11

Hayden

I was sitting in class, an hour after the charity run, smiling at how close I'd become to Dawn, and how happy she seemed. It made me lightheaded.

In a good way.

"Hayden," I heard someone call. Snapping out of my daze, I searched around for the owner of the voice. My eyes landed on a person leaning towards me, swivelled around in the chair just in front of me.

"Oh, hi Caitlyn," I replied, still grinning sheepishly to myself.

"You look happy," she commented.

"That's because I am."

"How come?"

"Can't a guy be happy these days?"

She laughed, "Nope. It's not allowed anymore, haven't you heard?"

"I had no idea!" I exclaimed in fake shock.

"Yep. Have to be miserable from now on."

I winked, "Well, I've always been a rule breaker."

"I can tell," she giggled. My mind snapped to Dawn's encouragement to ask Caitlyn out on a date. I didn't want to, not at all. But maybe if I did, Dawn would become jealous and realise how she felt towards me. I considered it. One date couldn't hurt, could it? It'd be enough to make Dawn envious, but short enough that I could end it quickly with Caitlyn, no questions asked— because it was only one date.

"Caitlyn," I started, slightly cringing as my wolf snapped harshly at me for looking at a girl who wasn't our mate. "Do you want to go on a date with me?"

"That depends," she replied.

I raised my eyebrows, "On?"

"On if you're asking me out because you want to, or because Dawn's forcing you to," she stated.

"Okay," I formed my words slowly, figuring out what to say, "I admit that Dawn did have some influence on me asking you out-"

"I thought so-"

"But, only because she told me that you kind of like me, and I wasn't sure if you did," I finished.

She looked surprised and happy simultaneously, "...Oh."

I laughed, "Yeah, so you should be thanking her."

"Thanking her? What if I don't want to go out with you?" she challenged.

I shrugged, "Well then I guess I'd have to eat all those Reese's Pieces by myself..." I could see her resolve weakening at my hint.

"Oh, but you're fat enough already," she teased.

"Then I'll need you to stop me from eating them all alone," I said.

She rolled her eyes, "Sunday?"

"Give me your address and I'll see you at two?" She handed me her phone and I copied her address into my own phone. Caitlyn beamed at me as I pretended to focus on my work.

I was really dreading Sunday.

>>

Dawn

It was Lunch, and I was sitting with the girls, smiling as Sheila told us a ridiculous rumour involving a twelve-year-old and a shark.

"You know that didn't really happen," Indie commented.

Sheila looked indignant. "Who says?"

"Sheila, that rumour is as reliable as Caitlyn's last boyfriend."

The whole table 'oohed' as Caitlyn blushed. "Hey, any girl would have fallen for Sean," she defended.

"Caitlyn, he flirted with all of us while he was dating you. And then he cheated on you— with your own cousin, stole money out of your purse and called your dad an asshole. Admit it; you have a terrible taste in boys."

We all laughed and nodded, agreeing, as Caitlyn blushed and looked down.

"My taste in boys must not be that bad," Caitlyn said.

We looked at her questioningly. "Oh really? Why?" Amy voiced the question for all of us.

"Hayden asked me out," she grinned. The rest of the girls squealed, and I tried to, but I couldn't. I don't know why, since I had been the one to push Hayden to do it, but it felt like someone had scraped the smile off my face. Was I...jea— no. I was not. At all.

"Now you'll be spending even more time with Hayden than Dawn does!" Amy said.

"Do you really spend that much time with him?" Caitlyn asked me. I frowned, about to answer, but Macy beat me to it.

"Hayden and Dawn are literally best friends, they're always together," she said.

"But-" I started, about to explain our relationship when I was cut off.

"But Hayden is romantically interested in me, whereas he's only platonically interested in Dawn," Caitlyn interrupted, facing Macy. Ouch, talk about a knife to the chest.

"Yeah," I said, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. "Exactly like that. Anyway, so when's the date?" I asked, changing the subject.

Caitlyn eyed me, "Oh I'm sure you already know— you've been my secret wingwoman this whole time!"

"I won't deny that I've been somewhat of a wingwoman, but he's done this all on his own," I laughed.

"It's on Sunday, and he said that he'll see me at two. Don't know where we're going or what we're doing, though. Oh, and he promised me Reese's Pieces, so we all know where he got that idea from," Caitlyn told us, and all the girls looked at me. I laughed and shrugged.

"Well I had to help the poor boy out, he was clueless!"

"I wouldn't call myself clueless, Danny." My eyes widened when I felt Hayden flick me on the back of the head.

"You were an inexperienced little boy when I met you," I teased as he sat down beside me, opposite Caitlyn.

"And you gave me the experience I needed then, did you? Really, Danny, don't you think I would have remembered that?" I glared at him as my cheeks heated up.

"Shut up, Denny."

"Danny and Denny, who came up with those nicknames?" Macy questioned.

"Sid calls me Danny and Hayden heard her, so now he calls me Danny to piss me off. I heard his dad call him Denny, so I call him Denny to piss him off. It all works out equal," I explained.

"Hopefully after this weekend I'll have a nickname for you, too, Caitlyn," Hayden winked. I watched her blush and giggle, trying not to feel my blood boil. What was wrong with me? Was it because he was taking my best friend away from me that I was feeling like this? But... Hayden was my best friend too. I didn't understand— it was all too confusing.

"Danny, are you gonna eat that?" Hayden asked, gesturing to my sandwich. Before I could answer, he picked it up and put it between his lips to take a bite. Instantly I snatched it out of his mouth and shoved it in mine.

"My sandwich," I glared dangerously at him. He held his hands up in surrender.

"Ew, Dawn! Haven't you heard of germs? He just put that in his mouth!" Amy cried. I just shrugged as Hayden put his chin on his hand and leaned forward.

"Don't worry, Amy, I don't have cooties anymore," he teased. We all laughed at Amy's childish expression.

Hayden wrapped his arm around my waist, causing Caitlyn's smile to fade. "It's okay, we're like brother and sister, sharing precious DNA. I have to admit, I think I did better on the gene front..." Hayden said, and elbowed him in the side as Caitlyn's smile returned.

Sitting beside Hayden, I couldn't help the heat waves washing over me. The boy was a human radiator! I slipped off my jacket and put it on the back of my chair, brushing my hair out over my shoulders and settling the pendant of my favourite necklace at the top of my cleavage. As I did so, Hayden reached over for my sandwich again. Annoyed, I grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

That was when I felt it. The pain.

I looked down at my chest, but there was nothing unusual.

All that was there was my necklace— featuring the silver head of some sort of tiger or wolf, attached to an ivory tooth —and a burning pain flaming in the flesh beneath it.