Chapter 6 - People Just Never Learn

Lunch was much like last time. He got his dinner and moved to an empty table, only just able to keep in control as the smell of the meat rose to his nose and blocked his other senses like an invisible coating. As he placed the rounded tray on the table (he'd kept hold of his own tray to stop himself destroying another one), he picked up his knife and fork and carefully cut a large chunk off the meat infront of him.

He hated being this slow when he had food in front of him and his stomach was grumbling noisily but it was for appearances and so he knew he had to keep his speed to a minimum. As he took a bite of the raw meat that he had indicated, he closed his eyes and felt the blood roll over his tongue and slide down his throat in delicious droplets.

Now, most lads would have been sick to taste blood from the animal but he loved it. It made the meat taste even nicer, he thought. It was probably due to the freak that he had become but, even then, he had always loved the flavour of raw meat ever since he was little. He never would have been able to be a vegetarian even if he'd wanted to. His parents always had trouble shoving vegetables down his throat...

He could feel his throat opening wider, begging for more meat. He had enough strength to take it slow but really, with his stomach complaining with the teasing, his eyes watering with the wonderful strong animal smell, and the delicious mouth-watering look of it, his hands shook, not because he was changing but because he was holding himself completely back in case he showed his wild side other some stupid pieces of meat.

He was half way through it and still was no way full. They should have realised by now that he was a very hungry creature, and they should just pile half the meat up onto his plate to stop him coming back again and again, even thoug he refused to do so usually. He had a feeling they did it just to annoy him but as long as he got his food for his lunch he was happy and he wouldn’t complain.

He finished his meat and licked his lips with hunger. They tasted so nice that sometimes he’d make the mistake of biting his own lip instead of his food and he usually wouldnt notice until he brought his fingers to his mouth and saw red.

He saw a group of people coming in out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see Kristen and Laura, along with loads of girls and a few lads behind them as they entered the canteen after being in class. Again, Laura was laughing, her arm linked with Kristen’s like they were inseparable as they both chatted to people from either side of them. He shook his head and glanced down at his empty plate.

A stupid idea suddenly came to his mind, showing him running at them, grabbing Laura by the throat and biting down hard into her flesh, drinking the sweet blood that ran in her veins and tasting the wonderful tasty meat under the skin. Humans had to taste really good but he couldn’t bring himself to do that to find out. Although Laura was a pain, he didn't think that she deserved to be killed.

He wasn’t a murderer.

Sure, animals he would eat as humans ate them too, but he wouldn’t taste a human no matter how much he was tempted to. He supposed the smells that came from them should tempt him but, really, some of them were just horrible. The boys especially stunk. If they were supposed to be tempting then they weren't doing a good job. He'd rather eat proper food than munch on mud and papery flowers.

He could see from the corner of his eye that Kristen and Laura had sat down, both pulling out sandwiches and biscuits. They were passing food around and sharing stuff with everyone. Half the people hadn’t brought much so they didn’t have much to eat considering that there were loads of them. Laura, obviously, got most of it, but strangely Kristen seemed to only have a biscuit and a sandwich with a pear.

Matt frowned but no one saw. No one was looking at him, as usual. He would have thought that Kristen would have gotten just as much as Laura because she was Laura’s new ‘bait’. Obviously not. She didn’t even seem to be bothered about it either. Maybe she was on a diet, Matt thought, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

He continued to watch as they ate, laughing and joking away as they all stuffed their faces, Kristen picking at her sandwich but mostly talking instead of eating. She looked up once and saw Matt on the other table, who had glanced down at his plate as soon as he knew what she was going to do. Not wanting to wait much more for another helping, he got up and moved back into the line, grabbing more meat and rolling his eyes when one of them was brave enough to put peas on his plate.

The meat was gone in five seconds, completely and utterly gone, leaving the handful of peas at the side of the plate with unsatisfactional results. He sighed and licked the blood from his lips again. His stomach continued to growl, unimpressed by the lack of food it had had so far. It was so used to eating whole cows and foxes that his stomach was far too stretched to just be filled with little pathetic slices of meat that didn’t even reach the size of his hand.

Matt was only minding his own business and really couldn’t be bothered with cocky little annoying brats while he was still hungry. This, however, didn’t seem to radiate off of him. Every time he didn’t want to be disturbed, he was. This was the worst time to disrupt him because he was hungry and annoyed that the food couldn’t meet his requirements. This one boy, though, must have ignored the vibe that came from Matt and strolled right over, obviously trying to be cool in front of his mates.

Wanting him to just leave him alone, Matt ignored the boy standing in his way of his line of view to Kristen and scratched the knife against the tray, making an annoying scratchy noise that went through most people as a cringe. If he thought he was going to embarrass Matt in front of everyone he had another thing coming. Matt never got embarrassed, least of all by stupid little buggers who think they were God's gift.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He had to control himself so that he wouldn’t change. He could feel the awkward tension in the air, how at any minute it would turn silent and all of the students would turn and look at them. That’s what the boy was waiting for. He knew the tricks all too well so even this boy didn't surprise him anymore.

A horrible smell of worms and soil wafted under Matt’s nose and he grimaced. He wished that the boys could have a nicer smell instead of stinking of earth. He wasn’t even looking at the boy yet he knew exactly what he looked like. Dark short hair was sticking out all over his head like a porcupine, small spots just under the rim of his hair line, large lips that must have been kissed a few times because Matt had seen this boy before with several girls all in one week. The boy wasn't even worth Matt's wasted breath.

“Oi.” He was greeted with and Matt reluctantly glared up at the boy. “How’s it going, weirdo?”

Matt gritted his teeth and said nothing, forcing his hands to stay still. He concentrated on the table; it wasn’t a good idea to get angry in the middle of a crowded room.

“Oi. I’m talking to you.” The boy flicked a large crumb at Matt and smirked as Matt glared up at the annoying nit. “You deaf?”

Matt grumbled inside and continued to concentrate on his breathing. He hated turning, especially if he got angry during the day. Changing meant he had to work to calm himself down and switch again, leaving ruined clothes in the process. Also, if he changed when it was turning dark before actually turning automatically, he was a wolf for longer, and he hated that. He hated the monster he became, singling him out in the abnormal sense. Changing during the day was a difficult process. He needed to concentrate while being in his wolf form and seeing as he was an animal, it was easier said than done.

The boy twitched his eye brow up and raised his voice slightly. “Hey. Im talking to you, stupid.” He braved closer and began moving around the table towards Matt, who growled under his breath and glanced at the people now stopping to watch. Why such a show? He was the stupid one. He didn’t realise how easily his neck could be snapped, his head ripped off in a single rip across his throat with special sharp teeth. Hadn't he learnt from the day before that it was pointless messing with him?

The boy continued. “What’s your name, stupid? Matt, isn't it?”

Matt growled as his name flicked across the boy’s tongue. He wanted to bite it off so that the boy could never utter a word again.

“Well, Matt. Apparently you’re not to be messed with. You don’t look very scary to me, eh?” He winked and moved closer, raising his voice louder. Though the boy was putting on a show, Matt could tell that he was nervous. His poor little heart was beating a hundred times a minute.

More people stopped and glanced towards the show, getting more interested now. There was passed whispers and murmurs around the canteen and Matt rolled his eyes. He was definitely not in the mood for show-offs.

“Are you deaf? Hello?!”

The boy was close to Matt now, almost touching him. He was extremely aware at how easy it would be to take this boy down, not really caring too much any more about the audience. Personal space was what Matt liked and this boy was invading that.

Matt glanced up from the table with a growl vibrating in his throat. The whole canteen had gone quiet. Laura’s table had gone silent, except Laura, of course, who was murmuring quickly into Kristen’s ear. He locked eyes with Kristen and they communicated without words. She didn’t blink and continued to stare at him with wary interested eyes. The boy seemed to be blocked out for a moment and all Matt could do was watch Kristen’s dark eyes linger on his face.

“Checking out the new girl, are you?” The boy laughed and Matt grounded his teeth more, dropping his eyes to the table. He was crumbling. “No offence, but she is no where near your league. Try one of the ugly nerds.” The boy patted Matt’s shoulder and laughed loudly, pushing his head back in a bellow.

Matt snapped.

The physical contact was what had done it, though mentioning Kristen had really annoyed him. He didn’t know why. It just had. The boy didn’t deserve to speak her name. He had to be honest, he was no where close to Kristen and would probably never have a chance with her so he could talk. It wasn't as if Matt wanted her in that sense. He didn't want anyone in that sense. He preferred to be by himself, like he told everyone whenever they approached him.

Matt was off his chair and strangling the boy before he even realised it himself. Well, it was better than changing, that was for sure. However, the boy was going blue, especially now that he was dangling in mid air, so Matt had to loosen up at least a little so he didn’t actually kill him. He had to remember that his strength could easily smash the boy's neck into pieces if he pushed any harder. Already he could see a line of pink skin under his fingers on the boy's neck.

“You know, Its very rude to disturb people when they’re eating.” Matt growled and tensed his fingers as the boy gulped with the struggle to get air. He made a strange noise and gripped onto Matt’s hand to try and loosen it.

“I…cant…breathe.” He gasped and swallowed again, his adam's apple hitting Matt's fingers.

Matt tilted his head to the side and studied him with a smirk. “What’s your name, boy?”

The boy whispered something. Matt heard but he asked again just so everyone else could hear.

“Justin!” He gasped and struggled in Matt’s grasp. Matt raised an eyebrow and squeezed gently, making Justin groan as he breathed. He noticed the teachers around the sides of the canteens, watching, too scared to do anything in case Matt turned on them too, which he would. After last year they definitely knew he would.

No one moved.

“Well, Justin. Maybe this will make you think twice about trying to be cocky to me. Am I scary now?” Matt moved Justin closer to him and breathed in his face, opening his lips so that he teeth ginted in the canteen light. He could still smell the earth but the anger was kind of blocking it out. His unused hand that lay against his side twitched with the wolf that was bursting to be set free on this waste of space formerly known as Justin.

He nodded and swallowed again, a tear forming in the corner of his eye.

“Good. You obviously don’t get the message.” Matt raised his voice so that the rest of the canteen crowd could hear. “When someone says they want to be alone, they mean it. I don’t sit on my own for people to come over and start talking to me about some rubbish that I couldn’t care less of. This is why you don’t go up to people and just start having a go. Now, you wont do it again, will you?” Matt squeezed on Justin's windpipe and Justin choked. “Will you?” He repeated.

Justin made a small whisper and gasped again as he turned literally bright blue.

“Good.” Matt hissed and dropped Justin to the floor. He gasped and stroked his bruised neck, coughing and spluttering as the air reached his lungs in a struggled gust. Slowly,Matt began to move away, wanting to run to make sure that if he did accidentally change then he would be safe and no one would see him.

He didn’t, though, and just strolled out of the canteen, every eye on him, including Kristen’s. He could see her in the corner of his eye, shifting in her seat nervously, hesitantly, as if she wanted to follow him. Why she would want to do that, Matt didn’t know. He’d just shown how quickly he lost his temper and what happened to people who tried to test him. If she had any sense she would back off now and leave him alone, which was definitely what he wanted.

Well that was his wonderful lunch ruined by a stupid kid, he thought angrily as he stormed into the corridor and breathed out in a hard breath. He needed to calm down. It was over and that was it. He couldn’t change in college, in daylight, in front of people, though most were in the canteen. Either way, he would be seen and that was the last thing he wanted.

His fist whacked into the corridor wall as he groaned with anger. It was good to let it out but he still had to keep control. His chest rose and fell as he pulled in deep breaths. He whacked the wall again and felt it vibrate violently under his hand, just about staying in one piece, before he placed his forehead on it and closed his eyes, sucking in a gasp, his legs spread shoulder width apart.

“Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself.”

Matt’s eyes snapped open and he jumped, whacking the wall this time by accident. He stood up straight in a second and glared at his intruder. It would only be one person. How did she sneak up on him? Even his nose wasn’t helping. Now that he thought about it, the sweet smelling raspberries fluttered around him and he breathed in, his nose twitching with the stench. Better late than never, he guessed.

“Im sorry.” She whispered. Kristen was stood with her hands knotted together in front of her, her eyes down on the floor, hair sprayed over her shoulder and down her back, her feet close together. She looked so vulnerable. Good. She was.

Matt snorted and rolled his eyes. She was never going to go away was she?! He turned his back on her and took a few steps more down the corridor, hoping she’d get the hint. Was she that stupid? He’d just had an argument and - if you can call it one - a fight with this boy, so he was obviously going to be pretty angry and annoyed.

She had some guts going to look for him, leaving her friends back in the canteen. They were going to get suspicious at some point as to where she was going. No doubt Laura would soon find out regardless. Kristen wasn't exactly sneaky about meeting him, regardless of whether he wanted to see her or not.

“Hey,” She caught up with him and he closed his eyes just long enough for it not to be counted as a blink. She didn’t touch him though, which he was grateful for. He was still angry and if she did touch him he would snap again and who knew what would happen to her. Nothing good, that’s for sure. “I know you’re not in a good mood. No wonder you're annoyed. That boy was a jerk.”

He ignored her and carried on walking, taking large strides. At this rate he was going to end up running out of the corridor just to get away from her. He saw her lick her lips out of the corner of his eye and her hands swayed by her sides, black nails twinkling back at him. He realised, suddenly, that her eyes were not brown, but black, like all of her pupil had taken over her eye colour. It startled him and he stopped and looked at her carefully.

It surprised her with his sudden stillness. She stopped and stared back at him with confusion, searching his own eyes for a moment. He glared at her suspiciously. Yes they were definitely black. That was weird. She had to have contacts in. It wouldn't surprise him if she did.

His eyes started to water and he looked away, walking again. He didn't want to concentrate on her any more than necessary. Her smell was so strong it was sickly. He couldn’t stand it. It was driving him crazy and giving him a headache.

She quickly moved back into strides with him. “What?” She asked and continued to watch him.

He ignored her and balled his hands into fists. She had to go. She had to. He couldn’t take it.

“Matt? Why wont you answer me? I know you don’t want to be friends; You keep telling me that, but a stupid fight with a boy hasn’t altered how I think of you.” Her hand twitched and he instantly made another step away from her. “I know you wont hurt me. I don’t understand.”

He had to laugh at that. It made her jump. How would she know that he wouldn’t hurt her? She didn’t know anything, anything, about him. She didn’t know what he was, what he could do to her at any moment he lost his temper. He had a secret and she wasn’t going to discover it any time soon no matter how much she tried. “Good. You don’t need to understand. Leave me alone.”

“Matt please! Im trying to be friends and you’re pushing me away! No wonder you’re so lonely. Don’t you ever want a friend who you can talk to about anything?” Her hand twitched again as if she wanted to touch him and his breath hissed through his teeth.

“No. I don’t.” He said simply.

They’d reached the end of the corridor. He cursed silently. He wasn’t going to get away from her unless he used his unnatural speed and ran away. He was too proud to do that. He didn’t run away from trouble, he faced it head on. Also, running away would only make people ask questions, Kristen especially, and he didn’t want to be bothered more. Instead, he stopped and leaned against the wall with his back, glaring at her with such ferociousness he saw the scared expression that she hid inside.

“No one can be lonely forever, Matt. Don’t you ever…” She swallowed and he cocked his head at her, unblinking. She took a breath and leaned on the opposite wall, which he appreciated. The smell was still strong but it was better than if she was right next to him. “Don’t you ever…I mean…Were you always this way? Before…”

It couldn’t have been possible, but his expression hardened even more and he gave her a loathing look before glancing away. He didn’t want to bring back memories of his past. Not anything that included his family. It would only make him in a fouler mood and he wouldn’t tell her anything anyway.

She saw his expression and this time she actually caught on. She hesitated but he glared back at her so she stayed where she was and fiddled with her hair instead. “I know it’s a touchy subject and if you don’t want to talk about it-”

“I don’t.” He growled and his knuckles turned white.

She blinked at him for a moment, watching him. “Im always here if you decide to-”

“I wont change my mind.” He muttered and folded his arms, glaring at the floor now. He was leaning over his legs and he still wasn’t her height.

She was silent a moment and then she sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, wafting that strong smell at him. He took a breath and held it, closing his eyes and breathing out again. The air was so stuffy when she was around and it made him feel really ill. Kristen watched, her eyes wide. “I wish I could have known you before…you know.” She fiddled with her nails next and avoided eye contact.

“Too bad. Im not that boy any longer.” His chest was going mad as the oxygen began to taste more and more of raspberries. He felt like he was about to faint and he hated it. He needed to stay in control. His breaths were deeper now to take the oxygen left.

“You could be. You don’t need to hide. Matt,” She adjusted herself and his eyes snapped onto her as she licked her lips, “you’re still that boy. Deep down, you still are. All of this,” She indicated him and he looked down at himself, “It’s a mask. You’ve been hurt and you’re hiding. You don’t always have to be the tough guy.”

“Like you said, you don’t understand.” He stood up straight, the smell becoming too much. He coughed and felt himself trying to gasp for air. She noticed and stepped forwards. “Don’t.” He gasped and bent over.

“Matt what is it? What’s wrong?” She stepped forward again.

“Don’t move!” He hissed and she jumped backwards. “I cant breathe with you around.” He struggled and took in a deep breath. Raspberries coated his lungs and he coughed again.

“What?” She frowned and smelled her hair.

“Step back. Please. I cant breathe.” He whispered and walked down the corridor hunched over towards the nearest opening to the yard. She followed anyway, which didn’t help matters.

“Matt. What is it? I haven’t done anything. Maybe you need to go to the hospital…”

“No.” He growled fiercely and pushed open the door. Cold air made him stagger back and he took in large deep breaths. He straightened up and opened up his lungs, coughing and wheezing like an old man but not caring about what he looked like. It was too much. Way too much. He couldn’t stand her. She smothered him, literally. “Leave me alone. Let me get my breath.”

“I…Smell?” She stepped back and smelt her hair, hurt in her voice and eyes. “Badly?”

He gasped in a few more breaths and then faced her. For some reason he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. That was so unlike him. He frowned at himself. Well, rephrase that, he wasn’t going to lie. It was a pathetic thing to lie about and it would damage her self confidence which would reduce the chance of her being confident enough to get new friends. That was what he convinced himself. Its not that her smell was bad; it was bad for him. It was way too strong for his nose to cope with and it seemed to be so much stronger than the others.

He shook his head. “Not badly.”

“Then what?” She looked puzzled.

He breathed again and closed his eyes. The cold oxygen air was nice on his chest and he sighed into the wind. “Raspberries. Very strong raspberries.”

“Raspberries? I don’t use any fruity stuff.” She frowned and backed off a step, thinking.

“You must do. Something. It’s so strong. Its smothering me.”

“Is that why you wont come near me?” She asked and bit her lip.

Matt took another breath, made sure the corridor was free for clean air and then closed the door, looking at her, standing up straight. He was silent for a moment. “Not the only reason.” He said quietly. He didn't want to make her feel bad but he couldn't lie. Although the smell was pleasant it was also way too overpowering. It wasn't the only reason why he didn't want to come near her but he wasn't going to express the other reasons to her in case she tried to change herself to get closer. He definitely didn't want that to happen.

Kristen was still thinking, her eyes calculating and watching him closely. Matt thought too.

Then it struck him.

Raspberries. They were a fruit. Not a plant. A fruit. That may have been why it was so strong for him. He’d never come across a fruity smell before. Boys smelt of earth and soil and autumn but girls normally smelt of flowers like roses. Not Kristen. She was different. She was a fruity smell. It confused him. Why was she so different? Though he'd picked up on it before, the idea finally made it's mark and caused him to stop and think carefully about the situation in front of him.

His mind wandered back to the wispy smoke while he had been a wolf. Things weren’t right. As soon as Kristen had arrived, the smoke had appeared. She was the only one who smelt of fruit. Come to think of it she didn’t appear very well on his radar either. She never changed her temperature no matter how close or far away she was. Something wasn’t right and he had to find out why. He was the wolf in the town, the protector against strange happenings he supposed. He could track down criminals and pass them in with just a few scratches saying that a wild animal had caught them really.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked and stepped forward, remembered, then stepped back again to give him more room. He was glad, though he hated to admit it.

“Nothing.” He folded his arms and looked down the corridor. She was strange but she wasn’t a threat to him. No matter what strange things she had that made her different, she wasn’t as different as him and he was a wolf, a danger to everyone, even her.

“Matt?”

“Look. I don’t know why Im still talking to you but I shouldn’t be. So go away and leave me alone. I need peace. We’re not friends because we cant be. Im sorry if that disappoints you so.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and his eyes flashed back at her.

“But…”

“Go away!” He stormed and pushed himself outside, leaving her stranded with shock on her face. Good. He thought he was breaking for a moment there. He had to watch what he was saying. Telling her she smelt of raspberries had made her think too. If she didn’t use any raspberry products why was she so strong smelling? He couldn’t risk spilling anything of what he was or give her any clue of what happened to him. He couldn't bring her into that life.

He heard the bell go and he entered the other corridor opposite the one he’d come out of, greeting a mixture of meadow smells of flowers and earth, soil and trees, but none of it stood out. None of it stood out like Kristen’s smell of fresh wild raspberries.

-----------------------------

Did you enjoy the slight preview of Matt's true powers?

What about Kristen? Seems too easy to guess, doesn't it? Guess again.

Happy Reading! <3