Little Red Riding Hood

An ordinary day, as there are thousands of them, a small and insignificant dot of little consideration in the long span of a year.

I was, delicately, trying to unravel the thick tangle of auburn curls that formed on my head during the night and stubbornly reappeared early in the morning.

It wasn't a problem just because I was aware that I would have to get up early anyway, having to wake up, amid a thousand hysteria and torments, my sweet, but terribly lazy, Sebastian.

Fortunately for me, I had no desire to spend hours and hours in front of the mirror sticking a make-up mask on my face, which at the slightest hint of the flickering of a facial muscle, would have melted like white snow in the sun.

The freckles that dotted my face didn't bother me, so I saw no reason to cover them up.

Once I had finished getting ready, taking the short time to appear at least decent, I left, with some regret, my comfortable and comfortable room to head to Sebastian's house and, later, to school.

Backpack on my shoulder, I brushed my mother's pink cheek with my lips in a farewell gesture and stepped into the dark and elegant mahogany door, not bothering to have an adequate breakfast.

I could easily reach Sebastian's house on foot and that was also the case for school.

Ours was a small neighborhood, where rumors circulated fast and everyone knew everyone.

In particular, he and I lived in the same narrow cobbled street, where one after another small terraced houses, all of a color similar to a slightly faded red.

Once I reached my destination, I didn't bother to knock, much less ask for permission, before slipping inside in a hurry, the fear of a possible delay that, despite everything, continued to accompany me, nor to throw away my white backpack on the floor, which I knew would be shiny, not a speck of dust to tickle my allergy.

Sebastian was very clean, despite living alone, his elderly grandmother Eleonor, his legal guardian, lived in the house next door, sometimes she glanced at him, but she would not have been surprised to find me there anyway.

We got along very well, she was a sprightly woman, who did not let herself be held back by age or by the candid white that had made its way through her tufts, and she was easily used to the controversial relationship between me and her sweet nephew.

Not lingering any longer in my reflections, I hurried upstairs, the heels of my boots emitting faint clicking on the parquet, the faint sound memory imprinted in my mind by my footsteps.

When I opened yet another wooden door, what suddenly appeared in my field of vision did not surprise me in the least.

The air in the room was, as usual, impregnated with a very slight and, for this very reason, pleasant woody fragrance, it was mostly bare, no poster of some football player with shining teeth showing off on the immaculate walls, only a few photos placed on the desk, also made of wood.

My attention, however, was immediately drawn to my favorite pole, the figure lying on the large bed in the center of the room, attached to the wall.

I allowed myself a few brief moments to observe it, a few brief moments, which, in the course of a day, might have seemed insignificant, but to me they never could have been.

They were my moments.

Sebastian was badly wrapped between the sheets, supine, his face, smooth and devoid of any imperfection, sunk into the white pillowcase, highlighting the sheen of his inky curls.

I tried to focus on other things than her bare shoulders and strong pale back, well-defined shoulder blades.

One arm dropped limply from the bed. I saw in him the harmony of an angelic reflection, a fallen angel, stained by the darkness of the shadows the world was populated with, which had spitefully poured into his previously innocent silver eyes.

Cursed forever and relegated to the sadness of a life without wings.

I abruptly shook off the melancholy that had seized me in a brief moment of weakness. Without delicacy I jumped on the bed, the mattress moved slightly under the weight of my little body, but that was enough.

Sebastian shook his head weakly, emitting a small sleepy grunt, mixed with the faint echo of a growl, residue of his animal part.

- Dog! - I exclaimed, in fact, hoping that my voice would also reach him through the pale haze of sleep and, as a guarantee, I hit him on the face with a pillow.

With a last resigned snort the boy opened his deep pools of molten silver and gave me a sinister look.

Grasping my fragile wrists in his hands, large, but which nevertheless knew the delicacy, in an iron grip, but not painful, warm and reassuring at all times, trying to prevent other small follies.

I tried to rebel weakly, achieving results that were nonexistent other than flushing, given the sudden increase in pulse.

A smirk landed on the marble features, which made every other possible protest die miserably in the bud.

- Ro, how many times have I told you to avoid waking up like that? - he asked me wearily - you don't want to end up like Little Red Riding Hood -

I rolled my eyes - Look, the wolf ate Little Red Riding Hood just because he liked it, she didn't wake him up - I repeated annoyed.

- And what do you know? - he retorted, always stubborn, and never willing to consider a defeat, with a wink - if she went to look for flowers, with all those noises she must have woken him up, right? -

I considered his response for a moment and then nodded - maybe you're right - admitted reluctantly, not wanting to pump his ego any further.

- It seems obvious to me - He said, in fact, finally letting go of my sore wrists and returned, silently, to lie down, continuing to observe me out of the corner of his eye.

Not wanting to be hypnotized again by those almost predatory movements and those steel traps, I hurried to get up.

- Yes, yes, you're right - I cut it short, - but now, if you don't mind, we should go to school, you know that building where you learn so many beautiful things and ... - this time it was he who threw me a pillow in my face, stemming the words that otherwise would have continued to stream through my lips.

However, annoyed, by some indisputable divine decision he got up and, with a slow step, went to the bathroom, after having fished some clothes completely at random from his closet.

Nor did he come out even ten minutes later, strictly in black, his hair arranged, only a rebellious raven curl left to gently brush his temple.

- Then? Here we go? - He exclaimed angrily, as if I was the late one, a sly smile that curled the corners of his full lips.

My face must have excellently expressed the frustration that was agitating my organism, because Sebastian did not hold back and exploded into a rare and short laugh.

We walked to the school quietly, chatting and prodding each other along the way.

As soon as we passed, however, the gray and gloomy metal gates, so similar to those of a prison, the impertinent looks of almost every individual present inside the building and the lush surrounding courtyard were upon us, neither to me nor to Sebastian.

It mattered a lot.

The thought of others, whether it was positive or negative, and that it did not concern things that could have been, even a minimum, of common interest, did not affect us.

After spending three years, me and four him, in that school, we had created a certain fame around us, a rumor in perpetual ferment mixed with our every slightest action, many continued to persist in the belief that we were together, others had aims on one of the two.

Sebastian accompanied me to class and was about to leave when Madison, a tall and slender girl, handed him a note, accompanying the gesture with a smile that revealed her pearly teeth, in the hazel eyes the look of someone who knows she is attractive .

Then she sat back in her seat, turning in a flutter of honey-colored hair and over-applied Chanel perfume.

He too, after giving me a last goodbye, went away.

I already knew, exactly as Madison did, that Sebastian was definitely going to go on that date, which would probably take place in the men's room.

Although, in fact, in my presence he was the most naive boy in the world, characterized by the innocence of a child, in reality he had had many adventures between the legs of beautiful girls.

Not that it broke their hearts, his goal wasn't to make them suffer, but to let off steam.

She had once tried to really explain to me what this meant, but I hadn't been able to listen in the middle of a sentence without blushing heavily.

If the girls went to bed with him, however, they did so albeit accompanied by the total knowledge that, when the shadows of the night would clear, nothing would change.

I had often wondered why he had never chosen me, but I had preferred not to go too far in the search for the answer to that question, frightened by what it might be.

What distracted me from those thoughts was the slamming of the door against the door at the professor's entrance, a plump man with some nervous tic.

The class always ran according to his mood, and that day he didn't seem particularly joyful or inclined to smile at life.

When the bell that signaled the start of recess rang shrill, I fled from the classroom with a heavy sigh of relief and, after putting my things in the locker, I rejoined Sebastian and dragged him to the usual table, where the boys were waiting for us.

- It was time guys! - snapped Drake as we sat down at the table, with a big smile on his face.

- We were beginning to think you would give us the hole - explained Romeo, glancing quickly first at me and then at Sebastian.

They were two simple boys, they had appeared in our lives, together with Cris, sweeter and more mature, who had perhaps become a little too melancholy and had splashed them with bright colors.

Sometimes, when you discover that fantasy coincides with reality, you forget the latter, abandoning yourself to a life of ghosts without a solid body that gives you something to anchor yourself to.

Fantasy is a dangerous rock to cling to, the risk of your palms slipping on the overly pressing moss.

I expected that between them and Sebastian there would be that relationship of complicity that is created between the same beings with the same instincts, but this had not happened.

Listening to the conversations of the boys I had learned the nickname that they had, a little cruelly, given to her by unleashing the hilarity in Ashley, but the anger in Kelly in principle, and above all in Bailey always sweet and empathetic with everyone.

'Ice girl'

A thought that arose from his being so detached, almost lazy.

Sebastian had often strongly advised me to make friends outside of their little circle, but the thought of really following him had never crossed my mind.

If I had done that I would have lost another small sliver of his life, I was not willing to feel the pain this would cause to my heart.

Bailey and Cris spent nearly every minute that made up the day together, the bond that held them together was one of the most powerful.

Comrades.

Of sadness, of joys and sorrows.

They sported each other 's scars with the same pride as two warriors who had fought for what was dearest to them, home, country or family, because they had done so much.

There had been moments, during which I had strongly feared that Sebastian might be stolen from me by that same bond.

And the arrival of Katrina, the girl with eyes so green and cold as to appear not unlike the coils of a snake, in the black of her clothes, seemed to me the coming of the personification of that terror of mine.

He had been kind to her as he had been just to me previously.

His sweet smiles had belonged to me alone, to me who basked in them as if they were my own lifeblood.

I had never hidden from him what troubled me, he could see the shadows that tormented me projected on my face, so I had asked him.

I had asked him if Katrina was the complementary part of his soul, a part that only werewolves could find, so smoothly polished that it adapts to the lost half with the perfection of the various parts of a harmonious painting.

Sebastian had burst into a loud laugh, disbelief materializing in his silver orbs.

Not for a moment had I suspected that that was anything but the truth, but the previous thought had still blocked any desire of mine to have any kind of social relationship with Katrina.

- Everything good? - Bailey asked me with tenderness, a delicate smile that always accompanied his words and that I returned.

I nodded - and you? - I returned her sweet interest and this time it was she who moved her head up and down in a silent affirmative nod.

That was our way of understanding the situation that had been created with the boys, nods and winks were our best friends.

It was not easy to have a private conversation if you shared the same table with numerous supernatural creatures with excellent hearing.

All the girls were aware of the strong feeling I had towards Sebastian.

The obviousness of which it was permeated made it impossible not to notice, only idiots could have been blind to it, or boys, who are composed of the same essence.

- Today there is a reunion with the pack - Sebastian whispered to me, the breath that escaped along with the words from his soft lips, touched my ear, as if making fun of me, a shiver climbed up my spine.

- At what time? - I inquired, proud of my apparently calm voice, not betraying the feelings that tingled under my skin and colored my cheeks.

- At night - he replied, if he had noticed something he didn't show it, - don't worry - he added then when he realized that I had parted my lips, about to reply - we know how to take care of ourselves.

I looked over the strong features of his face, following the line of his jaw too carefully - Yes, but lately he's full of hunters around - I reminded him.

Sebastian let out a weak snort and sank his hand into my auburn curls, ruffling them further - I'll go as always while you sleep and in the morning you'll find me in my room and you can scream at me like the little devil you are - he reassured me.

The burgundy that turned my cheeks purple quickly changed to magenta, I threw an elbow in his ribs in revenge, which he took stoically, on the contrary I felt a slight burning in my elbow but pretended indifference, not wanting Sebastian to worry too much, or felt guilty.

The rest of the lessons flew away quickly, getting lost in time and we found ourselves making our way home again. When my mother opened the door to us and saw Sebastian she ran to hug him as if he were the prodigal son, returning from a journey lasting over the decades.

"Mom, you saw it yesterday," I snorted with little fervor and she gave me a bright green look.

- Look Who's Talking! - He exclaimed ironically - you spend ninety percent of your time with him and the other ten percent talking to me about everything he does ... yesterday you even dreamed about it ... - I shut my mother's mouth, trying to drain that river of words, but now the damage had been done.

I turned to Sebastian slowly, my face matching my hair, - did you dream of me? - he asked, clearly amused.

I saw, out of the corner of my eye, my mother slipping out of the room, running away so that we would not have to know the results to which her reckless actions would lead us.

- She doesn't know what she's saying - I quickly justified myself by returning to pay attention to Sebastian, trying to sound more nervous than embarrassed.

- Mm .. mmm - he retorted, moving silently towards me, slow steps, one after the other and, the more he advanced, the more I backed away, not managing to mask a genuine smile.

In a quick snap, and with an all too feminine scream, I found myself at a certain height, eyes on the floor, hoisted onto her strong shoulder, trying to grab a flap of her soft cotton t-shirt, even though I knew I didn't.

Would never let me fall.

We went up the stairs like that, amidst laughter, pleading and terrified cackles, and reached my room.

After basking in the much-loved inertia for a few more minutes, we began to do our homework.

In fact, I was the one doing my homework while he watched me and stuck his fingers between my auburn curls, I forced myself not to imagine what they would look like the next morning.

Sebastian always carried out his work in his spare time, aware that very often, if not always, the commitments of the pack would be more important.

- Concentrate - he rattled me for the umpteenth time, with a hateful knowing smile and I rolled my eyes.

The time it took me to finish was longer than it would have taken in a normal situation, I turned to him - Can you explain to me why you are so obsessed with my hair today? - I asked fed up and a little curious.

He just shrugged - I was just thinking you're already Little Red Riding Hood - he informed me with little interest.

- But, if you want, I'll stop - he then resumed, starting to cancel the contact, I blinked at him, grabbing his strong wrist, which made my tiny and delicate hand appear like a fine crystal plate - don't you dare - I challenged him.

- Under your orders, my lady - Sebastian joked, amused by my reaction.

A few hours later my mother called us back for dinner.

We ate in peace, only a few brief talks about the past day populated the evening.

After returning to the room, as I was about to fall asleep, both lying on the soft mattress, I decided to resume the conversation some time before.

- If I were Little Red Riding Hood - I began - you should be the big bad wolf - he nodded with a smile, but in my total knowledge of his irises, I could see, at the bottom of them, a faint layer of melancholy.

- But what a bad wolf - I muttered blinking, pausing on the edge of the weak barrier that divides sleep from wakefulness - at best you can be a pet dog. -

Leaning against his chest I could hear the mighty laughter, which I was always glad to cause in him, reverberate in his ribcage.

Closing my eyes I felt the need to repeat one last thing - tomorrow I will come yelling at you, you must be there -

The last sound that reached me, before my total abandonment in the arms of Morpheus, was his warm voice.

- I'll be there ... always -