Never the Lone Moon

Chapter - 9

Norri

My first day at a new school was probably the last thing I expected after losing my entire family. Yet here I was, standing in front of a mirror, staring at myself in a uniform I had never worn before.

“Great,” I muttered. “A new school, a new town, a new identity. What could possibly go wrong?” I looked at the necklace around my neck. The witch had said it would hide my essence from every supernatural being. I still wasn’t sure if I trusted it.

Especially after what happened in the woods.

I touched the crystal hanging from my neck and sighed. I had turned into a werewolf. I had killed someone.

I had met vampires, witches, werewolves, and whatever the hell Alaric was, and now I had to worry about homework. I grabbed my bag and walked downstairs.

Harvey was already waiting for me with breakfast.

“Good morning, Miss Elenor.”

I stopped halfway down the stairs. “Harvey.”

He looked at me.“What?”

“What did we agree on?”

He smiled. “Norrie.”

“Exactly.”

“Good morning, Norrie.”

“Much better.”

I sat down and looked at the food in front of me.

“I don’t think I can eat.”

“You said that yesterday.”

“And the day before.”

“And you still ate.”

I looked at him. “Are you always this annoying?”

“Only when necessary.”

I smiled despite myself. For the first time in days, I actually felt a little normal.

Until I remembered why I was here.

My family.

The people who killed them.

Xavier.

I pushed those thoughts away.

Today, I didn’t want to think about any of it.

Today, I just wanted to be a normal seventeen-year-old girl going to school.

Whatever normal meant anymore.

After breakfast, Harvey drove me to school.

The building was huge, with students walking everywhere. Some were running because they were late, while others stood around talking with their friends.

I looked through the window. Everyone looked so normal. They had no idea what was hiding in this town.

I took a deep breath.

“Don’t worry,” Harvey said.

“I am not worried.”

He glanced at me. “You’ve been staring at the same building for five minutes.”

“I’m observing.”

“Of course.”

I rolled my eyes and opened the door. “Wish me luck.”

“You’ll be fine.”

I stepped out. The moment I entered the school, I felt like everyone was looking at me.

I knew they probably weren’t. But my anxiety didn’t care.

I looked down at the paper in my hand. Room 204. I had no idea where that was. I walked through the hallway, trying not to look completely lost.

And then I heard a familiar voice. “You look like you have absolutely no idea where you’re going.”

I turned around. My eyes widened. “Lucien?”

He smiled. “Well, good morning to you too.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I go here.”

I stared at him. “You go to school?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“What did you think I did? Spend my entire life sitting in the woods?”

“I don’t know.”

He laughed. “Come on. What class?”

I showed him the paper.

His eyes moved across it. “Room 204. You’re in my class.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” He took my paper from my hand. “Come on, new girl.”

I followed him.

“Wait. How did you know I was new?”

“Because I’ve never seen you here before.”

“Maybe I was hiding.”

“You’d have to hide pretty well.”

I smiled. We reached the classroom just before the bell rang. Lucien held the door open for me.

“Ladies first.”

“Wow. Such a gentleman.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

We walked inside. A few students looked at me before going back to their conversations.

Lucien pointed towards an empty seat. “Sit there.”

“You sound like my uncle.”

He immediately laughed. “That’s unfortunate.”

“You have no idea.”

He sat beside me. I looked around the classroom.

It felt strange. A few days ago, I was sitting at home with my family. Now I was sitting in a classroom surrounded by strangers.

The teacher walked in and placed her books on the desk.

“Good morning, everyone.”

Everyone mumbled a greeting.

She looked at me.

“You must be our new student.”

I nodded.

“Elenor?”

I hesitated.

“Norrie.”

She smiled.

“Welcome, Norrie. Would you like to introduce yourself?”

Absolutely not. I looked at Lucien.

He whispered, “Just say your name.”

I stood up.

“I’m Norrie. I recently moved here.”

“From?”

“Portland.”

A few people turned around.

“And what brings you here?”

I smiled awkwardly. “Family.”

That was technically true. The teacher nodded. “Alright. You can sit.”

I sat down as quickly as possible.

Lucien leaned towards me. “That was painful.”

“Shut up.”

He laughed.

For the first time in days, I laughed too. By lunch, I had already learned three things about Lucien.

One, he talked way too much.

Two, he knew everyone.

And three, apparently, he had a reputation for getting into trouble.

“So you’re telling me you’ve been suspended twice?”

“Technically, once.”

“What do you mean technically?”

“The second time wasn’t technically a suspension.”

“What was it?”

“Community service.”

I stared at him.

“That sounds like a suspension with extra steps.”

He laughed. “Maybe.”

We sat outside with our food.

I looked around. “You really know everyone here.”

“Pretty much.”

“How?”

“I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“You said you used to live somewhere else.”

He paused for half a second. “I did.”

“Where?”

“Portland.”

I almost choked on my drink.

“You’re kidding.”

He laughed.

“No.”

“So you were in Portland?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“A few days ago.”

I stared at him.

That was strange.

He had been in Portland around the exact same time my family had been murdered. But there was no reason to connect him to any of it. Still, something about it bothered me.

“You okay?”

I looked at him. “Yeah.”

“You stopped eating.”

“I was thinking.”

“Dangerous.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Very funny.”

He smiled. “So, what do you think of the town?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Told you.”

“But it’s quiet.”

“That’s what I like about it.”

“You don’t like cities?”

“Not really.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Too many people. Too many things happening at once.”

I smiled. “Finally, something we agree on.”

He looked at me for a moment. “You’re different from what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know.”

“That sounds insulting.”

“It wasn’t.”

I smiled. “So what did you expect?”

He looked away. “Someone who wouldn’t survive here.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Lucien.”

He smiled. “Forget I said it.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was definitely hiding something. But so was I. So I let it go.

The rest of the day went surprisingly well. Lucien showed me around the school, introduced me to a few people and even helped me find the library when I somehow ended up on the wrong floor. By the end of the day, I had almost forgotten everything.

Almost.

When the final bell rang, everyone rushed out of the classrooms.

I packed my books into my bag.

“You walking home?” Lucien asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know.”

He grabbed his bag. “I want to.”

I smiled. We walked out of the school together. The afternoon sun was starting to disappear behind the buildings.

“So,” he said, “what are you doing tomorrow?”

“Probably school.”

“Very funny.”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“We could hang out.”

“Like friends?”

He looked at me. “Do you not want to be friends?”

“No, I do.”

“Then we’re friends.”

He smiled. Just like that.

It was weird how quickly someone could become familiar. A few days ago, I didn’t know him. Now I was walking beside him like we’d known each other for years. I looked at the road ahead. For the first time since my family died, I didn’t feel completely alone. Then we reached the corner. A black car was parked across the street. I didn’t think much of it. Until Lucien stopped walking.

I turned around. “What?”

He wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were fixed on the man who had stepped out of the car.

He was tall, dressed in a black coat, and looked completely out of place among the students walking around us. The man looked towards us. Then his eyes landed on Lucien.

Lucien’s expression changed. The smile disappeared from his face.

I had never seen him look like that before.

“Do you know him?” I asked.

He didn’t answer. The man started walking towards us.

I looked at Lucien. “Lucien?”

He finally looked at me. “Stay behind me.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”

“Just do it. Because I don't feel about the number plate on that car.”

We were halfway down the street when Lucien suddenly stopped. I almost walked into him.

“What?” He was staring at someone across the street.

I followed his gaze. My heart skipped. It was him.

The guy from the woods. The one who had saved me.

The one who had been shot multiple times and somehow walked away without a single wound. He was standing beside a black car, looking completely normal.

As if I hadn’t watched him kill someone right in front of me.

As if I hadn’t asked him what he was.

As if we hadn’t met in the middle of a cemetery and he hadn’t saved my life.

He looked up. His eyes met mine. For a second, neither of us moved.

Then he smiled. “Looks like we meet again.”

I didn’t know what to say. “You…”

His smile widened.

“Me.”

Lucien looked between us. “You know this guy?”

I opened my mouth, but the man answered before I could. “We’ve crossed paths.”

“That’s one way to put it,” I muttered.

He chuckled. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect to see you either.”

Lucien’s expression had changed. He wasn’t smiling anymore.

He was staring at the man like he knew exactly who he was.

“Do you two know each other?” I asked.

Lucien hesitated.

“No.”

The man looked at him. “Not yet,”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

I looked between them. Okay. Definitely something weird was going on. The man turned his attention back to me.

“You never told me your name.”

“I thought you already knew it.”

“I heard someone call you Elenor that night. I wasn’t sure if that was what you preferred.”

I hesitated. “Norrie.”

“Norrie,” he repeated, almost like he was testing the name.

Then he held out his hand.

“Rylan.”

I looked at his hand before taking it. “Nice to meet you… again.”

His smile returned. “Likewise.”

I let go of his hand. There was something strange about him. Something I couldn’t explain.

But then again, everything about my life had been strange lately. He looked directly at me. “Are you free after school tomorrow?”

I blinked. “Why?”

“I owe you a proper introduction.”

I smiled slightly. “I’m pretty sure this is already an introduction.”

“Then I’ll owe you something else.”

I laughed. “Maybe.”

He smiled. “I’ll see you around, Norrie.”

He turned and walked towards his car.

I watched him leave.

“Who is he?” Lucien asked.

I was silent for a moment. Then I looked at me. “Someone you should probably stay away from.”

He frowned. “Why?”

I didn’t answer. And for some reason, I wanted to know even more about him.