“I don’t have cloth shorts.”
“They why don’t we look for one?”
“Maybe.”
“Well.” Aria sipped the last dregs of her soda. “When is this party?”
“On Friday.”
“So you have a few more days. You don’t have to get something today.”
“Watch me end up buying something online.”
“You could. There’s two-day shipping,” Aria encouraged her.
“Maybe . . . wait, how about that?” Mira sat up quickly and pointed at something.
Aria followed the direction to where she’s pointing at and immediately saw a very bohemian-styled blouse. It was earthy and a little more whimsical than Aria would peg Mira to wear, but it was definitely cute enough for her to get dragged into another store.
The sales associate was a little ruder compared to the others, but Mira was so enamored with the blouse on display that Aria dealt with it. Besides, she was getting tired of the mall.
“Try it on,” Aria encouraged her.
“Which color? Green or—”
“Green. You do not need any more red.”
“But red is—”
“Yeah I get it, ‘red if your color’ but over half of your closet is red!”
“I like red.”
Aria gave her a look. “You basic b*tch.”
“Fine,” Mira huffed but Aria could tell that she was happier than she led on.
No more than ten minutes worth of confirmation and a size change that the two were finally out of the store with a success story. It wasn’t like Aria didn’t enjoy hanging out with Mira, but a moody Mira was definitely something else.
Thankfully, that phase was long over and Mira was back to her usual sassy self. The drive home was filled with impromptu karaoke where they even made a pit stop at a café to grab a smoothie.
Right before Aria left the car to go back home, Mira called out.
“Wait! Can I borrow your bangles?”
“Sure, which pair?” Aria asked as she opened the door. “The silver or the bronze ones?”
Mira contemplated on it for a second before she answered, “Bronze.”
“Alright.”
It didn’t take long for Aria to run inside and grab the accessories before she handed them over to Mira.
“Be careful with these, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back safely.”
“You better!” Aria pretended to threaten her friend.
“Hey, do you wanna meet up for lunch on Monday?” Mira asked.
“What? Oh right, dammit. School,” Aria groaned. “How could I forget?”
“It’s the start of senior year!” Mira’s smile was so wide that it was slightly concerning.
“What joy,” Aria said sarcastically.
Mira merely rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you later.”
“Have fun!” Aria yelled as Mira drove off.
Once she was long gone, Aria went back inside her own home. The silence of the house wasn’t something she liked. It was always isolating and sad compared to what it used to be. There wasn’t much warmth she felt when she grew up, and she thought she would’ve gotten used to all of this emptiness by now.
As the years passed, she came to realize just how wrong she was.
Chapter 3
Adrian
He was exhausted. He didn’t want to get up from his bed or even attempt to tidy up his new room, much less attend the party that his dad and and Alpha Joel planned. But did he really have the choice?
“Adrian, are you ready?” his mom called from the living room. “We have to get going.”
“Yeah.” He shuffled out from his room and saw his mom fixing her hair for the nth time.
“Let’s get going then,” his dad said and swung the car keys around with a finger.
The drive to Alpha Joel’s land was far. It probably took twenty or twenty-five minutes to get there. The area was more suburban if anything, but definitely towards the outskirts of the city. Judging by the conglomeration of cars parked within the area, Adrian could tell that they arrived.
The house wasn’t small by any means, and as they walked through the doors, he couldn’t help but admire how everything was so nicely decorated. Modern, sleek, but with a hint of warmth that made the interior look stylish but comfortable.
As per usual, they were one of the last to arrive from his pack. According to his mom, it was called being “fashionably late”, but according to his dad, it was hardly punctual.
Maybe it was the old grandma in him but Adrian was more inclined to agree with his dad. In fact, he was a little anxious about being a little too late.
They were immediately greeted by Alpha Joel and his family in the hallway. He was an older man with traces of age evident in his hair. His daughter, Carmen, was the heiress of the pack. She seemed to be quite hospitable which Adrian silently thanked the gods for.
Other than the fact that his family had just moved to avoid danger, Adrian couldn’t help but worry about their new allies. Would they be allies under paper or would they actually be able to become friends?
He wasn’t sure, but from what it seems like so far, he was hoping for the second option.
“So I hear you’re going to Rosewood?”
Adrian was left to converse with the heiress. “Uh, yeah.”
“Hmmm, it’s a good school. A lot of good programs and sports and stuff.”
“Did you go there?”
“I did,” Carmen said with a hint of pride. “Salutatorian in 2015.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“Yeah, I guess, but really it’s more of a pain to be honest. A lot of stress and work and pack stuff all at once. Ten out of ten, I don’t recommend.”
“I’ll take note of that.”
“Anyway, things have probably changed since I went, but Mira can probably update you on what’s up,” Carmen explained. “She’s also a senior this year.”
Adrian nodded in agreement. “That’d be nice.”
“I think I saw her earlier by
