know where I was going to college until the very end of March.

I could've possibly played my last few minutes of hockey and football this year and the chances were very real that I was never, ever going to play another down or period of the sports I grew up playing ever again.

"Are you alright, lyubov?" She asked, peering at me curiously. It was kind of cool how much we were in tune with one another. She knew something was wrong with subtle body language... kind of like how I know if something's wrong with her body language.

"Yeah, don't worry." I replied, forcing a horrible, crooked smile.

Stasi squeezed my hand with her cold one.

"You're going to play again, lyubov." She declared, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek that was cheered on by numerous onlookers. "Ya znayu, chto vy budete."

******

It wasn't a far walk to the end so Stasi and I got there in about fifteen minutes. We were smiling so much that our cheeks hurt. In fact, we weren't just smiling for the flashing cameras. We were smiling because we were together. I was with my girlfriend.

My vampire.

Once we arrived at the Pacific Mall, we were quite surprised to see it decked out in Belcourt colors. Who could blame them? The Pacific Mall was the only sanctuary for "non-humans" to congregate, truly relax and be themselves. It was a no-brainer that they'd want to take pride in their local school's achievements. But, if we wanted to be true to ourselves, we weren't just a school. We were a symbol and banner for our people.

Our people...

Why would I say our people if I was human?

I ask that question to myself all the time.

Actually, a lot of questions were getting asked of me at the moment. So many in fact, that I was beginning to feel a tension migraine. As a politically and socially upheaving event, human and nonhuman reporters were hounding as many students, players, teachers, and passerbys as they could before the trophy presentation. Stasi and I tried our best to slip away into the Mall so we could hide and enjoy our time together in the place where we grew up running amok in, but it was to no avail.

Once they caught sight of us, they were like harpies. They sank their talons in and didn't let go.

"Mr. Williams," A reporter screeched, holding out an audio recorder to me. "Congratulations on your win. Do you have anything to say about the team not being invited to the Governor's Office, as is tradition?"

"Uh, you know..." I replied, wincing as a camera flash went off right in front of me. Not only did I probably have a stupid face, but the sudden flash of light was enough to make my head pound. "Governor Lawson is entitled to have whomever he likes in his office."

"Would you have attended if the team had been invited?" The reporter pressed.

No, I wouldn't have. As a matter of fact, I'm sure the majority of our team would've boycotted the visit. Governor Lawson's policies against nonhumans in the state of California were racist and borderline vile.

"That's a good question," I replied bluntly. "Next."

Stasi laughed melodiously next to me, making the corner of my lips turn up in a smile. I was channeling my inner Anton Sokolov. As an intern in his office, he always warned me of Stasi and I's impending popularity as symbols of the Nonhuman Civil Rights Movement and showed us a few tricks to answering questions without really answering them.

I tried them on my parents with positive results. When I tried them on Stasi however, I just ended up having a beautiful, angry Russian vampire on my hands.

"Christopher," Another reporter shouted, catching my attention. "In the championship game, a fight broke out between Viktor Sokolov and Garrett Jones. Do you have any comment on such a tarnish on an otherwise great hockey game?"

"Things got a little heated," I explained. "One thing led to another and it got a little physical."

"Was it race incited? Did it have anything to do with Viktor's species? Are vampires becoming too violent and out of control?" Another reporter asked.

"No, no, and definitely no." I retorted, squeezing Stasi's hand. "To anyone who assumes that, they obviously know nothing about how passionate people can get about sports. It's a hockey game. It's supposed to be physical. It wasn't race incited nor did it have anything to do with species."

"I have a questio-.." A reporter began, shoving a microphone in front of my face before Stasi finally snapped. She saw how I was getting more irate and ratty under the combined factors of being under microscope and having a migraine build up and her protective instincts kicked in.

"I think that's enough," She said cordially, tightening her hold on my arm. She was wearing her bright, fangy smile. "We have to get good seats for the trophy presentation."

"You're right." I said, withholding the fact that our spots on the stage were already reserved. "Thank you all for your questions." I let Stasi steer us away from the reporters in the general direction of where the stage was being set up, sifting through the growing crowd.

The Mall was filling up with a bunch of people, all of them migrating from the parade route. We got a lot of looks as we walked past, no doubt because of our jerseys. In fact, I was shocked to find that there was a constant stream of little kids coming up to us, holding out balls, hockey pucks, and scraps of paper, asking for them to be signed. Somehow, by a miracle, Stasi was carrying a pair of colored Sharpies in her bag.

Even though our feet were aching and we were tired and we didn't even think we were that important, we couldn't stop ourselves from happily signing and personalizing anything the kids wanted us to sign. It was something that required little effort on our part, but could potentially make an everlasting memory for the kid. Why not do it?

Finally, the flood of kids slowed into a steady trickle and when Stasi saw me grimace in pain from my migraine, she looked at me concerned.

"Is your head hurting?" She questioned.

"Ny-..." I began, but she cut me off with a death glare, baring her fangs. "A little," I admitted. There was no use lying to her about it. She'd see right through it in an instant.

"A little or alot?" Stasi asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at me.

She stopped walking and turned to me. I was still captivated by her beauty. Her pale, porcelain skin was shiny with the sheen of rubbed-in sunscreen. Her long raven hair, as black as midnight, had small bits of paper confetti in them and her expressive and bright blue eyes conveyed happiness. Her smile was accentuated by her large fangs. She was the epitome of perfection.

And she was right under my nose disguised as my best friend for fourteen amazing years.

"Chris," She sing-songed. "You're staring."

"I know." I admitted. "I just can't help that you're so beautiful."

"Oh, what am I going to do with you, you dork." She replied, punching me gently on the arm. "You're so sweet, you're giving my fangs cavities. Now, answer the question."

"What question?"

"How much is your head hurting? A little or alot?"

"A lo-..ittle." I said.

"Lo-ittle?" She giggled.

"A lot... yet a little. It alternates." I confessed.

Stasi nodded, caressing my cheek affectionately. "After the presentation, I don't care what we're supposed to do, I'm taking you straight home, zaichik."

"I won't fight that. I won't fight that at all." I said, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her towards me for another soft kiss that had the both of us reeling. I didn't even care if we were in the middle of crowds of people or being distantly followed by a shadowy Coven bodyguard. All that mattered was her. When we finally broke it, we were both breathing rather heavily.

"I love you, Chris." She whispered happily, resting her head underneath my chin and wrapping her arms tightly around me. Even though we said those words often, I never got tired of them. In fact, hearing them was enough to make any gloomy day instantly brighter.

"I love you too, Stasi." I murmured softly, holding her tight to me and reveling in the feel of her ample bust crushed against my chest. We were in our own little world, simply happy and content, no, not content, something better than content, with each other. It was something common that happened with Stasi and I, where everything faded away except each other when we were this close.

Who would've known that I would've been fallen in hopeless love with someone that wasn't even my own species?

"Awww! Look at the happy couple!" Elena exclaimed, skipping over to us and attracting a few looks from parade goers looking to get good spots for the trophy presentation. Despite her shattering of our little moment, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to see Elena. Just seeing the spunky little ball of gleeful vampiric energy was enough to make anybody happy. "I knew you two couldn't have kept your hands off each other!"

"Damn it," Stasi grumbled, reluctantly letting go of me and turning to her little sister with a peevish look on her face. "Shouldn't you be somewhere? Like getting good spots for the presentation with mama and papa?"

"Nope!" Elena replied. "Belcourt students and families get their own roped off section. All the other plebs have to stand around us."

"That's not polite to call them plebs." Stasi chastised.

"Sorry," Elena said, even though she probably didn't mean it. "I just can't believe that they're going to be mixing nonhumans and humans in the seating. You would think that they'd seperate us to avoid having fights break out." She shrugged. "Anyways, what have you two been up to?"

"We've been hanging out," I said. "Doing stuff, you know."

"Right," She bobbed her head furiously. "Stuff. Was kissing each other a part of doing stuff?" When she saw us both blush madly, she laughed evilly. "Oh you two, never ever change."

I was about to reply and try and change the subject, but Stasi beat me to the punch.

"What did you do to the back of your jersey?" She tutted, swiping away at the dirt that was accumulating on the royal blue fabric. "It's gryaznyy."

"Huh?" Elena asked, looking over her shoulder. Now, it was her turn to blush. "Oh.. I was uh... making confetti angels on the street... with Eric."

"Confetti angels?" I asked. I didn't really care who she was doing it with. I was just wondering what the hell was a confetti angel? Were they like snow angels, except out of the confetti on the ground?

"Don't judge me." She scowled, blowing her blonde hair out of her face. "It was a perfectly good idea. It just had bad execution."

"I wasn't judging." I said. "Confetti angels aside, how'd you even find us?"

"Easy! I followed."

"You followed us?"

"Nup!" Elena shook her head, her blonde ponytail flying in both directions. "I just followed your bodyguard over there. He's really discrete. No, but actually, I just came to get you guys. The trophy presentation is going to start soon and Principal Finch is going to honor you two, remember?"

"Oh, that's right," I smacked my forehead. "Come on, let's head back, Stasi."

"Right behind you, lyubov."

The hockey team was given their own little private area to hang out in as they waited for the trophy presentation. Each player was going to be individually called up to the stage as a way of honoring them individually.

Making our way back to the hockey area, it was clear that all the attendees were migrating to the stage for the trophy presentation. The crowd was noticeably less dense and it made it easier to walk. As a result, we got to the area in minutes. It was a large multi-room tent, holding the entire team. However, just as I was about to walk through the unroped area, Stasi dug her heels in.

"What's up?" I asked.

She gestured to the sign. I looked at it. It said: 'Hockey Players Only'.

"So?" I asked.

"I'm not a Khokkeist." She giggled, exposing her smile-accentuating fangs.

"You heard Coach Butler the other day," I retorted, walking around behind her. I placed my hands on my vampire best friend's back, pushing her forwards. "You're as much of a hockey player as I am!"

"Chris, no, no, no! Stop! I'm not a people person," She yelped. "STOP!"

I only pushed harder. In truth, she completely was as much of a hockey player as I was, if not more. She was the sole reason I found myself motivated to play, giving me a kick in the butt or a kiss on the cheek when I needed it. She was my doctor, my best teammate, my trainer, my nutritionist, my number one fan, my best friend, my lifelong companion, and the love of my life. Everything I ever did on the ice and on the football field was because of her and for her. My very own vampire girlfriend.