Anastasia

I watch Gisele lean against the school lockers in the hallway. She is trying to cover her giggles with her hand. She can't help but close her eyes with joy as she laughs. And she looks gorgeous.

I'm laughing too. Glad to be back with my friend.

Earlier that day, Gisele looked at me with a steel glare across the hallway. I wasn't sure if we were on speaking terms again, and I was afraid to approach her and ask.

The last time I saw her, I had said some terrible things. So, I was certain she wouldn't speak to me again. She had stormed out of the room in such a rage that

I wouldn't have been surprised if that was the end of our relationship.

Then she walked straight up to me and said, "Meet me here after class."

I had taken a big gulp. Worried she had changed how she saw me. My imagination immediately went to the darkest of places. I didn't know what to expect.

Ineed to prepare myself for the possibility that Gisele joined Medeia's hoard of bullies.

The bell rang, and I sat through the next lesson with terrible, suffocating anxiety.

There were so many things I wanted to explain, and I hoped she would listen. After everything we had been through, I couldn't stand to lose her over some comments made in anger.

I waited for her in the exact spot she told me to be. I took a deep breath, prepared for anything.

She walked right up to me again. "So?" she said. "Are you ready to bury the hatchet?"

I let out my breath with a sigh of relief. "Yes!" I said. "Definitely. "Good. Look, I know things haven't been easy, and it's hard. A lot of bad things have happened. But you can't constantly blame yourself. You can't live under that much self-resentment. Ana, none of this is your fault. You need to realize that."

I wanted to apologize to her, because she didn't deserve the things I had said. I was just upset. But she didn't let me begin. She had more to say.

Look, I'm sorry I pushed you to feel a certain way, and that you weren't ready for those feelings. I get that my positivity can be insensitive. I just want things to go back to how they were. I don't mean to be so forward. "No. I'm sorry, Gisele. I know you're just trying your best to look out for me."

I am. I really don't want there to be a rift between us. But it's not like everything is easy for me, you know. I'm stuck in the middle of a stupid conflict between my two closest friends!" she said, with a large gesture to accompany her words.

Her arms swayed wide as she said this and accidentally hit a junior in training. The blow knocked his books right out of his arms.

"Oh, I'm so sorryl" Gisele immediately shouted as she turned towards him. Both of her hands were now covering her gasp. She was clearly embarrassed.

Gisele wasn't a naturally mean person. She would never pick on wolves lower than her.

The junior scuffled for his book. He quickly left, clearly too late to take any apologies.

As he did, he let out an annoyed grunt.

His reaction left us both riddled with giggles. For a few moments, neither of us could speak. She really has a gorgeous, infectious laugh.

Her face turns red under her hand, and she slowly opens her eyes and meets mine. "Thank you for being such a passionate apologizer," I let out with a smile. "Well, you're welcome. That was all for you!" she said. "Well, it's appreciated." I let my laughs quiet dowm and looked her straight in her eyes. "Gisele, can we just be friends again?"

I feel like she doesn't understand how difficult my life has been. For her, everything seems so effortless. Even in jeans and sneakers, she is elegant. But l'd rather her not understand where I am coming from than risk losing her again. "Yeah, I'd really like that."

She straightens herself out and leans her one shoulder on the locker and slightly cocks her head. I have some more interesting news to discuss with you anyway." she says.

No wonder Jacob is so in love with her.

Gisele has such an ease to her. She has moved on from our fight and found forgiveness, just like that. I sometimes get a jealous pit in my stomach when I'm with her for different reasons.

But someone like me should be grateful to have someone like her watching out for me. Let alone actually enjoying my company. I don't know what 'd do if she hadn't moved on from our spat.

I guess I'd continue to be lonely. But moments like these, hanging out with a friend like Gisele, makes me feel the most alive, almost wanted.

I saw a boy looking at you," she states. Her lips purse with excitement and she jiggles her shoulders to tease me a bit.

The news shocks me. Me? Looked at by someone in our pack? That can't be real. "Wh-at? Who?" "He's an Omega, like you. I saw him this morning when I was staring you down. He was following you like a puppy, completely lost in a cloud of love. It was adorable.

That's quite the match, if you ask me." "That's impossible Gisele." I know better than to think anyone could find any interest in me.

It's not. I think he has a crush on you, Ana.

I think he was talking to you at the party too. Didn't he like your hair? Oh Moon

Goddess, it's obvious!

I remember an awkward Omega at that party. It's quite a crazy thought that a man might have been looking at me. I'm sure Gisele is exaggerating, but for a brief second, I feel kind of excited.

We both laugh lightly about it.

However, the dark feeling in my stomach grows, and I stare down at the floor.

You don't get it. No-one could ever love me, not even my father loved me." The words leave my lips before I could even think them through.

A silence falls between us, and she looks at me. But for reasons I don't understand,

I can't stop speaking. The words just jump themselves off my chest and out into the world. "When my mother died, my father blamed me. He wasn't wrong, either. I'm not crazy, but I'm the reason for bad things that happened to my family. Ive seen it all my life." Tears swell in my eyes.

Gisele stands there, silent. She's listening and she lets me tell her everything. "My mother died because of me. I was sick, I was always sick. But this time I was really sick. I knew she would be there by my side. And she was. She fed and bathed me. She prayed for me and refused to leave me alone. We didn't realize that what I had was contagious."

It's like Im in a confessional. Gisele is there to cleanse me of my soul of my earthly sins.

She gently places a hand on my shoulder and allows me to cry in front of her.

I continue to speak. Whatever I had got her. Almost killed her. I don't remember a lot of what happened back then. My fever made everything a blur, but I remember her sickly hands still trying to care for me. "Oh, Moon Goddess," Gisele said softly. It was as if she could really feel the weight in my yheart. "Eventually, my father separated us.

He carried her to their room. She was struggling to breathe by then. He laid her on her bed and sat by her side. He didn't look at me once after that."

We both ignore the next class bell despite it ringing loudly in our ears. Gisele doesn't move a muscle. She wants to hear this. We accept that we'll just be late instead.

I am grateful Gisele will stand by me as I share my story. "Then, after she took her final breath, he turned to me, finally. All he said was that he wished I had never been borm. That he never loved me as his own. That I was a burden. Somehow, I got better. But she didn't."

Gisele pulls me in for a hug. She squishes my face into her shoulder.

I am so sorry, Ana. I did not know she got sick nursing you back to health." *See, if my father can't even love me, how is mate supposed to?" Im sobbing now, but it feels good to be touched without violence or hatred.

"Hey, that's not true. I'm here for you. I'm your friend. People do care, Ana, and even if you don't believe it. I don't think what happened to your mother was your fault."

I know better than to argue with her. I don't agree. I know it's my fault. I know I can't be loved. But it's nice to have a friend.

I give her one big squeeze and then pull away to dry my face. "Wow, I'm sorry, that got emotional!" I say as I wipe my cheeks. "It's fine. I'm grateful you told me. Il admit it, you're right. I don't know how hard it is to be you." "Thanks, Gisele," I say, and we share a smile of mutual understanding. "That being said, we shouldn't make life any more difficult. We need to get to class!" she says, halfjoking, half worried about getting into trouble.

Gisele throws me a wink and a last squeeze before we head down the hallway.

It feels really good to have this kind of support. I feel relieved, relaxed and grateful that I could share my story with such a special friend.

I promise myself at that moment that I'll be by her side till the very end.