Chapter 20 - A Friend in the Hallway

A/N - Thank you so much for your patience! Enjoy the chapter. :)

Damon POV

Things finally, actually felt like they were getting better. I wasn't as afraid of Matias anymore, and he even gave me little kisses sometimes that left my stomach feeling fluttery. It was weird, but I didn't mind it. I liked he didn't push me, didn't force me to be around him if I needed space. He'd leave me alone for a little bit, and come back and check on me. I could see that it killed him to leave me alone when I was hurting, but he did and I didn't even know what to say.

But those times were few and far between now, and I wasn't scared to let him know what was on my mind when I was thinking the things I did. And he never hesitated to soothe my fears the best that he could.

Besides the tears that came occasionally, and the nights I spent on his bed in his arms, crying to him that I was scared he'd leave me any moment, I enjoyed anytime I could get with Matias. We had this game we liked to play sometimes, or well...I did. It was basically hide and seek, and when he got done with all his Alpha duties, I would hide from him and he had to look for me. Whenever he found me, I'd be in a fit of giggles as he threw me over his shoulder, laughing at me. I'd pound on his back, kicking around and screaming at him to put me down through my laughter. He never did but me down, but when we got back to his room, he'd throw me on the bed and just...flop. Right on top of me. And I let him. Sometimes he'd curl his arms around me, nuzzling into my neck or chest, and I'd blush every time he did so, gently returning the gesture, threading my fingers through his soft hair. Sometimes though, he would seem all sweet and caring, but then he'd do something awful. Something that had never happened to me before I'd met him. A devilish deed. He would tickle me. And I couldn't stop him, because he was laying on top of me and he weighed a ton, so I was subjected to torture while he had his fun. It was awful.

Currently running from those devilish fingers, we were playing our little game of hide and seek. I was, as quietly as I could, racing through the hallways to find a new closet to hide in. I was so engrossed in my search for a place to hide, I didn't even realize that someone was coming at me, until I ran right into them, tripping over the obviously smaller being. Trying to keep my balance, I awkwardly flailed my arms before I eventually fell. I groaned before pushing myself up, looking back to see what the reason for my falling was.

There sat a small boy, a nest of curly brown hair sitting atop his head. He was sitting up, clutching his knee with his small hands to his chest, pouty brown eyes threatening to spill tears. The pale skin of his face held a flush the spread to his ears as he rocked back and forth, trying not to cry, a small dinosaur plushie gripped in his other fist. I immediately stood to start running away again, but couldn't bring it in me to leave the boy sitting alone and in pain. Instead of turning tail to run from my mate, I approached the boy, crouching down to his level. His head tilted up, and his wide watery eyes met my own. I held back a wince at the look. I wasn't a huge fan of kids, but I also wasn't completely cold-hearted.

"Are you ok?" I asked quietly, hesitantly. He just watched me, his rocking had stopped and his mouth had popped open a little bit. I cocked my head slightly as we just start at each other in silence, he seemed to entranced or something.

"Hello?" I asked, sitting down from my crouched position. He blinked for the first time, shaking his head slightly before a blush coated his face and he dropped his gaze to stare at his hands.

"I-I'm-I'm...Sor-Sorry." He stuttered out, seeming to be stuck on his words. I watched him, confused as to why he would be sorry. He pulled his small dinosaur plush up to his chest, hugging it with all his might. A small smile found its way to my lips as I watched him.

"My name is Daemon. What's yours?" I asked him gently, not wanting to scare him. He seemed pretty frightened as of right now, and I didn't really want to scare him more. He didn't seem like all the other children I had ever interacted with. He was shy, I could tell from the few minutes I have known him and wasn't screaming like most other children when they'd fall.

He tilted his head up slightly, looking at me through wet eyelashes, which were surprisingly long. He opened his mouth to speak, before closing it, breaking eye contact again.

"What are you doing up here, alone?" I asked again, trying to sound as unaccusing as possible. He flinched slightly, hugging his plushie tighter.

"I-I-I'm Sor..Sorry..Sorry." He got out eventually, his words seeming broken and forced. My eyes widened slightly, and my heart broke slightly as I watched a single tear fall halfway down his cheek before he wiped it away with a small hand.

"No, no, no. It's totally ok." I whispered, offering him a smile when he looked up at me again. This time his eyes were wide, surprised. He blinked, and I nodded at him. I thought for a moment, before gesturing with my head to his plushie.

"What's his name?" I asked softly, and he glanced down at it, before looking back up at me. I watched as a small smile slowly graced his face before he looked back down at the dinosaur.

"Timmy." He didn't stutter this time, and he looked back up at me with a hint of excitement in his eyes. I smiled widely, nodding at him.

"I used to have a little puppy dog. Her name was Lucky." I said, looking at his dinosaur. I don't really remember when I got the stuffed dog, but I remember the day I came home and it was no longer on my bed, its designated spot. I went and asked my mom what had happened to it, and she just simply pointed to the garbage. I scrambled to go find it in the garbage, but when I opened it, Lucky was already torn to shreds and beyond saving. I cried, but mother didn't like it when I cried, so she hit me and told me to "man up, it's just a stuffed animal."

"My mo-mo-mom gave me..gave me Tim-Timmy." He said, smiling sadly down at the stuffed animal. My eyebrows furrowed slightly, and I couldn't stop the question that spilled from my mouth.

"Where is your mom?" The boy flinched at the question, looking down at his hands again with a pouty look.

"They-they s-said she went-went away, some-w-w-where better. I know-know she's dead." He whispered that last part, giving Timmy another squeeze against his chest. I immediately felt bad for asking, and I dropped my own gaze to my hands that were folded in my lap. I didn't know what to say.

"Bu-but it's-it's ok." He whispered, looking back up to me with watery eyes. I gave him a small smile, nodding. He gave me the tiniest smile I've ever seen, and I returned it.

"Can you tell me your name now?" I asked, watching his reaction. He let out a small sigh, looking down then back up.

"You-you're not going to-going to...re-re-report me?" He asked, stumbling halfway through. I shook my head no, wondering why he would even think that.

"Jamie." He said, and I smiled at him.

"I'm just curious, what are you doing up here alone?" I asked him, tilting my head to the side. He shrugged, looking around the hallway we sat in.

"The-The other ki-ki-kid's don't-don't like...me. So-so I wanted-I wanted to be...a-a-alone." He mumbled, and my heart broke a little bit again. Who could not like a little boy like this? Why were kids so cruel?

"Can I be alone with you for now?" I asked him, and I watched as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Wh-why?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"I was alone too for a long while. But now I'm not." I say, watching him look down at his dinosaur. We sat in silence for a few seconds, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I had totally forgotten that I was supposed to be hiding from Mastias until he rounded the corner, a confused look on his face when he saw me sitting on the floor with Jamie. I smirked when I saw him, and he grew even more confused. I leaned closer to Jamie. Matias watched me the whole time, squinting his eyes in suspicion.

"I'm playing hide and seek with the Alpha," Jamie's eyes widened as he spun around to look at Matias. I watched fear flash in his brown eyes, turning back to me with a scared look. I gave him a soft smile.

"Would you like to play?" I asked, holding out my hand for him to take. He looked at it like it was a third appendage, before looking back at me. I snorted at his look, he looked at me like I was insane. Maybe I was.

"Come on, it'll be fun." I stood up, brushing off my pants, before holding my hand out for him again.

"Daemon?" I heard Matias ask from down the hallway, but I paid him no mind. I smiled at Jamie with a full show of my teeth, laughing a little at the face he gave me. He looked back again to Matias, who was still standing there confused, then back to me. He looked at my hand one last time, before gently taking it and standing up, clutching Timmy by his side. He gave me a shy smile, before turning to look back at Matias one more time. I looked at him too, smiling widely at his confused face.

"We get one minute to hide again!" I yelled, laughing at his shocked look. With Jamie in tow, his hand in mine, we ran from the hallway to find a place to hide together.