"You okay?" Lee asked as we walked home. I had seen Kyle just one more time as we walked out. He had been teaching the kids the proper way to kick a ball. I had wondered who the kids were, but then I realized who they were- orphans.
The neglected and pitied kids. A section of our society that most people, including myself, didn't think of. Or if we did, we never did much of anything.
As I had been walking out, I had overheard the guards talking about how much Kyle loved those kids. How he helped them. Came to them after school. Ate with them. Brought them gifts from his own money.
It felt like I had entered some alternate reality. The Kyle I knew didn't fit this image. He was nowhere near this image.
And I still couldn't comprehend the fact that he was not the totally evil monster I thought he was. This thing, right here, made it harder to hate him.
I could assume he was evil. A creature to be pitied. Someone that didn't matter. That was all I thought of him.
It was 'him and his evil gang'. Everyone he was friends with were incarnations of the devil himself. Sometimes people, like Mason, saw reason and crossed over the other side.
I didn't realize he was only evil to me.
And that shouldn't change anything, right? After all, I could hate him for what he did to me. Irrespective of what good he did to the world.
I could, but that didn't mean that this small thing wasn't challenging my understanding of him. Or of his behavior to me.
But how do I tell this to someone else?
"Kyle is good at football." I said. Yeah, that was definitely not the way to tell anyone else.
"Yeah...?" Lee's brows knitted.
"I just- he was playing with the orphans. It was nice of him."
Her eyes widened with understanding. "Yes, but."
"But what?"
"But literally everything else Kaea. This bundle of emotions is one that I am sure I understand."
She was right. She could tell me so much, but there was only so much she could tell me. And this was one of those things that no one could tell me about.
"Here's what I can tell you though."
I raised my eyebrows at her. "What?"
"Tonight is going to be very, very fun."
We reached my home soon enough- I knew that tomorrow was going to be a tough day- I would need my sleep. But I would also need something to make me smile the whole day.
"Hello, Beta Avans. Mrs Avans." My parents both smiled at her as we passed them. They were very fond of Lee. They were also very fond of Kyle so that didn't really mean too much.
"What're we planning?" I asked her as we reached my home.
"Well," she threw her bag on the ground, "I was thinking we go to a club."
"We don't have IDs."
"Jacob knows someone."
I narrowed my eyes. "He is okay with this?"
She rolled her eyes. "Goddess, no. That man nearly fried with jealousy when I told him that, but we are just going to have a little free time. That's all. No men, just the two of us."
"Nothing else, right?"
She made a disgusted face. "Goddess, no Kaea. It's just to chill. Not to have another man disrupting your life."
I laughed, and started to figure out what would be the most club-appropriate dress to wear.
"What kinda place we are going?" I asked.
"An underground one." She smirked.
KYLE
I came home, tired and fatigued. That soccer practice took more out of me than I had imagined. Or maybe it was my mind that was driving me crazy- constantly drifting to the blushed, embarrassed Kaea in the library.
I could have said a million things. And I said 'Hi'. What the fuck was I even doing?
I lay down on my bed, and unlocked my phone. Eight missed calls from Abigail. I frowned, calling her.
"Hey."
"Kyle, I-I" She sobbed, and I shot up from my bed. "I need- I need your help, p-please." She sniffed, and her voice was nasally. I immediately started to find the car keys I had thrown on my bed. Why the fuck did I leave my room in such a fucking mess.
"Is it him again?"
She said nothing, but cried harder. "He went out. I just- I-"
"I am coming over right now. Don't worry, Abi, alright? I will be right there."
KAEA
The underground club was louder and brighter than I thought. Lee walked up to the boxer. "Lee and Kaea? We are here by-"
"Jacob Samson."
"Yes." She smiled, weirdly proud. We went inside, and the extreme amount of neon colors washing over everybody overwhelmed me. I stood there for a couple of seconds, taking the scenery again. People danced, and the smell of sweat and alcohol hung in the air, but not overtly so. But to my werewolf smell, it was almost enough to dizzy me.
Lee looked back at me, grinning. "Let's go to the bar."
I grinned back.
The bar was mostly empty. Some seats were occupied but most of the people were dancing, and grinding against each other.
Humans were so- free about their relationships. They didn't wait, they just went for what they wanted. Maybe not having mates was good.
"What're you going to have?"
I bit my lip, thinking. "A whiskey sour."
Lee raised her eyebrows appreciatively at me. "A Shirley temple." She laughed.
"What? Why?"
"Someone has to take you home." She smiled.
"Oh come on. We didn't drive to here. Have one drink."
She rolled her eyes, but after my persisting, agreed. "Fine, I will have what the lady is having."
Ten minutes later, we were drunk as fuck. Or maybe not. Or maybe I was, because Lee seemed much better than me.
"Look at the guy? He is giving you the eyes." Lee said very slowly, smirking. But her lips were weird. She laughed, shaking her head. "Stop making that face. Goddess, you are drunk Kaea. It's amazing."
"Why would that guy me his eyes? Doesn't he need it to see?"
She stared at me, her cheeks moving. She bit her lip, and I could see she was controlling her laughter.
"Don't laugh at me!" I called out. How dare she!
She laughed. I blew my cheeks, and turned away. Fuck her, I will make new friends.
"Sorry, I am sorry." She grabbed my shoulders. "I also cannot let you go. You are under my protective custody right now."
"Whaaaaaattttt?"
"Nothing." She shook her head again. "Wanna dance?"
She took me to the dance floor and danced gracefully, motioning me to join her. My eyes burned but I stared at her.
"You look so creepy right now. Not blinking." She took my hands. "Come on, now."
And I tried to dance, and I did it very nicely but for some reason people started getting away from me. Someone grabbed my hands, and put a hand on my waist.
"Not like that." They whispered in my ears, and trying to make me move properly. My hands turned into fists, and I knew through the sluggishness that I didn't like his hands on me.
Lee was coming, maybe telling the guy to go, but paused. That was when I realized I was gripping the man's shirt. I gripped it harder. "Let me go."
He didn't, grasping my ass harder. "I don't think so sweetheart."
I didn't like it, didn't like it at all. My senses started blurring and I could feel only one thing. Anger.
"Don't make me hurt you."
Suddenly, he was grasping my hands, knowing that I was about to hit him. Lee started again, extremely concerned, but I beat her to it. I hadn't learnt fighting for nothing. I kneed him, although I missed a little, and using my other elbow, hit him right beneath his neck. He yelled and people jumped away.
Apparently wolf instincts remained intact even when drunk. But I was slurry again. "Fuck you."
Lee stopped, kicked the guy in the nuts again, and took me out of the club as someone laughed.
"That's funny to you?" A pause. "I am sorry, Kaea. This just-"
"I had so much fun." I told her. I didn't like to see her like this, and I had the most fun in days. "Thank you."
The world grew even more blurry, and I passed out.
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