Secrets of the Wolves

Chapter 5: Wild Goose Chase

Sigrid

Because my family moved all the time I had the ability to let time disappear. I never counted on the clock and I never valued the days I stayed in one place. I was a floater through cities and towns, not really caring about where I ended up.

That is, except for the heavenly six months we'd stayed in Washington when I was fifteen. We'd arrived in June and school had recently let out. I was roaming the parks one day, trying to catch a safe place to run, minding my own peaceful business, when a basketball popped me upside the head, knocking me to the ground.

Now, usually a basketball wouldn't harm a werewolf like me, but that bomb literally came out of nowhere. I crumpled to the ground and my stomach had turned when I'd heard laughter. Nothing was worse than humiliation.

"I'm sorry!" a voice crowed.

I looked up with blurry eyes, and my vision landed on a blissful sight. The boy who was running towards me had blonde, shaggy hair and brown eyes, bent with worry. He was donned in basketball wear and smelled like sweat.

"I'm sorry," he repeated as he bent down. Another human-shaped figure went after the ball. I blinked rapidly, trying to see clearly.

"It's alright," I replied, but it sounded slurred.

"Here," he said and he held out his hand. I debated taking it, but in the end I enclosed my wobbly palm in his sweaty one. He yanked me to my feet and his other hand hovered around my arm, ready to steady me. "Are you okay?"

I gingerly touched the left side of my head. I winced. "Yeah." I peeked at him and the cute lines on his face as he watched me with concern.

"I'm Jason," he introduced.

"S-Sigrid," I stuttered. I tugged my hand out of his, but stumbled back.

He grabbed my hand again. "Maybe you should go sit down."

I may be antisocial sometimes, but I'm not stupid. I couldn't walk around like this. I might start seeing hippos or something. So Jason led me over to a nearby bench.

"Are you good?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Thanks."

"No prob." He gestured back to the court. "I gotta win my game, so I'll see you around hopefully?"

"Okay," I said and waved to him as he jogged back to the court. I left soon after that, dying from humiliation. My vision had cleared up pretty fast and I didn't want to look at Jason any more than I had to.

But when school started in August, I had seen him in the halls. I'd discovered he was in my geometry class and after he asked me if I was okay, we started talking more and more. I learned that he hoped to get into NBA and he had a little sister named Monique. Jason also told me that his mom had been in the Miss America pageant in some year or another and he hated broccoli. I also knew straightaway that he was a human and a year older than the rest of the freshmen.

His friends would never stop teasing him and we found out that we lived not a street away. I found it odd that he had checked up on me in school about my head and the next month, he'd told me. Apparently, from the moment he'd seen me, he thought I was beautiful. That was why his shot was so wacky and ended up nailing me in the first place! Oh, the typical boy.

We started dating and he was the perfect boyfriend. I tried my best to not seem hopeful we'd stay in that little town. I tried not to let my negativity about moving bother me. Jason would take me on dates and sing to me in the most out-of-tune voice ever-and in return I would attend his basketball games as his personal cheerleader and I would tutor him in English, something he had trouble with.