They were quiet as mice when they crept into the Saunders house early in the morning, and even quieter when they left it almost on tiptoe. Not waking Michael had been a difficult task, but luckily Ryan had managed it. Evan didn't dare go into their room with him, especially when they both still smelled like sex to the wolf's nose. However, that only added to his anxiety as he stood alone in the hallway, hoping he wouldn't run into any of his mate's relatives.
"Got it," Ryan announced in a whisper as he reappeared in Evan's line of sight. His confirmation was unnecessary as Evan could clearly see the hoodie he held tightly in his hand.
Evan gave him a smile, not daring to say anything out loud and risk being overheard. Luckily, that was enough for Ryan, and they were out of the house as quickly as they'd entered it.
As Evan stood in the road, Ryan handed him his hoodie and Evan took off the one he was wearing so they could exchange them. It was still chilly outside, even though it was already mid-February, but it was still early in the morning, so they had to do this quickly to avoid the cold.
Before he saw Ryan in his hoodie, Evan glanced down at the baby blue he was wearing for perhaps the first time in his life, not counting the early years of his life when his mom dressed him.
It was an odd change, but surprisingly he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would. Maybe he was biased since it smelled like Ryan, and to Evan, it was the best smell in the world right now.
Evan hadn't noticed it last night, but the longer he stayed awake, the more he realized how their bond had grown stronger. It wasn't quite complete though, as they managed to keep their fangs in check, but it was still more than he'd felt before.
Ryan's scent was suddenly an aphrodisiac to him, not to mention the constant need to touch him. Plus, Evan was quickly discovering that if he concentrated hard enough, or if Ryan felt his emotions intensely, Evan could identify them very easily without even looking at him.
He had no idea if Ryan felt the same way, but assuming from his satisfied smile, he certainly did.
Together they walked to the bus stop, and although there were constantly some delays getting in the way (which were most pleasant), they still had a little while before the bus to Marwell was due to arrive.
"Is it stupid to say I'll miss you?" Ryan broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between them.
"Maybe," Evan replied before giving his question proper thought. "Probably. But I feel the same way."
Ryan grinned at him and pulled him closer to him. Evan rolled his eyes, pretending like he was bothered, but the opposite was true. Automatically he wrapped his arms around the ink-haired boy's waist and Ryan put his hand on his jaw, pulling him in for a kiss with the other.
Evan didn't protest, of course, and they lost themselves in each other again, enjoying being able to touch and kiss each other without having to care about anything.
It wasn't until an enthusiastic squeal tore them apart that they looked confused for a moment, as they were so wrapped up in each other. Their surprise only lasted a second, however, as they immediately realized who the shout in question belonged to without ever turning to her.
"Hi, Angie," Ryan greeted her automatically and they finally turned to her as she bounced enthusiastically closer to them.
"Hi, guyyyys," she practically sang, grinning from ear to ear.
Evan rolled his eyes at her reaction, though in the back of his mind, he was glad she was rooting for them.
"I take it you had a great birthday?" It wasn't really a question, but Evan nodded anyway, unable to stop the smile that appeared on his face. He still had his arms around Ryan's waist and wasn't about to let go, even though they'd been discovered by his best friend.
Ryan didn't seem to rush out of his embrace either, as he turned and leaned comfortably against Evan, draping his arms over his own.
"Soooo..." Angie obviously had a lot of questions, not knowing for the sake of her excitement which to voice first.
Ryan chuckled but didn't immediately start explaining like Evan had assumed. Instead, they had a situation where Angie was looking at them with eager eyes, Evan looked as if he was irritated to the max by her curiosity, and Ryan was simply enjoying the hug from his mate.
Being Ryan's official mate obviously broke something in him, as he sighed and decided to reveal at least something to his friend instead of going back to kissing.
"He took me out, we danced and then I kissed him. It was long overdue anyway." His tone was bored, of course, though a fireworks display of emotions flared inside him at the memory of their evening together, leaving out any negative ones. It had been the best night and evening of his life and he wasn't going to ruin it for himself. No regrets, no worries, nothing.
"And then you had sex?" Angie finished for him with a knowing smile. She was a she-wolf, after all, so she must have smelled sex on them the moment she was near them.
"We didn't plan it," Ryan told her. Evan would have suspected that Ryan's answer meant he regretted it, but it was because of this unplanned experience that he knew that whatever Ryan was feeling inside, it wasn't regret.
"And no, we won't tell you any details," Evan quickly added before she could even take a breath in response.
"Rude," she declared. "I'm your best friend. I'll get it out of you."
"I don't doubt that. But don't bother him too much."
Ryan earned a kiss on the cheek for his answer. It didn't stop there, of course, and even though they now had an audience, it didn't stop Evan from claiming his lips.
Angie thankfully understood and backed away from them a few steps, minding her business.
It wasn't long before the sound of an approaching bus reached Evan's ears. He pulled away from his soulmate with difficulty, but still wouldn't let him out of his arms, enjoying the last seconds before they would have to part.
"I'll be waiting for you here," Ryan informed him, even though he did that every day anyway.
"I look forward to it," was Evan's reply, and he couldn't resist the small kiss he gave him on the tip of his nose.
"I'll text you," he promised. "I'll try not to bother you all day, but it's going to be difficult." Evan doubted that the black-haired boy would ever bother him, even though he had called it that way back in the day.
"If I don't hear from you every hour, I'll be disappointed," Evan revealed. It had been a long time since he had any intention of hiding his feelings, and now it was no longer possible. Moving from North Hallson to Marwell had been one of the best decisions he'd ever made, but now he was beginning to question it, even though he knew it was stupid. He would have given just about anything to spend more time with Ryan, especially now that they were finally closer and the excitement of last night and this morning still lingered.
"Deal." Ryan's bright smile showed his satisfaction with Evan's words. "But the same goes for you."
"C'mon." As a bus pulled up behind them and the doors opened, Angie finally worked up the courage to separate them.
Evan reluctantly pulled away from his mate, but not before giving him one last kiss. Angie almost had to push him onto the bus to make sure he didn't change his mind about going to school today.
"See you later." Evan turned around in the bus door to give him his last words and smile.
"Later," Ryan repeated after him, assuring him that he would indeed be waiting here after school.
The doors closed, the bus moved, and Evan had barely sat down in his seat when Angie turned to him and began peppering him with questions, as she had promised to do earlier.
"I want to hear everything. Who topped who? How many times did you do it? Was it embarrassing? How did you manage not to bite him?" Her voice was excited, and only calmed at the last question, as it did not belong in the ears of the humans around them.
Evan sighed and rolled his eyes, turning quickly to the window, hesitating, but then deciding to at least say something in response, knowing that if he didn't, she would be bugging him all day long.
"We took turns," he murmured softly. Not that he was ashamed of it, but he was not ready to talk openly about his sex life, especially when it had just started.
"Really?" Angie seemed surprised by his answer, but then she obviously realized something else. "So you did it more than once?"
"Only three times," he replied, but then, like her, he realized he'd forgotten something. "Four times." It was done quickly in the morning, but it was still something that needed to be acknowledged. Especially when it almost made him have trouble walking if he wasn't a werewolf.
"Only?" Angie chuckled, and the colour of his cheeks involuntarily turned red. "You know, people don't usually do it that many times in a row."
"How would you know?" With an accusatory tone, Evan finally turned to her.
"Research," she replied simply, and Evan couldn't help but roll his eyes at her again. For someone who saved her virginity for her mate, Angie really had a perverted mind.
"Does that mean you're officially together?" she asked him, and Evan automatically nodded but then frowned. He and Ryan were so absorbed in the other that they didn't even get to have this conversation.
"I don't know," he admitted out loud, and this time it was Angie who rolled her eyes at her friend.
"Idiot." She sighed. "Just text him, even if it's not necessary."
Evan immediately decided to do so and pulled his phone out of his pocket. A new message was showing on it, and when Evan opened it, a smile automatically appeared on his face.
"I miss you already," the message said.
"I miss you too, mate," he wrote back, then decided to take a shot. "Or should I say boyfriend?"
He didn't have to wait long for an answer. "Call me whatever you want, the important thing is that I'm yours."
"Yeah, we're officially together."