Aryan-Why do I bother drinking? Every time I do, I either drink too much and forget everything, or I don’t drink enough and end up doing something foolish and remembering everything. I didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that I don’t remember what happened Friday night.The last thing I remember was Kierian and the others showing up to the party, but after that everything was foggy. I vaguely remember Kierian kissing me, but I hoped it was just a dream. If he really did kiss me, I would never be able to live down the embarrassment I felt.If it weren’t for Lilly telling me that Kierian took me home, I wouldn’t have known how I arrived. So, when I woke up Monday morning, I wanted to pretend to be sick, so I could avoid the ridicule I was sure to face. The best thing for me to do was just act like I didn’t remember anything and go about my day as if nothing happened.Not that it would be hard since I really didn’t remember anything. Giving myself a pep talk, I made my way
Aryan-As soon as school was over, instead of heading home, I went to sit on the bleachers, by the football field. I still couldn’t believe I had agreed to the bet. More than that, I can’t believe I had initiated the bet.Groaning, I grabbed my bag and pulled out the homework I had for the day. Maybe I could just focus on my homework and worry about the rest later. As soon as I opened my book and started on my work, I heard someone jogging up the bleachers.I didn’t need to look up to know it was Kierian making his way toward me. Werewolf or not, Kierian’s presence demanded attention. Lycans had a very distinctive scent to them, that could attract anyone, including humans.They each had a different scent, but Kierian’s scent was the strongest. At least I noticed whenever he was nearby. I didn’t know if it was like that for everyone, or if it was just because I was more familiar with his scent. He had a deep woodsy smell, mixed with a hint of vanilla, along with the scent of night.It
Aryan-Standing in the gym, as I waited, I felt a little uncomfortable. Cheerleaders were still lingering after practice, either talking or coming out to the girl’s locker room. With my hands folded behind my back, I kept to the background, hoping no one would notice me.Kierian hadn’t been inside the locker room for long, so I knew it would take a while before he finished. Quietly walking along the wall, I slipped behind the stack of mats used for training. The stack was high enough that I didn’t need to crouch down.Peeking around the mats, I didn’t see anyone looking in my direction. As long as no one looked in my direction after leaving the locker room, I should be able to remain hidden. Every so often a cheerleader would exit, causing me to hold my breath until they walked off.When I was sure all the cheerleaders had finished showering and changing, my shoulders relaxed. There were a few girls that still lingered in the gym, but after ten minutes I thought I was in the clear. Tu
Aryan-While waiting for Callie to bring the fruit cake, coffee, and sandwiches for Kierian and me, we sat quietly. I wasn’t sure what to say or do. I still didn’t know what happened the night of the party and I kept thinking about the bet.Guilt chewed at me when thinking about the bet since it was just one more thing that I knew I was doing wrong. It was bad enough that I kept my identity from him, now I was hiding the fact I bet Brianna, I could get him to take me to the dance and game. At this rate, I wouldn’t blame him if he hated me, when he learned of the truth.At least Kierian seemed comfortable as he leaned back in his chair and looked around the café. His gaze met mine a few times, but they didn’t linger. The awkwardness that I felt was making me worried I would say something I shouldn’t.“This place is pretty cool. I expected things to get weird with me being here.” Kierian broke the silence.“Weird how?” I shifted in my seat awkwardly as this was exactly how he referenced
Aryan- When we left the café, I thought he might take me back to the school to grab my car, but he turned off the road, a mile from the school. Confused, I couldn’t remember him saying that we were going to be doing anything else. Looking out the window, I couldn’t think of anything that was in this direction that I knew. “What are we doing?” I asked when I could no longer figure anything out on my own. “I am not ready for this to be over, so if you don’t mind, I want to take you somewhere.” Kierian tightened his grip on the steering wheel, making me wonder why he was tensing up right now. “I don’t mind.” I lied. I did mind, but I couldn’t turn him down. Upsetting him was the last thing I wanted to do on top of all the wrong things I was already doing to him. If I could make his time with me a little bearable, perhaps he would let me off the hook a little. I had hoped to put an end to this outing with him, so I could process everything and not live in guilt all day long. Not want
Aryan-My attention stayed on him for a long time, after returning to his side to watch. I didn’t know why, but seeing his eyes narrow on his target, the set of his jaw, the way he turned his body slightly to adjust his stance, and the focus he held as he prepared the dart, made me fall in love with him all over again. Seeing him take this outing seriously, the memory of the bet came rushing forward.I knew that there was no way I could win this bet. If I won, I would want him to hate me. However, if I purposefully lost the bet, then maybe I would have a chance with him. I couldn’t tell him about the bet now, at least not until after the deadline, so he would see that I had lost on purpose.At least, that was the only thing I could think of that might salvage things. There was still the matter that he would hate me for lying to him about who I was. I had to believe that if I proved that everything between us was real, he would understand why I had to keep it from him.It was beyond me
Aryan-I was still reeling about my date with Kierian, the next day as I walked into my first class. Kierian was already sitting in his seat, with a wide smile when he looked up. Moving to my desk in the back corner, I saw a familiar brown paper sack on my desk.Once I sat down, I pulled the bag toward me, while turning it around. The logo of the café I took him to yesterday was on the bag. Tilting the bag so I could see inside, I saw a few pastries that I enjoyed from the café.“Good morning.” Kierian whispered as he leaned across the aisle.“Good morning.” I smiled at him, but not before making sure that Brianna wasn’t in the room.I knew that the more I spent time together with him, the more likely she would learn that we were on good terms. If possible, I was going to try to delay her learning of it. I mainly didn’t want her to cause more problems for me. To my relief, she didn’t show up for class.“Want to eat together today, for lunch?” Kierian asked once class was over, and we
Aryan-After school, I went straight to the football field to do my homework. Instead of sitting at the top like I normally do, I sat on the bench that the football players use, at the edge of the field. During practice, the girlfriends of the football players sat there.While I wasn’t technically a girlfriend, I thought it would be the best way to prove to Kierian that I was all in. There was still the guilt of what I had done to him, up until recently but I also felt guilty for always blowing him off or avoiding him when others were around. It did feel a little weird sitting with the girlfriends, as they kept looking at me and whispering to each other.Focusing on my homework, I tried not to even glance up at Kierian as he practiced. It wasn’t until after I finished that I gained more attention, or at least noticed more. As I was placing my books in my bag, I saw the girls who were sitting on the same bench, staring at me.Trying to ignore them, I watched Kierian as ran across the f