Dripping Roses

Leather and More Leather

I woke up to the rigid, constant beeping of my phones alarm. I stretched and groaned before grabbing my phone and shutting it off. “Time for school” I sarcastically mumbled.

 I stumbled sleepily into my bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth. My stomach twitched in unease. It was normal to be nervous starting a new school, I thought as I rubbed my flat stomach, where my crescent moon shaped birthmark was. I looked at myself in the mirror I was wearing an old sports bra and some sweats with my hair twisted up into a knot. 

    I snapped back to reality, and unpinned my hair. It fell down in thick, chocolate curls, which made my eyes stand out. I had my glasses on, which I only wore at home. I grabbed my contacts out of my dresser drawer and started putting them in. It stung a bit.

Then I grabbed my formula hair shampoo and bent over. When I did so, my hair fell forward in a dark curly cascade of hair. I used a good amount of the hair shampoo and finished walking into the bedroom to get dressed. I put on a pair of skin tight, black skinnies and ankle socks. 

    Then I slid on my flat bottomed, black, leather boots that came about four inches below my knee. Then I slipped on a loose, thin long sleeve t-shirt the color of snow. The shirt had tattered, and stylish rips in the sleeves. 

Someone knocked on the downstairs door as I slipped on my slim fit, leather jacket. I walked downstairs and opened the door. Wesley had a pair of dark stonewashed jeans on, a pair of dark brown work boots, and a tight ash black t-shirt. Pulled over his shirt was a dark and faded brown leather jacket. 

The boots he was wearing added like two more inches to him. Now I only came up to his shoulder. I realized that while I was examining him he was examining me. His mouth was slightly opened. He regained his posture and cleared his throat. “you look good this morning, ready to go?” 

    I glanced upstairs “I have to do a few things. You don’t have to wait out there” I walked upstairs as he closed the door behind him and followed. Quickly I grabbed my bag and checked that my stuff was all in there and ready to go then I grabbed my house keys. 

I was about to head downstairs and saw something shiny out of the corner of my eye. I walked over to my dresser and grabbed my ring and slipped it on. When I walked downstairs Wes saw the ring and asked “ why do you have your brothers ring?” I said “ this one is mine, his is flames, mine is leaves” he looked at it for a few seconds and then said “lets go”. 

    We walked outside, it was still dark but not for long. Wesley had a small black jeep with a tarp roof and huge mudding tires. He opened the passenger door for me and I got inside. It smelled like pine and musky cologne. He slipped in the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition. The jeep growled to life “let's go” said Wesley. 

We drove down the driveway and onto a single lane road. My stomach knotted “I hope I’m ready for this” I said sarcastically. He grinned as we pulled onto another road “were not heading to hell Skylar, it's just high school”. 

    I shrugged and looked out the window. “same thing” I groaned. He laughed and said “hey you should let me show you around, let me make it heaven in your hell” we burst out laughing, as I said “cheesiest pickup line of the century” we stopped laughing after a second as I said “really, you’d show me around school?” 

We turned onto a two lane road and took off through a straight stretch. “sure, why not? But I do have one condition though” curiosity overwhelmed me as I said “and what would that be? 

    He gave me a quick glance “A date” I was glad it was dark outside still because he would have probably seen the shock and surprise on my face. He glanced at me again trying to drive and converse with me at the same time 

“come on, just one date, please?” I looked at him “you don’t even know me, besides wouldn’t john kill you or something?” he laughed, it was a warm hearted, genuine laugh “nah, I already asked john when we were working on the bed. He trusts me since you and me were play mates when you used to live here”. 

    I was surprised “wait, what? We know each other?” he nodded “every summer until you were eight and I was nine, you would come stay with your uncle and we would play together. When we were real young though, you used to live here. We were best friends. And then one summer you stopped coming here and we never talked after that”

 I didn’t reply I just sat there wondering if I remembered any of those summers and oddly enough I remembered some of it. Wesley grinned triumphantly “so since we know each other and john won't kill me, will you go on a date with me ?” I sighed and he laughed, “fine”. he did a huge whoop and then about swerved off the road. he glanced at me again “well it’s a date then”.

    About twenty minutes later we pulled into a small gravel parking lot. I looked at the decent sized building taking a glance at the sign hanging above the door in neon colors. It spelled bunnies BBQ. Wesley unfastened his seatbelt and stepped out of the jeep, I followed like a lost puppy.

 “what is this place?” he casually said “bunnies BBQ” as I gestured to the sign I said “obviously” he stopped in his tracks causing me to bump into him. “ what the he-“ his face was inches from mine and he was grinning. he looked down to my lips and said “so sassy” he then turned and went inside. I stood there in the parking lot for a couple seconds. 

    I could feel myself blushing. I stayed there till the excess color left my cheeks and walked inside. Wes was standing next to a couple of guys. He turned and said “hey sky, come here. I want you to meet my friends.” I walked over to where they were standing and noticed that I recognized one of the three boys. He had blonde cropped hair and bright green eyes the color of antifreeze. He was the guy that was at John’s house . He realized I knew him “hey”. 

    I nodded and said “hi Kyle” Wesley looked at both of us as well as the other two guys. They all said in unison “you guys know each other?!” I looked at Wesley and said “well, I mean we have met before.” 

Wesley still looked surprised “when?” I shrugged my shoulders “The other day when we had just arrived from the airport. I was getting my bags and he pulled up looking for john” Wesley looked, I don’t know, relieved somehow? What was his problem anyway?

    “Wesley man are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?” he laughed as I said “I am not his girlfriend! We just met” I remembered what he told me in the car. “…again for the first time in ten years!  I barely know him !” they were all laughing now.

 The really tall guy with red hair introduced himself. His name was Tyler Bramson and he was a senior as well and the other tall guy standing beside him was Kellan Myers. Kellan had black wild hair, a short bushy beard and black eyes. Honestly he had the face of a five year old. Or per say a little brother. no acne or anything. Just big dark baby eyes.

    Wesley looked at his friends and then to me “well guys ill see y’all at school. I have to get sky there early so she can get her schedule”. They said goodbye and we all waved at each other. There was something homely about the four of them. 

They seemed like a little family kind of. Just the way they acted towards each other would make you think they were brothers. We got back in the jeep and pulled out of the parking lot in silence. We drove for a minute or two before I decided to break the ice “ they seem nice”, “yeah they’re like family, we all grew up together”. 

    I asked “so what does the school look like?” he stole a quick glance “it looks like one of those ski resorts, you know like the log ones that look really nice” we stopped at a four way “so is it small?” 

The light turned green and as we turned right and he said “yeah, the senior class is like seventy or eighty” I was surprised “wow, the school I came from was a class of one hundred and forty” we turned left and continued straight “sounds really big” I nodded “yeah each grade had different colored lockers so we wouldn’t lose our lockers” he chuckled “so did the gay students have rainbow lockers?” we both giggled a little. 

    We curved through the tall trees until we reached a large black top parking lot. “whoa” the school was two stories high and the perimeter of the building was a little smaller than two football fields. It looked like a giant log cabin, or like Wes said a ski resort. It had a large concrete kind of porch that ran along the front of the school with large dark wooden posts. 

Wesley parked right up front “well sky were about twenty minutes early” I looked at him. “why twenty?” he grabbed his bag and his sunglasses. “well im going to be your personal tour guide, oh, by the way you might want to stick close to me cause to the guys around here you’re a new girl which is fresh meat to them alright?” 

    I nodded and we got out of the car. We were walking up to the school and three guys were whistling and saying inappropriate things. They continued doing so until I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. I looked over and saw it was Wes. I kept looking forward and whispered “ Wes, what are you doing?” he kept quiet until we got to the doors. 

He said “ That was me shutting those guys up” I exhaled “thank you” he clenched his heart and said “ holy crap she said thank you!” my facial expression sent him into a fit of laughter “ ha very funny jackass” he bowed “ that’s my name don’t wear it out” we walked into the entrance of the school. 

    For a small school it was beautiful, the floor was black marble. There was a big black and silver banner that said Piscataquis high school home of the timber wolves. He led me to the main office. 

There was a principal's office, a secretary, and a nurse. “Do you guys not have a guidance counselor?” he shook his head.“we don’t need one the principle does both that and his own job” I said “cool” and he shrugged.

 The secretaries name was Mrs. Simmons we walked over to her desk. She looked at us over the rims of her black framed glasses “are you Ms. Morgenstern?” 

    I stepped forward “yes ma’m” she smiled at me “ well you can go ahead and grab your schedule off that printer over there” I walked over there grabbed it and returned she handed me a locker key and a credit card of some type “ that is your lunch card and your locker key. welcome to Piscataquis high Ms. Morgenstern”

 I smiled gratefully and said “thank you Mrs. Simmons” I saw Wes grab his schedule out of his bag as we walked into the lobby “ so what do you have for first period?” I looked and read aloud “ for first I have Mr. Donavan for gym, for second I have Mrs. Carter for calculus . Then for third I have Connors in anatomy and after that I have lunch. For fourth I have Mrs Williams advanced Shakespeare and for fifth I have cheerleading.

 What’s your schedule wes?” he looked at his and smiled “first Donovan, second carter, third Connors, lunch then fourth weightlifting and for fifth football practice. Well it looks like we have almost all classes together. I guess im just meant to be your tour guide” we smiled at each other. 

The bell rang for first and he grabbed my hand and led me through the hallways which were already crowded. The students were watching us and I felt like I was being  judged. But I didn’t care because I don’t take s**t from people that’s not the girl my mother raised me to be. We walked into a gymnasium. there were about twenty students there.

     I saw Kellan and Kyle standing with Tyler and two other people, a girl and a tall guy with honey colored skin and brown cropped hair. The girl had reddish brown, auburn hair like Tyler. In fact they looked a lot alike. Were they twins? They saw us and ran over. 

Tyler, Kyle and Kellan said “hey Skylar!” I said “ hey guys, you have this class too?” they nodded and Kyle said “ hey I want you to meet Tyler’s twin sister Clare” she walked up and shook my hand “ I think were going to be best friends” she smiled. we started talking and she told me about herself it turns out we have cheer, this class and third together.

    I told her about everything and she gave me a hug “ im sorry for your loss I know we just met and all but I consider you a friend already and im truly sorry for your loss” I smiled “thank you, and so do I” 

I felt like someone was staring at me. I looked among the class mates until I locked eyes with a slim guy with ice blond hair and golden eyes. His eyes reminded me of the sun in a way that sent chills up my spine.

 I tore myself away from his gaze when I heard Wes say my name. I turned around as he said “ ill be driving her until she gets her car” I nodded “its just temporary” the teacher walked in and said “alright! Listen up timber wolves! I don’t care if you’re an athlete or a mathlete!”

    I heard giggles in the crowd “you will exercise and stay fit in my class! No sneaking off under the bleachers to make out and no sneaking a look at your Facebooks! If I see your phone its mine! Also! I only have one other rule! You stay off your ass and you stay moving! Got it?!” the class said yes sir “alright! Today were going outside! So go get changed! and meet me on the field in ten!” he walked out the gym door to the football field.

 I went to the locker room with Clare and started changing. I was putting my hair up when two girls walked up and introduced themselves. One was my size and had blue eyes and dirty blond hair and the other had short black hair. The blond spoke first and said “ hi im Brandi Starkweather and im on the cheer squad and this is my cousin veronica Hodges. she is co captain and we would like to say welcome to the Team” 

I tied my hair up and my bangs fell down in my face. “ thanks I appreciate it. are you the captain?” she nodded “yeah but I make it a little democratic so its not tyrannical” I nodded “makes sense” 

She smiled and said “ see you at practice” I waved as she left. Clare said “don’t let the whole nice act fool you”I c****d my head to the side curiously “what do you mean?” she tied her shoes “ trust me when I say she knows Wes is close to you and she’ll use you to get close to him, she has been trying to get him ever since she transferred  here sophomore year” she stood up “trust me she is only nice if she wants something from you or if  she sees you as a threat.”

   “And her cousin veronica is her little spy. If you do anything in this school they know about it or will probably find out Just stay clear of them. They’re not your friends, trust me when I tell you that they will stab you in the back and spread rumors about you until you want to transfer. But if you stay away they cant bother you.” I processed this information and took it all as good advice “ got it, popular bitches bad news” she nodded “bingo”. 

    We walked outside together and I saw there were gymnastics poles and equipment along with dummies for football players to practice with. There was also a track running along the football field. I saw Wesley, Tyler, Kellan, and Kyle over at the football dummies they were really ramming into them and pushing the weighted dummies. I noticed though that Wesley was pushing his further. 

I was wearing a tank top and volleyball shorts. they were school issued and all the girls were wearing them. I walked over to the gymnast bars and saw it was over a sand pit with mats in it. I grabbed a hand full of sand and rubbed my hands together. 

    This makes my hands grip better. I put on the black gloves and jumped up grabbing the lowest bar. I had no idea everyone was watching but I continued swinging and flipping from pole to pole until I back flipped and landed on the finishing mat. I dusted my clothes off and saw everyone watching. I waved and everyone went back to doing what they were doing. 

Wes was still watching me though. Clare came up to me “I hope you know you just pissed off those preppy bitches when you made all the boys in this class stare” she was grinning at me as I said “I don’t care about the guys in this class, the preps can have them”.  

    She picked a flower and fondled it between her fingers “ so you don’t care if Wes is watching?” I was silent. She smiled “ I knew it wasn’t just one way! You like him too! Is it some kind of we grew up together and met again after ten years kind of romance?” I shushed her “ I don’t know he seems to remember me a lot when I barely remember him. Every time I think of us as kids together it's like a dream instead of a memory” 

Clare got a smug expression on her face. But before I could say anything I heard “am I really that dreamy sky?” I turned around to look at Wes and saw he was shirtless and sweaty, my god shirtless! His whole body was tan muscle and he had a little hair lining his stomach down to his shorts. 

    I blushed massively and looked away. I could tell he was grinning . When I stopped blushing I looked back at him and saw a scar on his side right on his toned rib muscles. I unconsciously touched it and He blushed. 

“I did that” he looked at me “you remember” I nodded “ we were playing in the tree house at johns and we were playing tag and I accidentally knocked you out of the tree and you scraped a branch on the way down” we both said “ twenty two stitches” we locked eyes and Clare said “ uh oh, jealous ex alert” I looked at her and said “what?” Wesley said “s**t” and literally dove into a bush. 

Clare pointed out a girl with black hair and black eyes. she was watching us Clare said “that is Wesley’s ex kora, they broke up last summer” I looked at Clare “ why?” she said “she was too controlling and he fell out of love with her. But that was almost a year ago”. 

Relief washed over me. Kora walked over to the teacher said something and left. Me and Clare started practicing for cheer. “ can you do a double curl back flip?” Clare said “ god no, those are impossible”  I stood on the gymnast platform and jumped curled my knees flipped twice and landed. 

Clare was shocked “ holy cow! You should be captain of the team!” I shook my head “ I was at my old school and it's too much responsibility” Clare gave me a high five “ well lets go shower and change” 

After the bell rang me Wesley and Kellan walked to calculus. I sat down in the 4th row in the second to last seat and Wes sat diagonal from me and Kellan sat next to him behind me. These were our assigned seats for the year. We learned some formulas and took some notes and after forty five minutes clads was over.

 We went to anatomy next. it was me, Clare, Wes, Kyle and Tyler. we took our seats and took notes. thirty minutes later it was lunch period. I walked into the large cafeteria with Wes and Clare and the rest of them and sat down at the large wooden table closest to the windows overlooking the lake on the back side of the school I looked at my tray.

    Chicken salad with avocado, although the avocado looked disgusting it tasted pretty good. Wes struck up conversation “so, sky how was your first day?” I swallowed my food and said “ it was okay, thanks to Clare I know who to not make friends with” Wesley looked puzzled and Clare spoke up “ Brandi and Allison”. He nodded and said “ yeah,her and her whole group are bad news”

 Tyler chimed in “ yeah, I dated her cousin veronica in 8th grade and it was a big mistake. Took my virginity and cheated on me” Wes bit into his sandwich “ I know bruh kora was the same way except instead of cheating she was controlling”

 Kellan piped up “plus she told everyone she just used you for her status. She said it was good reputation for the captain of the football team to date the tennis captain” Clare sarcastically said “ yeah that makes perfect sense” wait a minute Wesley lost his virginity to kora ? I know its not my business but I wanted to ask “ you lost your virginity to kora?”

    Wes swallowed what he was chewing. I saw the muscles in his throat clench and release. “ I don’t think of it that way but yeah” . “so how do you think of it?” he took a drink out of his water bottle “ the way I see it you don’t lose your virginity until you purposely mean to give it to someone there’s a reason people call it losing their virginity. So Skylar what about you?” 

I thought about it for a moment. Me and Todd had s*x but I hadn’t really wanted to and the night we got into a fight he had hit me. He wouldn’t have done that if he really loved me right? So that means I haven’t really lost my virginity “well if what your talking about is true then no” 

Wesley nodded and took another bite of his sandwich. Clare said “ ex boyfriend?” I nodded “ would you mind if I asked what happened?” I shook my head “ no, its fine” 

Clare took a drink of water and said “so what happened?” I closed my eyes and said “the night my parents died we got into an argument about him cheating on me with some girl named Stacy on the soccer team” 

I paused debating on whether I should say this in front of Wes. Wait, what am I thinking? He isn’t my boyfriend why would it matter? I started talking again “ and he called me an ungrateful liar and I called him an ungrateful w***e and he… well, he hit me and then he left and we were done.” 

well that done it. Wes went rigid all over. He said “ he hit you??” I nodded, he didn’t say anything else he just clenched the table I thought I saw a c***k in the table but it was probably already there.

 Kellan and Tyler turned pale as Kyle stood and said “ hey Wes I need to talk to you about something” Wes stood up and the two other boys looked at Kyle “ you two come with us”. They all left and me and Clare continued talking. But I kept thinking I had seen the way he went rigid before, but not him. Like  dejavu or something I don’t know but I know one thing energy flooded me when he did that and I don’t know why but I felt I should tell Clare.

 I interrupted her about her dog. “ what happened a minute ago felt familiar to me somehow like it was in a dream, or rather like a memory, it was just so familiar like familiarity swept over me or like I just… I don’t know…” Clare was pale for the first time I had seen her “well that sounds odd” I wondered, why are the guys taking so long?

Wes point of view

Kyle, Kellan and Ty pulled me into the bathroom and made a freshman leave. They then proceeded to lock the door. I clenched the edge of the sink and looked at my reflection. My eyes were a bright steady Amber color, unlike my usual green. My sideburns were longer and slightly hairier. My bottom canines were about an inch or half an inch longer. I was so pissed off to the point where I was meta changing into my wolf form. I felt a hand touch my shoulder, it was ty

 “Wes we need you to calm yourself” I shook his hand off and heard Kellan say “why are you so pissed?” my sideburns had disappeared “ you barely even know Skylar” I turned and faced Kellan “ listen!” I growled “I have my reasons! She is different from any girl you will ever know!” 

Kellan said. “how in the hell is this strange city girl different?!” I pushed Kellan into the sink “she is a pureblood!” Kellan clenched his jaw “are you saying that the little girl out there that let her boyfriend hit on her is a pure blood? I doubt it she probably said that for attention” 

I clenched his shirt in my fist and said, “fuckin say it again Kellan!” Kellan’s eyes were yellow now “hit me Wes! C’mon! Just because your brother is alpha doesn’t mean I wont fight you!”

 Tyler broke us apart before we could start. Tyler pinned Kellan against the wall “they imprinted on each other! You f*****g i***t!” Kellan was surprised “ what?? How?” Kyle said “she is a pureblood like Wesley said”. 

Kellan said “I would know if she was one of us! Im not stupid!” Kyle shook his head “ no but your ignorant. Are you a pureblood? Are you Kellan?” he did not know where this was going did he? “then if you met a pure blood who was hiding their identity you wouldn’t know unless you were a pure blood, Wesley and I are pure bloods we can immediately tell if we meet another one” 

Tyler released Kellan. Me and Kellan were all human again. Kellan still looked confused “why would she hide her identity from other pure bloods and wolves?” Kyle was about to speak but I spoke first “ she isn’t” now they all looked at me with confusion. 

“john told me about her situation before she got here, when we played together as children we played together as wolves. Her parents were part of my father’s pack they were the only purebloods besides my parents and Kyles parents. 

When we were little we were playing hide and seek in the woods at johns but we were in wolf form. I was looking for her and found a massive wolf that had been stalking us. Turns out john was watching us too and he attacked that wolf and tied him up in the barn. 

Our parents came over and interrogated  him he said he was set up by his pack to take our pack leaders pure blooded son and the girl he was to be partnered with which turned out to be the last born pure blooded female in the north.

 Her parents had Arno cast a memory spell on her so that some of her memories of me, her future mate and her wolf heritage was erased or changed.”

“That is why she stopped coming and stopped remembering everything and that’s also why she never changed. Before her parents died they had Arno make sure that her and her brother received their moon rings which kept them from changing or feeling the effects of the full moon. 

Eventually their memories will come back but they wont change unless their rings are gone.” I waited a few minutes to let this sink in for them. Then I smelled Clare and another scent. 

Wait… is that scent… Skylar?? The boys must’ve smelled it too because they all looked toward the door when they heard Skylar say my name. All that I could think was that she heard everything and that she knew…

Skylar point of view

I stood at the door with Clare listening “they wont change unless their rings are gone” everything Wes just said was crazy. Wolves? Like werewolves? What does pure blood mean? Is he saying his family is werewolves and my family was werewolves? It got quiet all the sudden so I knocked lightly and said “Wes?”

 I heard silence for a few moments and then “how much have you heard?” I closed my eyes “enough”. He opened the door looking a bit flushed even though he was tan. He stepped close to me “I can explain and even prove everything” I took a step back and nodded  “okay” he looked around and saw some redheaded freshman. The kid made eye contact by mistake, got scared and ran off. He looked back at me “not here ”. The guys and Clare nodded. 

Wes got a pissy looking expression on his face and pulled me close to him the others stiffened up. I turned around and saw the same ice haired boy from gym this morning. He smiled “so this is the only female pureblood left eh? It would be such a shame if she went missing”

 I heard a deep noise like a growl. I listened for it again and heard that it came from behind me. I turned back to face Wes. I about fell backwards, his eyes were an amber color. 

Tyler put his hand on Wesley’s shoulder and said “not here Wes that blood sucker isn’t worth it.” Kyle chimed in “plus he would be violating the treaty” the white haired boy chuckled “ that treaty will be nothing but void when I become leader of my mothers covenant in three weeks” he spat “remember that, because when that time comes, she’s mine”