When The Wolves Come Out

Chapter 4

I walk through the school corridors with Ellie by my side. She's rambling about how much of a cute couple Jasmine and Jack will make, but I can't say that I'm listening.

"Ash? Are you even paying attention?" Ellie clicks her fingers in my face.

"Sorry, El."

"What's up with you today, huh? Something bothering you? Because you know you can tell me if—"

"Shit!"

I grab Ellie's wrist and pull her against the lockers, turning my back to the rest of the corridor.

"What the—"

"Sshhhhh!" I cut her off.

I frantically whip my head around, but I can still see him. He's walking towards me, and I mutter a string of curses. What the fuck was he doing here?

"Hey, Ashlyn," Ethan says, flashing me another one of his gorgeous smiles, his eyes swirling in a golden hazel colour.

"Hi, Ethan. Y-You go to school here now?"

"I just moved. Crazy that we'd see other, huh?"

"Crazy," I parrot.

An awkward silence passes between us and he stares at me with his once again chocolate brown eyes.

"Can I show you around?" I blurt out, not thinking, heat rising in my cheeks. "It's okay if you don't want to—"

"No," he cuts me off, "I want to." He peers over at Ellie behind me, still pressed against the lockers. "Hi." He nods at her.

Ellie seems frozen on the spot, her mouth gaping open.

He laughs. "Let's go." He stretches out his hand for me to take, but I pretend that I dontidn't notice and keep walking, and I swear I see his eyes briefly flash blue before going back to brown.

Showing Ethan around wasn't too bad, actually, and I learned a lot about him, like how he loves the same music as me and how he just moved from London.

"I better get to class," I say once we've finished. "I've got maths."

"Hey, me too. Can we go together?"

I pause before answering. What have I got to lose apart from my dignity? "Yeah, okay."