The Werecat; The Story of Ronnie

Three

"Man, I don't know why I WANT her so bad!"

"Maybe you should get to know her first."

"Real funny, Sky."

Skylar Locking shrugged and took a bite of his apple. The sun shone off his blonde and brown hair, giving him a halo. Ronnie new that was a lie; If there was anyone more guilty than Ronnie, it was Sky. With his magical talents, windswept hair, chocolate brown eyes, and tall, thin frame, he was a girl magnet. Not in the way Ronnie was though; Ronnie attracted girls with his tattoos, flirty lines and promises of good sex. Sky attracted them with naturally good looks, a vibe of trust and the fact he listened to their problems. Every time Ronnie dumped a girl, she'd go crying to either her friends, Skylar, or both. And Sky would be there, to sit and listen, buy them a drink after, then call it a night. He never tried taking them in their state of vulnerability, and all the girls liked that.

"You know, Vermilion came to me last night." Sky took another bite of the apple, revealing the core. He chewed slowly, thoughtfully, then swallowed. "Messed her up pretty bad, Ronnie."

Ronnie groaned. "Look," he said, lowering his voice a little,"it's not my fault. She just walked in on us."

Sky finished his apple before answering. "You didn't have to tell her she wasn't good enough for you, though." He tossed his apple core behind him, where it was snatched up by a harpie girl with blue hair and feathers and devoured in one swallow.

"I didn't tell her that!" he argued, frowning. Sky only shrugged, and he guessed that Vermilion must have either told him that he said that, or told him what it sounded like to her. Either way, he was pretty sure Vermilion wasn't coming back. Ever.

"You know," Sky said slowly, after a moment of silence, "word's getting out about this new girl. Apparently she comes from Russia, and stays by herself. She took to Lily pretty well, but other than that, she's got no friends." Lily Porter was a cute little redhead from England, with bright green eyes and a light dusting of freckles over her face, and probably the rest of her body, Ronnie guessed. She was a shape shifter, and was able to change how she looked at will. Which was hot in it's own way, but she liked staying as a redhead. Sky was always hanging around her, showing her neat magic tricks to impress her, but since she found out about his drinking problem, she became less and less interested in him.

He thought this over carefully, picking at the meat loaf on his plate. If Lulu was with Lily, then Sky could get to her. And if Sky could get to her, soften her up a bit, then he, Ronnie, could go in and score. It seemed like a reasonable plan to him. He peeled off a chunk of meat with his fingers and chewed on it. Sky was sipping from a silver hip flask, more than likely filled with whiskey or vodka.

"So here's what I've come up with-" Ronnie started. Sky quickly capped his flask and held up both hands.

"Good God, Ronnie, I don't want to know," he interrupted. He slipped the flask back into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "If you've got some crazy plot to try and screw Lulu, I want no part in this. Just accept defeat and move on." He was about to go, when Ronnie slammed his fist down on the table and snarled. A group of werewolves at the next table looked over curiously, but looked away when nothing of interest started. Ronnie's eyes flashed yellow briefly before fading away. Skylar stared at him, his brown eyes a little scared, then slowly sat back down.

Ronnie let his hand relax out of a fist and pressed his palm flat against the table top. "Just hear me out," he said, lowering his voice. Sky was forced to lean in to catch what he was saying. "If Lulu's friends with Lily, and you're friends with Lily, then you can be friends with Lulu, too. And if YOU'RE friends with Lulu, then you can put in a good word for me." But Skylar was shaking his head even before he was done. "What's wrong with that plan?" he demanded, frowning.

"Well, there's the part of Lily and me," Sky started, making a fist and holding out just his pinky finger. "You know how she feels about me and my... Situation. Then, there's you." He held out his ring finger with his pinky. "I can't put in a 'good word' if you're an outright jackass who cares more about looking good than wearing protection. THEN, there's-"

'ALRIGHT, I get it!" Ronnie cut in, feeling his fury build up inside him. He took a couple of deep breaths to control himself, then continued. "Look, just tell her something stupid. Tell her... Tell her that you're my best friend and I'm secretly a nice guy once you get to know me."

At first, Ronnie thought he had him. Skylar sat back, mulling it over with a straight face... And then burst out laughing. That attracted more attenton than Ronnie did, and he felt his face flush, with both embarrassment and fury. He let out an odd, tiger-like snarl and grabbed Sky by the front of his shirt, pulling him down. Sky stopped laughing instantly and gripped Ronnie's wrist with both hands, tugging frantically, but Ronnie's grip held surprisingly firm. He held his lips right next to his friend's ear and whispered in a voice just barely a whisper, "I need this girl, Locking. Do you hear me? I. Need. Her. If you fuck this up for me, I'll kill you." He flung Sky back, a little harder than he intended to, and his friend fell off of the bench. Ronnie grabbed his bag, stood, and made his way quickly to the door, wanting to put as much distance between him and Sky as fast as possible.

He almost knocked down Lily and Lulu as he went by. Lulu stumbled back and glared at him, but whatever sarcastic remark she had planned died on her lips when they locked eyes. Her eyes grew round as saucers and her skin paled slightly, and Lily took her hand, pulling her back gently. Ronnie let out a low growl and took off down the hall. He knew that Lulu was probably terrified of him now, but he'd fix that. He was already formulating a new plan as he made his way from the mess hall to the boys' wing, a back up plan in case Sky really didn't want to help him. One way or another, he was going to get Lulu in bed with him. No matter what.