Fighting Fate (Moonlight Trials Series #2)

Chapter 12 – Tutoring.

Chapter 12 – Tutoring.

Jaspers POV

I ran as per usual to catch the school bus, almost missing it. Tracker waved from the back seat, and I mind-linked him that I wanted to talk to Ivy. He looked at me funny but didn’t reply. I walked up to Ivy, who was sitting with Jesse.

“Morning ladies!” I smiled, turning on my full charm. I immediately saw it work on Jesse, who hadn’t had a crush on me for a few years now, but Ivy just glared at me as usual.

“What?!” She snapped angrily. I ignored her.

“Jesse, sweetie, would you mind if I talked to Ivy for a short while?” I looked at her with puppy dog eyes, and she nodded but didn’t say a word. “Thanks, can I steal your seat?” she again nodded but didn’t speak a word.

“Wai…Jess!” Ivy shouted as Jesse moved to sit with another friend, and they started giggling. I sat down and put my arm across the back of Ivy's seat and leaned into her. I did not want anyone else, except Tracker who would hear all of this with his wolfen hearing, to hear what I was about to ask Ivy. I turned off my charm and just looked her dead in the eyes. She looked into my eyes and backed up closer to the window but didn’t break eye contact with me. She was still glaring, but I did sense a moment of panic in her which shocked me.

“What do you want Jasper…” She said through gritted teeth. That was when I sensed her heartbeat getting faster. Was she afraid of me? I softened my features and sighed.

“Can you be my tutor?” I asked and then heard Tracker chuckle and stifle it with a cough from the back seat. I rolled my eyes and carried on. “I do think I need to start paying more attention to my grades…” I said, as honestly as I could. She looked me up and down, no longer glaring now but extremely cautious.

“Are you serious?” She said slowly.

“Absolutely!” I said smiling. She just kept staring at me again and I wondered if I had broken her. I went to tap her shoulder, but she moved away from me. She immediately turned around and faced the front of the bus, now cuddling her bag, which had been on her lap, to her chest. I sighed heavily and got up from the chair and went to join Tracker.

“Meet me at Franks tonight!” She shouted without even turning around to face me. I simply nodded even though she couldn’t see me and walked to Tracker, who had a really mischievous grin on his face. As I sat down, Jesse ran to Ivys side and started chatting, some of the other girls leaned over the aisle, and they all started giggling.

It's nearly the end of the year. Tracker said through our minds. Whats the point?

I shrugged. Better now than never, right? And like you said, you will leave soon and I'll have no one else… I shut my eyes and leaned back to snooze on the ride to school.

I was screaming within, though. This was the opportunity I needed and wanted. I'd been horrible to her for too long as human me, and she hated me. Maybe she needed to see I was the same wolf she truly loved, and I'd not given her that chance, being mad at her for not seeing me within my wolf. And her for avoiding me forever.

Franks was our usual coffee shop, he was the owner, but Ivy had started helping out here and there, some weekends, especially when I was spending time with Tracker. It was also where human Jasper and Tracker would go for coffee and also where Tracker would go on his own to talk to Ivy. Despite her avoiding me all the time, she actually enjoyed Tracker's company, and they would sometimes sit and catch up over a coffee. I think she knew deep down that there was something more to him and wanted to cheer him up.

I had already escorted Ivy home as a wolf, acted like I needed the toilet. Which, to be honest, still embarrassed me that I had to pee in the garden like a dog. Then I ran straight here.

I was hoping to beat her here, already having a lemonade and some kind of pastry waiting for her, but she walked around the opposite corner at the exact same time I did. She saw me and seemed to stop to take a deep breath. I beat her to the door and opened it wide and pretended to bow to her. She wasn’t impressed, and I swore I could hear her eyes roll in her head. We ordered a drink first before finding somewhere to talk.

“OK…” she sighed as we sat at a table. “I hope you’re serious about this Jasper. I do not want to be wasting my time…” She said, a sharpness in her tone that I wasn’t used to hearing.

“I am!” I said, slightly taken aback.

“And no more name-calling?” I avoided her gaze as she said that.

“No more name-calling…” I said not looking at her. “But in my defense, you were just as bad, and I was mad at you…”

“Ok so…wait what?” She said, anger rising in her. I looked at her and our eyes met. Once again, her heartbeat got faster, and she seemed scared. “You were horrible first…” She said, crossing her arms over her chest. I bit my tongue then moved to my lip. “You did! You called Jesse an i***t!”

“Yeah because…” I stopped, knowing anything I said right now would, one, make things worse and two, cause a lot of confusion. After all, I had only called Jesse an i***t because she did, then after that I was mad that she didn’t realise it was me and because she made me study, but I couldn’t tell her that. I bit my lip again. She was glaring now, her heartbeat back to normal. “Look…” I said through gritted teeth. “Can we just study?” She looked at me hard again and when she looked into my eyes, I felt Onyx rise up. Her heartbeat rose again.

She is beautiful, Onyx said. This caused me to nearly choke on my lemonade. She was my amazing angel, but beautiful was never something I had really thought about. I kept looking at her and realised he was right. I’d always felt that deep down, her gorgeous dark skin, her black hair which always had teal woven into it somehow, her amazing chocolate-coloured eyes. I blinked hard, waiting for her to say something.

“Ok Jasper, but well only study here or at the library, never at school or, each other’s houses and there will be some rules.” She said. “First, we will start next year. If you're genuinely serious then you’ll come prepared next year with notebooks, pens, etc. Second, I expect you to actually try. I know you can do it. Third, we are not friends and never will be. So, no contact with me at school. Your…” She paused and gulped. “Reputation proceeds itself and I don’t need that interfering with mine.” She said, her tone flat and she was yet again glaring. I don’t know why, but this angered me, and I felt myself bubbling up. Onyx too. I stood up and was about to walk away.

“Thaks Ivy. I guess I'll see you after the holidays.” I snarled and left, leaving her there. I ran into the woods and got changed before transforming. I howled out all of my anger and lay in the woods for a few hours.