Chapter 17

Crow's POV-

I nearly sprinted up the stairs, a small grin on my face. I placed Raven on my chair, where she curled up. Noah was looking at me curiously, no doubt having heard the entire conversation between my parents and I.

"Don't forget to leave the door open," Noah said, confirming my previous thoughts. He had a knowing smirk on his lips. He must really be feeling much better, but any kind of vocalisation or expression of humour would've been an improvement to how he was feeling and acting earlier. I didn't want to imagine what he would've been like if he had a normal healing rate, it would've been an extremely hopeless time.

"Well, you're doing better," I teased and made a dramatic point about keeping the door open. I then bent down and picked up the bloody shirt which I threw hastily into my room. "Nevermind," I muttered before putting it into an old plastic bag, that wouldn't be getting any more wear, so it would probably be best going in the bin.

"I'm not so sure I'm feeling better, to be perfectly honest." Noah had a frown on his face, and his words were slow. "I don't feel any pain at the moment, but I feel very annoyed. Everything seems so intense and I'm not sure if it's to do with vampirism or if it's because of what they did."

I moved to sit on the edge of the bed, right by Noah's feet. Raven jumped on my lap as soon as they saw I was sitting. "And you didn't feel like that before?" I asked softly, stroking Raven's head. "Vampires do have enhanced emotions and senses."

"I remember that," Noah said with a nod. "Extremely vividly actually." That last statement was more of an afterthought. He then began to stare somewhere above my head. He had a lost expression, like he was searching for answers or memories which weren't there. Then a darkness fell over him.

I turned to look at what he was staring at, but there was nothing there. I supposed that he was just lost in thought. "Noah?" I asked softly. "You are practically an open book to me, what are you hiding?"

Noah sighed. "I feel strange. I don't know how to describe it. I don't know what happened to me, but something doesn't feel right. I feel as though I'm a stranger to my own body."

I nodded and continued to listen. I knew what it felt like to feel a stranger to yourself. When I first became a vampire, I had to change all of my habits and routines. When I used to have volume at level four, I now had to have it on volume one. I had to change my sleeping schedule, to practically be non-existent. I felt like I wasn't Crow Clawdon anymore.

"Anyway, how did you know where I live? You didn't stalk me, did you?" He was teasing me, obviously, but it still caused me to feel flustered. I didn't know if I should be concerned about the fact that he didn't sound at all serious, or whether I should be grateful that he didn't suspect me of being a stalker.

"I wouldn't call it stalking, in the traditional way at least." I tried to not make it seem as weird as it clearly was. "I just followed your scent, and if that's considered stalking then I've been doing that since I saw you in the town. Arguably the night before too." The more I talked, the worse that it sounded.

"Yes, I would consider that stalking." Noah shifted a bit, wincing as he did so. "But I suppose it was helpful stalking, life-saving stalking, I'll let it go." He was quiet for a moment before groaning. "Oh god, you've seen my house?" he asked, his expression flooded with embarrassment.

"Yes, I was in the house, so I saw it. I didn't go around your house with my eyes shut." I tried to joke, but I understood where his insecurities would be coming from. In comparison to Noah's house, mine was lavishly decorated. "Though, I should ask you not to return to your house for a while, for obvious reasons." I didn't want to say the reason, because either of my parents could hear. I also thought that it would be an unspoken agreement that he wouldn't be going home anytime soon.

"Yeah, I don't want to go home." He sank further into my bed, fidgeting with the sheets. He looked and sounded so vulnerable, It reminded me that this situation wasn't right, there was something big going on, and we were now involved in it. Noah shouldn't be looking weak and vulnerable in my bed.

"Trust me, there's no harm in you staying here or at the hotel," I tried to be reassuring. It wouldn't be the same for Noah, and I knew that. He was so used to being independent, that it would be difficult for him to be in someone else's house.

"Thank you," Noah said hastily. "I really appreciate it." He was staring at me, which made me feel slightly self-conscious. I tried to ignore it, and keep stroking Raven, but his gaze was piercing. "I don't blame you, you know?"

"Pardon?" I asked, despite having heard him correctly the first time. I tried not to let my shock show on my face, but I knew that he could read me nearly as well as I could read him.

"I know that you still blame yourself over what happened," Noah said. He slowly moved down the bed, so that he was closer to me. He then pushed himself up, swaying a bit. He moved his fingers a few times before letting his legs drop over the side of the bed. "I don't blame you. After what I've been through, I know what it was like. You wouldn't have been able to control yourself, and I was your best option."

The closeness between us was extremely distracting. "I know, I've tried not to worry but I can't help it. I can't go on like this. I feel awful each time I do it. But I've got no choice." The words were flowing out of my mouth beyond my control. More and more emotion was being thrown into each utterance. I felt the walls that I'd built, falling one-by-one, along with the tears which fell steadily and suddenly.

My ramblings were interrupted when lips met mine. The strange taste of blood, tears, and sweetness filled my senses as my brain shut down. It was a moment of understanding and expression. The emotions that we felt were like sparks radiating off each other, before fusing and creating an explosion. I had read all about first kisses in many works of fiction, but nothing could've prepared me for this.

I was faintly aware of a flashing light from our right, but I ignored it as I fell forward. Raven's weight moved off me as Noah fell backwards, our lips still connected. We didn't need to pause for breath, but I had to pull away and stare at him. It had both drained and filled me with so many emotions.

"That was..." I trailed off. I didn't know what to say. It was like no word could describe how wonderful that was, but I wanted to use all of them at the same time. We kissed...we kissed. I had to keep repeating the words to myself, because it felt like the previous five minutes didn't happen at all. It felt as though the moment would vanish like a dream if I didn't focus on it.

"Wonderful?" Noah offered teasingly.

"Sudden," I corrected, still feeling as shocked as I had when he first pressed his lips to mine.

"Magical?"

"Unexpected."

"Perfect?"

"You seem to be taking this very well," I said. My voice sounded surprised even to myself. I didn't expect Noah to be taking this so calmly. Maybe I had read too much into the kiss, maybe that was something casual to him, but it certainly wasn't casual at all to me. I had let all of my emotions control my actions, and the result was the kiss we just shared.

"I am, aren't I?" he asked with a small frown. "Well, I've been wanting to do that for a while, so I suppose it wasn't much of a surprise to me. Oh, I shouldn't have said that." He ran a hand down his face, but it seemed as though that took a lot of effort still. "This is odd, very odd. I still feel strange, but I'm okay with this." He gestured between up using his pointer finger.

The noise of a throat clearing brought me back to reality. I spun around to see my mothers in the doorway, broad grins on their faces. The one who cleared her throat was mother, who had a look of pride on her face.

"Mam, Mother, what do you want?" I leaped backwards, nearly causing my chair to topple over. I groaned exaggeratedly as my knee hit the arm of it. "Can I help you?" I tried to pour as much salt into my voice as possible. The two of them had seen something, and it was only a matter of time before they began to tease me.

"Not at all," Mam said with a smirk. She was holding herself back from squealing and pestering us, it was clear in her hands which were tightly clasped together and the fact she was rocking back and forth on her heels. "Though, I'm sure you would be very willing to help us in the future."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked slowly. I crossed my arms, noticing again that I didn't have a shirt on. I sighed and got up, grabbing a black jumper out of one of my drawers and putting it on. I still felt a bit exposed, but it was much better than I had been feeling earlier.

My mother stepped forward. "Hello, you must be Crow's friend." She sounded very unsure at the end; her tone still remained polite as ever. She held out a hand for Noah to shake. "I'm Crow's mother, Violet." She then looked as thoughts he was going to say something else, but she hesitated.

"And I'm Ruby," Mam greeted happily. She bounced over and gave Noah a hug, apparently not realising that he was wearing my clothes.

"She's my mam," I informed and looked pointedly at my parents. I understood then why my mother was so hesitant to say what she was going to. I was proud of my mothers, I was proud to be their son. But they had never introduced themselves as my mothers without me prompting them. We were used to the lack of enthusiasm and the stares we received when people found out that my mothers were wives, instead of sisters or close friends.

Noah nodded, I wasn't sure if my mothers noticed, but he winced as he did so. "Lovely to meet you. My name is Noah." He gave a small smile. "You have a very nice home."

I had to stifle my laughter at his attempt at being a perfect gentleman. I got strange looks from my parents, but Noah sent me a small glare when they weren't looking.

"Thank you. Dear. We do pride ourselves on having good interior design," my mother said, grabbing onto Mam's arm and pulling her back before she could bore Noah with a long discussion about wall fixtures and art. "Have you been to the hotel? I do think that Crow mentioned something about it. Is that why he's been out of the house more often?" I couldn't tell if she was teasing Noah, or if she was genuinely asking.

"Oh, well, I'm not sure exactly if I am the reason, but I have been there a few times." He shrugged a bit, wincing again. "That is also beautifully decorated as well, you have a very impressive business."

My mother hummed and nodded, before stepping backwards and eyeing the situation Noah was in. "Crow also said that you have been a bit ill? Can we get you anything? No doubt that Crow hasn't offered, he's banned from cooking anything more than crumpets or warming up soup."

I scoffed. By now I was sitting in my small chair and stroking Raven again. "I was twelve, leave me alone." The last time I had been trusted to cook something, I had forgotten to set the timer, causing my tea to become charred chicken instead of the regular chicken nuggets they were meant to be.

"Better to be safe than sorry," my mother said. She was going to say something again, but a knock interrupted her.

"I'll go see who that is, shall I?" Mam asked before hurrying downstairs, not waiting for any kind of response. There were muffled voices, but I tried not to listen in. Then one word caught my attention, and my heartbeat became noticeable beating in my chest. The one word which I recognised was 'Noah'.

Hello Everyone!!!

I hope you're doing well :D

Today's question of the chapter is, what show from your childhood would you re-watch right now?

I'm currently watching Victorious :D It's brought back many memories- as i can remember everything which happens- but it's also calm and chill at the same time.