10 years old, Damien
Bored, I scribbled wild patterns on the tabletop. The loud chatter of my class filled the room and the smell of sandwiches filled the air.
Her loud laughter made me raise my head. Cass sat at her desk, a notebook open in front of her.
Lorelie and Jessy, our Beta-Wolf's daughter, leaned over it with interested expressions.
I narrowed my eyes and half rose from my chair. Colorful images of wolf breeds from around the world covered the pages of the magazine.
Next to it was a whole stack of stupid stickers that couldn't have been cheesier.
Cass put a pink and yellow sticker in the notebook and turned the page.
The shiny paper barely rustled, it had to be thick.
Lorelie selected the next sticker, Cass raised her head and smiled happily at her friend. The fluorescent light from the ceiling lamp shimmered in her eyes, making the otherwise warm brown appear cool.
She looked way too happy. Annoyed, I jutted my jaw, chair legs scraping against the worn floor as I stood up.
I headed towards Derik and Jayce, who were standing near the entrance chatting.
As I passed Cass's desk, I reached out, brushing the sparkling stickers to the floor as I went.
They spread out across half the classroom, fluttering.
"Hey!", the girls shouted indignantly, but I ignored them.
I joined my friends with a satisfied expression.
Clarisia
I looked at the reflection critically, frowning. Too much.
With a frustrated sigh, I collapsed onto my bed. The lipstick stuck disgustingly on my mouth and the hairspray, which I usually only used for parties, smelled artificial.
"Cass?", I heard Lorelie's voice through the door. "We're running late."
"I'm coming", I murmured.
I grabbed my backpack, slipped on the white sandals that I had picked out of the closet last night and stepped out into the hallway.
Lorelie's blue eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh", she managed.
"Let's go", I said shortly.
The thin material of my light blue dress clung to my upper body, swinging loosely around my knees as I walked down the stairs.
Derik, who was already halfway out the door, whistled through his teeth. "Man, how I missed those legs over the winter."
"Stop staring." I punched him hard in the shoulder.
"It won't be easy", he replied with a broad grin.
The morning was cool, with occasional wisps of mist caught in the branches of the forest.
"Don't you think it's too cold for a dress?", Lorelie asked doubtfully.
I shrugged and pressed my lips together tightly to hide the chattering of my teeth. "I can't wait any longer for summer."
"Me neither", Derik added with a suggestive grin, but Lorelie just frowned.
I rolled my eyes and pulled up my neckline, almost exposing the lace edge of my bra.
As I entered the classroom alongside my friends, I noticed the stares of my classmates.
With my head bowed, I headed for the tables next to Jayce and Brian, careful to leave a seat empty in between.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jayce turn in his chair to look at me.
"Would you like to go to the window?", I asked Lorelie as I hastily dropped my backpack on the table.
She shrugged her shoulders, noticeably quiet, but sat down.
I crossed my legs and ignored the goosebumps that spread across my body due to the cold.
My eyes fell on the empty space to my right and I tapped my feet impatiently.
If he didn't come to school today, I could have put on my warm clothes.
The electronic bell rang through the building, prompting Misses Suarez to begin class.
The door swung open and Damien burst into the room. His eyes fell on me and he froze.
"Good morning, Mister Lynch", Misses Suarez greeted him disapprovingly. "You are late. Once again."
"I overslept", he murmured.
His blue eyes slowly darkened, like a spring day during a thunderstorm.
I furrowed my brows and examined the grayish circles under his eyes.
He looked more like he had only slept a few hours.
His bag fell to the floor with a thud.
Damien's gaze burned my skin, but I stretched out my legs as casually as possible, the material of my dress riding up a little, and threw my hair over my shoulder.
Misses Suarez frowned, she bent down and lifted the bag onto a desk. "Would you please sit down?"
Damien didn't move, his breathing deepening.
"Mister Lynch?" Finally he tore his gaze away and looked at the teacher with a confused expression.
Then he slowly looked down his arm. "I forgot my bag."
Lorelie started snickering.
"No, Mister Lynch." Misses Suarez shook her head. "Your bag is here."
She tapped on the desk and Damien jumped in shock. His gaze wandered over to the only empty chair. He swallowed hard.
"Don't you want to sit down?", Misses Suarez asked, an amused smile on her lips.
"I..." Damien frowned.
"Mister Lynch, are you stoned?" The smile disappeared from her face and her expression became stern.
I stifled a laugh and Jayce shook his head with a big grin.
Damien looked at the teacher almost desperately. "If I say yes, can I go to the principal?"
"You will sit down. Now!" Her patience broke.
With his head bowed, he sat down at the desk next to me without giving me another glance.
"Your bag", Misses Suarez remarked sourly, slamming the black sports bag on Damien's table.
"Thank you", he murmured, barely audible.
I spent the entire class trying to get his attention like a ridiculous groupie.
But I didn't have time for my pride right now. At regular intervals I stretched my legs or pushed up my skirt so that the material rustled gently.
I put my hands on my waist and stretched.
Chest out, stomach in, as my grandfather always used to say, even though his stomach was so big that he couldn't pull it in anymore.
Damien sat tensely in his chair, not once taking notes. However, I didn't know if this was normal for him or if he actually couldn't concentrate.
When we were supposed to read a passage, I hesitantly got up from my chair. With a deep breath, I leaned over Damien's desk, making sure to brush my chilled wrist against his hand.
Electrical impulses raced across my skin, driving away the cold.
"What the hell are you doing?", he snapped, leaning back hastily to avoid further contact.
"Oh, I forgot my marker", I replied with a shrug. "I thought that I can borrow yours."
I fished for his green marker on the desk and leaned further forward so he could see into my neckline.
Instead, his gaze fell to my lips.
Within a second his eyes turned completely black.
I held my breath, my mouth suddenly felt dry.
"Go away", he growled quietly.
I grabbed his marker and fell back into my chair, a burning blush on my cheeks.
"Here's your marker", Lorelie said confused and held the pen under my nose.
"Right", I said, throwing his marker at Damien's head.
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"Come on", Lorelie said impatiently as she joined the queue. "Seize the table before everything is full."
I rolled my eyes but headed with my tray for the empty table by the window.
I sat down and grabbed the green apple.
Two strong hands slammed down on the table to either side of me.
I jumped in shock and almost dropped the apple. The heat of his body burned my back.
"Are you completely insane?", his deep voice growled in my ear.
A tingling sensation spread across my skin, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
With a smile, I tilted my head back and looked up into his darkened eyes.
The dark expression on his face took my breath away.
Damien gritted his teeth tightly, he removed his hands from the table and took off his hoodie.
"Put it on", he said gruffly.
Confused, I looked down at my lap where the gray sweater had landed. "Why should I?"
"You look like a whore", he hissed, his eyes narrowed. "They're all staring at you."
I gave an indigant hiss. "That's a completely normal summer dress!"
Damien snorted loudly. "It's the end of April."
"And?" I returned his piercing gaze with raised eyebrows.
"You're wearing a summer dress in April", he grumbled. "Don't you see how ridiculous this is?"
"Oh, that reminds me of something even more ridiculous", I replied.
"Really? I can see that you are freezing." He pointed to the goosebumps on my pale ankles.
I crossed my legs so he could no longer examine my chilled skin. "Oh, for example, denying an imprint."
Damien narrowed his greenish eyes. "Now don't start that again!"
At that moment two human boys looked over at me, they put their heads together and whispered, their gazes traveling up my legs to my neckline.
Damien's jaw tensed. A tremor ran through his body.
For a brief moment I feared he would lose control of his wolf.
"Put the damn sweater on, Rollins!", he ordered briskly.
I looked down and followed his command. I didn't want to irritate his beast any further. The soft fabric felt warm against my skin and smelled incredibly good.
Damien burried his hands deep in his pockets and stalked away.
"Ass", I muttered quietly.
"I can hear you!", his angry voice sounded in my head, making me freeze in shock.
The fact that he could communicate over his mind meant that he was closer to turning into a wolf than was good for him.
I pressed my nose into the gray material, deeply inhaling his masculine scent.
"What are you doing!", I growled.
It was still Damien asshole Lynch.
Lorelie pushed her tray onto the table, her brow furrowed in worry. "What was that?"
"Damien said I looked like a whore", I replied, adjusting the oversized sweater.
She pulled her lips into a pout. "Well..."
"Is it true?" I looked down at my dress in horror.
"Never mind! I was just jealous." Lorelie suddenly laughed, a bright light in her eyes. "Of course you don't look like a whore, you look gorgeous!"
"Why were you jealous?", I asked confused.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I want to wear summer dresses too."
I laughed out loud. "Then we'll do it again tomorrow."
"Together!", Lorelie shouted, whereupon some students looked over at us with amusement.
"And bring back summer!", I cheered.
The next day, apart from Lorelie and me, there were probably three other girls in our class wearing summer dresses.
We sat in the classroom shaking and shivering from the cold, but with huge grins on our faces.
Summer could come.