I roll my eyes and point to myself. “Lydia, look who you’re talking about; I’m not into fashion. And to prove it, look, boy’s shirt.”
Her eyes widen slightly when she sees that I’m wearing Stiles’ favorite shirt― one with a target painted in the middle― and then she smirks. “No wonder you’re so happy. All those endorphins and everything. Little Aubrey isn’t so innocent anymore― who would’ve guessed?”
My face goes beet red and she snickers, turning on her heel with a new application of lip gloss and a hair flip. Squeezing Stiles’ hand, I take off after her, catching up easily. She looks at me expectantly and it takes all of my dignity to get out, “Look, I know we didn’t always get along and everything, but I owe you a lot. You were the one― out of everyone― that made me feel the most human. Thank you.” And I hug her tightly. She really does make me feel normal, and I want her to know that. If I’m going to go down, I want people to know what they’ve done for me.
When I let her go, her eyes dart from side to side. “God, Aubrey,” she groans, glaring at me with distaste. “We’re in public.”
The bell rings overhead and I shrug, turning in the direction of History. “Yeah, PDA is the worst.”
To my surprise, she laughs― a musical tinkling sound that doesn’t match her personality; it shouldn’t belong to the (immune) goddess of sky-high heels and designer handbags. For a second, she just stands there, acting superior. And then she whispers, “No, I owe you a lot. Thank you.”
“For what?”
Her mouth twitches up in a half-smile. “For reminding me what it feels like to be human.” My breath catches in my throat and she sighs, brushing hair out of her eyes impatiently. “Oh, and Aubrey― those boots are still horrible.”
• • •
With every passing second, fear begins to grow. It starts out as a small, insignificant thing and then builds until it’s a black, all-consuming beast. Just like that, it sucks the happiness from me, removing the color from my memories and replacing them with smoke.
In the world I live in, death is a constant fact. It holds your hand, from the time you were born until the time it decides to claim you. Death watches over those recently bitten, urging them to give up the fight. I shouldn’t be afraid of it, since it’s been my companion, but I am. I really don’t want to die.
Smoke and mirrors
In this twisted reality I find my
Life light love loss
In this cold darkness you are my
Heart blood soul death
Allison slides into the seat beside me in English, her hair done up in a variety of stylish braids. She gives me a quick smile, sees how I’m barely containing a panic attack, and whispers, “Bree, are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
There’s no point lying to her; she’s trained as a human lie detector. “I am.” The ball of fear is clawing at my insides, prodding and twisting to get to my vital organs. This morning, Stiles was all I could think about― nothing else. Now, when he’s not with me, the threat of imminent death takes up residence in the forefront of my mind.
YOU ARE READING
Midnight Scarlet » Stilinski
同人小說[BOOK ONE] Aubrey Jenner isn't a normal fifteen-year old girl― in fact, she's as far from normal as you can get. She's a werewolf, destined to be with another. But when a human that knows too much about her world comes into the picture, how can she...
Twenty-Five
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