Chapter 27
"The Car. The Dog. The House."

Wednesday December 3rd

CPOV

We reached the doors on the other side of the school that lead to the parking lot. I pushed the door open, holding it for Nicolai and Robert- as I cringed. We made our way to the furthest spot in the parking lot, and I could have sworn that I saw Rob start to drool. I sighed and walked straight to the shiny orange "beautiful" car, where several pack members were migrated nearby.

Jared had left with Kim, Quil was probably already picking Clair up from daycare, Collin and Brady went to work, and Seth had to help his sister with something this afternoon. This left Jacob, Embry and Paul. They all turned and nodded once, acknowledging us. They tightened their circle, lowering their voices as they stepped further away when we approached. They were talking pack talk, no doubt. I knew I should care, but I knew I didn't really. I only cared about seeing Aiden, truthfully. Rob and Nicolai started asking questions, commenting on different things and such. I gave up trying to act impartial.

"Look guys," I said, trying to conceal the annoyance in my voice, "I know squat about that stuff." I said, honestly. "This was my dad's car." I watched their eyebrows shoot up and chuckled. "Yes, my father drove this car. If you want to know anything other than the color or the gas mileage," I said, pointing over my shoulder, "Ask Jacob." They looked behind me at the intense looking werewolf mechanic and turned back, shaking their heads. It was then that I realized the small amount of seating space and laughed. "How much did you not want to walk home with the girls?"

"-And Ander." Nicolai added quickly.

"Right." I confirmed, still giving Rob a questioning look.

"Why?" Rob asked, confused.

"Look at my car one more time." I said, chuckling, as though it should be blatantly obvious. Nicolai's confused face turned as his mouth formed an 'o' shape.

"Well..." Rob offered, looking around.

I laughed and got in, starting the car, not waiting for a new plan.


"Quit touching me!"

"You're sitting on me! What do you want me to do?" Rob asked, highly perturbed.

"Children." I half- growled, before composing myself. "What house?" I asked, nicely. Nicolai pointed ahead of me, on his side of the road.

"Next block. Third house. The one with the Garman Shepherd that attacks you when you said foot on the grass." He said, laughing.

Ut. Oh.

I pulled up in front of the house and killed the engine. I reached for the door handle, but froze. A dog? She has a dog? Not good. Not good at all. I unlinked my seatbelt, and forced myself to look over at the house. Sure enough, there was a young male dog sitting on the bottom porch step, looking at the car tentatively. He was probably anticipating the moment that the car door opened, so that he would have an excuse to act as a defense system; a guard of the house.

"Get off me." Rob all but growled.

"But... I love you!" Nicolai proclaimed, smiling.

"Off!" Rob said, opening the door and pushing him out in one fluid movement. Nicolai went flying onto the grass laughing. Rob jumped out and helped him up.

Of course, I was right. The second the door was open, the dog came bounding towards it, looking protective. He realized it was Nicolai and instantly his tail started wagging.

"Hey Ranger! Hey boy!" Rob greeted him.

I took a deep breath wondering how this would go. I grabbed my bag and exited the car, locking it behind me. As soon as Ranger saw my, his tail stopped wagging, and he went back into his protective state. He looked up at me, as if analyzing me. I took another deep breath and stepped onto the yard. I bent down and opened my arms, as if welcoming his inspection.

Ranger stepped towards me cautiously and proceeded to take my scent. He barely had an intake of breath before he seemed to jump back, backing away. I cringed, waiting for him to go berserk, barking or growling or... running away in fear. Anything. However, he did something I did not expect.

He backed to the side and lowered his head, as if giving me right of passage. The dog was probably thinking I was a 'superior-alpha-god' or something. I internally laughed and looked back at Nicolai and Rob. They were staring at me through wide eyes, stuttering. Rob finally composed himself and shook his head.

"Wow."

"Yeah." Nicolai added. "Wow."

"What?" I asked, standing back up.

"It took him three weeks to let me on the property without trying to growl my ears off!" Rob said. "And he's just letting you by with barely an introduction."

"Yeah." Nicolai added, again. "Wow."

"I uh... I'm good with... dogs?" I offered. They shook their heads and chuckled, looking back to Ranger, who was now sitting very contently at my heel.

"I'd say." Rob said, before proceeding to the front door. Nicolai and I followed, with Ranger close at my heel. Nicolai looked at him over his shoulder and laughed, shaking his head.

"Just weird." He muttered, as Ander opened the door.


APOV

I heard chuckling approaching the door and took a deep breath, calming my nerves. It's no big deal. I looked over as I heard the door creek open, and Rob and Nicolai stepped through chuckling, soon followed by Chaz. He paused a second before clicking it shut behind him. My face widened with confusion.

This was not normal. Not the fact that Chaz was in my house, mind you. Well, yes, it was very weird. But something much odder had just happened. First off, Ranger was not the first one thorough the door, as always, he was the last. Secondly, I hadn't heard him bark, or even growl, or anything at the appearance of a new person. Third, he was acting like he liked Chaz. No, not just liked, he was sitting, perfectly content at his heel.

Um. What'd I miss?

Nicolai caught me first, as he was sitting down in the nearest chair.

"Weird, right?" He asked, pointing to Ranger. I smiled and looked up to Chaz, who looked slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah," I said, chuckling, "just a bit."

Just then, Ander popped into the living room. He caught sight or Ranger sitting calmly by Chaz and froze.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, analyzing the situation. "No barking? No growling? Not even sitting by Aiden and glaring menacingly? He said, exasperated. We all shook our heads and he scoffed, crossing his arms. "It took him a solid week for him to allow me to do anything without approval from Aiden." He said, pouting. We all chuckled yet again and looked back over to Chaz, who appeared to be blushing. "So you're a dog person after all." He said, smiling. Chaz seemed to stifle a laugh at this and nodded down to my calm-as-can-be Ranger.

"Must be." He said.

COPV

"Mhm." Ander mumbled, biting his lip. He then suddenly turned back to the rest of us. "It's too bright up here." He declared, looking around at the windows. Laine rolled her eyes and jumped off the couch next to me. She sighed and nodded.

"Alright, we get your point." She said, walking past him through the doorway from which he had appeared. Nicolai slumped off his chair and followed, Rob close behind. Ander slightly smiling, before turning around and walking back through the doorway he had emerged from.

I watched her friends slowly migrate out of the room and shot her a questioning glance. She simply smiled and got up, stretching her arms above her head and yawning.

"I guess we're going to the basement." She said, rolling her eyes. She then looked down at Ranger and snapped her fingers. "Come on, baby, downstairs." She called, in a slightly higher voice. The dog at my feet perked up into sitting position, ears perked- but did not move. He then looked up at me. Aiden's face widened in shock. "Ranger?" She asked, hesitantly. He glanced at her, before turning his attention back to me, unmoving. "Wow."

"Um…" I looked down at the expectant looking dos and glanced around nervously. "Downstairs." I said, mustering up as much authority as possible, as I nodded the single word.

His face snapped forward and he quickly trotted past Aiden- through the doorway- after her friends. She stared after him until I could no longer hear his pattering footsteps. Her face turned back to me in awe.

"Wow." She said, shocked. "He must really… be in love with you or something." She stuttered. A wave of sadness seemed to slightly tug on her features, and my stomach turned. I felt horrible for being here. Obviously she loved her dog. He was a very loyal guardian for her. And in three minutes I had all but shattered that bond. Her 'baby' was listening to me and ignoring her; and he didn't even know me! I felt horrible, indeed.

"Look, I'm sorry…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say. She just chuckled, slightly forced, and shook her head.

"No, no. It's fine." She said, looking up. "Just weird." She said, offering a smile. She then pointed to a spot by the door where several backpacks were piled up. "Put your stuff there." She said, trying to sound official. I nodded and complied.

I followed her through the doorway. I learned that it lead to the kitchen. We passed sliding glass doors before reaching another doorway that we entered. She led me down several steps, around a corner, and down several more. We ended in a small office with several boxes and a messy computer desk. We went through the doorway to the left, into a larger room, and immediately turned left again into a very large living room.

The large room contained a long multi-sectional couch, a recliner and two beanbags. Opposite the couch were two standing lamps and an entertainment center; complete with a TV turned to the food network. Also inhibiting this large dim area were four teenagers and a German-Shepherd. All five turned our way as we stepped through the doorway.

Aiden went in, stepping over Nicolai, before sitting on the couch and grabbing the remote. Nicolai groaned and turned to grab it, but he was too late. She laughed and stuck her tongue out, making my heart do a tap-dance.

"My house- my remote- my choice." She said, smiling triumphantly, holing the remote above her head. Suddenly, however, Laine plucked it out of her hand, and turned away laughing. Aiden crossed her hands over her chest and stuck her lip out, again sending my heart into an erratic beat.

"Take your shoes off, hang your hat, stay for a while." Rob said, looking at me and laughing. I looked over, to see everyone else looking at me expectantly as well.

"Right." I said, looking around. It was Aiden who scoffed. She jumped up and walked back over to me, reaching out and grabbing my hand. My skin tingled and smiled at the touch. She pulled me into the room, stepping back over Nicolai, sitting on the couch, pulling me down next to her. She then grabbed the remote back from Laine, who make a protestant shriek, and proceeded to flip through the many channels.

Many comments were made about the selection of channels, arguing on which to leave it before Aiden finally scanned to a certain channel, pressing the 'select' button and slumping back on the couch with a triumphant smile. Monster Garage.

Really?

Unexpected, I must say.