Howl / Black [book 1]

one

The silence inside of the Swan residence was interrupted when the sound of a plastic cup hit the tile floor.

"Shit." The brunette cursed as she began to clean up the water. "Seriously, I can't get one thing done without fu-" She was then cut off by the sound of keys jiggling in the door knob. Charlie's signal for her to hide.

The girl's converse squeaked against the floor as she sat the cup in the sink and abandoned the towel on the floor before she ran up the stairs and into the lavender painted room.

"I cleared some shelves off in the bathroom." Mason heard the deep voice of Sheriff Swan speak

"Oh right, one bathroom." Bella's monotone voice spoke with sarcasm, causing Mason to roll her eyes.

"It's a pretty good working lamp. Sales lady picked out the bed stuff. You like, you like purple, right?" Charlie obviously tried to get emotion out of his daughter.

"Purple's cool. Thanks." The Swan girl commented.

"Okay. Burritos for dinner." Charlie sighed, knowing what was coming next.

"Um, okay but-" Bella was cut off by her closet door opening, out popping Mason Connors.

"Bella!" Mason screamed, holding her arms out.

"Oh my god, Mason!" Bella exclaimed, meeting the girl halfway, engulfing each other in a hug. "I can't believe your here, i-i-" Bella stuttered.

"What? Did you seriously think I would forget about you?" Mason let go and raised an eyebrow.

"I-it's been forever. A lot has changed." Bella felt guilty.

Mason zoned out for a moment, thinking about the past few years. "Yeah, it has. But that doesn't mean I disown you. Completely." The two laughed.

"Right, I'll leave." Charlie knowing he was unwanted.

The two brunettes ignored him as they made their way to sit on Bella's bed to catch up.

●●●

Mason realizes that she and Bella have no classes together; so at lunch, she took it amongst herself to find the pasty brunette. Walking up to the group of people her friend is sitting at, Mason overhears the ending of a conversation.

"-But apparently nobody here's good enough for him. Like I care, you know, uh. So...yeah." Jessica looks up at Mason. "Seriously right, don't waste your time."

"Who's Bella crushing on?" Mason asked, slightly amused.

The girl in questioning turned around to look at the accusing voice. "No one. He's just different."

"Right." Mason didn't believe her but chose to ignore it. "So, I sit outside and eat, I was wondering if you wanted to come?"

"No, I'm fine inside. I hate the weather." Bella replied, looking past Mason.

"Ok, stay pale all your life." Mason scoffed. "Talk to you later." Without waiting for a reply, the brunette walked away.

●●●

The next few days were different; Mason distanced herself from Bella after noticing the change in her attitude. Bella was never one to show her emotion but now, she was different. Shoving her hands in her pocket, Mason made her way through the white hallway. Turning the same corners she did almost every day, it was basically her routine. Sniffling and wiping the tears from her eyes seemed to come with the package of being in a hospital. When she turned a corner she saw two people standing in the middle of the hallway, talking, both of them looking at her after they noticed her presence.