“What’s going on?” Ben asked me, his forehead furrowed as his eye locked on the area of the forest where Brice had just disappeared. “Why was Brice here?”
I stood up and walked to Ben’s side, my hand on his arm to calm him. “He just came to see who the new wolf in the woods was.” It sounded like a legitimate explanation for B
Ben insisted on driving Melanie most of the way up the drive to Mr. Hudson’s house. With every inch he crept closer to the house itself, she grew more and more nervous until he finally stopped and let her out about half a football field from her front door, his truck obscured by heavy trees so that Mr. Hudson wouldn’t be able to see us, though it might be possible he could hear the engine if he happened to be outside. I was hoping he wasn’t even home, for Melanie’s sake, but if he was still out with his friends, that would make it one hell of a long day for an old man.
The weekend flew by, and before I’d blinked, I was back at school. I figured every day at school would drag, not only because it was my senior year and so many of my classes included people I didn’t want to speak to, but because I was looking forward to Friday night and the dance. Every time anyone even mentioned the dance, Sam got a smirk on his face, and Ben got a sour look, like he was sucking on a lemon and didn’t want to admit it was too much for him to handle. I considered trading the dress out after all, even though Ben said it didn’t bother him, but I decided I needed these two fellows to be honest with me. If they were going to tell me something didn&r
Normally, I get to drama class before Brice. I sit in the same chair nearly every day, on the end, so I don’t have to worry about more than one person sitting next to me, in the middle row, so that I’m not right in front of Ms. Piper. This time, I hesitated in the hallway, waiting for most of the other kids to go in first. I knew no one would take my usual seat because everyone essentially sat in the same place every day. Not that we were assigned specific chairs, but we were mostly creatures of habit. Brice was the only one who sat wherever he wanted to on any given day. Last week, the first week of school, he’d sat by me more often than I’d liked. This week,
I was going to a dance! With a boy--with a hot boy! With, dare I say, a man. Wasn’t Ben more or less a man? I mean, he was a senior in high school. He was almost eighteen. He lived without parental supervision. Yes, I thought that counted. I was going to a dance with a man, and I was so excited, I could hardly think straight.By the time we got home from school that
I felt like a princess when I walked down the stairs, wearing my new dress, my new heels, my new accessories, and Ben was standing at the bottom, looking like a movie star, a corsage box in his hand, staring up at me. It really was a moment out of a movie, I think. Maybe Titanic, when Jack is waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Rose, and he kisses her hand and says he’s always wanted to do that. It was kind of like that--but Ben looked so much hotter than Leo, no offense, and I didn’t feel as if we were standing on a sinking ship. No, I felt like we were getting ready to take off and soar through the air, like two birds in flight.
Brice was standing next to my table, wearing a lavender shirt with a purple tie. I had noticed earlier that Starla’s dress was purple. I had absently wondered if that was the color I’d see if she was part of my pack. Raven’s eyes are violet, so I have a shade of purple already in the river, but the color Starla was wearing was different. It was the sort of purple one associates with royalty. And Brice, standing there looking at me expectantly, wearing a similar shade, looked more like a prince than I had ever seen him look like one before.
I wasn’t sure if I should approach Ben or leave him alone, but the longer he stood there, just looking at me, the expression on his face telling me not only was he mad but he was hurt, I knew I had to say something even if I was uncomfortable with confrontation.His blue eyes were glistening in the dim lights cast by the twinkling white lights the party planning comm
It was a quiet night. The heat of summer was gone, fading into fall, and a soft breeze was blowing. As Ben and I drove home, I didn’t hear a single wolf out in the forest around us, which was unusual. But then… it was early, and a lot of the kids were still at the dance.