HERS

7. Detention

The bell rang signalling the start of fourth period. Danica and James slowly walked out of their form room with Danica leading the way. Danica led them out onto the tracks where a class of wolves were running.

"Dani, where are you leading us to?"

"Don't worry, James you got to trust me." She told him leading the way, away from the tracks and into the bushes that covered the gates on the edge of the tracks. "Remember this place?"

"How can I forget?" He muttered looking over at Danica who seemed unfazed by the memories of the place.

The little meadow area had become their little place, it was where Danica had ran off to when the bullying became unbearable, it was where she had hung out day after day when James was in the hospital, it was where she pretty much lived after Bruce had left. It was the place where the trio; James, Avery and Danica had hung out the first time when they ditched class.

"Dani, remember that day we ditched school and hung out here all day after Avery's boyfriend dumped her?"

"Yeah, we ate junk food and got drunk for the first time."

"When Chris found us he was pissed."

"I know!" The look on his face was priceless but, he softened when he realised Avery was here safe and sound."

"James?" Danica stopped in the middle of the opening.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Chris's mate is Avery?" Danica asked uncertain, something told her they were meant to be, she hoped they were.

"Come to think about it," James paused thoughtfully. "It's possible they could be."

"His birthday's today maybe we'll find out then."

"Maybe."

"Then that,-" the rest of her words were muffle by James as he put his hand over her mouth, hushing her up. Slowly he let go, gesturing towards her to be quiet.

"Someone's here." He whispered explaining his actions. "Come with me," he ordered taking her by the hand and leading her out of the opening into the bushes, where they zigzagged around the trees and shrubs. James came to a stop making sure the sight was clear before they tried to sneak back in. "Coast is clear." He told her once he had thoroughly scanned the grounds making sure there was no one around. "Come on, let's go." He said getting out of hiding with Danica hot on his trails. The two began strolling through the playing fields heading towards the building.

"Oi, you two stop right there." A deep voice yelled, the duo froze like deer caught in the headlights, James spun around looking at Danica his face said it all. Busted! Which they certainly were!

James grabbed a hold of Danica's arm and broke into a sprint, running as fast as he could without shifting into his wolf. He wasn't worried whether Danica would be able to keep up because she in was swift and agile as a shifting wolf. She ran without hesitation, easily keeping up with him, Danica looked back at the person who had caught them; he was running after them trying to remain hot on their trail.

"Hey! STOP!" The man called after them, this only fuelled their need to run harder and faster. Their legs worked pumping the muscles, their feet pounded against the pavement, forcing them to keep moving.

James pulled the door wide open, running inside the school, their footsteps echoed in the empty corridors; the door flew open behind them as another pair of footsteps joined theirs.

"This way," James pulled Danica into the art department and under the stairs that led to the second floor of the art department, which led to the art and food technology rooms.

The heavy footfall that was behind them was now gone now replaced by soft paced footsteps and someone trying to catch their breath. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath. "I lost them." He spoke into the radio.

They stayed under the stairs until their chaser was gone. Danica was the first to get out of the art department going back the way they had just came from.

"Dani, where are you going?"

"Outside."

"No, let's go to the lesson."

"I don't want to."

"Tough, come on." He pulled her into the direction of the staircase that led to the first floor where their lesson was being held. Danica swung their intertwined hands back and forth as they went up the flight of stairs to the first floor.

"Open the door," Danica shoved James to the door...

"No you do it, you're the reason we're late."

"Fine," She opened the door, barging in without bothering to knock on the door first, the two stood on the threshold of the room as they realised they've interrupted a very annoyed Mason.

"I see you have finally decided to join us." He snapped at the two, they had the undivided attention of their classmates. "You do know that you are forty five minutes late"? HE continued in the same tone. Relief washed over Mason seeing Danica safe but that was quickly replaced with annoyance to see her partner in crime was none other than James Charleston and to add insult to injury they were holding hands. "This isn't the first time you're late, James seeing as it is your first time offense you're off the hook with a warning, however Danica you have detention where you will be able to catch up on mussed work. Now take your seats, quickly."

They had all packed up and ready to leave the school, all except one.

Danica still remained seated with her work sheets spread out across the table along with her text book and exercise book. She sat tapping her pen impatiently as the clock ticked on by only seconds away from the bell ringing to signal the end of the day.

"You're in serious trouble." Avery clicked her tongue.

"Yeah, right," Danica scoffed.

"Avery's right," James piped in.

"What now?" It always got serious when both James and Avery agreed on the same thing. Right now the same thing being the severity of how much trouble Danica was truly in.

"I think you're genuinely going to be in some serious shit." James told her matter-of-factly. Danica frowned "Didn't you hear him growl, that s**t was loud. He didn't even attempt to hide his frustration."

"Great," she muttered into her hands. "James you do know this is your entire fault."

"What? How is it when you were the one who led the way?"

"Oh shut it, it was both your faults." Avery cut in before Danica could response. The bell rang signalling the end of the day. The students poured out of the classroom. Avery gave Danica a sympathetic smile before mouthing 'good luck', as she left the room.

"What can you do ey?" James murmured into her ear as he passed her, shrugging his shoulders. Danica showed him the middle finger just as he exited out the room.

Danica turned to find Mason on her desk, causing her to jump out of her seat landing onto the floor with a thud. "What the f**k?" Danica yelled on her way down. "Dar you trying to give me a heart attack?" She asked lifting herself off the ground, taking her seat again. The small distance between the two made Danica slightly aware of her surroundings.

The door opened, retrieving the two from their own worlds, as well as breaking the silence. "Danica," Chris called from the doorway, getting their attention.

"Chris," She smiled widely, getting up making her way towards him, in hopes of getting out of this dreadful detention.

"Nope," he said faster than she could get the words out her mouth,

"But, why, you didn't even hear me out!"

"I don't need to; I know what you're planning."

"But it's your birthday, be nice."

Exactly, I'm being nice-it's just to me."

"Chris!"

"Have fun in detention."

"Fine, be like that."

"Don't worry kiddo, I'm sure you'll survive," he ruffled her hair. "I'm more worried for Mason than you." Danica gave him the puppy eyes hoping it would work. Spotting Danica he let out a chuckle shaking his head. "Nope," he said once more, this time popping the ’p'.

"Fine, Happy Birthday Chrissie," She cheered using an old nickname.

The nickname made him roll his eyes, "see you at home Dani."

"Sure thing."

"Night Mason and Danica you behave yourself."

Danica grunted in an improper manner, a lady would never behave as such as she acknowledged her brother. She went back to her desk where she was still sitting. Ignoring him she picked up her belongings packing it all way and putting the text book with the pile at the front. landing at the clock she realised it was twenty past three she had been her fifteen minutes since the bell rang. She turned to mason who was right behind her which made her jump back in surprsie. "Dammit, are you seriously trying to kill me?" She snapped as she tried to get her heart rate back down to normal. "You do know you cannot keep me here more than ten minute after school?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good, then you know that I should get going since my parent do not know where I am and will be getting worried."

"Well, that doesn't apply to you since your detention isn't over as you still have more time, half an hour left to be precise-"

"But my parents-"

"Don't worry; I'm positive that Chris will inform your mother."

"Stupid mutt," she muttered under her breath and sure enough he had heard that.

"For that you can tuck in all the chairs and put away the text books in their rightful places."

"Of course, I live for this," she grumbled under her breath as she put the pile of books away. They were thick text books that she carried like they weighted nothing to Mason's surprise; he had at least one complain but nothing. Once all the books were stacked away in its rightful place she went around the classroom tucking in all the chairs.

"You know why you are in detention, right?"

"Of course, I do, I'm not brain dead."

"So you see the purpose of this?"

"Yes, it's so you can have on to one quality time with your star pupil." She said smiling sweetly at him. His reaction was not the one she had expected, in his eyes she could see she had hit home the truth button or at least partially, he quickly covered it up and there was nothing there. It was almost like she had imagined it.

"No, it-"

"It obviously it, since you didn't give James detention," she shrugged.

"It was his first time late however you on the other hand, weren't."

"That doesn't count, that was on the first day of school!"

"Yes and the time you came into my lesson twenty minutes late and soaked." He stated,

"Of course you remember that, you loved the sightseeing, pervert." She muttered the last but under her breath which he had heard again.

"Not to forget to day forty minutes late."

"So, it was James's second time later too. He in fact was the one who got me wet in the first place; he could get detention as well!"

Mason sighed, there was no winning with this girl and he knew it. "Danica," he said her name, catching her breath to hitch in her throat, her retort dying then and there. "I'm concerned for you, every lesson you have with me you are late, even for registration. The only time you're not late it's for after noon registration and even then that's not all the time."

"I'm done," she stated proudly pushing the last chair in. "Can I go now?"

"Nope, your detention isn't over."

"But-"

"If you want to kill time, you can pick up the trash that was thrown by your classmates off the floor."

"What do I look like, the caretaker?"

"Yeah, for now, chop, chop." He clapped his hands together.

"Stupid mutt," she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that," he murmured into her ear.

His sudden appearance made her spin around, "you stupid...." her insult died in her throat at their closeness. Her eyes met his, full on staring back at each other; his eyes flickered to her lips causing him to lick his own which drew her attention to his lips, his pink kissable lips. She mimicked his action. Slowly, the leaned in, without realising they were inching close and closer, tilting their heads slightly, her mind was on over drive just by being close to him but one thing was crystal clear they were about to kiss any moment now, any moment as she wanted to kiss him, her mind blank and her body had full control letting go she moved in. she was about to kiss him. I'm about to kiss him she thought and stumbled back onto the desk, falling onto the table top. What had snapped her out of kissing Mason was her conscious, but it was the want, the deep desire to kiss him, it scared her.

Getting herself off the table Danica walked backwards keeping an eye on him until she was out of the classroom she turned and broke into a sprint out of the building and off the school property and ran all the way to the road she was familiar with. The one that led to her house, to the pack house. The shock of what she wanted to do echoed in her mind. She could not believe it how strongly she wanted that and how much she didn't care it was wrong right then it felt fight. The look in his eyes moments before they were about to kiss flashed in her mid, the look in his eyes when she pulled away and ran out the room

The look of lust and want and love and joy and horror and shock and the speechlessness that followed. All of them played in his features like a fast forwarded movie and none of them lasted longer than thirty seconds all of them were gone as fast as they had appeared.

Danica stopped a few blocks away from the house out of breath. The cool autumn wind eloped Danica from head to toe. She stood starring blankly across the street until the movement in the bushes caught Danica's eyes, snatching her attention away from Mason. Her eyes narrowed at the dark path in the bushes, starring the spot down, she c****d her head to the side trying to figure out whether what she saw was real or not, the face of a wolf in the bushes had to have been real but in a blink of an eye trying to clear her sight it was gone.

Shaking her head, she decided to forget whatever she thought she saw and continued to jog back to the house however her mind would not just let her forget about it. Now she had two things playing in her mind on a continuous loop, that wolf, the eerily familiar wolf and the incident with Mason. Sighing she opened the front door and stepping into the household.

"You're back," Avery greeted her. "Finally what took you so long?"

"You smell," James stated wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Chris asked.

"Mason's an ass," Danica huffed finally settling on an answer. "I ran all the way here that's why I smell." she turned to Chris and said, "I certainly hope not." She prayed with all her might hoping she did not see a ghost because if it was who she thinks it is; she certainly doesn't want it to be their ghost spirit.

"Ooh Mason?" Avery raised her eyebrow. "On first name bases are we?"

"Whatever," Danica muttered. "Mason, Mr. Mickelson call him whatever you like just know he's an ass." With that she went upstairs for a shower. They had obviously set up everything while she was in detention.