Chapter 6

            Stepping forward, I was handed the script and tried to get into character straight away. We began...

            ‘Hey, Vicky,’ Nick began (Lucas’s actor). ‘Can I speak to you about something?’

            Looking up from my role-friend, I answered trying to think of what Vicky would be feeling or thinking at this point. ‘Yeh, what is it Lucas?’ I stepped forward to the front of the stage.

            ‘You know we’ve kind of been friends for awhile now?’

            I nodded with lips pressed together, still thinking. Ok, so this is the guy Vicky has a major crush on and she really wants to date but because she is human she doesn’t want to humiliate him or hurt him or even disappoint him. So she’d want to be like I really like you but I can’t be seen with you like that. This seemed ideal in my head, but then Barry caught the corner of my sight and I knew then what to do.

            ‘Yes, we have and you’re a really good friend. So what is it that is so important you’d want to talk to me about it?’ I said as innocently as I could and as though I wasn’t important in anyway.

            Nick stepped closer, in character, and put a hand on mine. I looked down at it then slowly lifted my eyes to look at him. ‘It’s just I sort of... well; I’d like you to be more of a friend... with me.’

            Pulling my hand out of his quickly, I stepped in front of him to have my back to him when I stopped walking but so I was still looking at the audience a bit. Then I began the more emotional bit of this scene with fidgeting my hands. ‘I... I can’t, Luke.’

            ‘Why?’ I felt him step a little closer as was in the script.

            I looked up with hurt in my eyes at the ceiling. ‘Because I’m not what you think. There’s a little thing you don’t know about me.’

            ‘So, you can tell me. We’re friends after all,’ he exclaimed while taking my hand and forcing me to turn around to face him.

            Releasing my hand a second time, I apologised. ‘I’m sorry, Lucas, we can’t be together that way.’

            ‘Give me one good reason why not?’

            ‘I don’t want you to know. No one knows but my best mates.’ I glanced my eyes at the two stood at the back of the stage.

            Nick squared his shoulders and took a step towards me. ‘Oh for goodness sake, Vicky, I really like you so much that I think I’ve fallen for you.’

            My eyes widening and pretending that I was crying a little. ‘Well, it’s just not going to work.’

            ‘Why?’ he asked again.

            At this point I knew things happened quickly. ‘Because I’m not a werewolf!’ I shouted then ran off stage with my head in my hands pretending to be crying hard while he stood shocked where I’d left him.

            Not knowing how well I had done, I poked my head from around the curtain and saw that everyone was clapping (except for one).

            ‘That was amazing!’ applauded Cayleb. ‘Right now we know who will be properly acting Vicky’s role. Well done, both of you,’ he added to include Nick. ‘I felt like there was real chemistry in that scene. That was really good execution, Kerry.’ Then he addressed the rest of the class. ‘Right then, I shall see you all next week. Give you all a break for a bit.’ There was some annoyance from the room. ‘Yes, you all deserve it. See you soon.’

            Everyone packed up and left the room; I wandered over to Barry who looked very proudly at me when we embraced each other.

            ‘You were amazing,’ he whispered. I nuzzled his neck.

            ‘Kerry?’ called Cayleb. ‘Can I speak with you for about twenty minutes? We need to discuss your new role more in depth.’

            ‘Yeh, sure,’ I replied. ‘I’ll catch you up on the field,’ I spoke to Baz. He nodded and left with his friends (those who did drama) after a peck on my cheek.

            ‘I’m glad we finally got you a better part. I know things probably aren’t easy among those young werewolves, I can see it sometimes,’ Cayleb spoke as he collected up some of the scripts and put away the chairs (which I helped with). ‘How do you feel about it?’

            ‘Feel about what exactly?’ I asked.

            ‘About your new role?’

            ‘Oh, it’s great, I guess. We will have to see how well things turn out,’ I answered with a smile.

            Cayleb, I noticed, was wandering around in circles in a thinking posture. ‘I noticed I had put you on the spot a bit when I asked you to try it out. I know you and Sharon don’t get on, with the whole Barry thing.’

            ‘Well, it’s just ‘cause she’s jealous I bet. But I don’t get intimidated by her. I see her as like a little cat that I can just kick out of the window.’ We both laughed though he with a more husky tone; it resonated in my ears and I felt a little warmer somehow.

            ‘Yes, well you keep thinking that and she will eventually leave you alone. Anyway what I really wanted to say was that I am sorry for pressuring you like that and I wanted to apologise.’

            I smiled sweetly and girly. ‘Oh, it’s fine by me. I love acting; it’s something I look forward to when I come into school.’

            He chuckled again, but I wasn’t sure what at. ‘Yeh, sure. I know you saw my gesture earlier while you were on stage, before you started and also the one before the small scene was performed. And how you started blushing.’

            ‘Huh?’ I mumbled, and saw how he stepped closer each time; I suddenly found myself backing away from him.

            Once he was close enough, he swung his arm around me and pulled me hard against him. My head was forced back a bit by the quickness he did it, but also to look at him, a little fear in my eyes.

            ‘You can’t stand the charm of us, least of all an older one like me,’ he whispered low and deep. I closed my eyes, which turned out to be a bad move; the next thing I knew or felt were his lips hard and strong crushing down on mine. My eyes widened suddenly in shock and I tried to force him back with my hands but they were squeezed down at my sides. I tried to scream a little but it turned into a squeak.

            He released me. ‘I hope you remember that, and you wouldn’t want anyone to know about this. Do you?’ His gaze was as hard as his kiss and I knew that I needed to keep my mouth shut (even to Barry which was the worst part of this). He fully released me; I shakily stepped around him, picked my bag up and hastily walked out of the studio door and ran to the field where I told Barry I’d meet him (I was hoping it hadn’t been over twenty minutes). My mind had gone totally blank.

            All the way to the field, passing werewolves of both forms, that moment in which I felt proper fear in replayed through my head. I could remember there was a small rush that had surged through me that I could only now recall because my head wasn’t spinning.

            I stopped near the picnic tables and scanned the field for Baz and his group of friends; sure enough they were some way on the grass basking in the sun, Baz and a couple of others hadn’t changed to their doggy forms. Running over, with a forced smile on my face I was hoping Baz wouldn’t smell anything different about me (not just sensually either). As he looked around, he saw me sprinting over and an instant smile hit his lips. And, as always, I was happy to see him too.

            As soon as I reached him, I dropped my bag with the rest and planted myself next to him; his arms shot around me like a bullet and he pulled me across his legs.

            ‘Hello, so what did Cayleb want?’ he asked with a kiss on my cheek.

            I smiled and blushed a little trying to conceal my panic. ‘Just to ask if I was ok with being moved up to that role.’

            He pouted a little. ‘And what did you say?’

            ‘I said we will have to see how it goes,’ I replied, and ran my hands up onto his shoulders; some guilt hit me when he gazed at me with those narrowed, mysterious eyes but I pushed it aside and met him across the little space to kiss him strongly on the lips.

            While he kissed me back, someone had started growling in the background. We pulled away from each other and looked around; when I next looked at him, he had his eyes fixed grimacingly on someone behind me. Following his gaze, there was a hazel furred, female wolf; her teeth were bared and she was poised as though she was ready to pounce on something; then I realised that something was either me or Baz.

            ‘Not now, Sharon. I am sick of you always trying to make a fool of yourself. Go play somewhere else with your friends,’ he said to her, while he lifted me off his lap and placed me softly on the grass.

            In return, she just growled back more. In response to that, Baz changed to his wolf and stood firm on all four paws, pricked his ears back and growled harder than I’d ever heard from him before; it was so loud that my ears vibrated and I had to cover them with my hands. His tail stuck out behind him as he swished it, he took two confident steps forward towards Sharon who immediately put a paw forward too.

            During their status battle, I had got up onto my knees but as soon as I tried to get onto my feet Charlie had trotted over and grabbed my sleeve with his teeth to keep me down and out of the way.

            ‘Baz, don’t bother,’ I called out. He huffed out a rumble in my direction but as soon as he did that, Sharon had pounced onto his back and bit into his shoulder. Howling in pain, Baz kicked up his hind legs then rolled onto his back to crush her grip. He left her sprawled on the ground for awhile before he leapt onto her and bit into her leg. Yelping similar to when you stand on a dog’s paw; she pushed him off and they both poised themselves like Sharon had before.

            Just as they were about to go for each other again, another wolf leapt in between them and growled louder than either of them had and opened his maw with sharp teeth glinting in the sunshine. Sharon spun around and then trailed off with a snarl of annoyance. Meanwhile, Baz was lying on the floor with the greyed older wolf stood over him snarling still; Baz looked away and then we all watched as the grey werewolf strode off in an air of dignity.

            When he had left our sight, I looked over at where Baz was; he was still laid on the floor with a sulky expression in his eyes. Charlie released me, and I walked over to Baz and knelt by his side when I’d reached him. Running my fingers over his head and scratching behind his ears, he looked up at me with puppy eyes, then shut them and shook his head as he pulled himself together. Once he had sorted out his head (I planned on asking him later), he looked up at me and licked my cheek.

            ‘Ew! Great, thanks,’ I complained as I rubbed off his slobber.

            ‘Hahaha, sorry I had to do that,’ he said as he lay on his back laughing. He had now changed back, and if only I had a pillow I would hit him with.

            ‘You are such a puppy!’

            ‘Oh, no you don’t!’ And he leapt onto me and we rolled over each other until we were back by the bags; by the time we had stopped we were both laughing so hard we could barely breathe.

            I managed to compose myself then we got up, brushed ourselves off and headed off to class; me to History and him to whatever he had.

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