You Fight For All The Wrong Reasons

We were well into summer vacation. Last-minute cramming and long term assignments may be the farthest thing away from me now, but I still couldn't escape the madness of the reactions to the news that Cam and I were now a couple. The reactions of some people in particular.

I was still swimming with the same fish, just in a different pond.

Of course I had known what I had to face, walking down the halls that day. The pack. To say that they were shocked would be a bit of an understatement.

Ray was furious. He gave me this long talk about "being a disgrace to the pack" that had us both fifteen minutes late for biolog, him seething even more and I practically in tears. A miracle would have to happen to earn his respect and friendship back.

Ryan was in complete disbelief. I didn't think he could wrap his mind around the idea. But he wasn't too thrilled either.

Christina wasn't exactly jumping up and down when she heard the news. But I think she understood a little bit better than the others. "You realize how this is coloring outside the lines here. I'm not going to tear you up like Ray. I'll still be your friend, regardless of who your boyfriend is. You should do what's best for you, even though it may not be best for us. But quite frankly, Audrey, I don't think this is the best choice for you either."

Julia tried everything she could think of to persuade me out of it.

Mitch surprised me that day. I still remember what he said so vividly:
It was the last day of school and things hadn't gone so well. I felt like I had truly betrayed the pack, that I wasn't one of them anymore. I was some weird sub-species, stuck inbetween a werewolf and a vampire.

Immersed in these gloomy thoughts, I stepped out of school into the blinding sunlight. My shadow trailed behind me. I wondered how Cam was faring.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up, and my eyes met the face of a boy with a mop of wavy dirty-blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. Mitch.

"Hey." He sounded awkward and nervous for some reason. "Can I talk to you?"

"Um, sure." How very unlike Mitch.

"Okay." His eyes searched my face, as if the words he was about to speak were scribbled across my skin. "About you and Cam..." I braced myself for the horrile words about to come. "I'm really happy for you."

That caught me offguard. "What?" I sputtered. "But...why...I mean..."

"I won't be selfish and think of the pack's sake. You're going to do whatever you think is best. I mean, werewolves and vampires don't exactly go together...but you and Cameron do. I see the way he looks at you and the way you talk to him. You guys were made for each other, if that makes sense."

Don't get all sentimental on me here I thought as I stared at him, awestruck. I certantly wasn't expecting this from Mitch.

"He's more than a guilty pleasure to you. We can't make you unlove him." I grinned at that, the first time I had smiled that day. Unlove? One of Mitch's latest additions to the English language, I suppose.

"I'm not saying he's not dangerous," Mitch added. "Because he is. But you are too. So...just be careful."

My smile grew. "You actually understand."

Mitch shrugged and smiled one of his famous, big and goofy smiles.

"Thank you so much. I mean it."

Mitch's brilliant blue eyes traveled off to where Cam was, sitting on the back of a beaten-up, blue Chevy, waiting for me. "It'll all work out in the end."

"See you, Mitch."

"Bye."

I ran towards Cam, who jumped off the truck and embraced me in his strong arms, shielding me from all of the curious and hating eyes that were directed at us.
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And that's where I was now. In the bed of Cam's truck, his arm around my waist, my head on his shoulder. A red, white, and blue light burst filled the sky, a deafening boom followed by thousands of tiny crackles.

And that marked the end of the Fourth of July.

I smiled. "That was beautiful."

Cam cupped my face in his hands and for a moment, the only thing I could see was the golden glimmer of his eyes. "Just like you," he said, kissing me softly. A rush shot up my spine and I knew in that moment that there was nowhere I wanted to be but here.

That was, until I felt the icy grip of an unfamiliar hand around my neck.