|| 17: N i g h t l y W o n d e r s & S h i r t l e s s B o y s ||

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"What should we do with her, boss?" "Let's take her back to the den, teach the lil girl a lesson." "Yeah, let's show her why its dangerous to be wandering the streets at this time of night."

A chorus of loud, perverted male voices chimed through the chilly night-time air, each with their own version of how to deal with me. None of them topped the charts for their boss's satisfaction though and as the dark, curly-haired creep started walking closer to me, a fear, so immense, so suffocating, so weighty, curled around my heart, crushing it effortlessly as if it were some giant fist.

Quickly, I scooted away from the Ghoulies, trying to find my footing in the loose gravel of the road. However, I dared not take my eyes away from the knife the boss held in his hand. What if he tried to use it on me? What if he was planning to rape and murder me? What was I going to do? Where was I going to go?

"Quiet!" the boss suddenly thundered, silencing the group of men behind him. "I have an idea." Crouching down so he was eye-level with me, the corners of his mouth twisted upwards in an evil grin. "I think Penny's going to be very happy to see you, Jones. Let's take her back to the den ... I think having a sexy Serpent girl in our midst may rile the rest of our boys up, don't you think?"

As rings of raucous laughter filled the air, an abrupt scraping sound occurred from right behind me. Before I had time to see who the new intruder was, though, a deep, furious voice growled, "How about you wrap that brain-washed idea in your own ego and stick it up your arse instead?"

In that moment, I knew who it was.

Sweet Pea.

The boss, freezing in shock and rage, tipped his head back to look behind me, only he didn't have a chance to react before Sweet Pea's balled fist connected with his jaw. With a splutter of surprise, the Ghoulie was thrown back against the granite pavement, landing right at the feet of his men.

I felt someone's strong, calloused hands close around my arms, jerking me to my feet. Heaving for breath, I stared in awe and astonishment at Sweet Pea as he pushed me protectively behind him.

"You're gonna regret that, you conniving little bastard!" the boss sneered as he staggered upright and waved his knife over at Sweet Pea.

"What? Is that supposed to scare me?" he scoffed as he squared his shoulders.

"Well, Penny's going to be happy with our work tonight, boys!" the boss howled. "We're gonna bring her two Serpents!"

As angry murmurs and yells of agreement filled the air, I grabbed Sweet Pea's elbow and breathed, "Sweets, we have to go! We're outnumbered! We don't have a chance! You're gonna get hurt. C'mon!"

"Yeah, why don't you listen to your girlfriend, Sweets?" the boss mocked as he began advanced menacingly towards us.

I could basically see the fury radiating out of Sweet Pea's eyes as he glowered at the Ghoulie boss and his companions.

Noticing that some of the attackers were beginning to circle around behind us, I continued to urge, "Sweet Pea! There's no point in both of us being caught! C'mon! We have to run!"

Sweet Pea, softening up a little, turned his head to gaze down at me. For a moment, he stood there, wavering, debating whether or not to play the chicken. Then, swivelling his eyes towards the oncoming Ghoulies who were blocking the road ahead, he came to a decision.

"Run like your life depends on it," he hissed in my ear as he seized my hand in his own. "Let's go!"

The two of us turned and dashed into the woods bordering the side of the road. The shouts and curses of the pursuing Ghoulies permeated the air, causing a flood of adrenaline to crash over us.

Swerving this way and that, Sweet Pea, with me in tow, ducked behind trees and leapt over bushes. It wasn't long until we had lost the Ghoulies in the suffocating mist shrouding the gathering darkness of the forest.

"I - I have .... to stop!" I wheezed as I suddenly skidded to a halt. Doubling-over, I placed my hands on my knees and gasped for breath, watching, out of the corner of my eye, as Sweet Pea stopped and backtracked over to where I was.

He placed a large, warm hand on my upper back and rubbed it along my spine, causing a series of electric shocks to spark my skin.

Finally, as I recovered and straightened up, his hand dropped back down to his side and his worried expression was replaced with one of anger. "What were you thinking?" he yelled. "Walking those streets on your own in the dead of night? Are you crazy? If I hadn't arrived when I did, who knows what those Ghoulies would have done to you! You could've died!"

"Stop it!" I cried.

"Stop what?"

"Stop yelling at me! How was I supposed to know the Ghoulies were out there looking for someone to molest, huh? I was just trying to get home, okay? I was nearly there! I - I didn't know..." I hiccuped, trying to hide the tearful tremor in my voice.

Upon seeing that I was clearly shaken and distressed by the previous events, Sweet Pea immediately dropped his angry, defensive facade. Reaching forward, he pulled me into his arms and nestled his chin on top of my head. "I'm sorry, Kenz, I'm sorry," he whispered. "It's okay. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. Don't worry."

As I breathed in the toxic scent of his cool, leather jacket, I closed my eyes, relaxing as he held me in his arms. I wished for the moment to last forever. Me. Him. Here. Under the stars. Amidst the forest ...

"Here," Sweet Pea suddenly pulled away, shrugging off his jacket in the process. "Take this."

With widening eyes, I watched as he pulled the warm folds of the jacket over my slim shoulders. "No-o," I shook my head as I tried to push his hands away. "You need this."

Sweet Pea just ignored me, though, and zipped the cloth up over my trembling torso. "You need it more than I do. C'mon. I'll take you back to my place. You can stay the night."

I furrowed my brow as I glanced around nervously. "A-are you sure? I - I mean, your girlfriend..."

Sweet Pea stiffened as he snapped his head up to glare at me.

I swallowed as I diverted my train of thinking. "O-of course. Thanks for the offer."

"It's not too far from here. C'mon. Let's go."

Sweet Pea led the way through the darkened forms of the ever-green trees and the silhouetted outlines of the thick underbrush until, a few moments later, the two of us broke through a clearing bordering the property upon which the Whyte Wyrm sat.

As I trotted, quietly and hastily, after Sweet Pea, a feeling, one that warned me that what I was doing was wrong, inconsiderate and advantageous, swamped my mind.

"We're here."

Sweet Pea paused as he extracted his keys from the back pocket of his jet-black jeans. Cautiously, I peeked over his shoulder, astounded at what I saw.

Sweet Pea's 'house' was a tiny apartment jutting off the back wall of the bar. The door was shabby and streaked with grime; a broken crack appearing just beneath the sill upon which it rested. As he stuck his key into the door knob and shoved his shoulder into the hard wood, a few tears lingered in my eyes. He was so nice, so kind, so considerate ... and what did he have?

Nothing.

As I stepped inside the single, dimly-lit room, my eyes wandered from the camping stove erected in one corner of the room to the pull-out bed, piled with pillows and blankets, gracing the rotting floorboards in the other.

As Sweet Pea switched on the one light-bulb that flickered it's faint light across the walls, I turned to face him. "I - I don't want to intrude on your privacy," I made a half-hearted attempt to rebuff his hospitality.

"You're not," he returned firmly as he shuffled over to a cabinet stocked with tins of baked beans and spaghetti lining the near well. "Are you hungry?"

As Sweet Pea glanced questioningly at me, I shook my head. "No. I'm good. I went to Pops before."

He nodded in understandment as he closed the cupboard door with a soft thud. "You're tired," he stated as he straightened up to face me fully. "You should get some rest."

I glanced down towards the one bed and frowned. "Where will you sleep?"

"The floor's fine," he returned. "I've done it plenty of times."

"What? No! I'll sleep on the floor!" I protested. "I'm the visitor here..."

"Can you please just let me help you without complaining?" Sweet Pea snapped as he moved some of the blankets from the bed onto the boarded floor. "You're not making this very easy."

I sighed in defeat as I threw up my hands. "Fine. Thank you. I'll sleep on the bed."

The corners of Sweet Pea's lips twerked upwards in amusement as he fluffed out one of the pillows and handed it to me.

I sent him a small smile. "T-thank you."

"I'll loan you one of my shirts to sleep in if you want," Sweet Pea told me as he began unbuttoning the blue flannel circling his chest.

I opened my mouth and closed it again, not sure what to do or what to say. I gaped, wide-mouthed, at him as he pulled off his shirt and dropped the material to the ground. His bronze-coloured skin reflected the flame of light radiating throughout the room. Muscles, lean and bulky, rippled down his arms and stomach. A few, faint scars littered his back and neck upon which hang a thick, silver chain. As his fingers, decorated with rings the colour of hazy gold, fumbled with his belt buckle, my eyes trailed up to his face that was, for once, calm and relaxed. His dark brown hair fell across his forehead in waves and tickled the tips of his ears. It looked so soft. I just wanted to run my fingers through it and let the silkiness trail across my palms.

Then, Sweet Pea looked up at me and caught me staring at him.

Quickly, I turned away, a bright red blush covering my cheeks and creeping up the nape of my neck.

A low chuckle resounded from beside me and I chanced a quick peek at the shirtless Sweet Pea who had retrieved a rather large creamy-coloured sweat-shirt from a pile of clothes nearby. "Here, take this," he said as he chucked it at me.

Murmuring my thanks, I ducked my head as I un-did the zip on Sweet Pea's leather jacket and tugged down my denim shorts, revealing my slender, tanned legs. As I slipped the sweat-shirt over my dark, curly head, I caught a glimpse of Sweet Pea leaning up against the far wall, his gaze fixated on me ... or rather, my legs.

Awkwardly, I smoothed down his shirt with one hand and ruffled my hair with the other. "I - I guess I better - er - go to bed now," I stuttered.

Sweet Pea's eyes snapped up to meet my own. "Sure, if you want," he smirked as he pushed himself off the wall and headed towards me. "If you need anything during the night, I'll be right here."

I nodded and smiled slightly as I scurried under the covers of his pull-out bed. Glancing down at my phone, I sent a text message to Dad, telling him that I was staying with the Coopers that night, before rolling over and heaving a deep sigh.

Suddenly, Sweet Pea crouched down next to me, his intoxicating eyes drinking in every inch of my face.

"Get some sleep, Kenz," he whispered as he pulled the blankets snugly up to my chin. "We have an early start in the morning."

Humming contentedly in response, my eyelids, heavy from lack of rest, slowly flittered shut.

"Goodnight, Kenzie. Sweet dreams."








Gif: Mackenzie as she talks to Sweets in his apartment.

*PLEASE REMEMBER to give this chapter a vote if you enjoyed and I'd love to hear any feedback from my readers; so pepper me with questions. If you're confused, I'll try and clarify it for you. If you want more information on a certain point, I'll do my best not to give you spoilers. If you just wanna chat 'bout random stuff, then I'm in*

Q: Would you have gone back with Sweet Pea to his house or just returned to your own trailer?

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