Xavier

Madelyn

My jaw dropped at the sight of those familiar peircing blue eyes. I struggled for words as she smiled, amused, at me. "Wolf." I choked out. The girl raised a pretty eyebrow at me. "You're that wolf!" I shouted at her.

"Wolf? What wolf?" The girl answered, somehow now I could hear her clearly over the wind.

"Madelyn dont torture him." A familiar voice said. Both of our heads turned to the alley that the voice had come from. My jaw dropped agan when I saw Derek leaning against one of the buildings, an unhappy look on his face.

I turned back to the girl, apparently her name was Madelyn, and saw the enraged look on her face. "Derek! I told you not to come!" She shouted.

"And I told you not to let him see you! He was already suspicious! You just confirmed his suspicions!" Derek shouted back.

I turned back to Derek. "You jerk! You leave me by myself at work and you keep the fact that you know this dog!" I shouted, spitting the word dog. I meant it as an insult in every way.

"Look man I'm really sorry." Derek said. A wicked grin spread across his face. "My lady forbid me to talk to you." He added, jabbing his thumb towards Madelyn. I realized I could also hear him clearly above the wind even when my own voice was being carried away.

I snorted. "You have a lady?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "You drool at beach babes and date a different girl every week! How on earth are you in a serious enough relationship that allows you to call this girl your lady?" I asked. Madelyn gave me an evil look.

"I didnt mean it like that dude! I'm like her slave with no benefits." Derek said, making me laugh.

"Shut up Derek! We're leaving!" Madelyn shouted. She walked past Derek into the alley and I quickly rushed over.

I grabbed my friend's arm so he couldnt run off. "When are you coming back to work? I want to know what's going on." I asked.

"I'm sorry Xavier, I cant tell you anything. She'll be by at three." Derek said.

I wasnt satisfied with that answer but the look that Derek gave me made me drop it. I released his arm and he smiled a bit. "See ya." I said and he nodded.

"Hurry up Derek." Madelyn said angrily as she appeared at his side. Madelyn turned to me and gave me a very serious look. "Xavier your sister is all by herself during a really bad storm. I suggest you get home quickly." She said.

I stared at her in suprise as she dissappeared down the alley with Derek. They faded into the black and I considered following them until Madelyn's words sunk in. I spun around and started running towards home.

Joann was hiding in the bathroom when I got home. She was crouched down on the floor, her hands pressed down on her ears to keep the sound of the storm outside out of her head. I kneeled down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She removed her hands from her ears and flung her arms around my neck, hugging me.

"It's okay Joey. You're fine. I'm here." I told her as I patted her back. I pushed her away gently. "Come one, let's go." I told her. She took my hand as I stood up.

Joann held onto my hand as I walked to the kitchen. I found our storm kit under the kitchen sink and handed it to Joann. She hugged it close to her chest and I led her to our room. Our room was the only really safe room in the house, even with the window. The bathroom was so badly put together that it really wasnt safe to go in there anyways.

After a while Joann fell asleep on my bed and I silently left the room. I made sandwiches in the kitchen and grabbed a can opener as well. We had canned food in our storm kit but no can opener. I could imagine how stupid we would feel if we ever actually needed to eat the contents of the cans.

As I headed back to our room with the sandwiches and the can opener I decided to see if my parents were home. I quietly opened up their bedroom door but found no one inside. I figured mom was being forced to stay at the office and dad was probubly pulled over on the side of the road waiting for the storm to let up. He drove semis for a living and it wasnt safe to be driving a semi during a storm.

I woke up Joann once I was back in our room. We ate our sandwiches as the storm raged on outside. Joann didnt seem as scared as before but she stuck by my side the whole time.

I was suprised when I checked the time. It was only two minutes till three o'clock. I hadnt even realized it had been storming that long. I grabbed the chair that sat at the end of Joann's bed and placed it in front of the window. I sat down in it and focused on the street below, craning my neck to see over the fire escape. Joann gave me a funny look but I just shook my head

At exactly three o'clock Madelyn came running down the street. Her fur was soaked and the wind was pushing her around as she tried to stand up straight. She eventually just sat down and stared up at me. I took a deep breath through my nose and nearly choked on the smell of wet dog that had somehow managed to reach us.

"Is it that wolf?" Joann asked.

I was extremly suprised but I didnt take my eyes off Madelyn. "How on earth do you know about the wolf?" I asked.

"You talk in your sleep. Plus, I've looked over your shoulder a couple of times. You really dont have good ears." Joann said. I smiled at my sister's words and could have sworn that Madelyn smiled too.

"So do you know if it's mean?" Joann asked.

I felt like Madelyn would hear me if I answered so I decided to use our finger code to answer my sister. One finger meant wait/stop, two fingers meant come, three meant help, four meant no, five meant yes, and six meant run.

I held up four fingers behind my back. "Do you know who it is?" Joann asked. Five fingers. "Will you tell me?" Joann asked. Four fingers. Joann huffed angrily. "Tell me." she said. One finger (not my middle finger) was my response.

Madelyn and I watched each other for a good five minutes. A tawny brown wolf came running down the street and stopped beside Madelyn. They stared at each other for a moment then Madelyn stood up. She gave me a curt nod and ran off. The other wolf turned to me and I noticed that it's eyes were ocean blue. Derek. He gave a short howl before taking off after Madelyn.

"See you Derek." I mumbled before going back to my bed.

"Who is it Xavier?" Joann asked.

I smiled at her. "Someone very annoying." I told her before falling asleep.