Reality

Chapter 1

  He shrunk away from me, trying to hide in my shadow. People passed us, their incredulous shock and confusion painted opaque on their faces. The attention didn't bother me, but it bothered Alfie, who was debating whether to keep holding my hand or not. Every time he tried to release it I squeezed his claws together in a warning. I led him around the bend of a hall and kept walking until I found a relatively empty area of the school with a bench. It was our eleventh year of highschool- but even after the many years our peers have seen us together, they still stare at us like a stunt at a circus.

  Like a joke. 

  I sat Alfie down and forced myself between his legs so I could get a closer look at the cut above his brow that he refused to let me see. Even though he was a million times stronger than me, he still let me slap away his hands. 

"And how did this happen?"

"I ran into the corner of a bookshelf," he mumbled. I sighed and shook my head with a teasing smile that was impossible to hide. He groaned and threw his head back.

"Stop laughing. It's not that funny."

"It is very funny. I don't know what you're talking about." I forced him to face me by grabbing one of his horns. He yelped and the force and I muttered a quiet apology as I slapped on a bandaid.

"That's not how you-"

"You're the doctor. You can fix it later. This is to make sure you don't bleed all over your desk."

  I wiped away the black blood from his eye and rubbed it on my jeans. He watched me carefully and I tried not to notice when he grabbed the end of my shirt and started fiddling with it.

I kissed his bandaid and ruffled his hair. "All better, yes?"

  He nodded mutely and seized my hand. His eyes kept darting over my shoulder and I couldn't help but look. Two students had stopped in their path, ogling openly. I knew these kids. I didn't like them. They were the school's golden couple, Chase and Stevie. Stevie was sneering in disgust. Chase sent me a lazy, charming smile touched with judgement. I sent a fake smile of my own back.

  Alfie, on the other hand, was trembling. He hated the two. He hated how they judged us. How they judged him. But most of all- he hated how he was scared of them.

Monsters weren't supposed to be scared. They're supposed to be fearless. To be arrogant and in constant anger. But Alfie wasn't like most monsters. He was kind and gentle. He was shy and sweet. He had social anxiety, for goodness sake. He even wanted to become a doctor although he knew that wasn't an option for him.

  As Chase and Stevie approached, I backed into Alfie to hide him. He buried his face into my back. I could feel his laboured breathing against my skin. Once again, his hand loosened around mine. I squeezed it protectively, my silent way of telling him that I didn't care about what they thought because they didn't matter to me. Alfie always hated being seen with me. Not because he was ashamed of me, but because he was ashamed of himself.

"Elodie and... Uh, monster-freak. What a nice surprise." Chase started. I gritted my teeth and widened my smile.

"Chase. Stevie. What brings you out during classes?"

"Oh, we're just wandering around. We missed each other and besides- we're ahead anyway. What about you?" Stevie asked, the usual bite in her tone prominent.

"Alfie was just a little clumsy, so I had to patch him up," I answered. "We're both on break."

"That's nice of you, Elle. But couldn't your pet fix himself up?"