(A/N:) Hey guys. :) Some people have private messaged me (the ones who are currently reading all 3 of my stories) & asked me why I upload a little faster for this story than any others. So I just wanted to say, it's really because at the moment, I'm really enjoying writing this & all the feedback I get, it's amazing! And I'm looking forward to developing the characters. Okay, sorry about the gushing; on with the story, lol.
I got home and jumped into the shower, making sure to wash my hands thoroughly. I let the warm water wash over me, calming me down a bit. Touching a wolf wasn't the best move I could possibly make, but something about it eased the anger I had with Archer. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in a thick towel.
I changed into a dark blue cami and grey cut off sweats, leaving my pale blond hair wet. I peered in the mirror, and a wave of sadness overcame me as I stared back into the same boring grey eyes I'd seen my whole life. I sighed and sat back on my bed. Was Les prettier than me? Why did Archer pick her and not me?
I groaned out loud. Great, now I was becoming a fan girl. Archer meant nothing to me. And all he wanted was to have sex with Les.
That made me feel slightly better, but as soon as the good feeling came, it vanished. I was so selfish. If thinking about how Archer was sing Les made me feel better, then I was not a good person. Especially since Les was supposed to be my best friend.
Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling... like I was being watched.
I gazed out the window near my bedroom. The apartment complex we lived in was a nice place, so the scenery was pretty, and as I stared out, a light sprinkling of snow started to fall.
We were on the top floor of the apartment complex, and looking down, I could see the back of the complex and the private balconies of other flats, and past that, an enchanting, wooded forest, reminding me of a fairytale.
And from that forest... a pair of electrifying greenish golden eyes. I chuckled to myself. It was the wolf.
It had followed me here.
I know I shouldn't go out in the snow with wet hair and in my pajamas... but.. the wolf..
I jumped off my bed and ran out the door, rushing down the stairs and to the back of the apartment complex, and stopped a few feet from the forest, panting.
I couldn't see the wolf. It must have left.
I ran a hand through my damp hair and studied my fingers, seeing the water droplets glisten in the fading sun. A snowflake fell on my nose and I sighed, turning away.
I began to walk away, when a rumbling noise made me turn back.
I knelt down to the ground and held out my hand as the large black wolf came slowly towards me. My hands shook and my heart pounded. Soon, the wolf was so close to me I could smell it's scent and almost touch the velvety fur on it's back.
It nuzzled my hand gently for a moment and I relaxed, stroking it's nose. I almost laughed at my own stupidity- I had just taken a shower to wash off the same wolf's germs.
Ignoring this, I pet the fur on the wolf's back and the softness and warmth made me forget about the freezing Canadian cold for a moment. I sat down next to the wolf, and to my surprise, it curled up by me and looked up at me, as if listening.
"Did you follow me!?" I asked, in mock outrage.
The wolf looked down in a familiar guilty way. I stuck my tongue out at it. "I guess you did."
The wolf let out a whining noise, cocking it's head. I guess it knew something was wrong. "So.. there's this guy.." I began.
I didn't know why I was telling my secrets to a wolf, for God's sake. I mean, how much more crazy could you get? But it wasn't like the animal even understood me. And if it did, it couldn't communicate to anyone else about it. Except maybe it's other wolfy friends. I rolled my eyes mentally at my own thoughts. Yeah, maybe they sat around a camp fire and roasted marshmellows while gossiping.
That's totally what wolves do.
Nevertheless, I continued.
"His name is Archer. He's so annoying. His brother is going out with my sister, and let me tell you wolfy, those two are always at it like a pair of horny dogs." The wolf rumbled and opened it's mouth in a dog-like smile. I snorted. Was Wolfy laughing?
"Anyways... Archer is always inside my house bugging me. And it's so strange.. sometimes I want him to be there. I don't know. I'm so confused. I always feel this wierd pull towards him. And he's been acting wierd lately. He keeps pushing me against random surfaces and looking into my eyes. Okay, Wolfy, this will sound wierd, but the first time it happened, I felt like I had to like.. obey him or something. But after that, it got easier to..disobey him, in a sense. So now it's almost like there's no pull... but I still feel it. The thing is, there's something about him that makes me want to be close to him.. and that's why I hate him so much. I swore to myself that I'd never get too close to anyone. Maybe if he wasn't looking to get in my pants all the time, things would be different. And you know his friend Cedric!? The guy almost raped me! So now I pretty much hate Archer's whole crowd..
And.. oh my God, you will not believe what happens when I touch Archer. It's like all my hormones get together and decide to rebel against me. There's a bunch of weird electrifying sparks and I feel like I want to rip his clothes off or some--"
I glasnced at Wolfy, who was looking a little too interested.
"Uh... sorry, don't want to dirty your mind."
I sighed and looked around. The sky was completely dark now. "I have to go... see you around.. I guess." I said.
I stood up and glanced back at Wolfy. He was gone, for real now.
------
I woke up in the morning. And sure as hell did not feel like P Diddy.
My nose was running. Damn, I had probably stayed in the cold for too long with that wolf who had followed me home. I groaned and dressed into a large black hoodie with Invader Zim on it, rolling the sleeves up. I added a pair of grey skinny jeans and put on my black uggs, leaving my hair down and flowing to right below my rib cage. I left my side bang out and covering one eye.
It was still snowing, so I'd be nice and warm today. Before I left my room I grabbed a black beanie and pulled it over my hair and ears. I hoped I didn't catch a cold.
I walked downstairs to see Haile in the kitchen in her pajamas. "Are you going to school?" I asked her, exasperated. She still smelled like sex.
Haile shook her head. "I'm too tired." She muttered.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I figured. All you do is have sex."
She shrugged. "Whatever little sis. It's just a matter of time before you start banging Archer."
My mouth fell open. "What the crap are you talking about!?" I yelled. She chuckled. "Nothing, nothing. You don't know what the Bronze brothers and about 13 other people in the school are do you?" She asked.
"Actually, I do! They're f*cking idiots, like you!" I stormed out, banging the door behind me. What was Haile talking about? Was there something I needed to know? Was it related to the wolf?
I walked to school slowly through the snow, and got there just in time for 1st period.
------
Ms. Reynolds stared at me apprehensively as I sat down in my seat. I ignored her and sat quietly. The classroom filled and soon, everyone was staring at me.
As the last bell rang, Ms. Reynolds pursed her lips and fixed me with a cold glare.
"As punishment for disrespecting me yesterday, you will be running laps with the football team after school every day." She said.
My mouth dropped. I swear, it must have touched the ground.
"W-w-what!?" I screamed.
She nodded, crossing her arms. "Yes. It starts today and ends on the last day of school."
I glared fiercely at her. "Well you know what, Ms. Reynolds? Maybe by the end of school, I'll be in enough shape to kick your ugly old a--" Archer burst in, interrupting me. "Sorry I'm late, Ms. R!" He said good-naturedly, flashing her a dazzling smile.
From behind me, a few girls sighed longingly.
Ms. Reynolds crossed her arms. "Why are you late, Mr. Bronze?"
"Coach asked me to help him plan out the strategies for our next game."
I put my head in my hands. So Archer was on the football team. What good luck I had.
First period went by slowly. All I could think of was football practice after school. I was walking to my 2nd period class, when I felt a hand scoop the things I was carrying from my arms. I looked up to see Archer. "Hey." he said, smiling at me.
.I turned my nose up, ignoring him.
He was giving me the strangest look.. as if he knew something about myself that I didn't know. "You don't have to take my things." I said coldly.
Archer shrugged. "What's wrong with being a gentleman once in a while?"
"Gentleman.. right."
"What's your second period?" He asked.
"P.E. And you don't have to walk me there. I can take my things." All of a sudden, my books came tumbling down in my hands. I stumbled but caught myself, glaring. "What happened to gentleman!?" I demanded. "Well, a gentleman always listens to a lady. Anyways, I don't want to be late. I might get a detention and miss football practice tonight."
I bit my lip. "That may just be a good thing." Archer smirked. "I hear that's your punishment. Laps with us." I scowled at him. "Whatever."
Archer slung an arm lazily around my shoulder, and a few passing girls glared daggers at me. "How long do your laps go on?"
"They last for an hour. The whole practice is 3 hours, but you won't have to stay for that. Unless you want to..." I snorted. "Yeah right. And get your fat hand off my shoulder." Archer pouted. "It's not fat."
I squinted at him. "Okay, then it's humongous. Bye." I turned on my heel and walked into p.e.
I entered the locker rooms and began changing. I was just in my bra when I heard a voice I always dreaded at this time of the day.
"Hey, Journey." It was Keera, the brunette girl who'd rejected my friendship because she didn't want to be in danger. She thought Archer was some sort of God who could harm people. I wasn't in the least bit scared of the boy, and now I was just annoyed at Keera herself. "Yeah?" I asked, turning around as I pulled my gym shirt over my head. "So, I saw Archer put his arm around you." She began, twirling her hair around her finger.
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, what's your point?"
"He's dating Les, duh. I can't believe you're such a who*re to go after him. Girls like you make me sick." My mouth fell open. "What did you just say?" I asked in a low voice. Keera crossed her arms. "Oh, please don't try to be tough. I know inside your just a scared little girl." I stood up to my full height, which was shorter than Keera. But I knew I had a hell of a lot more confidence.
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are to walk in here and insult me? I never liked Archer, and I never will. So if you're looking to blame me for something, or get back at me or whatever because your jealous that I actually have friends, then you should try another way. There is no way that I would be Archer's side girl, when he's dating my best friend!" I said. By now, the whole girls locker room had their eyes on us.
"Is that so?" Keera asked, raising her eyebrows. "Because Les told me, that you guys weren't friends anymore. Apparently you were so mad that Archer picked her instead of you, that you slapped Archer in the hallway and demanded him to kiss you. And you're f*cking Dustin on the side, as well." She let out a dramatic sigh and continued with her lies. "Some people do anything for attention." I was burning with anger.
"Yeah, like you! I never did any of those things, you're just making them up! Maybe if you stopped lying you'd have more friends! And me and Les are still best friends."
Keera smiled cooly, looking around the room. She waved her manicured fingers at the small crowd. "Guys, come on. Who do you believe? Me, the Keera you've known and loved for years, or this girl Journey, the sister of Haile Daniels, who is currently the biggest sl*t in the school. Aside from her sister."
It hurt me the most that everyone around us were looking as if they were thinking hard about it.
"Come on, you guys!" I pleaded with the people in the lockers. "Do you seriously believe I did things like that? I'm not like that! This girl is just a liar."
But I was greeted with steely glares.
My face burned with shame as a few girls snickered at me. Then suddenly, I heard a loud, clear voice from the back of the room. "Come on guys, why would we not trust this girl? We barely know her, yet we know that Keera has a reputation for ruining everyone's lives." A few people looked back and nodded. "That's true," I heard someone else say.
In just a few seconds, all the girls in the gym class despised Keera. I put my hand to my chest. "Thanks whoever said that!" I called into the crowd. A girl walked up to me. "No problem. I hate Keera anyway, she's a bit*h. Don't listen to her."
It took a second for me to catch my breath.
She was.. so.. beautiful.
No homo or anything, but she looked.. unreal. She could be cousins with Archer, and that was saying something. She had soft chestnut colored hair that fell to her hips in waves, and her skin was a gorgeous light tanned brownish color. Her eyes were like pools of light blue light, and she was holding herself in the laziest, most relaxed way. Her shoulders were slightly tilted back, her hands in the pockets of her basketball shorts that hung just right on her hips, and yet she still managed to look feminine. I couldn't imagine how I had missed her the first day I was here.
"Thanks, that was really nice. I didn't do any of those things." The girl shrugged. "And why would you?"
I smiled. "What's your name?"
"Valerie. And you're Journey?" I nodded. "You bet." We began to walk out of the lockers when a cold hand grabbed my arm, pulling me back.
A high pitched voice whispered in my ear. "You're going to pay for what you just did."
I turned to see Keera, her eyes slightly wild. "W-what?" I asked, a tingling feeling creeping up my spine. "Oh, you will pay. Just wait, just wait!" She said, her voice rising up at the end of her statement. She started laughing, a shocking gleam in her eyes. I ripped my arm away from hers.
Now I was scared.