Beckett

“So, for the pep rally,” Mia began, coming up and leaning against the lockers to the right of mine, “what will we be doing exactly? Since you’re president and all that jazz, do you need help doing something special?” I bit my lip in thought. Honestly, as president I should be doing something to help with the rally, but I didn’t particularly care about it. I don’t care whether or not our team wins this Friday against our so-called rival. No one has a huge vendetta against anyone at West Ward so why are we even considered rivals?

“Um, I’m not exactly doing anything,” I replied, concentrating on doing my lock combination correctly. I always got complex combinations while Mia would get something easy with repeating numbers, “I don’t actually see any reason that I, as president of student government, has to have any action in the pep rally for varsity basketball. I barely even talk to any of the players.”

“You really don’t,” Mia agreed, shifting the books she held in her arms to rest against her hip as she stepped away from the lockers. People breezed passed us as they went to class, making the hallways loud with chatter and footsteps. Sometimes falling if someone got tripped, accidentally or not.

Despite having the position I did, I wasn’t exactly the most popular person at school. I also wasn’t the most unknown person either. I had my handful of friends and that was all I needed. Hell, I even had those friends that were awkwardly more like strangers, but you know their name and that made you kind of friends. The kind of friends you would go to if you needed to partner up and knew no one else. They were hello’s in hallways and the people you avoid eye contact with outside of school walls.

I also wasn’t a brainiac, just average. It may not seem like way with AP classes and the deal, but that was normal for my school. Most people had at least one or two between junior and senior year. I was just quick on my feet sometimes, good at public speaking (as long as I panicked ahead of time and gave myself the allotted time to freak out and have a mental breakdown beforehand), and I’ve been told I appear as a trustworthy person. Apparently all that added up to someone who my class would consider as president material.

“Okay, I think I’ve held off long enough. It’s been like a million weeks now, who were those guys? Shelton and Beckett?” Mia asked. I remember freezing in place right then. I may have acted completely cool in front of Shelton when he drilled me on how I’d react just in this moment, but I was not prepared at all. It had completely left my mind that Mia had even been there and that she’d met them. I shrugged, grabbing a textbook blindly from my locker before shutting it. “Um, Sof, I know you’re usually the one to shit talk the wolves, but I never took you as one to research your shit beforehand.” Her blue eyes glued to the book in my hands.

The Myths Series. Specially, the book all about werewolves.

“Shit,” I mumbled, staring down at the book, flipping it in my hands, “yeah, I must have taken one of Reed’s books instead of my Calc book.” Solid lie, good job Sofia. I tugged my book bag off my shoulder and slid the book inside as we walked to our Calc class on the second floor. It was the worst class to take at this school, not based on the difficulty level but on the teacher who taught it. The dullest teacher to grace the walls of our high school was also the one to teach the dullest of topics. “Reed’s on a wolf kick lately.”

“Like how he had that Michael Jackson kick?”

I nodded, “And that Oprah kick, and that time he was so obsessed with finding Bigfoot that he recorded all the shows about it and even decided he would take a week and go exploring for it.” Mia laughed, taking a seat right in the middle of the classroom, leaving me the seat behind her. I was definitely the type of person who enjoyed sitting in the back rather than the front. I didn’t care that sometimes it was a struggle to read whatever was on the board, I powered through.

“Back on topic,” she replied, twisting in her seat to watch me grab out my notebook and pencil, “who were those guys, Sof?”

I groaned, “No one important.”

“Sofia Ray Henderson,” she had the total disappointed mom voice down, “I am your best friend, arguably your coolest friend, so tell me the truth.” I sighed, resting my elbows on my desk so I could hide my face in my hands.

“They’re just friends of Reed’s,” I told her, “it’s no big deal.”

“And the fact that the one, Beckett I think, looked at you like the yummiest sliver of apple pie meant nothing also?”

I removed my hands from my face, giving her the most confused of looks. “He did not, never, no.” She flashed me a look before turning around and I knew she mumbled something under her breathe, but honestly it was probably something insane. She basically insinuated Beckett looked at me like he wanted to eat me, and if that were even remotely true, it would be more like as dinner than as…desert. There was no way I wouldn’t notice if Beckett was giving me looks even close to being adoring or such.

After class we lingered by some lockers, just standing there as Mia had decided she was going to give me the cold shoulder until I gave her info about Shelton and Beckett. Not that I really cared, we did have other friends after all. For example, we had Stephen, who pronounced it with the “f’ sound, not like Steven which I remember being something he said the first time we met and then like seven times after. Just then, he was making his way over to us, eye glued down at his phone as he probably argued with his girlfriend.

“Hey Stephen,” I smiled. He didn’t notice though, just leaned his shoulder against the wall next to me and furiously typed on his phone. I raised an eyebrow, glancing at Mia who had the same exact look as I did. She quickly gave up on the no relations between us as she made a face at me. This was something typical for Stephen and his girlfriend, not that he ever got around to actually introducing us or telling us her name. We have a theory she doesn’t exist and that’s why he always makes fights because he doesn’t know how to have a healthy relationship.

“Okay, bud,” Mia spoke in a controlled voice, reaching out and snatching the phone from his hands, “you’re done fighting with this girl. You fight every damn day and it’s not healthy for two people. Or any people. Is she even real Stephen?”

He groaned, “She’s real. Her name is Lucy.”

“Cute, what does she look like?” Mia’s face was practically glowing as she took it all in.

“She has light brown hair, uh, green eyes, she’s short,” he answered, holding his hand up to his shoulder, “well, this tall compared to me. She’s funny, but she has a temper. She has these freckles that she always complains about.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s a pain in my ass, but she’s so damn cute.”

“Sounds lovely,” I laughed. Stephen gave me a fake glare before grabbing his phone back from Mia and going back to typing at it. “You really need to figure each other out and get this all situated. You can’t fight every singe week about something different. It isn’t healthy.”

“Are you really one to talk about healthy Sof?” Stephen asked, finishing his message and slipping his phone in his back pocket. I scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion at him. I was a healthy person, except for fast food and pathetic attempts at exercise. He studied me for a moment before grabbing my arm and pulling me so close my ear was inches from his mouth. “Wolves.”

“What?” I froze. Mia watched us, clearly confused.

“I know what your brother is doing, and I have to say it isn’t exactly healthy for him to be around them considering it’s almost that time again.”

That time.

Another hunt.

After 2001, at that hunt where Beckett almost got hurt, the town decided it would hold hunts every so many years, sporadically so the wolves wouldn’t be prepared. They thought the wolves struggled with reading since they were forbidden from schooling. How could I have forgotten this year was one of the hunting years? I tugged away from Stephen, looking at him with horror I’m sure in my eyes. Mia placed her hand on my arm soothingly, completely unaware.

“And I know what you’ve been doing too. Beckett,” he spat the name like dirt before pulling his phone out again and heading to class. The warning bell had rung, I remember, just as he left. My heart rate increased as the thought of my brother being in danger, and maybe the wolves, maybe them being in danger also scared me. I don’t know, I think I was still on the fence during this time. Now, the thought would make me puke.

“Wait,” Mia said, stopping me from walking to class by grabbing my arm, “how does Stephen know about Beckett and not me? Did you tell him, but not me? I’m closer to you. You told me about Simon first, but not Beckett.” She sounded hurt and pained. I watched her, not knowing how to react, but also slightly annoyed she had to bring up that jerk Simon. Speaking of the ass, he would probably be partaking in the hunt as well as Stephen apparently.

“He doesn’t know about the coffee shop,” I said.

“But he knows about Beckett,” Mia replied, “and that’s enough to piss me off because you haven’t told me anything, explain anything so I’m going to go to class now. Late. I’ll call you later.” I sighed, tucking some of my hair behind my ear as she left me standing there.

If I hadn’t been so worried about the hunt and the wolves and Reed, I probably would have fought more with Mia until I got her forgiveness or could explain myself. But I didn’t. I let her be pissed, I let myself be a terrible friend, but not nearly as terrible as Stephen.