Charlies P.O.V
A horrible grating noise woke me from my light sleep. I slid out of bed slowly my bare feet making no sound against the cold wooden floors. I crept into the hallway and down the stairs trying not to wake my older brother. I followed the noise to the kitchen and shot back in surprise.
A huge shaggy black wolf was scratching against the glass of my sliding door. I stepped back into the kitchen and its huge shaggy head raised to glare at me with odd silvery green eyes. They were much more intelligent then any animals I had seen before. My feet ghosted along the floor as I made my way to the door.
I slowly unlocked the latch and was about to step outside when I heard movement upstairs. The light in the hallway flickered on and the wolf jumped back baring its huge dagger like teeth in a terrifying grimace before jumping off the porch and darting to the edge of the wood, disappearing into the darkness of the forest. "Charlie. What are you doing?" My brothers loud voice startled me out of the daze I was in. "Nothing Sky. I just wanted some air." I answered him. I sauntered past him up the stairs and to my room. As I lay in bed again waiting for sleep to claim me a chorus of howls broke the quiet of the night. They were closer then I had ever heard them before and the wild, lonely sound made my heart ache. When their song ended I was finally able to drift into a restless sleep.
In the morning I was barely able to focus on the light conversation my brother was trying to start with me. I grabbed some juice out of the fridge and turned to face my brother who now had his eyes glued to the newspaper in front of him. Though he was only four years older then my seventeen he acted much too mature. He became my legal guardian when my mother had died a few years ago. My slime ball father had refused to take me in and Skylar had refused to let me go into foster care.
After I had finished my juice I skipped upstairs to take a shower and get ready for school. I brushed my loose black ringlets and fixed my bangs that were permanitly fixed into my face. I threw on a pair of light faded, tight fitting jeans and a purple tank top. I threw a black hoodie over it and grabbed my school bag. Downstairs I threw on my boots and sauntered into the kitchen. "I'm ready." I announced to Sky who stood and grabbed his coat off the back of his chair.
He led the way to his beat up station wagon in silence. "Did you get all your homework done?" He inquired and I messed with the dial to the radio. I nodded as I sang along to the music blaring from the speakers. When we reached the school I slid out of the car and turned to face my brother. "Have a good day at work. And don't be late again!" I called as he pulled away from the curb. I walked slowly to the front door getting lost in the sea of students that flooded the crowded hallways. I stopped at my beat up locker and spun the dial to the numbers of my combination.
I pulled up on the lock and it jiggled uselessly. With a frustrated sigh I blew my hair out of my face and tried again with the same results. I closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath before trying one more time. The door flew open and with a crash my text books spilled out and onto the floor. "Damn it!" I cried kicking the locker below mine. Pain blossomed in my foot as slid to the ground clutching the throbbing toes through my converse. I heard a low sexy chuckle and looked up to see the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. He had such black hair that it shone like fresh ink. It flopped careless and messy into his eyes which were a startling shade of silvery green. I felt a jolt of recognition but couldn't place it. He was tall and lanky with lean wiry muscles and a light tan. His black tee shirt clung to his torso and left nothing to the imagination and his faded blue jeans hung on his hips.
"You want some help with those?" He said in a voice like melting honey jerking his head to the ground where my books were being kicked around in the stampede of students heading off to class. "No. I've got it." I said flushing as I dropped to the ground to gather my abused looking text books. "I'm Jackson. But you can call me Jack." Said the stranger as he bent to gather my books. "Charlotte. But I like Charlie better." I said grimacing slightly at my full name.
"Well Charlie it's nice to meet you." Jack said smiling at me and making my heart thud unsteadily. I stood up quickly and shoved the books back into my locker shutting it before they had time to spill out again. "Jack!" A chirpy female voice called. I turned to see a tall, willowy blonde making her way through the crowd with easy grace. She was followed by four other guys who looked restless. Their eyes kept darting around the hallway with a nervous air. "Charlie this is Melanie, Chance, Ryder, Ben and Luke." Jackson introduced pointing to each boy and the pretty girl.
"Wow your so gorgeous." Melanie complimented looking at me with wistful eyes. I felt myself flush and glanced at the ground to avoid eye contact. "Whoa who's the hottie?" A dark skinned boy with brown hair and chocolate colored eyes asked shoving his way to the front of the group. "Hey there. I'm Ryder." He said while flexing his obvious muscles. "I'm not interested." I dismissed him and the others choked on their laughter. Ryder shot me an injured glare and moved back.
"I'm Chance." A guy said. He looked younger then me with pale washed out features. Creamy white skin, white blonde hair that stuck up in every direction, and unseeing white blue eyes. "Charlie. Nice to meet you." I said placing my hand in his outstretched one. He shocked me slightly by running his fingertips up my arm and neck to my face. He traced the outline of my face then moved to my nose before finally running them lightly across my lips. "You are as beautiful as Mel says." He decided before stepping back.
"Ben." Another guy who looked the same age as Chance said. He had fiery red curls and gentle stormy gray eyes. I nodded and sent him a small smile which he returned. Luke was last to catch my attention. He was so still and silent while his eyes were the complete opposite. They were a fierce golden color that seemed to pierce your skin like a physical force. He long sandy hair was tied back in a loose pony tail.
"That's Luke. He doesn't talk much." Jackson said. I nodded but didn't smile. His looks sent shivers down my spine. "Well it was nice meeting you all but I have English and Mrs. Martin will kill me if I'm late again." I said laughing slightly as I turned to go to my class. "Wait I have English too. I'll walk you." Jackson said grabbing my hand into his extremely warm one. "Okay." I said finally the tingles shooting up my arm making my thoughts scatter like butterflies.
Melanie shot me a knowing grin and took Chance's hand. "Come on. We have Biology." She said as she tugged his hand to get him moving. Jackson let me lead as I made my way through the thinning crowds of students. He still held my hand in his and the thought of what we must look like had me blushing. I opened the door to the English room dropping Jacks hand and making my way to the seat to the back.
I flopped down and ignored the death glare I was getting from Lizzy. She was the schools head cheerleader and a total bitch. Cliché' right? I tuned in to listen to Mrs. Martin who was introducing Jack to the class. "Children this is Jackson Anderson. He moved here from Florida with his five cousins." Mrs. Martin said in her sickly sweet voice. Jackson looked perfectly at ease with a light smile tipping up his lips. He caught my eye and his grin widened and he winked. I flushed and looked away as peoples heads turned in my direction. "Take a seat anywhere that's open." Mrs. Martin directed turning back to the white board where she was writing today's schedule on it. Jack dropped into the seat beside me and smirked. This is going to be a long day. I thought to myself as I felt the answering smile spread across my face.
