Full Moon, Elaina H [books suggested by bill gates TXT] 📗

Aaron avoids eye contact.

“You do to know something!” I accuse him.

He glares at me, “Just let Finn tell you okay, I am not getting yelled at or beat up.”

“By Finn?”

“No, by you,” he teases.

“Come on, let’s get to art class we’ll meet him there,” Aaron and I talk aimlessly. Our conversation drifts everywhere, but neither of us mentions last night.

Now that I think about it, neither did Finn. Are we avoiding the subject all together? “Aaron, is there a time where I can ask you guys questions?”

He looks at me, “What else do you need to know,” I shrug.

“I just have a few questions,” I look away, avoiding his eyes.

“We can meet at that little ice cream parlor after school, but we can’t tell you everything, Gwen. It’s a very complicated matter,” his voice is oddly serious.

“I know,” I say like a child being scolded. We enter the art room, and Jessica looks at me.

She giggles with her friends, “Nice hair,” she mocks me, “but don’t yell at me for it, I wouldn’t want you to hate me or anything!” her voice grates on my brain.

“That wasn’t that good,” Aaron informs me.

I stare at the floor, “God, that was really stupid what I did this morning, wasn’t it?”

“Well, I admit, it didn’t help you reputation, but what you did is nothing,” he voice trails off, and I don’t hear what he says.

But before I have time to ask, Ms. Jay begins class, “You all turned in your artwork from yesterday, I’m returning it to you now with your grades!” Ms. Jay passes back our drawing.

“I got a 94%,” I mutter.

Aaron smiles, “I was excluded from the project because I was here for one day of it,” he does a little happy dance.

“Okay,” I say. Ms. Jay hands Aaron Finn’s art piece.

“Give that to your brother,” she says quickly.

Aaron nods, “Will do.”

Ms. Jay let’s us talk for a while before she gives us an assignment, “You have until Tuesday of next week to complete this assignment. This Saturday and Sunday the art park has free entry. You must go get three photographs, but they have to be artistic! Not just a picture of an art piece! Got it!” We all nod, “Good, it’s due Tuesday!”

Once she’s done speaking I turn back to Aaron, “Where is he? He’s been gone for a while.”

“No idea, I figured he’d be back by now,” Aaron just bites his nail.

I sigh dramatically, “Can’t you just tell me where he is? It won’t kill you!”

“Ahh,” he tells me, “but it’ll spoil the fun!”

Grumbling, I stand up. “Bells ringing in two seconds.”

“How do you….?” Aaron is interrupted by the bell. “You have that memorized, don’t you?”

“Everyone except you has those memorized, Einstein!”

We walk out of the classroom, and up to our locker. Finn is still missing. “I’ll see you at lunch. Did you bring money?”

Aaron shakes his head, “I forgot again, sorry.”

“No problem,” I comment.

“See you at lunch,” he yells at me from the other end of the hallway.

I laugh at the hyper, younger brother.

 

When lunch rolled around, I decided to stop at my locker first before heading to the cafeteria. Jordan was a few lockers down. I try to avoid the awkward eye contact.

When he said he couldn’t do it anymore I took that as we weren’t friends.

Which is fine by me because he never really understood me, I tell myself. But even I know I’m lying. Jordan was the easy one to talk to. He did usually ask difficult or confusing question; or at least up until a few weeks ago.

Jordan was my best friend, but I guess he felt I was leading him on. And in a way, I kind of was.

Heading to the cafeteria, I open the doors and enter. Twenty people, at least, are swarmed around Robert. I assume they’re talking about what happened this morning.

But instead, to my surprise, I’m stuck looking at Robert with a black eye. A black eye? Robert’s black eye was purple and blue, swollen. Yet he still had on his cocky smile.

I glare at him and walk into line. “Hey!” Aaron says from behind me.

“Hey, did you see Robert’s eye. That’s pretty bad. But something inside of me wants him to have to black eyes,” Aaron smiles.

“You haven’t put two and two together yet, have you?” confusion crosses my face and is quickly replaced by understanding.

“No he didn’t!” I yell. Aaron just nods with a smirk playing on his lips, “God we’re all idiots,” I murmur.

Aaron laughs at me, “Not me, princess!” he’s not helping.

“I’ll bet you he’s suspended,” I tell Aaron.

He shakes his head, “I talked to my mother, she had to come to see the principal, he’s not. She somehow got him out of this one. I think it was because Robert through a punch first, my mom declared it self defense, and said if he suspended Finn they’d have to suspend Robert.”

“Which they didn’t want to do because he’s the quarterback,” it all makes sense. “Why on Earth, would Robert throw the first punch? Finn is, like, a hundres pounds heavier and three inches taller!”

“I have no idea, I don’t think it did much though, besides make Finn angry,” I mull it over in my head.

“Was he talking to Robert because of me?” Aaron shook his head no.

“I’m pretty sure his plan was to punch Robert first, but Finn called him a name, and Robert threw the punch. It all worked out very nicely, at school at least. He still has to deal with my mom.”

I chuckle, but quickly stop when I see Finn stroll into the cafeteria; he has a huge grin on his face, all the while people glare.

“He’s smiling,” I say sharply.

Aaron sniggers, “Yes he is.”

Finn walks up, and I go for the kill, “You can’t just punch a guy!” I say loudly, but not loud enough for others to hear.

His smile deflates a little bit, “He punch me first,” a wide grin flashes across Aaron’s face.

“And I’m sure that was a real threat,” no matter what I say, Finn still smiles.

“How can you smile?” he just shakes his head and grabs a tray.

I grab the usual, and pay for the three lunches. A breeze blows through the courtyard and I don’t complain as we sit. I munch on the apple, and sip my orange juice. We’re all eerily quiet.

The doors to the courtyard from the cafeteria open, and Robert, along with his two buddies, comes toward us.

“I don’t think you helped the situation,” I whisper to Finn. He shrugs and takes a bite of his sandwich, and he slightly moves to sit in front of me.

“What are you doing, Robert?” Finn asks as he stops in front of us.

Robert sneers at us, he looks me directly in the eyes as he speaks, “I came to put you in your place.”

Flashes fill my vision, but I take deep breaths and calm myself. He remembers, Robert remembers.

My hands shake, but I shove them under my thighs so no one sees. “Just leave us alone, Robert,” Aaron mutters.

“You,” he points to me, and I turn away. I can’t look him in the eyes. “You and your weird boyfriends better watch it. You’re all psycho, just stay away. Or next time you get in my path, I’ll sick my boys on you.”

His speech sounds utterly ridiculous, and Aaron notices because he starts laughing, my teeth chatter even though it is funny.

“Aaron, shut up!” I snap, his laughter getting to me after a while. Finn slides his right hand behind him, and holds it open; he’s letting me know I can take his hand.

And I do, take his hand, he closes his around mine. He can feel me shaking because he squeezes my hand tight. “If you’re real men,” Robert starts, “you’d fight us here, right now.”

Finn speaks up, “No, that’s what we would do if we were idiots.”
Robert gives us a fierce look, “You better sleep with your eyes open,” the three of the turn and walk away, back to the cafeteria. I swear you can hear the school as a whole sigh with disappointment.

But I let out a sigh of relief.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Eleven

When school ends I do something I’ve never done before, I skip cheer practice. Finn doesn’t say a word about it, thank God.

“Aaron your meeting us at the ice cream parlor,” I tell him, I don’t ask.

He nods, I put on the pink helmet that I had gotten this morning. It seemed so long ago that I got it, Finn starts the bike.

I climb on, and put my arms around Finn. “Hold on!” he shouts over the roar of the bike.

We fly down all the roads that lead to the parlor. Aaron beats up because Finn drives slower when I’m on, which is still way too fast.

“Took you long enough,” I slip of the helmet and put it on the back. I don’t say anything to Aaron.

“You don’t have to answer all my questions, I get that. But try to answer as many as possible. For most of the day,” I wince, “I’ve been thinking about other things, but I do have a few questions.”

Finn nods and Aaron agrees, “Deal.”

We walk into the shop, the old man smiles at us. “Still no call yet!” he jokes, but it makes me panic. What are Finn and I? Why is everything so complicated?
Aaron order five Strawberry shakes and two Chocolate. The old man shakes his head, “I’m surprised I still have ice cream by the time you two leave!”

He sit back down, I sit across from Finn and next to Aaron. “Okay, I guess I’ll start with my questions now,” I fidget in my seat. “So you don’t have to be in your wolf form to change somebody?” my voice is timid.

“Not necessarily,” Finn starts, “We can change in both forms, I changed my father when I was still ‘human’.”

Aaron adds more, “But it has to be a bite, our saliva is extremely potent when we’re in our wolf form, but way less potent when we’re human.

“A lot has to enter your blood stream at one time.”

“Okay, next question. Do you age weirdly?” they both raise they’re eyebrows. “I mean you age, right?”

“Yea, I’m actually seventeen and he’s actually sixteen,” Finn assures.

I sigh, “Are there other’s like you?”

Finn shakes his head no, “Not likely, but it’s always a possibility I guess. The more they make, the larger the chance of being caught and put in prison.”

“Oh,” is my simple answer. “Sherwood is not your real last name, is it?”

Aaron and Finn laugh, “No, it’s not, but we can’t tell you what it is, sorry,” Aaron tells me.

“I know!” before I can ask my next question, the old man calls out.

“Order up!” Finn stands up and I follow.

He smiles, “Lot to take in?”

“Yea, but I’m getting there,” he picks up six of the seven drinks.

“I can carry more than one, you know!” he rolls his eyes.

“Maybe next time.”

I take a sip of the shake, “Thanks.”

Aaron grabs his three shakes from Finn, “Yum!”

“Next question, why do you eat so much?!” Aaron is halfway done with his first shake.

“Because we burn,” take a huge gulp, “calories a lot faster since our body temperatures are higher. Plus, we love food.”

“Are your guys’ names really Finn and Aaron?” this just pops into my head and out of my mouth.

“Yea, that’s real. But there are a ton of kids with those names,” Finn finishes his second shake.

Aaron pipes up, “We move roughly ever year!”

My eyes are as wide as saucers, “You what?” Aaron realizes his mistake, Finn glares at him.

“Well,” Finn tries to reason, “if we have to.”

I have a look of disbelief resting on my face, “You are,” my voice trails off. I don’t care, I tell myself.

“Gwen?” he asks.

“Yea,” I take a sip of my Strawberry shake innocently.

He sighs, “Never mind.”

We finish our shakes and walk out to the motorcycles. Aaron says his good byes and takes off for the house.

I look to Finn, really