Wait, what?!

"Wait, what?!" I ask and she somehow smiles even more.

"Physical Therapy, to get your voice back into working order. If everything goes as planned you should be good to go in a week and a half or so." My eyes become blurry with unshed tears at her words.

"Thats great! Did you hear that Dove?" Mason asks me, squeezing my hand. I can't even think of what to say so I just nod my head, the warm tears finally spilling onto my cheeks.

"We'll start tomorrow, how about that? Disappointed as I am that you'd be missing school, theres just no way we can do it today." The Luna gives me a motherly smile before straightening the papers about me and putting them back in my folder. "That being said, go enjoy the rest of your sunday darlings."

Me and Mason get up and quietly leave the room, waiting until were out of earshot before he grabs me in a huge spinning hug, his laughter filling the room.

"This is fucking amazing Dove!" He exclaims and I smile so hard my face hurts. "You still wanna make it a surprise?" I nod my head happily and he puts me down.

"Oh man just imagine the look on Rose's face!" Mason grins and looks at me.

"Or Trinidees!"

"Syms gonna be so excited."

"Ten bucks she does a backflip."

"Ten bucks she tries to do a backflip and falls on her face." Mason sticks his hand out and I shake it.

"Deal." I grin. Lets hope backflipping is a part of Syms skillset. My phone buzzes so I pull it out.

Hey, party tonight, wanna be my date? ;)

Speaking of flips, my stomach just did a few. A party? I don't know... What if I don't know anyone else there? What if I don't know anyone there and then Drake ditches me? I'm sure it'll be fine...

'Or not.' Lisa hmphs at me and I roll my eyes. You're just salty that I have a boyfriend you didn't approve of first.

'I didn't approve for a reason.' She growls angrily.

Dove: Sure! Sounds great. When's it at?

Drake: I'll come around nine.

"Who ya texting?" Mason asks as we walk back to my room.

"Drake. Apparently theres a party tonight."

"Who the fuck throws a party on a Sunday?" He looks at me quizzically and I shrug. I check the time. I'm weirdly relieved that its barely noon.

'Maybe it's because even your wolf is telling you that boy is bad news?' I can feel Lisa tapping her tail impatiently against my head.

Would you cut it out? You're giving me a headache.

'Hmm.. Lemme see... No. GFY.'

Did you really just say GFY? Why didnt you just say 'go fuck yourself'?

'Because shut up, thats why.'

"Dove, wanna go on a run?" Sym comes out from around a corner and I shrug.

"Depends. Is this a training run or just a casual run?" I ask and she shrugs back at me.

"I dunno... Casual I guess?"

"Then I'm in."

"Wow guys. TFTI." Mason teases from beside me.

"What is with everyone speaking in text talk today?!" I roll my eyes and both of them look at me quizically.

"Mase, you can come if you want."

"Nah. Too much effort." Mason plops down on my bed and grabs my remote to flip to Netflix.

"I like how he just treats your room as his own. If thats not what friendship I dont know what is." Symantha laughs and I smile. "Anyway, lets go!"

~

"Jesus Sym I thought you said that was gonna be casual?" I groan and she laughs.

"Oh honey, that was casual... For me." She gives me a conniving grin and I just roll my eyes.

"Rude." I mutter while catching my breath.

Sym sits down on a tree swing in front of the house.

"So Dove I gotta ta-"

"Do you know how to do-" We start and stop our sentences at the same time. "My bad. You first."

"Well, I wanted to talk to you, about Drake."

"Okaaaay..?"

"I don't like that you guys are together." She looks at the ground and my anger flares a little bit.

"Yeah you've kinda said that already." My tone is harsher than I meant for it to be and Sym looks up, her eyes dull.

"No. I mean it. He's seriously bad news and hes hurt everyone that's ever gotten near him, which just so happens to be most of the people I care about. I told him not to hurt you and to just stay away and he laughed at me. You've been through a fucking lot Dove and you'd finally starting to be happy, I don't want him to just fucking walk in and tear all those plans apart. I'm going to do anything in my power to stop this, I wont let him hurt you too." Sym's eyes are scary now. The more I look into them the more lifeless they seem. All laughter and happiness that was there ten minutes ago is gone. She looks dead. Her voice makes it worse. She doesn't sound angry or sad, but empty. I need to look away.

"What if I wanna be hurt." I look at her general face area with all seriousness and she stands.

"You don't. Not like this, at least. This kinda hurt, you dont come back from. He's ruined lives."

"Well whatever happens, happens. Now if youll excuse me, I have a party to get ready for." I dodge past her on the way into the house and slam the door behind me. I beeline for my room and collapse onto my bed.

"Wow you can't even talk and I can basically hear the groan of exhaustion." Mason laughs beside me and I flip him off.

"Either help me figure out what I'm wearing to this party or piss the hell off."

"Daaaamn mamabears pushy when shes tired."

"Less talky more helpy... Please." I roll out of bed and stumble over to my closet.

"Well I mean you have lots of options. Whatchu going for?" He appears next to me and I rest my forehead on the frame of the doorway.

"Surprise me." I hesitate before saying so and he laughs. I immediately regret my decision as he calls in Trinidee from down the hall. She comes bounding into the room, rocking black skinny jeans and a hot pink leather jacket.

"Yesssssss Mason dearest?" At her words Mason shoves me towards her.

"Meet your doll for the night. Shes going to a party. Work your magic."

__

"Trin. You know I adore you, but I've been sitting here for literal hours." I complain and she rolls her eyes

"Oh hush there. You havent been sitting for hours. You took a shower so that was maybe half an hour to an hour, then you sat for maybe half an hour while I picked out your bombass super cute outfit and then you put that on, then we got food (youre welcome) and that was like an hour and a half. Now I've only been doing your makeup for about an hour so technically not hours. Now after this and I get to your hair finally, I'll curl it lightly and then you'll be ready. So no complaining or I might screw up your eyeliner and have to restart." The threat of having to go through all of this again is enough to make me sit still as she pokes and prods my face. She finally finishes my hair with a pleased look on her face.

She claps and grabs my hands before dragging me over to the mirror. I barely recognize myself. The scar on my neck is barely visible, and my skin is clear. My eyes pop from the eyeliner and lashes she gave me and my lips are a deep purple, which doesnt look too weird cause she put me in a dark purple blouse and a black miniskirt. Paired with black heels, which thankfully have a small heel.

"You're all ready to go Dove~!" Trinidee giggles excitedly and my nervousness about the party vanishes. Tonights gonna be a lot of fun.

--

Drake appeared with nothing more than a roar of an engine and the smell of smoke. He flashes me a grin and a wink as I walk up.

"You ready little bird?" He asks as soon as I sit down. I make sure I shut my door before nodding. He flicks his cigarette out the window and takes off. What is it with everyone in this pack driving like psychos?

Drake has one hand on the wheel and places the other on my thigh, making my face burn in the process.

"Yknow. I really could get used to a girl who cant just yap at me all the time." Drake laughs and I give a small smile when he looks for my reaction. What was that supposed to mean? We drive the rest of the way quietly and come to a hurtling stop at a house two towns over. The twisted knife in my stomach returns as I hear the loud music and see guys that are already wasted in the front yard. From the smell of it, this place is crawling with humans.

"Drake why are there so many humans here?"

"I like always being the strongest in the room." He responds with a grin. Something about his response spells out a recipe for disaster to me, and sends a chill up my spine. We get up the walk and in the house is even worse than outside. I can barely hear myself think and the smell of humans and liquor are overwhelming. I go to look at Drake but theres a stranger in his place. I try to back up and run into some girl in too short of a dress with too much makeup.

"Hey! Watch it!" She glares at me and I give an apologetic smile as I look for a way out. Theres so many people. I work my way through the crowd blindly and finally make it to a semi clear area. The kitchen, where Drake and some guys I dont know are laughing and drinking.

"Drake, I'm uncomfortable... I don't know anyone here and the music is strange and some guy has been following me around... Can you please drive me home?" Even the voice in my head is quiet and he looks at me.

"Oh hey lil bird. Come drink with us. These are my buddies." He pretends like I didnt just ask to leave and gestures at his friends. Three guys and a girl. I give a small wave and Drake waves me over. I stand next to the table cause there isnt any chairs left.

"Drake can we please go?" He doesn't even look at me this time. The girl in the group hands me a cup with a amberish liquid in it.

"It's whiskey. Drink up." She smiles at me and suddenly blood starts trickling out of her nose. "Ah, shit! Guys my nose is bleeding again. I'll be back. Cmon Bev." Before I can ask who "Bev" is, the girl grabs my hand and drags me off into the crowd.

"What the hell? Bev isnt anywhere near Dove!" Lisa snarls and I roll my eyes. Whatever. I'm sure Drake will correct her for me later. We get to a bathroom where a guy is passed out in the tub. The girl laughs.

"Man. Guy couldnt handle his shit." She says as she grabs at some toilet paper for her nose, releasing my hand. "I'm Cameron by the way. Is Bev short for Beverly or somethin?" I shake my head and get my phone out.

"Then whats it short for?" Before I can get to a typing app, she turns and grabs my phone from me. "Its rude to be on your phone when someones talking to you." I look up, and shes cleaned up her face. Looks like she didnt bleed too bad. I go to grab for my phone back and she holds it above her head. Its just now that I'm realizing that Cameron is a lot taller than me. I point at my throat pleadingly.

"Man youre one quiet bitch. What are you? Some kinda freak mute?" She tosses my phone on the counter and pushes past me. "God, I wanted to be friends for Drakes sake but guess not."

I grab my phone and try to scurry after her, my eyes tearing up. But by the time I get out to the hallway shes gone. Or at least I think so. Everythings blurry. I feel warm tears slip down my cheeks as I try to get through the crowd again, but someone grabs my arm.

"Hey, quit your crying. Youre too pretty to cry." Some guy smiles at me. "Show me that smile." I rip my arm away and back away as quickly as possible when I bump into someone. I look back to see that guy that was following me earlier. He grabs my waist.

"Woah if you wanted to dance, you couldve just asked." He starts swaying us and I try to pry away his hands. As soon as I pull the them away, he grabs on again, to the point this time where it kinda hurts. I feel bile rise in my throat. I step on his foot and he lets go.

"Ow! Bitch!" I hear him yell as I push through the crowd. I get to the front door and rush outside, crying so hard I can barely see.

"Woah! Dove?" Someone grabs onto my arms and I finch away. "Hey hey hey it's okay, look at me." They say softly and I look up right into two icy pools.

"Daniel?" I ask hopefully.

"Yeah, it's me. Cmon lets get you ho-" He's cut off by my sudden hug, I cry into his shoulder as he cradles me in his arms. We sit there for a few minutes. Me crying and him waiting. When I'm finally done, he walks me to his truck and helps me into the passenger side. I try to compose myself as he climbs in the drivers and starts the engine. We drive along quietly, except for a talk show host talking quietly on the radio.

"I'm really sorry."

"For what?"

"For being a mess."

"What makes you say that?"

"I dunno. Just, it feels like every time I see you, you have to deal with me crying or drunk or youre saving me in some form or another." I stare out the front window, my head propped up on my hand.

"Really? Cause it feels like every time I see you, we end up laughing and having fun, but then I say something that screws everything up." He says and I look at him. Does he really feel like that? He always makes me feel better though.

"But thats not it at all."

"Well I guess were both wrong then." We fall back into silence. It only lasts a few minutes till he pipes up.

"So why werent you with Drake? I assumed he'd be all over you."

"Oh... Well one of his friends dragged me away and then ditched me because she couldnt understand why I wouldnt answer her... Why would he be all over me?" I ask and Daniels face turns pink. Hes so pale I can even see it in the dark.

"Oh... Well thats because uh, yknow.. You look beautiful tonight. Not that youre not usually beautiful but tonight is a different kind of beautiful. Youre naturally gorgeous but I need to stop talking." He rambles on and I smile.

"Youre precious. Yknow that? But no... I had asked if we could leave but he must not of heard me over the music." Daniel gives me a weird look.

"You send direct messages to his head." He mutters like its obvious. I shrug.

"It was loud."

"I know Dove, I was kinda there. So does he know you left?" His words remind me and I get out my phone, expecting questions. No new messages.

"...Doesn't look like it." I can feel Daniel growing agitated beside me.

"Wow. Did he even tell you how pretty you look?"

"...No I dont think so.."

"Yeah. You know Dove, you have a real shit taste in guys." He stops the car suddenly in front of the pack house. "Stay there." I stay in my seat as Daniel walks around to my side of the car and opens the door. He undoes my seat belt and picks me up.

"Daniel what are you doing? I can walk." I ask him as he carries me up the walk.

"Those heels looked painful."

"But aren't you mad at me?"

"Being mad doesn't change that I care about you Dove." Daniel doesn't look at me when he talks, and though he may be angry, he's still such a teddy bear.

"Youre a good person." I smile and his face doesn't change.

"Like I said. You have a real shit taste in guys." He gently puts me down and hands me my heels. He closes the door without a word and storms off to his room. What the hell was that supposed to mean?