Brave
I leaned into the sofa, engrossed by my book, when the cushion dipped next to me. I sat bolt upright and stared at a man around my age who smiled cheerfully at me beside me.
"Hello," he said cheerfully. "What're you reading?"
I stared at him in confusion, showing him the cover of the book. "The...Werewolf of Paris? Wow, I never figured you out to be a werewolf chick."
I cleared my throat uncomfortably at his too-close-for-comfort statement and slowly shifted my attention back to the book.
"Aw, come on! I didn't mean that! I mean, like, everyone can be crazy about anything right?"
I looked back up at him, blank and unspeaking, hoping my eyes told him exactly how crazy I thought he was. I mean, who was he? To me, he seemed like he was fresh out of a lunatic asylum!
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" The man cringed slightly as my eyebrow slowly rose in disbelief.
"Are you insane in the membrane?" I finally asked, suppressing a reluctant smile.
"Possibly, but as far as I know, no, I am not insane in the membrane."
I scoffed softly and tried to return my attention to the book, only he snatched it out of my hands.
"Hey!"
"No more hot werewolf guys for you," he said, adopting a mocking tone as he held the book out of my reach. "You need to see the real world and talk to real people like me."
I glowered at the stranger, and said quietly, "Give me back my book." I knew from experience that that tone often terrified people, but he only grinned wider.
"Nope!"
I sighed heavily and rolled my eyes before storming away from him and further into the books, where people shushed my heavy treading. I picked a random book and slumped into a different chair, when an annoyingly familiar voice said, "Fancy a coffee?"
I glanced up from my book to look up at him.
"Sorry, beg your pardon?" I asked innocently, deciding to play dumb.
"Fancy a coffee?" he repeated.
"Um...sorry, I don't think I caught your name?" I asked, annoyance filtering through.
"No, actually you didn't," he replied, a bit embarrassed. "Asher Everett. You?" He sat down beside me, waiting for an answer.
"Um...Megan Vaughn?"
"You don't sound too sure of yourself, do you?" he said with a laugh.
"Yes, well, I don't often get asked out by complete strangers though, do you? And I don't get robbed of my books either." I shot back dryly.
"Touché. So will you?"
I stared at him exasperatedly. "Why would you want to have coffee with a stranger?"
He shrugged. "I like making friends. Plus it feeds my ego. You know, knowing how many times a stranger would agree to go out with some random hot guy," he added, winking. "And besides, you have a life outside your books. So will you?"
"What would you do if I said no?"
"Hm...I would probably persuade you to agree regardless. I have this killer charm which makes girls swoon over me. See, you like a keeper, so I'd like a chance. See how it happens. See, I can see it in the stars now," he said with a grin, staring up at the library ceiling. "Five years down the line, I see an engagement. Few more, and there's a little toddler who loves to gouge people's eyes out. Wouldn't you want that?"
I stared at him in shock. "If it shuts you up, then okay." What are you doing?
I have no freaking idea, I told my voice in my head fervently.
Asher grinned again, and I followed him out of the library to the cafe that was right next to it, situated between the library and a recreational swimming pool.
"What's your poison?" Asher asked as I surveyed the menu mounted above.
"Mocha, please."
"As you wish, your majesty," he said, relaying my order to the young woman behind the counter.
As we waited at a table, Asher stared at me intently.
"You know, considering that I've just let a complete stranger buy me coffee, I'd think that they'd act normal after that," I said, frowning at his expression.
"Sorry, but you look breathtaking."
"Is that a compliment?"
Asher snapped out of a trance and looked at me in bewilderment. "The definition of breathtaking, as far as I know, is astonishingly beautiful. Not some bizarre contraption that is designed to pump oxygen out of your lungs. So yes, that's a compliment."
I blushed scarlet. "Then thank you."
"How long have you been around here? I haven't seen you around."
"Just over a year. New to Perth."
"Yeah, I figured. American, am I right?"
"Yeah."
"Which part?"
I shrugged indifferently. "Travelled all over. Never really settled there." Liar.
"But now you are?" I spotted the mischief in Asher's bright blue eyes.
"I suppose, yes," I answered vaguely.
"Then I don't suppose you'll object to more regular dates like this?"
"If they aren't so weird, then perhaps."
Asher rolled his eyes before collecting our coffees.
We sipped in silence before he asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"You already did."
"Oh, whatever. Would it be a touchy subject if I asked why you moved here?"
"Yes," I answered promptly, sitting a bit too straight and answering a bit too fast. Asher took the hint immediately and changed the topic. "Have you always been a reader?"
"No, actually. I started after things back in the States became...stressful," I lied easily, making my tone seem awkward and unwilling.
Asher nodded gravely, but it seemed like he could see right through my lies. "Same thing happened to me, actually. When my parents split when I was ten, I started going to the library just to stay away from my mum. Eventually I just... I figured why stay at home when this is by far better."
After that we spoke of inconsequential things of no importance, steering clear of touchy topics, and eventually finished our coffees.
"I should get back home," I said, glancing outside at the sky, in which orange was beginning to take form.
"Oh, before that," Asher said, pulling out a tiny strip of paper. I unrolled it, to find a hastily scribble number.
"Yours, I presume?"
"Of course."
"How confident were you that you'd get this date?" I asked amusedly.
"Quite confident, why?"
"You were right. You do have an ego to behold."
"Why thank you! Call me later, 'kay?"
I raised an eyebrow and laughed, but agreed all the same. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."
When I returned home without a new book, I threw myself on the tiny bed after a pathetic microwaved meal.
It had been a year since I moved to Perth, and I managed to survive. I got a job at a nearby supermarket as a full-time worker, figuring that I would find something better later down the line. Two months later, I was well-settled and the proud owner of a battered old phone. After that purchase, one hour per week was dedicated to talking to Emory, where I engrossed myself in conversations that weren't appropriate to be shared with neighbours. He shared his stories and I shared mine, but it stayed at that. A month later, I became a member of the library, and found a passion that I didn't know existed amongst the ink and paper of books.
I shut my eyes, and my mind automatically drifted to the strange Asher Everett, with his black hair and blue eyes that seemed to sparkle with laughter all the time. What a strange person, I couldn't help but think. But surely he spoke to me as just a joke, maybe a dare from a friend? It couldn't possibly be something real. Kieran's face formed, and I thought of the Lupi's curse. If I was now completely human, then surely I wouldn't have to adhere to the typical 'mate' relationship? I would be able to choose my love freely, surely? The thought brought hope, and I found my hand reaching for that old battered phone, dialling the number from memory.
"Hello?" Asher's crackly voice filtered through.
"This is the stranger you so kindly bought coffee for and stole her books from, remember?"
"Oh, of course I'd remember such a beautiful woman!" he exclaimed. "Oh, I could go on and on about your beauty-"
"Yes, yes, as much as I like flattery, can I ask something?" I interrupted.
"Anything for my dear."
"Is this serious?"
A pause. Of course. "Do you want it to be?" Asher's voice was dead serious. Oh.
"I don't know. Do I? Do you?"
"I do. Do you?"
My voice shook slightly when I answered. "I think I do."
"Then I'll meet you tomorrow at the library at ten."
"Right."
We hung up at the same time, and I threw a hand over my eyes and grinned in triumph. Who said I couldn't deal with the past? Who said I couldn't face the future?
Nobody. That's who.
~~
It's finally over!!! To be honest, I felt really uncomfortable starting off with this, because I've never written anything remotely werewolf, but I really did enjoy writing this...even though I never did focus much on the Lupi! Because I'm so bad at writing and finishing novel-length stories, this is actually my longest story, and I really hope you enjoyed this, and if you did, please vote or comment! Thank you to anyone who actually bothered to read up to this point, and if I'd absolutely LOVE to know an plotholes or stuff like that! :D
On a side note, I've come to realise that the title is vaguely related to the plot by a very fine string that I made up in my head, so if anyone has any ideas for a new title, let me know!