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Laura shrugged, glancing behind her shoulder with a soft smile on her face. “Th-that’s okay. To tell you the truth, I d-don’t know Clyde and Aiden as well as you do. I’ve never even sp-spoken to them, up until now.”
“Really?” I frowned slightly. “But, Noah’s their coach. You never saw them around him?”
“Noah didn’t r-really interact with those two, either,” Laura admitted.
That was a bit weird, considering Noah’s brother was a Duskfall. “I didn’t realize I was the glue holding everything together.”
We slipped on either side of the discount rack, Laura’s expression quickly switching to slight panic. “Is th-that a bad thing, Aria?”
“Is what a,” I stopped, blinking as the question was fully processed. “Oh, being glue?” I pulled a fuzzy pink sweater off its hanger, rubbing the texture between my thumb and forefinger while my lips unconsciously pursed. “I...well, not really. That was sort of my thing back home with my Mom; all my friend groups were interconnected by yours truly.” I blinked, suddenly remembering I had a life before all this. Making a mental note to call Hazel, I quickly hung the sweater back on the rack, peeking over to Laura’s side with a smirk on my face. “But if you ask me, I bet you prefer it just being me and Noah. The latter, specifically?”
Laura’s face went bright pink as she buried herself in a row of striped long sleeves. “I--wh-what? No, that’s--of course I’d want Noah there! He’s b-been my friend since we were l-little, a-and you’re the closest thing to a girlfriend I have. A g-girl who’s a friend,” she clarified hastily. “Not that I don’t think you’d make a nice--y-you’re already with Aiden, anyway!”
“And you’d much rather be with that boy,” I added teasingly, “who also happens to be a friend?”
Laura exhaled sharply, grabbing the closest shirt before stuffing her face into it. I couldn’t help but giggle, gently lowering the shirt before taking it into my hands.
“Laura, why don’t you just ask Noah out?” I asked. “You’ll always be this flustered mess, otherwise.”
Laura shook her head, hands clenched tightly against her chest. “I’d r-rather be that then, um, p-put our friendship in jeopardy. It’s been like this for years...I-I don’t know what I’d do if he didn’t feel the same way.” She caught a strand of hair, twirling it absentmindedly while her eyes looked elsewhere. “It’d be so awkward between us. I-I couldn’t imagine hanging out w-with him after a f-failed confession.”
Clyde’s face suddenly raced past my memory, causing me brief pause. Had he been watching Aiden and me while we talked? Had he caught that kiss on the cheek? Maybe it wasn’t just Clyde being a bit extra after Trevor...but, there was no way he was jealous, right?
“Uh, Aria?” Laura patted my shoulder lightly, gesturing to the front of the thrift store with wide eyes. “I th-think she’s signaling to you.”
“Who is?” My gaze followed Laura’s, suddenly spotting Vanessa leaned up against the front door, arms crossed and looking absolutely terrifying, as per usual. Darkly-kinked hair had been pulled up into a ponytail, leaving her tanned face free to fully display the seemingly permanent scowl she wore on her face. Piercing-blue eyes cut through whatever good mood I’d been building up with Laura, forcing me to let out a sigh and give my friend an apologetic glance.
“D-Don’t worry,” Laura reassured. “I’ll be right here if, um, sh-she tries anything.”
Not exactly what I was worried about, but I appreciated the sentiment. “I’ll try and be right back,” I promised, stepping heavily towards the front door as dread filled my chest. I’d hoped that, after the whole debacle with Trevor, Vanessa would’ve warmed a bit to my presence. If anything, she seemed to have only grown colder, looking completely standoffish as I approached.
“Walk with me,” she ordered.
“Just tell me what you want,” I snapped back. “I’m here with Laura.”
Vanessa’s spine straightened, but I forced myself to stay in place. This was a powerplay I was well-versed in at this point; I couldn’t claw at her underside--nor did I want to--but I sure as hell could show her she didn’t scare me with her puffed-out chest.
“What is it?” I repeated coolly.
Vanessa scoffed, arms loosening to settle against her hips. God, she could so easily snap me in half, even without her full lycanthrope form in place. Those skinny arms hid a sort of raw power I’d have to spend years obtaining, and even then, she’d probably beat me out. “I heard you finally picked a side. It at least makes things easier for me.”
I cocked a brow slightly, inviting her to continue.
A smirk flashed across Vanessa’s face. “For someone who wants to keep their love life a secret, you two kinda suck at it. There’s nothing that hangs heavier in the air than a lovesick lycanthrope.” Her nose crinkled in disgust, eyes flashing with cold malice.
“Did I mention how entirely unfair it is that you all have heightened senses?” My tone was far angrier than I intended; Vanessa had clearly gotten to me, just like I’m sure she wanted to. Glancing over my shoulder, I flashed Laura a quick thumbs-up before scooting out the door, Vanessa following quickly behind. “This is not us going on ‘a walk’,” I clarified. “But Dia would kill us if Laura overhead.”
“My pack’s active Alpha wouldn’t be thrilled, either,” Vanessa said. “But you’re always around Clyde when we need to talk, so here we are.” She propped herself against the thrift store’s walls; at the very least, she wasn’t on the offensive anymore. Though, I wasn’t sure if I should’ve been happy that she didn’t see me as a threat anymore.
“Okay, fine,” I began cautiously. “So Aiden and I are going out; what’s that got to do with ‘picking sides’?”
Vanessa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she spoke. “You are not this stupid, Harvey. Or did the hunter’s common sense completely jump over you?” She shifted her weight against the building, shoulders rolling and bone cartilage cracking beneath her skin. I couldn’t help but wince; she obviously took pleasure in the act. “You’re dating Aiden Lowell now, idiot. The guy who’ll run my pack’s rival? That makes you Duskfall business, which means you don’t get to know our business anymore.”
“That’s--!” Before I could say anything, Vanessa pulled me off to the side, watching as an elderly couple entered the store. Her voice fell to a menacing growl, causing my skin to crawl horribly.
“Look, I don’t really care about your doomed love life,” she began. “I just care about the safety of my pack, and you bouncing between lines isn’t my idea of safety. I’m not a fan of seeing my best friend get hurt anymore, either, so do us both a favor and stay away from Clyde and me.”
A sour pit began to form in my stomach at how familiar this sounded. It seemed like everyone was perfectly fine with going back to the status quo, like what we’d all gone through should’ve just been forgotten. Like, it was some awful thing that we’d all come together to draw out a traitor. “Vanessa, do you honestly think Northerners and Duskfall should stay as enemies? Aiden and Clyde--they’re proof you all can get along.”
Vanessa visibly bristled at the comment. “You’re way out of your depth here, Harvey. Quit talking about shit you don’t get; I don’t know what you think you did for Clyde, but that’s over as of today.”
Something inside me twisted, like Vanessa had just struck me across the face. I’d never felt rage in such a pure form before, but every atom of my being wanted to prove her wrong in that instant.
“That’s all I wanted from you. Go back to your kind.” Vanessa turned to walk away, leaving me absolutely seething in place. Then, suddenly, she turned back around, showing just enough of her face to me to spit one more insult, one more threat. “And you tell the witches that their prophecy is utter bullshit. No one here’s believed in that Custodian crap for years, and we’re all better for it.”