Chapter 2: Keep Your Guard Up

Evan

The day drew closer to that ending bell. Somehow, he dreaded it. He wasn't ready for the day to be over. He had never looked so forward to being at school before now.

He saw her at her locker. It was about five lockers away from his own. Though he didn't have to see her to sense she was there. He could sense her from a mile away.

His stare lingered on her tall frame and her flowing dark hair. It crashed in waves against the middle of her back and shined like the sea full of moonlight. She was gorgeous in every sense of the word.

"Hey. So how was your first day with me?" he asked and smiled.

"Oh, not too bad. Did your first day go well?"

He wanted to tell her it couldn't have gone better, and she was the reason. He had hoped she would be in his classes and he got lucky because she was in almost all of them. He wondered if she would remember him. Part of him hoped she wouldn't given the reason they had met before but if she had remembered him, maybe it meant he had been stuck in her head like she had been stuck in his.

"It wasn't too bad for being the new kid."

Evan had always wanted a different view. The big city life was one he wasn't made for. He was more than happy to move back to his birthplace when his mom and his so-called father couldn't make things work any longer.

She had approached him one day after another huge fight with his father. The screaming took over the entire house and not even Evan's ear buds pouring music into his ears could drown out the sound of hatred between his parents.

Enough was enough.

The move couldn't come fast enough.

The day finally came, they packed up what they could fit into his mom's SUV and headed west. The trip seemed to take forever but when Evan saw the mountains in the horizon, his heart about beat out of his chest.

Getting away from his father was just the tip of the iceberg of the reasons for this move. He had another agenda. One he hadn't been able to stop thinking about for many, many years now.

Her.

"Yeah, being the new kid can suck. Glad to see you made it through," Shayla said and softly punched his arm.

"Thanks. Wanna grab some ice cream or something?" he asked.

She hesitated. He knew she was going to decline.

"Sure, sounds good."

Wow. She said yes. Things might just go his way after all.

They walked to the student parking lot. She went to her Jeep, and he stood there.

"Need a ride?" she asked.

"Um, yeah." He hopped in her car and they headed to the ice cream shop. Once there, he got out before her so he could open the door. His father didn't teach him much, but he did teach him chivalry.

She smiled sweetly at him, so he knew she appreciated his kindness. Maybe it was something she wasn't used to. He would show her just how kind he could truly be.

They found a quiet table towards the back of the shop. The waitress took their order. They both ordered peanut butter milkshakes, almost at the same time.

"You are the only other person I know who likes peanut butter milkshakes," he said.

"Really? That's awesome. Yeah, I only know of one other person who likes them; my mom."

His heart sank. He hated knowing that Shayla had lost her mother the way she had.

He was embarrassed that he had even been there that day.

And terrified she would find out.

He was rather grateful, at least for now, that she didn't realize he was a hybrid too. He wasn't sure why she didn't realize that, given she can sense things as well, but for whatever reason, he was glad.

"She sounds pretty special then," he said.

"She was."

He sensed her sadness and changed the subject.

They talked for a half hour about school. He found out she loves to read and draw. His only talent was guitar, but he hadn't picked his up in a long time. Maybe she would inspire him to do so.

"You'll have to play for me one day," she said.

And he knew he would. He didn't come this far to not pull out all the stops. What woman doesn’t like a good guitar serenade? Afterall, that is what drew his mom to his dad in the beginning.

He just hoped if this turned into anything, that it didn't get handed the same fate as his parents' relationship did.

You'd think that would be enough to scare him away from pursuing anything romantic, but he couldn't let what happened to his parents define love for him.

Unfortunately, he had no idea that what happened to Shayla would completely affect her future romances.

And directly affect him.

But even if he knew ahead of time everything his future with Shayla had in store for him, he would still jump, headfirst, in love with her. Nothing would change that. Nothing ever could.

They finished their shakes and he walked her to her Jeep. He opened the door for her to get in.

"Aren't you getting in?" she asked.

"No. I live just a block over, so I am going to walk the rest of the way. Thank you for a lovely evening. I will see you bright and early in first period."

He grabbed her hand and went to kiss it. She yanked it back.

He knew he had his work cut out for him. But he was ready to put in the work. He would do anything for her, the love of his life.

"See you in the morning." And she was gone.

As soon as he knew she was out of sight and that he was completely alone, Evan changed into a wolf and went for a run.

It was his favorite thing to do.