Chapter 28
***NOLAN***
10 YEARS AGO.
She didn't pick up the call so I just sent her a text to tell her about it.
"So, tell me, that girl earlier-" Phillip said and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on, what were you guys talking about?" He asked and I chuckled.
"Oh, she was just flirting and she kinda invited me to a bonfire party," I said and he chuckled.
"Well, we're going to a much cooler party."
***
I looked up as Phillip brought the car to a slow halt in front of a mansion. The gate was opened and he drove in.
He pulled over among other cars and I climbed down after him. The house was much bigger than my house which was the biggest in the clan. There was a large pool and a large number of teenagers all around the compound.
"Phillip! Over here!" I saw someone wave to us. He was a tall blond holding a glass of wine in his hand and standing shirtless close to the pool.
Phillip walked over to him and I followed him.
"Hey bro," they shook hands and rubbed shoulders.
The guy looked at me and glanced back at Phillip.
"This is Nolan, he's....." Phillip trailed off and looked at me as if he was trying to figure out how to introduce me.
"He's umm....the son of my mom's friend," he said, "this is Shawn." He introduced his friend.
"Nice to meet you, bro," Shawn said and we book shook hands.
A lady dressed in a bikini walked towards us and she wrapped her arm around Shawn's neck.
"Nolan is coming to Princeton next year," Phillip said.
"Oh, that's nice, I'm sure you'll love it here," the lady said before whispering something in Shawn's ears. Whatever she said seemed to make him smile and he nodded at Phillip before walking away with her.
"Phillip!" Someone else called out to him and I looked up to see another guy. This one looked familiar as I'd seen him at the Clan once before.
"I gotta go," Phillip said and walked away, going to meet whoever that was.
I sighed internally and looked around before going inside the house to get a drink. I looked up and I saw the lady I met earlier at the cafe and she looked surprised to see me too.
"I thought you were going to a bonfire party," I asked and she smiled as she pushed a loose strand of her hair aside.
"Shawn is holding a party, everyone came here naturally," she said and I nodded. So that Shawn is the one who lives here.
"So would you like a drink?" I asked with a smile which she returned before looking around me.
"Where's your boyfriend?" She asked. What was he talking about?? I was confused for a while until I realized she was referring to Phillip.
"He's not-"
"Stella, you really need to see this," another lady interrupted me and pulled her away. I sighed and threw my hand in the air.
I went to sit on the stairs and watched everyone party. I was going to drink before but then I remembered it was the full moon. It was dangerous enough that I was out here with chances of turning.
How bad would a drunk wolf be??
"Hey, you okay?" I looked up to see Phillip and I nodded.
"Yeah, it's just all the noise messing with my head," I replied and stood up.
"Follow me," he said and ran up the stairs. I quickly ran after him and saw him running down a hallway.
"Hey, slow down," I said, but he kept running fast while I tried to catch up with him.
I followed him up a stairwell that led to the roof of the building and he stopped running. I stopped too, bending and resting my palms on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.
I laughed out loud and he laughed too.
I stood up straight after catching my breath and walked to the edge of the roof to look down at everyone else partying in the compound.
"So do you like it?" Phillip asked as he walked closer and stood next to me. I looked at him in confusion.
"Princeton, do you like it?" He clarified himself.
"Oh, yes. Yes, I do like Princeton," I replied immediately, trying not to sound awkward. I looked away from him and glanced up. The moon was slowly coming out in the sky and I gulped nervously.
"Don't worry, you're not going to turn, you still have 4 months," Phillip said and I turned my head to face him suddenly.
"Huh?"
"I heard my mom and your mom yesterday. They were talking about you," he said and I nodded, grabbing the barricade at the edge of the roof.
"You know, I heard there's a way to get rid of lycanthropy. That way you'll be able to remain at the clan," Phillip said and I gritted my teeth before facing him again.
"Are you saying I'm not happy with who I am? Or that I don't fit in at the clan?" I asked with slight irritation in my voice.
"No, that's not what I'm saying," Phillip quickly replied, shaking his head.
"I was only saying that maybe you sh-"
"You know what? Forget it, I'm sorry," he apologized.
"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reacted like that," I replied, sighing. The two of us remained awkwardly silent and I stared downstairs trying to avoid looking at him.
I finally said something, "I saw the lady I met at the cafe earlier."
"She thought you were I was your boyfriend," I added and Phillip chuckled.
"Oh wow." He chuckled again.
"So, do you.....um....do you have a girlfriend? Or........a boyfriend?" I asked and Phillip stared at me with a weird smile on his face for a while before shaking his head.
"No, I don't," he replied and he walked closer to me slowly. I gulped nervously as he got so close, our faces were breaths away from each other.
"Have you ever kissed a guy before?" He asked and my eyes flickered to his lips as I shook my head.
"Now, you have," he said and he suddenly leaned closer, kissing me on the lips. I froze for a while before slowly kissing him back.
He placed his hand on the back of my head as he continued kissing me. He suddenly broke the kiss, with the two of us breathing heavily, and a smile on his face.
"The full moon is out," he said and I looked up to see the bright full moon up in the sky.
I didn't turn.