The Elementals

~*~ Chapter Thirteen ~*~

~*~ Chapter Thirteen ~*~

     "Cooper?" I asked, stunned.

     "I had to ditch the cave because I heard wolves howling. I'm thinking that they were just beginning to pick up my scent." he said in the place of a hello.

     "I guess they couldn't have tracked you here," said Gale, "with the rain washing out your scent."

     "Yeah, let's hope not." Aqua said.

     "Thanks for letting me in, Amber. I thought you were just going to sit there and stare in shock forever." Cooper said, turning towards Amber.

     "No problem. Think of it as an 'I'm sorry' for attacking you." Amber said. As strange as it sounds, I couldn't even believe that our first intensions were to kill Cooper in the cave that first night. Once he had asked if we were there to "finish him off", I think he said, my heart melted with sympathy.

     "So where are you gonna stay?" Gale asked, his sandy blonde hair getting soaked as he tried to shut the window.

     "Here." he said.

     "Excuse me?" I asked, wondering where my invitation went, "Did you say... Here?"

     "Well, seeing that you four are my only friends, yeah." there he went again, taking all my sympathy. When Cooper refered to us as his friends, it seemed like something clicked on inside me. I couldn't say no.

     "How are we going to hide your scent from my parents and brothers?" I asked him.

     "That's the only issue. I thought that if I made a small metal bunk hanging from this tree out here, no one would notice." Cooper said, "But now that I'm thinking about it that might be a little noticable."

     "Lil, why don't you just make him a hammick of leaves and branches?" suggested Aqua.

     "I guess....." I thought, unsure of the makeshift plan.

     "Yay! I thought you were gonna leave me on the street like any scensible person would do." Cooper said, playfully nudging me with his elbow. It's strange how right the feeling was and only knowing it for a few short days.

     "Wanna kiss?" I heard Cooper's disembodied whisper come from outside my window.

     "What? Did you really just wake me up to ask me that at-" I looked at the clock, "two thirty four in the morning?"

     "I didn't hear a no." his voice had changed into a purr.

     "Good night, Cooper." I said.

     "Still didn't hear a no!" he said, not backing down.

     "Go. To. Sleep. Or else." I wasn't backing down, either. Cooper hadn't been around me long enough to know that I wasn't a morning person. Let alone a two in the morning person.

     After three minutes of silence he said, "How about now?" 

     "That's it, mister! I'm shutting the window." I said, hiding a smile.

     "Noooooo..." Cooper never got to finish his whining because, as promised, I shut the window. On his fingers. Oops.