LOVE IS STUPID LIKE THAT

15 FEBRUARY, MONDAY, BREAKFAST

The next morning, I found my family at the breakfast table. Borrowing from Sabre's bedtime story, I felt a little like Cinderella the day after the ball. My body was sitting at the table in front of waffles and grilled ham, maple syrup, and cherry tomatoes.

But my heart was still all like "I know you~ I walked with you, once upon a dream~ dada, dadum~"

Which was a totally different Disney Princess song, but love transcended technical details like that.

"You're in a good mood today." My unevil natural mother noted as she sipped her morning tea.

Ki placed a tall glass of orange juice in front of me, "Thanks Ki."

"You're very welcome, goddess." Ki smiled and returned to the kitchen.

"What time did you get back last night?" Mum asked conversationally.

"Maybe around two." I admitted. Okay, here we go... I braced myself internally for the lecture.

Mum just nodded, "Try to sleep early tonight."

And that was it. I blinked, "That's it?"

"What's it dear?" Mum asked, but she was more preoccupied at trying to get Sabre to eat her eggs.

"No! I only eat fruit." Sabre informed Mum, "I'm a fruit fly, not a egg fry, not a butter fly..."

"You aren't mad I got home so late?" Even as I asked, I wondered if I should've just shut up. But curiosity killed the cat, you know.

Dad made a grunting sound. Mum patted his arm, "Where did you go?"

So I wasn't in trouble for coming home late? What was the world coming to? 

"We went to Moshiros." I said.

"Moshiros? I heard the waiting list was three months long!" Mum said. 

"Valentines day reservations take longer." Ki piped in with our lunch bags in hand. He set them next our school bags on the side counter, "Would you like me to make one for Alpha Kingsley and you for next year, Luna?"

"Oh! That does sound nice. What do you think dear?" Mum touched Dad on his arm. 

Dad looked up from his screen, "Please do, Ki."

"Yes, Alpha." Ki nodded a bow.

"Wait, but I hadn't met Bell one year ago!" Gasp! Something didn't add up here.

"Yes, I regularly make reservations at select establishments for most special holidays and occasions in anticipation of my Alpha's social calendar." Ki explained. 

Dad raised a brow at that, "And who would last night's reservation be for?"

Mum sighed, "Dear..."

Ki beamed his gentle smile, "It was a standard reservation I made every year just to be prepared, it was not for any specific person. I have ever used it myself, or passed it on to someone else, so it was never wasted."

Dad narrowed his eyes at that. Mum smiled brightly and praised, "How resourceful, Ki!"

Dad adverted his gaze. And then went back to whatever was on his screen again. I used to wonder what Dad could possibly be reading, but since the advent of the FAO, I knew only too well. Emails, reports... it was like "the song that never ends, it goes on and on my friend."

Mum decided to press on, "So Moshiros. That must have been grand! Did you have a good time, Sam?"

I nodded, "I guess. I think Ki's cooking is better though."

Ki's smile was like a flower opening up to the sun, "Thank you, goddess."

"Next time Bell can just eat here with us then." Dad decided.

"Dear..." Mum's tone was gently reproving. 

Was Dad sulking?

They entered mindlink zone - and I knew they were discussing about me, again. 

"So tell me," Savy grinned wickedly at me, "Is it true that the grass is greener and the sky is bluer when you're in love?"

"What?" But my face turned hot even before I could process the question.

"Your face is red." Sabre informed me.

"I'm not in love!" I blurted out. 

Savy cackled, "Don't try to deny it, you're like an open book, Sam."

I flared, "I'm not!"

"Now she's mad, Savy." Sabre observed.

"See, even a preschooler can read you." Savy shrugged.

But I was busy yelling at Sabre, "I'm NOT!"

"YOU ARE!" Sabre yelled back.

"Am not!"

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

"Are to!"

"That's enough, girls!" Mum said, "Don't tease your sister. One day it would also be your turn to meet your soul mate."

"Yeah, and I'll get back at you then!" I decided smugly.

"Will not!" Sabre said.

"Will too!" I said.

"Sam, that's enough." Mum said firmly.

"It's not everyday that you see a highschooler arguing with a preschooler on equal footing." Savy said. Hahahaha...  I mean, grrrr... how dare she insult me!

Ki's phone chimed, he checked it and then informed my dad, "The news is out, Alpha. I've just forwarded it to you. It's quite a good photo."

Dad growled and immediately turned his attention to his screen again.

"News about what?" I asked Ki.

"Your date with Luna Bell." Ki smiled at me. 

"What?" I stood up, "Let me see!"

I was the only one who had to stand up to see the online article on Ki's phone. Everyone else simply looked to their phones, well except Sabre, but Mum showed her the picture.

"Your necklace is pretty." Sabre said.

Oh, she meant the warlock crystal around my neck. I touched it, it was still under my uniform.

"Did Bell give that to you?" Mum asked, "It's lovely."

No Mum, I kinda plucked it off a fallen branch at the edge of the warlock forest and am hoping to bait him out... Of course I couldn't tell her that.

Ki's forehead creased, just for a moment at the necklace in the photo, but it was quickly replaced with his usual smile, "I believe Luna Bell had also left other gifts for the goddess last night. I had placed them on your dresser."

Oh, were those presents for me? I did see a few new boxes and paper bags, but I had thought it was something Ki hadn't put away yet. 

Mum nudged Dad, "Isn't it sweet that Bell is making so much effort to make their first valentine's day together, special?"

"As long as he keeps making effort." Dad grunted, before adding as a second thought, "But not too much effort."

"Dear..." Mum warned.

"I thought you liked Bell." I said.

"Oh, he does! Your dad had been singing praises about him since they first met!" Mum insisted.

But Dad didn't say anything, he didn't even smile at that. He just went back to his phone.

"Dad?" I prodded cautiously. Dad had given every (wolf) inclination that he did not want to talk further. But I needed to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. Dad was being weird today.

Dad sighed heavily, his wolf stirred, "Sam, all men are wolves."

I nodded, "Cos we're wolves."

Dad shook his head, "No, Sam. I mean... never mind." 

"Your dad's just being a little sentimental. You're growing up so fast." Mum soothed it over.

"Don't worry." I tried to reassure my parents, "I'll be your puppy forever."

Dad looked up suddenly, and frowned his thinking frown at me. What?

And then he looked back down at his screen. I decided by pure instinct that it would be better to leave Dad alone now. Never prod an Alpha wolf, but if you did and nothing bad happened, don't prod him again - at least not so soon.

Mum apparently felt the same, she switched the topic to the Vday dance, "And how was the dance last night?"

"Fine." Savy shrugged.

"It was fun!" I told mum, "I ended up singing on stage with Harvey. And then I danced off against Ben!"

Mum raised a brow at that.

Savy cackled then, her initial indifference melted off immediately, "Yeah, Sam really stole the show. At the end of the dance, we made the band play it again, and then nominated couples to dance off for the best couple award."

"Wait, you guys shook your bon bons for best couple?" I asked. I imagined all my friends shaking their bon bons like their life depended on it.

"No. All of the couples were from the highschool section. Marissa and Kevy won in the end."

Oh.

I hoped Harvey had taken Lola home by then.

And then Mum just wanted to remind Savy to watch the time more carefully. Savy had reached home really late last night - just a little past one.

"I didn't know you'd wait up for me." Savy told Mum.

"How could I sleep knowing that you were not home yet?" Mum protested.

"Sam was out even later last night." Savy argued, "Did you wait up for her?" 

"Well, no." Mum admitted, "But Sam was with Bell."

"That made it okay?" Savy asked, "I was with Lizzy, Ben, AND Jonah."

"It's different." Mum said.

"In what way different?" Savy challenged.

"Yeah, in what way different?" I wanted to know too.

"Bell is her soulmate." Mum explained sagely, "On top of that, he is a strong wolf and a very well brought up and capable young man."

Wow, Bell really made a good impression on Mum.

"Ben and Jonah are wonderful boys, but Ben can be a bit impulsive and Jonah always ends up following along." Mum smiled fondly at whatever she was recalling about them, "They'll grow up to be fine wolves one day, I'm sure. But right now, you're still just kids. It'll be unfair to make them responsible for your safety."

"I'm not a kid anymore, Mum. I'm a teenager. I can be responsible for myself." Savy pointed out.

"I'm okay being a puppy." I said, "I'm not in a hurry to grow up."

"You should be in a hurry to get to school though." Mum reminded me.

Oh right, okay.

"Bye! See you later!" I got up and grabbed my things. Ki met me at the door with my coat. The car was already waiting on the porch.

"I'll be driving you to school today, goddess." Ki informed me.

"Okay, thanks Ki." I got into the car.

I checked my phone for the news article about my date last night. I searched "Lorent date valentine" because I remembered seeing those words in the article headlines on Ki's phone.

I found the article with two photographs - which proved that not all the ladies paying undue attention to our table were necessarily admiring my hot mate, at least one of them was working hard... at covertly taking pictures for the gossip column. My new necklace was featured in this shot. I wondered if the warlock read the news and would recognise his crystal - magic thread and all.

But it wasn't really the necklace that caught my attention. I felt rather embarrassed looking at the photo of myself. Was that really me? I looked really, really, really pretty.

Yeah. Maybe that was how all girls looked like when they were in love. Or in prom dresses and make up and matching purse and shoes. Oh... I couldn't remember what happened to the purse. Did I even bring it home?

Oh wait, my phone was in my hand. I had picked it up from the tray on my dresser with my wallet and all the other usual things. I hadn't seen the blue bowed purse, but since its contents made it home, I could safely assumed it did too.

There was another photograph in the article. This one was a keeper. I wanted to save this picture forever because Mate was smiling in it. I figured out how to take a screenshot with my phone just for this photo.

The search also found a short video clip of us outside the restaurant, I had just turned my head to look at the flash of light, and then Mate had physically blocked the camera's line of sight from me, and bundled me into the car - so most of what you saw was Mate's back and my hair. I had a lot of hair, and it really was floating on cloud nine last night. It was a lot of blissfully happy hair.

Then there were other shots, one of them of the both of us in the car - not very flattering with the white flash. One from behind when our car was just crossing over to the road home. I guess that was when the paparazzi were stopped. Thank goddess for our warriors and the private packlands behind the city.

"Is it bad that I'm on the news again?" I asked Ki as I scrolled down the search page.

"As long as you're not uncomfortable." Ki answered with a sanguine smile, "This kind of news is beneficial for our pack. It will establish your relationship with your Luna publicly."

MY LUNA.

I liked the sound of that. My Luna, my Luna, my Luna... 

I can't say if the grass was greener (it was still winter), and it was too early for the sky to look blue, but being in love was crazy.

MY LUNA. The magic words that immediately lifted up the corners of my mouth.

There was also this soundtrack playing in my head on repeat, "I love you, I walked with you once upon a dream..." And even as it played, I would be like, "That's so true! I did walk with Mate once upon a dream!"

You know you're in love when Disney Princess songs begin to sound like the gospel truth.

And I'm not sure if this was love, or just the fact that it was already the third time I was on the news, but I wasn't uncomfortable at all. In fact, I was perfectly happy for the whole world to see those pictures and know that I was on a date last night with MY LUNA.

{Mine.}

MY LUNA.

{Mine.}

MY LUNA.

{Mine.}

MY LUNA.

{Mine. Mine. Mine.}

"But if I know you~

I know what you do~

You'll love me at once~

The way you did once~ upon~ a dream~"

La~la~la~

{Mine.}

Exactly like that. Love was stoopid like that.