Courage

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."

― E.E. Cummings

(Freya)

Freya rolled her eyes as she slid into the passenger seat of her best friends red Volkswagen Beetle, she used to make fun of the little bug when Sam first got it, but now it had grown on her.

"Not a good start your big day?" Sam asked with a nervous smile.

"Our big day." Freya corrected her with her own smile, "Zander came home this morning, per my mothers request, and about walked in on me naked."

Sam let out a low whistle, "That would have been interesting."

Freya shook her head. Sam had a crush on Zander ever since the first time she seen him, they had been thirteen and Zander was eighteen. It was the only year that they had lived in the same house together. "I forgot who I was talking to."

"No shit Freya, your brother is HOT." She stated with a shrug of the shoulders, "If he ever acknowledged me, I would jump him in a second."

Slinking down into the bucket seat, Freya bit her lip, "Stepbrother and his looks do not make up for personality." She mumbled.

The year that Zander had lived in the house with her, was the weirdest year of her life. He had been going through his Rite of Passage Ceremony, so a little weirdness was understandable, but the guy had literally treated her like she had the plague. There were not a lot of reasons for an eighteen-year-old to socialize with a thirteen-year-old but when they were in a room together, he would be snappy and moody. Home life might not have sucked so much, if they had found a common ground, but that never happened. Freya let a small part of her mind acknowledge that Zander was not horrible to look at but that was far as she dared go. Whether she liked it or not, the dude was her brother, by marriage or not, he was family.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Sam let out making Freya jump slightly.

"What?" she asked in concern.

Sam glared her down, "Why the fuck are you not wearing the brand-new outfit that took three hours of searching every store in the mall to find?"

Shit. "Um…I didn't like the way it fit." Freya mumbled looking away from her friend. Keeping eye contact with people had always been a hardship for her, it always made her feel uncomfortable, especially when she was lying.

"Bullshit, you can not lie to me Freya Clarice Summers," ah oh middle name, "I was there when you tried the blasted thing on, you looked like living sex in that outfit. That was supposed to be the new you outfit. What really happened?"

Letting out a sigh Freya shook her head, "I looked in the mirror-"

"Not the stupid mirror thing again." Sam cut her off, "You know that you are not going to feel any different till after the ceremony. No one feels any different till afterwards, we have both heard the stories from the older girls in school, hell even your mom told us that."

"I know what we have heard but I still feel like on the day of I should feel some sort of difference. It just got me in a funk is all." Freya admitted.

Sam clicked her tongue in her disapproval, "Well before we go to the ceremony we will stop by your house and you can change." It was said in Sam's, challenge me on this, I dare you tone, so Freya just nodded not in the mood to argue.

Samantha Day had been Freya's best friend since before they could even crawl. Their mothers had been best friends, so they were just always around one another. They adapted to their surroundings and made a solid bond. Sam was beautiful, long flaxen hair that was perfectly beach waved, full in all the right places, gorgeous full lips, and the most memorizing baby blue eyes she had ever seen on one person. Freya had always been envious of her and always compared herself to her bestie, though she knew it was not Sam's fault. Nope, it was just her genetics, both of her parents looked like some type of Norse Gods. You could not even hate her, she was literally the perfect person, kind, sweet, and generous.

"We are here, welcome to the first day of Senior year!" she enthused as they pulled into the school parking lot turning to look at Freya with a bright smile, that dimmed as she scanned her face. "Oh no, you were doing that idolizing me thing again weren't you?"

Freya laughed, "We have been around each other too long."

Sam grabbed one of Freya's hands comfortingly, "You are beautiful in your own right Freya, I am so envious of your hair and perfect skin complexion, and those dimples when you really smile. Gosh, just kill me now. I swear if you flashed those dimples at any of the boys in this school, you would have a line at your front door a mile long."

"Yeah right, come on, we can't be late for the first day…of our senior year!" Freya ended the last part with mock enthusiasm.

Sam rolled her eyes, "Never mind, even that smile wouldn't be enough to save your attitude."

Freya and Sam both broke out in a fit of laughter as they walked into WolfBane Highschool, yeah real original name for a school but when a pack of shifters fund it, they can call it whatever they like. Taking a deep breath, Freya pushed open the door to her last year as a high school student.