12/24/15

Chapter 2

The lunch tray clattered loudly as it hit the cafeteria floor. Maddy's food splattered onto her boots. Looking down, Maddy saw her fishnet stockings speckled with yellow cheese sauce. 'Breathe,' she told herself. She closed her eyes, feeling her inner wolf scratching to come out and overpower the small girl standing in front of her. Veronica was the pinnacle of cliché high school snob. She had a rounded face and dark eyes. Her hair was drawn back into a ponytail, not a single hair out of place. Her long black hair swung like a pendulum between her shoulder blades. She was dressed in the most fashionable clothes: a cloud-grey oversized sweater and navy skinny jeans that disappeared into tan sheep skin UGG boots. Her tinsel-thin, gold hoop earring swung as she shook her head in a 'tsk-tsk' manner at Maddy.

"Aw, I'm sorry. . . Klutz." Veronica had an incessant need to chew gum, and chew it loudly. The never-ending smacking grated Maddy's nerves as it sounded twice as obnoxious with her sensitive hearing. Surprisingly, Maddy was actually slightly taller than Veronica, and so she had to look down at the girl.

Veronica treated all her peers as if they were some type of inferior sub-human. She belonged to one of the more wealthy families in the town, which apparently earned her the right to special treatment. Unfortunately, Veronica's complete focus was to bring Maddy as much misery as possible. The three K's taunts were child's play compared to Veronica Ciocca continuous hassling of Maddy.

As circumstances would have it . . . Veronica was Robert's "unofficial" girlfriend.

Maddy tried to explain to Veronica that she was not interested in Robert; yet, his perpetual need to talk to her proved further in Veronica's mind that Maddy was making plays to steal her boyfriend. Since then, Veronica and Maddy have been enemies. While most of their bouts were self-contained and outside of the teachers' supervision, Maddy already had been given detention as a direct result of Veronica. Portraying the bad kid made you susceptible to being the guilty party, regardless if it was your fault.

"Come on, Veronica. That's no way to talk about yourself." Maddy smirked, inching just the slightest bit closer to show she wasn't afraid like every other student that came against her. Maddy was an alpha, even if no one else knew.

Veronica first looked shocked by the response then narrowed her eyes at Maddy. Veronica was too proud to back down; even in spite of everyone, including the teachers milling about, watching. No one moved to stop them. It was like they were being given silent approval to go ahead and bring their feud to an end.

Maddy could hear her mother's voice warning her not to play into Veronica's trap, but her patience and tolerance for this trivial jealousy was growing thinner and thinner with each passing day. The two teens were only inches from each other; each one was waiting for the other to make a move so they could use it as an excuse for fighting. Maddy's nose curled as her senses picked up on the overpowering body spray Veronica insisted bathing in. She coughed then sneezed like an animal does when they smell something unpleasant. The young Wolfblood chewed on her violet painted bottom lip, feeling the tension choke the room.

In the background, Maddy could hear Doogan – the boy who she sat next to in Mr. Jared's class – chanting, "Chick fight! Chick fight!" His excited squeals pierced Maddy's ears, distracting her for a second.

Just as they couldn't get any closer and it was evident that something needed to happen, an arm pushed between them. Both girls looked at the person standing next to them.

"Hey, I saw what happened. Got you pizza." Robert was smiling, looking between both girls. Maddy stared at him bewildered by his sudden appearance . . . as did everyone else in the cafeteria. "Let's go sit." He didn't wait for her to respond. Putting his hand on Maddy's shoulder, he guided her passed Veronica to the corner table where their friend, Ling, sat. Ling gnawed on her finger nails, the suspense from the situation working her into panic.

Maddy could hear Veronica call after Robert and then huff in disgust when he ignored her. Robert continued to move Maddy away from Veronica, at times almost pushing Maddy as she attempted to backtrack once or twice.

Maddy couldn't figure Robert out. She never initiated any conversations with him, his friends didn't like her – well, except for Doogan, and yet, he always seemed to be there. Always.

Maddy swung her boots, that laced all the way to her knees, under the table. She looked at him as he passed a plate with pizza to her. "You know, I just saved you." He picked up his slice and bit into it with a satisfying exhale. "Hey, Ling," he greeted through the a mouthful of food.

Ling was a quiet girl. Uncomfortable with any new situation or person, she lived in a state of perpetual distress. Ling wore plain clothes that were very conservative: a knee length skirt, turtle neck sweater, cardigan, and saddle shoes.

"From Veronica? You . . . saved me from Veronica?" Maddy snorted, pulling some of the cheese off the pizza and eating it.

"No . . . the beef stroganoff. That stuff is lethal. I'm not sure that's even real meat." He looked out of the corner of his eye to see her reaction. Against her best wishes, she laughed. "I know you would totally take Veronica, but why give her the satisfaction?"

Maddy shrugged and continued to pull cheese off her pizza slice. She couldn't explain to Robert that her drive to overpower the current alpha was in her nature.

-Wolfblood-

Robert continued to eat with the two girls until he finished his lunch and then he departed to sit at the "cool table". Mainly all the kids that didn't associate with Maddy and Maddy tried not to associate with.

Maddy watched as Doogan and his jock friends flicked a paper football across the table, Veronica chastised Robert while her friends nodded with each declaration of betrayal like some oversized bobble heads, and a few of Robert's friends poked him for details of what happened at her table. Maddy shook her head. 'Some things will never change,' she thought.

"He likes you," Ling said quietly. Maddy gaped at the girl sitting across from her, more shocked that Ling was talking to her than what she had said . Even though Maddy had been sitting there for weeks, the young Asian girl barely conversed with her. It was an unspoken rule between the two of them. They could exist without needing to be friends. Ling didn't bother Maddy, and Maddy's appearance warded off anyone from bothering Ling. It was efficient, if nothing else.

"What?" Maddy rolled her tongue over her teeth, trying to clean away any food left from eating her pizza. Subconsciously she played with the rubber bracelets on her right hand that gathered halfway up her forearm.

"I'm shy, not oblivious," Ling pointed out like she had been offended that Maddy would question her. The youngest Smith desired to know Ling's reasons for coming to that conclusion, but the bell rang dismissing the students from lunch. Ling jumped to her feet and was one of the first students to exit the lunch room.

Maddy watched everyone file out before getting up and heading out herself.

-Wolfblood-

Maddy waltzed in a few minutes after the bell, closing the door behind her. All the students quickly peered up at her and then continued copying the notes on the chalkboard. Still writing on the blackboard, Mr. Nevalle didn't turned around when he addressed her. "I'll know when the apocalypse has started because you'll actually make it to my class on time, Ms. Smith." Maddy raised her eyebrows in a manner of acknowledging she heard him, but didn't just care to respond.

"I know it doesn't take five minutes to get from the lunch room to my class," he continued. Finished with writing, he turned around to face her. He leaned his knuckles on the mahogany desk at the front of the room, breathing heavily from writing so quickly. Mr. Nevalle was a plump, short man with ugly taste in sweater vests.

"We're you running drills just for me, Mr. Nevalle." Maddy wasn't in the mood for finishing out the day. This remark should send her to the office and hopefully home. She usually tried to stick it out and even made it a week without a detention, but after Veronica's and Ling's comments, she needed some space to think.

Mr. Nevalle turned red, but then pointed to her seat instead of the door. "Sit down, Maddy. I don't have time for you. For fear you'll repeat this class due to sheer absences, I'm not sending you to the office."

Maddy slowly march to her desk in the back corner and dropped her bag with a loud thud. She slouched in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. Mr. Nevalle locked eyes with her for a few more moments then instructed the class to read the quote on the board and raise their hands with their thoughts.

-Wolfblood-

It was snowing outside to the point that for a town that was use to snow, the school was even considering sending the students home early. Of course, that didn't actually happen. She was still sitting in fifth period history class. History class had never presented itself as a challenge until now. Now she was suddenly expected to know the history of a separate country that she knew very little about to begin with. Rather than listen, Maddy continued to stare outside, pondering what her friends were doing back in Stonybridge. She imagined Rhydian sketching in his notebook, and Tom convincing Shannon that a movie night was better than hunting for an imaginary beast. Or, maybe they were all hiding scared from Dr. Whitewood. Maddy closed her eyes tight and tried to bury the thought. She had no way of knowing, she wasn't allowed to make any contact with them per her family's arrangement with Segolia. When a family of Wolfbloods are relocated due to exposure, they are removed and forbidden to make contact with anyone from their old life.

Maddy placed her ear buds in her ears, concealing them under her hair. She needed something to distract her from the horrible nightmare of Dr. Whitewood capturing her friends and torturing them for information in the name of science.

Mr. Nevalle rarely walked by or paid much attention to the back of the , things could change as they just did for her.

Mr. Nevalle's light brown hair was receding and in its place were pudgy wrinkles that made their presence every time he asked a question or seemed surprised. He had a swollen face that was always tinged pink, and thick eye glasses that made his small eyes appear even smaller. He dressed every day in slacks, tailored shirt, sweater vest, and bow tie. He was often the victim of poorly drawn school caricatures. "Maddy. Miss Madeline. Madeline Smith, would you like to join us or is your schedule booked with day dreaming?" Mr. Nevalle slowly made his way through the throng of desks to the back of the room. This alone could have given the Wolfblood enough time to snap out of it. His large size slowed him from easily moving between the narrow aisles. Sadly, no. Maddy was too involved in thinking of things that could be going on thousands of miles away to notice her teacher approach her.

Mr. Nevalle stopped next to Maddy's desk, the young Wolfblood staring outside completely ignorant. Mr. Nevalle had been teaching well before corporal punishment was removed from the education system; yet, understanding the severity of implementing physical punishment, he acquiesced to smacking rulers on desks. This very act done right was reward enough. Pulling back slightly on the wood ruler to bend it, his fat fingers released the measuring stick. The ruler hit with a decisive crack, scaring Maddy almost out of her seat. She clumsily caught her ear buds that fell and looked up at the large man standing next to her. Behind Mr. Nevalle, students snickered at scene playing in front of them.

"Now, Miss Maddy, who won and when did the Battle of Quebec happen?" Still trying to regain her composure, she straightened up in her seat. Maddy was trying to formulate a coherent answer, when Mr. Nevalle stopped her by lightly tapping her desk with his ruler. "The answer: who is Canada and when is December 31, 1775. But do not fret, Miss Smith. You'll have all detention to spruce up on Canada's history." Mr. Nevalle curled his arms in like a T-Rex and huffed. He started to shimmy his way through the desks and back to the front of the room when Maddy's outburst stopped him.

"Today?!" she jumped up, leaning forward on her desk as if the idea made her feel weak-kneed. She gestured to the window, where it looked like the snow shower was transforming into a white-out.

"Of course. I don't schedule my detentions at the convenience of the culprit." He flopped into his chair and recommended the class start on their research papers.

Maddy dropped back into her chair and pusher her hands into her hair. She wanted to scream, stomp her feet, hit something. Maddy tilted her head back instead and looked at the tile ceiling. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see someone watching her.

It was Robert. He looked to be quietly laughing at her before shaking his head and returning to his work. His bangs swayed gently in his face as he tilted his head down and focused on his work.

'What is it with this guy?' she thought to herself, refusing to work on her paper. Robert Abernathy, she learned, was the son of the business tycoons that opened Elk Ridge Resort. Robert, by himself, was wealthier than the entire student body. This made him instantly popular and well liked.

The bell rang and students started to clean up and exit the room. As Maddy started to make her way out of class, she passed her teacher's desk. "Remember – "he started to speak.

"I know, I know. Your classroom. Here. After school. I know," she cut off. She left his classroom and was immediately greeted by Robert.

"You know, the detention-thing is avoidable? You just need to stop spacing-out during class. I know they're not the most fascinating teachers . . . or even people, but you know . . ."

"Oh, shut up." Maddy shoved past Robert and headed to her next class. As Maddy rushed through the double doors, she could hear Robert jogging to catch up with her. Maddy was hoping for a little time to collect herself, but with him getting closer and closer, she was confident alone time was the last thing she was going to find.

-WolfBlood-

It felt as if she were moving through static from a bad television set. Maddy held her hand out, watching the snow collect into a little pile on her fingerless gloves. The young Wolfblood grumbled as she began her walk home. Her parents were only able to afford one car, which her mother used to go to work. Emma wasn't out of work until five o'clock, which made a ride home impossible. Truthfully, she didn't care. The time she spent walking allowed her to decompress from a long day of perpetual irritation. Maddy stopped as she heard approaching footsteps. The snow crunched under the weight of a man. Maddy smelled the air again, the cologne was a dead giveaway.

"Hey," he called, holding his hand up as if signaling a taxi. Maddy waited for him to catch up, hoping whatever it was wouldn't prolong her for too long. "Holy shit, you're fast. Sure you didn't play sports back in England?" He was breathing as if he had just finished a marathon. Maddy considered ignoring him, but decided that if he was this driven to chase after her in a foot of snow, she wasn't going to lose him easily.

Robert was dressed in a navy blue car coat, designer jeans and shale colored tennis sneakers with the Calvin Klein insignia on the side. Instantly she thought of Jimi, and as much as he made her skin crawl, it reminded her of home. Maddy tried to disguise her frown as one of indifference, but she didn't feel confident in her charade.

"You all right?" he asked, leaning in a little to see her better. Maddy stepped back slightly to keep distance between them. Being this close was dangerous.

"I'm fine. What are you doing at school so late?" she replied, transferring her knapsack to her other shoulder.

"I'm president of the Yearbook Club. Meeting ran a little late." He smiled smugly, like she should have been impressed.

Maddy looked around and noticed an empty school lot. No one was here beside a few cars from teachers that were staying late. Robert was lying. If the Yearbook Club truly ended their meeting, where was everyone else? "You the president of yourself? Where is the rest of the club?"

Robert's eyebrows jumped in shock as he flubbed a response about being the only one to stay and clean up. Maddy nodded and turned to leave.

"Let me give you a lift home." As he finished speaking, a black Escalade pulled alongside them. Maddy eyed the large SUV as it stood proud against the storm.

"Thanks, but I'm good." She started to head back towards home, but was stopped again.

"It's a blizzard! Come on, it will be just you and me." He opened the back door and gestured for her to hop in. Classical music played and the heat from the car was very enticing, but still Maddy declined.

"I like the walk," she said flatly.

"Are you serious?!" he exclaimed. His face was a mix of aggravation and shock. Maddy flinched. She didn't mean to be this rude, but she couldn't – she wouldn't take his offer. "Don't be so stubborn and let me drive you home. It's really cold. You don't have to walk home."

Before she realized it, the words toppled out. "Why do you care?" Maddy had subconsciously stepped closer, but not toward the SUV, instead toward Robert. "What's in it for you? I've seen the people you typically hang with, I'm not one of them. I can't imagine I'm that interesting."

Robert's mouth dropped, completely dumbfounded by her response. Maddy felt ashamed of her behavoir. She was coming off completely ungrateful and inconsiderate, but even knowing that she couldn't stop herself. A pain throbbed inside her chest, and she instinctively covered her heart with one of her hands.

She felt the burn of letting people in. She missed the sleepovers at Shannon's house and helping Tom study for midterms. She missed running through the moors with her friends, the mystery beast chasing them. She missed Rhydian and sitting next to him outside at the school picnic tables, or playing as wolves do on full moons. She even missed Jana and her unsolicited opinions. She missed Stonybridge and the smell of her home, the history and lineage. Her trip down memory lane was interrupted by Robert's voice.

"Exactly, you're not one of them. I guess," he paused and shrugged his shoulders. "I was looking for someone to commiserate with . . . another outcast." Robert sighed. "Never mind."

Maddy stumbled back, his words catching her off guard. 'How can he be an outcast? He has a hoard of friends,' she thought.

"I will not bother you again. Forget about it." His words were filled with hurt and frosted in anger. He saluted her good bye and climbed inside the SUV, signaling to the driver to move on. Just before he closed the door, Robert turned to her. "You know, you're wrong. You are interesting. I hate to tell you this, but try as you will, you can't hide that."

The car door closed and the SUV slowly entered the street. As the vehicle disappeared, Maddy tilted her head back and groaned. She really wanted to scream. More than that, she wanted to howl. Her heart hurt to the point she felt it was going to explode into millions of pieces. Looking back ahead, she continued forward. Her legs relied completely on muscle memory to guide her home as her mind was distracted by Robert's words playing over and over in her head.

-End Chapter 2

*Thank you for reading. Please leave a review.*

Side note: thanks to everyone who reviewed and added my story to their favorites/watch list. Not everyone has an account, so unfortunately, I cannot thank you personally. I did want to address some questions left by reviews from last chapter. Please see below.

luckyduck22 - I know I have addressed your questions through PM, but I decided to also answer it here too. I picture Segolia as more of a secret organization called upon for emergencies. So, no the Smith's wouldn't have direct contact with them on a daily or monthly basis. If Segolia were needed to help the Smith family again, I feel that certain channels would need to be worked through to reach them. In regards to Robert . . . well, he's has secrets of his own.

I hope you all will continue to read my story. I've already completed most of the next chapter. As a fun little teaser: Something unexpected happens to Maddy and as a result, she'll get an offer she can't refuse.

Thanks, Harley