Alright! Chapter 2! Sorry for the late update, I had finals all week and I was exhausted. I also had to play golf with my grandpa, so I was busy!

Chapter 2: Gotta hate Thursdays

I woke with a start to my alarm clock, stretching out of bed and walking into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and undressed. I stepped into the shower, the hot water pouring onto my back and wetting my hair; my sore muscles being soothed. I groaned as I stretched. My thoughts flew back to the previous night. All I could remember were my paws thrumming the ground and the wind whistling through my fur. A small howl escaped my lips and I felt the familiar shiver run through my body. I shook my head to clear it before instinct kicked in. I soaped up my hair and closed my eyes.

When I walked downstairs, my "father" greeted me kindly. "Father" meaning he was really only an old friend of mine and we have been stuck together for years. He looks about 35-36 years old, so he looks like he could be my dad. The government doesn't have to know we aren't biological, so we don't say anything. I stretched, my sweatshirt rising above my navel. I shook my ponytail and grabbed some bacon from the counter. Zarkk looked at me over his book in amusement and hummed, "Long night for you, huh?"

"Of course." I answered. "I think I tripped or pulled a muscle in my back or something. How about you?"

"Hmph," Zarkk kept reading his book. "Pretty good, I guess, but I didn't go out."

I rolled my eyes at him while scarfing down some bacon and grabbing the bagel from his plate placed next to him. He glared at me, but let me have it. I grinned my thanks and took a hunk of it in my mouth.

"You know," I said with my mouth full. "That Steve kid is really nice."

Zarkk looked at me and his eyes glittered in mocking humor. I stuck out my tongue, my mouth too full to say a retort. I swallowed hard and chugged a glass of orange juice. I ran upstairs and brushed my teeth quickly. I re-brushed my hair and skipped steps on my way down the stairs. Zarkk threw my backpack to me and I caught clumsily, my ears burning in embarrassment and frustration as Zarkk held his sides cackling.

I jogged out to the end of the driveway and I breathed in the misty air. I smelled my scent all around the house and I smiled at myself. I saw a print in the mud beside the mailbox and I scrubbed it away quickly, mostly out of habit. I heard the all too familiar rumble of the bus and I put my arm through the other strap of my backpack. I looked back to the house. I caught sight of Zarkk sticking his tongue out at me and I gave the same return.

I climbed the steps onto the bus and sat down in my seat. I heard Steve say a greeting to the bus driver and saw him walk up to me. He plunked down in the seat and looked at me excitedly. I gave him a questioning look and his grin only widened. I began to get a little uncomfortable feeling in my stomach.

"Kanik," he started. "I saw a wolf last night!"

"Oh," I answered meekly. The feeling in my stomach felt like a stone. "That's cool. What did it look like?"

"It was grey and really beautiful! I ran around my yard and looked like it was having fun and it jumped around and howled. Of course, it didn't howl loudly, because I think it thought if it was heard it would get kicked out…"

The more Steve rambled, the more uncomfortable I got. How could I have been so stupid? However, a thought popped into my mind…

"How late was it?" I asked abruptly.

"Well then I- huh?" Steve looked at me in surprise at my interruption. "Well, uh, it was maybe 2 in the morning? Why?"

"Who the hell is up at 2 in the morning?"

"Umm…I was just thinking and I couldn't sleep…" Steve mumbled sheepishly.

"Did you see anything else?" I hoped to god I didn't sound as I nervous as I thought I did.

Steve looked at me suspiciously, and forget that stone, there was a boulder in my stomach.

"No. Why?" he asked. "Why are you so nervous? Do you know that wolf or something?"

"No!" I retorted quickly. Steve didn't say anything else, but I knew he was onto me. I looked out the window. I saw in my reflection how pale I was. I tried to calm myself down and breathed quietly and deeply.

We both arrived at school and I greeted my friends and we kept talking until the warning bell rung. I took Steve up to home room and we sat awkwardly until class started. We walked down the hallway, and I stole a glance at him. I could read his emotions. I noticed one strongly; betrayal. I felt shame course through my frame and I felt guilt follow soon thereafter. I looked down at my shoes and sighed to myself. I lied to him by omitting what I knew. I only have known for a day and I can't trust him with that big a secret. I shivered as I felt again the familiar scent of Tony in the room. I was already vulnerable and I needed to put my guard up again. I shook my head and sat down next to Steve. We got out our binders and started putting our homework down.

I ran to get our table at lunch so I could get away from the hurt Steve looked at me with. I grabbed a seat and saw Clint and Natasha coming up the stairs into the cafeteria. I smiled at them both and Thor spooked me from behind. In the comfort of friends, I felt safe. I got up and received my lunch. I smiled at the lunch lady and thanked her. They loved me here since only the good kids said thank you. I even get extra cookies from them sometimes. I went back to the table and sat next to Thor, who smiled gratefully at me. I shared my fries with him and I ate my burger in silence. The others took no notice and I kept quiet and listened to their conversation. Steve kept glancing at me with an accusing glare and I flinched every time he did. Thor caught on to what Steve was doing and glared daggers at him. Steve took no notice. My face burned with mortification that I had to be defended. I nudged Thor and hissed in his ear, "I can fight my own battles, you know."

"Even a losing one?" he whispered back.

"Yes."

Natty noticed the tension immediately after that because she stopped talking to Clint.

"Hey," she said warily. "What's going on guys?"

The three of us looked uneasy and I said aloud, "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a sec."

I glanced at Natty and walked to the bathroom. I heard her say, "Well one's alone and two's a couple."

The minute I got in the bathroom, I turned around and faced Natty, who was right on my heels.

"What the hell is going on out there?" she tapped her foot impatiently for my response.

I rubbed my neck nervously, "Well, you see…I think Steve knows."

"Knows what?" she asked exasperated.

"He knows knows." I answered grimly.

Her eyes widened and she gaped at me. "How the hell did he figure it out?"

"I don't think he's got it yet, but he's suspicious. He saw me running through his yard at 2 in the flipping morning and he wants an explanation why I was so worried on the bus."

I ran a hand through my hair and I sighed in frustration. "He's ticked off at me and I feel the betrayal coming off him in waves. I don't know what to do!"

"Well, test him." Natty said simply. "See if he believes in that kind of stuff."

I gawked at her and said, "Are you joking? It took an entire year to break it to you guys! I can't; what if he tells someone?"

"Listen," Natty demanded. "Steve's a good kid. No one else would have been so nice right off the bat with you. He would have ditched our group and hung out with Tony if he wasn't a good kid. You're the most like him and I…"

I noticed Natty was looking through the door way and I saw Pepper standing in the doorway. I guess she heard Natty say that thing about Tony, because boy she looks pissed. She closes the door and walks up to us and I can feel fury and defensive emotions roll off of her.

"What was that about Tony?" she demanded.

"None of your beeswax, Paprika." Natty retorted. I wanted to curl up and die. I hated to watch people get into arguments. Pepper "hmphed" and left the bathrooms. This story would be all over the school in an hour. I tugged Natty's shirt sleeve like a frightened child and mumbled, "C'mon, let's go."

In history, I told Thor about my suspicions and he promised to beat Steve up, but I said that I could fight my own battles fine. I thank the lord he backed down.

Art unfortunately arrived too soon and I gulped as I slid into my seat. I glanced at Steve who gave me a brief glance too. Only he looked down at his desk in frustration. I saw girls shift in their seats, ready and very willing to invite Steve over to their tables. Obviously our tension was readable. I nudged him in the side with my elbow and laughed nervously.

"Look," I started. "I'm sorry for this morning, but I can't talk about here and now. Definitely not now."

Steve looked at me incredulously. Apparently, he didn't think I was the apologizing type. I faced him and smiled grimly.

"It's my secret to bear. You'll learn it one day too, but for now, try not to bring it up."

"Uh," Steve stammered. "Uh, okay. I-I guess I was a jerk for being angry at yo-"

"No!" I exclaimed quietly. "No, Steve. You are not the one at fault here. I was stupid not to explain this earlier. You just took me by surprise is all."

He nodded thoughtfully and grinned. "Well at least we worked it out." His eyes dimmed slightly. "At least we have for now."

For the rest of art, we worked on impressionism and we drew a vase with a flower. Soon we got comfortable again and our problems submerged. I sighed in relief and I let my tense shoulders sink as we walked shoulder to shoulder to the bus. He seemed pretty oblivious that our arms were touching, but it was worth it to see the daggers being shot at us by the other girls. I joined Natty with Steve in tow. I asked her how her classes went cheerfully and she caught the hint everything was okay between us. She seemed relieved too, thankfully.

"Are we going to Thor's house to do homework today?" I asked.

"You bet we are!" I heard Thor boom. I jumped because he surprised me. Steve was giggling and I heard Clint cackling. I grinned sheepishly and I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. We boarded the bus and I saw Loki waving at us to sit near him. He was all alone at school, so maybe that's why we let him into our group; other than the fact that he was Thor's brother. All the kids picked on him for being quiet and not into sports. He was more of a book worm and loved it when I drew animals for him, especially dragons. One kid punched him. That freshman (who was an eighth grader last year) got a nice "chat" with a very scary Thor. It was funny to see the big "tough guy" kid bawl his eyes out when Thor let loose his hidden talent; rainbow language. I stood in the background clutching a crying fifth year old Loki to my chest. I picked him up and he giggled when he saw the kid crying. I tickled him and told him some jokes to lift his spirits and Thor and I brought him to an ice cream shop up the street.

Thor sat next to Loki, me next to Steve, and Natty next to Clint. We laughed rowdily the whole way to Thor's house and we thanked the bus driver kindly as we got off. Thor's house was pretty dang big. The inside was cooler though. His parents were historians and loved Norse mythology. There were figurines of all sorts of artifacts all over the house. The first time I was in his house, he was embarrassed, but I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Thor opened the door and led us into his kitchen. Loki scrambled onto the counter to get snacks and threw down all sorts of sweet treats. Loki whipped a bag of Doritos at Clint, who caught them eagerly. Loki handed me a bag of chocolate chips with my name on it in black sharpie. I knew it was his handwriting and he looked down at his shoes shyly. He held them out and said, "Here you go."

I smiled gratefully that he made a special snack for me and rubbed his dark hair. He giggled and patted his hair down. I saw Steve look at me and I met his eyes for a second before we looked away. Thor clapped Clint on the back and said loudly, "How about we get Bruce over here, huh?"

"Yeah sure!" we all agreed. Loki showed us his handstand in the backyard gardens. Natty helped him on his balance and he was very pleased to be the center of attention. I nibbled on my chocolate chips and smiled at how happy Loki was. I saw Thor walk out onto the porch with his house phone in his hand. He grinned at Loki and glanced at me nibbling on my snack and chuckled. I grinned, my cheeks full of chocolate.

Bruce arrived and we moved the party down into the finished basement. Clint did his homework with Natty while Thor had to help Loki on his math. Steve and I worked on our Algebra homework. I grinned to myself and looked at Steve warmly. He returned the same emotion and I wrote down the answer for number 7: 143. I wondered if he knew what it meant, but I didn't really care. I thought it was the happiest coincidence to happen to me in a long while. When we all finished our homework, we played Just Dance 3. Loki and Natty did a face off most of the time, and it was pretty tied up in the end. We all laughed when Loki shoved Natty aside so she would miss the moves. Natty never retaliated because it was just Loki being Loki. I was glad I had all of these friends around me and I think Steve felt mutual. I nudged him lightly and wrote on the top of his history homework 143.

Well, I liked this chapter. Anyone else? See what I did there 143? If you didn't you'll figure it out later.

Oh yeah, sorry about incorporating werewolves into this story, but I was bored and I already shoved one of my OCs into the mix so I threw in Zarkk too. Reviews are appreciated! Thanks to all of you!