Wolf bite

                     Isobel POV

 I skim my hand over my neck, rubbing the plastered area. Some hours ago, I had cried in agony after the bite from Javier in the classroom.

A bite? Well, it does not seem like a neck kiss, nor is it a bite. I mean, the scar does not look deep enough to be dangerous, nor does it look cool enough to be a kiss that will leave a hickey.

"It still hurts," I moan in pain, facing Katrina who just drops a pan of sauce on the table.

I work in my Aunt's cafe, and that makes me just an average human being and a student.

All my seventeen years of living, I've always been careful enough not to draw attention to myself.

Of course, living alone with your poor maternal Aunt who manages a small cafe cannot be considered a luxury, and you'd never want to cause trouble when you're on scholarship.

I'd do anything to stay clear of trouble, especially those that include getting involved with Javier and his friends.

I had been quite unfortunate this morning, perhaps, because I had gone to school earlier than before.

If I had known, I'd have listened to my Aunt who tried to delay me... Maybe if I'd listened, just maybe, I'd have never encountered Javier or any of this wouldn't have happened to me.

Javier and his friends are someone I admire and even I have a hot for Jake, the handsome one with the same golden brown eyes as mine.

It's just a crush, nothing else. A dream that'll never come true, because I know, I'll never step a foot before him or even confess my one-sided love for him.

But there I was, not even a step before him, but Javier had pulled me against his body, sniffed me, and even put his lips on my skin.

I cringe, hissing out a sharp breath. I can still feel a ghost of his hand on my waist where he'd touched me. His touch was so cold and rough that I almost passed out. His lips on my neck were so cold and painful.

What have I done to him to deserve that? Huh? He did not know me, does he? I have always been the one taking notes of every because they're someone I admire.

"I don't know," Katrina pulls me down on the chair, slapping my hand off my neck. "Why would it still hurt? It's not a bite, is it?"

And I don't know that too! And even if it's a bite, it should not hurt like this. My neck feels as if a hot blazing iron has been pressed onto it.

I blink back my tears, biting so hard on my tongue as Rina pulls the plaster off.

Katrina gasps, her fingers skimming my neck as though admiring it.

Surprisingly, I feel no pain, instead, the cold breeze that slaps my skin relieves me of any pin I might have felt earlier.

"It's gone," Katrina says, her fingers still caressing my neck.

I crease my brows, "what is gone?"

"Your scar" she replies.

I chuckle. A joke! A big scar as that won't just disappear, would it? Not after I felt that much pain a second ago.

I bring my hand up to my neck to examine it, but if truly there's a scar, then I'm not feeling anything.

I had seen the spot earlier today and I had even felt it in my palm. It's not too deep to bring out blood, and it's not so cool that I'd call it a kiss.

Standing up, I walk quickly to the mirror in the room and stand before it, inching my neck to look closely, and true to Katrina's words, I see no scar or even the spot where I was bitten.

"See that?" Katrina angles forward. Through the mirror, I see her furrows her brows, her lips puckers, and lines form on her forehead as though she's doing some thinking. "You can't see anything too, can you?"

"Nothing" I grin.

I don't know why I am beaming, but knowing that I won't be going to school with a big ugly scar on my neck is something to be happy about.

I mean, fine! I don't know how to explain this, but who cares?

"What's wrong?" I turn to face Katrina for she still has that look on her face, "what's wrong with you?"

"I..." Rina trails off, her gaze lingering on my neck for a fraction of seconds on it before she settles it on my face. "Nothing," she smiles.

I raise my brows, angle toward her, and grab her hand in mine. "Rina..."

"C'mon," Katrina said with a faint smile. "We should get to work, you don't want Aunt Shauna to see us being idle around"

I sigh. That's the end of our conversation. Rina doesn't even wait for me to say anything before she walks away.

I turn my face back to the mirror, staring at my neck once again.

I do not care how the scar disappears, or maybe I'd make a mistake earlier about how big it's, but all in all, who cares about a stupid scar?

*****

"Are you sure you don't want me to follow you home?" Katrina says for the tenth time, her eyes glinting with this look I could not fathom.

"I'll be fine!" I manage a faint smile.

Katrina placed her hand under my bangs, her eyebrows furrowed then her lips quirk lightly. "You do not have a fever, and you're not feeling strange, are you?"

I shake my head, managing a faint smile on my lips. Ever since the scar disappeared, Katrina hasn't said anything about it, but I'm guessing she wants to bring it up now.

"Maybe we made mistake about how big and ugly it's," I say.

Katrina chuckles, touching my neck softly, almost delicately, as though afraid she'd hurt me.

She gives me a look I could not comprehend and smiled again before she takes a step back.

"Call me then, will you?" She says. "When you get home."

I watch Katrina walks away, and I release a sigh.

Katrina has been my friend ever since I started school at Crescent high school. Even though we have been together for like forever, I don't know too much about Katrina.

She can be strange sometimes and hard to understand, but I don't quite care. My Aunt, she's the only one that's willing to put up with me.

Smiling sheepishly at the now empty path that Katrina has taken, I started my way home, hugging my arms to my chest. The night is cold, but bright thanks to the millions of star-strewn in the sky.

I wonder; with a dreamy look, how my crush could be doing now. This night is perfect for a date at the ocean and to get a nice view.

I grin, mentally imagining what Katrina could say if she hears my thoughts.

"You're mad," she'd probably said.

Sometimes, I wish I can get to live a normal life like the rest of my mates in school. I wish I could go to school, not in some baggy sweatshirt or in the thick glasses on my face.

I sigh, all those are just wishful thinking. Perhaps, I'm bound to live that way after the death of my parents.

Sliding my palm on my arms, rubbing it to create warmth on them, I smile sheepishly to myself.

It's funny how I can think of all that when I know it's never gonna come true.

"A cold night it is, isn't it?"

My steps come to an abrupt halt, and my breath hitched in my throat on hearing a sweet voice behind me.

I've never been scared of walking the night alone, but hearing a voice right behind me seems to have sent the courage flying away from me.

I do not know the voice, but a small voice in my head begs to differ.

Slowly, I whirl around to face the owner of the voice.

She's a girl, probably not older than me, dress in weird clothes.

Sorry, but everything about this girl seems weird.

Starting from her weird hair color combination, and the white striped shirt she wore over a tartan dress.

"A nice glasses you've got there," she smiles, her smile lighting up the night just like the star-strewn sky.

I felt a warmth spread through me, and I take refuge in the night to hide my pink cheeks.

"Er...well, thank you," I'm not sure if she's being sarcastic or being real, but again, no one except my aunt will find my thick round glasses fascinating. "I.. I..."

"Oh no, you don't like my dress, I'm sure"  she laughs softly. Her voice rolled smoothly like honey.

Yeah, she's right. I can like anything about her but not her cloth.

"Yeah, well, right." I chuckle.

The girl chortles, running her hand over her hair.

I try to imagine what Katrina will say when she sees me talking to a girl...late in the night, alone, and completely unarmed.

' she's not going to hurt you,' a small voice said at the back of my head. ' she seems completely harmless.'

I know. Why would I ever think she will hurt me?

"I am Becca," she smiles.

"Er... I am..."

"Isobel!"

Twice today, two people have unexpectedly gotten my name right without me telling them.

Fine! Javier must have gotten my name right through my uniform name tag, but this girl?

I crease my brows, curiosity latching on my face as I survey her under my glasses.

"Don't ask me how I know your name," she sighed. "And don't give me that look." Dramatically, she shakes her head. "It looks weird being surveyed under that. Come, I'm going your way"

Before I could say anything else, she falls in step with me, whirling back to face the right direction.

I know, if I should tell Katrina about this girl, she'd have given me an earful and told me how many times she's warned me about talking to strangers.

But there's something strange in this strange girl. Even though she looks weird, she doesn't scare me. Something in her drew me to her. A part of me wants to be with her like I've known her forever.

"You don't know where I'm going, do you?"

"Huu, a wolf bite, I see. "

"Talking to me?"

I let out a short yelp when she grabs my hand, whirling me around to face her. Her eyes suddenly turn steel red color, almost soulless, glaring at me, and making a cold shiver run down my spine.

Strange. Strange eyes.

Her cold eyes focus on my neck, just at the same spot, Javier had kissed, and bit me.

"A wolf bite."

"A wolf bite?"

She laughs, her hand sliding up to my elbows, pressing them lightly.

I feel myself going numb, goosebumps crawling all over my skin.

"Doom.!" She cries.

I want to laugh. Oh! She's acting strange, weird and at the same time, funny.

Right! If this is meant to be funny, then she won, she could pass for a comedian.

"A wolf bite?" I snort. "What are you talking about?"

"I see it," she says so lowly, her voice almost inaudible. "The darkness that surrounds your life. Enemies pretending to be friends. Friends taking as enemies"

Okay. It might as well be getting scary. What darkness?

She smirk, the kind of smirk that makes Javier seem like the good nice guy.

Becca leans forward, her face an inches away from me, baring her face that I could almost count the freckles strewn on her nose.

She hisses out. "What a cruel fate you've got, Isobel."