What They Think

The next day, I rush to first period. There is a quiet witch in my English class who is always early that I want to talk to. As suspected, she is already sitting in her corner studying alone when I get there fifteen minutes early. I am not the best at talking to strangers, but my options for gathering information are limited right now, so mustering up all my courage, I walk towards her with purpose.

She doesn't even look up when I approach, but whether she is purposefully ignoring me or just focused on her schoolwork, I'm not sure. I hope I haven't misjudged her, and she really is just shy. Based on the way she covers her tattoos most of the time with long sleeves and high collars even during the summer, I assume she is just a private person, but she could also be the type to tell me to go to hell.

Here goes nothing.

"Uh, it's Ruby isn't it?" I stutter out.

She flinches when I speak and, as if coming out of a trance, her head whips upwards to show me dazed, wide eyes. "Oh!" she squeaks, averting her eyes quickly behind a book.

I'm going with the really shy hypothesis. "Hey, I'm Cam," I blurt out lamely, extending my hand in an awkward attempt to be polite.

She squeezes her eyes shut and curls inwards, ignoring my outstretched hand. "I—I know who you are," she says with a quivering voice. "Please don't hurt me."

I shake my head, bewildered by the girl's strange behavior. "I'm not going to hurt you. Why would you think that?"

Her eyes dart nervously around the empty classroom and then flick to the door, like a deer scoping out the fastest path to escape. "I—I shouldn't be talking to you." She starts gathering her things, ignoring my question.

Shit. She's gonna slip away. Quickly weighing my options, I pull a chair from the desk in front of her and sit down on it backwards, adopting a hunched position over the back of the chair and bending my head down to show submission. Any wolf would understand this body language as non-threatening attempts to deescalate. I hope it translates somewhat for witches.

"Wait, Ruby," I croon in what I hope is a placating tone. "I just want to talk."

"Is that what you told Luke before you bit him?" she suddenly snaps and then, quickly realizing her "error", clamps her hand over her mouth.

Shit. So that's why she looks absolutely terrified. "I—I didn't mean to hurt Luke," I whisper, bowing my head in shame. "He… was… bullying me."

She dares a quick glance at me, her brows slightly furrowed. "Y—you didn't… um… "wolf out" on him?"

I gwan on the inside of my cheek, embarrassed heat rising to my face at her words. Is that what Luke told everyone? "No… he was holding me. I was just trying to get out of his grip."

With her body angled away from me, ready to bolt at the slightest provocation, I can tell she doesn't believe me. "You... beat up Barrett while he was high. Luke's had to get stitches, because he tried to pull you off."

I have no response to that, because she's right. That is what happened, but it's a twisted, incomplete account of events. When I don't say anything in response, Ruby starts gathering up her things again, apparently deciding speaking to me is putting herself at risk for bodily harm. "Wait," I reach out to her, but she flinches away from my grip, her eyes momentarily turning into inky black pools.

"You always seemed so nice…" Ruby mumbles, "but maybe you really were faking."

Is this what the whole coven thinks of me? That I'm a fake? My heart twists at her words, even if it's stupid to get upset about the opinions of people I hardly know. "Please, Ruby, can't we just talk?" I beg. She glances nervously between me and her bookbag, pulling on her hair. Her head bobs from side to side as if she is debating what to do, before she shuffles back into her seat while simultaneously allowing the magic to fade from her eyes.

I sigh in relief when she gives me an expectant look. "Wouldn't—" I start then stop, not sure whether I should ask. "Didn't Alastair— um… did he agree with what Luke said?" I finally manage to ask.

"Alastair?" Ruby draws back, surprised by my question. "What does he have to do with this?"

"I mean… um… wouldn't he know what really happened? He would know Luke was lying about me attacking those guys unprovoked, right?"

Ruby's eyes widen at my words, realization dawning on her. "How—?" she whispers. She quickly looks around the room, perhaps to check that we are still really alone. "I don't know who told you that," she continues in hushed tones, leaning across the desk towards me, "but you can't talk about Al's affinity with anyone. Please."

I guess the coven doesn't like talking about Alastair's gifts as a telepath. I figured as much from the way Alpha Edmund seemed completely oblivious to what he could do when he questioned me on Sunday, but I nod obediently in response anyways. "I—I'm sorry," I stammer. "I won't tell anyone. I promise. Alastair told me himself. I swear."

Ruby seems to relax slightly at my words. She studies me for a tense minute, probably trying to decide if I'm a threat, before she breaks eye contact with me to stare at the ground. "Al's…not doing well right now," she whispers.

My heart twists at her words just as the first bell rings. I know people will start trickling into the classroom soon, so I don't have time to ask her more about what she means. "Ruby, please. Believe me, Alastair is my friend and so was Addy." She flinches when I mention the other witch. "I just want to know if the coven is having a funeral for her." When her gaze flicks to mine, it's me who averts my eyes in shame. "I—I want to… to… say goodbye."

Her eyes widen further at my words and, by the bite to her lips, I know she is holding back information. So they are going to have a funeral for her. "Please, Ruby," I plead.

But she doesn't respond, her lips drawn into a tight line even as I beg with my eyes. The class quickly fills with other students while we continue our stare off. Ruby keeps opening and closing her mouth as if she is about to speak, maybe to finally tell me to go to hell. Before she can respond, however, our English teacher calls the class to order, asking for our undivided attention.

With a sigh, I face forward in my seat, pushing down my disappointment at my failure to get the information I was seeking from the girl. I listen to the lecture with half a heart, barely absorbing a word. However, when the bell rings at the end of class, I'm surprised by Ruby lightly touching my arm with a soft, "Wait, Cam."

"Yeah?" I ask, hopeful.

"If—If Al trusted you enough to share his secret with you, then I'll trust you too," she whispers. "Saturday, at six in the morning, we will start the funeral rites at the coven mansion, but I'm not sure if you will be let in. The procession leaves at sunrise to bury her in Weeping Willow Cemetery. You'll be able to say goodbye to her there."

"Thank you so much," I answer in a hushed, but grateful tone.