Chapter 16

Monday 1stSeptember 2014

Dinner my second night is completely different. Students sit wherever they want, and the noise levels are phenomenal. There isn't a staff member in sight, and I'm starting to get seriously concerned about the teaching methods in this school.

I mean we're basically allowed to do anything we want; how has nobody injured themselves yet?

Wait, they probably have, and it's just that no one talks about it. Just as I'm really starting to fill my own head with covered up tragedies and conspiracies, a sharp pain lances through my leg.

I look up and glare at Mai. What is with her and kicking me? She jerks her chin toward the air above my shoulder and I turn my head, confused. There standing next to me is Cloud, and from the amused expression on his face, he's been trying to talk to me.

"Uh, hi." I flush, embarrassed. I hope he hasn't been there for too long.

He grins at me. "Hey. Mind if I join you guys?"

"Of course," I say quickly, scooting over on the bench to make room for him.

"Keen for the party?" he asks, stepping over the bench and sitting down. Our thighs brush a little, sending pleasant tingles through me at the contact.

I stare at him blankly for a moment, not understanding. His ever-growing amusement tells me that I should already know exactly what he's talking about.

"Remember in the stables this morning when I told you about the party tonight…?" he prompts slowly, as if he's reminding a toddler to say 'please' and 'thank you'.

It takes me a moment longer before finally clicking onto the memory. I had obviously pushed it to the back of my mind after all the excitement today.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm still not convinced about the whole 'secret party in a storage shed' thing."

Mai and Cloud both laugh at me. "Relax," Mai tells me, her eyes crinkling in mirth. "The teachers all know about it – there are a bunch of different parties that students throw during the year, and the teachers always seem to know about it – they just don't care."

I stare at them both. "What kind of bloody school is this? Don't parents freak when they find out what their kids get away with?"

My friends exchange looks. Cloud clears his throat. "Well, most of our parents are dead, and the ones who are left don't care what we do as long as we stay out of trouble and help out at home during the holidays. The teachers are here to teach us, not babysit us. Or so they like to remind us anyway."

I'm gob smacked. It's just as well this isn't a government-funded school; they'd get shut down in an instant if they were!

"This place is nuts," I mutter to myself.

Cloud nudges me with his shoulder. "You're probably the only student here who actually wants the teachers to be strict. Maybe you're not as cool as I thought…" He has this mockingly thoughtful expression on his face as he appraises me, like I'm some weird insect he's never seen before and I mildly repulse him, but at the same time I'm interesting because I'm a bright color or something.

I roll my eyes at his dramatics, shouldering him back slightly harder than necessary. "Shush, you."

He laughs and stands.

I look up at him, confused. Did I scare him off or something? Trust me to let my guard down to joke around and end up annoying him instead.

He gives me a pointed look. "It's our turn for food."

Oh. I knew that!

Blushing furiously, I follow him, Mai and the other third grader's (God, it sounds like a primary school, not a high school for were-children) to the buffet table, thankfully without any more embarrassing mishaps on my part. My stomach grumbles loudly as I take a plate and survey the food laid out before me.

After about five minutes' deliberation, I settle on spinach and ricotta ravioli with a carbonara sauce and chuck a couple pieces of garlic bread on top for good measure.

Mai stares at my plate when I take my place with them again. "Are you vegetarian?" she asks, confused. "Because I could have sworn you had lasagna last night… and we had barbeques all the time at the hunting cabins."

I notice her plate is piled high with a variety of different meat-based foods, and a glance at Cloud's told me that his was the same, just loaded higher than hers.

"Uh, not really," I say in reply to her question. "I just love spinach and ricotta?"

Mai is still looking between our three plates and frowning to herself. "I never usually eat this much, I didn't even really realize."

She looks up at us and Cloud catches her eye, a strange expression on his face. They exchange a meaningful look that I have no chance of deciphering. Then Mai's face falls and she almost looks scared.

I frown, looking back and forth between them, trying to work out what had just happened. "What's wrong?" I finally ask when I realize I'm not going to get any answers otherwise.

Mai is staring down at her fork, hovering over her plate, as if she was suddenly afraid it would blow up if she touched it. "My birthday," she whispers, "is in exactly two weeks."

I blink, uncomprehending of what she was saying.

Cloud notices my blank expression. "The closer it is to the First Change, the more noticeable the changes in your body and behavior." He turns to look at Mai closely, as if he's trying to peer under the surface of her skin from the intensity of his stare alone. "Often the first and most obvious change is emotional. Outbursts, unnecessary anger, violent urges; it all depends on the person and how strong the wolf genes are," he says.

"Appetite is another common indicator, with massive increases of cravings for carbohydrates and protein, often in the form of meats or dairy products," Mai says slowly, looking back up at us. I can see tears glistening in her eyes.

They both speak as if they're reciting from a textbook, and it sends weird shivers down my spine. Is this the type of thing I'm going to have to learn here? The signs and symptoms of becoming a werewolf? Do they even call themselves werewolves?

Is it rude of me to have been expecting one of my classes to be titled Werewolves 101?

"Uhm, I'm gonna go back to the room. I'll see you guys at the party," Mai says, standing. Leaving her untouched plate on the table, she exits the hall quickly.

I turn to Cloud when she's out of sight. "Is she going to be okay?" I ask, worried about my new friend.

He's in the process of shoving food in his mouth and I impatiently wait for him to chew and swallow. "Yeah, she'll be fine," he says finally. "It's hard for all of us when we realize how much is actually going to change. You know, I actually put on at least forty pounds before my First Change because I was eating that much."

I raise my eyebrows as I look him up and down. "You seem to have recovered from that nicely," I say, admiring him for speaking about it so casually. Some people hate discussing weight gain; myself included.

He looks at me oddly for a moment before snorting and cracking a grin. "I don't mean that I got some extra curves. I mean that I used to be a lanky, awkward kid until I hit our version of a second puberty, and gained the extra weight in muscle."

Ohhhh. Well, that's embarrassing. On my part, that is.

I can't help but take a good look at him again, this time focusing on the wiry muscle that stands out against his tan skin. He's nowhere near as buff as some of the other guys I've seen around this place (mostly the older students) but he still looks like he could take on a mountain lion and live to tell the tale.

"I would ask if you've finished checking me out yet," Cloud drawls, causing me to blush. "but I actually quite enjoy it, so by all means, please continue." He winks at me, nudging me slightly with his shoulder.

The contact raises goose bumps to the surface of my skin and butterflies erupt in my stomach. Hell, forget the butterflies, there's a whole freaking zoo in there at the moment.

I give him a shy smile and busy myself with my food. He does the same after a moment, and we don't say much more until both plates are empty and I feel like I'm gonna burst.

"You want a can of soda?" Cloud asks, standing with our plates in his hands, Mai's on top.

"Uh, sure. Thanks."

He smiles down at me and disappears to wherever he plans to get the cans from. I fiddle with my phone, quickly texting Mom and Sky to let them know classes are starting tomorrow but I'm settling in fine so far.

I debate texting Mai to see if she's alright, but figure she probably just needs some time to herself to think things through. I can't help but compare the situation to a death sentence; knowing exactly what is to come, complete with an exact date, but powerless to stop or postpone it.

Cloud arrives a moment later with the promised cans of soda. "I had to get Coke; they were out of everything else," he explains, as if I would have a problem with the red and white vessel of heavenly bubbles.

"That's okay, Coke's my favorite," I say, standing to join him and accept the drink.

"Duly noted," he says, grinning. "Hey, you wanna go for a walk or something before lock down?"

"Lock down?" I repeat, puzzled. Maybe this is a prison in disguise after all.

"Just what we call it when the teachers pretend to impose upon us a curfew, but secretly know that none of us are going to actually stay in our rooms."

"But what about those key pad things they have on the doors of the dorms?" I ask. "Mai said we get locked out if we aren't back before the time we're supposed to be in our rooms."

Cloud raises an eyebrow at me. "She did give you the passcode didn't she?" he asks purposely.

"Oh, yeah," I say, recalling the scrap of paper Mai'd handed me yesterday. Man I'm doing such a great job of making myself look like an idiot. Good thing these guys are basically stuck with my stupid ass.

Cloud nudges me playfully. "Don't look so serious all the time. I'm not going to run screaming if you say the wrong thing, you know."

I appreciate him saying it, but I still can't bring myself to fully believe it. "Sure, but you don't really have much of a choice being in the same peculiar situation and all." I bite my lip, not really meeting his eyes, instead focusing on where I'm walking.

We'd made our way across the quad and were heading to one of the pavilion things that were strategically placed around the grounds. It's the perfect place to sit and study, or have a potentially awkward conversation with a would-be boyfriend.

He stops me before the steps up into the shelter with a gentle hand on my arm. "It's not like that, Serenity," he says, trying to catch hold of my reluctant gaze. "Ever since I heard Luca and the guys talking about you the first time they met you I wanted to meet you for myself."

I look up at him in surprise, and I'm caught off-guard by the intensity of his scrutiny. Butterfly wings brush my insides, and I fight the urge to laugh. This whole thing is just so absurd that I honestly cannot believe it's happening.

Back in Santa Monica I had never felt butterflies around a guy before. Hell, I've never felt anything for a guy before, and here I am all caught up in my feelings for this guy that I barely know. Is it even possible to fall in love with someone after only a few weeks of knowing them? How do I even know what the difference between love and infatuation?

I tear myself away from him and walk up the steps to the pavilion. I'd never seen one in person before, only ever reading about them in books, but they're pretty much like a gazebo, or pergola, or whatever you want to call it.

Leaning on the railing facing out towards the 'Pond', I try to pretend that I don't hear Cloud come up beside me. I try to pretend that my skin doesn't prickle when his arm brushes mine slightly. And I sure as hell try to pretend that I'm not thinking about the way his lips feel on mine or how safe I feel in his arms.

"You know the first night we met I couldn't stop staring at you," Cloud says softly. Subconsciously, I hold my breath, afraid if I made a sound that he would stop talking. "You looked so beautiful, your long hair all knotted from the wind with little leaves from the forest stuck in it." He chuckles to himself and I stare up at him, enraptured by the sound.

"You were the first one to introduce yourself," I say, smiling at the memory. Quiet, mysterious Cloud, offering me a drink like the perfect gentleman.

He smiles sheepishly. "You looked so lost, and everyone else was too chicken," he says, brushing it off.

"I don't think I ever properly thanked you for that."

He cocks an eyebrow at me. "It was nothing, really. More self-serving than anything, because I desperately wanted to know more about you." His boyish grin makes me crack a smile, but I'm not fooled by his lightheartedness.

"And what about now? Have you found out everything you wanted to know?" I ask, a silent challenge as I turn to face him fully.

He's leaning towards me, the details of his ethereal face becoming more defined the closer he gets. "I have a feeling I've barely scratched the surface."

I close the distance between us, my hands on the back of his neck pulling his lips to mine easily. He responds immediately and I'm grateful to know we're on the same wavelength.

Warmth courses through me, sparked by his touch. His arms snake around my waist, pulling me tightly against him. I'm consumed by the feeling, floating on the high of knowing that he actually wants me.

He's the first to pull away and I pout up at him, my arms still looped around his neck.

"Before we get too carried away, there's something that I wanted to talk to you about," he says, nervous.

Still caught up in the moment, I just look up at him expectantly, having no inkling of what he's got in mind. It's cute really, the way he gets this little crease between his eyebrows when he's worried or thinking about something.

"Well, see… I was wondering ifyouwanttobemygirlfriend?" It all comes out in a rush, and he sucks in a huge breath.

It takes me a moment to comprehend what he's said, and when I do I can't help the huge smile that breaks across my face. "I'm sorry, what was that?" I ask teasingly.

I don't think he realizes that I'm joking because he seems to be bracing himself to repeat what he'd said. "It's okay, I heard," I rush to assure him. "And of course I will be."

The massive grin on his face makes me swell with so much happiness I can feel it in my toes. "Really?" he asks, unable to stop the happiness in his voice.

"Really really," I respond, laughing. "Do you wanna skip that party tonight and just hang out instead?" I suggest, not really feeling up to big crowds of people.

"I was literally just going to suggest that," he says, pulling me into another kiss.