Boy Next Door (i.)

A boy stood at the corner of the pack house. He watched everything as it unfold All night, and till dawn. Didn't he like need sleep or something?

No, sleep was not his thing.

He was a witch and even if he had a way to make him stay awake he didn't use it. He could have easily mixed some concoctions back in his room and slept if he wanted, but he didn't he didn't want what was happening to pass him.

It was something new, something thrilling.

The events which were taking place so far made him wonder if he belonged there because as he had watched the families go up and down after Cassie's transformation, all he had done was stand in the corner and watch.

He had done the same thing in the meeting room when the Luna had addressed everyone. The corner was somewhere he could easily watch everything going on, he could see well in front of him.

He had to maintain his position at the corner as he wanted to record everything which was happening so could go later and think about it, step by step.

He stood straight and then changed the leg he was going to put his weight on. He had been doing that since last night and now as he put the weight on the left foot, he felt a sound and knew he needed to take a seat or go lie down.

He watched as Delta Francis walked passed him hurriedly, and the boy knew the delta was headed in the direction of where his son's transformation room was.

Someone headed to him, and he moved back into the corner, it was as if he was not at the corner already. "I can see you, hey why aren't you in your transformation room?" The girl asked him.

The boy moved to walk toward the girl who had spoken to him, "Hi Lisa."

"Hi, so?" Lisa asked while fidgeting with her fingers, the boy knew it was because the girl was anxious regarding her friend's case hell, he too was anxious only that he didn't know how to show it.

"Nothing, just that, um- uh-" The boy said and looked down. He didn't want to tell Lisa why he wasn't in the transformation room like the others.

"Hey, are you okay? So long as you are okay that is what matters." Lisa said with a smile to the boy.

"Hi boy next door." Rose greeted, and Lisa slapped her hand.

"Hi, Rose." The boy answered.

"You sure you are okay?" Lisa asked again and when the boy nodded, Lisa told him that she and Rose had somewhere to be and she was available to talk to her if he needed anything, the boy told her to thank him, and when they left he couldn't help but smile while thinking how much the two girls were like their fathers.

"Rose I asked you not to call him that," Lisa said to Rose.

"He is cute, is he?" Rose instead of answering said that to Lisa. They looked back and saw the boy was still staring at them. The boy waved when their eyes met and smiled.

"You right he is cute." Lisa said and Rose giggled, "told you so, he is yummy like I can imagine him and…"

"Slow down, mama," Lisa said and they all laughed before they could turn a corner they looked back at the boy and waved.

The boy smiled at himself, he heard what the girls said and wondered if they did that on purpose and their words were intended to be heard because if so then that meant had a chance at the one he had been eyeing.

He had asked Lisa why they referred to him as the boy next door, and they had told him it was because he stayed near Rose's house. They had asked if he was offended that they called him no and they had said no.

Since then, they have been referring to him like that and once in a while, Lisa would slap Rose's hand if she called him that.

He looked at his hands and hoped Lisa would have allowed Rose to greet him, for their hands to touch. He would have loved that. But each time Rose would straighten her hand to him, Lisa would slap it away.

The corridors were empty and it was time to go to his transformation room to see if his wolf had gone there before him. It was weird but he could give everything for that to happen, he wanted that damn wolf.

He arrived at his transformation room, yes, his.

He was supposed to transform three years ago and he hasn't. Everyone said the pack was cursed? For him, he was the second one after the pack on the list of the thing which was cursed in Dark River Pack.

He walked to the corner of the room and leaned on it, "three years is not that long, right?" He asked himself. He was what nineteen years old? Nothing was wrong.

He looked around the transformation and wished he could find something permanent and write it on the door, "Hi, this belongs to me." Because after the first year, the year he was supposed to transform he had stayed in the room the whole night, the following morning, and yet nothing.

And now there he was nineteen years old standing in his transformation room and nothing. Still no transformation.

No wolf.

No nothing!

He walked to the mirror at his door which he had placed there for the last three years with the aim of he would stare at himself once he transformed and looking at his wolf in the eyes and telling it how much it was a sucker. He stared at the mirror and said, "are you planning to come out any time soon?"

Of late he has been doing that and he hated it.

And now as he stared at the mirror he was sure of one thing, he was carrying the curse of other wolves in the pack.

He touched his face and questioned himself, "how the hell does a sixteen-year-old girl get her wolf and I don't?"

If the boy knew that was the same question each seventeen-year-old was asking themselves, he wouldn't have been that hard on himself, what was two years anyways?