‘But, Rose, you promised my mother you’d stay with me. She won’t let me stay the night without you,’ she says.
‘After the party,’ I blurt out. ‘I’ll go with Brad to the party, and afterwards, I’ll go straight to Grammy’s house to be with you,’ I tell her.
‘I guess that will work,’ she says, unsure.
I can feel Brad’s gaze burning into me, but I purposely don’t look at him. Feeling uncomfortable, I play with the remainder of the food on my tray.
My eyes dart up briefly and meet Janie’s troubled stare. Damn it, she can sense my discomfort.
I smile and make eye contact with Imogen, trying to lighten my mood, ‘What do you plan on wearing to the party?’ I ask her.
‘I bought this really cute black dress a couple of days ago. It sits above my knees and has lace that runs along the hem, and the sleeves are long and semi-transparent and have a really cute puffiness. I can’t wait to wear it,’ Imogen beams.
‘What do you think you’ll wear?’ Imogen asks me.
I try to think of a dress I haven’t worn recently that doesn’t have an open back, but I don’t think I have any other dress that would conceal my tail.
‘You know me, probably some old hoody and jeans,’ I laugh awkwardly.
‘I’m sure Rose will look beautiful with whatever she wants to wear on the night,’ Brad says to Imogen.
‘Awe, you’re so sweet, Brad,’ I say to him and kiss his cheek.
Xander rolls his eyes, ‘What happened to your hand?’ he asks.
‘Happened at basketball practice,’ he says.
Xander’s eyes narrow, ‘But you don’t have basketball practice until tomorrow night, and you were with Rose last night. Yet, you didn’t have that wound yesterday. How did you get it?’ he asks.
Brad glares at Xander, ‘How about you mind your own business? I don’t have to explain myself to you. The fact you know my schedule makes me think you’re stalking me?’ he says to Xander.
‘So, what if I am?’ Xander smirks.
‘Then, we're going to have a bigger problem between us than we already do,’ he says in a low deep voice.
‘Xander, Brad’s right. He doesn’t have to explain himself to you. You need to mind your own business and butt out of mine,’ I tell him.
‘He reeks of lies. If this is what you want, Rose. If he is what makes you happy, then good luck, but I won’t be part of his vile plans,’ he says, standing from his seat.
Xander stares at Janie and takes her hand, as Janie gives me a sympathetic gaze and stands with him.
'There's only one thing I'd like to say to you, Rose, and I'm only telling you this because I know how much you mean to Janie,' he begins, his voice low and ominous. 'Know this. There are far more terrifying creatures out there than the likes of Quinserps and Wraiths. And those monsters? They exist in this world,’ he says as he breaks eye contact with me and stares at Brad before walking away.
Imogen looks at us, then at Xander and Janie walking away, ‘Well, this totally isn’t awkward. So, I shall leave you two lovebirds alone and get those books from the library for our school project we have to work on later,’ she says and awkwardly waves and dashes off.
My hands trembled as I tried to process what Xander had just told me. Sensing my distress, Brad takes my hands in his and turns me to face him. 'Don't listen to Xander,' he says firmly. He's just jealous of my good looks and popularity. He'll say anything to sabotage our relationship.'
I look up at Brad with uncertainty. 'But I don't think Xander would lie,' I whisper, my voice barely audible.
Brad's grip tightens. 'Are you saying I'm a liar then?' he asks, his gaze downcast and sorrowful.
'No, of course not!' I reply quickly, feeling guilty for even suggesting it. 'Perhaps there have been some uncomfortable or inappropriate conversations about me, but maybe he's misconstrued it all?'
'You know what boys are like,' Brad says. 'My friends may have made a few remarks due to us dating, but like Xander, it's only because they're jealous.'
I stare at Brad, my mind racing with conflicting thoughts and emotions. Was Xander telling the truth, or was Brad right? I don't know who to believe.
Martha, Tori and Sandra enter the cafeteria and sit at the closest table to the exit. I notice Martha and Brad make eye contact for the briefest second. Martha then notices me staring, turns to Tori and Sandra, and talks to them. That's when I remembered my werewolf hearing - a gift I had been neglecting all this time. I focus and hone in on their conversation, tuning out the noise of the other students in the cafeteria until all I can hear is their hushed voices.
‘You’ll see, by the end of the week, I’ll have Brad begging to be with me,’ Martha laughs. Tori and Sandra giggle in agreement.
Anger surges through me. I grab Brad’s face and slam my lips against his, taking him by surprise. I make the kiss last as long and hot as possible to send a message to Martha that Brad is mine.’
When I finally break the kiss, I see Martha and her friends storming out of the cafeteria and all the other students, including Brad’s friends, gawking at us.
They are muttering to each other, so I focus until I can only hear Brad’s friends.
‘He is so lucky. I wish she didn’t reject my advances to her,’ one says snarkily.
‘Don’t we all wish that?’ another says.
‘Do you think Brad will go through with it, though? I’m worried he might fall for her and back out of it?’ another says.
‘Brad has to go through with our deal. He said he wanted the money anyway to upgrade the wheels on his car,’ the last guy says.
Then they stand and leave the cafeteria.
‘I love it when you kiss me like that,’ Brad says.
‘Well, you are so irresistible after all,’ I say to him with furrowed eyebrows. I take a deep breath, ‘Brad, do you ever make deals or bets with your friends?’ I ask.
Brad stares at me as if trying to read my mind, ‘Why would you ask a question like that?’ he asks.
‘Oh, I don’t know. You said, you know what boys are like, and it crossed my mind that it’s something some guys would do with each other—bets for money or a dare. You know? Usually just something for the humour of it or when you need cash. I suppose girls might do it too sometimes,’ I say casually, making out doing so wouldn’t be a big deal.
‘Yeah, I guess my friends do that kind of thing all the time,’ he shrugs.
‘Have you ever made a deal or a bet that you might ever regret, maybe where it might potentially hurt someone you love, for example?’ I ask him, looking deep into his eyes. I wait for his answer. Brad smiles reassuringly, 'I've never made a choice I would regret,' he says, gently touching my chin and kissing me on the nose.
Relieved, I smile back, realising I'm probably overthinking things and that any deals Brad might have with his friends are likely harmless.