The Mark of a Beta

thirty- two

The rest of March flies by and morphs into April as Axel and I spend every weekend in each other's territory. Since Sarah and Nik are living in my parent's house alone, I decided it was best to live with Larry and Lane for the remainder of my time in Lunar. It is the healthiest for me to separate myself from a toxic space that would only act as a reminder of past bad experiences. Also, Larry wouldn't survive without me.

Ever since Axel opened up to me about his past, I have been way more sensitive to his needs. I've been careful to find the perfect balance of aiding him in interacting with others while not emotionally overwhelming him.

I think it's going pretty well for Axel. He's been joining conversations more and more. By early May, Axel even began to start conversations with others without my prompting. Okay, maybe he just asked someone for the ketchup, but he never would have done that before! He would have glared at them until they figured out what he wanted or he would have just gotten it himself.

He also seems a tad more relaxed in social settings. He'll contribute a sentence here and there, and it makes me so happy to see him gaining confidence in himself. Soon enough, he won't even need me.

This morning, I'm extremely exhausted. Since graduation is nearing, all of my teachers are piling on all of these last minute assignments. For most seniors, they're able to slack off, but since I'm a year younger and I'm graduating early, there are all these last minute things I've had to do that others don't.

I already know that I'm going to take a gap year to learn all about being a part of the Dark Wood pack. I used to take loads of AP classes so I could just get out of the house and be independent, but now that I've found Axel, I don't need to rush anymore. I have time to settle into my new life and take my time in applying to college. I don't need to settle anymore.

Axel has been nothing but supportive. I think he's secretly glad that we'll have a year together before I potentially get extremely busy with schoolwork again. I still think he'll get annoyed with my pranks. I've gotten him a few more times over the past few months, and let's just say that the punishments are totally worth it. If anything, they make me want to prank him more!

I've also been pretty good about answering calls from Axel, but this morning I wake up on the later side and have to rush around the house to get ready. With Larry chastising me for making him late to work- which is a lie because he'll still get there in time for first period- and with Lane asking me if I have my lunch, my binders, and if I studied enough for my upcoming tests, my mind gets overloaded.

When I get to school and place some textbooks into my locker, I sigh in relief when I see the ticking clock on the wall that says that I have five minutes until my first class begins.

Panic seizes my heart and I curse when I check my phone and see that I have two missed calls from Axel. Fuck! I was getting so good at answering his calls. Technically, we could mindlink, but it would be such a strain on ourselves that we would both have pulsing headaches for the rest of the day. Mindlinking is easy when you're in close proximity, but we're too far away for that to be a comfortable option for communication now.

I quickly hit his contact. He answers on the second ring.

"I'm sorry for not answering! My phone was on silent and Larry was being a bitch. And Lane was asking me all these questions about school. And to top it all off, I forgot to finish my last Calc problem because I fell asleep, so I had to finish it in the car. Do you know how terribly Larry drives? I swear it's like a fucking ride through the Safari with him behind the wheel."

"It's fine," Axel says, and I'm sad that I can't feel his emotions to know exactly how he feels. His emotions have been getting a little easier to decipher, and I miss having him in close proximity.