After third bell, I caught up to Brandon at his locker. He was grabbing a textbook, and when he spotted me a huge smile came over his face. For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me. But the crowd of students prevented him from displaying his affection and instead he brushed his hand against mine.
"Hey, Celeste," he said.
I knew I had a worried look on my face. I could feel it, my brow wrinkled and my lips tense. I held my notebooks tightly against me as if they were a shield.
"What's wrong?" he said.
"Nash..." I said privately. "He wants me to help him find a cure."
I knew it had taken a lot for Brandon to stand by while I kissed another guy - especially when that guy was interested in me - all for the sake of making him deal with being a werewolf. Brandon's selflessness was so dear to me - I cherished it, but I knew that deep down, that act still pained him, as it would me if I were in his situation.
"He feels like I'm the only one he can trust. Who else can he tell? Dylan? Jake? I know it must be lonely for him," I said sympathetically.
"He's going to use this to try to get back with you," he said.
"I don't think so," I said firmly. "I really think he just wants to find a solution. I'd tell you if it were any other way."
Brandon shook his head. "To think your major problem could have been dating a guy from the wrong side of town. Now you have as many headaches as both Nash and I do."
It was so gracious of Brandon to think of what I was going through when he was the one who really had to deal with a life-altering situation. It was only my issue vicariously. "And I think that Nash feels like you two are kindred spirits now, I guess," I said.
"Did you tell him about my father and the serum he sent me?"
"No. I didn't think it was the time, nor my news, to share. Anyway, since you haven't taken it, we don't even know if it works. I didn't want to get his hopes up. Especially since you only have one dose. Should I have told him?"
"No, not yet. I agree, we need to know if it works first. You did the right thing." Brandon embraced me.
We got a few stares, but I didn't care. The insider with the outsider, the Eastsider with the Westsider, the human with the werewolf - none of it mattered. I felt so warm in his arms and comforted by him. It was heaven to be with him, and it was as if just being in his presence - let alone wrapped in his embrace - took all my worries away.
"It's time for lunch," Brandon said, pulling back.
"Who can eat?" I asked wearily. But I knew Brandon must be starving. Since he'd become a werewolf, his appetite had grown to the size of a sumo wrestler's. The smell from the cafeteria wafted through the hallways, and I heard his stomach begin to growl.
Lunch bell should be a happy time, a break to relax, eat, and hang out with my friends and new boyfriend. But I knew we'd be seeing Nash in the cafeteria, and I wasn't sure how he was going to react or what he was going to say after our talk an hour ago. With Brandon by my side, I wasn't sure if it would bring out more of the animal in Nash even in the daylight hours. After all, Brandon was hungrier than normal and could communicate with canines all the time now. I wasn't sure how Nash would behave with me and Brandon sharing a simple lunch at our normal table.
However, as Brandon took my hand and we began to walk through school, I lost track of all things except being in his company. I was in heaven, our fingers entwined and our arms touching as we passed empty classrooms and students milling in the hallways. I'd never felt so alive and at peace at the same time. I'd always been happy, but something had been missing deep down inside my soul - until I met Brandon. I saw how Abby and Ivy lit up when their boyfriends were around and how they planned their futures together. And now that I'd met Brandon and fallen in love with him, the inner turmoil I'd once felt about my romantic life was replaced with warmth and joy. I couldn't have been happier - except that I now had to deal with the consequences of my boyfriend being a werewolf.
And this was the first time I was taking Brandon to eat lunch with me at our group's table. Before, I'd eaten at his table or by myself, but this time I wanted him to be part of my group, which he should have been long ago. However, I was having second thoughts and wasn't sure if I wanted to take this on after my conversation with Nash. What if he brought it up again somehow? Or tried to make Brandon jealous by saying he needs me, too?
"Should we just eat alone today?" I asked Brandon as we reached the cafeteria. "We could eat near the library instead."
"I'm not afraid of sitting at Nash's table. Are you?"
"No," I said with a sigh. But I was afraid of the awkwardness, of the secrets that I was still keeping from my friends, and that Nash might very well slip and reveal his and Nash's condition.
And who knew? Maybe Nash was so focused on finding a cure - perhaps instead, he was searching for answers in the library - that he wouldn't be eating with us anyway, and I wouldn't have to deal with it today at all.
I squeezed Brandon's hand as we walked through the cafeteria and outside to the patio. My friends were already at our table, and Abby waved us over while Ivy smiled. I loved the outdoors and was happy to have lunch in the open air. The sounds of birds played in my ears and the fresh spring breeze blew through my hair. I would have loved my classes to be outside, too, but I knew that would never happen. This was my time to feel the freedom and invigoration that nature offered.
I walked to our table with Brandon. Ivy and Abby and Jake and Dylan were already eating, but by their polite gestures I knew they were accepting of us. I was just hoping this wasn't a mistake, bringing Brandon here to be taunted by Nash, who watched us as we approached.
I didn't make eye contact with Nash at first as we stood at our empty seats.
"Hi, guys," Abby said. "Sit down. We've been waiting for you."
Nash gave me a quick glare. Then his face brightened. "Yes, we have." My former boyfriend didn't protest.
I'd given him the gift of remembering his lycan nights. Why couldn't that be enough for him?
"Hey, Brandon, why don't you sit over here?" Nash said, scooting over.
We all looked at him oddly. Was it a prank? Was there a tack on the bench or something worse?
But Brandon didn't seem too bothered and sat down next to Nash.
Ivy gasped and Abby giggled under her breath.
"Seems like you have a new friend," Abby said to my former beau.
"Yes," Nash said. "We're going to be great friends. We have so much in common now, right, Brandon?"
It appeared to the others that he was talking about me, but I knew Nash was really referring to fixing their werewolf problem.
Brandon didn't respond and instead squeezed my leg underneath the table.
The two guys opened their bagged lunches. Brandon had five sandwiches, and Nash had four, plus three protein shakes.
"Dude - football tryouts aren't until late summer," Dylan said, surprised at their lunches.
"Gross. How can you eat all that?" Ivy asked.
"It's the spring air - " Nash said. "Makes me feel like an animal. Do you feel like an animal, too, Brandon?"
"What is he talking about?" Ivy whispered to me.
"Oh, nothing. Just a joke between friends," Nash said.
"So, boys, are you excited for the Werewolf Festival?" Abby asked. "It's only a few weeks away!"
"Oh, yeah," Dylan said. "We'll have to get tickets soon."
"The girls and I have already made our plans to dress up for the festival," Abby said proudly. "Will you guys? There's a hundred-dollar prize for the best-looking werewolf."
"That could be me," Nash said.
The girls giggled, but I knew what he was really referring to.
"What about you, Brandon?" Abby asked. "Are you going to dress up?"
Ivy and Abby treated Brandon so nicely, I regretted taking so long to tell them the truth about my love for him. I should have known they would include him, and I still felt guilty for misjudging them. However, their support made our friendship even stronger.
"I guess, if Celeste is."
Brandon appeared pleased with his new set of friends. I knew eating alone at that table for so many months had to have been so lonely. It killed me that he ever had to be there in the first place.
"What are you going to wear?" Nash asked him. "A costume?"
I nudged Brandon's leg under the table.
"He can be the brave huntsman that saves me," I said. "I'm going to come as Red Riding Hood. I still have the costume I wore for Halloween. It will be perfect."
"Or maybe he can be the Big Bad Wolf," Nash said.
"In that case, he might not need a..."
I shot Nash a look as if to say, Stop talking now.
But he was delighted with his inside jokes. The sad part was that my hero might look more like a werewolf than the attendees wearing their costumes.