~Raely~
I didn't know how to respond. This attractive male was staring into my soul and calling me the best kind of Trouble... and we'd only met a few moments before! It was a scene out of some sort of romance novel--except for the fact that I already had an exceptionally sweet boyfriend. This made two guys in one day who seemed to be flirting. I had never had to brush anyone off before.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, to diffuse the romantic tension, but the only thing that came out was "I'm sure you're the best kind of Meanie", which, as you can imagine, did the opposite.
The way Gabriel was looking at me was intense. It was as if I was his sun, the center of his universe. Everything else in the room vanished; the loud chatter of our classmates, the ticking of the wall clock behind us, the headache-inducing fluorescent lights were suddenly as insignificant as a speck of dust. If we weren't in a classroom, I thought, he'd probably have already kissed me. Part of me was living for this. I was an avid reader of love stories, and I felt like all my favorite heroines combined. Every girl wants someone to look at them like this boy was looking at me. The rest of my mind, though, was screaming GET YOURSELF TOGETHER!!! Torn between blurting "I have a boyfriend" out embarrassingly or closing the distance between our lips, I did neither, instead, freezing in place.
Luckily, (or perhaps unluckily, the rebellious part of my mind whispered) the bell rang out to signify the end of homeroom. I hastily tore my gaze away from Gabe towards my things, gathering up my backpack with the concentration of a chess master on his game. I practically ran out of Mr. Carter's room, throwing a quick "Goodbye" over my shoulder. I wasn't sure who I was addressing; it could have been Gabriel or Benji.
~Gabriel~
F---
We had been having a moment! I knew that she'd felt the mate bond too. If it hadn't been for that bell... who knows what could've happened? Stupid c---blocking school. I picked up my bag and walked towards the door, hesitating when I noticed the boy Raely had been with earlier--probably the boyfriend. He was taller than I was, with Asian features and dark hair. I grudgingly admitted that his style suited him, all clean lines and dark neutrals. I thought I recognized him from somewhere, but I wasn't completely positive.
I would have moved on at that point. Unlike North or Nathan, I didn't pick fights willy-nilly. The thing that stopped me in my tracks, though, was the realization that this kid was talking to another girl. I didn't want Raely to date any guy but us, but it would crush anyone to learn that their significant other was a d--n cheater. I didn't have any proof that he was cheating, but this was certainly suspicious. I would be keeping an eye on him.
~Raely~
As I speed-walked my way towards my next class, AP Literature, I ducked and weaved around the various clumps of teens cluttering the highway. The benefit of my lack of height was my ability to limbo under arms and backpacks. High school was such a jungle.
Out of nowhere, an arm stuck out, the elbow hitting directly into the back of my head. Ow! Though I knew a small hit was nowhere near life-threatening, I'd never had a very high pain tolerance. Tears came to the corners of my eyes as I turned to see the contrite face of the boy attached to the offending arm.
Tall, muscular, and gingerbread-haired, my unwitting attacker was handsome and his blue eyes looked as soft as the strands of his hair. I was left without words.
~Nathan~
S---, she's crying! I'd meant to stop her so I could introduce myself, but I had to go and hurt her? My wolf berated me for my blunder and I quickly reached out to pull her to the side of the main hallway. Once we were no longer in danger of death by stampeding students, I attempted to make amends. "I'm so sorry. I promise I didn't mean to hurt you," I insisted.
I could see the glint of tears in her eyes and I knew I'd officially made the worst possible impression. "I--I'm fine," Raely said softly, voice soft and clear despite the pain she unquestionably felt.
I wished Doc were here, but since he was working at the hospital, I went with the next best option. "Come on, I'll take you to the school nurse."
She shook her head, dislodging one teardrop to make its journey down her left cheek. "I have to get to class. It's not a big deal anyway."
"They'll forgive you. The nurse gives passes." I didn't wait for further protests before guiding her through the halls to the nurse's office. As expected, no adult figure manned the station. I suppressed a sigh at the sorry state of our education system around here while I found an ice pack for Raely.
~Raely~
I noticed very quickly that we were alone in the room. I was somewhat afraid we were doing something wrong. Where was the nurse? The boy seemed confident in his actions, though, grabbing an ice pack from a drawer from memory like he owned the place. I guessed he was in here a lot. Maybe he was an athlete who got injured a lot?
I became conscious of the fact that I was calling him "the boy". I didn't even know his name, but I was sitting in an abandoned office with him! I introduced myself in hopes that he would do the same. "I'm Raely, by the way."
"Nathan," he responded as he passed me the cold pack and gestured for me to press it against the back of my head.
I held the ice pack close to the quickly forming bump on the back of my head. "It's not your fault," I assured Nathan.
"I'm so sorry," he repeated. "I didn't see you, you're about as small as a Peanut."
I glared at him. "I wasn't offended before, but I've changed my mind. How dare you call me a Peanut? I don't even like those things." I cringed a bit. Peanut butter was amazing, but for some reason, I couldn't stand the taste of peanuts.
His expression took a turn from apologetic to mischievous. "But I do, Peanut."
Not again! The familiar feeling was saturating the air, all heavy and romantic and absolutely wrong. With Gabriel, I'd had the bell to save me, but this time it was just the two of us, in an empty office. I needed to diffuse the situation. In my best Southern Belle accent, I drawled, "That's too bad, Honey. A shame you have such horrendous taste."
Nathan snorted. "Honey? Do I look like a Honey to you?"
I gave a mental fist pump. Romantic tension, diffused! "Clearly."
He rolled his eyes at me and pulled out two papers from a drawer.
"What are those?" I questioned.
"Late passes. We're supposed to have the nurse sign them, but since she doesn't seem to be present, I think we're justified in forging a signature."
My inner goody-two-shoes balked, but I really didn't want to get in trouble for being tardy on the first day of school. "As long as you think you won't get us caught, go ahead."
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