2. Seventeen

It's been two weeks since I had the dream with the moon goddess and I have never been angrier. I deserved to be angry, didn't I? Who the hell was she to condemn me to this suffering? Why the hell did she mate me with Harper when she knew we would have all these problems? Hell, why did she mate me with a werewolf in the first place? I was a human and would have been content in being with a human.

I tried not to think about her, I did but she just kept popping into my head, bringing back all the memories I wanted to forget.

It had also been two weeks since I came here and I was settling in pretty well. Even though I was miserable, I was pretty proud of myself for adjusting that quickly and efficiently.

I had joined the new school the night after that dreadful dream and honestly, it wasn't bad. The building was pretty much like any other public-school building and was a twenty-minute drive from Emily's apartment. 

The thing I was most worried about was the states I would get being the new student in the middle of the school year, but I got through that too. People stared and whispered but they didn't do anything which would have made my time in the school hard. I was glad about that because at least it was one thing which was going my way. I didn't realize how much I needed things to not be complicated.

I was eager for a fresh start and it seemed like the perfect place for it. I wasn't in the mood to make any friends, because I was here only for a few months, so I didn't go out of my way to know other people and by the look of it, people were fine with it.

There were subjects in which I was ahead of what was being taught and there were some subjects in which I was behind. I was glad that I had some time on my hands now because I would need to work hard to catch up with the rest of the class.

I was behind in two of the subjects and the teachers had assigned me tutors so that I could get back up to speed. I was supposed to meet David, the tutor, in the school library, three days a week. 

He was supposed to be here half an hour ago. People who are late annoy me to no end. I looked around the library to see very few people sitting at the tables. Anyone who had any sort of life had already gone to live it because the school had been over for forty minutes. 

David was a cute nerdy guy and wasn't the kind of person who would be late. He had not yet been late to any of our study sessions. And I think he had a little bit of a crush on me because his cheeks turned red every time, I complimented him on his teaching skills. He could just be nervous too; I didn't need to be narcissistic.

We usually study for two hours straight after which Adam picks me up from the school premises. This schedule fits perfectly into our lives. The day I had my tutoring sessions, Adam picked me up because he was done with his uni classes at the same time. When I don't have my tutoring sessions, Emily picks me up because she is free at that time. 

I had grown closer to my sister and we were pretty much back to normal I was happy that at least this move made something in my life right. I came to know more about Adam and I had to admit that he was a pretty decent guy and he kept my sister happy. It was all that mattered to me. So, life was good. As good as it could be.

My phone pinged and I unlocked it to find a message from David.

David: I'm sorry I won't be able to the library today. Some emergency came up.

I sighed. His not being able to come today was going to be a problem for me because now, I would have to stay in the library for an hour and a half. Oh god!

I groaned and the noise reverberated throughout the library making me flush as several people glared at me. 

I unlocked my phone and typed a message to both Adam and Emily. I knew that neither of them was going to be free at this time but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

A minute later Adam replied to my text.

Adam: You're lucky. Ethan is done with his classes and will be there at 10 to pick you up.

Ethan?! Really?! Out of all the people who could have come to pick me up, it had to be him. I had nothing against him. It was the way my body reacted to him that I had found unsettling.

Over the past two weeks, I hadn't seen much of him, save for the weekly dinner Adam and Emily hosted. He had come with Cecelia then too. Our contact with each other besides that had been pretty much non-existent. We would sometimes see each other in the hallway and pass gentle smiles but that was it. Like I said, nonexistent.

I was attracted to him, I knew that and the guys I was attracted to turned out to be assholes, so no one could blame me for making a conscious effort to avoid him.

And now, to have him pick me up like it wasn't anything out of the ordinary irked me. Or it was just me overthinking and overstressing over Ethan doing a little favor to me.

I sighed. I was out of options and Ethan would have to do it today.

My phone pinged with a notification again and I was that it was a message from an unknown number. I unlocked my phone to read the message.

74178*****: I'm here. 

It was obvious that the message was from Ethan. My heartbeat sped up a little about the notion of seeing him again. I admonished myself for my stupidity. He was in a relationship and I was pretty sure he had no interest in "little" girls like me. The thought infuriated and comforted me at the same time. 

I picked up all my stuff from the table and put it into my bag. I picked up my bag and ran outside the school to find Ethan's car parked outside the gate.

I slowly walked towards the passenger side of his car and got in. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the scene in front of me. Ethan looked good. More than good. I tried to control my breathing because I knew being a werewolf, he would easily pick up any changes in my heartbeat and breathing.

"Hey." He turned his head towards me and I blushed at his gaze on me. What was happening to me? I never reacted to any of my crushes like this.

"Hey," I said and settled myself in the leather seats of his car. Whoa? Leather seats? How could a college guy, a rogue wolf, afford such a nice car, with leather seats?

I refrained from asking this, however. This question seemed like an invasion of privacy and would lead to a very uncomfortable twenty-minute ride.

He reversed the car and drove in the direction of our apartments. He looked so at ease at driving that I couldn't help but gaze at him from time to time.

"How are you settling in school?" I jumped at his sudden question and blushed. Did he realize I was staring at him like a love-struck teenager? Because I wasn't. Love struck; I mean. 

I cleared my throat and looked ahead at the shops passing by. "It's nice. Nothing like my old school, though."

"What's different?" He casually parked at a red light and shifted his attention to me. I dared not look into his eyes, so I kept looking forward and took a deep breath before answering. "People."

"People?" He asked with a hint of surprise in his voice as if he hadn't expected this answer from me. 

Was my answer too naive or too mature for him? I couldn't figure it out. I stopped my train of thought as I realized I was overanalyzing everything that I was saying in front of him.

"Yeah, people. I miss my people." I blinked my eyes as I felt the telltale sting behind my eyes. I didn't want to cry right now. What kind of impression I would give to Ethan then? I would be a sad eighteen-year-old schoolgirl who missed her old school because she missed her friends back home and was crying because of it.

He nodded and drove the car again. He looked like he was deep in thought and the sudden onslaught of emotions made me think about everything and everyone I had waiting for me back home.

The rest of the ride smoothly, without a single word from either of us. Ethan smoothly parked at his designated parking spot in front of the apartments.

I removed my seat belt and opened the door, ready to go back to my room and sort out my emotions.

Before I could step out of the car, Ethan's voice stopped me. "Zara."

I turned around in my seat to look at him, to find him already looking at me. "You know what's the best thing about people? They always wait for you and if you want to move on, you can always find someone new."

He gently grabbed my hand in my lap and gave a gentle squeeze which made my pulse rocket. I hoped his werewolf senses didn't catch it.

What he said was so simple, but it made me smile nonetheless because that was exactly what I wanted to hear at the moment.