They Fell Into Bed [Editing]

VI. A

The sound of a vacuum made her stir the next morning. She groaned quietly, pinching her eyes shut tighter in an attempt to fall back asleep, but it was too late; she was already awake. She sat up leisurely and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. She kicked her legs out in a stretch and the blankets moved around her. She heard the vacuum continue its cleaning regiment in another room in the house. Her mouth was dry, and she swallowed, craving a glass of water. She moved to get out of bed, placing her bare feet on the cool wood floor below her, and stood. She walked, slightly crooked, to the door and opened it. As she stepped out into the hallway, she closed her eyes, a memory tugging at her brain. She remembered opening her door last night to find two people making out on her bed; Jason came in and made her laugh about the mess she'd have to clean up; his arms circling around her, but instead of comfort, all she felt was pain. Her knees buckled and she leaned against the wall for support as flashes of last night came rushing back into her head, tattooing the back of her eyelids.
She remembered Jason trying to force himself on her and winced. It was like she could still feel his hands closing around her wrists, holding her in place as she struggled.
"Hey Harp, you okay?" Adam asked her. She jumped, not having heard the vacuum turn off or him come into the hall. She nodded, not finding her words, and he looked at her. "Alright, well I'm just cleaning up here. I'll head out soon, I have to stop by the grocery and pick up a few things," he continued and turned on his heel, making his way into the front room. Harper followed him quietly. She headed past him and went into the kitchen, going to the sink and grabbing a cup, filling it up with water. She downed it quickly and sighed, her throat feeling much better already.
"Thanks for tidying up," she said.
"It's no problem," he replied. Harper turned to him and saw him pull out his phone, his eyes focused on it as he typed away.
"Who's so important?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.
Adam looked up. "I texted Greyson. He'll be over not long after I leave."
Harper made a noise of disagreement. "And why is he coming over?"
Adam hesitated. "Just to hang out."
Harper snorted. "He's here to babysit me and you know it. Well I don't need a babysitter, Adam."
"Harper, I'm just trying to look out for you. I want to know that you won't be alone."
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Harper started, and Adam cut her off with a look.
"Look how well that turned out last night," he said shortly.
Harper's eyes narrowed in response. "I don't need a damn babysitter, and I don't need you telling me what I can and can't do. Just leave and go do your shopping already."
Adam held up his hands in defeat and marched off, the door closing behind him. Harper sighed and sat down on the couch in the front room, suddenly feeling exhausted beyond belief. She told Adam she didn't want a babysitter, and that was true, but she wasn't so sure being alone was much better. Even though she was used to being alone, she didn't always enjoy it. She thought about Adam sending Greyson over, and how he'd probably be awkward and and crack stupid jokes, and she decided that being alone outweighed that option, even if only a little. She closed her eyes and relaxed further into the cushions, letting her thoughts go.
After a few minutes, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten yet that day. She stood and walked into the kitchen, choosing to grab a quick snack rather than actually cook. She grabbed some flavored crackers and returned to her spot on the couch, lying back against the arm rest. As she chewed, she thought about the previous night. She never liked parties, so her stomach had been in knots the entire time leading up to it, anyway. She lost track of her friends quickly, as they had been sucked into the circle of dancers, which Harper didn't feel was her type of crowd, anyway. Thinking about how the rest of the night had gone, Harper made a promise to herself that she would go dancing sometime, set on enjoying herself. She thought about how she felt later on in the evening when she saw Bryson dancing with Samara, the younger wolf. It had made her blood boil, and she didn't even realize why. She just felt as though it was wrong, oh so wrong. Shaking her head to rid herself of the thought, her brain jumped forward to Jason. She had seen him once or twice over the course of the night, but for some reason, it had surprised her to see him in her room, closing her door behind him. It was the first time he had been in her room; it was the first time anyone had been in her room. She always kept it locked, but had forgotten to that night, and somehow managed to almost get raped in her own room. The thought sickened her, and suddenly she didn't feel like eating any more crackers.
A knock sounded on the front door, and Harper sighed, moving to answer it. She knew there were only a limited number of options as to who it could be; none of them seemed pleasing. When she opened the door, she came face to face with Greyson's grin, and with a blank look on her face she immediately shut the door in his face. His foot jerked out to stop the door from fully closing, and he winced as she slammed it against his foot, definitely causing him some pain. He wrestled the door open with his side and slipped inside, shutting the door behind him. He stood in her hallway, his grin almost apologetic, but Harper just crossed her arms and sighed.
"Well, I guess Adam got to you, didn't he?"
"He told me I should come over and hang out with you for a few hours, if that's what you mean," Greyson shrugged.
Harper frowned. "I already told him I don't need a babysitter, and now I'm going to tell you. I am fine on my own. You can leave now."
Greyson's smile faltered. "He might have called me to come over, but I wouldn't have showed up if I didn't actually want to."
Harper didn't reply. She turned to resume her spot in the front room, vegetating on the couch, and since she knew she wouldn't be getting rid of Greyson, she didn't push further to get him to leave. He sat down beside her and grabbed her snack, scarfing away crackers. Harper just closed her eyes.
"So," he dragged the word out, "what do you wanna do?"
Harper cracked an eye open. "What I want to do is spend the afternoon napping. Alone," she added.
He continued trying to start a conversation with her, occasionally spitting out the most useless information in an attempt to garner a reply, but she kept her mouth firmly shut, not speaking.
Eventually Greyson quieted down and they both relaxed in the quiet. The sun dipped low in the sky and Harper let out a breath. This was always her favorite time of day, because she had the perfect view out her large front room window of the sun as it set. Sometimes it was a clear, bright sunset, but she enjoyed it most when there were clouds for the light to bounce off of, as it made for the most beautiful pink, yellow, and orange hues. It seemed almost angelic to her; as if it was too pure for her to be looking at. She felt a pull in her stomach and stood up, catching the attention of Greyson. He raised his eyebrows in question but she simply walked towards the back door, opening it and stepping out. She didn't close the door behind her, figuring Greyson would follow, and she took off for the forest, itching to run and enjoy the evening.
Her bare feet squished into the grass as she ran. As soon as Harper got into the woods, she slowed down. She made her way toward a clearing she had been to hundreds of times and slipped her clothes off, tucking them away in the crook of a tree nearby. She took a few deep breaths and willed herself to shift. She moaned softly, the feel of her bones cracking out of place and shifting into the structure of her wolf a comforting feeling. Harper's mind flashed back to her first shift.
It was her birthday, back when she was still a teenager, and she had finally reached sexual maturity. It was like she was a live wire, her blood was humming through her body and she felt like she might explode. Her sense of smell was stronger, and she could definitely smell a change in some of the males' scents. They smelled stronger, better. Harper had been having small aches and pains all day, especially in her lower abdomen, and it wasn't until later on that Hailey's mom had informed her that that feeling was her ovaries, shifting into place as per normal for a fertile she-wolf. Harper had told her brother, Adam, that she was sick, because that's what she thought it was. She didn't expect to shift.
See, unlike stereotypes, werewolves didn't actually shift on the day they reach maturity, or better known as their birthday. Usually, they shifted within the first year or so of their full maturity, because their body was slowly and carefully shifting itself, preparing for the first shift. When Harper shifted on her actual birthday, in the middle of the night, it surprised everyone. It showed that her body had been preparing for a while, that she had undergone all her changes as a child. It only served to enforce the idea that she would be a fertile, which she was. When Harper felt the first of her bones begin to split, she knew exactly what was happening. It was an instinctual feeling, one that was in her blood. She involuntarily ran into the woods, her brother Adam not knowing what was happening -but he did have his suspicions- and following suit. Minutes later, Harper fell onto the dry ground, her breathing shallow. She was in immense pain, and her skin felt hot. Her eyes were tired, and her nose felt like someone poured acid in it. She more felt than heard what happened next. A bone in her back shifted and split, and Harper screamed. Next, it was the rest of her spine, slowly and painfully moving into place, the bones extending, getting thicker and more powerful. The wolf inside of Harper soothed the pain with whispered words, though Harper could only hear muddled thoughts through the stabbing hurt in her entire body. She wanted to curl up and die, so the pain would end, but it didn't. It just kept going.
For the next ten minutes or so, since the first shift always took the longest, Harper was left shouting in anguish and laying on the ground, spasming. Eventually, the pain subsided, and her body started to cool down. She felt a million times better, though she was still a bit sore. Her nose no longer hurt, it felt stronger, and now her smell had increased. Her eyes were no longer tired, but now alight and focused. Her hearing was more intense, and she could hear the sounds of the woods all around her. Her clothes that she had been wearing were torn on the ground below her, and as she stood, she realized she no longer was on two legs, but four. She was shorter than she remembered being, but she felt more alive. Harper looked down and saw fur, everywhere. Auburn fur that clung to her paws. Harper looked around her, startled, and found her brother Adam's eyes staring back. He had calmed her that night, as helped her to shift back on her own. It was a frighteningly painful experience, but one that Harper would never forget. It was a beautiful thing to have happen to you, no matter how painful at the start, and Harper was suddenly proud to be a wolf.
Tonight, Harper shifted in the small clearing, taking only a matter of seconds, and stood there for a moment, taking in the smells of the woods around her. She took in the trees around her, because this was the clearing where she had first shifted, where her flashbacks took her to sometimes.
Harper heard branches crunch behind her and turned to see Greyson run up, his eyes alight with excitement. He knew what she was doing. He shifted quickly, his clothes in a heap on the forest floor, and he came up beside her, running his body smoothly along hers. She shivered and poked at him with her muzzle before showing her teeth in a wolfy smile, and took off in a random direction, leaving him behind with a surprised look in his eyes.
He ran after her, his mass easily catching up, and they ran in any direction they saw fit, enjoying the sunset and the breeze that carried through the trees. After a while of their activity, running and jumping and nipping at each other's paws in play, Harper felt a dull ache begin in her legs, a telltale sign that she should rest for a few minutes. She slowed to a stop by a nearby creek and heard Greyson come up behind her, his tongue lolling. They sat down together and rested their bodies. By this point, the sun had already kissed the horizon, and night was quickly overtaking the sky. Harper closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax against the cool earth. She thought about how she wanted to do something fun that would get her brain off of the things that had happened the night before. She didn't want to remember that Jason had forced himself on her. She allowed her mind to entertain a few silly ideas.
An idea sprung into her mind then, and her eyes popped open. She stood quickly and nudged Greyson, who had fallen into a light nap. He cracked an eye open and asked a silent question.
Harper nudged him again, encouraging him to stand so they could leave. Together they ran back toward the clearing, and Harper shifted quickly, throwing her clothes back on haphazardly. Greyson shifted more leisurely, putting his clothes on as he watched Harper with curiosity. She was almost jumping up and down she seemed so excited about something. Once he was mostly clothed, she sighed in impatience and grabbed his hand, pulling him along behind her.
"Harper, what is going on, why are you acting like a bat outta hell?" he asked.
Harper turned her head to look at him as she continued on, throwing her grin at him as she spoke, "We are going dancing."