After I finish two of the grilled cheese sandwiches, I tell Grayson that I'm full. He looks at me like he doesn't believe me, but I remind him that I'm not an Alpha werewolf like him who needs to eat FOUR sandwiches as a meal. He helps me finish the remaining two.

He tells me what he's been texting my mom so she wouldn't worry about me. Apparently she's been wanting me to come home, but "I" have been insisting that I finish a psychology project with Cooper.

Today is Monday, so I technically have only missed one day of classes which I'm thoroughly impressed by. I did miss a shift at Java, so I'll need to drop by and apologize. I'll have to make up an excuse and pretend I was really sick- it's not a complete lie, but I can't exactly tell the complete truth.

Right now, I'm lying on the couch with Grayson as we watch a rerun of Friends. I'm laughing out loud as Ross finds his red sweater in Monica's apartment and Joey's jaw drops as he finally puts the pieces together that Ross and Rachel got together. I don't miss the fact that Grayson watches me more than the TV show.

The theme song begins playing for the next episode, so I untangle myself from Grayson and stand on my feet. He looks pouty as I break away from him, but I only smile and motion for him to get up with my finger. He raises an eyebrow as I begin spinning on my feet.

"SO NO ONE TOLD YOU LIFE WAS GONNA BE THIS WAYYYY" *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*

I belt the song, knowing that no one but Grayson and I are home. He tilts his head back and laughter tumbles out of him. I continue dancing and singing to the theme song. I surely look like an idiot- I'm spinning, jumping, kicking my legs out- I definitely look insane. However, I have so much energy and all I want to do is have a dance party to the Friend's theme song.

When the "I'll be there for you" lyrics come on, Grayson is instantly in front of me. It's not fair when he uses his werewolf speed because I'm stuck being a slow poke. He grabs my hand and spins me around before dipping me dramatically. I laugh as my head hangs upside-down for a second before I'm right-side up again. We continue jumping and singing and dancing around until the song ends. I'm out of breath while Grayson looks absolutely fine- another annoying difference between werewolves and humans.

The show begins playing again, but it's background noise now that my focus is on Grayson. Our laughter fades and once again I'm very aware of how attractive he is. His dark hair is styled in that perfectly messy manner. I'll never understand how he makes sweatpants look good. His shirt is taut against his arms and chest, showing the many dips and curves of his muscles. My favorite thing about him is his eyes. The blue-gray color is easily my favorite, and I finally understand the meaning of "the eyes are the windows to the soul" because I can see all his emotions in them. I see love, vulnerability, happiness. I'm sure my eyes mirror the same things.

I forget everything but him as my eyes flutter closed. I lean into him and only have to reach a little before he bends down to erase the rest of the space between us. His lips are soft on mine as we kiss. It's a slow kiss where we express our deep emotions for one another. His hands go to my waist, and they wrap around me like they always do. I feel secure in his arms, and I never want this feeling to go away.

The kiss gets more intense when his tongue enters my mouth and his hands travel to my backside. Ever since earlier when he touched me there, he seems to not be afraid to touch me more intimately. It's like once he touched me once, it has opened up the floodgates. It's a new sensation that I'm finding that I enjoy.

His hands squeeze my bum once before the clearing of a throat interrupts our make-out session. I pull back quickly and instantly turn around to see Cooper smirking at the two of us like we are two kids caught doing something we aren't supposed to be doing. My hand flies to my heart as I regain the breath I lost from the kiss and from being scared senseless by Cooper's sudden appearance.

"Jeez! You can't scare me like that Cooper!" I scold him, but I'm outwardly smiling because I'm so happy to see him. The last time I saw him, he poured a bucket of cold water on my face. Granted, it was to wake me up from my nightmare-plagued slumber, but I'm still ready to give him a good punch. That water was cold...

"As much as I would love to watch you two have sex, I have your schoolwork from Psych today." Cooper always knows how to turn my face beet-red in a single sentence. For a best friend, he sucks.

"W-we weren't... We were just..."

"Uh-huh," he hums, then slides his backpack off of his shoulder and opens it to pull out his computer with the classroom notes. "Do you want to finish whatever it is you were- or were not- about to do, or do you want to get the notes?"

"I want the notes," I squeak, embarrassed to have been caught making out with Grayson and also embarrassed because Cooper is insinuating that things were going to go further just now... Were they?

Grayson makes his presence known when his front presses to my back possessively. His arms wrap around me as his hands glide over my stomach. I try to ignore the butterflies he gives me. He nuzzles his face in my neck and places feather light kisses all over.

"Gray..." I mumble, hoping he'll stop but also wanting him to continue. If that sentence was confusing, just imagine how I feel! I'm not used to PDA, but I really do want to kiss Grayson some more. However, school comes first. I need to get the notes from Cooper and have him explain anything I don't understand. Grayson growls in frustration as he looks up at Cooper.

"You're becoming a real inconvenience for me."

"That's my job," Cooper grins as he grabs my hand and begins pulling me towards the kitchen table to begin our work. I follow Cooper as he sits down at the island and opens his computer to the notes he took today. He sits down on the corner stool and I sit next to him. As he's opening his notes, Grayson sits next to me and places his hand on my thigh. I'm curious as to why he's here. Of course I love being around him, but if I'm just studying with Cooper, doesn't Grayson have something better to do? Before I ask, Cooper beats me to the punch.

"The fuck you still doing here? Axel has been picking up your slack for two and a half days. Go do your Alpha work!" Cooper sasses Grayson, and I'm not sure why he thinks that Grayson will respond well to this type of criticism.

Grayson approaches Cooper slowly, his jaw clenching tightly as he tries to control himself. His eyes darken the longer he glares at Cooper. "Watch your tone when speaking to your Alpha."

I'm on my feet quickly as I try to diffuse the tension. I place my hand on my mate's chest as I urge him to allow space between him and his "target."

"Okay Gray, he didn't mean any disrespect." He backs away and turns to me as he takes a deep breath through his nose. "Although," I begin as I bite my lip and play with my fingers nervously, "he does kind of have a point."

I smile at him to try to ease his mind. He's not amused with my taking Cooper's side. His face remains expressionless as he awaits my explanation.

"It's just that- well, you don't have to sit here while we study. Don't feel obligated to spend all of your time with me."

Grayson's bottom lip pouts out as I say this. "But I want to spend all my time with you."

The big bad Alpha that was just threatening my friend not ten seconds ago is now pouting like a five year old. He honestly looks pretty adorable like this. Usually I'm the one showing my sensitive side, but I'm really enjoying his clingy and soft side.

"I wanna spend time with you too, but you're a leader of an entire pack of werewolves! You must have work to do. Go do that and we can spend time together later." I bring my arms around his neck and hug him while my face finds the crook of his neck. He sighs into the hug and his body releases some of its precious tension.

"I need you safe," he whispers, almost too low for me to hear.

"I'm safe here with Cooper. Promise." I mumble my response into his neck, but he must still understand me because he kisses me on my forehead as his hands slowly leave my sides.

"Fine. I'll come check on you soon, though." He closes his eyes, and I'm confused for a moment until I look over and see Cooper with his eyes closed as well as a look of terror on his face. They must be mind linking each other which is completely unfair for a human like me! They don't get to talk in front of me secretly!

"Hey! No mind linking in front of me! That's unfair!" I shake Grayson's shoulders until he opens his eyes and refocuses on me. He grins at me and gives me a quick kiss.

"We'll see about that." He gives one last glare to Cooper before he leaves the area, presumably to head to his office or go do whatever Alpha work entails.

I turn to look at Cooper who looks about ready to pass out. "What did he say to you?"

Cooper looks down at the ground and shakes his head fervently. "Nothing, it's fine."

"It's not fine!" I exclaim as I worry begins to grow within me. What could Grayson have possibly said to Cooper to scare him so much? And it was only for a few seconds!

"He just warned me to look after you. He gave some very... creative threats if I didn't."

I roll my eyes at Grayson's dramatics. "He won't do anything to you." I know him, and he wouldn't hurt his friends. If I ever were to get hurt, I'm absolutely sure it wouldn't be Cooper's fault. If Cooper failed to protect me, Grayson wouldn't punish Cooper.

Cooper only chuckles.

There's no way Grayson could attack anyone over a mistake... Right?

~

After reading over Cooper's notes, I'm still a little confused. I'm sure Cooper's very smart, but his note-taking skills are questionable at best. I find myself opening the online textbook and reading through the lesson that was covered today while Cooper explains his notes to me. An hour goes by in a flash, and I'm finally finished with with the current chapter. I soon realize, however, that I don't completely understand some of the concepts from the last week. I don't give myself a hard time- I was spelled.

I begin reading the other three chapters to refresh. Cooper remains in the stool next to me as he scrolls through his phone. He'll occasionally chuckle at something he finds funny, then it's back to silence. After about ten minutes, he groans and slides his phone across the granite tabletop.

"Ugh, I'm bored," he whines at me as he leans his elbow on the countertop and rests his cheek in his palm.

"Sorry Cooper, I gotta study," I chuckle as I look at his pathetic form. He's definitely pouting, but only one pout works on me...

I turn back to Cooper's laptop only for it to be snatched off of the table.

"Hey!" I yelp as I reach out to take back the computer. It's no use because my reflexes are no match for his. He easily backs out of my reach and grins at me.

"C'mon, let's do something fun! You don't have any more classes today, and my best friend has been a zombie for the past week. Ooh! I know!" Cooper slaps his palms and rubs them together in a sinister manner. The evil glint in his eyes shines bright as he smirks at me. Oh no.

"We're going to prank Grayson." He begins laughing as he takes my hand and drags me up the stairs. I try to pry my hand out of his, but either Cooper doesn't notice my struggle or he doesn't care.

We enter a room on the second floor with cream colored walls and a white duvet covering the queen-sized bed. The room itself screams Cooper with its attention to detail and fashionable decor. A white faux fur rug lies on the floor, and the bed is covered with pillows ranging from blue to purple with textured designs on them. All the furniture is light, and the space itself is very airy and clean.

He walks me over to the bed and leaves me there while he rummages through his dresser drawer. He pulls out a two-inch binder and closes the drawer again. Sitting down next to me, he opens it and flips through the pages. I only get glimpses because he is flipping through the binder so fast, but my jaw drops when I realize what this is- it's his prank book.

Page after page is filled with pictures- evidence- of the pranks he's pulled on others. One picture I notice is of Axel glaring at the camera with what looks like pink paint covering him from head to toe. Another picture is of Grayson's car covered in sticky notes- I remember that story from dinner the other night.

"What the..." I sputter, the right words not passing my tongue. Cooper stops flipping when he finds a certain section of the binder with prank ideas. He skims through the plans until he pauses and grins at me.

"Here, what do you think about this one?"

I hesitantly take the binder from his hands and skim over the notes. I read through the entire outline- yes, outline- Cooper has laid out on how to prank Grayson, and I can't help the laughter that spills out of me. I try to stop by covering my mouth with my hands, but I can't. I finally see why Cooper gets such a rise out of these pranks. I feel more alive just thinking about the hilarious look of shock he'll have if we pull this off.

I let myself fall back on the bed, the soft mattress cushioning my fall as I continue to cackle like I belong in an asylum. Cooper slams the book closed and gives me a hopeful smile.

"You in?"

I wipe the tears from my eyes as I smile widely back at him.

"I'm in."