Growing up for Naomi Warner was nothing less than a nightmare. She was bullied by her peers, and her home life wasn't always easy. On top of that, Naomi was very different from other people. In fact, she wasn't human at all. She was a shapeshifter...
A week had gone by, and my daily life had become a routine: class, homework, eat, shower, sleep, and repeat. Since I signed up for the art club, and the anime club, club related activities had also been added to my schedule. I was glad that both club meeting times fit with my class setup. Anime club was Friday at six in the evening, and Art club was Wednesday evening at seven–thirty. This week both clubs were hosting their first meeting, so I was super excited.
Things between Naomi and I continued at a steady pace. For the past two Monday's she and I shared notes during our whispered chat, as usual. We learned more little details about each other, like our birthdays, and our musical tastes. We even found out we have a common interest in video games, which was great!
After class this past Monday, I mustered up enough courage to ask her if she wanted to exchange phone numbers. Honestly, it took a lot of encouragement on my end, but ultimately I got her digits! Her shyness was so cute to me, I swear. And I was beyond ecstatic for us to start texting.
It was currently Tuesday afternoon, and I was sitting in Japanese class. Since I hadn't gotten scores that were high enough in my foreign language class in high school during senior year, I had to take a foreign language in college for freshman year. I chose Japanese because it's awesome, plain and simple. However, I had to admit that so far speaking the language was much easier than writing it!
I did like my Japanese class though. The professor was easy to follow, and all of my classmates seemed nice enough. Although, there was this one kid, I could tell he was your typical jock, and all the other girls in class swooned all over him before, and after class. It was annoying, I admit. Yet, something about him drew me in too...almost like I was enchanted by him. I could smell the supernatural scent coming from him, I just didn't know what his ability or abilities were.
Class ended and I packed up my stuff. Just as I left the classroom, my cell phone started ringing. When I looked at the screen I saw that it was Danny, and I picked up right away.
"Hey," I greeted him.
"Yo! What are you doing right now?" he asked.
"Just finished Japanese class. Why, what's up?"
"Let's grab dinner."
"Yeah, great. Where should I meet you?"
"The Burger Booth, that place at the Dining Hall," Danny replied.
I hadn't tried a burger from there yet, so I was actually excited to go.
"Awesome, see you soon then!" I said. We hung up and I decided to drop off my school things before heading to the Dining Hall. Heather was in our room with another girl, but this time the girl was sitting on Heather's bed.
They pretended like I wasn't in the room at all, but I didn't mind. At this point it was clear what kind of relationship Heather and I were going to have. She was an enemy, and I was cool with that, as long as she kept away from me and my stuff. Once I left my school bag on my bed, I left the room quickly, locking the door behind me, and headed for the Dining Hall.
Of course Danny and I had hung out since Parent's Weekend, but we didn't talk about his behavior in front of my brothers. Yes, he acted like a fool in front of Samuel too! I had to admit, the whole thing was odd, but Danny and I hadn't spoken about it at all, and I wanted answers.
After I entered the building, I made my way over to the Burger Booth. The Dining Hall happened to be packed, so it took me a little longer to get there, but once I did, I spotted Danny right away. He was sitting alone at a round table, reading a book. I walked over and sat down across from him.
"Hey," I greeted.
Danny put down his book, and smiled. "Sup?" He put the book in his backpack before giving me his full attention.
"What are you going to get on your burger?" he asked.
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We sat back down at the same table, I was surprised it was still vacant, and began eating. A few minutes had passed before I finally interrogated Danny about his interactions with my brothers.
"So, about last weekend? Why were you being so weird?"
Danny tensed briefly, but then he took a sip of his drink.
He sighed. "I'm pathetically awkward around attractive men, okay?!" It was obvious his self confidence was a sore subject.
"Hang on, attractive men?!" I implored. I was chewing when he answered and almost choked. I gulped down some of my drink, and then regained my composure. "First off, ew! That's totally gross! And second, you like guys?!"
Danny laughed. "Yeah, I'm into guys... I'm also into girls... I'm into a lot of things." He gave me a big grin before taking the final bite of his burger.
"You can't crush on my brothers," I told him, then ate the last of my food too.
"I don't have a crush on your brothers...!" he scoffed. "But they are hot as hell! Especially your brother Benji," Danny said and smirked.
I made a gesture at him, as if I was going to vomit, but I was teasing and he knew it.
"Bite me," he retorted.
I smirked. Although I put on a front for Danny, I actually thought all of my brothers were attractive. I guess it was just in our gene pool, and I only hoped the attractive gene didn't skip me. I mean, I thought I was pretty, or at least average. I could ask Danny's opinion, but would he tell me the truth?
"Danny... Do you think I'm... Do you think I'm attractive?" I asked hesitantly.
His eyes widened and he blushed a little...but what did that mean...?!
"Why would you ask me that?," he asked.
"Just answer me!"
"Fine...! I think you're gorgeous, Juliet...and no I'm not just saying it because we're friends. Ever since the day I met you, I've thought that..."
His answer was sincere, and I was flattered. I could feel the corners of my mouth pull upward into a smile I couldn't control.
"Thank you," I replied.
"You're welcome...? And why did you want to know?"
I shrugged.
"Don't tell me you're worried about how attractive you are compared to tour brothers..."
"Shut up..." I muttered.
"What!?" He exclaimed with a big grin. "I was right!"
I glared at him before picking up my trash and throwing it away in a nearby trash bin. I started walking towards the exit, knowingly leaving Danny behind. I could hear him calling after me, and then a few moments later he was by my side panting.
"Not cool, Juliet."
I stuck my tongue out at him before flashing him a smirk, and he nudged me playfully. After several minutes of us walking in silence, he spoke again.
"So...what about you?"
"What about me?" I questioned.
"Are you into guys? Girls? Both? Neither?"
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