My Lycan Boyfriend's Dark Secret

whiplash

I reach a door with brass numbers 26B stuck on it. Breathe Ceana... breathe... It is already closed and the hallway is dead quiet. I can only hear faint voices through the door and I wonder if I should just stay hidden until the bell rings for the next class. I am sure they won't miss me. Just do it! I already stand out like a sore thumb, going inside now will only make it exponentially worse. Don’t be a coward, I tell myself as I take a deep steadying breath, squeezing my eyes shut as I do. My heart is beating in my throat, it’s accelerated drumming ringing loudly in my ears. Wearily I reach for the copper door knob, pausing before I proceed with turning it, savoring how cold it feels under my palm. CREEK!!

Slowly I swing it open, the sound coming from it is pure torture, like chalk against the board. Great... just great... I take a step forward, squaring my shoulders as I approach to front of the class. Maybe if I pretend to be confident I could fool myself into feeling confident to. Fake it till you make it, so to speak. As I look around the room I see at least thirty pairs of eyes on me, and none of them appear to be familiar. The windows are open and the cool breeze blows gently over the papers on Mr Hendricks wooden desk, causing a sharp rattling noise.

“Can I help you Miss...” Mr Hendricks says, still seated behind his desk as he stares at my from over his glasses. He was an older man, greyed with hard lines to his face. Ones caused by many years of scowling. Fudge!

“Ceana...” I say in a squeaky voice, I clear my throat before trying again, “Oceania Burns.” Smoothe Ceana, real smoothe.

“Oh yes, the new girl. Why don’t you do us all a favor and invest in watch. The class had already started ten minutes ago,” He turns back to the papers on his desk dismissively.

“And a brush,” I hear a girl say behind me, followed by a flood of giggles. I rake my fingers through my curls, carefully looking over my shoulder and finding the other popular girl, the second of the terrible two, huddled together with a group of effortlessly pretty girls. My cheeks burn with shame. 364 days, I remind myself.

“Enough!” Mr Hendricks reprimands them.

“Miss Burns, take a seat next to Anton over there,” he gestures to an open seat in the middle row, next to the window. Yes, I stand out like a sore thumb. The teens in the senior class have known each other for years, they have pretty much grown up together, and I was only just joining. Like a rejected transplant, there was no way to save this dying patient. I weave through the rows of desks and take my place next to Anton, an admittedly handsome tanned boy with golden hair styled into messy spikes, while Mr Hendricks turns to his black board to start writing.

“Anton,” he extends a hand in greeting.

“Ceana,” I smile, taking his hand, hoping with everything in me that he won't feel me trembling.

“Yeah, I know,” he laughs, “Don’t worry about them, they are all full of s**t, but they will get over it eventually.”

“And you’re not... uh...” GULP!

“Full of s**t,” he laughs again.

“Yeah, that.” I consider covering my face in shame.

“Never,” he smiles. That’s when I laugh, before briefly looking over my shoulder to see a few girls glaring at me. I drop my shoulders and sag into my chair. World swallow me whole. This is so not my day. Anton pushes his textbook over to the middle of the table allowing me to read with him, following along as Mr Hendricks speaks.

“Thank you,” I whisper, earning me a knowing smile. Something tells me this will soon become my favorite class.

The bell finally rings after a few agonizing classes, signaling the start of our lunch break. The hallways fill instantly as hundreds of students stream out of their classrooms. “Let me show you to the cafeteria,” I feel Anton’s hand on the small of my back, steering me through the crowd and to the large swinging doors. I don't know how to react, so I just go with it. There are so many tables... mostly occupied by happy and cheerful students, people my age... something I am not used to seeing yet. I still can’t get over the fact, I was only one of two teens in my pack, making this a shocking yet oddly refreshing change. Anton’s hand remains on me as I scan the room, searching for two faces I long to see, and that is when I find him staring at us with a scowl etched on his perfect face. Crab stix... the second time this morning he catches me looking at him. GET A GRIP CEANA! He was blunt towards me earlier as well... am I really that repulsive for him to hate even the sight of me.

“Let’s grab something to eat and get a table,” Anton whispers in my ear as he bends down close enough for me to feel his breath on my skin. I curl away from the ticklish sensation.

“Ok,” I answer as I tear my eyes away from Avery’s displeased expression. We each grab a tray of food, mine filled with fruit and his with... well... the opposite. YUCK!! I wrinkle my nose in disgust as I look at his plate, the sloppy ground beef pouring over a heap of starch. I don’t know how he does it. How can anyone stand to put that in their mouth... dead animals and chemical rich sauce.

“You do know they had to kill an innocent cow in order for you to put that on your plate,” I tell him as I fight a cold shiver.

“Uh, yeah... and I will be eating its cousin tomorrow,” he jokes as he stuffs a heaped up fork into his mouth. UGH! Great... I are caveman...

“I am just going to go speak to someone, I will be right back,” I tell him, finding any excuse to leave the table. He only grunts in agreement, too invested in his meal for me to possibly enjoy my own. I was raised to protect life, not to devour it. With my hand clutching the moon stone around my neck I rush past the tables, my head spinning as I look at their plates and push through the door leading outside, needing the cool fresh air. Ah better. I can almost smell the Ocean’s salty scent from here as the wind carries it over the trees. A smile spreads across my face, thinking of my private trip to the beach yesterday afternoon, and how freeing it was. That is until a hand on my arm rips me from the pleasant memory.

“You shouldn’t trust him,” I hear his voice, the deep rumble that was etched into my memory, the same deep voice that saved me in the courtyard.

“Wait! What?” I exclaim as he hauls me around the corner only to push me against the wall. The cement wall feels cold and damp against my back and under my palms while I looked up at him, searching his eyes that were just as cold.

“He’s not good for you.” Well that clears up everything for me, so... descriptive.

“And you are?” I lash out at him, regretting it instantly, “you know, you are kinda giving me whiplash. First you save me from those guys, then when I run into you... you seemed nice... only to chastise me for being negligent. At the cafeteria you glare at me like I’m the plague... now... you think you care so much that you feel the need to tell me who is good enough for me and who isn’t.” What is it about him... why do I feel so drawn to him. Especially when he is being so annoyingly vague.

“Ugh... you don’t understand,” he says as he cages me in, looking into my eyes with such intensity I lean back against the wall. GULP!

“You’re right, I don’t... help me understand,” I say to him, “please,” I lean forward feeling pull towards him. I reach out to touch his arm but he dodges me.

“You should stay away from him,” he drops his arms and takes a step back, “and me.” I watch him walk away from me and I feel my energy drain from my body. Don't go... I stared at the lawn, where he had crossed heading toward the opposite building. I don’t know how long I stayed like that but Stephanie’s face suddenly came into focus in front of me.

“Hello...” she waves her hand in front of my face, “earth to Oceania?”

“Uh, sorry,” I say as I blink my eyes into focus.

“What class do you have next?” she asks. Uhm...

I fumble through my bag and pull our my schedule, unfolding it in front of her as she steps in beside me to study it, “Biology with Mrs Lang,” I point at the column.

“Yay, me too,” she claps her hands, “we can go together.”

I nod as I smile at her. At least something about this day seems to be improving.