The joke takes me by surprise, and I laugh louder than I intended.
Then I remember we’re in a deserted hallway, and if someone walks over, they’ll think we’re skipping class.
In a childish moment, I clamp my hands over my mouth.
The guy seems amused by my reaction.
“You can stop suffocating yourself; I don’t think you’re in danger of being heard here.” Pretending to be suspicious, I narrow my eyes.
His easy-going manner is encouraging, and I find myself joking back effortlessly.
“So you plan on torturing me where no one can hear me scream?” “Oh, I don’t need to torture you,” he says, his face completely poker.
“You’re going to tell me all your secrets without me doing anything about it.” One of my eyebrows shoots up.
“Really?
How do you figure that’s going to happen?” He taps the side of his finger against his lips and whispers, “It’s a secret.” When I laugh this time, I don’t hold it in.
I’m enjoying myself too much.
I extend my hand out toward him.
“I’m Sadie.” Smiling back, he shakes it.
“Dylan,” he says, and then seems to backtrack.
“But everyone calls me Michael.” His statement puzzles me.
The names have nothing to do with each other.
“Why?” “That’s my first name,” he explains.
“Dylan’s my middle name.” “Then why did you say Dylan first?” I wonder.
He shrugs, looking at a loss himself.
“I don’t know,” he admits.
I stare at him for a moment, trying to make sense of his character.
Then I do what I always end up doing; I roll with it.
“Alright, well that’s what I’ll call you,” I decide.
“So what are you doing out in the hallways during class, Dylan?” Falling back into a light mood, he grins.
“Why?
Are you going to rat me out?” I make a sound of mock-indignation.
“For your information, I have a very valid excuse for being here at this time.” “And what’s that?” he humors me.
“I was lost.” Dylan is surprised at first, but then he realizes that I’m new, and that it’s normal for me to be lost.
“Maybe I can help you,” he suggests.
“Where are you going?” “I’m not really lost anymore,” I tell him.
“It’s not hard to figure out where each classroom is.
I’m going to BA217.” “That’s not far from mine,” he reveals.
“Why don’t we walk together?” I smile.
“Sure, Dyl.
Thanks.” The nickname takes him by surprise.
“You’re calling me Dyl now?” I begin walking in step with him, a smug smile on my face.
“Yes, I am.
You better get used to it.” He seems really cool, and I really want to have at least one good friend here.
Even if I won’t be able to tell him all my deep dark secrets, I’d still like the company.
“I have a feeling I’m going to have to,” he plays along.
I sure hope so, I think.
— Michael It took me a while to figure out what’s odd about Sadie.
When I first bumped into her in the hallway, I was worried she was a teacher, or worse, the principal.
But then I looked closely and realized she was definitely a student; probably my age or a year younger.
She’s beautiful too; big brown-colored doe eyes, long dark hair almost reaching her waist, a heart-shaped face with round cheeks and cute features.
She’s almost my height and seems pretty athletic.
She was dressed very simply, in dark jeans, a white flowing shirt and flats, which I found reassuring, for some reason.
At least she’s not a walking candy stick like some others.
She seemed a bit stranger for some reason, and the reflexive question I was about to ask her, to make sure she was fine, died in my throat; she gave off a werewolf scent.
Not just any kind of scent, the kind I only come across on people like Marianna and Andrea, and sometimes, to my horror, on my mom.
People around us obviously catch a part of our scent on their skin and clothes, but to leave a mark this strong requires direct exposure to a werewolf for several hours, with skin to skin contact included.
And from the smell of her, Sadie’s had plenty of that this morning.
It wasn’t any of my brothers’ scent, which can only mean one thing; she knows one the werewolves from the other pack very intimately.
I’m used to forcing people out of my way without thinking twice about it, but I needed to find out more about this other pack, so I made an effort to be nice to her.
It worked, she even smiled, and not the flirty kind that makes me nauseous or the polite kind that is to be expected between strangers.
An honest to goodness smile, like we’re old friends suddenly meeting up again.
From there, we seemed to click.
I was surprised when she said she was lost.
Then it registered that she might be someone’s mate, and if so, if she came with the pack, she’s probably new.
Completely ignoring the fact that she might very possibly be aware of the existence of werewolves, I wondered how anyone could transfer schools so late into the semester.
I guess if you’re an old pack that has connections in the area, you can have anything you want.
While we walked to class, I barely learned anything substantial, other than the fact that she’s a senior and she just moved here with her family.
I did learn, however, that the move is permanent, which I accept calmly and without overreacting this time.
By the time we were going our separate ways to our classrooms, I’ve forgotten the fact that she’s from another pack and decided to just enjoy her company.
Sadie is kind of fun to be around, and I really hope I meet her again.
And I do, at lunch.
While I join my brother and his friends, I notice her sitting two tables away with a couple of other girls I’ve seen around school before.
I know the kind of backstabbing people they are, and from the look on Sadie’s face, she has realized that too, so I decide to come to her rescue.
“Hey,” I say when I’m close enough.
She looks up and a relieved expression crosses her face when she sees me.
“Hi Dyl!” “Want to have lunch together?” I suggest.
She nods and one of the other girls starts gushing.
“Oh, my God, for reals?” I give her a stone-cold stare.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” The girl looks confused.
“What?” I roll my eyes and turn my back on them.
“Come on, Sadie.” Danny’s friends are staring with their eyes bugging out of their sockets when I casually sit at their table with Sadie next to me.
I exchange a quick look with Daniel, and I can tell he has caught the remaining traces of werewolf scent on her.
His expression is quizzical, but I give an imperceptible shake of the head to let him know that I would explain later.
“This is Sadie, and she’s new,” I simply tell everyone.
“Hey guys!” Sadie greets them all brightly, not the least bit fazed.
“Hi Sadie!
I’m Nell.
It’s so nice to meet you,” Nell replies cheerfully.
I recognize something devious in her eyes.
“You too,” Sadie answers genuinely.
“So how do you know Michael?” Sadie quickly recounts how we met before asking the others for their names.
When it’s Danny’s turn, I step in to add how we’re related, and she seems to find that interesting.
For some reason, when people hear the word “twins”, they automatically expect two people physically identical.
When I say that’s what Daniel and I are, some get surprised, since we look nothing alike except for our hair color.
Sadie is the exception to that because her surprise is due to an entirely different reason.
“Twins?” she repeats excitedly.
“That’s awesome!
My boyfriend Cade has younger brothers who are twins, and they’re identical.” “We have an older set of twin brothers too, and they’re identical,” I share.
Her eyes widen in shock.
“Four boys?
Wow, holidays must be interesting for you guys.” “Actually, there are five of us,” Danny informs her.