I woke up and pulled the pillow over my head. My body was so sore and my head was pounding.
Werewolf.
Beside me, sound asleep, was Charlie.
I'm a Werewolf.
The word gnawed on my conscious.
Charlie is a werewolf... my mom is. My dad was a werewolf.
I twirled one of his curls around my finger, admiring how he was even more handsome asleep.
I was startled by my alarm ringing, echoing so loudly that it felt as if my head would explode. I reached out to hit the snooze button and heard a sharp crack. Puzzled, I stared at the pieces of my demolished alarm clock.
Charlie awoke, rolling over and asking, "What happened?"
"I just tapped it." I said softly.
Frowning, I flexed my sore hand into a fist.
"You will get used to it." He chuckled softly. "Get a shower, you'll feel better."
My floors creaked as I walked into my bathroom. I caught myself in the mirror.
I hardly looked like myself anymore.
"Messy buns never fail!" I told myself as I pulled my hair up and applied mascara.
I could help it, but the longer I looked at myself the more I felt like an alien. My new green eyes sparked back it me.
I gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek, then grabbed my school bag and a jacket, and went down stairs to find everyone comfortably sitting around the kitchen island eating.
"Who's coming to school wth me today?" I asked.
Sam and Shay got up with looks of annoyance.
"Make sure you help them today, Melanie!" Mom said sternly.
I scrolled through my phone while we waited for the car to heat up. Pete had sent me a goodnight text.
I deleted it.
"So you're dating a human?" Sam asked as we drove.
"Pete." I replied.
"You know that we are programmed killing machines, right Mel?" Shay said. His head was against the window with his brows furrowed together.
"It's so hard enough for me to be near humans, let alone date one." Sam said, watching a couple who was strolling down the sidewalk.
"I've never had any issues with wanting to eat people."
"Just wait till you go full wolf."
As we pulled into the school, shay turned away from the window and pulled his hood down over his head "All these fucking people." Shay moaned in a tired voice.
I parked in my usual spot and looked back in my mirror at him. "Are you ok?" I asked, slightly worried.
"They are driving me fucking nuts." He grabbed his book bag and shook his head as he opened the door.
"Shay, just take the whole bottle! I have more self control than you." Sam exclaimed, holding a small roller filled with liquid.
He reluctantly snatched it away from her and rolled it under his nose.
"What is that?" I had the look of someone who had just witnessed a crime.
"Peppermint." Shay snapped. "It helps with the smell." He added, in a friendlier tone.
"Do they smell bad?" I asked curiously, since Shay seemed to be in a better mood with each step.
"The opposite," he mumbled. "Imagine the smell of your favorite meal and then double that by a thousand. That's how good it smells." He explained.
Sam gave him some comforting pats on the shoulder." It's ok buddy, only 5 more hours to go." She said brightly.
He nodded and looked around. "Maybe I can have just one." He offered optimistically.
"Don't kill anyone!" I hit him in the shoulder with my advanced chemistry textbook.
I thought I hit him pretty hard but He didn't even flinch. I gave him a confused look.
"It's a wolf thing." He scanned the crowd of noisy teens, unknowingly passing a hungry prowler.
"Did it even hurt a little?"
"It felt like a fly hitting me." He smirked.
"No screw ups, remember what max said." Sam warned him.
I wondered what he told them as I slammed shut my locker.
"Old men talk Sammie, they don't live long enough to hold us to things." He replied as he pulled his bag closer to his body.
Chills ran down my back as the two continued to bicker about it even after I had stopped contributing.
Arms wrapped around my stomach, causing me to jump. Pete planted a kiss on my lips, which usually filled me with warmth. "Morning, beautiful!" he said sweetly. I instantly put my hand on his chest pushing him back.
It felt so, deep to my core wrong.
Sam and Shay had stopped arguing, staring at us with looks of disgust.
"You have a problem?" Pete asked them, with his arms still tethered around my waist.
"A couple." She replied.
He let me go, forgetting that I had pushed him away.
"Who the fuck are you?" He retorted.
The Sam and Shay exchanged looks.
I stepped between them before he became a snack. "My cousins," I stated loudly.
"Oh, shit."
Sam gave a little smirk.
Pete held his hand out to shake. "I'm Pete." He offered.
She looked ignored him and peered over at me. "Can you show us the office, I don't want to be late on our first day."
I looked over a Pete, who I used to crave, and sighed heavily. "I'll catch you later." I said as I gestured for Sam and Shay to follow me.
I waited outside the office, slumped down on one of the comfy chairs. I closed my eyes and dreamed of being away on a tropical island.
I could already feel myself sweating with stress and anxiety over my new life.
Pete didn't deserve this hot and cold treatment. Truth be told, ever since the first dinner at his parents house we hadn't been the same.
Thoughts of Charlie on the other hand, couldn't be ignored. And with that thought, my glorious tropical vacation morphed into a romantic romp in the water, similar to our skinning dipping at the beach, but ending much better.
Sam and Shay noisily, walked out of the office.
"Seriously, you're a dog." Sam sighed.
"Woof." Shay said, looking back at the young receptionist at the desk.
I snatched the schedule from him and was confused at first, thinking they had printed mine by accident. But both they're names were printed at the top.
"Looks like we're all schedule buddies." He mumbled.
"Looks like it."
As we settled into our seats in the back of the classroom, I was completely deaf to the world, I fantasized about what Charlie might be doing. I imagined his big chiseled arms circling around me, and I could feel myself leaning forward in my seat thinking about kissing him.
I looked over at Sam, who was on her phone. And over at Shay, who's eyes moved hungrily around the room. He rolled the peppermint under his nose again and put his head down on the desk.
He sat like that in every class until it was lunch time. I never noticed how full and hot the lunch room was, but as soon as we walked in Shay stopping near the doors. He leaned on the wall casually, but his body went completely rigid.
"I can't be in here." He said quietly.
"Go outside, Shay." Sam replied, pointing to the door to the parking lot.
She scanned the lunch line and turned to me in horror. "There's no meat?" Sam cried.
"There's chicken nuggets." I offered.
"They look revolting."
I picked one up and after inspection pushed my tray away. "You're right." I said, surprised that the same things I ate for lunch every day now had my stomach feeling sick.
Feeling upset, I excused myself and told Sam where our next class was. I walked out to the courtyard, which was mostly empty. As I sat at an empty table my head began to feel like someone was pounded a hammer down on it.
I took out my phone and looked for my mom's number.
"What?" She answered.
"Have Charlie call me." I replied.
"Aren't you supposed to be in a class?" She asked.
"Lunch."
"I'll tell him."
I hung up and set my phone down on the table as I pulled out my notebooks from my backpack.
I found it too hard to consecrate on studying while my eyes kept flickering back my phone.
When it rang, I jumped to get it.
"Is this a bad time? You mom said you wanted my number so I thought that I'd just call." Charlie said.
I felt like a dumbass when I smiled uncontrollably huge and tucked my hair behind my ear. "No it's a perfect time. I'm on my lunch." I replied.
He laughed and I practically melted.
"Are you studying?" He asked.
"Trying to," I tapped my pen nervously. "I'm a little distracted today."
"By what?"
"You."
"That's funny." Charlie said.
I started to feel my face heat up with worry. "What's funny about it?"
"Nothing. It's just, I haven't been able to get you out of my head either."
"Oh, good!" I sighed. I slipped off my jacket and stuffed it in my back pack.
"What time do you get off?"
"3 O'clock."
"I was thinking I could pick you up." He replied.
I laughed. "I would really love that but I drove my car to school."
"Let Sam drive it back." He replied.
"Would She do that?"
"Yeah, it's no problem."
"Ok. I'll call you when you get out." I caught myself smiling like an idiot again.
"Do you have to go back to class?" He asked.
"I have a little bit of time left."
"Good, I just wanted to talk a little longer." He said.
I laughed and asked, "What are you doing right now?"
"Honestly, I'm still just laying in your bed. I gotta go somewhere soon, but I couldn't get out. It makes me feel a little closer to you," He rambled nervously.
I felt my stomach twist into a pretzel shape imagining him still sprawled out and twisted in my sheets. I heard the bell ring faintly and sighed. "I have to go back. I'll see you later."
"See you later." He replied.
I hung up and suddenly found it hard to stand up with legs that magically turned into jello after the call.
I had the deja vu feeling as I was walking to class, Taylor fell in step beside me. "Why are you smiling so hard?" He questioned.
"None of your business." I snapped.
"Pete?"
"No."
He touched my shoulder and started laughing. "So it's not the oh so sweet Pete! It must be someone else
then, so what lucky soul have you snatched today?" He persisted.
"Fuck off Taylor."
I found Sam and Shay in the back of the room again, walking in just before the bell rang.
Mr. Snazz talked on and on about college and our AP classes.
He went around the room calling on kids to tell what college they were thinking of, with which major.
"Sam, can you drive my car home?" I whispered to her.
"Charlie already told me." She replied, smiling. "He's quite the romantic, isn't he?"
I smiled back at her, deep in my thoughts about where Charlie and I would go after school.
The bell rang and I was jolted back into reality, though the scenes of us continued to play in my head.
One more class.
I felt a pinch as someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side.
"Are you mad at me or something?" Pete asked.
"No." I said absentmindedly, yanking my arm away.
"You've been acting weird ever since your family got into town."
"I've had a lot on my plate."
"Do you want to come over after school? We can talk about it, maybe I could help." He offered.
"No, thanks." I answered, walking away with a feeling like I did something wrong again.
Sam and Shay found empty seats in the front of the class. The people next to them all stared, one boy even tried to talk to Sam.
Pete didn't say another word to me even though he sat right in front of me.
"So class, today is Chemical fission. We have a short little video and then notes. Also I'll be assigning partners for an upcoming presentation." Our teacher said. He turned off the light and I basked in the feeling of being hidden.
I didn't want charlie to see me. I had barely even attempted a cute look today.
The video began with two women on the tiny screen with lab coats on.
I sleepily rubbed my eyes when he turned the light back on.
I didn't zone back into the discussion until I heard my name called. "Melanie, you're partners with Zoe." He said.
The small brunette sitting a few seats away from me smiled and waved.
The bell rang and I quickly gathered all my books. Sam and Shay walked with me to the front of the school.
"Here are my keys. Thanks again." I said.
"No problem." She said as she and Shay walked out to my car.
I fumbled with my phone, nervously dialing Charlie's number.
"Hey I'm out, where are you?" I asked him.
"I'm not sure." Charlie laughed. I'm standing by a tree with pink flowers if that makes any sense." He added.
"I know exactly where you are." I smiled as I walked down the front sidewalk.
"I got a surprise for you." He said.
I saw him standing by the pink tree that had sat in front of the school for as long as I could remember. I could pick him out of a crowd. He was just so much more incredibly handsome and well built than any one walking around him.
He smiled when he saw me, and revealed a small bouquet of pastel orange peonies from behind his back.
"Oh my god," I had a hard time blocking tears from my eyes flowing out.
"For you." He said.
"You didn't have to!" I said.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and he squeezed me.
"I wanted to." He smiled down at me. "You ready to go?" He asked
Charlie took my hand as we walked to his car.
As we drove further and further away from the school I couldn't help but feel like my life would never be the same.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
He looked over at me. "It's not so much about where we are going, it's more about what we will be doing." He answered.
"What will we be doing?" I asked.
"It's a surprise."
I pouted my lips. "You won't tell me?"
"My lips are sealed." He laughed. "You're gonna love it."
He parked in the gravel in front of of a remote looking forest.
"Are you going to kill me?" I said as I got out.
"Only if you try to run!" He laughed.
I put my arms around his neck and he lifted me up and put me on the trunk on his car.
I could feel my stomach twisting again as he took my hand and we walked up the dirt path deeper into the trees.