When Ava walked into class the next day, the first thing she saw was the bandage on Camilla’s cheek, and her hands curled into fists, razor sharp nails breaking the skin on her palms. Ava stalked over to Camilla, letting her bag fall on the floor with a loud thump, startling her friend.

“Oh, Ava, it’s you,” she said with a smile, almost not wincing when the expression tugged at her hurt cheek. Ava watched her pull chunks of her hair over it, furious. “I’m looking forward to-”

“What happened to your face?” Ava demanded, cutting her off. Ava reached towards Camilla’s bandaged cheek, yanking her hand back when Camilla flinched. “Who did it?”

“It’s nothing,” Camilla said lamely, not meeting Ava’s eyes. “My sister’s cat just scratched me pretty bad while we were playing,” she added with a shrug.

“Your sister’s cat,” Ava echoed disbelievingly. “That’s a pretty big bandage for a cat scratch.”

“Really Ava, I’m fine,” she insisted. “Her cat’s just a little bitch, she does this all the time. When I was younger she gave me a really nasty cut on my arm and I had to get stitches.”

“She give you those scars too?” Ava asked, eyes on Camilla’s neck. Camilla sat up straight, spine like a steel rod. Ava knew she’d gone too far, but it was too late to take it back. “Never mind,” she added, slumping into her seat. “Glad you’re coming tonight.” Camilla nodded, and the two spent the rest of the class in uncomfortable silence.

***

“Seriously Ava, what’s wrong? You’ve been grumpy since we left school,” Abigail said, poking her in the ribs as they walked into their room. Ava opened her mouth to brush her off, but Camilla’s voice echoed in her ear, the dull “It’s nothing,” she’d given Ava on loop.

“You know the girl I invited to come with us tonight?” Ava asked, not meeting Abigail’s eyes. Her best friend had given her a hard time for inviting a human after all her talk, and Ava was still bitter about it.

“What about her? Is she not coming?” Abigail asked, sitting on her bed and beckoning Ava over.

“No, it’s not that,” Ava said, joining her. “I think someone might be hurting her. I’m worried. She showed up with this bandage across her cheek and she was definitely lying about where it came from. She tried to say her sister’s cat scratched her.”

“That does sound concerning,” Abigail said slowly. “But it doesn’t necessarily mean someone is hurting her. Us humans are a lot more fragile than you are. Maybe she’s just embarrassed about what actually happened. Either way, you can’t make her tell you.

“Remember when we first met? You tried to get me to tell you everything right away,” Abigail reminded her, though Ava could still see it vividly. “I was scared out of my wits and you practically interrogated me,” she added with a laugh.

“You’d had the shit beaten out of you,” Ava said coldly. “What else was I supposed to do? I was just trying to help.”

“I know that now, and you know that, but sometimes you come off a little intense,” Abigail said kindly. “Just let her come to you when she’s ready. I’m sure she’ll see you just want to help.”

Ava shrugged, but Abigail’s words had taken some of the edge off her protective instincts. She was still furious that someone might have hurt Camilla, but she could at least be rational about it now.

“Now let’s get dressed,” Abigail said, smiling brightly. No matter how much Ava hated having to go to school, she wouldn’t change their situation for anything. Not when Abigail was so fucking happy, in a way Ava had never seen before.

“Yeah,” Ava said, smiling back. “Let’s get dressed. Tonight should be fun,” she added, allowing herself to be mildly optimistic about the way the night would go. At the very least, she’d get to see Abigail smile, and have a chance to make Camilla laugh. And when she found out who - if anyone - had hurt her friend, she’d make them pay.

***

Ava and Abigail had almost made it out the door when Argent called Ava into her office, situated near the front door. Her mate’s office was in the back of the house, connected to their bedroom, but Argent had wanted to be close to the entrance, and the main area of activity.

“What’s up?” Ava asked, popping her head through the doorway. Argent smiled at her and shuffled the papers she was reading to the side of her desk, beckoning Ava in.

“Just wanted to check in before you left,” Argent said when Ava sat across from her. “Feels like I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“You saw me this morning at breakfast,” Ava reminded her, laughing. “You yelled at me because I tried to skip out on eating.”

“Was that really just this morning? This paperwork is killing me,” Argent sighed. “I think I’m just about done, though.”

“What are you working on?” Ava asked, making a swipe for the papers Argent had put to the side. Argent smiled and pulled them just out of her reach.

“Well I just finished reading through the contract to buy that building downtown,” Argent said, yawning. “Remember? I took you and Abigail with me when I first looked at it.”

“Right, the old warehouse,” Ava said, nodding. “So you’re buying it after all.”

“Yeah, I am,” Argent sighed happily. “I’m really looking forward to opening a restaurant here. It’s not as big a city as I’m used to, but I think we’ll do just fine.”

“Of course we will,” Ava said cheekily. “You’re the best chef I know.”

“I’m the only chef you know,” Argent responded dryly. Ava laughed and stood, hearing Abigail calling her.

“I’ll see you later,” Ava said, turning to leave. Argent called out to stop her before she got too far, though.

“Thank you,” Argent said softly. “I know you weren’t happy about this whole school thing, but you’ve been a great example for the younger kids. They couldn’t have done this without knowing you had their backs.”

“It wasn’t just me,” Ava protested. “You’re there for them too. You raised most of them.”

“Yeah, I did, but you’re special Ava. You’ve done so much for all of them. They’ve seen you go to the mat for them time and time again, and they know you’ll do it again. You fight for them in ways I can’t, and I cannot thank you enough for it.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Ava said simply. “I’d do anything for them.”

“I know you would,” Argent said sadly. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” Ava frowned.

“What are you talking about?” She asked, clenching her hands in her jacket pockets.

“Nothing,” Argent said, smiling at her. “Go have fun with your friends.” Ava nodded in confusion, not bothering to correct Argent and remind her that they were Abigail’s friends, not hers.

When Ava left the office, Abigail was waiting by the front door for her, waving for her to hurry up. When Ava reached her, she shoved her out the front door, where Ava saw Ry’s car waiting. As always, it took her breath away.

Ava had a soft spot for beautiful old cars, and Ry’s car definitely qualified. It was a ‘73 camaro in beautiful condition, and the exact same shade of blue as Ava’s hair. Jealousy didn’t suit Ava, but she was drowning in it.

Diana leaned out the passenger window, waving wildly at them, smiling brightly enough to put the sun to shame. Abigail waved back excitedly and hurried over to her friend. Ava followed at a more subdued pace, relishing every second of the view of the car.

“So we’re following you, right?” Abigail asked, leaning in the window to talk to Ry. He must have nodded, because Abigail continued. “We have to go pick up Ava’s friend first, that alright?”

“That’s fine, we’ll follow you there,” Diana said, grinning. “Are the twins still coming?” Abigail nodded, glancing back at the house impatiently.

“They better hurry up and get out here, or we’ll leave them,” she said, tapping her foot. As if summoned, the twins burst through the front door, shoving each other as they hurried over.

“It’s about time,” Ava said with a smirk. They just rolled their eyes at her, perfectly in sync. “Don’t give me that. You’re gonna make us late.”

“We’re here now,” Isaac said, grinning at Blake. “Can we go? I wanna see the band, I was listening to some of their stuff online earlier and they sound really cool.”

“Yeah, they’re great,” Blake added, grinning back. Isaac rolled his eyes and shoved his twins shoulder.

“Right, cause that’s what you’re excited about,” Isaac said teasingly. Blake glared, pushing him back, and Ava stepped between them before they could break into an all out fight.

“Cool it boys,” she said, a hand on each of their shoulders. “We’re about to leave. Go get in the car, Abby and I’ll be there in a sec.” The twins obeyed, but they snarked at each other the whole way to the car.

“Boys,” Abigail said with a sigh. Diana laughed and Abigail smiled at her. “What am I gonna do with them?”

“Think Argent would miss them if we left them at the club tonight?” Ava asked, grinning. Abigail laughed and shook her head.

“Yeah I think she would,” she said. “Come on, let’s go pick up your friend already.”

***