Skylar

I knew my face was red from my sudden blush at the simple endearment. He probably called a lot of girls 'cutie'. But I couldn't stop from becoming giddy. I gave him a smile and shook my head. "It's nothing" He gave me a look that said he didn't believe me.

Luckily, I didn't have to be questioned. Allen dragged another chair to our table and sat between Jasmine and I. He spotted the blush on my face and raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you flirting with my cousin?" Allen accused. I quickly shook my head while Carson nodded his. I glared at him; but when our eyes locked, my heart skipped a beat and I looked away. "Sky. Come with me to the snack bar. I'll get you some gummy worms" he bribed.

Nodding, I slid out of my chair and followed Allen to the snack bar. As usual, he felt the need to wrap his arm around my shoulders. I didn't mind. It's not like it meant anything. At first, people thought he was being possessive. But according to Allen, I'm the perfect height for stuff like this. And my 'perfect height' I'm pretty sure he meant short. "Why'd you want to get me away from there?" I wondered before a smirk formed on my face. "Are you jealous of your cousin?" I teased.

Allen scoffed and ruffled up my hair with the hand that wasn't around me. "I'm having a party next week- like a welcome for all the new kids" he started. I pushed away from him and gave him an uninterested look. Allen throws a lot of parties; and he knows that they aren't my thing. However, he always tries to get me to go. He'll beg for a day, then give up. It's the same every time. "Jazzy is gonna be there with Jasper and Carson" he sang.

I curled my hair behind my ear. "I don't go to those parties, Allen" I reminded him. He pouted before telling me that there would be no alcohol or drugs. "But there's probably still gonna be teenagers dry humping on the dance floor" I retorted. He continued with his puppy dog face.

Shaking my head, I pushed past him and continued walking to the snack bar. "I will get on my knees and beg if you don't agree" he threatened. I slowly turned around. He wasn't kidding. He looked really determined. If he did get on his knees, everyone would be staring. That's way too much attention to myself. The new kids were already staring at me earlier. I don't want more attention. However, I still shook my head. He began to kneel down. Quickly, I pulled him back to his feet. I knew I would regret it, but I nodded my head in agreement. "Great! Next Friday, I'll pick you up at eight. You can even sleep over" he offered. I didn't get a chance to respond because he dragged me off to the snack bar.

A familiar head of hair caught my eye. I knew that my siblings were at the snack bar. And I also knew that Allen wouldn't accept any excuses that I would've given to get out of there. "Hey, Allen" Phoebe completely disregarded me as she batted her false eyelashes at my friend. It was gross. Sure, they're the same age. But Allen is my friend. It's uncomfortable to think about your sibling being with your friend. "You going to the party next week?" she asked casually.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing in her face. "It's his party" I informed her. She looked at me as if she just noticed I was there. After flipping her hair over her shoulder, she said a flirty goodbye to Allen and went back to her friends. "I want to stab her" I seethed, half-serious. Allen nodded his head in understanding as he steered me to the counter. He ordered our stuff and took his wallet out. As usual, I saw his impressive collection of legit credit cards. I don't know why he has so many; but he does, along with a lot of cash.

My breath hitched as I was shoved forward, my gut hitting the edge of the counter. Holding my hand over the now throbbing area, I turned to face Jason. He feigned a wince. "Sorry, sis" he said unapologetically before walking off. Allen stepped towards him, but I blocked his way with my arm and told him not to do anything.

Allen clenched his jaw, but obliged. We walked back to our table. "Who's the asshole that shoved you?" Carson inquired before I even sat down.

"My brother" Allen handed me his bottle of Gatorade and told me to put it on my stomach. I lifted up my shirt and pressed the drink to my skin, shivering at the coldness. "Thanks" I mumbled as Allen gave me my gummy worms. "Do you think it'll bruise?" I questioned.

Allen gave me a sad smile and nodded his head. "But it'll fade faster if you ice it" he told me. I nodded in understanding, still holding the cold drink to my stomach. "One of these days, I will beat the crap out of Jason" Allen promised.

A smile formed on my face as I shook my head. "You can't. That's child abuse" I reminded him.

"More like animal abuse" Allen grumbled. I laughed, shaking my head in amusement. Allen smiled at me and gave me a side hug. "I hate your brother. And your sister. And your parents. Trent is cool though. I love Trent. He's a funny guy" he rambled.

Smiling, I nodded my head in agreement. "He bought me coffee when he got home this morning" I informed Allen.

He grinned and raised an eyebrow at me. "Is that why you look like a zombie?" I shoved him and rolled my eyes just as the bell rang. With a sigh, I gave Allen back his Gatorade and grabbed my stuff. "I can't walk home with you today" Allen said apologetically. My siblings usually ditch me, leaving me to walk home alone. Allen saw me walking one day and he's been walking with me ever since. It's not a daily thing. Uncle Trent would sometimes pick me up and when I tutor after school, I ride my bike home.

I told Allen it was fine before we split up to our different classes. I changed in the locker room before making my way out to the gym. Unfortunately, none of my friends were in this class. "Skylar!" My head snapped over to Jasmine, who was gesturing for me to come over. She was with a group of new kids. I curled my hair behind my ear and walked over. "This is Eddy, Mario, Hillary, and Debbie" she pointed out all of her friends.

Nodding, I gave them a small wave. "Hey, you're-" Jasmine elbowed Eddy's gut. He wheezed and coughed a bit. "Uh- You're um- You're a junior, right?" Eddy stuttered. I nodded my head in confirmation as our teacher began taking roll.

"We're taking it easy on the new kids. So free-time for the whole period today. We have basketballs. Coach Reddy will be outside supervising if you want some sun. I'll be in here. You lazy people are welcome to sit around on the bleachers. But you cannot sleep" Coach Bullafarht said sternly. Bullafarht may have a funny name; but he is not a comedian. He can let loose every once in awhile. But he's mostly just business.

Jasmine and her friends decided to play basketball, but I declined their offer for me to join in. Sports weren't really my thing. I could play. My dad taught me when I was younger. But I didn't really enjoy it. I mostly agreed to his little lessons just to spend time with him. He scrutinized every mistake I made, but I ignored it and bonded with him since it was the only time I could. I went over to the top of the bleachers and sat in the corner. I pulled out Roses Are Red by James Patterson. I am completely addicted to Patterson's Alex Cross series. He is an amazing author. Every book is so captivating, well-written, and suspenseful. I have the first six books of the series, Roses Are Red is the sixth book. I've re-read the novels over five times each, since I haven't been able to get the next books. But I get pulled in when I re-read as if I was reading the book for the first time.

Ten chapters later, we were dismissed to the locker rooms. I carefully placed my book into my bag and followed the rest of the students out the door. As usual, I was in and out of the locker room. Some girls here care way too much about their appearance. There was a girl straightening her hair in there!

Rolling my eyes, I walked to Art class. Art is my favorite elective class. I don't enjoy being told what to draw, but my teacher gives us some breathing room on our projects. Miss Mills usually gives us a general idea or category, then we draw what we want. Our current project is predator and prey. Everyone, besides me, is drawing animals. Lions and gazelles. Sharks and fish. Cats and mice. We're not allowed to show anyone our art until we're finished. But most people told each other what they're drawing and I just overheard them.

I haven't told anyone what my drawing is. I didn't even tell Mills. I took predator and prey a bit differently. My drawing was of humans. Criminal and victim. I pulled out my sketchbook and sat at a desk. We all had folders up to cover our drawing from others. Obviously, someone could just walk by and look at your drawing. But Mills was a hard-ass when it came to peeking. She was afraid of someone's idea being stolen. If you glanced at someone's artwork, yours got trashed and you wouldn't be allowed to redo it. You would get an automatic fail for that project. Needless to say, no one even thought about glancing at someone else's work.

"Class" Everyone stopped their art and looked up at Mills. "We have one new student. I'm sure you've all met him in a previous class. But I will introduce him anyway. This is Carson. And Carson will sit next to..." Mills scanned the room for an empty seat. Of course, there was one next to me, then another one at the far corner of the room. "Skylar" I mustered up a smile and moved my bag off of the empty chair so Carson could sit. "Darlin'. Please explain our rules to Carson" she requested.

Nodding, I closed my sketchbook and slightly turned in Carson's direction. "You can't use someone else's tools without permission. You have to return tools if you borrow them from the cabinet. You must finish projects on time. You cannot borrow someone's sketchbook. And under any circumstances, you are not allowed to look at another person's artwork" I informed Carson. He was staring at me. But he looked kinda spaced out. "Carson?" I sang, waving my hand in his face.

He snapped out of his trance and flashed me a smile. "No sneaking a peek of other people's art. Gotcha" he gave me two thumbs up. I smiled at his goofy face. "What is everyone working on?" he wondered. I explained our project and told him that it was due next week. "I can draw whatever I want as long as it's related to that topic?" I nodded in clarification. "Can I use paint?" I nodded again. My hair fell from behind my ear, I wanted to groan at it's stubbornness to keep falling on my face. Once again, I curled the strands behind my ear and looked back up at Carson. He was staring at my face. "You have nice eyes"

My face scrunched up as I shook my head. "My eyes are brown. But nice try" I said with a laugh. Carson cracked a smile. "You can sketch out your painting since you don't have a canvas to paint right now. There's some scratch paper over by the cabinet. You can use my pencils if you'd like" I offered. He smiled and nodded his head before going to get some paper. I opened my sketchbook back up and grabbed the stick of charcoal to continue. Carson sat back down and after Mills gave him some folders to put up, he began sketching. The folders are put up as 'walls' around our art. "How do you like it here?" I wondered- my lame attempt to make conversation.

Carson didn't acknowledge my awkwardness, which I was certainly glad for. "It's cool. I visited a lot when I was younger. I was here almost every summer. Never met any of Allen's school friends though" he informed me. I hummed in response, asking where he came from. "You probably don't know it" Carson said half-heartedly. Secretive. But I didn't push him on the subject. If he didn't want to tell me, I wasn't going to force him. "What about you? Have you lived here your whole life?" he inquired.

I nodded my head in confirmation "I moved to Sherwood when I was three. I don't remember where I lived before then" I know that I lived with my dad's parents when I was born. Then my parents decided to get an apartment near my maternal grandparents' house. Just before my brother was born, we moved to Sherwood. We were quiet for a few moments as we both did our project. But I couldn't stand the silence. "Why'd you move over here?" There's nothing special about Sherwood. Besides the actual woods near the edge of town.

He shrugged. "My parents wanted to be closer to Allen's parents. We actually live together" he informed me. I wasn't surprised. Allen's house isn't even a house. It's a mansion with other mansions surrounding it. It's absolutely stunning, but when I go inside, I feel like I would dirty the house just by breathing in it. "I like his house. It's big enough for all of us. The woods are a major plus" he added. "I like jogging in the woods" That's interesting. It's probably how he stays fit. The woods are a pretty place. But I would hate being in there alone.

We continued our conversation throughout class. I learned that he's a senior like Allen. His favorite color is light blue- that was surprising. He paints and used to have his own studio back at his old house. He is an only child, but counts Allen as his brother. He doesn't like coffee- which is absolutely crazy, I yelled at him for that. His favorite book is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Overall, I think Carson is a good guy.

He even opened the door for me as we walked out the classroom. "Bye, Carson" I chirped as we got outside. I gave him a quick hug; he might've said goodbye. If he did, then I didn't hear him. I was already walking down the sidewalk. I wanted to tell Uncle Trent about the new kids. He leaves our house at four, maybe four-thirty if he procrastinates. It's three, and it takes fifty minutes to walk home if I walk fast. I should be able to make it before he leaves.

I saw Phoebe with her friends from her dance class. They were hanging out at the corner of the street. I hesitated going up to them, but did it anyway. "Phoebe" I poked her. She groaned and turned around, giving me a disgusted look. "Are you coming home today?" I asked. She rolled her eyes at me and told me she was busy. I nodded and walked off. I could hear her talking about me being annoying. I ignored it, or at least I tried to. Plugging my headphones into my phone, I blasted music as I walked. I Will Walk 500 Miles by the Proclaimers was playing.

A small smile made it's way onto my face and I kept walking.

_______________

"I wish they would only take me as I am"

-Vincent Van Gogh

This book is a werewolf book! I felt the need to say that since someone asked. Skylar is a human; and she does not know about werewolves.

Kayyyzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.