A person usually has two reasons for doing something: a good reason and the real reason. -Thomas Carlyle
September flew by in a haze of change, and I am very surprised to see the date on Mrs. Garret's board say October 1st. Soon, Molly will be begging me to wear some ridiculous coordinating costume while I take her Trick-or-Treating. John has already asked if we could let ourselves be seen on Halloween, and scare kids. I had to be Alpha and put my paw down on that one. I don't approve of emotionally scarring children. Even if it would be hilarious.
Taylor takes her seat beside me, and turns to smile with a cheerful, "Good morning!"
"How're you?" I ask, soaking up the sunshine she brings in my life.
"Fine," she answers shortly before changing the subject. "Hey, did Kyle talk to you about Homecoming?"
"What about it?" I ask, confused. Kyle hasn't mentioned anything related to Homecoming. At least not that I remember.
Taylor rolls her eyes and says mostly to herself. "Typical. He never remembers anything. It's a good thing he's attractive." She turns to me. "Are you going?"
"To what?" I'm still hung up on her mumbled comment about Kyle being attractive. I'm attractive, aren't I? Shut up, Brian. She's not your girlfriend.
Taylor shakes her head sadly. "I can see why you two are friends. Homecoming. Are you going?"
Mildly amused by her exasperation, I smile before saying, "Well, I wasn't planning on it."
"Are you free though?" she asks.
I mentally calculate if I'm running that night or not. "Yeah."
"Well, Kyle was supposed to ask you," slight bitterness leaks into her voice, but she continues. "But would you like to go with my friend Cara? She doesn't have a date but really wants to go, except she won't go with Kyle and me unless she has a date. She doesn't want to be the third wheel."
"Cara Pollard?" I ask.
"Yeah. Would you be willing to go with her?" Taylor bites her lip and her eyes start silently begging like a hungry puppy's.
"Of course," I answer instantly. If it makes Taylor happy, it's worth it.
"Thank you! Cara will be so excited!" she cheers.
"I am too," I reply, enjoying her smiling face.
The bell rings, and Mrs. Garret drains the last bit of coffee in her mug before starting the class. Quickly, Taylor whispers, "Come by my locker after school and I'll give you the details."
I nod and smile widely.
On my way to Taylor's locker, I take the time to actually pause and consider if I want to go with Cara or not. When I think of how happy it made Taylor to set her friend up, I couldn't say no. But, it's only fair to Cara for me to at least think this through.
All I know about Cara is that she's a nice, pretty girl who typically stays under the radar, but isn't an introvert like I am. She sat next to me in English last year, and sometimes she walks her dog past my house. Okay, I'll go with her.
Apparently, she is debating the same question as I approach Taylor's locker. I'm still out of normal human earshot, but I can perfectly hear Cara say, "Brian Clearwater? Really?"
"He's actually a really nice guy," Taylor insists. "He's my lab partner, and without him I'd be failing Chem."
Cara laughs. "I just can't believe you're setting me up with him! I thought you hated him!"
"I did," Taylor confesses. "But, I don't know, things are different this year. I like it better."
"Well, he is a nice guy. And have you seen him lately? He got hot over the summer!" Cara says, as though trying to convince herself that going with me would not only be a good idea, but the best possible idea ever.
"So is that a yes?" Taylor prompts.
"Yeah, I think so. Part of me just wishes that I'd get officially asked, though." She sighs quietly.
"I understand," Taylor agrees.
Now a few feet away, I announce my presence. "Hey, Taylor. Hey, Cara."
"Hi Brian," Taylor smiles. Her smile, paired with the nice things she just said about me have pushed my level of happiness through the roof.
"Hey, Brian," Cara says kindly.
I turn to her and say, "So, I know we're already kind of going, but I thought I should officially ask you- Will you go to Homecoming with me?"
Pleasantly taken aback, Cara nods eagerly. "Yeah, thanks!"
I smile in response, discretely checking Taylor's reaction from the corner of my eye. She smile pleasantly at her friend's good fortune, and my consideration. I quickly turn back to face Cara when I see Taylor turn to look at me.
Luckily for me, Taylor immediately becomes distracted by Kyle walking up behind her.
"Hey, babe," he says, kissing her. My stomach contracts in a mixture of guilt and mild jealousy as I turn quickly to look at Cara. We exchange embarrassed glances. Hopefully, she takes my flushed face as me coping with the awkward PDA we witnessed, and not anything else.
"Kyle, you never talked to Brian about Homecoming," Taylor scolds, once she comes up for air.
"What was I supposed to tell him?" he asks, glancing questioningly at me.
"About me going with Cara," I prompt. "Don't worry, we got it."
Kyle still looks confused. "You're going with Cara?"
Taylor rolls her eyes. "You're really stupid, you know that?" she tells Kyle.
"It's part of my charm," he answers simply.
Shaking her head while wearing the faintest trace of a smile, she asks, "Are we going to your house before or mine?"
"Mine, if everyone's good with that," he says. We all nod our approval. Then he turns to me in disbelief, "So, you're actually going to Homecoming? I just can't see you in a suit."
"True, but I can't ditch Cara now, that would be rude," I say, smiling at her. She laughs. "I'll have to get one I guess."
"You don't even have one?" Cara gasps.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see John nervously creeping towards us, seemingly hoping I'll walk away before he has to come over. I decide to be annoying and drag him into the conversation. "Hey, John, do you have a suit?"
His eyes flicker to Cara before focusing on me. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Why?"
"Can I borrow it for Homecoming? We're about the same size?"
Again, his eyes flash to Cara before he replies, "Sure, I guess. Wait-" he suddenly gives me his full attention, startled at my question. "You're going to Homecoming?"
"Is that so hard to believe?" I moan to no one in particular. Am I that much of an antisocial dork? Unfortunately I know the answer is yes.
"Well, no it's just-" This time John's eyes flicker to Taylor.
"I'll explain on the way. Bye, guys!" I say, giving Taylor an extra wave, before walking off with John.
One goodbye sticks out among the rest. "Bye, John!" Cara quickly calls, almost as though she was afraid if she didn't say it she'd lose her nerve.
John spins around, dumbstruck. "Bye, Cara," he waves slowly before carefully turning back around.
When we're out of earshot I ask, "Did you imprint on her?"
John shakes his head. "No, I just- no, I didn't."
I don't pry, instead honoring the limited privacy he has from me. But I do add, "Good thing, or it would be kind of awkward with me taking her to Homecoming."
"You're taking her where?!" John demands.
Maybe he hasn't imprinted, but it's a good thing we're already outside, and I already have a good explanation for this irritated werewolf.