W O L F

Thorne sniffed out the air. "Do you smell that?" he rhetorically asked.

"The smell of your revolting breath?" Jacin retorted, not touching his requested drink.

"Nah," Thorne shook his head, cackling like a maniac. "I think another beer is calling me. Bartender!" Thorne waved towards a slender and petite looking girl. Her name, Thorne learned, was Émilie. Wolf knew Thorne already liked Émilie, who seemed slightly intimidated and shy towards him. Every so often, though, Wolf would catch Émilie throwing side glances at him.

Kai nudged him. "That girl seems to have an interest in you." he whispered, smirking at Wolf.

Wolf slightly shook his head, his face flushing. "Don't remind me."

"Go get her, tiger." Kai teased, laughing before taking a sip of his virgin Piña Colada.

The only reason all of them were in a bar was because of Thorne's bright idea to do so. Although all of them were underage except Wolf, Thorne magically convinced Jacin and Kai to go. What could Wolf say? The man had a way with words and manipulating people into doing the things he wanted to do. The downfall that always occurred in Thorne's ideas was that once they arrived at the bar, every girl automatically noticed them. For that reason, they were coaxed to sing their song "Without U," which was a song dedicated to picking and hanging out with bros over girls after a breakup.

Once they finished their mini performance, they all wanted to get drinks (minus a bickering Jacin). For the first twenty minutes, they we're bombarded with girls flirting and fleeting all over them before security came in to discard them.

Apparently, it was karaoke night, and if it wasn't for the admixture of horrendous singing on one song and a fairly decent voice for the next, Wolf couldn't tell the difference. He was too busy on the verge of getting tipsy.

Wolf was sitting on the far right side where bartenders were serving, which meant being closer to Émilie's side of the table. Kai was sitting right next to him on his left side, then came Thorne & Jacin.

Wolf looked intimately at Émilie from afar, taking into consideration Kai's words.

But Wolf was too shy for that.

Wolf shook his head. "I don't know about that," he confessed to Kai. "I'm not too invested."

Kai chortled. "You haven't even gotten a word from her yet. Maybe rescue her from Thorne, whose determined to bring her back with us."

This was true. Wolf never liked it when Thorne lured girls to their hotel rooms or anywhere that was their private quarters. It was beyond disgusting to Wolf and disrespectful to women. On top of that, Wolf was never really the type of guy who talked to girls or was ever really into girls. Not to say he didn't like girls, he wasn't girl-crazy. Unsurprisingly, he maintained that restraint when the Rampion Boyz started to get more recognition and popularity, which always meant girls being around. Female fans were all they had, and not once did Wolf try to hit on or flirt with any girl he ever encountered. Smiling when appropriate, being polite to them, and only saying a few words was in his lane. He was never a huge talker. He assumed that's why he clicked with Jacin better than Kai and Thorne, because both of them didn't have much to say and could be comfortable with silence filling the atmosphere. The difference between him and Jacin, though, was that Jacin wasn't a talker because he was too busy being far separated and independent from the group, and could often times come off as cold and stoic. Wolf's reason was because he felt he was too intimidating, too bulky, and too shy to say anything or do anything. What could he say? He was insecure of his stature and how people would perceive of him in person, regardless of all the tweets and all the "awws," on social media by his particular group of fans. Even at meet and greets they could be a little hesitant to talk or hug him.

Not all of them were like this, of course. There was a select few who did this. But for someone like Wolf who was insecure of his build since the end of grammar school, for every one out of ten girls who flinched and winced at his werewolf-like fangs exposed every time he smiled and his humongous, calloused hands, it pained him and made him even more shy and quiet. He envied the confidence of Thorne, who radiated the definition of the word and did it so casually. He wished he could have the meekness of Kai, who was charming all by his nickname, "Prince Kaito." Even Jacin, who was pretty muscular himself, didn't scare his fans in person.

Wolf flinched at the triggered thought ever since that faithful day his freshman year that plagued him forever.

All in all, it was something Wolf had to work on.

Before Wolf could turn down the possibility of talking to Émilie or Kai persuading him to give her a chance, Émilie took charge first.

Émilie waltzed up to his side of the bar, her honey-blonde curls bouncing around her frame as she walked up to him. Her face instantly turned from uneasiness by Thorne's endless flirting, which was a first for girls to react that way towards him, to a mischievous smile as she stopped in front of Wolf.

"Hi," her voice was cheerful and perky. "My name's Émilie. And I already know who you are." She giggled before clearing her throat. Wolf was impressed at how confident and confrontational she was. But he was more impressed at how she talked to him with ease, not considering the fact that this guy was a crossover to his given nickname and his human name. "What brings you all here in this side of Wisconsin?"

Wolf shrugged timidly before giving her a half-smile. "Our idiotic friend over there," Wolf pointed to Thorne, sarcasm in his voice. "Thought of the bright idea to go to a bar around this part of town."

Émilie nodded her head in understanding, as if she knew how stupid Thorne could potentially be. Wolf heard Thorne defending himself before stuttering on his words and drinking again. "I see. You should know, this side of town isn't as boring as it seems. Lake Geneva comes alive in the nighttime. I should know, coming out of France with my ami Scarlet, Lake Geneva is pretty impressionable for a quiet city. Then again, we come from a farming and quiet town."

Wolf fiddled with his glass of wine. "Thanks for the tip, Émilie. You're from France?" Wolf inquired, instantly becoming interested in their small conversation and not wanting to make this girl uncomfortable. "I always used to go there with my mom and brother to see some of our family members there. What bring you here in America? Midwest, at that." Wolf was growing his wilted confidence, although she probably couldn't tell through his facial expression. His green eyes were still tinted in small fear, and his smile turned into a close-lipped one. He never talked that much with a person-let alone a girl he barely knew.

But there was a first for everything.

At Wolf starting up what could lead to a good conversation, Émilie's mischievous smile started to widen, and there was a sudden gleam in her eyes. "Scarlet and I wanted to go to the same college out here after visiting Lake Geneva for our senior spring break. This place reminds us of our hometown."

Scarlet. Wolf thought. This was the second time he heard of that name.

The name, Wolf concluded, he was already fairly fond of.

So there goes Wolf's first chapter for you all! I know it's a little short, but this is only an introduction to his story. To the person who predicted Wolf's story would start off at a bar, you're correct! Except, all of the boys are with him. Comment, follow, and favorite if you like this story.

QOTD: how do you feel about Wolf's introduction? What do you think will happen between him and Émilie? Any other thoughts or ideas about his character and struggles already pointed out in the first chapter?