Puppy Love

I couldn't stop thinking about him. His body was filled out, well-detailed in my mind: I loved his coloring of sun kissed maple syrup and green eyes the color of the Caribbean ocean. He was built- I could tell that much from his thin, red t-shirt. He was taller than most guys our age and carried himself well, confident with who he was and his surroundings. His image in my head was so impressive and so marvelous but didn't even get close to what seeing the real thing was like.

We had met in the library during lunch. Since I was new to Meadowlark High, I didn't have any friends and spent the socially threatening forty-five minutes hiding at a table in the back, away from the windows. I was working on a vocab list from English that day, trying not to feel lonely as the nerds even had friends to play those silly fantasy card games with.

He sat down quietly at my little round table and completely startled me. I must have really been interested in my homework because it was like he just spontaneously appeared. I hadn't even heard the loud library doors open and shut announcing the arrival of someone new.

I glanced up quickly and got a full picture of this glorious being who was hosting a polite smile directed my way. My cheeks warmed up and it suddenly felt like someone had turned up the heat. Being already embarrassed at having jumped in reaction to his appearance, seeing him directing his attention at me doubled my discomfort level.

Shifting in my chair, I kept my eyes glued to my paper, trying to act normal despite my fast beating heart. The zipping sound from his backpack broke up the awkward silence for a second as he pulled out a book and set it on the table.

Talking was still way too scary at that point so silence continued to stir between us. The students at the other end of the library were still playing their game and every now and then, I heard a phrase or a voice drift over towards us. It was impossible to focus on my homework and I ended up staring at the dictionary, my mind racing a million miles per second. There were other empty tables all over the place. I could even see one from the corner of my eye. Why had he chosen to sit at my table? Maybe someone was playing a joke on me. There weren't very many nice kids at this school and I wouldn't put it past them to pull something like this.

I decided to ignore him.

I made myself focus on the words, my eyes finally registering what they were looking at. Finding "scrupulous" in the dictionary, I concentrated very hard on writing the definition neatly on my paper. Two words later I was finally able to get going at a quicker pace again when I heard a small "ahem". My heart beat went up again and I tried to assume he was just clearing his throat. I continued to struggle and ignore him.

Twice more I heard him "ahem". At the third time, my pulse was racing so hard, I couldn't stand it anymore. I looked up, prepared to tell him to move when I got a good look at his expression. It was kind and polite, despite his rude noises. So instead of snarling at him, I said, "Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to see your eyes again," he answered softly, then turned to his opened book resting on the table.

This dude was so good at making me feel completely off-centered - it was either a totally mean joke or he was a crazy man.

"Who set this up?" I glared at him to show I knew this was just a cruel prank. Probably orchestrated by one of those evil girls from my math class. I looked around the library for people who were hiding and watching this joke go down. It was impossible for me to consider his statement as genuine, not even for a second.

"Set what up?" he asked innocently with a voice that purred of worlds unexplored.

"This joke to embarrass the new girl. Send a guy to hit on her and watch her get all flustered and eventually humiliated. Sounds like a great joke, wish I had thought of it myself."

He laughed softly, almost kindly but I knew better. "This isn't a joke. Your eyes are so unique I have never seen their equal."

Alright, so if he wasn't pulling a joke, he must be crazy. Maybe if I kept ignoring him, he'd go away.

"Whatever," I muttered and went back to work.

The next thing I knew was a delicious smell was all around me and he was sitting right next to me. I should have been freaked out by his silent speed but the only thought I had was how he got more gorgeous up close.

"Look, I know you are lonely. I know you don't spend every lunch in the library because you're that behind in homework. You're here because you don't have anywhere else to be and just sitting in the cafeteria with so many people chatting and having fun makes you feel even more alienated," he whispered softly. His green eyes were kind and I couldn't help feeling he was speaking to my soul.

Too shocked to reply, I just sat there taking in his beautiful face and swimming in his eyes.

He smiled and nudged his shoulder against mine. "You can keep ignoring me all you want but I'll stay and keep you company."

That's when I fell in love with Zander Bane.

He was there before me the next day with his back to the door so he didn't see me walk in the library. I stood there disbelieving that yesterday hadn't been a dream. He really was sitting there, waiting to keep me company. The mean voice inside my head told me he was just trying to get something out of this, but I was too busy walking towards him, dreaming of what we could become to pay it any attention.

"Hey, fancy meeting you here," he greeted me teasingly.

"Pfft, you're the one who has invaded my sanctuary and encroached upon my space," I countered as I sat down across from him and pulled out my current reading novel.

"You needed someone to invade. Watching you sit here every day was so sad, I couldn't stand it anymore."

"You watched me every day?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Is that creepy?"

"Yea! If I were a more paranoid person, I'd think you were stalking me."

He laughed, a full bodied sound that forced me to smile.

"Don't worry, Marty. I'm no stalker."

Chills went through me as he said my name. It had never sounded so beautiful.

"Well, if you are, you're a really good one. I never see you during the day. In fact, I've never seen you around school at all. Didn't even know you existed until yesterday. Are you sure you go here?" I inquired only half kidding.

His eyes darted around the room before he replied. "Oh, I spend my days in the library. Got special permission to have my classes here."

"Kind of like online courses at college or something?"

"Yea, kinda like that."

"That's cool," I replied only half convinced but I was hesitant to ask him more about it since it was a personal issue and totally none of my business. Perhaps it was some kind of disability or special need even though he looked perfectly fine to me. And I mean perfectly.

His glance traveled to my book laying on the desk. "Whatcha reading?"

"Oh, just a book I picked up at the store." When he kept looking at me expectantly, I continued and showed him the cover. "It's called Mooncalled."

"What's it about?" he asked as if he really wanted to know.

"Actually, it's about a shape shifter who can turn into a coyote. She was raised by werewolves and has a vampire friend. I'm really liking it so far."

"Really?" he leaned over the table in interest. "Is that the kind of book you usually read?"

I shrugged, slightly uncomfortable with his apt attention. "Mostly fantasy and supernatural, yea."

"Great," he purred and smiled at me way more enthusiastically than a book conversation usually warranted. "You should read this book, then." He held up one that had been resting on the table in front of him. The cover was a picture of a full moon rising over a forest with black and gold lettering which read The Reign of Wolves.

"I like the cover- it's pretty. I'm surprised I've never seen it before. I spend a lot of time around books."

"I've noticed," he grinned and gestured around the library.

I grinned back and only rolled my eyes a little bit.

"Actually, it's an older book and out of print. Not many stores keep it anymore," his tone of voice was sad, almost as if it were a real personal tragedy.

Since he seemed to feel so strongly about the book, I agreed to read it. His face lit up like a hopeful kid in the toy aisle. I went to the library desk and checked it out. As I was heading back to our table, the bell rang signaling it was the end of lunch and time to head to 5th period. After I put the book into my backpack, I turned to find Zander looking down at me and smiling. I struggled to resist the impulse to give him a hug as he just seemed so close and so accessible. Instead, I smiled and said, "Same time, same place, tomorrow?"

His friendly smile turned into a cute mischievous grin. "I have a feeling you might be seeing me before then."

"Great," I tried to return his grin but was fighting an uneasy twinge from his words. Maybe he meant I'd see him after school. "See you later, then."

He waved charmingly as I left the library and went to English.

Whispers hissed down the hallway and by the time they actually reached me, a strong dark-skinned arm was blocking me from closing my locker.

“Well, you are cute.”

Startled, I looked up to see someone I had never met before but looked slightly familiar. He had a strong chin and deep dark penetrating eyes veiled lightly by his longer hair. The breath leaked out of me as I took in his devastatingly handsome appearance but while his face was completely new to me, there was just something comforting about him – like coming home after a long trip.

“Who are you?” I asked without thinking.

One corner of his mouth quirked up and he glanced around the crowded hall. Instinctively, I followed his gaze and realized everyone was looking at us and the harsh whispers were directed at this mysterious person. They were all probably just as shocked as I was that this man who had to be nothing but a model was actually talking to me.

“Wow, manners just aren’t what they used to be,” he commented as he looked back down at me.

“What?”

He laughed at my response as if it had somehow validated his point. “Oh well, I never really liked having to hide behind words all the time, anyway. It’s refreshing just to be able to say what you think and feel. Don’t you think?”

“Do I know you?”

“Right now?” he leaned in very close and oh so lightly caressed the side of my face. “You only know me in your dreams. But don’t worry, everything is about to change.”

There was no time for me to respond to his cryptic statement as he grinned one last time at me and vanished into the crowded hallway.

It was minutes before my heart started beating normally again and I could get to my next class. Whispers still followed me down the hall and surrounded me all the rest of the school day. Somehow, I managed to ignore them and force myself to pretend everything was normal. For the most part it worked but meeting two handsome men in as many days wasn’t the easiest thing to forget.

As the last bell of the day rang, I gathered my supplies and headed straight to my locker in hopes of maybe running into Zander. He wasn’t there when I arrived but I tried not to let it bother me too much- it wasn’t like had actually said he’d meet me anywhere. After opening my locker I pulled out the books I needed for homework and put away the ones that I didn’t. I almost put Zander’s book in my locker to keep safe while I read my current novel because I hated reading two books at once but then I remembered how excited he was about it and decided to take it home.

Avoiding the main doors, I headed towards the back of the school hoping to leave without attracting any attention but as I turned the corner I bumped into three large girls. My heart sank to my toes when I recognized the mean ones from my math class: Veronique, Renata, and Sarah. They instantly stopped laughing and talking as I accidentally stepped on Veronique’s shoe.

“Hey new girl,” she sneered while her brown eyes smoldered with mischief. “You stepped on me. Are you going to apologize?”

I swallowed and tried to keep my shaking hands by my side. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were around the corner.” I kept my eyes on my sneakers hoping my mousy brown hair would hide the disdain that was written all over my face.

“I think you did. I mean, we were being pretty loud, laughing at my clever jokes.” She looked over at the other two sporty girls who laughed again as if on cue. “You must have stepped on me on purpose. You trying to be tough?”

I was having trouble keeping calm. I knew from experience that these confrontations never turned out well, no matter how much I groveled or apologized.

“No, I’m not trying to be tough,” I muttered.

“Well, that’s good. Failure can be really embarrassing.”

“Say, maybe we could give her a lesson in failure,” piped up the ever-so-helpful Renata.

“Yea, just to make sure she knows,” chipped in Sarah, rubbing her beefy hands together.

I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out where this was going. I tried to walk around them but Renata grabbed my arm.

“Hey, where are you going?” she demanded, her brown ponytail whipping violently in the wind.

“Yea, we are going to give you your final school lesson of the day,” Veronique moved to stand behind me.

I knew what was coming, having endured their “lessons” before which usually involved the bathroom and some dirty water. I twisted my arm out of Renata’s grip and didn’t get very far before Veronique’s hands, shaped like claws, grabbed my shoulders roughly, pinning my arms to my side. I kept squirming but there were three of them, they were athletically stronger and bigger than me. It wasn’t any kind of contest at all.

As they were trying to shove me through the side doors of the school, a horrid growl behind us made all four of our heads turn. A huge… animal was standing on the sidewalk. He was growling and baring his gigantic canine teeth at us. He was black and furry with long ears and four legs, resembling, for the most part, a rather large wolf.

Needless to say, we all started fighting to get into the school. The three bigger girls pushed past me and shut the door in my face and ran deeper into the building, probably heading for another exit.

It seemed like the wolf assumed this as well and it raced off along the school but before he even got twenty feet away, he abruptly stopped as if hitting a physical boundary and couldn’t go any further than that line. He barked a few times, almost wistfully, in the direction the girls had run off to before turning around and staring at me. I had heard somewhere that you don’t turn your back on a wild animal, specifically a dog you’re unfamiliar with.

I backed up slowly, keeping my eyes on the huge black wolf. He regarded me for a moment and I hoped I would be able to escape and live to take my science test the next day. The next instant he moved faster than my eye could follow and was standing right in front of me. Before I could even take a breath to scream, I was pushed to the pavement with a huge, scary wolf pinning me to the ground.

I expected the sharp pointy teeth to bite into my neck and tear me apart. I was quite surprised when, instead, I felt a warm bumpy sensation on my face. When I got the courage to pry my eyes open, I saw the wolf standing above me with his tongue lulling out and waggling his tail.