I sigh and walk to my bike, there’s no use thinking about what might have been if we were all humans, or all wolves. Liam never goes out of his way to be mean to me, but he doesn’t stop anyone else or talk to me at all. He’s a wolf and apparently to good for me now.

I jump on my bike and start heading to school, it takes me about fifteen minutes to get to school. After I get my bike locked up, I head inside preparing for another great day of learning. I can’t even hide my eye roll from my own thoughts.

I take a deep breath in and head down the hallway. I almost get to the classroom, but right before I get there, one of the football players shoulder checks me, hard, into the lockers. I grunt as I slide down the locker and fall on my ass. I hear laughs all around me. You’d think in a high school full of werewolves they’d take pity on the human that is much weaker than them, but apparently here it means something that that can take down the lonely human. Whatever, this is nothing new to me. Granted I’m for sure going to have a couple bruises from this one.

I look up and see Clara and her friends laughing. No doubt another one of her indirect hits. I see Liam watching me from behind them, leaning up against the lockers on the other side of the hallway. He isn’t laughing just glaring at me with hate in his eyes. I’m not sure what I ever did to him, I’m not sure if being a human is the only reason he hates me, but I’ll probably never find out so no use in dwelling on it. He puts his arm around Clara’s shoulders and pulls her away, while she’s still laughing like this is the funniest thing she’s ever seen.

I get up and pull my bag off the ground and make my way into the classroom. I don’t cry, not anymore, it seems to give them fuel. And I never expect any help, I learned a long time ago that I’m on my own. Mia can’t solve these problems, and neither can mom. I try not to bother her with these things she’s a human to, she can’t solve these problems.

My first class of the day is senior calculus, I hate having to be in here with all the seniors. They all think they’re better than me, and in most things, they probably are, but I’m smart. Not having any friends besides Mia, makes it extremely easy to focus on my schoolwork, and if I can get out of here earlier then expected, so be it. I sit through most of my classes having to hear whispered comments about how I don’t belong here. Not in the advanced classes and not in the pack. I hate to break it to all of them, but I’m fully aware I don’t belong here, and as soon as I can, I won’t be here anymore.

The day goes on and after third period, it’s finally lunch time. The first time I get to see Mia during the day! We only have lunch and sixth period art together. Unfortunately, we also get Liam and Clara’s band of goons during this lunch period. Yay me... Oh well, Mia and I sit as far away from them as possible, and they always sit at the same table, so it’s not to hard to scout spots for two people far away from them.

Mia runs up to me, pulling me into a tight hug. When she pulls away, she starts checking over my body. “Oh, think the Goddess you’re alright, I heard rumors that you were beat today.” I just laugh and shake my head and start walking through the lunch line. “Nothing new, just got friendly with the lockers again.” I reply with a small laugh and a smile on my face. Her face goes sour, she hates when I make jokes about my beatings, but I’m not going to sit here and cry about them either.

We hear someone laugh behind us, and take a quick look, only for it to be Liams gamma, Dallas. He’s about six three with short black hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin. I don’t bother and just keep going down the line, but Mia can’t keep her mouth shut. “Is something funny Dallas?” She asks sternly, stopping the whole line in the process. I mutter nonsense under my breath, cursing her for feeling the need to stick up for me. It’ll just lead to more problems. “Leave it alone, Mia. Come on.” I say sternly to her, but Dallas decides to respond. “Hey, calm down. I just thought her joke was funny. I wasn’t making fun of her.”

She looks at him confused. What did he just say? I don’t even know what to feel about that. “Mia, come on! You’re holding up the line.” I whisper yell at her, pulling her confused face away from him, and she walks over to me. At this point I’ve lost my appetite and decide to just leave the line. She grabs a few snacks and follows me over to the table as far away from Clara as we can get.

I sit down and throw my head on my arms laying down on the table. “Why? ... Just why? Mia, you know when you do that it just causes more problems.” I whine at her. She places her hand on my arm. “Amy, you know if you never stick up for yourself it’ll just keep happening.” She responds kindly, but there’s a fire behind her eyes. “It won’t help either way and you know it. It doesn’t matter, I’ll be out of here soon, and all of this will be a thing of the past.” I respond dryly, we’ve had this conversation many times. Neither one of us will give it up.

She goes quiet, which isn’t really like her and glares behind me. I look behind me quickly, to be prepared for whatever attack is coming, and see Dallas. He throws his hands up in surrender to Mia. “Hey, calm down. Just came to give you these.” He sets down a couple things of snacks in front of me. I look up at him confused, “Honestly, just thought your joke was funny. I didn’t mean to make you lose your appetite. I got a couple different choices, because I have no idea what you like. Just a peace offering.” He says kindly and then starts walking over to the goons’ table. I watch him go and my gaze falls on his table, all of them are staring at me. Some with confusion and others with hate. What the fuck did he just start? All I know is I’m screwed.

I quickly look away from their table and stare at Mia. She’s looking at me with the same level of confusion that I’m sure she’s seeing in my eyes. I refuse to talk about it here, to many ears, and now that Dallas put an x on my back, everybody is going to be trying to hear what I have to say about this. She must read my mind, because she clears her face and just starts eating her snacks. I look down, he got me some crackers filled with cheese, chocolate donuts, turkey sandwich, and a power drink. Though it was a kind gesture, I can’t trust any of these things. I push them to the side and look up at Mia, she offers me some of her chocolate donuts, but I refuse. This event has my stomach in knots, waiting to see what is about to happen.

When the lunch bell finally rings, interrupting my very quiet lunch period, I jump up and try and file out of there as quickly as possible after saying goodbye to Mia. I throw away all the snacks he gave me, normally I would try and give them back so it’s not a money waste if there really isn’t anything wrong with them, but I have no intentions of talking to Dallas ever again. Not that I said anything to him this time.

I finally make it out of the lunchroom and start heading to fourth period, AP Geography. I feel someone running up behind me, I tense my whole body getting ready for whatever was coming, but to my surprise nothing happens. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything. Just thought I could walk you to class.” Dallas says kindly, and I just keep walking trying to pretend he isn’t there. “I see you didn’t like the snacks I bought for you.” He says, I just turn my head towards him and give him a small smile then look forward. Why is he talking to me? He lets out a small laugh, “Oh come on Aims, I know you can talk. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have heard your joke. You not like your snacks?” He pleads with me. Aims? Did he just give me a nickname, or does he think my names Aims?

Whatever, I decide to talk so maybe then he’ll leave me alone. “I liked the snacks you picked out fine, Dals. I just wasn’t hungry. You don’t need to walk me to class, I know where my class is, but thank you. I’d rather walk alone.” I retort starting to get angry, I’d rather they just did whatever they were planning. I don’t like this make friends with the enemy bullshit. He lets out a small laugh, “Dals?” Is all he says. He seems to be thinking about something, “I like it. I can assume that wasn’t the reaction you were going for though. Do you not like your new nickname? I could always pick something else.” He says jokingly, but I’ve had enough. “I don’t care what you call me. I don’t care what you do. Can you stop pretending to be nice to me, and get on with whatever you were sent to do to me?” I stop in the hallway, he stops to causing a slight traffic jam, and I stare him in the eyes. A flash of guilt washes over him, but then he seems sad. “I’m not pretending Aims. Look I get it, but honestly, I’m not planning anything.” He responds with so much kindness that I almost believe him, until I look over and see Cole and Walker trying to be nonchalant not twenty feet away from us. Walker has golden blonde hair, with blue eyes, with pale olive skin, and just a little taller than Cole and Dallas. Cole has dark brown curly hair, dark eyes, and milk chocolate colored skin. They all have muscles for days and look like they get their hair cut by the same barber. I point over to his friends, “Good try.” I say, and when he looks to see where I’m pointing, I take off.

I’m completely distracted the rest of the day, even in art with Mia. The teacher is talking about an abstract painting that she did. She’s always talking about the paintings she’s made. I’ve seen a few, it’s honestly a shame she wound up being a high school art teacher. She could sell her paintings, but she says when she tried she couldn’t part with them. They all hold a spot in her heart and just wasn’t willing to give them up. “Do you think this is all apart of some lame joke?” I whisper to Mia, she looks over at me sadly. “I mean, maybe, but maybe, he just wants to be your friend. You know, you’re not impossible to like, Amy. Plus, Dallas is the nicest of the goons.” She says giving me a wink and grabs my arm. “In this pack, there’s a low chance of that.” I say rolling my eyes. “I don’t know... I really love you, I don’t see it being that big of a stretch.” I purse my lips and turn back toward the teacher. I don’t hear anything she says, Dallas has already taken over my mind. Granted maybe that’s what they want, to make me constantly think about what they plan to do. Unfortunately, it’s working.

My last class of the day, I have with Cole. He doesn’t sit right next to me, but he sits closer to me than he normally does. I try like hell to not look at him, but I can feel his stare on me throughout the whole class. All of the sudden a note falls onto my desk, I internally groan. Why me? If I don’t open it, that might earn me a beating. Not directly from Cole, because the goons have never been apart of that part of my life, but he just has to talk to the right people. I internally groan again and go to open the note. All that’s written on it is, So... You and Dallas? I look over at Cole, who has a wide grin on his face, urging me to answer the note. What would I even say? Yes, your friend won’t leave me alone. There is no me and Dallas. Has Dallas not informed them about whatever he’s doing? Is he in this alone? Or is this just them trying to make me go crazy. I really don’t know if I can handle this. I decide I’ll just accept the consequences and wad up the paper and throw it in the trash can closest to me.

I’m so excited when I hear the final bell ring, I race to stand and run out the door, with Mia not far behind me. We laugh as we start walking to the bikes, she has a car, but she likes to bike. She says she likes the cool air to wake her up in the mornings. As we get closer, we see no other then Dallas, waiting by the bike rack. What the hell? Why can’t I get rid of him today? This just solidifies my thoughts that something is up.

Every fiber of my being is telling me just to forget about my bike a walk home, so that’s what I decide to do. I tell Mia goodbye and make a left starting my journey home. I can hear someone running up to me, which makes me want to run, but if it’s Dallas I won’t win, and I’ll just be out of breath by time he catches me. “Slow down! I just want to talk!” Dallas yells from behind me. I slow down slightly and turn around walking backwards. “What do you want to talk about Dals? Honestly, you’ve known me your whole life and barely spoke to me before everyone realized I was human. We can’t have much to say to each other.” I shout back at him, then I realize he has my bike, great, guess I’ll have to buy a new lock. I stop walking and stare at him confused. He looks down with a shy smile, “I didn’t want you to have to walk all the way home.” He says lowly, as he gets closer to me. He looks up at me with a smirk on his face. “So, Dals is staying?” He asks with a small laugh. I can’t help it, I start laughing. I grab my bike and start walking next to it. “So, is my bike going to fall apart when I get on it?” I ask only half joking. I see a hint of anger go through his eyes, but then it’s replaced with a gentle smile. “No. Your bike is fine. I know you will probably never trust me, but I’m honestly not here to hurt you.”

We walk in silence for a little while, until I can’t take it anymore. “Okay, say I believe this isn’t a plan to hurt me. What is it then? Why are you talking to me all of the sudden?” He looks down shyly, “Well, I just want to get to know you, Aims. I don’t understand why if I am being honest, but I really would like to get to know you better.”

So, they’re really packing it on deep. Man, whatever they have planned this time must be a big one. I’m clearly not going to be able to get rid of him though, so maybe I’ll just go along with the plan. I’ll know something is coming, so when it happens, I won’t be surprised, and then all of this will be over. “Okay, what do you want to know?” I ask, deciding to go with the flow. He smiles brightly at me, “Oh, um okay, well, what’s your favorite thing to do?” I smile thinking back to the times with Liam and I would play games in the creeks, where we had to kill the dragon, or save the princess. When we found the secret tunnel and followed it all the way across town, but those days are over. “Well, I don’t do much outside of school. I enjoy going to the movies with Mia. Sometimes we’re the only ones in the theater we’ll make up our own lines to the movie.” I answer, looking over at him. He laughs, seemingly picturing us doing that. “Do you like going to parties?” He asks, I just look at him like he’s stupid. “Right... Well, Liam’s having a party this weekend. You should come. Broaden your horizons, before you do what you want to do in life.” He says. So, is this the plan? Get me to go to a party and then embarrass me in front of everybody? Honestly, I’d rather whatever was going to happen, happen at school. I don’t want to waste my time outside of school, hating life. “Oh, sorry, I can’t this weekend. I have plans.” I say quickly. He just nods his head, “Maybe next time then.” He says, as we’re only a few houses down from mine.

He stops in front of my house and seems to be thinking about something. “Okay, well, bye.” I rush and start to make my way up the driveway. He grabs my arm and stops me. “Can I get your number?” He asks shyly. I must look alarmed, because he rushes to explain, “Nothing creepy. I promise. Just want to be able to text my new friend.” New friend? Is that what he wants me to think? I give him my number, because it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t, he’d find a way to get it. He smiles and waves goodbye as he runs over to Liam’s house.

I walk into my bedroom and flop myself onto the bed, and instantly get a text from Mia.

*We have a lot to discuss! * -Mia

*Indeed! *- Me

*I’ll be over in 10! *-Mia

I sigh and get up to head to the kitchen for some snacks