Independence (CANCELED)

Chapter 12

I watched from behind a corner as Aaron went to get Drake to do something. When they left to go -who knows where- I snuck into Drake's room and looked for Scales. I saw a snake cage, looked inside, and saw the snake. It looked at me and I whispered that it was going to be okay and that I was going to pick him up. He didn't do much when I picked him up, he just wrapped himself around my arm, with his face close to mine. I walked out of the room and went straight to Aaron's lab.

I patted Scales' head and texted Aaron about the snake. After about ten minutes of waiting and hanging out with Scales, Aaron came back and closed the door. He looked at me, saw Scales on my arm, and said, "Wow, he warmed up to you quickly." I nodded and said, "Yeah, for some odd reason, animals seem to really like me. Then again, I like hanging out with animals." Aaron sat down next to me and said, "Well, I've noticed that you're not very social around people, yet you're comfortable around animals."

I nodded and said, "Well, that's mainly because I grew up with a cat that, in human years, would be about my age now. Her name was Akima, she was very special to me. Sadly, when we had to move to Germany, we had to leave her here with family. But at least at Germany, we had a dog and a couple cats. We brought the dog home because my mom wanted to keep her."

Aaron nodded and said, "Okay, what happened to Akima?" I looked down a bit and said, "Well, while I was in Germany, my mom called my grandma, who was taking care of Akima at the time, and we were told that they had to give her away to my grandpa's brother. I haven't seen her since. But, for some odd reason, I always have a way with animals." I started rubbing my eyes to keep the tears from falling, mainly because I always saw crying as a form of weakness.

Aaron said, "Well, I was surprised because, normally, when Tristan, Max, or I came close to Scales, he'd usually try to bite at us." I looked at him and said, "Really?" He nodded his head and I giggled. Then, randomly, Max walked in the lab. He yawned, sat down with us, and said, "So, what's going on?" He saw Scales and I saw terror in his eyes. I said, "Max, you don't need to be scared. If you are feeling fear, Scales will, too."

Max said, "Wait, animals can sense fear?" I face-palmed and said, "You're part snake, don't you sense feelings?" He looked in thought for a moment and said, "Well, now that I think about it, I do feel some of the feelings of some of the people that I am usually around." Aaron leaned towards me and whispered, "How did you get him to think about something?" I replied, "Generally, if you point something out about the person you're talking to, they will think. Plus, he kind of needs to think when he is pulling a prank." Aaron gave me a confused look and said, "What prank?"

SPLASH!!! A water balloon hit him in the face. I giggled and said, "That prank." Aaron stood up, looked at Max, and chased him out of the room. I laughed right after they went out the room. Scales slithered off my arm and curled up next to me. I sighed and laid down on the ground. Then Scales climbed onto my stomach and curled up there. I closed my eyes because I don't like to keep them open when I am looking upwards. I heard the door open, but kept my eyes closed, thinking that Aaron came in I heard the footsteps come towards me and a voice say, "What are you doing here, Scales?"

D

After Aaron took me to do, whatever it was, I went back to my room. I then realized that it was quiet. I looked in the cage that I kept Scales in and he wasn't there. I looked everywhere and he wasn't in the room. I headed to the lab to ask Aaron if he saw Scales. I walked in and saw Cascade- I guess she was sleeping- on the ground with Scales curled up on her stomach. I walked over and whispered, "What are you doing here, Scales?" I looked at Cascade and smiled. I looked back at Scales and whispered, "Did you find a new friend?" Of course, he didn't say anything, just stuck his tongue out a few times.

I chuckled quietly and looked back at Cascade, who was still asleep. After a while, Aaron walked in. He saw me and said, "Hey, Drake. What are you doing in here?" I looked at him and whispered, "Quiet, Cascade's asleep." He looked over and whispered, "Well, let's talk outside of the lab, okay?" I said, "Okay." and walked out of the lab. After he closed the door, Aaron asked, "So, what were you doing in there?" I said, "Well, when I went back to my room, I noticed that Scales was missing, so I went to the lab to see if he was there and saw him curled up on Cascade." Aaron looked at me and said, "You do realize that it's a full moon tonight, right?"

Crap, I forgot about that.

Luke

... Why are there people talking this early? I thought. I looked at the clock, which said 12:45. Oh, so it wasn't as early as I thought. I got up, got dressed, and went out to the living room. I saw a couple of the snake people talking in front of a door, so I walked away from them. If you couldn't tell already, I am not very social. As I walked away, I saw another snake guy that had orange scales. I tried walking a different direction, but he saw me and said, "Hey, you're one of Cascade's brothers, right?" I nodded and said, "Yeah, why?"

He looked at me and said, "What's your name?" I said, "My name is Luke, what's your name?" He said, "My name is Max." I nodded and said, "Well, I have to go." I started going back the way I came when Max said, "Wait." I turned around and said, "What is it?" He looked in thought for a moment and said, "We should hangout sometime. Just so we can get to know each other." I nodded and said, "Sure, sounds good." and walked away. I saw that the other snake people were gone, so I knocked on the door.

I heard a voice say, "Come in." I hesitated, opened the door, and walked in the room. I looked around and saw that this room was a lab. I also saw the snake guy with purple scales and Cascade holding a snake. I walked over to Cascade and sat down next to her. She looked at me and said, "You're Luke, right?" I nodded. She said, "Okay." I looked at the ground for a bit, and then said, "Hey, do you know Max?" She nodded and said, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

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I felt like the story needed a little shift in it, so I decided that Luke would be the victim. So, what do you think about Max and Luke being a thing?