Change of Plans (4 page)

Chapter Eight

Chemistry

Caleb

I never let Allie get the
materials. She shouldn’t have to, and my mom taught me better to sit around
while a girl does all the work. Even though Allie was independent and strong
headed, we had a silent agreement that I got the materials. When I turned
around from grabbing a Bunsen burner, Allie was sitting on her usual stool,
biting her lip. Not helping when all I could think about was kissing her.

Thanks to a little encounter
with Golden Boy, I wasn’t in the best mood and accidentally slammed the beaker
down too hard on the table, making Allie jump. I muttered an apology and went
to grab more materials. As I saw my nails and hair growing into claws and fur,
I finally took a deep breath and got myself under control. When I turned back
to the desk, Allie was already flipping through the packet.

Through all the blowing
things up, near death experiences with chemicals, and
scoldings
from the teacher in this class, we’ve grown a lot closer. The scolding from the
teacher were bearable because I could tell she was trying to contain a laugh
every time we blew something up, but the
scoldings
from Brody who sat right in front of us were getting old.

As we started setting the
materials up, Brody glanced back really quickly but didn’t say anything, just
like he didn’t in computer graphics the period before this. I don’t know if he
was silently angry or if he finally saw it from my point of view. Either way I
was glad he was finally off my back for what happened earlier.

Allie was silent. For once
she let me do everything, not even stepping in when I purposefully turned the
temperature on the burner too high. A silent Allie was worse than an angry
Allie. I felt guilty because I was well aware that one of the reasons she was
acting so distant was because of the library incident.

I nudged her, trying to
lighten the mood, “You know, for such a perfectionist, you sure are lacking
today. If you don’t step in soon, we might get less than 100 on this lab,” That
earned me a glare, which was better than nothing. “If I burn the school down
they might blame you for not keeping an eye on me.” I could feel that she was trying
to suppress a smile, which just made me smile more.

Finally, her smile that I
loved so much made an appearance, and I couldn't help but feel as a weight was
lifted from my shoulders.

“Well Einstein, if you keep
the burner that high, you might actually burn the school down. Also, you should
waft whatever is in there,” she said pointing at the beaker, “not stick your
nose right in and inhale like it’s a scratch-and-sniff. I would hate for you to
get chemicals in your system and have to go to the nurse again.” I knew the
chemicals wouldn’t hurt me, and my Wolf Side would make me heal faster, but I
humored her and moved the beaker away from my face.

“Better? So if I can’t sniff
the beaker, what can I sniff?”

“What are you? A dog?” Yes,
technically.

I chuckled.
If she only knew.
Allie quirked an eyebrow at me until I turned and started working
on the experiment, turning down the temperature on the burner.
Well,
there was no denying that we had chemistry together.  

Chapter Nine

Cat Fight

Allie

Laughing
with Caleb Winters wasn’t something I liked. Well, I didn’t exactly hate it. It
was nice because he was funny, but I knew it would only inflate his ego.
Therefore, even though I tried not to laugh, I did. A lot. Brody stayed silent
at his station, mixing chemicals perfectly.

I
was measuring the sodium when Caleb brought up my birthday, again. “So what are
you doing for your birthday this year?” It caught me a little off-guard with
how curious he was
,
why did he care?

“Probably
just hanging out with Matt like I always do, maybe catch a movie,” I responded,
not taking my eyes off the sodium.

“
Ahh
lover boy,” I guess snarky Caleb was back. “I thought
he would be more romantic than just hanging out. If you would finally take me
up on that date, I could do so much better.”

The
sodium burned my nose, and I felt my temper rising.

“First
of all, Matt is
not
my boyfriend- he’s my best friend. Second of all,
that date is never going to happen so stop asking.” I didn’t date, not now, and
probably not until I am far out of this small town. I’ve never even had a first
kiss, but I honestly didn’t mind. I hadn’t even come close until this morning.
There was no point in dating; they always just leave you and hurt you in the
end.

Caleb
also didn't date- he played. I heard that he went through girls like there was
an endless supply, which for him there probably was. Every day, all day, all I
heard about was how hot Caleb was or how good his butt looked in a pair of
jeans. That’s why I didn’t have girl friends; they were annoying and only
thought about popularity or their hair. I have one motto for friends: quality
over quantity, as for dating: never
gonna
happen.

Caleb
and I somehow made it through the rest of the period without burning or blowing
up anything. When the bell rang for lunch, he grabbed my bag and headed out the
door. Seriously? This was the second guy today who’s carried my stuff to class.
Did they think I had twigs for arms? In the hallway, I had to fast walk to keep
up with Caleb’s long strides. He made small chat about teachers and projects
and whether or not I was going to the football game on Friday, which I was for
Matt.

The
noise and smell grew as we drew closer to the cafeteria. The scent of burnt
fries and smelly freshmen had my head starting to spin, and the loud noise of
trays slamming and chatting that rattled my eardrums didn’t help. As someone
raced by me to the cafeteria,
their
backpack hit my
back, causing me to stumble.

Caleb
caught my arm, looking concerned, “You okay?”

No.
“Yes.”

He
raised a knowing eyebrow at me.

“Yeah,
I think I’m going to eat in the library today.” My body involuntarily leaned
closer to him, using him as a shield. Caleb had no problem navigating his way
through the packed hallways. A few heads turned toward us, but most stayed preoccupied
with the thought of food.   

The
library was empty besides the librarian who smiled at us when we pushed through
the squeaky doors. My headache disappeared as the sounds and smells faded. I
pulled my bag off from Caleb’s shoulder. I gave him
a thanks
and headed toward a table in the back in between the stacks of books. I
expected him to leave to eat with his friends, but instead he pulled out the
seat across from me and sat. I stared at him questionably but when he said
nothing, I reached into my backpack to get my lunch. I hated school lunches and
always brought food from home. Also, it never filled me up. Nothing these days
did.

“Are
you not going to eat?”

He
sat up, as if it just occurred to him that he didn’t have food. He looked
around, “I guess not.”

I
slid half a sandwich and an apple toward him, “Lucky for you, I packed extras.”

———————————

Halfway
through lunch, my phone buzzed with a text from Matt.

Where r u?

In library, my head hurts,
I
quickly typed back.

Oh, should I come?

I
debated it for a while and decided that having Matt and Caleb in close
proximity was a bad idea.
No, all good. See you later.

With
light conversation, Caleb and I finished our lunch. We walked back into the
current of students when we exited into the hallway. Caleb placed his hand at
the small of my back in a gesture that was new but comforting. We both had
history next and walked back down the stairs to the history wing. As we reached
the base of the stairs, we passed Matt. I waved at him, but he was too busy
glaring at Caleb and his hand placed at the small of my back.

Apparently
he wasn't the only one to notice. Every girl I passed looked like they wanted
to kill me or be
me
, including Sierra. She was by her
locker, which was right by the door to our class. Breathing down her neck was
Samantha and Chloe, two other girls I couldn’t stand. They were also part of
the group who acted as if they owned the place and apparently she owned Caleb
too. Everyone knew Sierra had a thing for Caleb, but no one knew where he stood
on the subject.

Sierra
looked like she was about to burst when she noticed us together. Well, not
together, just walking together. There was no way I would ever be
together
together
with Caleb Winters. Yet Sierra must have
thought differently because her face was bright red and steam might have been
coming out of her ears. It was cruel, but I was kind of savoring the moment. I
didn’t care much about my social standing in this school like Sierra did, but
it was nice to see her not have something she wanted. Also, it may be a little
childish, but this could be payback for third grade when she called me
worthless.

As
we drew closer to her, I drew closer to Caleb, intentionally brushing my side
against his. His hand moved from my back until it was snaked around my waist.
He was taking advantage of the situation too, just not in the same way I was. I
turned my head to glare at him in warning, but he just smiled down at me. His
head tilted closer to mine as he buried his lips in my hair to whisper, “If you
really want to tick her off, you could always kiss me.”

Busted.
I pulled away and looked up at him, “I don’t think so.”

We
were getting closer to Sierra and I could hear her talking to Samantha and
Chloe. Caleb laughed, “You know you want to.”

I
quirked an eyebrow at him, it was an intriguing offer. I looked forward to see
Sierra glaring at me in a silent challenge. I sighed, might as well go full
out. When Caleb wasn’t looking, I stepped onto my tiptoes and planted a kiss on
his check. It was brief enough to pass as a friendly gesture, but it felt like
anything but.

When I turned back to look forward I wasn’t sure
who was more surprised- Sierra, Caleb, or
me
. As soon
as I crossed into the classroom, I immediately broke away from Caleb, a little
embarrassed. I didn’t need a repeat of the library incident this morning.

Chapter Ten

Marking
Territory

Caleb

Normally I would be jumping
for joy if Allie had kissed me, but not this time. She might not have thought
much of it, but it was clear to
me and Sierra
what she
was doing- marking her territory. I might have not been fully joking when I
suggested her kissing me, but I didn’t expect her to do it, even if it was just
my cheek. Wolves are
very
possessive of what’s theirs, and if Al’s
already reacting to Sierra, her Wolf is closer than I thought.

Within a couple weeks of
someone’s transition, werewolves start acting more Wolf than human. Their anger
flares and they stick by their pair like glue. It’s important to have a pair
while going through the change. No one’s quite sure why but they can take away
some of the extra anger and emotion. A couple weeks before the transition, all
you can think about is your pair, no matter how much you don’t want to. The
only time I ever saw Brody and Sierra together was during their transitions.

I, on the other hand, had no
one for the change. But as alpha, I didn’t technically need one and my dad was
there and forced the change on me. Not exactly painless but it got the job
done. If Allie doesn’t get a heads up soon, she is going to have a very hard
transition.

In the classroom, Mrs.
Vertan
, the world’s meanest teacher, still wasn’t there. I
once again sat behind Allie and followed her down the row with my hands placed
on her hips. Even though she broke away from my hold once she got through the
door, she let my hands stay. I sat her bag down, and she went to grab textbooks
from the counter in the back of the room. As she placed one on my desk, I
grabbed her hips and pulled her down on top of my lap. She let out a small
squeal but didn’t try to get up.

“Didn’t think you could get
away from me so quickly, did you?” One of her hands drifted to my chest while
the other wove its way around my neck and teased the ends of my hair.

“No,” her voice was quiet
and teasing, it was driving me crazy. A small, distracting smile played on her
lips. My arms tightened around her waist, efficiently pulling her closer. I
knew that we probably had an audience, but I didn’t care. Her hands and lips
were driving me crazy. She was probably acting this way because of the
transition, but once again, I didn’t care.

One of my hands left her
waist and went to the side of her cheek. She sighed and pressed into me more. I
was pulling her head down closer so I could kiss her, but then she popped up
and laughed.

“So not going to happen
Caleb,” she said as she sat in her seat, dragging out the
o
in the first
word.

It took me a second to
realize I’d been played. I felt a small growl
raise
from the back of my throat. I grabbed her hand to tug her back down when the
bell rang and Mrs.
Vertan
walked in.

“Mr. Winters, if you don’t
wish to spend your Friday night with me in detention instead of being at the
football game, I suggest you remove your hand from Allison.” The only thing
more obnoxious than her high-pitched voice was the constant click-clack of her
heels. Allie pulled away and sat in her seat. Knowing her, there was probably a
smirk on her face.

I leaned forward in my seat
until my torso was flat against the table and whispered to Allie, “You’ll
regret that later.” She shook her head like she couldn’t give a care in the
world
but,
that was a promise I wouldn’t be breaking.
 I’ve already postponed kissing Allie thanks to her
brother,
I didn’t need her postponing it even further.

Once class got started,
Allie consumed my thoughts. Oblivious to my somewhat creepy, stalker stare at
the back of her head, she continued class normally, raising her hand and taking
notes. When the bell rang through the air, Allie quickly gathered her stuff and
left, putting as many people as she could between us. Well, so much for walking
her to math. Instead, I walked out of the classroom and turned toward the
locker room, but instead ran right into Sierra. She didn’t say anything, just
stood there with steam coming out of her nostrils. I tried to step to the side
and around her, but she just followed my step and blocked me. I knew she wanted
me to say something, but what was there to say? Sorry,
I’m
paired with Allie
,
get over it
? Yeah that
wasn't going to slide with her.

“What do you want Sierra? I
don’t have time for your games today,” I told her, crossing my arms over my
chest.

She pouted, “It seems like
you never have time for me anymore.”

“Yeah, I don’t, but I bet
Brody,
your pair
, does.”

“Don’t talk about the
abomination or his sister to me. They shouldn’t even be in the pack, and
certainly shouldn’t have rank. I mean a beta and alpha, they will single
handedly ruin the pack.”

My temper
grew,
no one had a right to talk about Allie or my beta like that. “Know your place
Sierra, or I won’t hesitate to put you pack in it. My dad ruined this pack and
having Allie, a
rightful
Underwood, as alpha will do us good.” It’s not
like she could make a good alpha, although that’s exactly what she and her mom
wanted. Since Alison’s dad left, the pack ranks have been screwed with, making
Sierra beta, which wasn’t enough for her mom, nothing was.

Sierra could tell the shift
in my attitude as my words became harsher. Luckily she knew when to back down
and stomped off. Watch out three little
piggies
, the
Big Bad Wolf is on the loose.

In the locker room, I worked
double time to get ready. My conversation with Sierra was making me late, and
the scramblers were already walking out the door to the field. After I was
loaded up with my pads, which I technically didn’t need, I went to the field
where coach was giving his prep-talk. With the big game on Friday, I was
working my team to the max. Coach handed the practice over to
me and Matt
, the other captain was already out passing the
ball with one of the other players. I approached him and told him to round
everyone up to work on plays. Instead of doing that, he stood and glared with
his arms crossed over his chest.

“Do it
yourself
,”
he barked. Looks like Lover Boy saw the charade in the hallway with Allie and
me.

He knew he wasn’t stronger
than me, but he still was going to try. He shoved me pretty hard for a human; I
even stumbled a little. Next he threw a punch at my face. That was cold; we
didn’t have helmets on yet, and he knocked me right in the temple. We might
heal faster, but we still feel pain. I knew if I threw a punch back I could
really hurt him so instead I just tried to get him restrained. I tried reaching
for his hands, but he used it against me and laid me flat on my back. It sucked
fighting with humans; you could kick their
asses
, but
you knew it was wrong so instead you just took a beating and looked weak. He
had got two good punches on my jaw before he stopped.

“Stay away from Allie, she
doesn’t need someone like you screwing with her life, she’s been through
enough.” He got up and stomped off to where the rest of the team, including
Coach Watkins, was watching with their jaws open.

During the rest of practice, we prepared for our game, but there
was a growing tension between Matt and I. When practice ended, coach stayed
true to his word and made me run four laps, two for the show in first period
and two for picking a fight. Technically I didn’t pick it, I’m only the victim,
but everyone else thought otherwise. Allie was going to kill me.