Author's Note:
One thing you should know about me: My life is a soundtrack. So I've decided to share my playlist for Hooked, Chapter by Chapter.
Main Title Track/Chapter 1 Track: Let it Happen by Tame Impala
https://open.spotify.com/track/2X485T9Z5Ly0xyaghN73ed?si=eqzUvHqgTz-AekTJiARjlA
Happy Reading (& Listening!)
The Groundhog didn't see his shadow.
Dru raised her beer in celebration, and Dru's roomate Lana let out a rebel yell and killed the contents of her plastic cup. Dru laughed, her teeth chattering as she hugged Lana and cheered along with the mixed crowd of college students and mountain folk.
It was a grey, windy day on the campus of Sabit University in the mountain town of Weirville, North Carolina. Who wouldn't welcome the early spring that the groundhog's lack of shadow predicted?
On this cold February 2nd, Dru cursed the weather and her decision to dress in the standard I-won't-be-outside-but-a-minute-southern-girl-winter-wear-- a long, thin sweater tunic, skinny jeans, and Tieks. She tucked her arm through Lana's so she could absorb some of the heat radiating off her roommate. Lana was dressed more warmly—in tall boots and a heavy caramel leather jacket studded to match her fleece-lined black jeans. Dru grinned as she took in the rest of Lana's appearance—her long raven hair braided against her scalp on one side, her eyes ringed in dark kohl, her choker necklace, and her left hand raised in the heavy-metal-sign-of-the-horns gesture as she yelled along with the crowd.
Dru had never had a friend like Alanna McBane. Lana was exactly what she looked like—a mountain girl, and one fierce bitch.
But Lana was also a fierce friend—the kind of friend that Dru had never had before. The kind Dru only dreamed her college roommate would become the day they met, six months before. Now, here they were, starting their second semester, partying arm in arm at their school's own Appalachian version of Groundhog Day.
"Ladies."
Warm arms enveloped them both, and two fresh cups appeared in front of them. These cups steamed with coffee, from the only campus coffee house. Dru poured out her beer, and took a greedy sip of the coffee. The warmth radiating down her throat was heaven.
"Thanks," she breathed in relief. "The line at the coffee shop must have been around the block—you shouldn't have."
She felt the owner of the arm shrug against her back. "I can't exactly let you freeze, Lana would never forgive me," he murmured near her ear, briskly rubbing her left arm to warm her.
The gesture, or maybe the earnestness in his voice sent a small shiver through her, but she stepped away from him. "Yeah, but you missed the groundhog," she complained, turning to give the owner of the arm a playful shove.
Her rough touch lit something in Sean Faraday's eyes. He smirked at Dru and cut his glance upward to the completely overcast sky.
"Let me guess," his voice was teasing now. "The little weasel didn't see his shadow. Shocker."
Lana laughed at his sarcasm, but choked on her coffee. "Plain coffee? It's a festival day. Don't be such a serious shit, Sean."
"Don't be such an impatient bitch, Alanna," he replied automatically, but he dutifully pulled a flask from his jacket and tipped a little whiskey into her steaming cup.
"That's more like it." Lana winked at Sean and burrowed against him, her attention refocused on the crowd. Sean, one arm around Lana, raised his eyebrows at Dru and offered the flask, but he smiled when she declined. Sean had already learned, Dru was more of a beer-holder than a hard partier. Sean drank, like most college guys, but of the three of them, Lana was the one that could hold her liquor.
Dru sipped her coffee silently, wondering for the hundredth time what Sean and Lana were to each other. Her best guess was fuck buddies—they were too intimate to be just friends, but they never displayed the undercurrent of a real couple. Whatever they were, Dru hadn't been able to work it out. Sean had just been there...in the their dorm room, helping Lana unpack from the first day, and Lana had never given him any label. Dru didn't ask about their relationship in the early days, and now, it just seemed...too awkward.
Lana might get the wrong idea, and Dru definitely wasn't interested in Sean. She wasn't interested in anyone, for that matter.
The motley crowd that had gathered for the Groundhog Shadow/No Shadow reveal was bleeding away. The mountain folk that came to Weirville for Groundhog's Day were moving south, to the small outdoor amphitheater, where a blue-grass band would entertain them all afternoon, and the beer trucks would pump out more plastic pints. Later tonight, a decent act would take the stage, the older folks would go home, and the college kids would replace them in the amphitheater. Some of the college students headed to the bluegrass concert, but the majority were drifting north, toward campus. Morning classes had been canceled for Groundhog Day. Afternoon classes started at 1pm.
Lana winked at Dru and headed south with the revelers.
"Lana, come to class," Sean called after her, but she ignored him and strode toward the beer truck, her hips swaying decidedly in her skin-tight jeans.
Sean looked irritated. Dru did a better job of hiding hers, but she was also put out with Lana's indifference. Skipping might be different any other day, but today was the first day of spring classes. Later than most large universities started Spring Semester, but Sabit had a small school schedule. January was always a month-long J-term, which students used to explore classes outside their major or for internships. But today, February 2nd, the real work began.
"She doesn't have a one o'clock," Dru said, by way of appeasement. "She'll catch up to us in Art History."
She was sure Sean knew that Lana had a free hour, but she was also sure Lana had no intention of going to any classes on a festival day.
Dru wondered why Weirville had so many festivals—eight total, and six of them during the academic year. They were undeniably disruptive to classes. But then again, the festivals were one of the things Sabit was known for—that, and academic rigor. Graduates of Sabit University had a nearly magical guarantee of acceptance into graduate programs. Party hard, work hard was the unofficial motto of the Sabit University. Dru attended for the latter reason. The former was just a fun bonus.
Sean led the way downtown, forcing an entrance through the crowd with his left hand, holding his right hand behind as a beckoning gesture to Dru. She followed. Occasionally they called out to friends, though Sean knew alot more people than Dru. Like Sean, a quarter of the student body, was from Asheville, the largest nearby city. Dru was from Florida—and despite the six months she'd spent here, this mountain town was still a bit of a foreign world.
They made their way up the Main Street, where a block of hundred year old renovated buildings housed the heart of the town—three bars, four restaurants, one coffee shop, one bank, one hardware store, one clothing store, and one pharmacy/all night convenience store. Beyond that was the Sabit campus—two dozen traditional red-brick buildings spread over a mere two square miles. Sabit University housed less than five thousand students, and the town of Weirville existed only because the college was there.
"Faraday," came a familiar voice, and Dru stopped expectantly at Sean's side, trying not to look weary in advance of the greeting she knew was coming. Everybody knew that voice-Sabit's most notorious senior.
James Finn looked her up and down. "Hey, Sexy."
Dru was only nineteen, but she was already done with being called sexy by guys like Finn. Even when she was younger, she'd never bothered with his type...the All-A type, she called them.
Attractive, Affluent, Amazingly Arrogant, and Absolutely Awful.
"My name is Dru, James," she said pointedly.
"Okay?" he shrugged as if he didn't get her point, immediately turning his attention back to Sean.
Dru, who could do two things at once, took the opportunity to monitor their conversation, and compare the two men.
"Finn," Sean replied tersely, gesturing to the quad, "Class is this way."
"Aahh, but the fun is that way," Finn replied, gesturing toward the beer trucks. And so is my favorite drunken freshman. Love 'Em and Leave 'Em Lana." Finn's mouth widened into a shit-eating grin.
Normally, Sean was better looking than Finn. Sean's good looks were based on the contrast of his hazel eyes and dark brows, and the expressions of his angular face, Finn's looks were more about the bought teeth and the perfectly gelled hair. Sean's looks went beyond just the physical, his easy-going intelligence melted into his good looks, giving his broad frame a casual grace, and his expressions, especially his mouth, a sexy, understated alertness. Sean had an unconscious perfection; Finn tried too hard to look good.
But at the moment, Sean's face was not as handsome as it could be. Finn's comment about Lana had soured his expression. "Lana won't be south of campus for long. She has Art Appreciation at two."
"Riiiighhht." Finn laughed and melted into the crowd. "I'll remind her when I see her, Faraday."
Dru was surprised when Sean casually reached for her hand and tugged along her along toward campus. She took two quick steps, to catch up to him.
"Finn's an idiot," she murmured in reassurance. "Lana's too smart not to see through his bullshit."
"I hope so," Sean replied neutrally, as he squeezed Dru's hand in thanks.
Sudden violence pulled them apart—a tall figure, not seeing their hand linkage, attempting to dart between them from behind Dru. Dru jerked to avoid collision, and released her grip on her coffee. Before she could fumble for it, a dark hand reached out to snatch it, and the matching arm claimed her waist, twirling her in the perfect completion of her evasion maneuver.
"Ta tu mainach," his deep tone vibrated like electricity all over her skin, and for a second she felt...paralyzed by the sensation. The owner of the dark hand forced the cup back into hers, and she felt surprised that her fingers could actually grip it.
"What?" Dru breathed, as she looked into the stranger's face.
He still had hold of her waist, and she still felt the shock of his words all over her, and now all the electricity on her skin was arcing to the point at the small of her back, where his fingers pressed.
Everything stopped, including her breath.
His green eyes captured her every inch. Then...he smiled. It was the most intriguing pull of mouth muscle Dru had ever witnessed. Not pure kindness, but not only invitation. The perfect mix.
She relaxed into his smile, feeling her own face lift in return.
He looked her up and down, and it felt nothing like the way James Finn had just looked at her. "I meant, excuse me."
Then his long braids were swinging as he twisted past Sean and away through the crowd. A lithe, copper-haired girl weaved behind him, stabbing Dru with a penetrating look. She smiled at Sean, and patted him on the chest. Sean straightened slightly at her touch.
"Misneach," she said, and then she was gone too.
Dru blinked.
"What was that?"
"Gaelic, from Ireland," Sean answered. It took a minute for Dru to comprehend his answer. She meant the man and woman, not the language.
"She said...courage." Sean said, watching the red-haired woman fade away.
"You speak Gaelic?" Dru asked in surprise.
"A little. My family's Irish. My dad's dad, straight-up Irishman. Spoke in the Gaelic every day."
"What did he say—the one that bumped into me?"
Sean looked away, and Dru had the distinct impression that he was lying when he said, "I don't know."
Dru and Sean stared at each, their hand-clasp broken, and no casual way to reconnect.
At the same instant, both of their phones pinged a text. Dutiful, each reached into their back pocket.
They received the same message, from the registrar:
Your Spring Schedule has been altered. ART 125 Art History @ 2pm is no longer available due to faculty emergency. HIS 106 History of Celtic Paganism has been substituted. First Class TONIGHT 12pm at Wolfe Lake. Dropping this class will result in falling below full-time status. No substitutions available.
"What the hell? Pagan History at midnight!?!" Dru murmured as she held out her phone to compare to his.
Sean's faced lit with irritation, then settled into something like knowing resignation.
He pulled the flask from his jacket, and took a steadying gulp.
"Don't worry about it. This kind of stuff happens at Sabit. Besides, you, me and Lana will be together."
He stepped close, offering Dru the flask. She took it distractedly, staring after the Swinging Braids rapidly disappearing into the crowd. Dru didn't usually drink liquor, but...something had shifted. She turned the flask up, and opened her throat to the burn.
Author's Note: Ooooh, it's gonna get so good, so fast! Read on for more God & Goddess Action! Don't forget to hit that little star to vote for this chapter!