Hate Of The Unknown

Chapter 9- Unexpected But Not Unwelcomed

Returning to school felt strange, as one would expect. Everything looked exactly the same. Classes, teachers, and hallways stayed without a change. But something had shifted for me. It was like I was seeing everything for the first time with glasses on. I couldn't quite put my finger on why everything had altered, but I could feel it was different.

Everything seemed more mundane, less critical. A week ago, my sole focus was graduating and entering a reputable college. Now I'm unsure of what to do with my life. Is there a path expected from supernatural individuals? Is there a college that would accept us without us having to hide from humans before getting jobs? That could actually be quite cool if I had to say so myself.

"Jules, is everything alright?" Lyanna's eyes met mine as I looked up. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" I attempted to plaster a smile on my face. She merely rolled her eyes, clearly knowing what was really going on. "We all got Jake's text, and you were pretty close with him, so I figured you'd take this hard." What was she talking about?

"What text? I didn't receive anything." Lyanna looked at me as if I had gone mad. "He sent a message to everyone, saying his family got caught up in something and had to leave. He also mentioned he won't be able to contact us for some time. Do you think they were involved with the black market? His family always seemed kind of suspicious to me."

"He called me rather than sending a text. Said he was sorry, but he seemed to be all right. They will be fine, I'm sure of it. It just was... sudden, really made me feel down throughout the weekend." I decided to lie about my real conversation with Jake. I didn't want to worry Lyanna enough for her to contact human law enforcement. Despite everything, I knew our enforces needed to get to the bottom of the matter.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. It's hard losing a friend, but I'm sure he'd call the minute he can." I wanted it to be true. But Jake's disappearance felt final, and I was so powerless about the entire ordeal. "Yeah, you're right. It still hurts though. I know he probably didn't have much of a choice, but still."

We arrived at the yard and found Hunter and Rid already seated at our table. Without delay, Lyanna claimed a seat next to Hunter, causing my eyebrows to rise. I settled next to Rid and extracted my lunch from my bag. "What's going on between these two?" I murmured into Rid's ear. He gave me a sly grin as he leaned in close and whispered back, "Apparently, they had quite a successful date."

"Hey, what are you two gossiping about?" Hunter interrupted our conversation. "Oh, nothing," Rid replied while attempting to contain his laughter. Lyanna appeared to be embarrassed and buried her face in her curls. They were quite adorable. "Well, you make a beautiful couple. Congratulations," I playfully joked. Hunter spat out the water he was drinking.

"Jules, you little shit, I can't tell you a single thing." Hunter hastily rose and pulled me from the table. I got free from his grasp and started to run away, making him chase me. He was substantially bigger and stronger, but I was a lot faster. I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably the entire time. Eventually, I whirled around and conceded my defeat.

"You did me dirty," Hunter said, still panting hard. "Sorry not sorry. But really, congratulations." Hunter smiled at me. "Well, I can let this one slide. You're lucky that we really decided to date." I knew they did, felt Rid's words to be true, so I teased a little.

"Go, Hunter! All you needed was one date. Who knew you had game?" I felt his hand slapping my shoulder playfully as soon as the words left my mouth. "Come on, give me some credit. I do have some game!" I just rolled my eyes in response. "Yeah, yeah, let's go back and eat. I'm starving."

When we returned, Lyanna's cheeks were still a deep red. Rid had already started eating his food and seemed pleased. As soon as Sara and Rita arrived, late as usual, we all started eating. Everyone was talking about everything except the Jake matter. I think Lyanna gave them a warning about it being a touchy subject.