Waking up the next morning Marie is ready to tackle the day. She already picked out her outfit the night before. She decided on a blue T-shirt that she received years ago with a tiny wolf on the left side that fit her snugly and fell just above her waist. She paired it with black jeans with cuts on the knees and a pair of high-top sneakers. She put her mother's necklace on and borrowed a pair of Keandre's earrings. She also prepped her hair the night before to do a twist out and it came out great. She does a light makeup look using the techniques Cleo taught her. After her look is complete she does a spin in the mirror. She goes down to the mess hall and walks to the table the girls are sitting at.
"So, what do you think?" Marie runs her hands from her head down in a flamboyant fashion. There is a chorus of compliments coming from the girls. Feeling more confident Marie walks to the food table with a pep in her step. Marie never thought about wearing the T-shirt before but when Keandre pulled it out she questioned why she had forgotten about it. It added a little bit of her to the look and brought out her confidence. She had always been fascinated by wolves and would badly draw them in books as a child. The creatures scared her and she would be scared to meet one in real life but she was drawn to them. The girls finished their food and headed out to the van. They arrive at the school parking lot and head into the building. Marie splits off from the group to head to her locker.
Kaden drove to school with his friends today and they are now chatting in the hall waiting for the bell to ring. He laughed at a joke Dennis made, then lifted up his head. He was caught by surprise by the sight of Marie. Time seems to have slowed as he watches her walk down the hall. Kaden thinks Marie is normally beautiful, but today there is something different. It has him in a trance until Darius clamps his hand on his shoulder. With the trance broken, he sobers up, straightens his clothes, and walks over to her. He ignores his friend's confused look and questions. Marie is taking a book out of her locker and before he can reach her he is blocked by Bianca.
"Hello Kaden," Bianca says flirtatiously.
"Hey, Bianca" Kaden replies in a bored and slightly annoyed tone. He tries to sidestep her to get to Marie before she leaves. Bianca blocks him once again.
"Kaden honey, why didn't you call me this weekend? I wanted to hang out at the mall." Her voice is grating on Kaden's ears. 'Why won't she move out of the way?' he thinks.
"I was busy." This is all Kaden says before successfully moving passed her and reaching Marie. She was closing her locker right as he appeared. Surprised by his sudden appearance she jumped a little.
"Kaden! Geez you scared me." Marie says catching her breath with her hand on her chest. His cologne which normally gives him away is masked by the other people in the hall.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to sneak up on you." He apologizes but doesn't look to be very sorry with a huge smile on his face. "I just wanted to say Good Morning."
"Good Morning Kaden, are we still on for after school?" Marie asks. Her own bright smile is matching his. Off to the side, they hear a loud gasp. Marie and Kaden turn to look at a pissed-off Bianca.
"Kaden, who is this and why are you hanging out after school?" Bianca whines out to Kaden and ignores Marie's presence. Marie is confused about who this girl is and why she is acting like Marie isn't standing there.
Kaden rolls his eyes. He is even more annoyed than before. She keeps interrupting his time with Marie. "This is Marie and we are working on a project after school. Now if you don't mind we were talking." He gestures between him and Marie. Marie snaps her attention from Kaden's aloof tone towards Bianca to the girl herself. Bianca is wearing heels which explains why she looks like she is towering over Marie as she finally acknowledges her with a stank eye. She has a short blond bob that makes her sharp bone structure stand out. She has strong arms and long legs that make her look elegant. Her makeup is well done and makes Marie second guess going light on her makeup today.
"So you will hang out with this loser but not call me? She looks boring and frumpy Kaden." Bianca's whining is causing attention and is making Marie uncomfortable. "Come hang out with me instead." She tried to pull his arm but Kaden didn't budge. He gives her a life-ending glare but Bianca is unfazed.
"I'll see you in class Kaden. I got to go." Marie says and walks away from the pair and the group who gathered around to watch. She feels a little dejected after the girl's comments. She worked hard to look less dull. Maybe it was all for nothing if she still looked boring.
Kaden is now livid as he watches Marie walk away. Her head is slightly down and he thinks Bianca's words got to her. He makes a mental note to try and correct that later. He turns to Bianca who is still standing there. She has the nerve to look hurt. "Bianca, what is wrong with you? Why would you say that to her?" He doesn't give her a chance to answer. "What I do and who I do it with is none of your business! Why can't you get that through your thick head?"
Kaden walks away to his next class still fuming. Bianca stands in the hall shocked Kaden just yelled at her. He always made an excuse to not spend time with her but never raised his voice. Her emotions quickly shift to anger. She thinks to herself, who is this girl that has Kaden's attention? She is determined to find out just that.
~
It is third period now and Kaden can finally speak to Marie. He walks into class and sees her sitting at her table. He approaches her and taps her shoulders. Marie is already turning around when he does. His cologne alerted her to his presence this time.
"Hi Marie, I am sorry about earlier." Kaden takes a beat to gather his thoughts before he explains further. "Bianca is someone I have known since I was young. She can be mean at times. But what she said about you is completely untrue." He can see doubt in her eyes when he says that. "Truthfully, before she showed up I was going to say how nice you looked today."
Marie was taken aback by that. She wasn't expecting a compliment from Kaden, let alone for it to make her cheeks burn. "Oh, thank you. I wanted to try something different today." She stops herself from fanning her hot face. Kaden does a scan over her attire, taking a slight pause at the tiny wolf on her left breast before his eyes reach her hand.
"Well, you always look great but I could tell you did something different. I really like your nails as well." Millie who was eavesdropping beside Marie shakes her arm excitedly.
Marie giggles at her antics and is grateful for the distraction. "Millie did them for me last night." Kaden looks over to Millie who is beaming with pride.
'You did a great job' Kaden signs.
'Thank you' Millie replies then turns to the front as the teacher has walked in.
Kaden walks to his seat in the back. Darius is giving him a smirk which he ignores. The third period goes by quickly and all the students file out. Kaden and his friends make their way to their usual table after getting food. He is sitting down eating when he notices Marie at her table with her friends. Before he realizes it he is getting up and walking to talk to her. He reaches her table and says a quick hello to the group. He then focuses his attention on Marie.
"So I wanted to ask you about the homework for English if you don't mind?" Kaden had nothing to really talk about so he said the first thing that came to mind.
Marie is about to respond when they hear a now familiar, annoying gasp. Everyone at the table looks up to see Bianca standing there. Her two best friends are standing behind her mean mugging the group. They look like a set of triplets all sporting the same scowl. "Kaden, why are you talking to her again? I thought we talked about this." Bianca sounds like a brat who isn't getting her way.
Annoyance is once again evident on his face. "We did talk about this and I distinctly remember telling you to stay out of my business." Something shifts in Bianca's eyes and she straightens her posture.
"Kaden don't be mad at me. I am just trying to protect you. That girl isn't who you think she is." She gives Marie a dirty look before focusing on Kaden again.
"I don't care what you think you know but you don't know anything about Marie. And I suggest you leave." When she doesn't move he adds more aggressively with a growl. "Now!" Bianca flinches slightly but recovers quickly. A small pout graces her face and she flutters her eyelashes shyly.
"Seriously Kaden you are going to choose a stupid orphan over me." Bianca lets the ball drop with her secret weapon and wipes fake tears away with her index finger.
"What did you say?" Kaden asks her, his anger is reaching dangerous levels. He turns to look at Marie and the heat in his chest drops at the look on her face. Marie is a mixture of shocked and appalled. She just sits there staring at Bianca.
Bianca takes Kaden's question as a win for her and she presses further. "Why would you want to hang out with her anyway even her parents didn't want her?" That struck a nerve in Marie and her shoulders sank. Her shock turned into overwhelming sadness. Everyone else at the table tensed at Bianca's words.
"Shut up Bianca!" Kaden is on the verge of shifting and he can feel his wolf wanting to come out. Bianca not realizing the situation she is in continues.
"Look she isn't even denying it and the proof is right here with her little orphan friends." Everyone is uncomfortably silent as she goes on. Marie's friends want to say something but are afraid to add fuel to the fire. "But I guess I shouldn't say her parents didn't want her. That isn't exactly true is it Marie," Bianca says her name in disgust. "They died in a fire. Isn't that right Little Orphan Marie?"
That was the last straw for Marie. She couldn't even question how she found that out. She was thrown right back into her old school, in her old life with that line. She couldn't take anymore and ran out of the cafeteria. Everyone was frozen in shock by what Bianca said. Not a single sound could be heard from the radius of people who heard the altercation.
Darius who could sense his friend getting angry left his table to look for him. He came in right as Bianca said that last blow and saw Marie run out. He quickly grabbed Kaden and dragged him out of there and away from Bianca, for her safety.
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