I woke up the next morning with a note on my bedside table.
I rubbed my eyes sleepily and picked it up, trying to make sense of the messy scrawl.
Downstairs in five. You'll need some serious training in the art of werewolf fighting.
"This," I spoke aloud, "Is the most STUPID-sounding thing I have ever read."
But nevertheless, I was downstairs in five.
I wasn't sure why we were going to battle it out in the living room, but thankfully Carson was waiting for me in their spacious backyard.
I walked outside while Carson sat cross-legged in the middle of the lawn with his eyes closed.
His blonde hair fanned out across his forehead in a messy, 'I just woke up' kind of way.
He was wearing a fitting under armor shirt, hugging the curves of his abs and biceps, and I was incredibly distracted by it.
Shaking my head to clear it, I walked over to him.
"Are you... meditating?" I said, coming closer.
"Nope," He responded with his eyes still closed. "Just tired." He popped an eye open and assessed me.
I gave a bright smile, and he frowned. "What are you wearing?"
I looked down at my pajama shorts and tank too. I had found a stash of clothes under bed, and decided to wear these at night. "My pajamas?"
He shook his head slightly, as if trying to empty his mind too. "Whatever. It's time to learn."
He stood up and got into what looked like a fighting stance that I immediately tried to copy.
I spread my legs wide, and brought my fists up in front of my face.
"For the record, I just wanted to say that this plan sucks," I said, as he went over to correct some of my posture.
As he moved my hands a little, he said, "Come on, Hayley. Be positive!"
"I am positive," I said. "I'm positive this idea sucks."
He laughed lightly and stood back.
Once he decided that my stance was good enough, he said, "Alright, now hit me."
Immediately I broke out of the stance.
"What?" I hissed, "Are you crazy?"
"Of course!" He winked. "Just try it."
I narrowed my eyes at him, and went to punch his face, but at the last minute faked and went for his gut.
He block the fake easily, but almost missed the second. "Good!" He beamed. "Try again."
This time I focused on his chest to trick him, but ended up kicking him in the kneecap, which made him groan a bit in pain.
"Sorry!" I said, jumping away a bit.
"No, no, that was good," He assured me. "Try again."
So for the next half hour, he showed me various punches, kicks, fakes, trips, and other various karaté skills, while also teaching me to duck, block, dodge, and counter.
"This is a workout," I panted. But I was pleased to see that he was also very out of breath.
"Now, we are going to fight for real," He told me. "And in a real fight, no matter what happens, you need to keep fighting."
I nodded.
"When they are in wolf form, go for the eyes or the nose," He went on. "Never try to run. Climb or hide."
"Yeah, yeah, lets just fight," I said impatiently. My blood was pumping, adrenaline high, and I really just wanted to kill something.
A glint of mischief twinkled in his eye, and then he tackled me to the ground.
I was not prepared for this, so I just waited until we stopped rolling.
Carson ended up on top, so I jerked my knee up between his legs and shoved him off of me while this distracted him.
Then I hopped up and aimed a kick to his gut.
He caught my foot, and threw it down, bringing the rest of me with it.
I popped back up immediately though, and got back in my stance.
The mischief returned to Carson's eyes, and suddenly, something cracked.
"Ew!" I exclaimed. "Are you ok?"
More cracks sounded, and the bones under his skin rearranged themselves. It was disgusting.
He grew as tall as a lion, fur erupting onto his skin and clothes being torn in two.
I watched, transfixed, as he became a giant, golden, wolf.
I cocked my head to the side as I studied him. "You look an awful lot like a lion to me. Are you sure you're a wolf?"
He let out a low, rumbling growl and looked at me pointedly as if to say, focus, Hayley!
I charged at him, and he changed at me. As he jumped, common sense told me to duck, so I sled underneath his tall frame at the last minute.
Then I spun around and jumped on his back.
This must have took him by surprise, because he buckled and collapsed onto the ground.
I jumped off of him, triumphant.
Carson's bones cracked again, and I took this as a sign to took away. What happened in his body was gross enough the first time. When the sound stopped, I bounded over and hugged him. "Great job!"
He didn't move to hug me back, only cleared his throat.
What was wrong?
I cautiously took a step back, and that's when I noticed something.
Something I absolutely did NOT plan on noticing.
"OH MY GOD- YOURE NAKED!!" I shouted, slapping a hand over my eyes so hard it hurt. "I AM SO SORRY!"
But it was too late. I saw everything.
"It's ok," he spoke. "I'll just go in and get some pants."
My whole body was hot, and I'm sure my cheeks were as red as tomatoes. And I don't even want to TELL you how fast my heart was beating.
I heard him walk towards the house, and then he paused and called back, "You can tell me your opinion later!"
Oh my God.
I waited until his footsteps faded, and then took my hands off of my eyes.
Soon, however, I heard Aileen scream from inside, "OH MY GOD- YOURE NAKED!"