Can't Love a Werewolf, Without Getting Fleas.

Lunch.

My stomach growled in anticipation. Monday was pizza day. No matter were I’ve been, it’s always known that Monday is pizza day.

I got pepperoni and a sprite.

I paid the simple $2.50 and turned to see where to sit.

The first table that caught my eye was Leslie’s table. Almost like her voice was playing in my head, I remember the group of people she said she hung out with.

All four guys, and her and Violet were seated at the table.

I gulped and took a shot at Colton. His eyes bore into me. They were searching me, for something. My palms suddenly became faint with sweat as I fidgeted under his stare.

Usually when you look up at people, and catch them staring they look away or blush and look away, but he just kept staring.

Like it was his job. I blushed a deep red and regretted it. Why had I blushed? Why was his stare making me feel so nervous?

Leslie was beckoning me over to her table. Violet caught the notation and waved me over as well.

I wouldn’t have hesitated if it weren’t for Mr. Intensity sitting across from the only open seat at the table.

But as I took a step toward them, deciding I shouldn’t let some guy I barely know scare me away from my new friends, Brooke’s manicured nails cupped my shoulder, as she led me to their table at the opposite end of the cafeteria from Leslie’s table, but not so far you couldn’t see them.

I mouthed a “sorry” to her as her smile fell. She nodded, understanding and reluctantly went back to talking to one of the guys about something in depth.

I sat down in the only open seat between Brooke and Blake.

“Wouldn’t want you hanging around the riff-raff.” Brooke told me with a smile.

I didn’t reply. I mean, I don’t know if she was expecting me to agree, but I liked Leslie and Violet. They reminded me of my friends back home.

The whole table was talking amiably about some dance coming up in a few weeks.

Brooke was hooked on to Fredrick’s left arm beside me as she told Annie and Rachel the dress she was going to wear this year, and how it looked a little bit similar to her freshman winter formal dress, and how her and Fredrick had found a tie for him that matched her dress to the T.

I sighed and looked up at Leslie’s table. She was doubled over in laughter, so was Violet.

I turned to see a guy I didn’t recognize have milk trickling off his auburn hair and down his face, till it dripped off his chin and hit the tiled floor.

Brian was standing over him with a giant grin on his face.

I sighed more audibly and picked my fork at the different sized lettuce leaves, squishing the ranch dressing between two leaves and then pulling them back apart.

“You plan on going to the dance?” Blake turned to me, avoiding my eyes for some reason.

“I mean. I don’t know. I might go. Why?” I said, taking my eyes off my salad to his blonde haired-framed face.

“Just wondering.”

Richey narrowed his eyes at Blake.

“Just do it.”

“Do what?” I asked looking at the two of them. When boys were hiding things…. That usually meant bad news.

“Uh… well… you see… Richey likes this girl…and she’s a good friend of his, but. He’s not so sure on how to ask her…out?”

I raised an eyebrow at Richey.

He looked shocked for a moment, but then looked at Blake and looked at me. “Yea. Sure.” He said shaking his head in a sad manner.

“Well. I guess look for the signs that she likes you back.” I told both of them, wondering how either of them had trouble with girls.

Everywhere we went girls practically swooned over them.

It even made me feel self conscious about my own looks.

“Right.” Blake said as if he were taking a mental note.

“What would those signs be?”

“I don’t know…” I said, boggling my mind for some way a girl would flirt.

“If she smiles a lot around you… if she compliments you a lot….”

“What’s this?” Brooke interrupted.

“I was just talking to them about how girls flirt.” I said matter-of-factly.

She made a ‘pfffttt’ noise. “Duh. They make out with you.” Her and Annie giggled furiously as she gave Fredrick a peck on the lips.

I shook my head in disappointment

I was about to say that not all girls are like that but I figured it would be like arguing with a wall. Obviously Brooke and her friends weren’t like normal girls.

Which made me think that maybe Leslie and Violet were.

I glanced up at their table and frowned.

I guess the only good thing about this picture was that the Colton kid had left, and wasn’t staring at me like it was his job anymore.

*

Fourth period: Earth Science.

I walked into the room scanning the crowd of students for familiar faces.

There were none.

Great my biggest fear.

But for some reason I was kind of glad I could get away from the drama I was involuntarily wrapped up in.

A feud between two totally different groups of people.

A warm up question was placed on the board, and I got out a piece of paper to answer it.

“What lines to earthquakes occur on?”

That’s simple enough.

FAULT LINES.

I wrote on my warm up paper under Monday.

I started to doodle something on my paper, not really sure of what I was drawing. Just drawing out whatever my mind was keeping captive.

That is always the best kind of doodle.

Until a throat cleared loudly.

I looked up to see some guy I’ve yet to meet.

He had spiky black hair and tan skin. His plain brown eyes scrutinized me.

“What?” I asked him, wondering why he was still standing here.

“We have assigned seats. And your in mine, new girl.” He smiled like he was explaining something slowly to a five year old.

I scoffed. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Whatever.” He said, popping headphones into his ears as I got my things together.

I looked around as students started to file into their assigned seats.

People were throwing airplanes to eachother, and passing notes, and yelling across the room to their friends on the other side.

I sheepishly made my way to the far right of the room. The teacher walked in and shushed everybody as the bell rang.

Once the talking seemed to have died down, she started class with the role.

Alphabetically that is.

I always hated role, because having your last name start with T meant you had to wait forever.

I didn’t know any of the names being called, and didn’t really care. I’d know everybody in all good time.

Usually by the end of the year you’re sick of everybody in your class because you know each other all too well.

Except one name I did recognize, and I’m not saying that’s a good thing.

“Colton Sparks?”

“Yo.” I shot my head to the origination of the deep voice.

His head hung low staring at the table as his pencil carved into the desk.

The teacher made a disgusted sound. “Stop vandalizing the school’s property! How many times do I have to tell you.”

“As many times as it takes for you to realize that you don’t scare me.” He spat back at her.

“Det-.” She started.

“Detention—I know.” He grumbled making strokes with his pencil to carve deeper into the desk.

She sighed angrily and turned back to the sheet of names in front of her.

“OH! Goodie! It looks like we have a new student everybody!” Everyone’s eyes shot straight at me.

Like it wasn’t obvious… I was the only one without a seat.

Speaking of which… where am I going to sit?

“Shaylee Turner?”

“Here.” I barely raised a hand feeling the embarrassment settle into my stomach, and making me nauseous.

“Oh. I didn’t see you there.” She smiled at me, and that’s when I saw the giant pair of glasses atop her big nose.

Her gray hair was pulled back into a bun, and her tacky floral dress stopped just above her chubby ankles.

That’s when I spotted it.

The only empty seat in the class… and it was next to Colton.

I groaned inwardly.

“You will be accompanying Mr. Colton Sparks over there against the wall.”

I looked up in time to see the muscles in Colton’s arms contract suddenly, making the pencil in his hand snap in half.

He cursed under his breath and tossed it into the trash a few feet away from him as I began to walk closer.

I looked at the posters on the walls, I looked at the fluorescent lights in the ceiling, I looked at the hallway door, and the slight crack in the door’s window—I looked everywhere but at Colton Sparks.

I sat down and pulled my chair as far as it could go without making it obvious that I was trying to get away from him.

He didn’t mouth a word to me, yet I still hadn’t looked at him.

The lesson began and I new immediately that this class was boring.

I tried to pay attention, I really did—but no matter what I did, my mind wanted to wander elsewhere.

If he didn’t twitch occasionally, or if I couldn’t hear his even breaths, I would have thought he weren’t even there.

I still didn’t dare look at his face. Scared of what I might see.

I had put him up on a pedestal, made him out to be someone so important.

And he wasn’t.

So why had I?

I couldn’t really answer that, because truthfully… I still believed deep down, that there was so much more to him than people had told me. I knew this as much as I knew my name was Shaylee Elizabeth Turner.

But honestly, the tension between us almost felt alive. Like we were both dying to know each other, but neither of us was going to act on it.

It felt like it was going to grow to a point that it would just explode and kill us both.

But of course, I’m being overdramatic.

Like always.

*

I must have yawned a million times in the past ten minutes. I hadn’t even felt tired till this specific class. And to think I was almost excited for today?

Only ten minutes left in the class… thank the lord.

Oh yeah, and Colton and I still haven’t acknowledged each other’s existence. The face he had made in the gym wasn’t out of my head yet. Like—it refused to leave.

I couldn’t get over it. What had Brian told him that scared him so bad?

The way Leslie and Violet talked about him; it made me think he was scared of nothing and no one.

So many questions, no chance of getting them answered.

I started to doodle in my notebook like I always have.

I liked to keep a collection of my drawings, because I had always drawn whatever I dreamt the past few nights; or I’ve just drawn a dream I’ve had multiple times on many different occasions.

Usually I dreamt about a certain place, something in the woods. A tiny little house perched in the trees.

Creaking with oak as I stepped on it. I always came to this little shack/hideout when I fell asleep.

Maybe it was a weird sign that all my dreams either had to do with either me in the woods, or me in this shack.

I was always looking for something; searching for something.

Or someone.

I once chased after a little boy running with a unnatural talent at running.

“You just move here?”

I snapped out of my thoughts. I had been thinking so in depth about what my dreams meant, that I didn’t even notice I was in a classroom.

My pencil just flew over the paper. The outline of the shack as starting to come in view on my paper.

I jumped at the sound of the voice. I had only heard it once. Outside; when he had bumped into me, but that was the only other time.

The sound of it imprinted itself into my head and echoed in my ears. As if maybe my mind were playing a trick on me.

I dared to glance at its origin.

Colton.

His deep-set brown eyes were boring into me. I almost fell out of my chair at their intensity.

His stare made me feel so uncomfortable. I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t like the feeling that he was seeing straight through me, like he knew me more than I knew myself.

“Uhm, yeah. From New York.”

He nodded once, and didn’t say anything back.

Anti-social much…?

About a minute later he replied. “Kind of a far move. What for?”

He wasn’t really a man of words was he?

“My dad’s work. The company decided they wanted to move back. I don’t know. Companies tend to do that stuff.”

“Back?” He said, his eyes scanning me, as they were slightly narrowed.

“Mhmm. I lived here before, like ten years ago.”

His jaw clenched and he swallowed hard; I watched as his Adam’s Apple contracted with the motion.

I gulped, realizing that I was staring.

“Ten?”

I almost cracked a smile. “Are you an echo?” I smirked.

He didn’t show any sign of amusement. I avoided his eyes once more, “Yes. Ten. My parents told me we moved to New York when I was seven.”

Our talk was senseless, but anything was better than learning about the measurement of an earthquake’s strike.

Talking about people dying made this class feel even glummer than needed.

He nodded once and got his stuff together and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Just as the loud banging of the door seemed to quiet down, and the sleepy heads of fellow classmates awoke with a startle, the final bell rang.

I felt a chill creep through me.

That was weird…

*

I looked at my bus number at the bottom of my class schedule.

Where to the bus parking lot?

I didn’t even make it out the door before Blake sweeped by.

“You’re not taking public transportation are you?” He gasped sarcastically.

“Well… that was my original plan.” I said, knowing in the back of my mind that I didn’t like being followed around by him and his sister.

But any social contact was greatly appreciated after that class.

“Nope. I insist I take you home.” He smiled nudging me with his elbow as we walked outside.

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as the fact that I’m hot.” I laughed.

“I guess I’ll be taking the bus then.” I smirked.

“Oh, you’re going to pay for that.”

“What?” I screamed as Blake smiled mischievously.

I giggled furiously as I ran from him.

“Seriously. I don’t do well when people tickle me!” I yelled, trying to balance my books as I ran across the courtyard towards the parking lot.

“I know. Who do you think use to torture when you were little?”

“Not fair! I don’t know any of your weaknesses!” I shouted back to him as I ran in—well, in no particular direction.

I screamed when I turned around. A motorcycle drove by so fast in front of me, if I had taken one step closer it would have ran right into me.

Blake caught up to me suddenly and pulled me into him, away from the dangerous pathway of student’s cars existing the parking lot.

The motorcycle stopped a few yards in front of us, and did a quick 180. The tinted window of the helmet was dark, but I could feel the stare of whoever was behind it.

Without another second the motorcycle spun back around, creating smoke. It spun off and came to life as it faded into the distance .

My heart was pounding at the near-death experience. I barely heard Blake behind me.

“Let’s walk back—safely.”

“Good idea.” I said, breathing out, feeling fairly lightheaded.

“I’m sorry about him by the way.” Blake said as he drove me home, honking at stoned students walking in the middle of the road on our way out of school.

“About who?”

“Colton Sparks.”

“Oh… yeah.” Every time his name was spoken, a weird since of dejavu hit me, and chills ran up my arms.

“Just ignore him, and,” Blake paused smiling his one-of-a-kind dashing smiles. “if he gives you any trouble, just tell me.”

I laughed. “Alright, overprotective brother.”

“Ha… yeah, brother….”

“Is he always that stand-offish?” I wondered, scanning my eyes absent-mindedly to the houses that lined the streets like dominoes.

“Pretty much.”

“Weird.” I’m sure Blake took my response as a ‘I-hate-stan­d-offish-guys; statement, but really, my mind was racing.

Racing with the thought that there was more to him. So much more, and I wanted… I wanted to know what.

*

I said goodbye to Blake and felt my anxiety seize at the door, with the familiar scent of cinnamon in my home.

Nothing like home.

I bit my the cap of my pin, which was settled to the back of my writing utensil, out of boredom.

I was never a big fan of homework, or anything having to do with school.

Plus I still had those weird butterflies from my first day. All expected.

My phone rang, breaking me free of the math problem I had currently been staring at the past twenty minutes.

Ok, yes that’s an outrageous amount of time, but it felt like that to me.

“Elloooo loveee!” I shouted into the phone, seeing as to who the little square screen said who it was

“Shayyyylayyy!” My best friend, Kara hollered into my ear.

“It’s so good to hear your voice dude!” I shouted, feeling almost as if I really were back in New York.

“I knowowow! CHICKA. We need to talk. How’s home sweet home-well technically here is your home, cuz I say so- but how’s the new place?” Her voice sped through without a breath and I couldn’t help but laugh.

She was such a ditz.

“It’s ok. A lot of people remember me here. Like it’s freakishly weird, and accurate. Like they know where my tickle spots are.”

The other end broke into cackled laughter.

“What?” I asked, feeling as if I missed my own joke.

“That sounded dirty.” Her high voice giggled.

“OH SUSH! You know what I mean.”

“I do. I do. That’s very bizarre, I must agree. Did your parents ever tell you why you couldn’t remember much?”

“No… actually. I never thought to ask really.”

“I swear, how will you ever survive down in Texas without me?”

“I do not know Kara, I do not know.”

*

We’d been talking for about an hour about everything.

I tried to get more information about how things were back at home. Evidentially I was dead meat if I didn’t call Michael (my best guy friend) after I called Kara.

She said he was wearing black to school to mourn my giant move. I just laughed. It was so very… Michael.

“So. How’re the boys?” I knew that tone, it was her please-tell-me-you’ve-lost-your-virginity-finally tone.

Gross. That tone gave me the heebie jeebies.

“I don’t know. I’m not really looking, I mean who could replace Michael.” I joked and she bluntly laughed at how stupid my excuse was.

Michael was more like my little immature brother, whom I had to open Gatorades for because he could never unscrew the top.

“Well, I don’t know. I live next door to these two twins-one’s a boy and the other’s a girl- and they said that all three of us were like “inseparable when we were younger.”

Her side of the line went quite. “Dude, that’s mad creepy. I feel like I’m the best friend in a Stephen king movie. GASP!” She yelled next, “the best friend always dies!…Poowie!”

I huffed a laugh. I was use to her tangents, so much so that sometimes I didn’t even notice it. It wasn’t that I was avoiding this subject—I wasn’t. But I saw movement under my door and knew that inside was no place to hold a conversation about boys. Especially since my dad was probably home from work by now.

“But yeah. They’re way weird at school too. Like when I met Leslie and Violet (I had already explained them to Kara, and Kara agreed they sounded the coolest out of everyone I’ve met thus far.) They didn’t want me to hang out with them, and then Blake and one of Les and Vi’s guy friends had this argument with Blake saying that “you broke the treaty” and shit.”

“HAHA! What the heck that’s like twilight!” I rolled my eyes as I stepped outside into the cooling night air, the sun’s left over rays shining above tips of houses like it was trying to wave a last goodbye before slipping away completely.

“Yeah, something like that. I don’t even know, I barely know these people. But it was intense Kare.”

“Well ask Blake about it.”

“I did, but I guess I can ask again.”

“There ya go! Thinking more like Kare Bear now!” I could almost promise you she was smirking into the phone right about now.

“Yeah, yeah whatever. But get this…”

I paused, deciding which way I would go. I decided to walk on the other side of the street near the dense forest.

I could faintly hear chirping, and wonder if Kara could hear it too, echoing from my side of the phone.

“I saw this guy, and immediately old memories of him and me flashed through my head, clear as day. And I was happy. I think… I think we might have been friends when I was younger, maybe even best friends because I have a ankelet/bracelet thing he made me.”

“Whoa.”

“Yeah. Exactly. I thought it was odd, that out of every face I was supposed to remember, his is the only one. And I didn’t mistake it. He has these wicked brown eyes, that looks like different rich layers of dirt in the form of eyes.”

“Someone’s turned on.”

I gasped at her frankness. “AM NOT YOU PERV!” I objected immediately.

“Uhuh…have you seen him shirtless?”

“Possibly….” She squealed into the receiver.

“OMIGOSH! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME SOONER!?!?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t really had the time with Brooke and Blake being on my back, and then having to unpack and get ready for school.”

She babbled on, but I couldn’t help but remember the day I saw Colton walking out of the woods, his skin glistening with fresh sweat. Almost… sexy.

What? It’s fair, I can look—just not touch.

Shuffling noises beside me made me halt my fast-paced walk. I squinted my eyes into the forest and thought I saw something move.

I stepped closely; hesitantly, wondering what exactly was back there.

I hoped it was dear. I’m such a fan of them, especially babies.

And yes, I cried when Bambi’s mother died. Sooo sad.

Vines and leaves covered the figure—whatever it was, and hid it from my view. But all I had to do was just… move it out of the way.

Before my hand could completely grasp the tiny leather-feeling leaves, something dark and huge darted out from it.

It leaped, in only a few strides to behind a mass of bushes. I blinked several times, wondering if what I had seen was real. If anything that big could have moved so fast.

My hands were shaking, and I dropped the phone.

My heart pounded uncomfortably in my ear and temples. I stepped toward the bushes, hating that every step I took, the leaves crunched beneath me and gave away where I was.

One slow breath, and I could just kick the bushes and see if it was timid enough or… angry enough to come from behind the them like it had before.

As I made my way over I could hear a faint growling. Barely audible, but it was there. It made the trees seem so much more dangerous, so much more mysterious. As if… as if they held a secret.

I gulped as the growling got louder. My head was screaming at me, telling me to stop, to turn around.

But for some completely irrational and bizarre and probably area-51 freakiness… I felt… I felt safe.

So with that last thought of courage, I hit the bushes with the tip of my converses and waited, my breathing sealed within my throat.

Something shot out beside me and I squealed.

I felt mass panic take over me, and then I fell back onto the forest floor.

But as I stared at what had emerged from the bushes I felt stupid.

It was a bunny.

A innocent little white, fuzzy bunny. And I was completely overreacting.

I gasped a few times, trying to calm myself down.

Once reality came back to me, I shuffled over to my phone where I could hear Kara screaming “SHAYLEE! SHAYLEE! HELLOOO!!!??”

I picked it up as my eyes stayed glued to those bushes. They were still; completely still.

I heaved a sigh once I returned to the safety of the sidewalk. I tried walking briskly away, but couldn’t gain the courage to go to the other side of the road. My curiosity wouldn’t let me.

I could have sworn there had been something there. Something massive and brown.

“HELLLOWOWOWOW!???” Kara’s bored and angry voice echoed non stop in my ear.

“Yeah… yeah sorry, Kare. I’m here.”

“’BOUT TIME! I thought you have fallen off the face of the earth! I was about to go Columbus on you and come get you! Like Pirates of the Caribbean or some nonsense.”

“Kare…KARE! I’m fine, really.” She was in a panicked ramble, which was never good for her.

“You’re right. Sorry, but back to my question missy!”

My squinted my eyebrows together to make a V on my forhead. “What question?”

I know it was horrible that I was just talking to my best friend for the first time in about a week, and I was barely listening to what she was saying, but something that happened back there….

It felt like it had happened before, but I couldn’t place it.

“I saaaiiddddd,” Kara dragged out her words, “is he hott?”

I chocked on my saliva. I hadn’t really registered that. Everything was so new to me, I didn’t even think about relationships, attractions, or adolescent love (even though it was overrated.)

“Uh… I guess so.”

“You guess so?”

His brown eyes flashed through my head, barely masked by his black hair.

“Yes. Actually, yes he is.” I said, noticing a smile that dared itself to show on the surface.