Wicked Game

Chapter 6

As reluctant as I was to wake up on a weekend, I pushed myself from my bed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

I rummage through my dresser drawers, mumbling to myself, "Something I can move in."

I stare at the black pair of leggings before deciding that those and a dark red tank top would do the trick. I slip my sneakers on and snatch up my phone before making my way to the bathroom.

I quickly french braid my hair so that it'd be out of the way. I didn't know what I was to expect, but I'd best be prepared. It made me nervous thinking about it.

Fallon dips into the bathroom to steal the hair brush as I'm brushing my teeth. Both of the twin boys had long, straight brown hair that made them look even more like hoodlums. They'd grown their hair out to be almost as long as Gemma's.

"Where are you going?" He asks me, eyeing my outfit and my hair.

"I'm going to go hang out with some friends," I say after spitting into the sink. "We're going to the gym."

"You're going to a gym?" He scoffs, laughing at me.

"Yeah, you should try it sometime," I poke his secret pudgy belly, hidden by the baggy t-shirt.

I hurriedly rinse out my mouth and shut the door behind me as Fallon starts the shower. I grab my flannel up on the way out, shrugging my arms into it. The breeze was a little nippy.

Standing on the front porch, I huff. It was a long walk from here to Derek's loft, and I can only guess how long it would take me. I hope it would be early enough to get there on time. Well, better get to it.

It was nearly 8:50 by the time I finally reach my destination. Making my way to the loft, I listen in to see if I could hear anyone in there. I can faintly hear Derek, going on about something to someone.

I hesitate at the door, fist raised ready to knock, but it freezes. What am I doing? I would have never have done this if I had a choice. I should have hid it from everyone.

The door suddenly opens, and Derek appears in the doorway.

"Are you going to come in or are you just going to stand there?"

I drop my arm and slide past him without a word. Scott is here, and so is Isaac and Allison. Allison gives me a warm smile, and I return it.

"Have you ever gotten into a fight?" Derek says, following behind me.

"You'd be surprised by how protective my oldest brother is, I never needed to," I answer casually, and stand beside Allison. I fold my arms over my chest.

"So you've never been in a fight, ever?" Isaac asks me to clarify and I shake my head.

"Do you know anything about combat?"

"Nope," I answer honestly. I've never had any reason to fight anybody.

"Okay, this is going to take some work..." Derek mumbles, and then looks back at me. "First things first, you're going to learn to control yourself when you shift. That's going to be the hardest part."

Derek leads us to what looks like some sort of training exercise sort of room. Mats line the spacious floors, and I copy the boys by kicking off my shoes. I shrug my flannel off and toss it aside. Scott leans over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. He says lowly to me, "Derek's going to get you mad, okay? This is all going to be part of the training, remember that. Allison and I will be right here if anything happens."

He must have been able to sense my comfort towards Allison, and my discomfort towards Derek. I inhale deeply before stepping onto the mats towards Derek.

Before I had time to process what was going to be happening, I was slugged upside the head, causing me to stumble to the side. I clutched my cheek, wincing.

Everyone was watching me, waiting for me to get angry. It never rose in me, all I felt was the steering pain where Derek hit me. It began fading, but I still wasn't angry. I couldn't be, with everyone watching and waiting.

I straighten myself out to face Derek again, and he snuck up again, sweeping my feet out from under me. I fell hard on my back, and this time I winced out of embarrassment. I don't know what I'm doing, why did I agree to this?

"It's time to get mad, Kasey!" Derek says loudly.

"I can't," I shake my head. "I can't do this."

I sit up and pick myself up off the floor, but this time Isaac approaches me, and knocks me back down on my butt. I look up at him, just wanting it to stop. Compared to them I was weak, and I just wanted out of it.

This time I scramble to my feet hurriedly, and try to dart away from Isaac, but he catches the back of my tank top, and hurls me back to the floor. I bite my lip in frustration, and glare at him. Isaac only looked amused, and stood casually waiting for me to get back up.

"You were really right about not knowing how to fight," Isaac agrees with me, but the way he said it was rude.

He glances back at Scott, chuckling, "Can you believe-"

I lunge at his legs, bringing him down with me. Now he had me angry. I could feel that something had changed in me, something that was never there before this whole mess.

I threw myself up on Isaac as he wriggled to get free. He grabs my shoulders and digs his nails in, throwing me off enough to roll over the mats. Isaac pins me down as I thrash to get him back under.

"Isaac makes her mad," Derek notes, with the most positive face I've seen on him so far. It didn't say much.

Isaac let off, backing up away from me quickly.

"Kasey?" I hear Scott ask. I whip my head around to look at him and Allison on the sidelines. He asks me, "Are you okay?"

And I was. The fury drains out of me the more I focus on the two people I think I could call my friends.

"Yeah," I answer. I glance back at Isaac, who was smiling and gave me an approving nod, and Derek, who was back to Mr. Serious Face.

"Let's go again. Fight back this time," Derek says to me as I stand from the mat.

Derek's eyes glowed blue, catching me off guard. He goes to throw a hit, but I duck just in time. He trips over me, stumbling for a moment until I swipe his stable leg out from under him. He leaps back up, giving me just enough time to get some space. Derek's eyes burned into me, and I let mine do the same to him.

All of my shyness melted away as we ran at each other. But instead of thinking it through how I could stay on my feet, I end up on my back again, and Derek, still on his feet. I feel the frustration building in me as it happened again and again and again.

I could feel how much stronger I was, the easier it was for Derek and Isaac to piss me off. Only, I was no match for either of them. I sit on the edge of the mats, taking a breather and thinking deeply about all the things I was doing wrong. I can't figure out why Peter bit me, of all people.

"Not bad for your first day. I mean, we've see worse," Isaac tells me, and slaps my shoulder as he walks past me. I didn't reply.

"We'll work on it," Scott assures me. "You've still got a lot of room to grow."

Just as I'm about to leave, Derek says to me, "Same time tomorrow."

I nod, fishing my mp3 player and headphones out of one of the pockets in my flannel. I confirm it, repeating Derek, "Same time tomorrow."

I blast my music through my headphones the whole walk home. The music soothed and calmed me more than anything did.