Beta Knows Best

First Words

Kennedy's POV 

I lean against the hood of my car, trying to collect my thoughts. What has been happening to me lately?? Voices in my head that weren't previously there. Weird senses. That guy- that insane attraction I had to him.

Oh, lets not forget the part where I turned into a fucking wolf, right? 

I must have had a pretty concentrated look on my face, because soon I feel a presence next to me.

"Got something on your mind?" A guy says from beside me. I chuckle, shaking my head a bit.

"I've got a lot on my mind, actually." I say, and I look over to see the stranger. He's roughly an inch taller than me, a mop of curly blonde hair on his head adorned with a pair of glasses. He's obviously not a fitness buff like some of the other guys, but that doesn't mean he's all that bad. Kind of a dorky-cute look with his jeans and white baseball tee. He holds out his hand, offering a smile.

"I'm Gabe," He says, and I shake his hand. "And you're Kennedy, if I'm not mistaken." Gabe states, and I kind of raise an eyebrow and smile at the same time.

"You're not mistaken. How'd you know?" I ask.

"Well, you are the new girl." He says, and I groan internally. People are already talking about me? I should have figured as much, seeing as a group of people have already set themselves to hating me. "Plus, I'm in your Bio class." He continues, obviously noting my agitation. 

"Well it's nice to meet you, Gabe. Did you know you're only the second person I've met who doesn't look like they want to rip my face off?" I say, and he presses his lips into a line with a nod.

"They don't really like..."

"Me." I cut in, and he shakes his head. I frown. "Wait, how do you even know who I'm talking about?" I ask, and he looks baffled for a split second.

"Y'know, walking the halls, picking up bits and peices of conversations. I'm really good at that." He says with a grin, and I laugh. This guy, he's actually nice. Normal. 

It so happens that we have the next class together- Computer sciences. According to Gabe, the CS teacher is a pushover so the class will be easy as hell.

Twenty minutes later, we're sitting beside eachother in Mr.Lukowitz's classroom. People are just chatting away, or doing things on their computers. A few people glance at Gabe and I, and I just ignore them. I don't really care what they think of my friend, as long as I have one.

"So," He says, swiveling his chair to face me. "Where are you from?" I mimic his actions, facing him. 

"Alberta. Nothing special, really." I say, and he chuckles.

"Siblings?" 

"Brother and sister. Both younger." I respond.

"Ah, part of the oldest sibling club. Me too." He says, leaning back in his chair. "Two younger sisters. Twins."

"Twins? That must be so fun!" I say, and he widens his eyes jokingly. "Princesses. Tea-parties. Not fun." He says, and we both laugh. 

Just then, he walks in.

My back is facing the door. I'm at the rear end of the classroom. It's not that I see him come in- I feel it. I smell it. Something inside me stirs as it did before. That smoky scent mixes with the energy he lets off, and the room seems alight. Oh lord, something must be wrong with my hormones.

Maverick walks by us, sitting in the other corner of the back of the classroom. When he passes, I really just want to reach out, to touch him... Which sounds really creepy.. 

He gives Gabe a hard look as he walks by, and Gabe nods slightly, avoiding eye contact. When he's far enough away. I lean in to him.

"What was that all about?" I whisper, and he furows his eyebrows.

"What was what about?" He asks, and I gesture to where Maverick sits.

"That. The whole dog-got-into-the-garbage-again look he gave you?" I say, and he chuckles quietly.

"He's one of the top dogs here, and I'm not. What can I say?" He shrugs, and I brush it off with a nod.

His eyes. They're literally burning a hole into my skull- it's not hard to tell he's staring at the back of my head. I turn and look, and sure enough, I was right. His crystal blue eyes meet mine and for what feels like an hour- actually only a few seconds- we're stuck there. Entranced. He suddenly breaks the gaze, glancing at Gabe before looking away. I turn back around.

Something seems to cause Gabe to look like a light bulb went off. He looks at me, and I frown.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, and he frowns too.

"He's-" He starts, then stops abruptly. "...Just a bit weird, that's all." Gabe says, and I nod slowly.

"Alrighty then..." I say, and he clears his throat.

"So... What's your favorite animal?" Gabe asks, and I smile at his attempt to get the conversation back where it was.

"Hmm... Probably tigers." I say, and he crinkles his nose.

"Cats? Really? You look like more of a dog person." He says, and I shrug. Wait a second. He doesn't... He can't, right? I haven't told anyone what happened.

"W-what do you mean by 'look'?" My voice catches, and I cough to make it seem inconspicuous. He ponders over my question for a few seconds.

"I don't know, you just do. You look like the kind of person who'd rather not have some cat walking over their face at 3 in the morning." He says with a laugh, and I laugh too. Whew. Still, I have this nagging feeling in my gut after what he said. But nobody could know, right? Obviously, I'm super paranoid right now...

Much to my enjoyment, last period finally comes. History. Unfortunately for me, my history classroom is at the opposite end of the school to my locker. I totally miscalculated how much time I had to get there- and ended up getting in the room just as the final bell rings.

There's only one spot left.

Next. To. Him.

I groan internally before walking through the aisle, practically unnoticed by my rather dull classmates. Of course, it's at the back. 

"Mind if I sit here?" I ask timidly, and he gives me the smallest smile.

"Not at all." He says, and I set my books down, taking my seat beside him. The air is electric, the room is on fire. The foot of space between us practically sizzles and I want to just reach out and touch him. 

The teacher starts the year off impeccably annoying and decides to drone on for ten minutes, then assign reading, plus questions. The volume of the room begins to ascend, so I decide to face my fears.

"I'm Kennedy." I say, offering a smile.

"I know." He says, staring at his sheet as he jots stuff down. I'm about to label him as 'jerk' when he looks up and smirks at me, making my stomach flutter. "Maverick." He says, and I nod.

"I know." I say, mimicking him. He chuckles. "Tell me, how much do you think I'll get accomplished in this class this year?" I say, gesturing to where the teacher sits, scrolling through his phone as the class chats with eachother.

"Well," He starts. His voice deep, smooth. "If you're sitting beside me? Not much." He says with that same playful smik, and I laugh, shaking my head. His blue eyes locked on mine, I raise an eyebrow inquisitively.

"And why would that be?"

He grins, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands behind his head. "I just have a hunch."