Star-Crossed | Boy x Boy

𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒌𝒂𝒔

Bright light filtered in through my curtain, stinging my eyes when they fluttered open that morning. Worse than the pain in my eyes was the pain in my arm, and I tried to remember what had happened last night. I was out for a walk in the woods, wasn't I? Or had it all been some sort of dream. I tried to shift my weight, but something was weighing me down. I looked down at my waist, and saw the same wolf that had attacked me curled up against my side.

"FUCK!" I screamed, and fell away, tumbling out of beds and scrambling away on my hands and knees.

The wolf leapt to attention, swinging his head around wildly. His yellow eyes were widened with fright, but when they fell on me, they seemed to soften. The wolf sat down on my bed, his dirty paws leaving bits of mud and dirt on my comforter. My chest rose and fell rapidly, each breath like a stab to the heart. I clutched my arm to my stomach, whimpering softly against the sharp, stinging needles of pain tingling up and down my forearm. I looked for the bite, and saw that it had already begun scabbing up. That was only possible if I'd been asleep with days, but that couldn't be the case. 

I looked up at the wolf, tears pricking my eyes. "How did you get into my house?" I asked meekly.

The wolf sneezed. He flicked his ear. He rose to his paws, and hopped off of the bed and onto the hardwood floor. He started walking towards me, and a I grabbed a fork that was sitting on my desk from my supper yesterday. Yeah, it was messy, but it was coming in handy now. I held the piece of silverware out in front of me at arm's length. The wolf tilted his shaggy head and huffed at me, as if he were frustrated. He shook out his fur and shifted his weight from foot to foot. 

I stared at him, confused. He wasn't attacking me. He looked worried. He lowered his belly to the floor, and wriggled back and forth. He rolled over onto his back, and waved his paws in the air. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he panted. He barked, making me jump. I had seen this before on a National Geographic documentary. Dogs and dog-like creatures rolled onto their backs to show submission to those bigger and stronger than them. I wasn't bigger or stronger, which meant he was just trying to show me he wasn't a threat. Yeah right. I rubbed the bite on my arm, remembering all too well how threatening the wolf actually was. 

The wolf rolled back onto his stomach, his brows knit in confusion. He whined at me, and pawed at the floor. His claws left little scratch marks in the wood that my parents would get mad about later. The wolf shook his head. He jabbed his nose at me, and then jerked his head over his shoulder, back towards my bed. I narrowed my eyes quizzically. 

"Huh?"

The wolf wriggled anxiously, whining loudly. He took a hesitant step towards me, and then fell back when I flinched. He stepped from foot to foot, whining more. He slid to the floor, and crawled towards me. I grabbed the fork and held it out as menacingly as possible. The wolf opened and closed his mouth. He barked sharply, and I jumped again. The wolf sat down and huffed in frustration. He barked angrily, and jerked his head over his shoulder again.

He looked desperate, like he was trying everything to make me understand. I stared at the creature blankly. Had I hit my head and imagined the whole bite? Was I imagining this interaction right now? None of this made any sense. How did the wolf get into my house? How did I get here from the forest? I had passed out from blood loss and the shock of being attacked by this creature and there was no way someone found me and brought me back with the wolf in haul. So who, what, where, when, and why was I back in my cozy room being yelled at by the same animal that had pulverized my arm yesterday. It had felt broken at the time, but now there were only a few scabs to show for it. It was scarring, too. But it had only been twelve hours at most. 

Where were my parents? My clock read ten-thirty, which meant they were probably at work. I had missed school, so Jamie was probably blowing up my phone wondering where I was. What the fuck was going on?

"Stop yelling," I snapped at the wolf.

He stamped his paw sassily and huffed in annoyance.  

I looked around my room, trying to see if anything looked different. There were muddy foot-prints by the door. Were they my own? Were they my parents? The only paw-prints were around my bed and on it, like the wolf had just materialized in my room. Even more confused then ever, I tried to stand up, holding onto my desk for support. The wolf barked loudly over and over again as I struggled to my feet. 

"Can you not?" I growled through teeth grit in pain. My head swam, and I stumbled. The wolf let out a sharp yelp when I staggered and he leapt in front of me, pushing me back against the desk so that I didn't fall over. I knotted my fingers in the fur on his neck. "Thanks...?" I mumbled to the wolf. He nudged the back of my knee, turning me towards the bed. "What are you doing-?" I questioned, but he kept inching me towards the bed. Finally what the wolf had been trying to tell me clicked. "Ohh, you want me to get back in bed?"

The wolf looked up at me, his golden eyes glowing. He barked in reply. 

I limped across the hardwood floor, towards my bed. I brushed some of the dirt off of the blanket and sat down on the edge of my bed. I held a hand to my aching forehead. I needed to find my phone. Jamie would have the SWAT team sent to my home if I didn't call her and tell her where I was. I looked around, but when I tried to get up again the wolf jumped up and dug his paws into my legs, pressing me back down into the bed. 

"He!" I exclaimed, swatting the wolf over the muzzle. "Bad dog, stay down!" 

The wolf didn't move, he didn't even flinch when I swatted him. He raised his eyebrows at me, and uttered a sharp growl. I held up my hands. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," I sighed. The wolf huffed at me, and hopped up onto the bed next to me. "Hey, no dogs on the bed," I scolded. 

He looked at me blankly, as if asking if I was serious. I laid back down on my pillow. I brushed some dog hair off of the pillowcase and rested my head on the soft cushion. I blinked at the wolf, meeting his golden gaze. "So... are you real, or not? Bark if you're a figment of my imagination."

The wolf let out a doggy sigh. He turned in three circles and laid down on the mattress, resting his muzzle on his paws. I tucked my arm beneath the side of my head and closed my eyes. My head hurt like a bitch. I didn't have the energy to question anything anymore, so I let the warm feeling of emptiness wash over me, and I slipped into a deep sleep.