Against The Masses

"There! That's everything. Fully unpacked. Clothes put away, furniture is all set up, and books..." Val looks around the room in search of something. "f**k! What time is it?" She glances down at her watch and notices it's half past 6pm. "Okay, I have some time." Val quickly runs and grabs her keys off the counter, flies through the door, and starts her car. Valorie Herst, 21 years old, long midnight black hair paired with bright gray eyes, was attempting to finally relax after unpacking but forgot something very important. Tomorrow is the first day of the new semester and Val still needed to get a few more books for some of her courses. She was lucky this time that the local bookstore didn't close until 7pm that evening. Traffic was low and Val quickly got to the bookstore faster than she thought she would. She glanced around the shop before getting out of her car. It was bigger than she expected. The building the bookstore was in happened to be an old home that was now converted to a*****e. The house looked to be an old Victorian home painted to match the rest of the town which was bright and welcoming, for the most part. Val let out a sigh and headed towards the store. As she walked in, the bell on the door chimed alerting the employees of a new customer. By the register, Val noticed a young lady who appeared to be close to her age. She had her blonde hair braided in a ponytail and the brightest blue eyes Val had ever seen. Looking more closely, from a distance of course, Val noticed how athletic her build was. Val wanted to introduce herself since she has no friends in this town but the way the young lady was chewing her gum made Val wonder if she should even bother. Before turning and wondering around the store, the young lady's head peeked up from the magazine she was reading and saw Val standing near the entrance. "Hey there! I don't think I've seen you around before." The young lady said with a smile. "Probably not. I just moved in today not too far from here actually." "Oh! Well, welcome to my little bookshop. Are you looking for a map or something to do in the area?" She asked. "No, not really. I was wondering if you sell some of these books I'm required to have for my classes tomorrow. I would have ordered them ahead of time but this was a last minute decision." Val stated as she reached in her purse to pull out a list. "You're going to be a Wolf too?!" The employee asked oozing joy. "Huh?" "Sorry. The college mascot we have here is the Wolf. I start my final year tomorrow. I couldn't be more excited. What are you studying?" "That's right. I forgot they were the Wolves. I was more focused on the library on campus. I heard it has the most books in all of Alaska. I'm Valorie by the way. Valorie Herst. I'm going to be finishing up my teaching degree in art." Val held her hand out to shake the other woman's. She smiled and grabbed Val's hand. "Destiny here. Destiny Stone. I'm finishing my degree in art as well. Just not teaching it. I'd rather express myself then teach others how to draw a circle. More power to you girly." Val giggles. "Thanks. But just because I'm gonna teach doesn't mean I'm going to give up my craft. I love painting so I'm taking as many painting classes as I can. I might even double major if they have the option here. I know at my old school they didn't." Destiny ponders for a moment. "We should paint together some time! I'm sorry. I hope I'm not overstepping but I've never met another person in this town that loves art as much as me. My brother picks on me constantly saying how much my work sucks." "I'd love that. It would also be nice to know at least one person before I head to campus. It seems like everyone in this town kinda knows each other." Val said in a more quiet tone. "I gotchu' girl. I'll give you the grand tour tomorrow. Plus, I have all these books and I'll just give them to you. I don't need them anymore. I was lucky to take those classes last semester." Destiny said with a huge grin on her face. "Are you sure? Some of these books are kinda pricey." Val noticed some of the prices on her paper. "I'm positive. Would you like to meet up before class tomorrow and I can give you the rundown? Grab a coffee and donut or something." "Sounds good to me." "Yay! I'm so excited. I can't wait to shove it in my brother's face that there's another hot ass female who likes art just as much as me." Val's face instantly reddens. She couldn't hide her blush. Valorie wasn't used to hearing people comment positively on her appearance. Don't get me wrong, Valorie is a good looking young woman, just built different. She has thick thighs, a voluptuous ass, and great set of breasts; so her foster mother would say. But Val stayed away from relationships and men all together. She believes they are nothing but trouble and she chooses to live her life quiet and peaceful. "You're adorable when you blush. I can't wait to introduce you to my friends. They're gonna love you. Here's my number. Text me sometime tonight so I have it and we can make plans for tomorrow." Val smiles shyly. "Thank you so much, Destiny. I'll text you as soon as I get home." Destiny pulls Valorie in for a hug before she leaves the store and heads back to her new home. Destiny was a lot stronger than Val thought and her embrace caught her off guard. However, Val was happy she made a friend. Night had finally arrived and Val was home alone in her tiny living room enjoying reruns of one of her favorite shows munching on some popcorn when her phone binged alerting her to a new text message. As soon as Val returned from the bookstore, she was too excited about meeting Destiny so she messaged her right away and had been messaging most of the night. Destiny was informing Val of some of the shops in town and who owns what. Val found out that the bookstore Destiny works for has been passed down through their family for generations and now it was her turn to run the store for a while. Apparently every one of the Stone family members have to work at the store for at least a year before they can go off and do what they want. Odd family, Val thought to herself. Val was about to reply to the latest message when she heard a strange noise come from outside near the house. Val's tiny home is a little of a drive away from town surrounded by woods and a nearby lake. It was her foster mother's summer home she never got a chance to see. It had two bedrooms, 2 full baths, decent size kitchen, cute living room, and a screened-porch attached to the back of the house. It was the perfect size for Valorie and even though she was thrilled be living in Girdwood, she wished she wasn't alone. Broken out of her thoughts, Val hears the noise again and goes to the back porch to check it out. There's a slight chill in the air making her shiver and her body sprout goosebumps. She rubbed her arms trying to keep herself warm as she looked out into the darkness. Her eyes scanned the abyss searching for the source of the noise. It sounded almost like a howl but she wasn't sure what she heard. A gust of wind blew causing her hair to blow all around and her to curse under her breath. Val quickly fixed her hair and looked around again. This time, she noticed two golden orbs staring back at her. She was hypnotized to the spot and couldn't move. She just stared back at those golden specks in the dark. She tried to focus her eyes to see more of what could be attached to the eyes but it was too dark to see. As soon as she spotted the orbs, they disappeared just as fast. Val shook her head and headed back inside. First night here and already seeing things, she thought to herself. Val was able to fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She didn't dream which was nothing new to her. It was rare she would. The dreams she did have from time to time were always the same. She was in the middle of the woods at night but she felt safe and protected. She could hear something running or rustling in the bushes but every time she would turn to see what could be approaching, she would wake up. The sun was shining through the window which woke Val from her slumber. She stretched and jumped out of bed. She checked the time and noticed she only had a little more than a hour to meet Destiny at the campus coffee shop before class. "Well, I guess I'm not going to look cute today for classes." Val said to herself out loud. She walked over to her closet and glanced through some of the options available for today. She really needed to go shopping. Most of the clothes she had were for warmer weather. Now that she's living in Alaska, she needs to dress the part. But, it was still warm for now so Val thought to use this to her advantage. She grabbed a simple black V-neck shirt and paired it with jean shorts complete with her favorite pair of black converses. She backed her bookbag and raced out the door. Thankfully, Val arrived at the campus coffee store before Destiny so she had some time to observe her surroundings. Everywhere she glanced, she saw extremely attractive people. The men were really tall, muscular, and gorgeous. Most of them had strong jawlines and mesmerizing eyes. The women, looked just the same. They were taller than Val, appeared to work out regularly, and dressed to impress. Val started to feel a little self-conscious being around all these people who looked like they belonged in a magazine when she felt a slight tap on her shoulder. She turned around and was relieved to see Destiny holding a cup of coffee with a donut just for her. "You're a lifesaver." Val stated as she thanked Destiny for breakfast. "Don't mention it. I'm not a morning person myself so I know how you feel. Ready for the grand tour?" "Is this college known for its athletics or something?" Val said barely above a whisper. "Huh? Whatcha mean?" Destiny glances around. "Everyone here looks like they're training for the next Olympics. Even you!" Destiny laughs. "This town gets that a lot actually. No, we're not known too much for athletics unless you're talking about the hockey team. That's what most of the guys do around here. But there's always so much to do to stay active even in the winter so I guess we all stay pretty fit. Weird I know. Come on, we gotta hurry before classes start!" Destiny hooks her arm around Val and begins to drag her around campus. Val took in the many buildings located on the college grounds. There was an academic building for each of the main subjects like English and Math. Destiny took Val through the campus cafeteria showing her where all the clicks usually sit and who to avoid. "That table in the corner is usually where the puck bunnies sit. I'd avoid that area at all costs." "Puck bunnies? What kind of name is that?" Val questioned. "Oh they don't call themselves that. That's a term we use for the girls on campus who are constantly chasing after the hockey players. Hockey is kind of a big deal in this town. Hope you can keep up." Val thought for a moment. "I used to watch hockey when I was younger with my foster dad but I never really understood the game. I just liked watching the fights." Destiny squeals happily. "Yay! Me too! The fights are the best part. Alpha" She hesitates for a moment before continuing "... males going at each other to show their strength. Don't worry. I'll teach you all you need to know about the game. You're definitely coming to the game this Friday night." "That sounds like fun." Val glances down at her watch and notices the time. "Do you want to get lunch after my afternoon class if you're free?" "Sounds perfect! What class do you have first? I got stuck with statistics early this semester." Val smiles. "I made sure I got that over and done with when I could. I have some required course for the school I've never heard of." Val pulled out her class schedule and took a look. "It's called 'Historic Studies of the Weird and Unusual'. What kind of class is that?" Destiny face changed slightly but quickly recovered. "Oh that class. It just mainly talks about some of the history behind the town and urban myths. It's weird but it's actually a lot of fun. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something new!" Valorie and Destiny give each other a friendly hug before heading to their assigned courses. Val took a look at her schedule again and noticed her first class was in the Golden Stone academic building. "I wonder if that has any relation to Destiny." Val thought to herself. She quickly remembered which building she had to go to and started walking that way. She glanced down to check the room number again when suddenly she was knocked down coming to face to face with what felt like a solid brick wall. "s**t! I'm so sorry. Let me help you." Val heard the stranger say. She took the stranger's hand without looking up and with ease she was back on her feet. Brushing herself off, Val attempted to apologize for herself. "No, I'm sorry. I was too busy looking down at my schedule I didn't see where..." As soon as Valorie looked up, she was met with the bluest eyes she had ever seen staring right back at her. They seemed to be filled with tons of different emotions. Emotions Val wasn't sure where they could be coming from. The stranger grinned handsomely down at her. He was tall, probably over 6'2, and muscular. His sandy blonde hair lightly blew in the wind sending a scent making Val weak in the knees. He smelt of honey, tobacco, and cedar. She was hooked. The stranger seemed to be just in awe as she was since he was staring at her as well. He somehow happened be dressed in similar attire to hers. The handsome gentleman was wearing jean shorts, a black V-neck shirt, and black vans. Val forces herself to look away and notices she has five minutes to get across campus in order to get to class on time. "f**k! I gotta run. Sorry I ran into again!" Val shouted as she raced towards the building leaving the stranger there dumbstruck. Thankfully, Valorie was able to get to class on time and find a seat in the back away from wondering eyes. As she was waiting for class to begin, she looked around the room noticing everyone seemed to know each other. "Typical. Small town, small circles, same friends." Val thought. Val pulled out her notebook and began to doodle when she felt someone sit down beside her. She knew instantly who it was because she could smell him as he walked into the room. "I didn't think I'd run into you again so soon." Val looks over at him and smiles shyly. "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. I'm a clumsy mess this morning." The handsome stranger chuckles. "I was distracted myself. No reason to apologize." He smiles at her and Val returns the smile. "I'm Lucian by the way but my friends call me Luke." "Valorie but I go by Val." Lucian grins. "Val.... I like it. You must be new in town I take it?" Val giggles. "Is it that obvious?" "Just a little. Plus, I grew up here so I kinda know everyone that's worth knowing and this is the first time I've seen you." "Well maybe I'm not worth knowing. Could have been hiding out in a cabin the middle of woods waiting for the right moment to rejoin humanity." Val laughs but notices Luke didn't seem to find her joke that funny. For a moment, it appeared his eyes flashed a bright gold before returning to their normal blue. Trying to get rid of the awkward air between the two, Val clears her throat and speaks. "So why are you taking this class. You look like a senior and have better things to do." "I actually didn't want to take this class until I had to. Hence, taking it my last year. But since I've lived here my whole life, I know it's an easy A." "Must be nice." Val mumbled under her breath. "I could always help you out if you needed it." Luke mentioned with a slight blush on his face. "Thank you. History was never my strong point." Luke was about to ask Val something when he heard his name being called from the entrance of the classroom. "Lukey!! Why didn't you wait for me?!" Val and Luke looked over to see who was the cause of the commotion. At the door, stood a very slim, tall, beautiful young woman with long flowing blonde hair and bright green eyes. Val immediately sank in her chair hoping to avoid any possible confrontation. Val looked up and over to Luke who appeared disgusted at the young woman who called out to him. "Of course he's in a relationship. Someone as fine as that would never be interested in me. I'll be lucky if I don't end up a cat lady living around here..." Val began to think to herself. The young woman quickly made her way over to where the two were seating. She looked over at Val and then at Luke. Luke didn't make eye contact but looked over to Val trying to read her face. She assumed that look was to get her to move so she took the initiative to defuse the situation. "Here you go. You guys are obviously friends. I'll go sit in the corner." Val got up and swiftly moved to the opposite end of the room away from the two to ease the building tension. Luke looked utterly disappointed that Val decided to leave him with the young woman. Luke wanted to protest but as soon as he was about to say something, the professor came in and class had officially begun.