After I calmed down from the anxiety attack caused by my near-death experience, I huddled inside my room to play video games and tried to relax from the situation. Therapy was a wash and I almost got murdered by a wolf, so life seemed to be going well. Right on brand for me.

My phone vibrated from the corner of my dresser, almost sliding off, yet my reflexes were somehow quick enough to grab the thing before it landed on the floor. I really needed to stop just leaving my phone carelessly anywhere. The screen brightened with a pop-up message from Kash.

"Hey, come to Mainstreet and meet me at Mojo's," Kash texted, making sure to attach a map link. He knew me too well. I definitely would get lost if it wasn't for GPS.

Mojos, is it? I'd never heard of the place before, but how could I even know anything since I rarely left my house other than to go to school.

"Sure, I'll be there soon." I texted back. I was done wallowing in self-pity. The walls of my room were starting to close in on me, and I needed a change of scenery.

I shuffled downstairs and looked for Tina. No offense to Beth, but I knew Tina wouldn't ask too many questions. Especially since it took quite a while for Beth to let go of me after the incident earlier. Definitely didn't need a helicopter mom to hold my hand around town as I hung out with my friend. Despite whatever Beth felt, I was not a child.

I soon found Tina sitting in her den office, ferociously typing away on her computer; probably another in-depth exposé on some corrupted politician or corporation. Her long brown hair was held together in a messy bun,  the lack of care for her appearance reflected the seriousness of her current project. I felt bad for interrupting her work, but she owed me one and I had no other options. It was either chill mom right here in front of me, or overprotective, sobbing, messy mom out in the kitchen. The latter was not a feasible option.

"Hey mom, can you give me a ride into town?"

"Sure sweety! What do you plan on doing?" Tina stopped her work, clicking a few times before closing her laptop.

She strolled to the front door to grab her puffy green jacket, before slipping into some classic Ugg boots that every mom in the light of their middle-age had somewhere in their wardrobe.

"I'm just going to meet Kash, he wants to hang out at umm.." I glanced at my phone screen once again to check the name of this place, "Mojo's."

"Oh! I know that place, it's a cute little shop off Mainstreet and 2nd avenue. I can drop you!" She answered louder than I'd expected. I nervously checked the back hallway for any potential signs or hollers from a nosy Beth.

"Ok.. sorry, I'll be quiet next time. Let's go before she finds out." Tina winked as she grabbed the keys and quietly opened the door. I thanked her and we silently sneaked out of the Victorian fortress before quickly running to the parked car.

It was a ten-minute ride to the shop Kash mentioned, the small rush hour of evening traffic rolling into town square adding to our drive with no significant magnitude. Tina dropped me off at the corner, maneuvering her small Prius out of the way of the busy street.

"Thanks," I said and hopped out before waving goodbye.

"Don't stay out too late, call me if you need a ride back home."

I nod, watching Tina merge back into traffic and head promptly out of sight.

Walking into Mojo's caught me off guard, the strong aroma of espresso beans woke my senses as I checked out the quaint surroundings. In a tiny nook to the right, a cafe lingered with a few customers scattered around in the lounge area, the sound of soft bluegrass jazz wafting a cozy ambiance throughout the whole shop.

Corner to corner and wall to wall, the shop was filled with books and records.

What a neat little place!

I wandered down a small section of aisles with books of all kinds seemingly for sale, each section filled with a different genre. The topical variety was ridiculous to an almost chaotic extent‒‒anything from cooking to sword fighting. The selection was huge! I turned the corner and found Kash tucked into a reading nook, the gray sofa intricately placed around the bookshelves. A bright tower of books surrounded his feet, an odd sight since he seemed to hate doing school work.

"Yo man what's up! You found me pretty quick!" Kash peered up from his reading, his cheery demeanor sweeping the entire room.

"Yeah, well I had nothing else to do. Whatcha reading?" I asked as I popped next to him on the sofa, careful to not knock over his mini booby trap of books.

"Oh, these? Just some mangas‒‒Japanese comic books, ya know?" Kash waved to his collection.

"Cool. I didn't know you could read," I teased him with a garish poke to the arm.

"Whatever dude, the storyline is great. You should try reading it," he tossed a book from the pile.

"Sure", I shrugged, caving into the peer pressure. I was slowly letting Kash turn me in a full weeb. The gray graphics and bold black lines held my attention as we settled into our little spot for the evening. But it wasn't long until Kash's stomach broke our silence, the loud grumbles demanding that we switch venues (somewhere closer to the cafe counter) to appease its calls.

"Let's go to the convenience store and then head home!" Kash gleefully leapt from his chair.

"Sounds like a plan to me," I replied as I followed him through the maze of records and books.

We turned on Main street and headed into the local artisanal convenience store. Kash was quick, grabbing handfuls of bags full of chips and other unnecessary sugary snacks. At this point, there was no stopping him. I once saw Kash devour five king-size Snickers in twenty seconds flat and still have the gut to wonder aloud what they were going to eat for an actual dinner.

I was still in awe of the way this kid didn't gain weight off his diet. The sheer amount of food he consumed every day might make one think he'd be appearing on the next season of My 600 Pound Life, and yet there he was before me walking up and down the aisles of the convenience store‒‒all 125 pounds of him.

We exited the shop and made our way home, the evening crowds scared away by the bitter cold. It was going to snow soon, and I wasn't sure if I could survive the drop in temperature. My body, lacking any fat, would probably freeze before the first snowfall of the season.

Kash and I crossed the town square, cutting in front of Pop's diner, when our peaceful walk was interrupted by shrill cackling from in front of us. A small crowd of teens emerged from the diner, blocking our way home.

The shaded faces became clear under the glowing amber street lights: it was Nate and Ryder with a couple of girls and the jock squad right behind them.

Do I even say anything to this? To them?...Ughh, just fucking perfect!

One of the girls was completely wrapped around Nate's arm, her strawberry blond hair swayed in perfect curls as she clung to Nate, desperate for attention that Nate seemed unwilling to give her. Nate caught my eyes, acknowledging my presence and shooting me a devilish grin before he caved to the needy girl's forlorn advances, sweeping her into a rough embrace and a display of public affection so sloppy it made me gag slightly.

The group egged them on for some reason as they continued to make out in the street right in front of us, yet Nate's eyes remained locked with mine. The way he ravished this girl's meaningless frail body seemed to be a kind of demonstration for what he wanted to do to me...and I couldn't stop looking, either.

As ostentatious as this whole thing was, the site was fueling chills and quivers down my spine, and I involuntarily whimpered as my body remembered the sensation of those lips touching my body.

Nate finished his theatrical and awkward display of libido, whispering in the girl's ear before she and her friends suddenly left. They walked past us, the scent of vanilla berry overwhelming my senses. She held a cold, placid glare as she passed me, as if she was trying to say "fuck off" with her eyes without seeming overtly angry.

Kash and I shot quick, panicked glances at each other before quickly turning and trying to leave ahead of any definitive kind of trouble taking place.

"Curly, where do you think you're going?" Nate grabbed my shoulder.

The shock of his speed stunned me as I watched Nate, Ryder and his friends completely surround us. Kash, out for the count at this point, cowered behind me as Nate motioned for his crew to dissipate. They followed the silent order, heading in the direction of the group of girls. It was just Nate and Ryder now.

"What's up Curly? I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been hiding? I barely see you at school anymore." Nate shot a cheesy wink, almost making me nauseous.

This guy just doesn't give up.

"I've been busy. Just like you," I snapped back.

"Ohh, really? Doing what? Hiding from me by taking those back hallways? ...Hmm? It seems like you were intentionally avoiding me, or maybe I could just be imagining things."

"Shit!" Kash squealed from behind me. I rolled my eyes, he wasn't really helping the situation at the moment.

"Whatever. Why don't you go after your girlfriend and leave us alone?"

"What? Nora? She isn't my girlfriend, she's my second girlfriend," he laughed, putting his hands in his varsity jacket.

This fucking asshole...

"Ughh, you're such a dick."

"Aww, Curly are you jealous?"

"As if, man."

"Interesting, but as I recall we never really kissed that day in the infirmary. I can make it up to you now if you'd like... Or perhaps we should schedule an appointment." He leaned within inches of my face, his breath visible in the cold mountain air. "You clearly know, I have no problem going both ways," he flirted.

I pushed him away, grabbing Kash by the hand to lead him away. "Fucking jerk."

"Hey, get back here loser, don't disrespect---" Ryder barked before being stopped by Nate.

"Let him go, he's cute when he runs away. Besides, I like the chase," he yelled, addressing Ryder loudly because he seemed to want me to hear as Kash and I hiked off towards my place.

When we made it out of town, Kash and I still hadn't said a word to each other until Kash could no longer bear the silence.

"You.. want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" I challenged him.

"Umm nothing, nevermind." We continued until we made it home. Exhausted from the day's events, I climbed straight to my room (not bothering to find my moms to say goodnight) and flopped down on my bed. This weekend just needed to be over already.

I could hear Kash follow me up the stairs, trailing about a minute behind me. He took the cue from me and curled up on the air mattress I kept laid out for him next to my bed. And as I drifted off to sleep, that same eerie voice whispered hauntingly from somewhere in my head...

stay away Remy...

....stay away from them

Stay away from who?

My eyes too heavy to stay open and my body aching from the rather long walk back from town, I drifted into slumber past the mysterious voice inside my head and into the deep, blissful black repose. 

A/N How do you guys feel about this chapter? How do you feel about Nate? Let me know in the comments! Don't forget to subscribe if you enjoyed this chapter! I can't believe it, 220+ subscribers! No pressure 😲 but I promise to keep delivering awesome content 😁! Seriously, thank you guys! I read all of your comments and it just means the world to me. And thanks again for checking out my story! 

Also, I will be posting a chapter weekly! This just gives me more time to go through the editing process. Thank you in advance for your understanding! 🐺🥰