*Cara's Pov*
I took a deep breath as I stepped out from the car. I fairly remembered waving goodbye to dad as I lingered at the steps of the school waiting to go in. To say I was nervous would be a huge understatement. Adapting to new surroundings was never my thing. Blending in as well, and right now I probably wasn't doing either as I stood outside like a kindergartener afraid to leave his/her mom for the first time.
It would of been nice to have Reid or Ashley with me, but Ashley got a ride from Matt. They offered but I turned it down. Its not like I could ask Reid for a ride anyway, not only was I still not on speaking terms with him, but he was still in Oregon last I heard. He decided not to take Matt after his little stunt at the sandwhich shop.
I don't know when he would be returning, and I kind of hoped maybe later. After realizing how I overreacted, I don't think I have the heart to face him today in school.
Since the last time I saw him, I have been suffering a severe case of guilt. I seriously needed to talk to him and get everything sorted out, I needed to apologize. But that would have to be later than sooner.
Plus, even if I was offered a ride, I wouldn't have gone with them anyway, my dad never got the chance to drop me off at school when I was younger, so he was making up for it now. I whipped out my cellphone and texted Ashley asking where she was. My dad gave us all cellphones, and so far I was loving the texting part of it.
I pushed open the doors to enter the building, and I was thrown off by the vast size of the inside. The hallways stretched all the way down and each wall was covered with lockers. I ran my hands across them, gaping in pure amazment. Coming to my senses, I stopped myself, I must have looked so silly. I looked around to see if anyone was watching me; nope they were all busy on their phones.
I reached in my pocket for my phone again, I texted Ashley again asking where she was. She promised that she would show me where the main office was but I guess I'm on my own here.
I looked around the bottom floor hoping to find the general office so I could get my schedule and locker number.It dawned on me I was starting to look like a lost puppy so I asked the guy nearest from me how to get to the general office.
He gave me a confused look."Are you new here?"
I nodded.
"Here let me show you." He said leading the way. He took literally five steps and pointed to a door with a big sign on it saying General Office. He laughed as my cheeks turned a bright shade of red.
"I'm practically blind." I lied trying to excuse my stupidity but he didn't look like he believed me. In fact, he outright laughed in my face. I said thanks and ducked into the office. I waited for someone to come and help me. Sitting down on the chairs felt uncomfortable, but I blamed my uneasiness on my nervousness. Still, I remained seated and tapped my foot violently against the carpeted floors. From on onlooker it would probably seem as if I was pissed off but it was simply a coping mechanism to deal with the sudden fit of nerves that seemed to manifest itself in my body.Finally an old lady with brown hair came scufflin over, her high heels clicking with each gradual step. She walked with her back bent slightly but her head pointed straight up as she walked.
As soon as she approached I asked about my schedule and locker. She gave me a small white piece of paper. It had all my classes and my locker number. I stared at my paper confused, the name wasn't mine. It was Carol Hassner.
"Excuse me, this is not me." I pointed to my name.
The lady looked both ways before leaning into me. " Your name was changed due to Alphas orders. For safety concerns teachers will know you as Mrs. Hassner."
"Can I still go as Cara?" I asked.
She smiled."Of course."
I guess this was Reid's doing, going overboard to make sure I was safe. He was such a great mate, and how did I repay him, by not giving him a chance to explain himself.
I thanked her and grabbed my schedule. One thing still irked me though. Carol, why the name Carol. Not saying Carol was a bad name but I didn't even look like a Cara let alone a Carol. Why couldn't he have called me Carolyn?
These thoughts continued to plague me as I climbed the two flights upstairs to get the my locker. As with downstairs I became mystified with the myriad of lockers that greeted me. I bumped into a few people as I kept my eyes focused on the sheet in front of me. I finally reached locker 379. "That was easy," I thought as I tried to open my locker. When it refused to budge I looked closely and realized it had a lock on it.
How do you work these damn things? I looked on my schedule and saw my combination: 02-06-14. I tried to turn it but it still did not budge. I groaned in fustration, my first day was turning out to be too much for me to handle alone. I tried to mentally cheer myself up, but when that failed I texted Ashley for the third time.
'Where are you?'
In seconds she replied. 'Eating breakfast in the cafe.'
I rolled my eyes.'Help me with my locker, I'm on the third floor.'
'Okay.'
I waited for her to come. I tried my locker again with no success.
"Need help?" The same guy I met this morning came sauntering over. His blue eyes still dancing with amusement.
"No it's okay," I said still slightly abashed from earlier. I turned the lock another time and prayed it would work.
"You're doing it wrong. You're supposed to turn it clockwise, counterclockwise and then back to clockwise. Or something like that. Here let me show you." He said as he unlocked my locker. I stared at him in amazement. I felt so happy that I actually gave him a hug.
He looked at me in astonishment. I released him turning red. "You really must be new, I'm Christian." He smiled.
I stared down at it before shaking it. "Homeschooled." I lied using the cover story Reid gave me."And I'm Carol, but call me Cara."
"That explains why you didn't know how to turn a lock." He said leaning on locker next to mine. I grabbed my books from my bag and stuffed them into my locker. He assisted me in doing so.The hall became more and more packed with people. "What class do you have next?" Christian asked still holding on to a textbook of mine.
"I-I don't know yet." I finished zipping up my bag and stared at my schedule. "I'm a junior so I have English Literature."
"What room, I can show you." He offered, his face breaking into a friendly smile. Our shoulders brushed each other as he bent to get a better look at my schedule.
I smiled at his politeness. "Thanks so much."
"I'll take it from here Christian." A slightly irritated voice said behind us. I turned quickly and my mouth dropped open.
"Reid." I whispered frozen in my spot. He took my bag in his hand but was staring daggers at Christian.
"Hey man, I was just showing her how to open her locker." Christian put his hands up innocently. He still had a laughing smile on his which I knew would piss Reid off.
"Thanks so much again" I said as he walked away. I turned to Reid. "We need to talk." I said shakily.
"How do you know Christian?" He asked bluntly. By the look on his face, I could tell he didn't really like Christian that much.
"I met him downstairs, he led me to the general office and then helped me open my locker. I didn't even know his name till two minutes ago. Okay your turn, why are you here?" I said using the same bluntness that he exhibited.
"I wanted to be here for you on your first day of school." He said touching my shoulder lightly. I stepped back and looked down inspecting my shoes. The earlier guilt I was feeling was bubbling back up again. Usually words like that would have melted my heart, but right now they were shattering it.
"Reid, we have to talk." I repeated myself for the second time.
"Cara we don't have to talk here and now," his face grew worried," we can talk later, I don't want to ruin the first day of school for you."
I silenced him before continuing to talk. If I didn't say what I had to now, then I never would. "I'm so sorry, If I were truly a good mate, I wouldn't have even believed them in the first place. You were telling the truth and I should have known from the start.I still have trust issues and I shouldn't with you because you've been nothing but kind and caring to me."
He took a deep breath and pulled me in for a hug. "God Cara." He murmured into my neck. "I was so afraid you were going to say you wanted to end things with me. Especially after I yelled at you the other day..."
I shook my head no. "It's you that should be ending things with me. I'm sorry you got stuck with such a horrible mate like me, you deserve better." I took a deep breath, finally everything I wanted to say was layed out on the table. It was now his choice whether he were to forgive me or not.
His face hardened."I'd rather you be angry with me than for you to ever say that about yourself. You are an amazing mate, and you shouldn't discredit yourself. I mean do you hear yourself right now?" He said as he placed both hands on my shoulders,. He stared at me as if I had truly lost my mind. Any second now I thought he was going to start shaking me silly. He must have seen the tears in my eyes because he did something else, he pulled me into another hug.
Warmth seeped in as I was crushed under his large frame. The two of our bodies were connected, and the firm grip that held us to each other proved nothing could separate us. I closed my eyes breathing in his familiar scent. God it felt so good to hug him right now. I wanted to just stay in his arms and forget everything else. I stared back into his eyes and blushed at the intensity of that hug. "Still I'm really sorry, I should have actually listened to you and not been so stubborn.I already had it in my mind that you were guilty and nothing you could say would disprove it." I mumbled breaking away from the hug.
"Relax Cara, you acted like any normal mate let alone girl would have, given all that you've gone through.I wasn't being entirely fair to you either. I thought about things while i was away and realized I shouldn't have been so angry. I should have tried to be more understanding. We still don't know each other that well yet so it was unreasonable to expect that you would put all your trust in me. That time will come soon. It's normal for you to have trust issues baby, we'll work on that." He said mollifying my guilt.
"You're amazing. Now I feel even worse for being mad at you."
"Cara trust me it's ok. The minute you stop getting mad is the minute you stop caring, and I rather have you mad at me every single day for the rest of our lives then for you to stop caring."
I stood there with the cheesiest of smiles on my face. "Me, stop caring?" I scoffed."Never gonna happen."
He laughed."You promise?" Reid said mocking me.
"Duh, of course I promise." I squeezed his hand.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I should have been more understanding. It's just-" he broke off suddenly. He took a deep breath and continued. "I've never opened my heart to someone before. So this is all new to me as well. I'm terrified you'll break my heart, even unintentionally."
I shook my head. "I'm not here to break your heart Reid. I'm here to mend it." Tears rose to the surface. I realized how naive I sounded but it was the truth. I expected him to laugh at me, but he didn't. Instead, he said.
"You don't know how long I've waited for you." He whispered. "Things feel too good to be true." Our foreheads touched and he closed his eyes. I didn't want to start crying here in the middle of the hallway, but it felt so good to know that he forgave me and that he still trusted me to guard something so sacred to him. From the average onlooker, Reid stood tall, confident, and unbreakable. But he wasn't. I was his weak point, and I could do serious damage to him just by withdrawing my love. It was scary and exhilarating to know that I was the only person who could hold such power over him. But I prayed to never hurt him. I didn't want to cause him pain and have him close up again.
The bell rang signaling first period. I unwillingly unwrapped myself from Reid. "How about I walk you to your class Carol." He smiled deviously.
"I know you find this funny." I said confirming my suspicions that he were the one to change it, not the Alpha. His hand interlaced with mine and he squeezed it. I shook my hand from him.
"You're a pretty hot Carol." Reid pulled me in for a kiss and pulled away just as quickly."Almost like a sexy librarian." I ducked away from him.
"Say Carol one more time I dare you." I pushed him away. The bell rang again and I walked faster, I was technically late, on my first day as well.
"I'll wait for you outside." He said walking opposite from me. I saw some guys come up to talk to him. Wasn't he worried about being late?
I took a deep breath as I approached the teacher. He was a middle aged man who had this ''scholarly'' look about him. I couldn't believe I was saying this, but he was hot too. If all teachers looked like him, then maybe school wouldn't be half bad.
"Hi I'm a new student ." I walked to his desk. I was glad not everyone was here yet.
"Ahh I see," he said looking at his student sheet, "nice to meet you Carol." He extended his hand for me to shake it.
"You can call me Cara." I corrected him instantly.
"Would you like to skip the embarrassing class introduction." He stared at me through his rimmed glasses, which would look horrible on anyone but him.
I nodded already liking this guy. I almost walked to my seat but I remembered I didn't have one. "Where do I sit?"
"Third row fourth seat back." He pointed for me.
I thanked him and walked to my seat. Class started and I slapped my forehead remembering Reid had my bag. I sat there for five minutes doing absolutely nothing. I almost considered asking someone for a pen and piece of paper, when the door opened. Reid's figure appeared through the door and my breathing ceased.
"Hey Mr. O, just dropping off a bag." Reid said as he scanned the rows looking for me. Our eyes locked and he made his way over to me despite the embarrassed look I was giving him.
"See ya later Carol," he kissed me on the lips and dropped my bag on the floor. Some guys high fived him and he walked out. Just like that he was gone. He did it on purpose, I scowled. My face grew hot as everyone turned to stare at me. I didn't miss the whispering or the glances thrown in my direction. So much for going unnoticed.
"Well if there isn't any more distractions, I think we should get back to our lesson." He lowered his glasses to give me what I interpreted to be a stern look.
I blushed and cast my eyes downward so I could begin to take notes.
"Transcendentalism was a movement on the 1800s. This movement focused on the indivual, self reliance, and a depature from the corruptness of society into the the uncorrupt atmosphere of nature." He spoke from the textbook as he glided around the classroom.
I was rushing to take down all of the notes because he was going so fast, when my shoulder was tapped. I looked up to see a girl looking at me. Her brown eyes danced widly from me to the teacher then back to me. Her dark brown hair whipped against my arm as she turned her head.
"Hi I'm Melissa. Are you dating the guy that just walked in?" She whispered looking from me to the teacher and then returning her gaze back towards me.
I was caught of guard with her question. "Yeah I'm his girlfriend?" I answered back in a question. It was true partly, we were mates but I didn't say that just in case she was a human. Plus, technically he never did ask me to be his girlfriend, but it was just easier to explain.
"Girlfriend? He's never had a girlfriend before. Are you sure?"
I was stunned. "Um, yes I'm sure."
How long have you guys been dating?" She demanded, her eyes flashing enviously. Her mouth twitched downward into a scowl.
"More than a month I guess." I didn't miss the subtle change in her vocal tone.
"Wow, no way." She muttered to herself.
I scrunched my eyebrows together. "Why?" I didn't even try to conceal my suspicion. Who was she and why was she so interested in my mate?
"He's never stayed with a girl that long." She said mainly to herself. "Are you new?" She asked suddenly.
"Yeah." I said slowly. What was her point?
"Oh well that's probably why he's interested. I guess time will tell how long his interest lasts." She muttered mainly to herself and turned back around. Suddenly Melissa jerked her head back to me. "Unless..." she gasped. "Are you his mate?"
So she was a wolf! "I am." I nodded.
"Ah fuck. This is not good. Not good at all." She turned back angrily.
"Thanks for the welcome," I thought shaking my head. I had a feeling she was someone who "dated" him, and she was still sore about it
The teacher's lesson broke through my thoughts. "Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman were perhaps the most influential transcendentalists of their time. Walt Whitman was most famously known for his collection of poetry he composed called Leaves of Grass."
I kept writing. I left a huge space in my notes for the parts I missed. I'll just have to ask someone later.
The bell rang and I moved on to my next class. Reid was waiting outside but I avoided him purposely. I felt his arm go around my shoulder. I shrugged it off.
"What's wrong Carol." He said obviously amused.
"You're unbearable." I jabbed him in the ribs. "Everyone was staring at me when you left. Not to mention you called me Carol! Twice now actually!" I said in mock outrage.
He laughed pulling me closer. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you're hot no matter what your name is."
"That doesn't make me feel better." I tried not to smile but I was failing. I was outside my history classroom and had two minutes to happily spare.
"Does this?" He tipped my chin to his and our lips moved in rhythm.
I pulled away. "No, it doesn't, but I think you should uhh try again." We went back to kissing again. The bell rang and I reluctantly pulled away. "I have to go."
"Or you can stay and I'll find an excuse why you couldn't show up to class." He stared at my lips as he said it.
"You can do that?" He nodded and I actually considered it till I snapped back to reality. "I don't think skipping class on my first day of school leaves a good impression." I said and hugged him goodbye.
"See you next period ." He said walking past me. I watched him walk further and further away till he was no longer in sight, and wondered what class he takes. I remembered Matt saying he was smart, so I guess he was in AP classes.
I walked in to class and found my seat. It wasn't hard because it was the only seat that was vacant. I noticed that guy Christian was in my class. He waved when I walked in. My seat was right next to his.
"You're a junior?" I asked surprised, he looked pretty old to be a junior.He shook his head and slouched a bit in his chair.
"No senior, I just happened to unfortunately fail this subject last year, and had to repeat it." He yawned, not even bothering to close his mouth as he did so.
I laughed."That must really suck."
"Not as much as not knowing how to open a locker." He said smirking.
I was not letting this guy embarrass me. I turned facing the front. The teacher came in a little late and apologized. We began our lesson on the similarities between the American Revolution and the French Revolution.I didn't know what those were and I didn't really care at the moment. I kept glancing at Christian. For someone who was a grade behind in a subject, he didn't seem to take any notes.
Speaking about notes, a folded up piece of paper landed on my desk. I looked down at it, confused. I almost flicked it off my desk when Christian whispered to me.
"You have to open it." He said quietly.
Oh. I blushed and picked up the note, I laughed when I read it. 'Stop staring' it read.
The piece of paper he used to write the note was so small, I had difficulty writing on it. Finally I threw it at him but instead of landing on his desk it landed on the floor next to him. Talk about horrible aim.
He picked up the note and smirked when reading it. It said 'Take notes'. He shook his head slightly and tossed it back to me.
'I know you can't help that I'm so good looking, nice aim by the way.'
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. I felt like we were on the verge of flirting so I stopped passing notes. Reid would not like that, in fact he would be livid. I crumpled it and threw it in my bag. He raised his eyebrows at me, but didn't pass me another note.
The bell rang and I cursed silently, talk about not taking notes, my paper had about one paragraph on the French revolution and that was it. I tossed my bag over my shoulder and carried my notebook in my hand. Christian was on my mind.
He was actually pretty handsome if I do admit, although certainly not as hot as Reid. He had a muscular build which led me to believe he did some sort of sports. His hair was dirty blond and his eyes blue.
Once out of the classroom, I tried to find Reid but he was nowhere to be seen. Christian was gone too, or so I thought when I felt his arm sling over my shoulder. I literally jumped ten feet in the air. "God Christian, you scared me." I put my hand to my heart to slow down my heartbeat. People were starting to stare so I took his arm politely from my shoulder. I think we both had study hall together too and were heading in the same direction.
"You should have seen the look on your face." He said. " I thought I'd catch up with you after class so I can ask for your number. Passing notes with you is fun and all, but I don't see how we can keep that up outside of the classroom, if you know what I mean."His lips curved upward but mine did the opposite.
I blushed crimson red, hating myself for being so shy around men. "I'm sorry but I have a boyfriend Christian."
His smile faded. "Believe me I know, so does the rest of the school at this point. I'm asking for your number as a friend, ever heard of that word? Maybe they don't teach you that at homeschool." He teased.
I blushed deeper and he laughed."I don't know it by heart, sorry." I said telling the truth.
"What do you know?" He joked. The bell rang and he took out a pen and wrote down his number for me. "Here you go, see you later." He walked the opposite direction from me, I guess we weren't in the same class after all.
I stood a second too long with the paper in my hand. I contemplated whether or not to keep it. I didn't think that Reid would be too ecstatic to find out that I got some other guy's number. On the other hand, Christian seemed nice albeit a bit cocky , and all he wanted to do was be friends. Where was the harm in that? I smacked my lips together and made a decision. I was going to keep it and talk to Reid about it later.
I opened the door to the classroom, and I was met with about twenty seven eyes staring at me. I looked around and saw Matt, Reid, and Ashley. I grinned, Reid must have set this up some way, because there was no way we just happened to be in the same exact class on "accident".Because I was late I had to be introduced to the class, how embarrassing.
After that embarrassing introduction, I retreated to the seat next to Reid and sat down. He put his arm on the back of my chair, and I sighed finally being away from all the attention. I took out my book to study with when it was snatched from my hand. "Hey, give it back." I whispered. "I'm trying to study."
Reid handed the book back to me. "No one studies in study hall, look around." He was right people were huddled together in groups talking. Some were even able to go outside to the school's garden. Reid and I both decided we would head there.
We went out to the garden just as some students were coming back. Christian was apart of a group that was heading back in.
He saw me and waved. "Don't forget to text me." He winked.
Reid's eyes followed Christian out the door, then his head whipped back to me. I could not read his expression but I could tell he was not impressed. "You two exchanged numbers?"
"Yes. Does that upset you?"
"I won't lie, I don't like it. It's no surprise Christian and I don't get along."
"Why?"
"It's complicated. I slept with his girlfriend, two years ago. " Reid grimaced. "I didn't know that they were together." He amended when he saw my horrified expression. "But Christian wouldn't let me live it down. He kept harassing me about it for a whole year until I put an end to it."
"How'd you do that?"
"We got in a fight and I broke his nose."
I frowned and stepped backwards from my mate. I was starting to think maybe I didn't know him that well after all. I still was jealous that he had slept with so many people and now I was coming to find out that he had gotten into fights with others. He was a bit reckless in the past, but he swore to me that things were different now.
"Cara, he'll use you to get back at me. I don't want you to get caught up in things."
"Reid. I don't think that's the case. He was nice to me before he even knew that you and I were together. I think you are being unfair to him."
"I did warn you Alphas can be jealous. That applies to sons as well." He shrugged. "So you two are friends?"
"I dont know. I'm sure he just wants my number because we have class together. But I won't keep it if you don't want me to." I leaned in to kiss him.
"I won't tell you what to do. Just be careful mate." He kissed me back. His hands grazed my butt and he patted it firmly.
We continued talking all the way up into the bell rang signalling lunch."Half of my day over, another half to go." I tried to be cheerful as I headed over to lunch.
As we were walking in the hallways, I noticed people, girls in particular were shooting me looks. Some shyly waved to Reid and then looked at me like I started the black plague. Reid had not even noticed.
We got on line for food. "My god, you are such a big deal here." I felt the eyes on the room on us, I looked at Reid but he was still oblivious. I tried looking around for our friends but I couldn't find them. Knowing Ashley, she would be anywhere Matt was. At one point I realized I was holding up the line so I let some people pass me. I was nearing the cashier with nothing on my tray.
"What do you mean?" He said biting down on an apple he picked up without paying. I laughed because on the wall behind him was a sign that said "you can't have me unless you pay for me" , and it was a cartoon of a sad apple being bitten. The sign alone was hysterial.
"You know what I mean. Girls stare at you everywhere you go." I avoided the apples and went for an orange. I wasn't that hungry, but I needed to buy something. I picked up a sandwhich; turkey I think, I didn't really care.
Reid took my tray in his hand so he could pay for it. "Yeah I guess being the Alpha's son does come with its perks."He took another bite out of his apple as I picked up a sprite and added it to my tray."But my devilish good looks and great personality to match does help a bit." He flashed me a cheeky grin and I couldn't help but agree, even though I'd never ever admit it to him, he already had a big ego.
"It must suck being so humble all the time." I said sarcastically. We both checked out our food and found a table to sit at. He paid for my meal again despite my refusal. I had a feeling he'd always be paying for our meals from now on.
"Hey you said it, not me." He gave me a look of mock-humility."But seriously. Among the wolves, I am well known. Well known for the wrong reasons , but I'm no longer like that and you'll see in a week I'll have been forgotten."
"Good then maybe I'll stop getting death stares from your past girlfriends." I pulled him closer to me.
"No past girlfriends. I've only ever been serious about one girl and it's you." He kissed my forehead.
Reid beckoned for his friend who I assumed to be Kevin to come closer. Kevin came over hand in hand with some girl who I guessed to be his mate.
Reid introduced us."Hey Kevin this is my mate Cara, Cara this is Kevin and his mate Lisa."
I tilted my head to the side and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, how long have you guys been mates?"
The boys took that time to disappear on us. I looked around and saw Reid was off at another talking to a group of guys. He was saying something and they were laughing. In the group I happened to spot Max. That trouble maker.
Melissa, the girl who interrogated me earlier approached the guys and tried to get Reid's attention. They walked off together and left the cafeteria. I felt a deep pit in my stomach and wondered what that was about.
I realized that I had stopped paying attention to Lisa's story and tried to tune back in.
"We literally just met each other over the summer. I used to go to an all girls private school and my friends invited me to a party and he happened to be there. The rest was history. I immediately switched to public school at the start of the school year."
"Wow, so are you falling in love with him yet?" I saw her blush and I knew I liked her already. She played with the ends of her hair.
"Definitely. Are you in love with Reid?" She teased, stretching the word 'love'.
"Yeah, I know I am, I just haven't told him yet." I laughed realizing how silly that sounded. "Has he met your parents yet?"
She shook her head. "No not yet, he's meeting them tonight for the first time. I'll send you a long detailed text message on how it all goes," she joked," speaking about texting give me your phone I'll put in my number."
I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone handing it over to her, I watched as she entered in her number. She gave it back and I pocketed it.
Ashley walked in a few seconds later. She sat down on the seat next to me completely ignoring Lisa."So Cara, word on the street is you're this homeschooled brat who's gone through about seventeen tutors before your dad couldn't take it anymore and sent you to public school. Another word is that you're cheating on Reid with some Christian guy, and if you are shame on you for not telling me first." Ashley scolded, but I knew she was loving the drama.
I on the other hand was rightfully appalled by the accusations."Umm, I really can't deal with that right now." I frowned remembering Lisa was here with us. "So Ashley, this is Lisa, she's Kevin's mate." I introduced the two of them.
They both smiled at one another and Ashley went on line for food. I couldn't believe people were saying that, I technically didn't even complete one full day of school yet.
Reid eventually came back and sat next to me. He kissed me on the cheek and I blushed. Kevin and the rest of the guys joined us making the table pretty crowded.
"Sorry about that." Reid said. "I swear these guys can talk on and on , just as much as teenage girls. Especially Kevin over there."
All eyes turned to Kevin."Hey!" Kevin threw a fry at Reid. "It was all Max, we all know he has the biggest mouth of us all." Reid nodded in agreement.
"What can I say, you got me." Max put his hands up in defeat.
We all laughed and Ashley came back to sit with us. I looked at my plate, then at hers. You would think the poor child wasn't being fed here, I'm pretty sure everything on the menu was on her plate. Was she gonna eat it all? When she leaves in two weeks, I was going to be so upset. I mean who's going to eat all the food out of my fridge, off my plate, etc? Who's going to stay up all night with me talking about Reid?
I looked over at Matt who was laughing. He was going to miss her too, and it must suck knowing these will be the last few days he has left with her.
Lunch was over too quickly if you asked me. The guys hogged much of the conversations with their jokes and banter, but it was all worth it because Reid was sitting right next to me as with his hand on my leg sending shocks coursing through my body.
Several times I had to move his hand away because I was started to get x rated thoughts in my mind. Thoughts that were simply brought on by his hand on my leg. Then I remembered him going off with Melissa and I grew jealous once more.
I promised to meet him at my locker after school. By the time I looked it was time to go home. Reid was rummaging through his locker when I approached him.
Immediately I blurted out. "Who is Melissa to you and why did you go off in private with her during lunch?"
Reid rubbed his head. "Melissa is complicated." He pulled out a textbook and placed it in his bag.
"I thought you didn't do complicated. You didn't want attachments." I folded my arms.
"Yes well she was a rare exception. We were already good friends before my mom died, so like Matt, Kevin, and Max, she's always been in my life one way or another. Our fathers were best friends and we grew up together."
"Did you guys ever-?" I gulped.
"Yes Cara." Reid leaned into his locker to pull out another book. "She's a big flirt but it's really all a harmless game to her. We had no real feelings for one another and our relationship has always been mostly platonic. Her favorite pastime was guessing how long I would stay with each new fling. She was usually spot on." Reid shook his head in mild embarrassment.
"She seemed surprised we were together. Unhappy even. You didn't tell her?"
"Cara I haven't spoken to her until today. I told her we are mates and I also ended our friendship." My eyes became huge. "I just want to concentrate on us and our future. No distractions and no meddlers."
"Oh. You didn't have to do that for me." I mumbled. Secretly, I exhaled a deep sigh of relief.
He smiled. "Oh believe me I did, look how relieved you look now. God, it's cute when you're jealous." He kissed me on the cheek and I hit him lightly in the stomach.
"I'm not jealous, I'm protective." I smiled, recalling what he said earlier. "Reid, I know I said I was okay with you sleeping with so many people but I admit, it's getting to me a bit. It's funny, I was never this way with Steven. I couldn't care less about how many women he had been with. But for some reason, knowing that other girls got to experience that with you makes me envious."
"Because we are mates and you are indeed jealous."He grinned, shutting his locker. "I can't change the past, but I can change my present and future. I will never again look at another girl who isn't you."
We both kissed."Let me drop you home tonight." Reid said as we walked side by side."We have a lot of making up to do." He said huskily into my ear causing me to shiver.
I groaned, seconds away from going with him. But my dad's disappointed face popped into my head and I shook my head. "As unbelievably tempting as that sounds, I can't, my dad is picking me up today." I said."Tomorrow?" I offered.
"Tomorrow it is." Reid said.
"But actually, how about today after school, can you drop by?" I asked. I wanted to see him earlier if possible.
"Can't, I have to go through some reports back at the pack house, plus I still have to figure out the pattern of the attacks. I've lost a lot of time as it is. Tomorrow after school is the best plan."
"Ok, I'm up for it." I said .
I said goodbye to him and walked to my final class. I wondered what we were gonna do. I put that to the back of my mind when the final bell rang. I saw my dad's black mustang and I ran to it. I opened the car door and slid in. "Hey dad," I kissed him on the cheek before slamming it, "how was work?"
"Good, the real question is, how was school, did you have fun?" He put the car in drive.
"No."
"Were the kids nice?"
"Not really." I thought of the rumors that were starting about me.
"Do you want to continue going here?" He asked cautiously.
"Yep." I nodded smiling.
"Teens." He shook his head. "So did you get any homework?" I really wasn't in the mood for talking, but I answered the questions all the same.
"No, my only homework is to find people and ask them for notes on what I missed in the last couple of weeks." I shifted in my seat and kept looking at the time. When did Reid say he was going to come again? Oh yeah he didn't, he said after school, but that could mean anytime.
My phone rang and I answered. "Hello?"
"Hey." Speak of the devil, it was Reid.
"How did you get my number?" I had just gotten my new phone yesterday and I forgot to give him my number in school. My dad looked over at me worriedly but I reassured him everything was fine.
"From someone tall, blonde, and talks really fast. Anyway that's not why I called you, I called to say that tomorrow I'm picking you up around seven."
"I still don't understand what we're doing?"
"You'll see, make sure to bring an extra pair of clothes okay."
"Okay but no funny business." I warned smiling. My dad looked at me a second time as we pulled into the driveway.
"I wouldn't think of it," he said ,"see you tomorrow." I could hear his music playing in the background which meant he was in his car already.
"Okay babe bye." I pressed the end button and slid it in my pocket.
"Reid?" He asked and I nodded. I got out the car. I opened the house door for him and moved to the couch. He sat down as well giving me a discerning look. I looked away feeling the weight of his judgement on me.
"What?" I asked.
"I thought the two of you were in a fight?"He said squinting his eyes.
"We were, but it was a misunderstanding. Ashley and Matt played a mean prank on me and I accused Reid of something he didn't do."
"What was the prank?"
" Long story. Look anyway I really don't want to talk about it, it's all worked out, school has been tough, oh and I'm going out with him tomorrow. Bye." I prayed he wouldn't grill me about the last part. I walked quickly to the steps when he stopped me dead in my tracks.
"And who did you ask to go out?"
I turned to face him."Myself." I smiled.My father chuckled. We both knew he wasn't the strict overbearing type.
"How old is he again?"
"18."
"And you are?" He raised his eyebrows at me.
"Sixteen, but technically I'll be seventeen in like two months." My birthday was on the 23rd of December, the day before Christmas. It was true, I already demanded from everyone two presents, one for Christmas itself and one for my birthday. I wasn't actually serious about it though. My ideal birthday would be to spend the time with Reid watching a movie and maybe going to dinner. Christmas I wanted to spend the day with my dad and Reid and work on their relationship.
"I know you guys are mates and all but I still don't think it's a good idea for you guys to be alone unsupervised, you know how guys are. I remember how I was at that age."
"I'm sorry but when did this turn into the Middle Ages?" I joked. I mentally patted myself on the back for applying a reference I got from my history textbook.
"The day I became a father again." He said simply and we both smiled. I gave him a hug and told him I appreciated the fact that he cared so much.
"Just make sure to be safe, and you know which safe that is." He sang out for me, making me burst out laughing. I ran upstairs and covered my ears. Talking about your sex life with your dad, a major no no.
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