by Rachel Hera
“I did, actually,” I answered. We grabbed a basket on our way into the store. Trying not to smile like a fool was hard. This was good. This felt natural. She had to feel it to. The extraordinary sense of ‘just right.’ Just like Goldilocks. “Oddly enough, it was a cat. Mr. Whiskers.”
“Mr. Whiskers,” she repeated slowly. “Somehow I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. Though I couldn’t say my ‘S’s, so it was ‘Withkerth.”
“How long did that last?”
“Until the first kid bullied me,” I said. “I worked really hard to articulate my ‘S’s after that.”
“And you’re doing really well,” she teased.
“Bully or bullied?” I asked, since we were on the topic.
“Sometimes one, sometimes the other,” she watched as I grabbed two bananas and a medium container of already cut watermelon in the produce section. “The thing about being a kid is that you don’t realize the long term effects.”
“Fair enough,” I nodded. I quickly made a list in my head of all the things I thought we would need. Maybe some yogurt. Cookies were a must. But if we were getting cookies, we should get milk. They did, after all, have those small cartons.
“You said you were bullied for your speech impediment. But what about after that?”
“I haven’t changed much over the years. I mind my own business.”
“Well, if you emitted the same energy you do around the school, I bet that wasn’t too hard.”
I was quiet for a moment as we entered the dairy section. I did grab the yogurt and milk carton, which earned me a funny look from her. Finally, I said, “You still get that one kid –sometimes several –that try to, and I quote, ‘put you in your place.’ Not that it worked on me, but it worked on Kaya, and, to some degree, on Jason. And then I would have to stick up for them.”
“Jason seems to be able to hold his own,” she said.
“He can… now,” I grinned.
“I like Jason. He’s like the brother I’ve never had.”
“And me?” I dared myself to ask.
She lifted her shoulders, and then let them fall. “I’m still deciding.”
“Which just makes this date all the more worthwhile,” I said, happy when she smiled.
“What kind of cookies?” I asked as we headed down the aisle.
“If that’s what the milk is for… Oreos. Hands down.”
“Oreos it is… All that’s left to do is go and pay and we’re all set for our picnic.”
“We’re really doing this?” she laughed. She wrinkled her nose as she did so, and I found that adorable.
“You doubted me?”
“Not for a second,” she followed behind me.
She let me pay, though I had expected her to convince me to go Dutch.
“Your date –your money,” she told me with another shrug. But I was fine with that. If anything, I was happy. We drove back to the school, we walked to the park, and we found a picnic table to sit at. At first, I counted the giggles, to reassure myself that she was having a good time. But it was so easy to lose count.
Knowing that she was my mate was one thing. Getting to know her was a completely different matter, and one that everyone should be blessed with. I knew she was amazing, but the number of facial expressions that she had, how quickly she could go from laughing to scolding me for double dipping a cookie in that carton of milk –I was flabbergasted. I didn’t know I could love her more than I already did.
And I did love her. She was so easy to open up to, and her every move was captivating. It was overwhelming, the feelings I felt for her. In a way, it was scary. I hadn’t expected to be as consumed by her presence in my life as I was.
I wanted to tell her everything and anything. At the same time, I didn’t want to tell her my past, and why I truly was the way I was. My twin brother, Keegan, and I had once fought for attention, and eventually I just let him have it. He had been the suck up, the pride and joy of Carlos’s father and the elder Pack members. But Carlos, Michael and Noah had seen through him.
Keegan was, in fact, a psychotic maniac. There was a time when we lived in a suburban area, and when the neighbours left their boys at our house while they had to run out for a family emergency, Keegan tied them up in our basement and hung them upside down from the rafters –then proceeded to blame me. We were ten. And I had never been hit so hard by Carlos’s father before in my life.
Keegan had been dropped off on the doorstep a week after I had been –a fact that, when we were alone together, he never let me forget. He may have been abandoned, too, but in the end our real parents had chosen him over me. Then again, he may have been psychotic, but I was the monster. For whatever reason, I had been able to shift from human to wolf since birth –sporadically, since I had no control over anything my body did at such an age. Carlos had helped with that. By the age of six, so long as I didn’t get riled up, I was fine. Still, better safe than sorry, I’d been homeschooled until I was eight. Carlos was scared I would become too introverted.
Not that it really made a difference in the long run –I still preferred to be on my own instead of mingling with humans and supernaturals outside my Pack. With the sole exception of Evelyn.
The school bell rang, and Evelyn looked up in surprise. “That’s the end of last period.”
“Which means –”
“This is the end of our date,” she finished my sentence as she started cleaning our garbage up, slipping me a half-hearted smile. “Man, I ate too much. Remind me to limit the Oreo intake –I can’t believe you let me eat two rows.”
“There have been days where I just sit, play video games and eat a whole box to myself –so believe me, this is nothing,” I reassured her, following her as she tossed everything in the trash.
“I assume you have one last question to ask me,” she said, clasping her hands behind her back as we headed back towards the school.
“Do you let a boy kiss you on the first date?”
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them –and I was damn glad Jason wasn’t around. He wouldn’t have let me live that down for the rest of my life.
Her cheeks flushed red from the unexpected question. But she recovered, and slowly answered –“No… You’ll have to wait for the third date.”
I grinned. Grinned and grinned until I felt like a fool.
“Eight,” she said. She held up her thumb and index finger in front of her face; “Just barely though.”
Eight, nine, ten –I didn’t care what she rated me. I was just happy I got a second date.
October
Chapter 17: Maddie
September gave way to October before Evelyn apologized. A whole week and a half –and that was a long time for Evelyn to not talk to me.
There were times where I had debated apologizing to her first. Part of me felt like I should take it as a compliment that she was worried about me capturing Shayne’s attention. More than that, though, I was offended that she thought I would even think about stealing a guy she likes.
That being said, I wasn’t surprised to see her leaning against my locker on Thursday after fourth period ended –I had expected it sooner, but still expected it, nonetheless.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“I know,” I replied.
We stared at each other before simultaneously cracking grins. She moved aside to let me into my locker.
“So what’s been new in the last week?” she asked me.
“Absolutely nothing,” –except the dreams had continued. I wouldn’t call that new though, so it was okay not to tell her, right? “What about you? How are your new best friends?”
“I don’t have a new –”
“I’m talking about Blake and Jason,” I told her bluntly.
“They’ve been supporting me in my rough times without you,” she told me with a smile. “And just so you can’t get mad at me –Blake and I are going on a date.”
My left hand twitch
ed, and I clenched the pen that I held tight as I forced a smile. I wouldn’t say I was jealous. I wasn’t. Blake and Jason were definitely attractive, but they were so not my type. But if what Kristy said was true about Shayne, then Evelyn was having all these handsome guys flock to her. It was strange only because they usually flocked to me. When had the attention shifted?
“Ah-ha!” I exclaimed. “I knew you’d fall for his charms. When’s this going down?”
“Next Tuesday. At the fair,” she pushed her hair behind her ear as I closed my locker. We began walking down the hall, making our way to the buses –or so I presumed. Evelyn hadn’t been taking the bus lately. “Well… I say date, but Jason, Dante and Kaya are coming along, too.”
“So it’s this weird group thing?” I asked.
“I guess so,” she shrugged helplessly. “I’m still looking forward to it.”
“I bet you are,” I murmured.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I kept myself from wiping a hand over my face for two reasons: one, it would mess up my makeup and, two, it would show a little of my bitterness. And I wasn’t a bitter person –Evelyn knew this. I just… I don’t know what was coming over me. Maybe the dreams and sleepless nights were taking more out of me than I’d initially thought.
“I mean Blake’s attractive,” I nudged her, giggling slightly. “Go get’em, tiger.”
“Thanks,” she eased up as we headed downstairs. “I think I’m more comfortable with Blake than I was with Shayne. It just… Blake makes me angry –a lot –but he’s… he’s something else. Last week he took me on a sixty minute date. A picnic. We went to the store and bought cookies and fruits and ate in the park. It was the sweetest thing, Maddie.”
That did sound sweet. If I wasn’t jealous before, I might have been a teensy bit jealous now. I wanted a cute picnic in the park. Not that any guy at this high school had any game like that.
“Lucky you,” I teased. At the bottom of the staircase, we pushed our ways out of the exit doors and made our way onto the sidewalk. She stopped, not getting on the bus. “Working today?”
“Ah, no,” she said, rubbing her arm. “Blake’s going to drive me home. Did you want a lift, too? I mean, we all live in the same direction. He’s been picking me up in the mornings, too.”
“I couldn’t impose on the two of you,” I told her, adjusting my bag.
“Jason will be there, so I wouldn’t really call it imposing,” Evelyn said.
“The two of them don’t like anybody, so I would still call it imposing,” I retorted. “I’m going to take the bus.”
“If you’re sure,” she said slowly.
“Maybe another time,” I said.
“Call me when you get home. We’ll hang out this weekend.”
“Definitely,” I nodded.
We parted, and I got on the bus. Philip was already at the back of the bus, but Cole wasn’t around yet. Perfect –since I didn’t really care for his attitude. Philip waved me over, and I went and sat down beside him. He grinned a half-hearted smile that made me wonder how Evelyn could have ever been mad at him. He and Evan were definitely two of the sweetest guys in school.
“How’re things with Evelyn?” he asked. “You guys are clearly on speaking terms again.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll be back to normal in no time. It takes a lot to shake us up,” I answered, watching with a slight frown as Cole got on the bus.
“She, Blake and Jason are getting along well,” he mentioned.
“Yeah, according to her, they’re pretty cool guys,” I shrugged.
“Kinda assholes though,” Philip pointed out.
“I guess. I don’t really know them, and Jason’s not such a bad guy.” I mean, he listened to me and Kristy during biology with no complaints –at least, none that I’d heard.
“I hate both of them,” Cole said as he sat down. When he was met with silence he went on –“You’re talking about Blake and Jason, right? They’re pretty arrogant.”
“Like you’re one to talk,” I muttered. I pulled out my water bottle from my bag.
“Speaking of those two,” Cole ignored me. “I just saw Evelyn getting into their truck. One minute she’s at the movies with one guy, the next she’s keeping the company of two guys.”
“Just what do you think you’re implying?” I glared at him as I unscrewed the lid.
“Your best friend had more in her than I thought. Who knew she’d turn out to be the village wh– Ah! Hey!”
With all my water emptied onto Cole’s lap, I put the lid back on and tossed it back into my bag. That, admittedly, was more satisfying that quenching my thirst.
“What the hell?” he exclaimed.
“Oops?” I cocked my head to the side and lifted my hands up helplessly.
“Bullshit, you filthy little –”
“Just shut up, Cole,” Philip said. “For Christ’s sake. Let’s go, Maddie.”
Philip pushed me to my feet, and we relocated to the middle of the bus.
“I’m sorry about him. God, no wonder Evelyn hates me. I really should disassociate myself from the likes of Cole.”
“It’s true,” I glanced back. Cole was clearly fuming. Served him right though. No matter what terms I was on with Evelyn, no one had any right to say anything bad about her. “You and Evan both.”
“Evan’s already started distancing himself,” Philip said.
“Oh?” I asked.
“He doesn’t like being on Evelyn’s bad side,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I think that ship’s sailing,” I sighed. “I really did want to see the two of them end up together. But a part of me feels like she and Blake look good together.”
“In a weird way, huh?” Philip agreed.
“No,” I said slowly, hating to admit it, really. “In the right way.”
Chapter 18: Evelyn
“Cole was such a jerk on the bus yesterday,” Maddie told me at lunch. We sat in the cafeteria. It’d been raining most of the morning, so the grass was still wet. It meant our first indoor gym class –and not the last, with winter coming slowly, but surely. The sun was shining now though. It began peeking its head out near the end of Music. If it hadn’t, Chantelle and Maegan wouldn’t have decided to walk to Subway. So it was just me and Maddie sitting there, since Kristy was home sick.
“What else is new?” I muttered.
“He was talking rudely about you,” she said. “He was calling you a whore for hanging out with Blake and Jason.”
“If I cared what Cole thought, I’d be crying myself to sleep every night. Since I’m not, I feel like I’m being the bigger person, and he’s wasting his life away obsessing over me,” I unwrapped the sandwich I’d packed this morning. It was simply salami on buttered bread, but it was better than nothing. I was trying to get back in the habit of bringing a lunch at least three times a week –though it was hard when you slept in until the last minute possibly most times. It was easy math –five dollar lunches at the cafeteria, five days a week for, I don’t know, forty weeks equaled out to about a thousand dollars. That was a thousand dollars I could be using to buy my own car.
“I dumped water all over his lap.”
I nearly choked on the first bite. Did I hear that right? “What?”
“I dumped the contents of my water bottle on Cole’s lap,” she repeated, wiping an apple off on the hem of her shirt before taking a bite. She chewed and swallowed before she went on, “It was probably the single most satisfying thing I have ever done in my life. You should have seen the look on his face.”
“I wish I did,” I said.
“He seems to dissect conversations, looking for instances to put you down. It wouldn’t surprise me if he got off to thoughts of you doing other guys. Twisted jerk.”
“I’m going to use that as a comeback the next time I see him,” I said thoughtfully. “Well, supposing the conversation sets me up for it.”
“It’s a good one,” she laughed. “He’ll get so a
ngry.”
“He’s always angry,” I retorted. “At least Marissa leaves me alone for the majority of the day. Cole goes out of his way to put me down.”
“She’s still a bitch though,” Maddie said.
“That’s a given,” I said.
“Are you hanging out with Blake later?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah, we spend fourth period finishing our English homework. Or we just talk.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know. Things.” I said.
“We used to talk about things,” she sighed dramatically. “Am I so easily replaced?”
“You? Replaceable? Not in this lifetime,” I nudged her with my shoulder.
She smiled, “You’re right. I’m one of a kind. Well, we’ve got time to kill before class. Let’s go wander the halls. Maybe you can use that comeback on Cole today.”
“Maybe,” I replied. But I doubted it.
* * *
“So you moved a lot as a kid?”
“I guess,” Blake shrugged in reply to my question. We sat outside in the sunlight, leaning against the brick exterior of the school. Ever since our sixty-minute date, it was just natural to spend fourth block spare with him. “I never thought much of it. It was normal. At least… it felt that way.”
“No wonder you’re so not into making friends,” I teased.
“I have Jason, Dante and Kaya –there’s not really much need for anyone else.”
“Then I’ll just be on my merry way,” I told him, pushing myself to my feet. He wrapped his hand gently around my wrist, pulling me back down beside him. I laughed.
“You’re cool. You’re different,” he told me.
“I can’t say those words have ever been used to describe me outside the mouth of my little sister,” I told him.
“I call bullshit. From what I’ve seen of your little sister, she’d never say those words to you,” he grinned.
“You caught me,” I sighed dramatically. “She thinks it, though. Right?”
“Oh, definitely,” he answered. “At least, she thinks you’re different.”
