Fell For You

Regular High School Stuff

Saturday night was family dinner — and me, eating like a polite cyclone.

Kristina rolled her eyes every time I reached for seconds, Melissa giggled each time I finished a plate faster than a normal human could, and Mum just kept refilling my dish with this soft, sad smile that I didn't quite understand.

Dad was quiet. Too quiet. He kept looking between me and Kristina like he was watching a match he didn't want to see catch fire.
Every clink of cutlery felt heavier than it should have.

"So," Mum began, trying too hard to sound casual, "training's been going well, right?"

"Yeah," I said quickly. "Sam says I'm getting better at—"

Kristina cut in before I could finish. "At not exploding, yeah, we're all very proud."
Her voice was light, teasing even, but something sharp hid beneath it.

I met her eyes, and for a moment it was like staring across a line neither of us wanted to admit existed.

Mum's fork paused mid-air.
Dad's jaw tightened.

Melissa, the only one blissfully oblivious, hummed around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Can I have ice cream after?"

That cracked the tension long enough for Mum to nod and force a smile. But the air didn't ease — it just settled into silence again, thick and fragile.

By the time dinner ended, Kristina was gone from the table, her plate untouched.

Sunday was all training. Sam was merciless. Seth watched from the sidelines, half in awe, half in anxiety. Every time I stumbled, his heartbeat spiked like a drum I could hear in my own chest. By nightfall, my body ached, but it was the good kind — the kind that whispered progress.

Monday was school finally. A break from all the supernatural mess and back to an ordinary day. I no longer cared for status or popularity now, I simply wanted to go to class, fall asleep in History, gossip in Maths and complain about sweating in PE. Good old regular teenage human stuff was what I craved now.

At breakfast, Melissa pinched my arm. "Is this what puberty will be like for me?"

I laughed. "Something like that."
(Oh, the irony.)

At the door, Mum kissed our heads. "If anything happens, call us, alright?"

"Nothing will," Kristina promised, her eyes flicking to me — cautious, searching.

She didn't trust herself to push, and I didn't trust myself not to snap.

Progress, I guess.

Seth was waiting on the porch, leaning against the railing with that grin that made my heart both soar and sink at once. His gaze swept me head to toe, slow and deliberate, and he murmured, "Luckiest guy alive."

"Shall we?" I asked, pretending not to combust.

He held out his hand with mock formality. "We shall, my adorable nerd."

We parked near the forest. Heads turned. Whispers buzzed.

"Omg, is that Melody? Total makeover."
"Yeah, like, now that she hangs with the cult—"

I tuned them out before my ears filed an official complaint.

Seth hovered all morning — sweet, if mildly suffocating. Poor Caleb from Literary Review just wanted to ask about article deadlines but ended up being interrogated like a war criminal until he practically ran off clutching his books.

At lunch, Leah appeared out of nowhere with a quiz. "Where was spaghetti invented?"

"Rome," I said without hesitation.

She smirked at Seth. "Told you. You've got a lot to learn, little brother."

We laughed our way through the cafeteria doors — and that's when it happened.

My shoelace came undone. I bent to tie it, stood — and crashed straight into someone.

Cold.

A full tray of ice-water spilled down my front, drenching me from collar to waist.

I gasped. The shock stole my breath.

My heart kicked hard against my ribs — not just from the cold, but from something else.

The boy in front of me froze. He had shaggy dark hair that fell just past his eyes and warm brown irises that caught the light in a way that felt... wrong. Or right. I couldn't tell.

The world seemed to narrow to just that color.

"Wow," he breathed, almost involuntarily. Then he blinked, realizing what he'd said. "I— I'm so sorry!"

Seth was there instantly, a solid wall of heat and fury. He shoved the guy back, chest rising and falling too fast. "Watch where you're going."

The boy's hands went up defensively. "It was an accident, man, I swear. I—"

Seth growled, low and threatening. The air between them crackled.

"I said it's fine," I interjected, stepping between them. My voice trembled, not from fear, but from something else — a ripple under my skin that wasn't entirely mine.

The boy's eyes flicked to me again — and for a split second, I forgot to breathe. Something deep inside me stirred, like a distant echo waking from sleep. A quiet voice, ancient and unfamiliar, whispered against my chest.

He looked... startled too.

Like he'd felt it.

"I'm Luke," he said finally, his voice rough around the edges. "New here."

"Nice to meet you, Luke," I managed, forcing a smile. My pulse was racing, and I didn't know why. "We're good."

I tugged on Seth's arm, leading my overly protective werewolf out of the cafeteria before he could actually punch someone.

Outside, he was still trembling, jaw tight. "There's something off about him," he muttered.

"You say that about every guy within two feet of me." I buttoned my jacket, hiding the dampness — and maybe the goosebumps that hadn't quite gone away.

"That's because every guy within two feet of you is a problem," he shot back.

I rose on my tiptoes, pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Then be within one."

That broke through his storm.

He smiled, finally, soft and boyish. "Deal."

But as we walked back inside, I couldn't help glancing over my shoulder — toward the cafeteria doors, where Luke had stood.

Even through the noise and chatter of the hallway, I could feel it — a strange tug beneath my ribs, like something unseen had reached out and tethered itself to me.

And deep down, I knew this wasn't over.