Chapter 5 - Setting Off

“I can’t wait for this afternoon.”

“Mhm. Yeah.” I said.

“Lily said her mom’s considering coming along. That’s a whole new can of worms.”

“That’s cool.”

“I killed a guy and stole his blood in the name of love.”

“Great.”

Marcel sighed deeply. The empty study hall made his voice echo. “Yan. C’mon. It’s been half a month. You need to get over it.”

“How?”

“Haze said he found no one in the woods. He didn’t even find bullets.”

I slammed my feet on the coffee table in front of me. “Whatever.”

The holidays came and went, but the incident in the woods continued to haunt me. Not even the news that Marcel and Lily were coming on the nationwide trip was enough to get my spirits up. Haze believed that I had seen something in the woods, but he didn’t think it was Skinners.

“There was a spell, Yandel. Skinners are Full-humans. They can’t get passed spells.”

“Then maybe it wasn’t them.”

Marcel smacked his lips and took a spoonful from his globby red gel cup. The contents inside didn’t look clear enough to be regular old jello. When he was done swallowing and gagging, he wiped his mouth and pointed at my backpack.

“Did Minnie charm your bag?”

Lily’s mom had enchanted me and my pack with some kind of vapor spell. Something that could supposedly help me get away from potential pursuers. “Yep. When my dad finally worked up the courage to talk to her on Christmas, she freaked out. Completely forgot about how mad she about his Avowal Bill.”

Marcel put his empty jello cup down. “My mom freaked out too. She almost didn’t let me go. I had to convince her by taking fifty of these disgusting blood cups each month. No other conditions, luckily.”

I looked away. That reminded me of my own condition, one I failed to meet.

I was on month three of no Change. My dad didn’t know. No one but me knew. I hid it well with frequent showers, minimal visits to my dad’s, and an unhealthy amount of pain relievers. Part of me was a little scared to return to Haze’s, and Changing in my dorm room was not an option.

Ping!

(2)AOF Notifications for Political Canis

“I’m reporting you - anonymous”

“Actually, werewolf changes can be painless. It’s magic. - anonymous.”

One, I didn’t care.

And two, magic had nothing to do with whatever the hell I was going through.

I sat back, reclining in my study chair and rolling my shoulders. I clicked off all other messages and went onto RedHalfMoon’s. Whoever they were, their responses were slowing. It irked me.

Reply here:
Did I finally get rid of you?

I waited. It was a bit pathetic, but I’ve had a bad month. I needed a pick me up.

Message reads:
I have a life. I have friends. And I have coffee. You’re the last thing on my mind.”

Coffee. Now that sounded great right about now.

Reply here:
But I’m on your mind.

Marcel made an mmm noise from behind me, and I quickly closed my laptop. Not that it helped. He pursed his lips and concealed his all-knowing smile.

I gathered my stuff. “I’ll see you afterschool. I'm going to say goodbye to Kat at the coffee shop.”

"Make a move already!" He hollered as I walked away. "On anyone, doesn't have to be Kat!"