Speckle

Rowan's POV:
I groaned as my alarm clock went off, my hand slapping the button to shut it off. I really did not want to go to school today, especially since it was my first day. Of all times, it had to be in the middle of January, with the school year almost to its halfway mark. I heard my mom come in and growled, stubbornness creeping through my mind. She walked over and yanked my blanket off, and I shivered as the chilly air touched my bare skin; I was wearing shorts. "Get up, Rowan, or we're both gonna be late." She said, and I groaned and stood up, stretching. I ran a hand through my messy blonde hair, which had little black flecks in it. I walked over to my dresser, grabbing some black jeans and a dark grey Nickleback t-shirt. I didn't both to brush my hair, since it was short and didn't really need it unless I had bedhead. I walked downstairs and slipped on black converse, before grabbing my backpack and a snackbar to eat, before running out to my mom's already-running car. I sat down and put my bag at my feet, already munching on the snackbar, and waited patiently as my mom got into the car and buckled her seatbelt. And then we were driving.
It took about ten minutes to get to my school, which wasn't terribly far, I could run if I wanted to.
"Have a good day sweetie, I love you." My mom said, before driving off.

Thanks a lot mom, leaving me to check in and do everything myself.

I jogged up and into the school, my eyes wide at how large it was. I was a sophomore, so I wasn't in the youngest grade, at least. I strolled into the office, wanting to walk slower so more time of the school day would be wasted. A woman at the desk looked up as I entered. She was a prey animal, I was sure, so my instincts weren't acting all wonky around her. She seemed like a deer of some sort, with dark brown eyes and auburn hair that had a few lighter colored strands, and she might've been in her mid-thirties. "Hello, may I help you?" She asked me. I just nodded and handed the papers to her. "I'm new here." I said, and I almost blushed at how weak I sounded. I was a bit uncomfortable around people I didn't know. That's why my anxiety was, like, hyperactive right now. "Ah, Rowan Bonder. I see you have had all your shots, which is good, so I'll just call a student service worker down to show you where your first period classroom is." She said, before picking up the shiny black phone on her desk and calling a number. I heard it ringing, before someone answered with an "Aye Brenda, what can I do for ya?" And I tilted my head a bit. "Can you send someone down to come pick up this student, Rowan Bonder, and show him to his classes?" She asked. I heard a muffled "Sure." And then Brenda thanked him and hung up. "Here's your schedule, Rowan, and I hope you'll do good here." She said, before turning to do some more important paperwork. I took the schedule she'd set down in front of me and turned around, expecting to go wait for the student worker to come get me. But it turns out I didn't need to wait. A tall, broad-shouldered guy stood a couple yards behind me, his gaze expectant. "You're Rowan, right?" He asked, and I nodded, swallowing. He smiled. "Okay. Can I see your schedule so I can show you where to go?" He asked, and I handed it to him. Only then did I notice my hands were shaking a tiny bit. He laughed and looked at my schedule. "Oh, you have Biology first period. I know exactly where this is, c'mon." He said, before starting down the hallway. I walked briskly to keep up, looking up at him. He had silver hair, with a fleck of white and black here and there. I stopped walking for a moment. He was a predator. No wonder my senses were going crazy. He took a moment to pause and turned to look back at me, confusion in his gaze. "Aren't you coming?" He asked, tilting his head a bit. Yep, definitely a wolf. Only canines cocked their heads like that while questioning. "A-are you a wolf?" I stuttered, and then wished I hadn't asked. I prepared myself to get smacked for pointing out the obvious, but he just chuckled. "Yes, I am. I'm a gray wolf." He said, running a hand through his hair.
Shit.
I shifted my weight from foot to foot, nervousness pricking through me. "What's your name?" I asked. "My name? Caden." He said, holding his hand out for me to shake it in greeting. I took it and shook, surprised at how firm his grip was. He nodded at me. "And you're Rowan, right?" He asked, stating the obvious, and I nodded. "Yeah." I said quietly, feeling my leopard cub trying to submit to the alpha predator in front of me. He started walking again, and I followed silently, not wanting to piss him off or anything. But he seemed like a really mellow, calm guy. I guess wolves were like that when they didn't have a reason to fight. Caden stopped walking and turned toward a classroom. "Here's your class. Good luck." He said, smiling down at me. I noticed he was about five inches taller than me. Damn.
I nodded and strode past him, walking into the classroom and going straight up to the teacher. "I'm new here." I said, my voice sounding a bit feeble. The teacher nodded. "Okay. You're Rowan, correct?" She asked, sifting through my papers quickly. "Yes." I answered. "Alright." She replied, standing up. "Class, we have a new student today. His name is Rowan. Please be welcoming and try to make friends with him." She said, and I saw her gaze shift to some student near the back, her gaze warning. I followed her eyes and saw a guy with shaggy blonde hair and golden eyes staring at me menacingly, like I was a piece of prey. I guess I kind of was. His piercing gaze was all it took for me to shift accidentally, and I didn't even realize I had until I started shrinking. All of a sudden, I was a small leopard cub, trying to untangle myself from my shirt.
Shit shit shit shit shit
I felt the teacher pick me up. "Sorry kids, Rowan seems to be nervous." She said, laughing lightly and giving a warning look all around, showing the my peers that there would be consequences if they were caught teasing me about it. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be very hard for them to make fun of me in other places. The teacher looked over at the kid who had been staring at me predatorily. "Aspen, take Rowan to the bathroom so that he can put some clothes on when he changed back." She said, and Aspen looked like he might snarl in outrage. But the teacher didn't stand down. Tigress. That's what she was. With her long ginger hair that ended with black tips, and her piercing green-blue eyes. Definitely a tiger. But, fierce and dangerous as she was and could be, she stood no chance against the lion, especially since I could smell a few others in the classroom. Tigers may be able to take on lone lions, but not a whole pride. Aspen gave a hiss and walked over, grabbing my backpack and then grabbing me roughly by my scruff. I waved my paws in the air, my leopard hissing at Aspen. Big mistake.
As we arrived at the bathroom and I got into the handicap stall, I realized that I was starting to shift back into my human form. Before I knew it I was shivering on the cold bathroom floor, my knees pressed to my chest to cover myself up a bit. Aspen dropped my bag, looking down at me with menace in his gaze. Suddenly he was pinning me to the wall, my bare skin pressed against his clothes. His mouth hovered above my throat threateningly, his teeth bared. "Don't ever get me into trouble or humiliate me like that again." He snarled, his voice low and dangerous. I gulped and nodded as well as I could with Aspen at my throat. His hand, slightly clawed, held the back of my neck, while the the other traced down from my Adam's Apple to my ribcage, leaving a shallow scratch. "Be careful what you say and do, prey. Leopards don't survive with angry lions around." He snarled, and backed away. "Sit down." He ordered, and I immediately went back down to the position I had been in before he had pulled me up and pinned me.
What's he going to do to me now?
I asked silently, my mind searching for an answer. Aspen snarled at me as I attempted to shift over. "You stay there until the end of the school day. If I find out you put clothes on or moved out of your place, I'll do worse than scratch you." He snarled, before walking out.

Sitting on a cold, tiled bathroom floor was in the least bit pleasant, and I shivered uncontrollably. Apparently the bathrooms were the most air-conditioned places in the school. As I shivered in my chilly spot on the floor, multiple people came in, to see if what Aspen probably bragged about was true, and some of them even tried to kick me. I clawed at them with half-clawed hands, and they decided that it wouldn't be worth ruining their expensive pants, even if they did get to have a few kicks at me. One guy, however, honestly didn't seem to care what I did. He pushed me roughly with his foot and kicked me straight in the ribs. I let out a yelp and scurried away, feeling like a pathetic prey animal. Which I was.
He continued kicking me until I heard a loud snarl from behind him. Suddenly the guy was yanked backwards, and I heard a loud thud. He ran away whimpering, and I prepared myself to get beat up by whoever had knocked him away. A boy walked in, his face unfamiliar. He had black hair and yellow-green eyes, and he was broad-shouldered and tall. He walked towards me, and I shrunk away, letting out a small mew of fear when my leopard momentarily took over. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, crouching down and reaching forward to touch me. I flinched away. He put a hand gently on my shoulder, and I stared up at him fearfully. He turned and grabbed my bag, and suddenly he was dressing me, slipping my shirt on over my head. I obeyed, not wanting to get hurt by him. He was a predator. But I didn't know which.
He handed me my boxers, and I slipped them on. My face felt hot, and I knew that I was probably blushing something fierce. Suddenly, his hand slipped under my shirt, and I flinched. His fingers gently brushed against my ribcage, where I was sure the break was at. "Did they hurt you?" He asked, and his voice was low and husky. I swallowed and gave a tiny nod. "They just kicked me a few times. See, I'm fi-" I collapsed back onto the floor as I tried to stand up, pain shooting through my chest and exploding into the rest of my body. His arms barely stopped me from hitting the floor. "You're hurt. You have at least one broken rib, probably more. And your ankle is twisted, dumbass." He said, holding me against his chest. I felt limp in his arms, like the wounded prey that I was. And then darkness fizzled into my vision, turning everything black.