"Branching is easy, merging is hard."
~Eric Sink

Considering it was the last official week for the seniors, we got away with doing whatever games we wanted to. Today we'd chosen soccer, which some of the kids weren't happy about, but I was. I loved soccer. Although my heightened senses helped out quite a bit in everything, so I had an advantage over everyone else save for my pack mates and the Laroches.

Speaking of the Laroches, there was Sebastian, Thea, Oliver, and Anna in this class. Finn was supposed to be, but he was out sick for the day. Food poisoning, according to Elsa.

From what I'd heard, despite how nice Sebastian seemed, he had IED, otherwise known as intermittent explosive disorder. Thea was just feisty in general, particularly towards me. Oliver was probably the nicest of them all, even if he did have a bit of a rivalry thing with Grey. How that happened, I had no idea because, to be honest, Oliver and Grey seemed a lot alike. But then again, the Stark-Laroche enmity was pervasive in all aspects of this life.

Coach chose Oliver and me as captains. Naturally, we started by choosing one of our packmates first. However, on a whim, I decided to shake things up. For my second pick, I chose Anna for my team. My pack and hers stared at me like I'd lost it.

In retaliation, Oliver chose Grey. My friend looked at me desperately, as if asking for my help to get him off of that team, but I just gave him a look that said: 'Trust me on this.' I don't know if he did, but he listened without a fight.

Once the teams were chosen, we walked outside to the field. Jack jogged up to me and demanded, "What the hell are you thinking?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Anna a few paces behind us, seemingly ignoring us, but I knew better. Tossing the soccer ball in my hands, I responded, "This pack feud is stupid. If neither side works together willingly, I'll force you to."

"But why?"

"Because I'm the alpha, that's why," I said, unable to help the smirk that appeared on my face. A small growl erupted from Jack's throat, but he kept his temper at bay.

The sides set up, and the game began. It was easy to notice my packmates refused to pass to the Laroches on their team and vice versa. In fact, they allowed the ball to be taken away from them rather than give it to a Laroche. So the next time I got the ball, I passed it over to Anna, who, although surprised by my gesture, took it in stride. She maneuvered her way past the opposing team with wickedly fast reflexes and scored the first goal for our team.

"Way to go, Laroche!" I called out. She turned around a grin on her face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack hissed.

"Working together. I suggest you do the same. Show me you took my words to heart. Want to be the better pack? Pass the ball to her; don't let your pride or hatred get in the way of the goal."

As Anna approached, I offered my hand to give her a high-five. She hesitated a moment before returning it, but not before making sure she hit me with enough power to leave my hand stinging afterward. Jack griped as he made his way back to his place, but I noticed him passing the ball to Anna more the next round.

However, I became so wrapped up in my own pleasure at seeing Laroches and Starks working together on my team that I failed to notice Sebastian getting more and more upset at the whole situation. It was only when I nicked the ball away from him, accidentally tripping him, that he exploded. The coach called a penalty on me, but Sebastian took matters into his own hands. He charged me, taking me off guard and knocking me to the ground. Sebastian was smaller than me, but he made up for it in power. His fist landed on my jaw before I knew what was happening. I caught the next one he threw at me just as Anna and Oliver yanked him away. I flipped onto my feet, wiping the blood from my lip from where his punch busted it.

"What the hell, man?" I asked. "I just took the ball away from you."

"You know there's more than that that I punched you for," Sebastian spat.

"Please, enlighten me."

"Seb, cool it," Anna said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder while she continued to grip his elbow. "Not here. It was just a ball."

Sebastian calmed down and stopped struggling against his packmates. With a frustrated sigh, he said, "Fine. He's not worth it anyway."

"What the hell is going on here, Laroche?" Coach demanded.

"Sir-" Anna began, but I cut her off.

"It was my fault coach. I provoked him. I thought it was just some harmless taunting, but I forgot that he was a Laroche."

Coach groaned. "Keep your family business out of school. What is it with your families not liking each other?"

"You got me. I've been asking myself that same question for years. Don't punish him. He couldn't help it, and I didn't help matters."

"You're lucky class is over. Fine, you get away with it this time, Laroche, but don't expect that leniency again if you pull another stunt like that."

"Why did you do that?" Anna asked warily when the coach walked away.

"It wasn't his fault. I shouldn't have split our packs up like that. We obviously couldn't handle it," I said.

"So, why did you?" Thea snarled.

"Because I wanted to see what would happen if I did. We made a pretty good team before we went at each other's throats."

"Our packs are never going to get along. Do you not understand that?"

"I don't want to." I sighed. "I need to get going. I have a project to work on."

I walked off with my packmates behind me. I could feel their stares on my back but ignored them until the locker room where they immediately hounded me until I turned around and commanded them to stop.

Surprisingly they listened to me. Taking a deep breath, I explained, "I'm sorry if I've been acting weird these past few months. I've just gotten fed up with this feud because I don't understand it. I'll tell mom and dad what happened, so you guys don't have to endure their wrath. The only person at fault here today is me. I'll see you when I get home. I have a project to get working on."

I left gym class, heading to my locker when I suddenly found someone walking alongside me. If it hadn't been for the different perfume, I would've thought it was Elsa.

"I wanted to thank you," Anna said casually.

"For what?" I asked. "I nearly got your packmate in detention."

"For preventing him from getting detention. What did you mean he couldn't help it?"

"I know he has IED."

"How do you know that?′ She inquired as I stopped in front of my locker.

"I hear things. I know things. He showed symptoms of it too. Despite being a pretty face, I do have some smarts about me believe it or not," I said cheekily as I opened my locker.

The corner of her lip tugged upward, ever so fleetingly. "I was just wondering. I should get going before my packmates see me with you. Have fun working on the project with my sister." Anna disappeared before I could register what she'd said. If my phone hadn't vibrated, I would've continued staring at the inside of my locker like an idiot, panicking over Anna possibly knowing about my relationship with Elsa.

Speak of the devil...

From Elsa: Hey, I got out of class early, so I walked to the library. I took the room we used when we first met at the library together.

To Elsa: Cool. I'm leaving now. Be there soon. Also, does Anna know about us?

From Elsa: No. Why?

To Elsa: Tell you when I get there.

I shoved my phone in my pocket and booked it out of the high school, starting to wonder what the hell I'd done, and silently wondering what I'd just started between my pack and the Laroches, mostly: did I just make things worse?