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The rest of the week flew by with little consequence. Except Friday. I woke up that morning feeling quite normal. That is, tired beyond belief while cursing at my alarm clock and my shower that took way too long to heat up; followed by more cursing at the existence of my brother, who stupidly left his Matchbox race cars piled in the hallway for me to trip over. I remained relatively optimistic about the rest of my day.

But then I noticed that Jared wasn't sitting at his regular table with his friends at lunch. At first, I didn't think anything of it. Maybe he had stayed behind after his art class, I reasoned. Jared was actually very gifted. I'd seen some of his sketches hanging in the electives hallway by the gym before. He was cultured- yet another thing I admired about him.

When I walked into Trig, I wasn't too surprised to see him already in his seat. But I wasn't prepared to see him looking so…well, like complete shit. He was hunched over in seat, resting his forehead on his hands. I could see dark circles under his eyes and a light sheen of sweat on his brow- sign of a fever; that much I knew. If that wasn't evidence enough, he was looking a little pale and I could see his shoulders shaking slightly. So why was he still in school?

I tried not to stare too much at him as I continued on to my seat, though everyone else was equally curious at the sight of him. I looked back up to see Tommy come in and head towards Jared.

"Dude, you're still here? I thought you went to the nurse and had her call your parents."

"Yeah, well Mom said I that she couldn't get here anytime soon and my dad is in Port Angeles for the day, so she told me to stick it out since I only had 3 more classes left," he mumbled in reply, not looking up.

"Oh, dude. That sucks. Do you want me to take you home?"

"God, please, yes. I feel like utter shit."

"Right. We'll talk to Mr. Greene then head over to the office, okay?"

"Thanks, man."

"No problem."

When Mr. Greene walked in after the bell rang, that's exactly what they did. I felt so bad for him.

/

In the evening the next day, I received a weird phone call from Alexis.

"We should go to a party later tonight."

"Okay?"

"Good." Then she hung up. What the fuck? So I called her back.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Lex, I need details."

"Oh, yeah. Tommy's at 10:30. I overheard Brittani telling Dana about it. Why Dana didn't relay it to me, I have no idea. Any who, we're going. I'll pick you up. Look hot."

Then she hung up on me. Again. How rude. Did I need to give her a copy of an Emily Post book?

I didn't mind going to a party, though I know I would probably end up leaving after an hour or so like I normally did. Parties weren't really my thing. On the plus side, Jared might be recovered by now and since it was Tommy's party he would probably be there. Good enough reason to go, really.

So I traipsed downstairs to politely ask/tell my parents that I was going to hang out with Alexis and Dana later. Because I am such a model student and overall wonderful teenage daughter, there was no real opposition. What my parents don't know won't hurt them. Then I went back upstairs to the bathroom to take a shower. Only to come face to face with a giant snake soaking in the bathtub. I screamed like hell.

"Ryan! Get your stupid rubber growing snake out of the bathtub!" I shouted.

"Sheesh, it's not even real," he grumbled as he shuffled into the bathroom.

He picked up the snake and unceremoniously dumped it into a big bucket of water then shuffled back out of the bathroom and down the hallway, the snake tail hanging over the edge of the bucket. Gross, I thought as a shiver ran down my spine.

An hour later I was freshly showered, primped and dressed in skinny jeans, a low cut top, and flats. I grabbed one of my bigger purses and shoved a pair of ankle boots in, so I could switch my shoes in the car. Minutes later, Alexis called me to tell me she was outside. I rushed downstairs and out the front door before my parents could actually see me, shouting my goodbye before I shut the door.

"Ooh, someone looks sexy," Alexis complimented, as I slid into the front seat.

"Thanks. You look hot, too."

"Why thank you. So, we're picking Dana up on the way."

"Oh, is that why you picked me up early?"

"Of course. You know how long it takes her to get out the door."

"Remind me again why we're friends with her?"

"Because she's really entertaining and innocent, despite all her flakiness. It makes her flakes look more like glitter."

In true Dana fashion, it took her thirty minutes to actually get in the car. We had called her cell phone several times before she finally picked up to tell us in a hushed voice that she was on her way out. A few minutes later we could see her figure in the dark climb out if her window and fall into the bushes. Seconds later she sprung up and jogged over to the car. Her mom opened the front door to call out "Have a good time, sweetie!" before going back inside. Dana climbed into the back, while Alexis and I shared a look.

"Dana, why didn't you just go out the front door?" Alexis asked.

"Oh! I didn't want to sneak out and get in trouble for it later, so I told my mom I was leaving," she replied.

Oh, sure. That made sense. Yeah, she's not the smartest cookie in the jar.

The party was in full swing by the time we got to Tommy's house. We parked in the empty lot next to his house like everyone else, despite knowing full well that we would be boxed in in no time. Upon entering the loud, crowded house, Alexis and I immediately set out to find drinks while Dana headed for the mass of people. See, Dana was like the eyes and ears of the school. She heard everything that went on in the school, since she loved being so friendly with everyone. No one ever dared to be mean to her, because the girl was so nice. She was like the modern, Quileute version of Marilyn Monroe. She even had the looks to match. Honestly, it was amazing that she preferred our company more than the popular crowd. Excluding, of course, the guys. She certainly liked their company. Even more amazingly, no one ever judged her for that. That may be because her looks and her friendly demeanor were the only things she had going for her, and Dana knew that. You had to admire that she didn't try to change for anyone.

Minutes later, she managed to find Lexi and I nursing our first cups of beer.

"So, Stacie and is cheating on her boyfriend and is having sex with Paul as we speak; Brittani is mad at Michelle for talking to Joe, who she still isn't over; and Jared isn't here. Can I have my drink?"

Like I said, Dana knew things.

"What do mean Jared isn't here? Is he still sick?" I asked her as Alexis handed over the drink we grabbed for her.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Kimmy. Apparently he's uber sick. His mom wouldn't even let Tommy see him or talk to him on the phone. Brittani thinks he has AIDS, but he hasn't slept with anyone recently so I don't know how that could be true. I think she just made that up since she's mad."

Well, that's reassuring.

"Oh. Well, that's okay. I hope he feels better soon," I said.

"Me, too," Alexis said.

"Me, three," Dana replied.

Pause.

"Well, Brian grabbed my boob and told me I looked hot tonight, so I'm going to go make out with him. I'll see you girls later. Don't wait for me," she said.

And then she was gone.

"Okay, then. That didn't last long. Come on, let's go mingle," Alexis said as she pulled my arm and led me into the crowd.

/

Two hours later, I was feeling pleasantly tipsy and thoroughly talked out. I was ready to ditch the many people that were making out like their lives depended on it. It had everything to do with the fact that it was a blatant reminder of my single status, with no prospective suitors lined up. I was definitely feeling claustrophobic. Alexis noticed and told me to go ahead and go home. She only had the one drink and had offered Ashley, who lived on the same street, a ride home so I knew she would be okay getting home. Though, I made her promise to text me once she did. She gave me her keys to get my purse out of her car, and told me leave them on the front seat. It wasn't like her car could go anywhere.

I decided to take a short cut through the woods. Somewhere in the back of mind I knew it wasn't smart for some reason, but I was tired and just wanted my fuzzy yellow pillow. I was almost home when I heard a distinct snap to my left. Then something went thud against a tree further out. The haze I was in quickly dissipated as I ran to get the hell out of dodge, my heartbeat echoing in my ears. I didn't stop until I got to the back door of my house, slipped in, and closed the door. I quickly locked it and rested my back against it, catching my breath. I didn't think anything or anyone followed me, but I still felt a little unsettled. The lights were off throughout the house, so everyone had gone to bed already. I quietly made my way upstairs and into my bedroom, quickly exchanging my clothes for a big t-shirt to sleep in and took off most of my makeup with a face wipe before collapsing into bed. That last thing I could comprehend was a faint echo of wolf cries before I blacked out.

A/N: So there it is. I'm actually surprised that it didn't take long to to write this chapter. I've decided to keep everyone updated on the status of the story on my profile in case anyone is interested.

Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, I really appreciate it :)

That being said, leave me your thoughts, please.