UNTIL HENRY "COOLED DOWN"

EJ didn't have an extra change of clothes, but we did have our band costumes, so we all changed into them. Yes, all of us, because we figured Henry might not be so very angry if we showed up dressed and ready for the performance.

So it was a very good thing EJ was planning on wearing their warrior boots on stage.

I got into the black cold shoulder top - which was just a ribbed t-shirt with long sleeves and cutouts that exposed my shoulders. Ki had also prepared two skirts in my costume change. The tulle one which I hadn't worn when facing off Wolfgang, and a long black pencil line skirt which looked cool and sleek, but I realized the moment I took my first step in it that it also forced me to waddle like a penguin. I wasn't the kind of girl who took small steps. It would take me forever to get out of the girl's changing room.

So I ended up leaving the changing room in a puffy black tulle skirt. It felt very princessy even though it was all black, and very fun. I felt like I was going to a costume party - and we all know how much I liked stuff like that. I rummaged through the black bag Fluffy had passed to me for makeup, and did my eyes smokey. How should I do my hair?

"Pretty Alpha, do you need help?" Fluffy popped in. He was in a slim-cut black button-up shirt and very tight jeans. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and he folded up his sleeves to show off his slave bands that marked his arms, the burned in bands played peekaboo behind an assortment of black and white and silver bangles.

I flared, "Fluffy! This is the girl's changing room!"

But I guess it's not like there was anyone else around right now, "Can you do something with my hair?"

"Your wish is my command." Fluffy magicked a travel pouch stuffed full of hair implements from my costume bag, "Let's see what Charming Beta packed... no bad... this is nice..."

I waited impatiently for Fluffy to pick out what he would use, and then sat sideways on one of the benches against the wall so he could work on my hair. See, if I were in the penguin skirt, I'd never be able to sit like this. I'd probably not be able to sit at all, actually.

EJ was leaning against the entrance by now. He didn't come in, but standing at the door of the girl's changing room to watch like that was just as bad.

"Hurry up, Fluffy." I complained, "Henry is gonna be mad."

"I'm sure he's way past mad by now, Pretty Alpha." Fluffy said soothingly, "It would actually be better if we gave him time to simmer down."

Eh? Hahaha. Fluffy was way too sneaky.

I wondered if that's what wolves did - like tip-toed around their Alpha's moods.

"I'm not afraid of Henry." I informed my wolves, "Hurry up, Fluffy!"

I couldn't see what Fluffy was doing behind me, but I could feel my hair being tugged and teased and braided and pinned.

"All done!" Fluffy turned me to the mirror - so I still couldn't see behind me, but the front looked good. Fluffy had sort of braided and bundled the top half of my hair in some kind of fancy asymmetrical braid.

"Cool. Thanks!" I grinned and quickly stuffed everything back into the costume bag.

"What about you, EJ?" Fluffy kindly offered, "I can put up your hair if you like."

"Yeah, alright." EJ peeled himself from the door frame and came into the girls changing room too. GIRLS CHANGING ROOM. Did this not bother these two clowns at all?

Or was I the weird one for freaking out about having Fluffy and EJ in the girls changing room?

EJ took my place on the bench so Fluffy could do his hair.

"You haven't cut your hair since we left the Underground." Fluffy deduced as he brushed EJ's red hair, "The length's good now, but you need to get the layers reshaped."

I found myself pacing by the door. Part of me was impatient to go, and part of me was freaking out that some girls would happen to come to the changing room and find two boys playing dress up. Or worse, what if Bert or Coach Williams came... wait no, if they came in, that would really be too weird right?

Fluffy had stabbed one side of EJ's hair with black slot clips. He even crossed them to weave a pattern of shiny black metal against one side of EJ's head, and then combed over the rest of it.

"Need hairspray." Fluffy said. He checked my costume bag. No hairspray. He did find some lemon-scented mister though.

"Hn..." Fluffy stopped smiling to consider his options.

"What?" EJ asked.

"No hairspray." Fluffy shrugged.

"I probably keep something in my locker." EJ suggested.

So we all had to troop over to the BOY'S CHANGING ROOM because EJ's locker was inside. I stopped when I realized where Fluffy was leading us to.

"What?" EJ asked from behind me.

"I'll wait outside." I said.

"Why?" EJ asked.

"Because it's the boy's changing room!" I tried to explain. Someone had to explain these things.

"So?" EJ asked.

"I'm not a boy!" I told EJ and pointed to the boy sign on the door. I mean, even though I knew I was speaking to his wolf, why wasn't something like this obvious?

"But you're the Alpha." EJ reasoned, "Why does it matter what the sign says?"

"Because... well..." I struggled to find the words. I looked to Fluffy for help.

"EJ, stay with Pretty Alpha. I'll go check your locker." Fluffy smiled.

"Don't touch my stuff." EJ growled warningly.

"Even if it all falls out the moment I open it?" Fluffy asked meekly.

"I'll do it. You stay here with Alpha." EJ stepped forwards.

"Do you remember your combination number?" Fluffy asked.

EJ's growl took a deeper inflection now, "Tell me."

Fluffy laughed. Like he was really enjoying this, "But you made me promise not to tell anyone, EJ."

EJ threw a punch and Fluffy dodged.

"Alright, stop!" I made effort not to flare and mess up my hair. Sigh, "Fine. We'll all go."

That was how I found myself in the boy's changing room.

The boy's changing room was stinkier than the girl's changing room. Messier too. Even though it was just lockers and benches.. the benches were in disarray, and the lockers looked crooked. Besides the shower stalls and toilet cubicles, they also had a urinal... which explained the smell.

I wrinkled my nose and decided I was lucky I was born a girl, "Why is your locker in here anyway?"

"They ran out of lockers in the hallway." Fluffy explained, "Since we only came to Winderhill mid-term."

Fluffy pointed out a few other lockers, "We aren't the only ones. There are a lot more boys than girls at Winderhill. Class 1-1 and 1-2 are all boys."

We looked at EJ at this point. I think we were expecting him to say something to the effect of, "Hoi, hoi! We're so lucky to be in the class with so many pretty high school girls." Or something - I don't know! Especially since EJ didn't look like he cared in the slightest.

Fluffy unlocked EJ's locker for him and half of it fell out. Mostly warrior gear. EJ caught most of it. Fluffy found a jar of hair wax.

"I think there's something rotting inside." I mean, I'm sure. There was a smell coming from the back of EJ's locker.

"Probably EJ's socks." Fluffy smiled angelically.

EJ shoved his stuff into the locker and slammed it shut, "None of your business."

Fluffy fixed the rest of his masterpiece on EJ's head with the wax. He used some on his own and then borrowed a clip from my costume bag and did the fringe of his own hair.

"That's pretty cute." He said, fully satisfied with his reflection.

"Can we go now?" I was pacing near the opened door - mostly for the fresh air. Fluffy opened the locker next to EJ's and put my costume bag into it with the black duffel bag with my name on the label. My stuff alone took up the top half of his locker. His warrior gear and books were crammed on the bottom shelf.

Fluffy shut his locker and turned the lock, "Yes, Pretty Alpha. Apologies for the wait."

I shrugged, "It's not like you have anything to apologize for."

It's always like this. I think I'm the alpha and I have to lead everyone, and then I look back and see how everyone had been working hard taking care of me, taking care of my stuff, taking care of everything so I could run out front and think I'm all that.

I'm such a dumb pup.

"What?" EJ asked me.

"What, what?" I asked.

"I'll clean out my locker." EJ promised.

Eh? I shook my head, did he think the smell in his locker upset me? Please! I've been to Ben's basement! If Ben said Ink was experimenting on the recipe of an ultra stink bomb, I would have believed him. And then I decided to just laugh it off, "I wasn't bothered by what was in your locker, EJ. I was just thinking some Alpha thing."

Like how your Alpha was a dumb pup.

"He'll have to clean it out today anyway." Fluffy smiled, "It's the last day of school. If you don't take your stuff home, you'll never see it again."

EJ shrugged, "I only need my warrior gear."

I slapped both hands on my head, "How could I forget about that?"'

I had to empty my whole locker today? I mentally tried to figure out how much of my locker would actually fit into my school bag, and how high the books could stack, and what I might possibly leave behind. I can't believe I could forget... I should have been emptying my locker bit by bit from the time the term exam was over.

But before I could beat myself up about being such a noob about school life in general, (I mean, look at Fluffy - he had never been to school in his life, and he remembered that our lockers needed to be emptied today!), we reached the music room where we were supposed to meet Henry for our rehearsal.

Fluffy reached for the door but it was thrown open by a super irate Henry, "WHAT THE HELL, SAM!"

"WHERE WERE YOU GUYS?"

"WHY COULDN'T ANY OF YOU ANSWER YOUR F***ING PHONE?"

The three of us just stood there along the school hallway as Henry paced and fumed and growled.

{Oh, good. He's cooled down.} Fluffy mindlinked even as he smiled by my side.

In what way was this "cooled down"?

{Yeah?} EJ shrugged, completely unimpressed.

"I'M TALKING TO YOU TWO!" Henry yelled at the two guys next to me, "SAM WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE FORTY-FIVE MINUTES AGO! DO YOUR JOBS PROPERLY!"

"It's not their fault." I didn't think it was fair for Henry to be pinning the blame of Fluffy and EJ. I was the Alpha. They ran wherever and whenever I ran.

Henry ran a hand down his face in frustration, "What the hell, Sam."

Wow, Fluffy was right. I think Henry was so mad for so long that he had run out of steam to go on.

I punched him on the shoulder, "You're looking good."

Henry was already dressed too. Inside the studio, Marcus and Janice looked like shell-shocked disaster survivors, but they were also dressed and ready for the performance.

"Would you like me to do your hair too?" Fluffy offered. He was now in the possession of a comb and EJ's hair wax.

Henry growled, "Had none of you ever died before?"

"More than once." Fluffy smiled angelically at Henry's irate Alpha Wolf, "You must remember who our luna is."

"It's the coming back that hurts." EJ answered somberly.

Fluffy sang, "I'm not afraid of those who can't destroy my soul..."

"What the hell." Henry shook his head, "You Night Leaf wolves are crazy."

No, no, Henry. Don't listen to them. They're misleading you! And my luna is a LORENT wolf, not a Night Leaf wolf. Night Leaf wolves don't destroy anyone's soul... unless it was my Dad and Beta Lucas doing the Twin Soul Devouring Wolves move... but that's... it's not like that... and... Wow, its a good thing I didn't try to reason with Henry aloud. I was never good at explaining myself.

"At least you guys had the sense to get change for the show." Henry allowed.

I grinned. Yup! Getting changed was totally the right way to go with Henry.

"Let's not waste any more time!" I declared, "We need to start warming up!"

Henry groaned, "What the hell, Sam. Whatever, let's just do it."

Which was exactly how I expected Henry to respond. Now, all we had to do was hit all the right notes, sound great, and Henry would be able to relax again because we would be clearly on top of our game. Henry was very results-orientated like that.

What I didn't expect was that EJ's wolf couldn't beatbox to save his life. In fact, the idea of "making those sounds and gestures" was so mortifying to him that he flat out refused to even try.

Henry growled. He was getting p***ed all over again now, "What the hell, Sam! He's your wolf!"