ASHES ASHES | teen wolf

three. wolf boy vs cannibal man

There was only so much a girl could take, Nova had learned. She was trying to get through a particularly difficult section on Bach's Partita Number Two, but could barely concentrate over the sound of whatever rock song Cadmus was playing in his room. Taking a deep breath, she placed her violin back into its case and stormed over to her cousin's room. Not bothering to knock, she swung the door open with a fierce scowl. "Some of us are trying to be productive, here."

Spinning around in his desk chair, Cadmus raised an eyebrow. "First of all, we clearly need to set some boundaries. I could have been in a considerable state of undress. Second, I'm trying to do homework. I couldn't focus with the funeral music."

Gritting her teeth, Nova sighed. "Fine, I'm going for a walk."

That didn't seem to make Cadmus feel better, which was odd considering she would have thought he wanted to be rid of her at the first opportunity. "Where?"

Shrugging, Nova bit on her lip. "The hospital? I can bring Veronica supper, she forgot hers this morning."

Her cousin looked torn, running a hand through his naturally messy hair. "You sure you don't want a drive?"

Unable to hide a smile, Nova shook her head. "It'll be good for me, I need to clear my head anyway."

"I'll pick you up though," he didn't seem like he was going to budge, so Nova nodded in agreement.

"Works for me, I'm not a fan of the dark anyway."

She was expecting him to tease her a little for the childish admission, but Cadmus just smiled a little, his eyes dark with an emotion Nova couldn't really pull apart. "Neither am I. Too many things come out at night."

Nova wasn't really sure what that was supposed to mean a little startle by the dark intensity in his eyes, mixed with an emotion she couldn't quite explain, but she took his word for it and saluted him as she backed out of his room. "I'll text you when I'm done, alright?"

"And when you get there!" Cadmus called after her, seeming stressed enough about it that she agreed. It wasn't even dark yet, and he was already acting like an overbearing parent. She dimly wondered what he would think about her doing something as daunting as going on a date.

Like that would ever happen.

Still, he seemed so earnest in wanting to make sure that she was safe that she agreed, grabbing the container of lasagna she'd made up for her aunt the previous night, her phone and and her little bag full of necessities before exiting the house, breathing in the crisp evening air with a welcome abandon.

She'd been telling the truth when she'd told Cadmus that she needed to think, but not because she was irritated by the sound of Thousand Foot Crutch screaming in the room opposite of hers. She needed to get rid of the darkness she felt creeping under her skin, to supress the well of emotion and negaitivy that threatened to overtake her.

Nova wanted to block out the mocking voices in her head that told her that she was well and truly alone.

She'd almost been able to ignore them, actually. It had been easy to forget how ostracized she was when Cadmus had been by her side the entire day, dragging her to his practice and arranging for his friends to sit with her during the tryouts. He'd walked her to and from all her classes, even sitting with her during lunch instead of his own friends, wanting to ask all about her classes and see how she was fitting in. He'd seemed so hopeful as he stared at her, and her heart melted a little.

How was she supposed to tell him that she was miserable when he looked at her like that? How did she explain the looks on every face in the music class when the teacher announced that she had transferred from such a famous institution like LaGuardia? How in a single moment, they had decided that she wasn't worth their time, that she was some sort of priss who thought she was better than every one of them because of her former school? It didn't get easier when their teacher announced all the instruments she could play, asking her to demonstrate for everyone. They had all stared at her with contempt, hating that she had the gall to be dedicated to the class.