[17] Nyah: 'I Like Stiff Things.'-1

~ Nyah Pineda's PoV: They say payback is a bitch. So am I, when I'm exerting said payback. "HAHAHAHAHA!" I throw my head back and laugh the most obnoxious laugh I can muster as my Mate, the beginner of the prank wars-okay, it was really me, to be fair, but nope, I won't say it out loud. I mean, why would I ever admit to that and ruin the fun? Or, miss out on the pissed off look he's currently sporting?-turns to me with a glare that immediately reminds me of laser beams shooting out of cartoon characters' eyes. That makes me laugh even more. "Not. Funny." He growls out as he slowly wipes the tomato ketchup off his face with a single swipe. More ketchup that had been dripping off the tip of his hair slithers down and runs along his cheek, and he closes his eyes to exhale slowly and wipe them off as well. But then his hand was already coated in ketchup from the time he previously wiped his face, so it is now smeared all over his stubble-covered cheeks again. I. Can't. Even. I throw my head back and clutch my aching stomach as I let out peals of laughter that are even more real this time, tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes as I struggle to take in a breath through my uncontrollable fit of giggles, "You-you-you have-oh, Goddess!" I choke, patting my own head to stop myself from dying a sudden, young death due to lack of oxygen. But dying while laughing? That sure is not a bad way to go. Just not in the next eighty years, though. I finally reign myself in and wipe off the leftover moisture in my eyes to clear my blurry vision and have another proper look at his face. And that's when I realize that the asshole is actually grinning. He's grinning at me. Uh-oh. The-ketchup-splattering-all-over-him-the-moment-he-opens-his-locker trick might've worked just too well, then. "So, I assume one of my traitors of friends gave you my locker combination?" Ezra stalks forward to slowly advance in on me, his grin turning ominous. "You know what they say about assumptions," I shrug as a slow shiver of desire races through me at the way his eyes darken, making me take an involuntary step back-a step that defies every single instinct in me to stand down and face him head-on. At this rate, you'll slowly lose the Alpha in you, Nyah. "Uh-huh," He takes another slow step forward, this time, the evil glint in his eye more obvious as he smirked secretively. That's when his malicious intentions dawn on me. He's angling for a payback to my payback for his payback. "Fuck!" I curse as I spin around and break into a sprint, hearing his laugh as he gives up the pretense of trying to be casual and chases me as well. I glance back quickly to see that he's not far back, thanks to the number of students smiling around who're hindering my natural speed. "Fuck, no!" I shake my head to myself as I slam into people's shoulders unapologetically in my hurry to get away. Just then, another class's door opens and a huge crowd of people starts pouring out into the hallway, and man, that was worst timing on Mrs. Hubbard's part to let a class go late. "Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me!" I exclaim as I push people out of the way, my frustration making it that much harder for me to control my superhuman strength. After what seems like a couple hundred more muttered apologies, I finally break free from the thick of the crowd. I turn to catch a quick glance at my oncoming chaser and find that Ezra is still stuck in the middle of the crowd that's now bigger due to the fact that the entire class has emptied. Ha! I blow my Mate a kiss as I turn back around and continue my escape, but just then, I hear Ezra's loud exclaim and a string of curses behind me that indicate that he broke free from the crowd as well. No. "Yes! TATUM! Grab her!" Ezra yells from somewhere behind me, and with a sudden bout of shock, I realize that one of his friends must be somewhere in front of me. I scan the crowd with panic as I search for the possible helper he might have, and quickly catch sight of the platinum blond hair of his brother, Micajah and his Mate, Seneca at the far end of the hallway. From the deep conversation they were having, it seemed like they hadn't noticed our childish game of cat and mouse yet. They wouldn't help Ezra, anyway, I think. Considering the fact that Micajah was the one who gave me his locker combination. 'So, we're the mouse, now?' My Wolf grumbles in a playful manner, and I only then I gather that she's referring to my analogy of our game-which might've slightly hurt her too-big, Alpha ego. I shake my head to myself, but don't take a second out of my concentrated perusal of the crowded veranda to reply to her. I must win. That's when I spot a black-haired girl standing frozen in the middle of the path a little way ahead, and I realize that it had taken me so long to find her, because I'd pictured a guy. Dammit. I missed the last freaking turn in my stupidity. I am doomed. "No!" I call loudly in a last resort measure, hoping that the girl wouldn't help him. "She stole my wallet and keys! Grab the thief!" Ezra screams, and that lie jolts the girl into action. It all happens in a span of under five seconds. She leaps forward and her sudden speed colliding with my hurried pace almost sends the two of us crashing down the hallway at the impact of our bodies hitting together. Immediately, she wraps one hand tight around my forearm in a vise-like grip and her other arm goes around my back, holding me securely. A quick sniff confirms that she's a Wolf, so I make a split second decision to use my strength and try to yank myself back, doing my best to break loose. Only, I don't get to. Her grip on me gets impossibly tighter and stronger the moment she realizes that I'm trying to escape. Holy fuck. She's a first-born Alpha. Goddess. I let out a resigned sigh as I let my body loosen and pretend to have given up, and that makes her let her guard down for a second. Her grip goes a little slack as her fingers release their bruising hold on me, and I take that as my cue to attempt to flee again. But just as I'm about to almost get out of her grasp, another pair of bigger arms lock around me and before I can use my strength and push him off, I'm twisted around with force. I register three things at the moment, three things that almost short-circuit all the connections to my brain.