The Howling

Barn Parties and Girls

Two:

"What took you so long?" Jeremy asked as she neared the house. He was sitting on his four-wheeler with his two buddies beside him.

"Decided to take the senic route," Charlotte replied. Jeremy rolled his eyes and started the four-wheeler back up.

"Want a ride back?"

Charlotte looked at the two other boys on their ATV's and shrugged. Making her way through the snow, she threw one leg over and held onto the rack she was sitting on. In a flurry of snow, Jeremy took off and tried to impress his friends who took their time behind him.

Charlotte looked through the trees that flew by them and tried to find  the two wolves that found her. Why had they guided her anyway? Why hadn't they attacked? Maybe they were more than wolves... Charlotte shook her head at that thought, wolves were animals. That's all they were.

Making her way into the warm house, Charlotte didn't bother taking off her boots or jacket before heading to her room. Her dad was sitting in the Lazy Boy watching a hunting show.

"How was work?" He asked without turning towards her.

Charlotte glanced at him and saw his bald head showing over the top of the chair. The TV went silent and she shrugged. "Oh you know, same old perves, different day."

"Did Tayla stop by?" He turned towards her now, his blue eyes locking onto her green ones.

"Yeah, she dropped off a package and a card for you." Charlotte reached into her backpack and pulled out the box with the card taped to the top. "She says happy holidays."

Setting the box on the coffee table, Charlotte escaped to her room and sat on her bed. Shedding her jacket and boots she laid back on her bed and sighed. Only one more week before school started up again and she'd have to deal with the judgmental glances and the awkward silences. Being the new kid, she thought she'd have the whole school in the palm of her hand by now, instead she was dubbed the biggest outcast that the outcasts didn't even want to be around.

It could be her sense of humor no one understood, her rhetorical questions, or the way she looked. Standing up, Charlotte walked over to the full-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door and looked herself over. She had long black hair that swayed down to mid-waist, she was curvier than the stick-figured girls she walked by everyday. Her electric green eyes seemed to pierce through everyone, they stuck out against her dark makeup and pale face. Frowning, Charlotte turned to the side and sucked in her stomach, pulling her t-shirt tighter she imagined what it would be like to be skinny.

"Charlie?" Jeremy's voice carried through her door and Charlotte jumped. Opening the door she looked up at her brother. "The guys and I were wondering if you wanted to come to Pete's tonight?"

"You mean you were wondering cause you don't want me to be alone tonight." Charlotte cocked her brow and looked at her digital clock. 11:11 Make a wish she thought.

"I just don't want you to isolate yourself," Jeremy said quietly. Charlotte looked up at him again and nodded in agreement.

"Please don't leave me alone in the barn this time, okay? It's bad enough I chase people away with my presence, I don't need my own brother to leave me." Charlotte turned before Jeremy could say anything. Without welcoming, he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

Gazing at the movie and band posters plastered on the walls he seemed in awe. "It's like a collage of your life in here," he went over to the wall where Charlotte had photos of her friends back home and their letters tacked next to them.