Silent World

by Natalie Warren

  "Hey, Rich," Elaise greeted her, though the blonde detected the strain in her voice. She had been the same at recess, Raven thought. Elaise was acting funny but refused any chance of asking why.

  "Hey," she smiled and received a quick kiss from Jason.

  "Have you been told about the dance?" the brunette forced a smile. Raven nodded. "We have to go shopping for dresses."

  Raven gulped and saw the amusement on Jason's face. "Dresses? Why?"

  "It's a dance," Jason chuckled. "And I plan on taking you, so you need to look extra pretty." He hugged her warmly and she scowled, not happy with the idea of wearing a dress.

  "We have to focus more on studying," she reminded her two friends. "Mid-terms are only two weeks away. We have a lot of work to do and I don't want to fail."

  "We know," Elaise sighed. "We'll have to organize study times for after classes."

  "And I'm throwing a party Friday night after the exams are over," the three of them looked up at Jake as he walked over with Der and the other werewolves they usually hung around with.

  "You're always throwing parties," Elaise retorted and Jake grinned, ruffling her hair and snatching the ball out of her hands. She growled at him but he jumped out of the way of her punch.

  "That's because my parties are fun," he said and the boys quickly broke into their usual teams. They began their game and Raven put her bag on the ground with Elaise's, preparing to sit down. The two girls looked up when a voice called to the blonde.

  Brittany strolled up to them and Raven rolled her eyes. "What do you want?" she grumbled. "More insults?"

  "Mr. McDowell wanted me to give you this," Brittany muttered rudely and gave a small envelope to Raven. "And no insult will ever express my hate for you."

  "Hey, I didn't ask for Kyle to stalk me," Raven snorted. "I told him he should go for you instead but he didn't listen. If there was any way I could get him to leave me alone, I would have already gotten rid of him."

  "I don't believe a single word you say," Brittany hissed. "But you can believe me when I say I plan on making your life miserable."

  "Good luck with that," Raven challenged. "You'll never bring me down-"

  "Raven," Elaise interrupted her and Raven blinked at her friend; but the brunette was looking across the oval.

  The blonde followed Elaise's gaze and bit back a yelp when she recognized the man strolling out of the forest with a grin on his face. Again, she almost mistook him for Jason, but now she knew better. She caught his eye and he lifted his chin with a gleam in his eyes. Raven knew that no good could come of Boulder's visit.

  "What's Jason's brother doing here?" Elaise half-whispered.

  "Jason's brother?" Brittany echoed and Raven exchanged a quick, panicked glance with Elaise. "I didn't know he had a brother."

  Before the two girls could stop her, Brittany went skipping across the oval towards Boulder. Raven had a quick change of heart and when she received a questioning look from Boulder, the blonde slapped her hands together and gave him the biggest pleading look she could, silently asking him to take the black haired girl!

  "What's she doing?" Jason suddenly appeared beside Raven and took a step forward to race ahead and stop Brittany, but the blonde grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

  "Let her go," she insisted. "No big loss if he takes her…"

  Jason narrowed his eyes and gently pulled his arm free, rushing over to Brittany and his brother. Raven and Elaise shrugged before running to keep up with him. Raven was just able to hear the rest of Brittany's words as she spoke to the elder brother.

  "You definitely have a better build than he does," she was saying. "And much more handsome."

  "Brittany, get away from him," Jason growled as he caught up and glared at Boulder. "What are you doing here?"

  "I needed to talk to you," Boulder grumbled, turning to face the green-eyed boy. That was when Brittany screeched.

  "What happened to your ear?" she gasped.

  Boulder pointed at his brother. "He tore it off when we were messing around." At least he had enough sense not to give away the lycan secret.

  "That really must have hurt," the black haired girl frowned. "Does it hurt now?" Boulder shook his head but Brittany reached up as if to touch it. The rogue werewolf took her wrist and pulled her hand away.

  "Please don't," he said softly, making Raven and Elaise look at each other with shock reflected in both sets of eyes.

  Elaise suddenly grinned. "Aww, how cute! You two would make a really great couple," Brittany glanced at her with a confused expression and the two brothers quickly glared at her. "I'm sure Boulder would just love to gobble you up!" Raven bit her tongue to keep back a laugh as Elaise hinted to the bigger man.

  "I'm here to talk to my little brother, not play your silly mind game," Boulder crossed his arms and his black hair hung in his face.

  "Brittany, please leave," Jason kept his voice light but it became firm when he spoke to Elaise. "Go back to Der."

  Brittany looked disappointed but she turned and walked away. Elaise looked like she wanted to argue but she gave in quickly when she saw the spark of annoyance in Jason's eyes. She smiled at Raven. "Tell me everything later, 'kay?" Raven nodded slowly and watched her friend skip back to the basketball courts.

  "So what did you want?" Jason asked Boulder.

  "Not here," the older brother growled and Raven's hand subconsciously moved to her stomach, silently reminding herself of the vicious bite she received from the man in front of her. She had nearly died, and now she felt no fear of him; just curiosity. "Does she have to stay with you?" he inclined his head to Raven.

  Jason took Raven's hand in his and Boulder snorted, bowing his head and turning back to the forest. The blonde was shocked as Jason glanced around for teachers and led her after his brother. What could Boulder possibly want to talk to him about? Was it some sort of trap? Why did Jason trust him?

  "Your girlfriend worries too much," Boulder pointed out as they walked through the forest. Raven glanced back but couldn't see the school through the trees. How far were they going to go?

  "I know," Jason answered and gave Raven's hand a reassuring squeeze. He stopped at a small clearing and Boulder turned to face him. "I'm not going any further. Tell me what you want."

  Boulder was quiet for a few moments but he sat down with a loud grunt. Jason seated himself and leaned his back against a tree. He took Raven by the waist and pulled her down to sit in front of him, wrapping his arms around her and letting her rest against his chest. Raven didn't miss the look of jealousy on Boulder's face, and neither did Jason.

  "If you had of come with me then maybe you'd have someone too," the green-eyed boy told his brother, hugging Raven warmly.

  "I'm a killer," Boulder sneered. "That's what I was brought up to do. Nothing else."

  "So was I," Jason growled. "I changed. I found a new life with White Grass and so could you."

  Boulder choked on laughter. "Pup, there's so much you don't know. Look, I want you to come back."

  A growl rumbled in Jason's chest and Raven hoped he wouldn't lose his temper. "No. I'm not going back. I'm done with murdering innocent people."

  "You have to come back!" Boulder insisted. "Otherwise you're going to die!"

  Jason's entire body tensed up. "Are you threatening me?"

  "No," Boulder muttered. "Jason, if you want to keep her safe" –he nodded to Raven– "then you need to come back to the coven. You have another enemy!" he snapped before Jason could speak. "And they're closer than you think. If you don't come back then you're both in danger."

  "Wait, wait, wait," Raven put her hands up. "Remind me again… How many times have you tried to kill your own brother? And now all of a sudden you're worried about him?"

  "Only I can kill my brother," Boulder said. "It's how all lycan siblings are." Raven quickly had to register that in her mind. It reminded her of normal siblings bullying each other, but if someone else hurt one sibling, the other would make that person pay. Wer
ewolves really were different.

  "Do you know who this person is?" Jason asked.

  The older brother shook his head. "I only heard Evan talking to them last night. They're in the school and they know you well; I know that much. There's a spy in that refuge and if you're not careful, they're going to kill you. If you come back to the coven you'll be safe and so will your girlfriend."

  "I can protect her," Jason mumbled. "And whoever this spy is, I doubt they have as much killing experience as you and I do. No one in that school can match up to me."

  "Have you matched up to everyone?" Boulder challenged. Jason had to think for a moment and Raven looked up at him, seeing him shake his head. "Then how do you know?"

  "I just do," the green-eyed boy snorted. "Now I think you should leave. I have to get Raven back to the school."

  Jason got back to his feet and helped Raven up. Boulder stood up and sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, pup. And as for your girlfriend," he looked at the blonde questioningly. "What was with you and the chanting one before? I know you were hinting for me to take the girl. Why?"

  Raven shrugged. "Brittany is always giving us grief. I guess we just wanted her gone."

  "If I catch you trying to take anyone, I'll make sure you leave empty handed with your tail between your legs," Jason threatened his brother.

  "If you catch me," Boulder sneered. "Take care, brother. Keep an eye on your girlfriend too."

  Jason nodded and Raven watched as the older werewolf stalked off into the trees, disappearing out of sight. Jason took the blonde's arm and led her back towards the school, walking slowly so she didn't trip on anything.

  "Do you have any idea who the spy could be?" she decided to ask.

  "No clue," Jason shook his head. "Boulder could have been lying to get me back."

  "He could have been telling the truth too," Raven murmured. "You need to be careful, just in case."

  He nodded and they found the school oval again. Raven looked over to the basketball courts and saw Elaise sitting on the sidelines with Gwen and Allison while the boys played their game. Jason led the blonde girl back over to their friends and Elaise looked up at them, as though expecting answers there and then. Raven shook her head and knew she couldn't say anything because of their two other human friends.

  Raven sat down but Jason went over to his friends and pulled Der and Jake out of the game to tell them what Boulder told him. Could it have been true? Raven thought. Was Boulder serious when he said there was a spy for Evan in the school? She suddenly thought of Speed but shook her head. Speed wouldn't be able to attack Jason even if he wanted to. So who could it have been?

  The bell rang and Raven spent the next hour in PE with Elaise, Jason, Der and Eliza. After class, Jason led her to their Home Economics classroom and sat at their bay at the back of the room, waiting for the teacher to arrive as the other students prepared themselves for the lesson.

  "Do you know if Elaise found anything in her IT class?" Raven asked Jason quietly, washing her hands at the sink and tying her hair up in a low ponytail.

  "She hasn't said anything to me about it," he shrugged. "But she's edgy about something."

  "Yeah," Raven nodded, chewing her bottom lip. "I noticed that too. I hope she's okay."

  "She'll be fine," he assured her in a whisper. "If she can find a coven for Speed then we can get him to safety and then we can figure out who this apparent spy is."

  "So you do believe Boulder."

  "I have no reason not to believe him," Jason set his green gaze on her and she barely suppressed a shiver. "He would never turn up like that and not threaten me. Something is wrong, and I need to figure out what it is."

  The teacher entered the class and Raven ceased any further words she planned to say to Jason. Miss Sally smiled at her class as she held a stack of paper in her arms. "Good afternoon, class," she greeted them. "Before we start cooking there is some booklets I need to hand out to you all. Each little booklet is different has its own recipe and for your mid-term exam, you will be required to cook your recipe to absolute perfection."

  "Will we be working in our teams?" one student asked.

  "Yes," the teacher nodded. "Your scores will be based on your preparations, your cleanliness, your teamwork, your knowledge and your presentation. Your groups will be marked as one and if one student fails, the rest of your group fails as well."

  Raven listened to the complaints start up around the room and she shrugged it off as she sat beside Jason. She had no problems with the exam because she knew she could work with Jason and he wouldn't stuff anything up. She just hoped she didn't mess up with the pressure of it all. Her Home Economics exam would be the last one of the day and if she did one thing wrong then everything would weigh her down with disappointment.

  Her head snapped up as Miss Sally started handing out the booklets with a smile. "The entire recipe for each dish is in your booklets. There are also strict methods that you have to follow in order to cook it right and it will also include a few pictures so you know how to present it."

  Jason took the booklet from the teacher as it was handed to him and he flipped it open to see what he and Raven would have to cook. The blonde leaned closer to him to see and she wanted to crumble to the ground and die! All she could do was stare at the title and remind herself of how horrible she was at making desserts: Black Forest Trifles: Serves 4. She looked at the picture and saw that they would have to be made in little glass cups and she couldn't keep back the whimper in time.

  "It'll be alright," Jason chuckled. "Look how easy the method is."

  Raven read over the method and blinked at the three simple steps. She had to admit it did look fairly easy and she raised her hand. "Miss Sally? This looks too easy to be exam worthy…"

  The teacher shot Raven a smile over her shoulder as she made her way to the front of the room. "I know. Each recipe is simple, but it's up to all of you to make your dishes better! But I need all of you to copy down the ingredients you will all need onto a blank sheet of paper, put your name at the top and hand it up to me. I will retrieve all your necessary items before the exam and have it all ready for you in two weeks time."

  Raven pulled a book out of her bag and ripped out a page, grabbing a pen and quickly copying down the ingredients for the Black Forest Trifles as Jason read them out for her. She put their names at the top and waited until all the students had handed their papers up before she got up and walked to the front of the room.

  For the next hour each bay had to cook their own version of chicken pie. Raven struggled with the pastry but was satisfied when Jason helped her get it in the oven. They cleaned up their bay and washed the dishes, putting everything away and Jason got out a presentation plate, putting it on the bench. As soon as the pie was cooked, the green-eyed boy pulled it out of the oven and transferred it from the tray to the plate, grabbing a small jar of herbs and spread some thyme over the top. Raven felt proud that Jason was getting better with cooking and she retrieved a knife from the drawers, delicately cutting the pie into perfect slices.

  Miss Sally walked around the room to inspect the groups and their dishes and she smiled at Raven and Jason. "Nice work, everyone," she paced back to the front of the room. "You can all try some of your dish and the rest will be taken to the teacher's staff room as usual."

  Raven grabbed out two small plates and put a slice of chicken pie on each, giving one to Jason. They both tried their dish and Raven felt the flavors tingling in her mouth. Each day of cooking surprised her more and more and she quickly polished off her slice, washing up the dishes again and leaving Jason to put them away while she took the rest of the pie up to the trolley beside the teacher.

  When the bell rang for the end of the day, Raven went back to her dorm alone because Jason had to go to the library for some study work. The blonde found Elaise already there practicing a couple of twirls.

  "What are you doing?" Raven asked, spotting Speed sitting on the couch watching Elaise.

&nbs
p; "I have to come up with my own dance for my dance exam," the brunette sighed. "The teacher will watch our performances all class and we'll be scored by how well we did our choreography."

  "Sounds like fun," Raven smiled. "Jason and I have to make Black Forest Trifles for our exam in Home Ec. and it looks so simple! I really hope we pass."

  "Let's just hope we pass all of our classes," Elaise breathed. "But hey, what did Boulder want?"

  Speed's head snapped up. "Boulder was here?"

  "Yeah, at lunch time," Raven said and sat down. "He wasn't threatening, but he wanted to talk to Jason and I wasn't being left behind." Elaise seated herself on the other couch and Raven took a deep breath. "We went into the forest and stopped in a little clearing. Boulder once again tried to ask Jason to come back to the coven but Jason refused."