"About what?" I ask. He sips the tea I didn't even realize he was holding and points to the ottoman in front of him. "Come sit." He tells me. I shuffle over, trying not to put too much weight on my left foot.
"So, your mother and I have been talking..."
Oh crap.
"...About your friend, Taylor."
OH THANK THE LORDS!!
"What about her?" I ask. He shrugs.
"She's kind of.. uh.. dumb? We don't really think she's the best influence for you."
"Wait a minute!" I exclaim. "Okay, sure, she may be a bit of an airhead, but that doesn't make her flat out dumb!" I say.
"Oh? Well then, tell me exactly how she isn't dumb." He says.
"Well, she's in all AP classes, and passing everything!"
"Actually," dad starts, "She's currently got a 65 in AP Lit and Science, and her math grades went down from 100 to 58 in a week. Literally."
"...Oh.." I say.
"Yeah. Simply put, we just don't think you and her should be friends anymore." Dad says.
"Dad, she's been my best friend since 6th grade! I can't just... ahh.." I trail off as something over my dad's shoulder catches my attention.
Another set of eyes, almost golden, peer through the window and meet mine. Nothing but black surrounds them, and I recognize them immediately.
Its the wolf thing from earlier.
"What is it? Are you okay?" Dad asks. "Is there something behind me?" He starts to turn around, but the wolf closes its eyes, making itself practically invisible. "Ah, uh, s-sorry! I thought I saw a spider on the window." I lie. "Must've been my eyes fooling me!"
"Oh." He says. He totally bought the lie! "Well, your mom and I won't be changing our minds any time soon. I'll let you think about it, but I need you to tell me whether or not you'll keep being her friend by tomorrow night. Okay?"
"O-Okay!" I say. "No problem! Uh, can I go now?" I ask.
"Yes, you can go."
"Thank you! I say, getting up quickly. I speed shuffle up the stairs and go straight to my room. I open my window and see the wolf looking up at me. "Why are you here? What do you want??" I ask it. It sniffs me and wags its tail a little bit. "If you want me to be your owner, I can't!" I tell it. "You're way too big!" It exhales through its nose, sounding frustrated.
"Don't get mad at me! I'm sorry, but I don't know how to deal with dogs half the size of trees!" I respond. "How about this; I can't understand you at all! So if you need me to do something for you, come back tomorrow night at this time. Okay?" I offer. It whimpers, but gets off my house and walks back to the woods.
"I'm taking that as a yes!" I shout to it. It doesn't respond, disappearing into the trees.
What a weird dog.
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When I wake up the next morning, it feels like everything from yesterday reset itself. The conversation about Taylor. Being at Taylor's house. Even the giant wolf.
Oh yeah, I invited the thing back here. Although, it shouldn't be coming until 10, so I'm good for now. I sit up, stretch, yawn, and put my slippers on to start the day. I brush my teeth and wash my face before heading downstairs to start making breakfast.
Mom and dad aren't home. They've got the morning shift, and most likely won't be home 'til about 7-ish, so I've got plenty of free time. After I finish my cereal, I hit up Taylor and ask her if she's busy. She has to finish up with my nails anyways. She says no and invites me over.
"Did you already ask your folks?" I ask her.
"Totally! Mom's fine with it! What about you?" She asks.
"I texted them and let them know I'd be going over to your's. I'm fine." I answer.
"Yay! Alright, I'll be coming in five! Meet me at the top of your neighborhood, okay?"
"Alright, see you in five!" I say, and we hang up. I get dressed and throw a bit of makeup on. I don't need much, I'm beautiful as is. I put on my jeans, my
jacket, coat, all that stuff to stay warm. I grab the keys to my house and lock the door on my way out.
As I walk down the driveway, I get a notification. I pull out my phone and see it's from mom. She's okay with me going to Tay's house, as I thought! While I'm replying, I run into what feels like a wall!
"Oof!" I exclaim, falling back and dropping my phone.
If its cracked I'm gonna have a big problem.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't see you." Someone's voice says. Its deep, but not scary or intimidating. "Need help?" The person asks. I look up and see his outstretched hand, taking it in my own.
"Thank you, but it's on me!" I assure him as he helps me up. "I should've been looking where I was going.."
As he's helping me, I realize just how warm and rough his hands are. They feel callused, but I can't tell if that's the case. He did seem to have a hard body.. maybe he's a construction worker? Or he works out?
"Its alright." He says. I see him for the first time, and I double back on my previous statement.
No way this guy's a construction worker.
He's way too young! Hell, he almost looks younger than me! But he does have a muscular build, so he probably just works out. I dust myself off and he hands me my phone. He apologizes one more time, then leaves. While he walks away, the faint smell of wet dog follows him.
Strange.
I ignore it and finish replying to my mom. I get to the top of the neighborhood just as Tay pulls up, and I climb in. "Ooh! Girl, what is that??" Taylor asks as we start driving away. "You smell like a dog!"
"Ah, sorry! I ran into someone and he smelt the same way." I explain.
"Ohh, okay." She says. At a red light, she pulls a bottle of perfume out of her purse and hands it to me. "Here. So that you don't smell funky all day."
"Thanks!" I say, happily accepting it as the light turns green. I read the bottle. "Ocean Bliss". I wonder what this is.
I spray it, and it doesn't smell all too bad. "So, did you see what the guy looked like? Was he cute to you?" Taylor asks.
"What? No, why are you asking?" I question.
"You know why! Since 8th grade, you've been single!"
"As a pringle and happy about it! I don't want anybody! And to answer your question, no. He was not cute to me." I say.
"Well, what did he look like?" She asks.
"Uh, let's see..." I think about it for a minute. "He was muscular, kinda tallish, looked pretty young, and had rough hands. Oh, and his hair was jet black, too. And I'm pretty sure his eyes were blue, though I can't say for sure." I say.
"I don't know, Dani. That was pretty descriptive.." Taylor says tauntingly.
"Oh, hush! Even if I did like him, he smelt like a damp dog. I can't date a man who stinks." I say.
"Maybe he just has a dog? Don't you like dogs?" Taylor asks.
"Yeah, but that won't sway me!" I say. I visualize him again, specifically his icy blue eyes. And for whatever reason, they feel familiar.
And oddly comforting...
We make it to Taylor's and she opens the door. She shushes me, telling me her dad is still asleep. We creep to her room and sit on the floor. I put some music on my phone and she gets her nail stuff together. "So, any updates on your business?" I ask her. She wants to be a nail tech, and she honestly has a good chance. She's great at doing nails.
"Yep! This gay guy reached out to me and scheduled an appointment for next week Thursday! He seemed pretty nice, and wants both a manicure and his nails done! TL;DR, an easy $75!" Taylor reports. She seems so happy.
"That's great, Tay! You're gonna be rich, I just know it." I assure her. She smiles and starts back on my nails. "Thanks, babes!" She says.
"So, you wanna do anything after this? I was thinking we could go to the mall?" I suggest. She perks up.
"Ooh, fun! I saw Forever 21 get some new clothes! You might like them, demi-goth." She says.
"Oh, so just 'cuz my favorite color is black, I'm a goth?" I joke.
"Honey, you're getting there." She says. "Although, that leather jacket is cute."
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A little while later, my nails are finished and looking great! "Oh, I love these!" I exclaim. The black is pretty, but it reminds me of something. I rack my brain until I remember what it is.
"Oh yeah, I need to tell you something!" I say to Taylor. "Like, something really crazy!"
"Ooh, tea?" Taylor says, her interest clearly piqued.
"Piping hot! Listen, after you dropped me off at home, I heard a weird sound in my backyard, so I went out and I saw this giant--"
There's a loud crash somewhere in the house that stops me just as I was about to finish me sentence. We hear footsteps moving around Taylor's house, and it makes our blood run cold.
"What the hell is that?"