Chương 5: Full Moon

Steam still clinging to his skin, Crimson bursts from the bathroom wrapped only in a towel, just as the question hits:"Is this a party… or a date?" Aqua's voice snaps him upright, heart skipping. His mom stands there, keys dangling like a dare.

"Maybe a little of both," he shoots back, lunging for them, but she yanks them away.

"And her name is…?"

"Willow Ash." The second the words leave his lips, she tosses him the keys, with one loaded look.

"We don't need the talk, do we?"

"Mom, I am not having the safe-sex chat with you."

"I meant keep the tank full, idiot!" Aqua snaps, suddenly wide-eyed, already reaching for the keys again... But it's too late. Something's happening to Crimson's head. And it's not just nerves but he managed to get it back to normal. Down the block, their voices echo with the same sharp clarity Crimson once caught eavesdropping on schoolyard chats, every word slicing through the air like it was meant to be heard.

"Hell no, nothing's happening. I'm not signing up for some reality TV circus starring a pregnant sixteen-year-old."

"Relax, Mom. I've got it." Less than a hundred yards out, still close enough to keep the house in view, a shadowy figure lingers beside the open door of a sleek black Dodge Challenger, silently tuning in… Autzee Tale.

Crimson rolls to a stop in front of Willow's house, gripping the wheel, pulling in deep, shaky breaths. He grabs his inhaler, gives it a quick shake, stares at it like it holds answers, then hurls it into the backseat without a second thought. The front door creaks open. She emerges under the golden halo of the streetlamp, breath-taking, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face as she strides toward the car. He freezes, still inside, jaw slack.

then jolts into action, fumbling out of the driver's seat to yank her door open like a startled gentleman. Inside, the drive kicks off in total silence. Thick. Heavy. The kind that presses on your chest.

"Mind if I turn on the radio?" she asks.

"Yeah, sure, wait, no. Sorry. It's busted. Been meaning to fix it," he says, catching the flicker of confusion in her eyes.

"No big deal. Can I play something anyway?" He blinks, confused now himself, until she pulls out her phone, cranks the volume, and sets it on speaker.

"Not bad," he says, genuinely surprised.

"I mean… you've got taste." The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"What?" she shoots back, grinning.

"You think every girl just blasts Lady Gaga all day?"

"I do," Crimson mutters quietly. She stops, studies him, and bursts out laughing when she realizes he's serious.

"Same," she says, smiling wide. Then, softly, her hand finds his on the console. Fingers lace. Crimson fights a grin, tries to play it smooth, but fails. Miserably. For one electric moment, nothing else matters. Everything clicks. It's perfect.

Doors burst open on every side as teens spill out from sleek Range Rovers and glossy BMWs, converging on Scara Hall's mansion where music thumps so hard the windows shiver. Crimson and Willow hit the front steps just as the door flies wide, revealing none other than her new best friend, grinning like she's been waiting all night.

"Well, look who finally showed up, the star player and my newest favourite person. Was starting to think you'd miss the party." He freezes, caught off guard. Instinctively, he checks over his shoulder, surely she means someone behind him. But no. Scara's laser-focused on him.

"Bar's by the pool," she says with a wink, swinging the door open wider, inviting them in. Dazed but buzzing, Crimson lets Willow pull him across the threshold, into the pulse of the night.

Teens flood the poolside, spilling over the yard in a pulsing wave of laughter, drinks, and smoke, some already lost in the haze. He moves through the chaos with Willow at his side, but Crimson freezes mid-step when a sharp bark cuts through the noise. Next door, beyond a flimsy chain-link fence, a massive Rottweiler snarls, laser-focused on Autzee. The dog's hackles are up, teeth bared, until Crimson turns, eyes locking onto the beast like a silent command. The bark dies instantly.

A flicker of movement, a near-invisible nod from Crimson, and the hulking animal cowers, tail tucked, sinking obediently to the ground. Cool, composed, Crimson pivots back to find Willow staring.

"You good?" she asks.

"Huh? Yeah… yeah, I'm fine." But when he glances back, Autzee is gone. A shadow darts across the pool house roof, vanishing behind the chimney. Crimson stumbles back, pulse spiking. Did he just see someone leap twenty feet like it was nothing? Nothing there now. Willow reaches for him, hand outstretched. He exhales, forces a smile, and takes it, letting the moment slip. They sway into the rhythm, bodies closing in as the crowd pushes them together. Heat builds.

His arms slide around her waist, her cheek grazing his. For a heartbeat, it feels like everything could change. Then, Scara. Dancing with Larch, grinding hard, fingers knotted in his hair. She pulls Larch in, lips crashing against his in a fierce kiss. As he responds, hands sliding down her back, she opens her eyes, locks onto Crimson. And stares. While Larch trails kisses down her neck, she holds Crimson's gaze, unreadable, electric. One girl has always been overwhelming. Two?

He's paralyzed, until the shifting tide of dancers pulls him back, alone with Willow once more. Their faces hover close. The world narrows. A kiss feels inevitable. Then, the beat surges. Faster. Harder. It thrums like a heartbeat on fire, his heartbeat. Sound swells, lights flare, his breath turns jagged. His fingers dig into Willow's shirt, veins rising on his hands. A flash, a sharpened tooth as his lip twitches upward. Sweat beads at his temples. His body tenses like a coiled spring. He jerks back.

"Sorry… I… I've gotta go."

"Crimson, what's wrong?" No answer. He's already gone, vanishing into the house, leaving only silence in his wake. Pain hits Crimson like a sledgehammer, suddenly, violently, pinning him against the wall inside the pulsing party house. His jaw locks, body wracked with tremors as the world blurs around him. Nearby, Rowler's waiting her turn for the bathroom when she spots him.

"Crimson? You okay?" No reply. Crimson shoves forward, carving a desperate path through the crowd, eyes locked on escape. Bodies part as he surges toward the front door, and in one explosive move, he bursts out into the night. When Crimson turns the corner, he glances up to the sky where the full moon shines brilliantly in the night. Gasps now starting to sound like animalistic growls, he reaches his mother's car. Just getting the keys from his pocket seems an almost colossal effort.

In a flash, the car peels away from the curb just as Willow emerges from Scara's house, scanning the street, Crimson is nowhere in sight.

"Willow." She spins around to find Autzee striding toward her, voice low but urgent.

"I know Crimson. Name's Autzee, I'm on his side." He moves into the glow of the streetlight, revealing eyes so dark they seem to pull her in, intense and impossible to ignore.