Song: feelings are fatal by mxmtoon
Words: 2150
Published: May 8th, 2020
Third Person POV
Rayna
A soft alarm beeps. It was so soft that anyone on the other side of the door wouldn't hear a thing, yet it's enough to wake the person who set it. It reads 5:00 A.M.
The room consisted of a closet, a shelf, a desk, a nightstand, and a bed. The walls were a light blue, with a wood floor and a white carpet beneath the bed. The bedsheets were floral patterned, mainly white with the flowers ranging from shades of green to purple. Countless envelopes sat on the desk, markers scattered around, and a grey, open backpack hung off the back of the chair.
The girl in the bed stirs, quickly sitting up and turning off the alarm. She's not surprised when her body fights against her. She pauses for a minute, listening. Once she's sure no one woke up to her alarm, she gets out of bed. She was fully dressed, since she was too tired to change out of her clothes last night before passing out in bed.
After supper the night before, which she not only had to make, but wasn't allowed to eat and forced to clean up, she was forced to clean the house a second time that day. Ignoring her already exhausted body, she had spent a few hours working on specialized cards for all of her high school teachers, even those she doesn't particularly like. She thanked them for all they did for her, wished them luck in both their career and personal lives, and included her favorite memory with them and a small drawing to go with it. She didn't finish until nearly three in the morning, meaning she only got two hours of sleep.
Looking through her closet, she picks out an outfit. All of it was hand-me-downs, meaning half of it showed too much skin or was too tight for her liking. She decides that she doesn't need to grab a new bra or pair of socks, and she realizes that she needs to do laundry again soon. She grabs a clean pair of underwear, light wash blue jeans, and a loose, grey, tie-die designed shirt.
She slowly opens her door, again looking around and listening to make sure she's the only one awake. She heads into the bathroom directly next to her room, locking the door behind her. She yearns to take a shower but knows that unless she wants a beating, she has to wait until she makes it to school to use the showers in the locker room.
She changes out of yesterday's clothes and into today's, brushing her hair and teeth and putting on deodorant to help her feel somewhat clean. Looking at herself in the mirror, she questions what to do with her long, brown hair. She leaves it down. The jeans were a bit tight, which she disliked. The shirt looked scarily baggy on her, but she ignores it.
For once, she didn't have to touch her little supply of makeup to cover a bruise or fix up a bloody lip, though she ends up putting on some concealer to cover up the large bags under her eyes. Her skin is naturally tan, making her light blue eyes stand out.
She walks back into her room, throwing the dirty clothes in her hamper. She packs up the cards into her backpack. It's the last day of high school today, and once that last bell rings, she knows that she's never going to receive a day of education again.
She looks at the clock. It reads 5:17 A.M. The earliest one of her brothers wakes up is 6:15, so she always has to have breakfast ready by that time. Today, she has a different plan. Jamie agreed to make breakfast for her. She knows Jake won't like that she isn't there to serve it to him, but it shouldn't warrant a beating. She has a lot to do before school starts at 7:30.
She throws on her signature hoodie—a baggy, light grey one with a darker grey heart sewn over the top left—hoists her backpack over her shoulders, slips on her beaten up sneakers, and slips through the house and out the front door. To the right of the house, the Beta House, is the Pack House, with a large space of pavement in front of it for all of the cars. Surrounding them is thick woods with the driveway leading one way towards the main road to town. No one is up yet, besides the omega's in the Pack House kitchen.
She walks silently along the side of the house towards the nearest trees. After just a few steps in, she's hidden from anyone at the houses. She whistles, calling something.
She jumps a bit when she hears wings flapping behind her. She turns around to see a large black bird perched on a tree branch. A raven.
"Hey, Ray," she whispers, placing her backpack next to a tree and sitting next to another. The bird, Ray, flies down to the forest floor, hopping towards her and letting out a low croaking sound.
She holds out her arm, which he perches on. He doesn't dig his talons into her, knowing she isn't a threat. She isn't scared of him, either. One day when she was little, he hopped over to her after she had just gotten beaten up by bullies. She named him and he comforted her. He disappeared for a few years and showed up again about a month after her mother's death. She's seen him nearly every day since.
She grabs a plastic bag from her backpack that she put in there the night before. It was a few leftovers from the meatloaf she had made and managed to sneak while cleaning—not for herself, but for Ray. She opens the bag and holds the food in her hand, letting him softly take the food from her and eat it.
After that process, she stands up and brushes off her jeans.
"I have to go now, Ray. I'll see you later," she whispers, petting his head softly before heading back to the drive. He flies away into the forest.
She doesn't have a car. She was never taught how to drive, never got a license, never got her own car, and was never given permission to drive. She either walks places or has Naomi take her.
She had planned this morning out with Naomi beforehand, though she usually takes her to school anyways. She walks down the drive to the main road where Naomi is leaning against her car. She gives her a smile.
"Hey, Rayna," she greets. Naomi is a few inches taller than Rayna, being 5'8 and Rayna 5'5. She has shoulder length ginger hair, olive skin, and light green eyes.
Rayna gives her a smile, and they do their handshake. "What's up, Naomi?"
"Not much. Just excited. You?"
"Eh, more nervous."
"Understandable. Let's go?"
"Yeah, let's go."
Naomi slips into the drivers seat and Rayna walks around to the passenger side. She opens the door, throws her backpack onto the floorboard, and slips in. They buckle and Naomi starts driving down the road.
The catch about this friendship is that Rayna is a werewolf and Naomi is human. There's only a few laws in the supernatural world regarding humans, some varying from species to species, but there is one that is the most enforced.
Under no circumstances, unless justified by the Alpha King himself, shall a human know about werewolves.
If it is found out that a werewolf has let a human live with the knowledge of the existence of supernatural, without the approval of the Alpha King, it is up to that werewolf's Alpha to decide if that human and/or werewolf live or not.
Rayna has no doubt that it would be the end of her and her best friend.
Rayna had to tell her, though. They've been best friends since they were six years old. She managed to keep the biggest secret of her life for eight years until her mother passed. Her life was so fucked up, and she desperately needed someone. Naomi has kept her word and didn't hold it against Rayna for keeping the secret. She's all she has and the only reason she isn't dead.
They're opposites in multiple ways.
Naomi is very calm and optimistic. Rayna overthinks and is more pessimistic though calls herself realistic. Naomi is confident, having a strong love for theater and drama, while Rayna feels nauseous whenever she gets called on in class.
"Oh, I can't believe that I've completely forgotten to tell you!" Rayna exclaims.
"What?" Naomi asks.
"The Alpha King is going around looking for his mate again. He'll be at my pack next week. On my birthday, I think," Rayna explains.
"Oooh, tea. Maybe you're his mate?"
Rayna chokes on her own saliva.
"Hell no!"
"Oh, come on, Rainy. Nothing's impossible," Naomi says, stretching out the last vowel in "Rainy," her nickname for her.
"Like I could be Luna Queen, Mimi," Rayna responds, rolling her eyes, counter-attacking with her nickname for Naomi. Mimi scoffs at Rainy's oblivion to her own strengths, smarts, and personality.
She's eighteen, turning nineteen the following week. Naomi turned eighteen a few months ago.
The two talk some more as they head to a coffee place for some breakfast. Rayna feels relieved, not having to cook for once.
"What do you want?" Naomi asks, pulling out her wallet as they step up to the counter.
"Uhm . . . Can you get me a coffee and a muffin?" Rayna asks.
"Yeah. Go save us a booth."
Rayna nods and takes a seat in a booth, losing herself in her thoughts as she looks out the window. The clouds are grey, the blue sky slowly peaking through as the sun rises. She checks the clock on the wall to see that it's now 5:42 A.M. She rejects her nerves, reminding herself that there's still nearly two hours until school starts.
Naomi sits down across from her holding a tray. She slides her her drink and muffin, sipping from her own drink and munching on her bagel.
"Sorry that you had to wake up so early," Rayna apologizes, taking a sip. She sighs, thanking that this coffee will get her through the morning.
"It's no problem. It is a big day after all. How much sleep did you get?" Naomi asks.
"Two hours," Rayna whispers. She doesn't want to lie.
"Rayna!" Naomi scolds. "You know you need to get more sleep."
"I know, and I'll get more next week. I was working on those cards," Rayna tells her. Naomi sighs and leans back, accepting that answer.
"Okay. You know that I'm like this because I care about you, right?"
Rayna nods. "I know."
"Okay. Good."
They talk, drink, and eat for a good 40 minutes until 6:27 A.M., at when they've finished and paid. They then throw away any trash they had, walk back to Naomi's car, and blast some music on the ride to school, wide awake thanks to the caffeine.
Naomi's car is one of the few in the school parking lot.
"Fuck yeah, I get a close spot," she exclaims. Rayna giggles.
"Fuck yeah," she copies, throwing one of her hands up. Naomi giggles, too.
They get out and head inside, the doors unlocked. Naomi chills outside the locker room, playing games on her phone, while Rayna goes in to use the shower. She doesn't like to while others are there. She's been publicly humiliated so many times. Other things have happened to her while taking a shower, too, and she just feels so vulnerable while taking one in general.
Once clean, she gets dressed again and uses the public hairdryers and towels to dry off. She grabs her own hairbrush to calm her "mane", as she likes to call it. Once finished, she heads back out into the hallway with Naomi. The clock reads 6:46.
"What's next?" Naomi asks, putting her phone away.
"Gotta hand out these cards," Rayna tells her, leaving her backpack unzipped and hanging off one shoulder in order to grab the cards.
They head towards the freshman wing first.
There were plenty of different reactions. Tears, smiles, laughs, hugs, high fives, handshakes. They say it reminds them why they're teachers, yet have no idea how much that means to Rayna, with the lack of love and appreciation she gets from those she should get it from.
They've gone to every teacher that's ever taught Rayna by 7:17 A.M., with still nearly fifteen minutes to spare before class. They pack up their lockers early and put all of their stuff in Naomi's car.
Then, the bell rings.