Werewolf High School

Part 3: Trying Hard not to Care (Wednesday)

For a change, I actually woke up well rested on this day. My morning started as usual, and when I arrived at school, my two best friends were waiting for me. Everyone I talked to the day before was saying hi to me in the hallway, and I was happy to greet them back. 

I actually started liking this school, or at least I thought so until lunch break when I saw Adam in the school cafeteria. He was sitting with his usual group of guys at one of the tables in the center of dining hall. He didn't seem to notice me, so I just sat with my own group, and one of the guys from my pack offered to bring me lunch. I was thankful, but I didn't make much of it since I was Alpha's daughter and the wolves from my pack typically treated me with respect. I thanked him with a smile, and I also offered to pay for his lunch. This time it was Johny's turn, who will be my Beta once he finishes high school. He was one year older, and I thought of him as always a bit overprotective for my own taste. But I guess he was just trying to do his job of keeping me safe and out of trouble. 

We were eating and Cory was telling us some funny stories that happened to him at the summer camp when I unintentionally looked towards Adam's table. One of his friends brought a few girls over to their table. They were all giggles, and they sat down at their table after introducing themselves to the guys. Luckily none of them sat next to Adam, but two of them sat across from him, and he seemed to be chatting with them. I was fuming inside, but I tried really hard not to stare too much. 

I knew some werewolves sometimes slept with or even dated human girls for a short time. Everyone knew they would find their mate sooner or later, but I guess they just wanted to have some fun in the meantime. Was that what they were doing right now? Getting acquainted with some new girls for dating? Why else would they be talking to them anyway? I mean, the girls were quite pretty and all juniors, which meant fresh blood for the guys. One had shoulder-length dark brown wavy hair, one had almost white-blond long hair, and the third one was a freckled natural redhead cutie with striking green eyes. 

They seemed to have a fun chat together, and the guys even brought trays of food for the three girls. I hated the mere sight of it, and I also hated myself for hating it so much. Why should I care anyway? He didn't own anything to me, and I was going to reject him anyway. I tried hard not to show my emotions, but I stayed quiet for the rest of the lunchtime. Cory's stories helped a lot, getting most of the attention on him, but Gina noticed my distracted look. Even if she did, I was thankful she didn't say anything. 

The day just got a bit worse when I realized I had my next class with Adam. He came into the classroom just after the bell rang and just smiled apologetically at the teacher. I guess his charm worked even on her when she just nodded at him and didn't say anything. As he was making his way to his seat in the back, he smiled at me and gave me a small wave. Remembering seeing him in the cafeteria earlier, I just scowled at him and didn't say anything. He gave me a surprised look while continuing his way to his seat. It was just a short encounter, so we couldn't resolve anything on the spot. Not that I wanted to talk to him about it anyway. It had nothing to do with me since I didn't want him. He also seemed to have his interests elsewhere, so we were good, actually. 

After the period was over, he hurried after me and tugged on my arm lightly to get my attention. "Hey, what's up?" he said casually and gave me one of his disarming bright smiles. I had to look away before I could look back at him to answer. "Not much. The school is not over yet, so that sucks." I just tried to say something general, but I guess he must have had misinterpreted it completely. "Do you want to catch up later after school? I know a cool diner nearby." That threw me off my guard a bit. Was he asking me out or something? It would be a good chance to talk to him about what I wanted to say to him, but instead of accepting, I just had to add: "I thought you might already have a date for later." "What? What date?" He seemed thoughtful for a while and then started laughing. 

The hallways were already clearing up as students hurried toward their following classrooms. Still, we have stopped just outside the classroom we had our previous class at. "Is that what this is all about? Those girls we talked to at the cafeteria? One of them is Hugh's sister, and the other two are her friends. He just introduced them and asked us to look after them because they are new." I looked at him suspiciously: "But they are human! How can one of them be your friend's sister?" "Hugh's mom is human, but that's cool. He is our good friend." 

That made so much sense now. There was a slight possibility that he was lying, but somehow I believed him at that moment. I bet my face was changing colors at that time because I felt so embarrassed to have even mentioned those girls before. He smiled and shook his head at me in mocking disapproval and added: "So you do care after all. That's good to know." "Actually, I don't," I tried to argue hopelessly. "And I have to get to my next class right now. Bye!" I hurried off down the hall with those words and didn't turn around to see his expression. 

When my classes were over for that day, Gina and Lara pulled me aside, and we sat down at one of the benches near the parking area. "Alright, what's going on?" Lara started. "Nothing, all is good!" I said a bit too quickly, trying to escape their glares, but they knew me all too well, so there was no way I could hide anything from them. I knew it was pointless to pretend, and yet I still tried at first. "Come on, what is going on with Adam? We saw you talking to him a few times now, and you are acting really weird lately," said Gina. "C'mon, spill the guts, now's your chance. We are listening," Lara added. 

I buried my face in my hands and stayed quiet for a full minute. "I think he is my mate." "Whaaaat?" I could feel Gina's mouth drop almost to the ground. But Lara just couldn't believe it: "No no no, wait. What do you mean you think he is your mate? Is he or is he not?" "I mean, he actually is." I felt a bit excited when I finally said those words aloud, and my heart started beating faster. "But it doesn't matter anyway. I will reject him. My parents would kill me, and there is no way I will be a Luna for his stupid pack. I hate their guts, and not to mention I have our pack to take care of!" The words just poured out of me. Now they seemed to understand what was going on with me. 

Gina hugged me around my shoulders, and Lara patted my back. "Oh no, you must be in so much pain over this," said Gina. I knew she really understood what the mate bond meant. She was lucky enough to have found her mate at fourteen. He was now already out of high school, joining our fighters. He was one of the most good-looking guys from our pack, and they were very much in love. I actually was in a lot of pain, but I was doing a really good job at hiding it - partially even from myself by downplaying it a lot. I mean, we only get one mate in a lifetime. If I rejected him, I most probably wouldn't get a second chance. Most wolves didn't. It all sucked generally. 

"I think you should talk to your parents first anyway," Gina told me. "Maybe I will..." I said though I knew I wouldn't. I didn't want to see them upset over this, and I already had a plan to resolve it, so there was no need to drag them into this. "You know what, he is hot, though. If he was from our pack, I would be totally interested," Lara added jokingly. I lightly punched her shoulder, and we all started laughing. "Shut up! That is my mate you are talking about," I joked, even though it did feel so good when I said it. But at the same time, it made me even sadder in a way because I knew he wasn't going to be my mate for much longer. "Let's go get some milkshakes. We need to cool this girl down," Lara said, and we all laughed again and headed toward our cars.

* Things are going to get better. Stay calm and keep reading :P

**I looove Lana Del Ray and I thought this song would fit here beautifully. Lana Del Ray: Dark But Just A Game