A Burning Smile (part 1)

“Mom…I-…I’m leaving….”the words had gotten stuck in my throat...but I forced them out.
My mom looked up from her dishes and starred at me. “w-what..?”
Guilt was heavy in my heart, but this is what I wanted. I put on a strong face and tried to speak with as much certainty as I could muster. And my gift for lying helped make my voice more convincing. “Mom, I’ve decided that I need sometime alone right now. And I think it’s best if I just stay on my own. I hope you can understand.”
But of course…she didn’t. “No! Absolutely not! You’re just going through a tough time and running away is not going to solve all your problems! Where would you stay?!” she tried to sound angry, but there was fear in her eyes. If I left, she would be completely alone.
But I wanted to go with Jeff, and if she didn’t want me to leave…well…. I was going anyways.
“Mom, it’s not running away. I’m telling you that I’m leaving.” Telling your parents before leaving didn’t count as running away…right?
“Isiss, you are 16! You can leave when your 18. But for now you are staying here!” she pointed to my bed room. “Go upstairs and stay there until I call you for dinner!”
I just nodded with my poker face and walked upstairs, .Jeff was standing there waiting for me.
“I guess that didn’t go as planned…”he said.
I walked over to him and sighed,” I didn’t really expect her to just let me leave.”
Jeff smirked and hugged me tightly. Then his seriousness set in again. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.
I groaned and pulled away.  “Are you trying to get rid of me?” I asked playfully.
Jeff laughed slightly. “Just making sure this is what you want…”
“You know how much you sound like Edward from Twilight right now?” I giggled.
“…who?” Jeff face was blank.
I smiled “if you don’t know what twilight is…just...never mind”
“So when do we leave?” Jeff still wasn’t certain if he wanted me to leave my life, but nothing would make him happier than to have me there to keep him company. He had been traveling around alone from almost 4 years, and now he would have me there with him.
“Now is as good as ever.” I walked over to my bed, setting down a note for my mom and grabbed my backpack, that I had packed the important things.
Jeff waited quietly by my window, as I said my last goodbyes.
The note I left said:
Mom, you may not agree with me but I think leaving is best for me right now. I just need sometime alone.
And show this to Leah.
Leah, I never regret being your friend all these years, you have always been there for me, and I’m sorry that I’m leaving you. I’m sorry that you and my mom will never see me graduate. Never see me fall in love, have a child, or get married.
I’m sorry that I’ll never see you get married or have children ether Leah, and I hope that Neal treats you right, if he doesn’t, I might just come back to kick his ass, I hope that you’ll be alright. Mom, I’m sorry that I’ll never see you when you fall in love again, or move on from dad.
I hate that I have to leave you all but please don’t come after me. I might come and visit sometimes. -  Bullcrap, I’ll never be able to come home- I just hope you all can live with me gone. I love you.
-goodbye, I love you.
~ Isiss
I swallowed back tears as I read over my goodbye note once more. At first I had tried to sugar coat it, and make it sound like I would come back in a week or so. But then the reality had set in that I was never going to come back.
Jeff walked up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. “You okay?” he asked
“..Yeah…”I sniffed. I felt fur brush my leg and I looked down to Frost. She starred up at me with her wide eyes, and glanced wearily at Jeff.
She had gotten used to Jeff presence…sort of. And now she only second glanced him.
I sat down in front of her and gently stroked her white fur. “He girl…” I whispered. I’ve had Frost for 3 years, and I was going to miss her. Frost`s eyes where sad, like she knew what was happening. I hugged her tightly around her neck and tried not to cry.
Jeff leaned down next to me and pet frost, she stiffened slightly, but after a few seconds, began to lick his hand.
“She could come with us you know…” Jeff murmured next to my ear
I pulled back and looked into his black eyes “...really?”
Jeff nodded. “Yeah, I have Smile, so Frost wouldn’t be the only dog. And I guess Smile could use some company.”
I smiled. I didn’t need to think about it twice. I wanted frost to come with me. “okay,” I kissed Frost`s head. “You’re gonna come with us girl.” She barked loudly and I stood up.
I added a few words to my note
p.s.
Frost is my dog. And my responsibility, I’m taking her with me. I hope you won’t be angry.
I walked over to where Jeff was by the window, and frost sat at his feet, patiently waiting to leave.
I slung one foot out the window, dropped down to the ground, and looked up to my room.
Jeff followed me down, carrying frost. He put her down and we all walked to the edge of the dark woods.
I gave my house one last glance. “Goodbye…mom, home, friends…,” I said with a sad voice. Then I turned back to the dark, shadowy woods. “Hello new life with an insane murderer that I love” Jeff smirked and chuckled.
Then, Jeff, Frost and I all walked away from my old life and into the dark woods.
~5 hours later~

We continued on for hours, and hours, for most of the night. Sometimes we jogged, and other times Jeff and I just walked side by side, while Frost ran ahead of us.
We talked about random things, and we only stopped to rest after about 5 hours into the night.
“How far do you think we’ve gotten?” I asked Jeff.
Jeff was leaning next to a tree and was casually sharpening his knife. I looked at the blade and imagined who it would kill next. And I felt sympathy for whoever that might be. But that was Jeff, and I couldn’t, and wouldn’t change that.
Jeff glanced up at the sky, and seemed to be calculating how far we’ve come. “Well, we left about 8, and it should be 1 or 2 in the morning. So I think we are a good…50 or 60 miles away. Give or take.”
I yawned. 60 miles in 5 hours? Slow progress…or was it fast? I wasn’t really good at telling distances. I leaned against a tree and thought about how worried my mother would be.
Jeff noticed that I yawned and walked over to me. “Are you tired?” he asked
I nodded. “A little. I’m not used to walking this far.” Jeff sat down and I sat next to him.
I could feel sleepiness weigh down on me like a car, and frost had already curled up at me feet, sleeping. That didn’t really help me keep alert. I began to nod off, and I leaned my head on Jeff’s shoulder. He put his knife into his coat pocket and hugged me to his chest. It was cold, maybe 40 degrees, and Jeff was warm. I snuggled closer to him, wanting his warmth.
Without meaning to, I fell asleep in his arms
~Jeff’s POV~
I watched Isiss drift off to sleep. She looked so beautiful when she slept. Her face relaxed and her jaw went slack.  
Why would she give up her life to come with me? I thought. She didn’t have a perfect life, but it was better than what I have…especially when I kill people. How is she going to take it when I come back covered in someone’s blood?
I pondered this in my head, as I looked up to the hundreds of stars. We had a few more miles to the next city, and I would have to leave her to kill. If I didn’t…I was just going to lose it. I worried about how Isiss was going to manage here with me.
She would surely be hungry when she woke up, and I would have to find her something to eat.
I was used to going days without food, and almost weeks without any sleep. So I didn’t worry about myself much. But Isiss had less endurance. She would have to eat 2-3 times a day, and sleep every night.
Maybe after a few weeks with me, she would begin to become more nocturnal, and adjust to my life style.
And also…my enemies. Isiss still wore the necklace I gave her, and I remember what my friend had told me…
…The necklace works against darker creatures, the stone protects the user from physical and mental contact from them. And only some powers can get through the necklaces` barrier. It will work only on a female though. But the longer they wear it, the stronger the protection will be. I have a theory, that after a while, the wearer will even begin to absorb the shadow stones power…
I could still remember Fy`s voice in my head. She was great with all sorts of magic. But I tried to avoid her as much as possible, because she was learning hypnotic spells. And I knew she liked to try them out on me.
I thought about one of the things Fy told me. ’…the longer they wear it, the stronger the protection will be”.
Would Isiss live long enough to let the necklace grow to full power? What about absorbing it?
I felt the instinct to protect her rise inside of me. I would kill whoever threatened her. No one was going to hurt her while I was still breathing.
But when I glanced down at Isiss`s face…it relaxed all my anger. She looked so peaceful when she slept. I couldn’t help but brush a strand of black hair away from her closed eyes, and I tucked it behind her ear.
I smiled to myself and I stroked the side of her face. I didn’t know why she loved me, but until the day came that she hated me, I was going to love her back. And even after she hated me, I wasn’t going to ever stop taking care of her.
I continued to watch her sleep for another hour. I had to keep watch all night, and I wasn’t sleepy anyways.
I felt completely at ease watching Isiss shift in her sleep.
Then...she started drooling.
Saliva dripped from her lips and onto my white-ish hoody.
Eww. I made a face for a few seconds, and then smiled. Even though she was drooling on me…she did it adorably.
I shifted a bit and fished the knife from my pocket, and sharpened the blade. Tomorrow, we would arrive at the next city. Tomorrow, I would walk through the streets and choose my next victim. Tomorrow, I would let my other side take over and kill another person.
Tomorrow…I would see if Isiss still loved me, after I come back to her, covered in blood.

~8 hours later. Isiss`s POV~
I blinked open my eyes to the bright morning sun.
I noticed that I was asleep on the ground and Jeff’s white hoody was covering me, keeping me warm. My backpack was stuffed under my head like a pillow and was surprisingly comfortable.
I wiped the sleepiness from my eyes and sat up. Where was Jeff?
I looked around at the trees surrounding me. Jeff was nowhere to be seen.
I stood up, brushing some dirt from my jeans, I called, “Jeff?” I didn’t hear anything…but….
Wait…is that water? I listened harder. It WAS water. I hadn’t heard it last night but now I could hear a river flowing nearby.
I followed the sound deeper into the trees…and what I saw would never leave my thoughts.
Frost was sitting at the edge of the river, digging a hole…but that wasn’t what shocked me.
Jeff…was bathing in the river.
The river was maybe 20 feet wide.  Jeff was standing a quarter ways across, rubbing water over his arms and face.
His back was to me, and the water was a little above his waist. I could see scars darkening his white skin, and the water dripped from his black hair.
I felt my face grow hot and I tried to back up into the trees. But Jeff must have heard my silent retreat.
He froze, and turned around to me. God, he was perfect. He had a nice chest, and a toned 6 pack. How he managed to hide that, I had no idea.
I felt my face grow even hotter, and I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. Luckily his….other parts were hidden under the dark, icy waters of the river. Otherwise I probably would’ve been drooling.
“I-I’m…I’m sorry, I didn’t k-know-“I stuttered out.
Jeff smirked and said, “Its fine. I’m not completely naked, I’m wearing shorts!” I didn’t know if that made me blush more or less.
Jeff began to walk out of the river until the water was around his knees, and he was indeed wearing a pair of black shorts. Where did he keep extra clothes? In his hoody, or what?
“You have another pair of clothes in you backpack, right?” he asked.
There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, and I answered wearily,”yeah…and?”
Before I could respond, Jeff’s hand shot out and yanked me into the dark river.
The water splashed up to my waist and I shrieked, “ITS COLD!” it felt like a puddle of ice. I gasped and tried to get out, but Jeff blocked my way.
I began to repeat, “ITS COLD! ITS COLD JEFF! IT’S COLD!” Jeff only laughed and blocked my way to dry land.
Seeing him laugh at me made me a bit angry. “ILL DROWN YOU!” I screamed and I lunged at him. I tried to shove his head under the icy water, but Jeff was smarter and dived under with my push.
While my hands were underwater, he seized my wrist and pulled me under. The black water surged around my head and I jerked back into the air. It was too late, my hair was already soaked.
I pushed my wet, black hair out of my face and looked around for Jeff. I couldn’t see him anywhere…until I felt a warm hand wrap around my ankle. I screamed, and Jeff pulled me into deeper waters.
I resurface 2 feet away, with the water almost up to my chest, and laughed. I wasn’t drowning or anything, just getting dunked over and over
“Jeff!” I yelled, and I kicked out at him under the water. My foot connected with something hard. His head? I thought.
Jeff popped out of the water clutching his forehead. “ow.” He muttered.
“I hope that hurt!” I said as I jumped at him again. He met my attack with a splash and it hit me in my face. I stopped for a second to clear my eyes, but when I opened them, he wasn’t in front of me anymore.
I felt arms wrap around me from behind and I screamed in playfulness.
How did he move so fast?! He was much more agile in the water than I was.
I turned around and met Jeff’s humored stare.
“And now your all clean!” he laughed.
“Your cleaning tactics suck.” I growled.
Jeff smirked and kissed my forehead. Even though the water around me was freezing, his touch made me feel warm inside.
“Come on.” Jeff said. “Let’s go dry off and then we can head off to the city. It’s only a few more miles ahead.”
I shivered and hissed, “I’m hungry, and since you dragged me into a freeing river, you’d better bring me something pretty f*cking spectacular.”
Jeff chuckled and we both made our way to the river bank.