When the Wolves Howl

Chapter I: “He’s my brother. Twin, actually. A bit of an ass to be honest.”

There were wolves in that forest, and they weren’t afraid to get close. They weren’t afraid of her either. Alyssa had seen one the night before. She had gone to close her curtains right as the sun began to set over Oakridge—a dull, gloomy town with little excitement and even less to do—and paused when she saw a pair of bright, sunlit eyes staring up at her from the forest’s edge right behind her new house. She knew it wasn’t human, obviously, and when the eyes got closer, with it stepped out a large black wolf almost as tall as her. Panic began clawing at her but she remained still, and watched it the same way it watched her.

It stood there behind the treeline, just staring at her, and she got the faintest feeling of deja vu. It was strange because Alyssa had never seen a wolf before. She’d always wanted to, but neither of her parents had the time to take her out to the zoo or wherever else she could have gone to see one. So why the wolf seemed so familiar, she couldn’t tell.

It left then, as quickly as it had appeared, and Alyssa could finally breathe again. She didn’t wait there and closed the curtains immediately. She didn’t see it again for the rest of that day.

That had been her first impression of the gloomy town that was always so grey and heavy with clouds about to burst with rain and thunder. It was in the middle of nowhere, far up and close to the mountains, and surrounded by thick forests on all sides. Not the usual place her parents usually moved to, but Alyssa couldn’t complain. It was quiet and the people didn’t seem to enthusiastic about anything in general. That was fine with her. It meant things would be peaceful for once, and Alyssa could only see that as a blessing.

Alyssa pulled her bag over her shoulder and gripped it tight. Her Monday morning had begun uneventfully and her parents were already gone by the time she woke up. The drive to Oakridge High was nerve-wracking. The school building seemed to stare down at her, scrutinising every move, and she shoved her other hand into her pocket to hide the shaking. She was being idiotic, she knew, but she’d never had a great experience moving schools, and she doubted this school would be an exception. Oakridge High was as foreboding as the rest of the town, and she regretted driving to school immediately. She should’ve stayed home and studied online for her final year instead. She had done enough by agreeing to move across the country—her parents could have compromised on her educational choices.

With a long exhale, Alyssa straightened her shoulders and headed in.

The hallways were buzzing with loud chatter all around her and she shrunk into herself a little more. She should have come earlier, she thought bitterly. Finding the office in a sea of moving bodies was near impossible, and when she did ten minutes later, she almost fell to her knees in gratitude. Getting acquainted with the secretary and her timetable was the easy part—Alyssa had no idea how she’d find her classes next. The school was surprisingly big for such a small town and the layout puzzled her. None of the directions on the map made any sense and by the time she reached her class, she was two minutes away from being late.

The only upside to her whole situation was that the new school year had just begun and there were a few other transfer students with her too. Oakridge High was having some sort of expansion and needed new students, her mother had said during the car ride over to Oakridge. It did little to quell the anxiousness she felt, but it made her feel just a little less unsure and awkward now that she sat in a class with three other students who looked just as lost as she did.

Alyssa sat toward the back of the class, with two seats open on either side of her. She didn’t expect anyone to come anywhere near her since she sat hunched over her desk like some awkward loner, but then the chair to her right was pulled back and she looked up to find a smiling girl plopping into the seat and dropping her bag to the floor with a thud.

Neither said anything at first, and Alyssa kept her gaze fixed on her desk. She had her hands in her pockets and her legs stretched out under the desk, ankles crossed. She should have pretended to be asleep but it was too late for that now. The girl’s eyes were on her; Alyssa could see her from the corner of her eye and refused to make eye contact. She was content to sit in the bubble of silence around her while the rest of the class seemed to reminisce about their summer activities. Her plans were promptly ruined when the girl spoke up.

“Hi. You’re new here, aren’t you?”

Alyssa let out a soft exhale and looked at the girl. She was pretty, Alyssa realised now that she studied the girl closely. She had sparkly blue eyes that watched her carefully, with thin black eyeliner so straight, Alyssa wondered what sorcery the girl practiced. She could never get her hand to stop shaking when she tried. The girl’s hair was a deep black that draped over her shoulders and Alyssa marvelled at the shade. It was so dark and thick, glossy and perfectly straight. Again, Alyssa wondered what it would take to get her frizzy mess of brown hair to look that good.

The girl was still staring at her, one perfect eyebrow raised expectantly, and Alyssa only nodded, not quite able to find her voice.

The girl grinned and held out a hand. “I’m Caitlyn. What’s your name?”

Alyssa hesitated. She wasn’t used to this, but she didn’t want to seem rude either, so she shook Caitlyn’s hand and tried to smile in a way that didn’t paint her as the socially awkward idiot she clearly was.

“Alyssa.”

Caitlyn’s smile widened a fraction and she leaned closer to Alyssa. “Nice to meet you. Is it okay if I call you Aly?”

Alyssa mutely nodded. No one had ever been this direct with her and it threw her off a little. She didn’t mind it too much—Caitlyn seemed like a really nice girl—but she would have to get used to it.

“So Aly, where’d you move here from?” Caitlyn asked. She sat in her chair sideways, completely facing Alyssa. Her elbow rested on the desk, propping her head up, palm-to-chin.

Alyssa glanced away for a moment before she spoke, “Port Hilton. We moved here two days ago.”

Caitlyn nodded. She had a far-off look in her eyes and hummed. “Oh, cool. Why’d you move, though?”

“My dad needs to move around a lot for work. He has some project to take care of here so we all moved.”

“So you’ll probably move again?”

Alyssa shook her head. It wasn’t exactly a strange question to ask, but usually people asked what her dad did for work or how hard it was to always change schools. No one cared to ask if she’d stay or leave again.

“I don’t think so. It looks like we might stay here long enough for me to graduate. Then I can move wherever I want.”

“Or stay here?” It sounded like a question, but felt more like a suggestion to Alyssa. She looked at Caitlyn more carefully now. What exactly did this strange girl want with her?

“I guess,” Alyssa said, the words rolling off her tongue stiffly. “Why?”

Caitlyn shrugged and turned in her chair, leaning against the back of it. “I don’t know, I just think you’re pretty cool. I’d like it if you stayed over here with the rest of us in lovely old Oakridge. I think you’d probably like it here too if you gave it a chance.”

Alyssa wasn’t sure what to say to that. She thought it over for too long and the bell rang, cutting their conversation short. The class filled up quickly then, save one space in front of her. The teacher walked in—a Mr Hopkins or something of that sort—and he began the lesson. Alyssa knew she should have been paying attention, but her thoughts kept leading her elsewhere. Geography really wasn’t at the top of her priority list and she drifted off multiple times. Her attention only returned to the classroom when the door opened and someone sauntered in.

Alyssa glanced at the person for a second then looked away, still not fully focusing.

“Well, Stone. I see you’re keeping up your record of never showing up on time.” The teacher sounded bored—an accurate way to describe how Alyssa felt in that class as well.

“There was an emergency,” he said quietly and Alyssa finally looked up at the boy standing at the front of the class, bag over one shoulder and one hand in the pocket of black jeans. He looked an awful lot like Caitlyn next to her, so Alyssa assumed they had to be related. He was... for a lack of better term, beautiful, Alyssa thought. She found it strange that that was the only word she could find to describe the boy now looking at her with an expression that mirrored her own, but no other word would fit him just right. He was angelic in a way that somehow seemed to wholly encapsulate the word. Not quite godly, but something ethereal all the same.

She couldn’t tell what colour his eyes were as they stared at her—scrutinising her, really—and a fragment of a coherent thought fluttered to the forefront of her mind: she wondered if she’d ever get the chance to be close enough to see just what colour they were.

The teacher said something to him that Alyssa didn’t hear, and he walked over to the seat in front of her. Their eyes never drifted from each other till he sat down and had to face the teacher. Alyssa’s gaze was glued to the back of his head, unconsciously leaning forward. His hair was the same shade of black as Caitlyn’s, only much shorter. She was completely distracted by him and she had no idea why—no other thought occupied her mind save the questions that seemed to pop up regarding him.

Who was he? What emergency was there? Why did she feel like she had to keep an eye on him constantly? Was he looking at her the same way?

The last question was absolutely absurd even by her standards and she shook her head subtly. She looked down at her desk and doodled on the corner of her page to force her mind to stay preoccupied with anything other than the boy in front of her. It helped very little. Her eyes constantly roamed up to peek at him but he faced the front the whole period, not once looking back at her. He was tense though, and it seemed like he didn’t move a muscle—not even a twitch. The fact that she noticed all of this only proved that she was slowly becoming something of a stalker. It should have concerned her, but she couldn’t find it in her to mind too much.

So she watched him until the bell rang again and he was one of the first to leave the classroom. Alyssa sat back and watched till he was out of the room, wondering what had him in such a rush.

“That was Caleb.”

Alyssa jolted in her seat. She turned to see Caitlyn standing between their desks and looking out of the classroom at the disappearing figure of the boy.

Caitlyn looked back at Alyssa and smiled. “He’s my brother. Twin, actually. A bit of an ass to be honest.”

Alyssa stood hurriedly and grabbed her bag, mortified by the fact that someone had caught her watching him. “Sorry... I didn’t mean to stare—”

Caitlyn waved her off and followed her out of the class. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone here is obsessed with him anyways.”

Alyssa flushed bright red and looked down at her worn grey sneakers as she walked. “Sorry, I’m not... Ah. I don’t mean it like that.”

Caitlyn laughed and stopped outside the classroom. Alyssa stopped awkwardly too, shifting her weight around. “I know, Aly. I understand.”

Alyssa didn’t think she did. How would she explain anyways? It wasn’t like she had the words to say that she felt weirdly drawn to this Caleb person in a non-obsessive way. She might have labelled it as intrigue but that made her feel shallow.

Caitlyn must have noticed her discomfort and she quickly changed the subject. “What class do you have next?”

Alyssa rummaged around for her timetable and glossed over it. “Uh. English, with Mrs Abrams?”

Caitlyn grinned. “Me too. Come on, we can walk there together.”

Alyssa avoided everyone else like she was in quarantine for the rest of the day. Caitlyn had tried to approach her twice but Alyssa had hurried home after making an excuse she couldn’t even remember.

The next day went much the same. Caitlyn made small talk with her during geography while Alyssa found herself constantly looking toward the boy seated in front of her. During lunch, she hid away and avoided people again. It was easier than she thought it would be. No one else tried to approach her and she wondered if Caitlyn had something to do with that. Alyssa had noticed the stares she got any time Caitlyn spoke to her and decided then she didn’t need that kind of gossip around her.

One week later on an awfully bright Monday morning, things became surprisingly harder. Caitlyn sat next to her during geography and once again attempted to make conversation with her.

“Are you always this quiet?” she asked and Alyssa bit back a sigh. She looked at Caitlyn and tried to read her expression for anything malicious. There was obviously nothing. Caitlyn looked too nice to try and wish harm on anyone.

“Sort of,” Alyssa mumbled. “I’m not very good at making friends.”

Caitlyn nodded thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers with a beaming grin. “That’s fine then, let me do it for you.”

What was she talking about? Alyssa repeated the words in her head, still not making sense of them, and shook her head. “What do you mean?”

Caitlyn moved forward till she sat on the edge of her chair. “It’s simple. Stick with me and I’ll introduce you to my friends. You don’t have to do a thing. I’ll do it for you.”

Caitlyn looked incredibly proud of this thought and Alyssa smiled a bit. Caitlyn’s excitement and enthusiasm were infectious and it was easy to forget the weird stares Alyssa got whenever she was around the bubbly girl. She didn’t have time to reply as the bell rang and the teacher walked in, but Caitlyn gave her a look that said she would in no way be taking no for an answer.

Caleb was late again. Every morning, five minutes after the bell rang, the door would open and he would finally saunter in with a careless air hovering around him. Some mornings he looked tired, others he had nasty bruises on his face. But they always healed quickly. The ones he had last week were already gone, but he looked exhausted this morning when he walked in, like he’d been running a marathon and got ready for school right after. Alyssa noticed everything about him; it was becoming quite concerning, especially when he didn’t seem to be paying her much attention in return.

She didn’t mind not being the centre of his focus, but it rubbed her the wrong way. Like an itch she couldn’t scratch or a gnawing in her stomach that appeared every time he looked at her only to look away again immediately. It frustrated her and the worst part was that she didn’t understand why. Maybe there was something in the air in that town, closer to the mountains than any other form of civilisation.

He sat down in front of her as usual and kept his eyes forward the whole period. Nothing had changed in the last week—which Alyssa convinced herself was a good thing—but when he stood to leave, he looked back at her. Alyssa almost jumped in shock, but managed to keep her cool. She gripped the strap of her bag over her shoulder tightly as they stared at each other silently. His lips parted, but he said nothing, then turned around and left.

“Are you two going to keep communicating telepathically?”

Alyssa turned to Caitlyn. She wasn’t surprised to find her there anymore: a sign that she was getting used to Caitlyn.

“What do you mean?”

Caitlyn nodded to where her brother previously stood. “You and Caleb. You keep looking at each other without saying anything. Is it telepathy?”

Alyssa spluttered out a cough. Caitlyn laughed and she turned red. She had no reason to be embarrassed, but any mention of the boy and Alyssa flushed like a preteen with her first crush. It was humiliating.

“We don’t... We don’t just stare at each other.” Alyssa wasn’t convincing even to herself. “He’s just... always looking whenever I look at him.” Her eyes widened when Caitlyn’s grin did. “Wait no, I don’t mean that I look at him. I just catch him looking at me sometimes and then it gets too awkward to just look away and... Ah, shit. I’ll stop talking now.”

Caitlyn was laughing quite loud now, holding onto the edge of her seat with a hand over her mouth to suppress the noise, though it did little than muffle some of it. Alyssa flushed an even deeper shade of red, and her cheeks burned. She definitely wasn’t familiar with this. She had obviously had crushes before, and one of what she would consider a relationship, but nothing like this. Hell, it wasn’t even a crush, yet it felt like she had just been caught ogling the hot lifeguard at the public pool.

“You know, I won’t blame you if you like my brother,” Caitlyn said with a teasing grin. Alyssa wished she could bury her head under a mountain of textbooks. She groaned and hid her face behind her hands.

“I swear, it’s really not like that.”

Caitlyn shrugged and began walking out into the hallway, her teasing lilt never faltering, “That’s fine. Everyone says it’s not like that till they fall for his charms. Honestly, I really don’t see the appeal, but you do you.”

Alyssa cringed hard while Caitlyn laughed again. She only shook her head. There wasn’t much she could say to change Caitlyn’s mind now. So she followed Caitlyn to their next class quietly, ignoring the faint buzz in her chest every time Caitlyn mentioned her brother.

Lunch break came around surprisingly quickly. Caitlyn shared four classes with her, including the one before break, and she wasted no time in inviting Alyssa to sit with her and her friends as soon as the bell rang. Alyssa could do little but accept her offer, and followed behind Caitlyn like a lost lamb to the cafeteria.

She regretted her decision as soon as she saw the large group of people at a table in the middle of the cafeteria. Alyssa had never been good with big groups of friends and usually shied away from company, but Caitlyn was adamant. Alyssa would just have to suck it up.

“They’re all really nice, I promise,” Caitlyn whispered when Alyssa’s steps faltered. Alyssa swallowed hard and followed her to the table. She looked at everyone quickly, trying not to linger on anyone too long. There were three girls and four boys—and four empty seats. Caitlyn sat down next to a boy on her left and motioned to Alyssa.

“Guys, this is Alyssa, the girl I was telling you about. She just moved here. She’s going to be sitting with us from now on.”

They all looked at her and their eyes seemed to widen in shock. Then they were smiling excitedly at her like they knew something she didn’t.

“Hi!” one of the girls said almost giddily. Alyssa waved shyly and sat down, her back stiff against the chair next to Caitlyn

“Hi,” she murmured. She glanced around again and wondered how a group of such pretty people could coexist like this.

“So you’re the new girl,” another girl said. This one had thick glasses and dyed red hair. She looked at Alyssa with a knowing smile while Alyssa smiled awkwardly, not sure what to say.

“Let me introduce everyone,” Caitlyn said, filling the uncomfortable silence that was beginning to linger, and started at her left, going around clockwise.

“This is Asher. He’s the captain of the lacrosse team and also my boyfriend.” She had a sappy, sweet smile on her face as she spoke and her cheeks were a bright red. Alyssa smiled lightly and watched as Asher put an arm around Caitlyn. He was tall and muscular, she could tell even while he sat down, and had a mess of light brown curls. His face had freckles scattered across his cheeks under his eyes which were a strangely pretty mix of green and blue. He reminded her of a childhood friend’s older brother—a sweet boy she had a very mild crush on when she was in middle school.

“Nice to meet you, Alyssa,” Asher said with a kind smile and Alyssa repeated his words softer. He looked nice, and it didn’t feel like he was mocking her, so Alyssa let herself begin to relax a little.

Caitlyn then moved on to the boy next to him. He was shorter than Asher, but just as athletic build-wise. He had a scar running down his left eye that would have made him seem serious and stern, but the wide, goofy grin on his face proved otherwise. His skin was a warm shade of brown against the white jacket he had on, and Alyssa spied a stain near his collar that apparently no one had informed of yet.

“That’s Logan. You can call him the class clown, except it applies to every class in our grade. He’s never where he’s supposed to be unless he has to run around the tracks.”

Logan pouted and leaned forward, arms crossed over the table. “You wound me, Caity. You know I take track very seriously.”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and turned back to Alyssa, shaking her head. “If he ever asks you for a favour, run.”

Alyssa breathed out a laugh and turned back to the pouting brunette. She felt much less self-conscious now that everyone else was being so friendly to her. “It’s nice to meet you, Logan.”

He smiled widely, white teeth showing. “You too, Lyssa. Welcome to the gang. We needed a fresh face around here.”

The girl next to him slapped his arm with a scowl that was definitely playful. She was the one who had said hi to Alyssa as soon as she sat down. There was a sparkle in her pale green eyes lined with thick eyeliner that smudged a little under her left eye. She was taller than Alyssa, and her long cinnamon-coloured hair was pulled into a high ponytail.

“And that’s Logan’s girlfriend and Captain of our cheer squad, Natalie.”

“Sorry about the idiot,” Natalie said. She was beautiful, Alyssa thought. Like a runway model kind of beautiful. She exuded elegance and opulence and Alyssa felt slightly undressed in her company, but didn’t feel judged for it regardless. “He can be a bit much to handle at first. And please, just call me Nat. ‘Natalie’ is a mouthful.”

Alyssa nodded, an easy smile falling into place. “Okay, Nat.”

“Next to Nat is Abigail. She’s the chief editor for our school’s magazine.” The girl in question was vibrant. Abigail was the one who’d mentioned her new girl status before, and Alyssa looked at her more closely. She had observant green eyes the colour of her emerald eyeshadow behind her thick brown glasses frames and she watched Alyssa with a smirk that put Alyssa slightly on edge. She was like a forest fire, and she intimidated Alyssa more than she cared to admit.

“How lucky we are that you moved here,” she said and Alyssa almost thought she was being sarcastic, but the way everyone else grinned when she said it, Alyssa figured she wasn’t being an ass, just very direct.

“What do you mean?” Alyssa asked.

Abigail shrugged and leaned back, watching Alyssa while casually eating some fries off her tray. “I had a feeling someone would be joining our little friend group. I’m glad I was right.”

The brunette next to Abigail—Alyssa thought she was brunette, at least, since her hair was a very dark shade and it was difficult to accurately tell under the cafeteria’s awful lighting—rolled her eyes. She had glasses too which she hiked up with one hand while the other held a ballpoint pen and wrote in a leather notebook.

“Ignore her. Abi believes in her hallucinations a little too much.”

“They’re not hallucinations!” Abigail protested with a huff. “I’m not trying to be some fortuneteller or something. It was just a feeling and you guys know I’m never wrong about these things.”

The girl scoffed lightly then turned to Alyssa with a polite smile. “I’m Elliot. Sounds like a guy’s name, but my parents had a cute sense of humour. I’m what these idiots would call the smart friend.”

Alyssa nodded slowly and tried to commit all the names and details to memory. She had an atrocious memory, but she was trying.

“Uh, well. Nice to meet you and Abigail both.”

Elliot nodded, her short hair bobbing up and down with the motion, then turned back to her journal with a concentration that Alyssa wished she had during exam season.

Caitlyn then introduced the last two boys on Elliot’s left. “These two are Jason and Dylan. Dylan’s with Abigail. He seems shy at first, but he’s a bit of a drama queen. Jason’s with El. They’re dating but also competing for valedictorian.”

Alyssa nodded, brows raised a little in slight panic as she took in the information. Dylan waved at her shyly, and Jason simply nodded then turned his attention back to Elliot. She miserably hoped she’d be able to remember all their names and faces. Jason was dark all around, with eyes that seemed to suck all the light in and hair as black as Caleb’s was. He also had a mole at the corner of his lip. Alyssa supposed that would help her recognise him amongst the others. Besides, the dead look of exhaustion in his eyes was also a clear giveaway.

Dylan and Logan looked a lot like each other, but where Logan’s brown hair was messy and short, Dylan’s was a mop of curls that reached the base of his neck. He had a beauty spot too, just below the eye.

Alyssa’s smile was strained. She was unsure now. This group seemed nice, but it was like they knew more about her than they let on. There was an unfamiliar knot of discomfort in her stomach. She wasn’t afraid of them, but she didn’t like the excited grins they wore, like they had been waiting for her and were glad she finally arrived.

“Thanks for letting me sit with you all...” she said, trying not to let their intent gazes bother her too much.

Caitlyn nudged her shoulder softly. “You’re kinda stuck with us now, Aly. The loner lifestyle you had going on doesn’t suit you.”

Alyssa laughed lightly, then tried to steer the conversation away from herself. “So... how’d you guys meet? You all seem pretty close.”

Asher answered this time. “We all grew up together. Same neighbourhood and all that. Our parents are all really close too.”

“That’s really cool.”

“What about you?” Natalie asked. “Did you have any friends before you moved here?”

Alyssa glanced away for a second. “Yeah, a few. But we weren’t very close. I moved around too much to really make any decent friends.”

“Well, you’ve got us now,” Abigail said with the same deviant grin. Alyssa wondered if that was just how she always smiled—all cryptic and suspiciously. “We don’t plan on letting you go any time soon.”

As if that didn’t at all sound like a threat. Alyssa forced a strained laugh and avoided eye contact with anyone. She was engrossed in her own thoughts, wondering why they all seemed to like her so much when they knew so little about her. She didn’t find any plausible explanation for it. The group chattered around her, debating back and forth over what movie to watch for their next movie night. Alyssa didn’t hear what they settled on, only Caitlyn’s question.

“You should join us, Aly. Are you free Saturday night?”

“Uh...” She looked around at everyone’s expectant faces. She vaguely recalled her father suggesting they go out on Sunday, but they currently had no plans for Saturday. Alyssa bit her lip, not quite willing to give that information away. “Maybe.”

“That’s fine.” Caitlyn waved her hand with a reassuring grin. “Give me your number later and you can let me know if you’ll join us or not.”

“Okay.”

The conversation continued around something Alyssa wasn’t paying attention to. She ate her lunch quietly and stared unseeingly at the new friends she made—friends being a loose term here. She wasn’t entirely sure if that was what they were to her now, considering how strange they all acted. Still, she would be lying if she said she didn’t like the idea of finally having a fun group of friends.

Friends who were also apparently quite popular. Everyone else in the cafeteria was still staring at her with looks of either awe or jealousy. She had tried to ignore them but found it hard to now that she was quietly sitting without engaging in any conversation. The whole room had eyes on her only and it unnerved her.

“Just ignore them,” Caitlyn whispered into her ear, leaning close to Alyssa and reassuringly squeezing her arm. “They all like to think they’re entitled to our attention since we’re what they consider the ‘cool kids’ but we’ve always preferred our own company.”

“Then why am I here?” Alyssa whispered back, the question itching at her. Caitlyn gave her an almost sad smile, like she didn’t know how to find the words she needed.

“We like making new friends.” Caitlyn shrugged, but the vague answer just made Alyssa more uncomfortable. “Everyone else is too intimidated by us, or just wants the attention. You’re not like them.”

That wasn’t exactly a helpful answer. Alyssa wasn’t like the others? She had avoided Caitlyn for a whole week. Surely that must have given a different signal than ‘I’m not intimidated by you’. She wouldn’t push the matter further, though. Some part of her told her she was being paranoid, so she just nodded and left it at that.

Caitlyn squeezed her arm again. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable around us.”

Alyssa laughed awkwardly. She hoped Caitlyn couldn’t see just how hesitant she really was. “It’s okay, I’m not—”

She was cut off by the sudden noise in the cafeteria. It was more of an uproar, really, as all the girls were whispering back and forth rather loudly, eyes fixed on the entrance. Alyssa’s brow furrowed and she looked at what everyone was staring at, realising that it was in fact a ‘who’ and not a ‘what.’

Caleb walked in slowly, keeping his eyes on the table Alyssa sat at. Everyone around said table had a look of smugness that Alyssa didn’t understand and she shrank a little. The entire cafeteria was already staring at her like some anomaly and now the school’s hotshot would be sitting right next to her too. It was far more attention than she signed up for—she signed up for none, to be exact.

“He actually showed up,” Asher said. He glanced over to Alyssa and grinned. She looked at him in confusion but he looked away, focusing on Caleb who took a seat next to Dylan. There was one seat between him and Alyssa, and she thanked whatever deity upstairs was looking out for her. Whatever intrigue she felt around him was still there, but there was a sense of subtle anxiousness now that he was right next to her. Her eyes kept drifting towards him and every time they did, she found him already staring at her.

Vivid green. That was all her mind could focus on. Bright, forest-green eyes that were looking at her like no one else was in the room. She would have looked at him the same way if she didn’t feel so afraid of how fast her heart was beating. There was something about him... something she couldn’t logically explain even to herself. She would end up staring at him all day if she looked too long and she tried, desperately, to keep her eyes down.

He seemed familiar somehow, too. She knew she had definitely never met Caitlyn and Caleb before, but there was something comforting about him, like she knew him deep down and recognised him. It was insane and strange and completely nonsensical but she couldn’t shake the feeling no matter how hard she tried. For a moment, she wondered if maybe she had seen him before—maybe in passing, or in one of her strange dreams. It wouldn’t have really made much sense since Alyssa doubted she would ever forget a face like his or not instantly take notice, but plausibility had long since been thrown out the window.

His eyes did look an awful lot like what she’d seen before too. She could just add it to the list of weird things in Oakridge she’d seen so far.

The table was silent, the whispers from everyone else deafening. No one around her said a word. They kept glancing between her and Caleb unsurely, as if they could read her thoughts and see straight into her mind. She knew they couldn’t, but she slouched down a little more, wishing she could hide away in her red cardigan that felt like thin tissue paper now. She felt more exposed than she had ever before.

“I thought you wanted to finish up your model,” Caitlyn said, breaking the silence like shattering glass. Caleb’s eyes lazily shifted to his sister and he shrugged.

“I did. It’s done.”

“You said it would take another week.”

“I overestimated.”

“You mean you finished it faster so you could come sit with us,” Caitlyn retorted with a raised brow and a teasing look on her face. Caleb’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly and Caitlyn shifted back further into her seat. “Alright, alright.”

Caleb turned to Alyssa. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His face wore an impassive mask that she couldn’t see through, and his gaze never wavered from her.

He nodded and turned to Caitlyn. “Who’s this?”

Alyssa was both a little insulted and wildly intrigued now. He didn’t look back at Alyssa, and waited for his sister to give a reply. Caitlyn only breathed out a laugh and said, “Don’t be rude, Caleb. Ask her yourself.”

Alyssa didn’t look away when his eyes met hers. She waited, the same way he did, until he said, “Well?”

“Well what?” She wasn’t going to give him a straight answer when he couldn’t afford her a little more respect.

Caleb smiled. It was a fraction of a smile, to be fair—the slightest movement from the corner of his lips as if he were trying hard not to outright grin at her.

“Who are you?” He watched her intently like he was trying to see right into her mind and dig around for answers. She wasn’t as uncomfortable by this as she thought she would be. There was something comforting about the way he looked at her—like he actually saw her, not through her. Everyone else had always looked right through her.

She pushed aside those thoughts and spoke softer than she wanted to, “Alyssa Ardens. Have we met before?”

The question surprised him. He frowned and looked her up and down again. “No, why?”

Alyssa shrugged and looked down at the food in front of her. “You seem familiar somehow.”

“Where’d you come from, Alyssa Ardens?”

“Port Hilton.”

From the way he was looking at her, she thought that wasn’t quite the answer he was looking for, but she had no other answer for it. If he wanted something deep and mystical, he was asking the wrong girl.

“Have you ever been to Oakridge before?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Then how could I be familiar to you?”

She scowled and looked back at him. She didn’t appreciate the sarcasm in his tone. “How should I know? I must be mistaken.”

He ignored her and leaned back casually. “Why’d you move to Oakridge?”

She was getting tired of the questions now. “My dad’s work. He’s got a new project here.”

“What kind of work?”

Alyssa let out a hot breath. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. “He’s a civil engineer. Are you done with the interrogation or is there more you want to know?”

He raised a brow in surprise. He leaned forward and looked her up and down. When he looked back into her eyes, he was grinning a little wider. “Sorry for being curious about the new girl. I’ll refrain from asking for your number next.”

She glared at him now, knowing full well he had no intention of asking for that. He was teasing, and she had more than enough experience with boys who liked to tease.

“I’m sure you have plenty of fangirls willing to give you theirs.”

Someone whistled. When she turned, she saw it was Logan. Alyssa noticed everyone else now too, all of them watching her and Caleb. Some were amused, others a little surprised.

“You know she’s right,” Logan said with a laugh when Caleb turned to glare at him. “I like her. She’ll be good for you, Caleb.”

Alyssa wasn’t sure what that meant—and she wasn’t going to ask either. Caleb muttered something under his breath, then asked her, “Are you always this standoffish?”

She snapped a little, unintentionally of course, and said, “Are you always this childish?”

Logan and Dylan both burst with laughter and Alyssa felt just the tiniest bit smug. It disappeared when Caleb leaned over the seat between them, a little too close, and said softly, “You’ll find that I’m quite serious when I need to be, Alyssa Ardens. There’s no need for you to get so confrontational.”

She scoffed and spoke just as softly, “In that case, there’s no need for you to continue this interrogation, is there?”

He leaned back and Alyssa was grateful for the space between them. “Alright, I apologise.”

She looked at him for a short moment before turning her attention back to her lunch that was cold and soggy now. Their conversation ended and a new one picked up around their table. The other eyes on her and Caleb from around the cafeteria were more intent now, scrutinising her every move and straining to hear her every word.

“Thank god Lauren doesn’t sit with us anymore,” Caitlyn muttered to herself and Asher agreed with her by nodding. Alyssa glanced at the empty chair beside her, then back at Caitlyn.

“Lauren?”

Caitlyn looked up, surprised that Alyssa had heard her. She looked around the table, her eyes lingering on Caleb a little longer than the rest, before she said, “She’s... uh... It’s, well. Caleb, please tell Aly who Lauren is.”

Alyssa furrowed her brows in confusion and turned to Caleb. He glared at Caitlyn darkly and Alyssa was glad she wasn’t on the receiving end of that much ire. When he looked at her his glare softened a fraction. He looked tired instead, and said so quietly, it was almost inaudible, “Lauren is no one important.”

“She’s your ex,” Elliot said at the edge of a scoff. Alyssa had almost forgotten she was still here; Elliot and Jason had been quiet the whole time. “And she’s made herself quite memorable. I doubt any of us will ever truly be rid of her, even in our own subconscious, so how have you managed to wipe your mind clean? Please do share.”

Natalie coughed out a laugh and covered her mouth immediately when Caleb shifted his irritation to her. He sighed and brushed his hair back roughly. “Don’t over-exaggerate it, Elliot.”

Elliot raised a brow. She closed her book and propped her chin on her palm, her elbow on the table. “Is it really an exaggeration if everyone who’s ever come across her feels precisely the same way? Why do you deny it?”

Caleb groaned and shut his eyes. Alyssa wanted to laugh but wasn’t sure Caleb would appreciate that, so she swallowed it down and kept her eyes on the table.

“We’re not talking about her anymore.”

Elliot pouted, but let the subject drop, and no one seemed willing enough to pick it up again in fear of incurring Caleb’s wrath. Alyssa turned to Caitlyn instead and waited for an explanation, hoping her newfound friendshi[ would pull through.

Caitlyn let out a tired sigh and chewed on the tip of her nail before she said, “Lauren’s just his sort-of ex. They weren’t really a thing but she used to sit with us because we’re supposed to be popular. Hangs out with her own crowd now. It’s better to avoid her. She’s the uptight, snobbish type.”

Alyssa nodded. She didn’t fully understand, but she wouldn’t ask. She had no intention of getting involved in Caleb Stone’s relationship drama. If luck was on her side, maybe she wouldn’t have to get involved with him in any way either.

The bell rang then before any conversation could continue. The cafeteria began to empty out and Alyssa’s table slowly stood too. They were the last to leave, and Alyssa stayed back till everyone was outside. She grabbed her bag and took her time to walk out, not too thrilled about her next class. Her thoughts kept her adrift somewhere else, till someone touched her shoulder and electrifying shocks travelled the length of her arm till the tips of her fingers.

She spun around and found Caleb looking at her with green eyes that, for a second, she swore were glowing. He removed his hand from her shoulder and looked down at it. She cleared her throat when he didn’t move after a minute, the cafeteria now completely empty save them.

He looked up at her and whatever she thought she’d seen in his eyes before was gone. Alyssa wondered if she had just imagined the whole thing.

“What is it?” she asked when he still didn’t say anything. He shifted his bag on his shoulder and watched her with a look of both curiosity and displeasure.

“Why do you sit with us despite the rumours you’ve probably heard by now?”

Alyssa did a double take. Of course she’d heard the whispers, but rumours? She hadn’t been paying much attention to anyone else all of the previous week to really hear any unhinged rumours about herself. “I’m sorry, what?”

Caleb stepped closer to her and she unconsciously stepped back. “It’s a simple question, Alyssa.”

“I don’t see the point of you asking me that. I’m not a huge fan of everyone gawking at me, but who I sit with is my choice. What’s it to you?”

He ignored her question and asked, “Will you continue even if others start to bother you about it?”

She let out a frustrated huff and brushed back the loose strands of dark brown hair. “Again, why does it matter to you?”

Caleb shrugged, though the movement seemed too forced to be casual. “I’m curious, that’s all.”

“You seem an awful lot curious then.”

“Am I not allowed to be?”

“I don’t understand what it is about me that interests you so much.”

His lips lifted into a barely noticeable smile. “It’s not every day a new girl joins our table and brings so much trouble with her.”

“What are you even talking about?” she asked but her words fell on deaf ears. Caleb walked past her without a second glance and Alyssa watched him go with a bewildered look.

“What the hell is his problem,” she muttered to herself. She let out an exhale and left the cafeteria, already late for her next class. She could ponder over Caleb Stone some other time—or, preferably, not at all.

•••