“What did you play?”
“My dad was into softball, so I played for a few years until I hit middle school. I’m not into competition. I play just to play, and not really to win. Y’know?”
“Yeah, I get it. Is it really competitive here?”
“Here?” She thought about it for a second. “I wouldn’t know. I lived in Vegas for most of my life, and I know that they were competitive.”
“Really? When did you move?”
“Just a few years ago.” She then switched topics. “So, are you excited for fall break?”
“Yeah, my sister’s coming up with her family.”
“Awww, the baby brother is missing his big sissy,” she cooed at him.
“Oh stop.” He lightly shoved her. “If you keep that voice up, I think I’m gonna lose my appetite for the rest of the year.”
She scoffed, “You losing your appetite? Yeah, right.”
“Hey! It can happen!”
Then before she knew it, the halftime horn sounded off.
Chapter 11
Adrian
For a majority of Adrian’s life, he had admitted that he wished he wasn’t a werewolf, so he would be able to lead his own life to do whatever he felt like doing.
If he wanted to travel around the world, then he could. If he wanted to become an astronaut and leave Earth, then he would. If he decided to live off the grid with nothing except a dinosaur telephone for emergencies, then he could.
He also knew that no matter how diluted his bloodline was, and how far his generation was from the first batch of werewolves, he still wasn’t human. He had a role to fill and several responsibilities to take care of.
He hated that.
Was it so wrong to want a normal life?
Question of my life.
The halftime break didn’t last long, and soon enough, cheers and chants erupted from the crowd again which gained the attention of several cameras and players alike.
Adrian glanced down at Aria and noticed that she was more invested in the game than she originally was. It was really cute seeing her facial expressions range from excitement to fear whenever the other team got close to their goal.
Applause filled the air as the timer ticked away and their team was about to score the winning touchdown. The euphoria in the air was hard to mistake for anything else. It was so loud, so chaotic with energy, but it was pretty fun. The game was intense and they barely won, but that made the victory so much sweeter. Not even when rain began to fall did their vibe fade.
He glanced back at Aria who was laughing like nothing else mattered. Her glasses undoubtedly would get smudged, her sweater would be soaked, and she might even get sick. Surprisingly to Adrian, she looked like she didn’t seem to care.
The way her eyes twinkled made him forget the temporary dye that dripped out of his hair and on to his clothes.
When he was with her, he felt normal.
He felt ‘okay.’
He didn’t want to let this feeling go.
Adrian wanted to so desperately believe that these feelings were strictly organic. That he felt this way because of the time and effort they spent into making their relationship work.
From all the cooking experiments, to the homework help, to the random questions in the middle of the night; Adrian wanted to think that all of these things made them work. All these small things that made their relationship something. Maybe some of his feelings went beyond friendship, and even though he’d have to make sure to keep those in check, he was pretty content to see her uninhibited smile.
The rest of the night went by too quickly for his preference but as he dropped her off, Adrian felt like he should’ve done something, like say a cliché catchphrase, or a wink, or something cool.
But he didn’t.
Like a loser, he was too wimpy to try anything.
Once he got to his house, he was greeted by the image of his parents on the couch. They were too engrossed in their movie night to even say hello, but he didn’t mind.
As he prepared for bed, he washed out all the remants of the temporary dye from his soaked sweater, all while he silently hoped that it didn’t leave any permanent stains.
After he was done with his nightly routine, he flopped on to the bed. Even though the entirety of the night was great, he still had to wonder about what would happen if he were human.
Would he still be compelled to get close to Aria? Would he had even met her? He tried to imagine what it’d be like, but the reality was, he probably would’ve never met her.
They wouldn’t have moved from California if they didn’t have to deal with pack problems. He wouldn’t have had to transfer schools or meet new people. He probably would’ve lived a comfortable and simple life, but it would be a life without her.
Adrian wasn’t sure when this happened, but there would be no way in hell he would be satisfied with anything less in their relationship anymore.
He didn’t even want to tolerate the idea of being just acquaintances.
***
His relationship with Sundays was a hit or miss. Some days he would be able to take it easy, and just train with the younger kids to teach them self-control, meditation, and simple exercises to run out their excess energy; then there were days where he was confined to the office with his dad.
The fancy prison with a nice wooden desk, nice chair, new laptop, and a big window with curtains at least looked the part, and as much as he detested working there; he couldn’t just up and leave whenever he felt like it. The paperwork was his warden, the emails were his guards, and his dad was his
