Revamped!

[I love how a bunch of the reviews are saying that Wolf is a cinnamon bun because he really is.]

The Big Bad Wolf: Part Seven

Another morning before school and The Wolf Pack stands outside the building, leaning against the school's walls as they take an early morning smoke. The Pack itself, Derrick and José haven't asked Wolf about his connections with Scarlet Benoit since they figured that Wolf would tell them nothing. They have no problems with Scarlet. She was threatening in general but not a direct threat to them. And they know better than to anger a waitress at a diner they like. They knew she could be scary when she wants and has a kind-of insane grandmother who was once in the Air Force for the European Federation. Nevertheless, it was weird for their alpha to have a sudden interest in the girl.

"Do you have a plan for Thorne?" Derrick asks.

Wolf shrugs. "I don't care about getting Thorne anymore."

"What?! But, Wolf, we need the money."

"There are other ways to get money. How about being a bartender or a pizza delivery guy?"

Derrick and José are speechless. Before, Wolf was a stickler for getting the money people owed him. Now, there was a sudden change of ideology for him which his Pack doesn't seem to understand, especially since the moment Thorne ran away, Wolf was the one who chased him through some neighbourhoods.

"Thorne won," Wolf states. "It wasn't the right way but he was able to get away with cheating until we collected the cards."

"What happened to always being honest during our poker games?" José questions.

"What ever happened to no smoking on school property?" Wolf asks.

And with that, Wolf throws his cigarette the ground and exhales all the smoke out of his system before charging right into school. The Pack looks at each other suspiciously, wondering what their next move should be.

-o-

Later in the day, the Pack is at their usual hangout aka Cress's locker without their leader. This time, Cress doesn't have to ask them politely to move since they're standing at the nearby window and not actually in front of her locker. She can finally get to her locker liberally which she loves. Having them stand beside her locker isn't a big deal for her since she doesn't own the wall. It just bothers her when they feel the new to stand right in front of her locker.

"Is it just me or is Wolf getting softer?" José questions Derrick rhetorically. "His decision to not get Thorne anymore is still a shock to me."

Cress purposely fixes her long hair so it falls over her face to cover the smile approaching her face. Thorne is no longer a wanted man which makes her happy. Maybe that'll teach him not play poker with The Wolf Pack, especially cheat in those games.

"But we need the money," Derrick says.

"Wolf's the alpha," José states. "I'm sure he'll come up with the money, even if we have to pull some strings to get it."

-o-

Late into the evening, Scarlet finishes her shower and steps out, hearing a knock on the door. On her toes, Scarlet quickly wrings out her hair and throws on her clothes. Scarlet bounces to the door as she forces her jeans on. They're finally buttoned once she reaches the door. She opens it and feels a bit happy to see Wolf on the other side, especially since there's no car in the driveway. He actually walked all the way here to see her.

"Hi," Scarlet says.

"Hi," Wolf replies.

He watches as her hair drips onto her shirt. Seeing her as fresh as a new day makes Wolf feel as if he's woken up only now. Whereas from Scarlet's eyes, seeing this boy with his dark hair and edges makes her feel as if the night has only just begun.

"Not breaking into my tomato garden?" Scarlet questions as a joke.

Wolf laughs a little. "I only do that at night."

Scarlet leans against the door, her face closer to his. Wolf doesn't move back. He takes a breath and can now smell her shampoo. He didn't picture her for a citrus girl but it works.

"Way to be creepy, you big bad Wolf..." Scarlet whispers to him.

Wolf would be lying if said he didn't like that. He has to hold himself back by biting on the inside of his cheek.

"I'm actually about to go pick up a package," Scarlet says, noticing his face drop a little. "But if you want, you could just chill here for a bit and wait until I get back. Nobody else is here. It's only a twenty-minute walk from here."

"Sure, I guess," Wolf says.

"Great," Scarlet says as she opens the door for him and she steps out. "Make it ten minutes because I might just run for you."

-o-

Cress walks home from the grocery store, holding a bag of a few items. It's getting dark and her heart rate is picking up. She hums to herself, thinking of what her inner ninja would do in case of an attack. She has her groceries which she could swing as a battering ram and the whistle on her keychain. Or she could scream and make a run for it.

She looks ahead and sees Derrick and José. Her gut tells her to walk the other way but if what Thorne said about her being too much of an innocent shell is true, then she should be fine. Besides, if she doesn't look scared, then they'll likely ignore her.

"We could use that Benoit girl as ransom," Derrick says. "We'll exchange her for money from Wolf. He obviously has a thing for her."

Cress immediately stops in her tracks and hides behind a tree. Her body's shaking at what she just heard. Judging by the fact that the Pack hasn't approached her current hiding spot yet indicated that they didn't notice her.

"My contact at the post office says that Scarlet should be dropping by to pick up a package," José adds. "How do we get Wolf from there?"

"He's Wolf," Derrick responds cynically. "He'll be following around Little Red in no time."

As they run off, Cress takes a peek from behind the tree just to make sure the coast is completely clear before coming out. She drops her groceries and quickly messages her dad to tell him that she'll be coming home late since she'll be at a friend's house. Cress then picks up her groceries and dials Scarlet's number as she begins running.

-o-

Wolf sits on Scarlet's couch with an ice-cold can of soda he got from her refrigerator. She gave him permission to help himself while she was out. While sipping his drink, he wonders what he's doing here in Scarlet's house. His obvious feelings for her feel so sudden but maybe they haven't. Sure, he's known Scarlet for a while but she was nothing more than just a classmate or another face in the halls, or even a waitress at The Rampion.

It started when the Blackburn girl came. Not Cinder but the other one, the one with the scars who he with his Pack ambushed on the first day. (He believes her name is Winter). Scarlet stood up for her and told the Pack off when nobody else did. Everyone else saw that day as just another beautiful girl in a spectacle but Scarlet pushed the Pack aside and defended Winter even though she was new and nobody knew her.

Then it was the tip jar where she bluntly said she just wanted his money and didn't care about his problems. Suddenly, the blood came and it was suddenly the moment she was bandaging his wound up on the kitchen counter where she basically slapped the shit out of him and his actions.

"The things that woman is doing to me..." Wolf grumbles, crushing the now-empty can in his hand. What would they even do when she got back?

He hears something ringing. Wolf escapes his thoughts to find the noise. He moves some papers on the Ottoman and sees Scarlet's cell phone which she left behind. He ignores it at first since it's none of his business but the calls keep coming so he picks up.

The person on the other end is screaming in a frenzy. Wolf drops the phone on the ground in shock, still being able to hear the screaming from the ground.

"Hey!" Wolf yells to get the person on the other end to stop screaming which works. It's now pin-drop silent on the other end. "Scarlet isn't here but she went to go pick up a package. She left her phone at home but she should be back soon. Who's this?"

Cress Darnel: It's Cress. Who's this?

"It's Wolf. I'll be sure to tell Scarlet you called."

Wolf is about to hang up but the continued screaming causes him to put the phone back to his ear.

Cress Darnel: Scarlet's in trouble!

"What?!" Wolf screams into the phone but the call ends abruptly.