Chapter 8: Always and Forever

"In the calm, deep waters of the mind, the wolf waits."

~F.T. McKinstry

Emerson

Blake holds her hand up to the sun, light catching on the metal which happens to gleam on her wrist. Blake and I, after the situation with Titus, decided to get friendship bracelets.

"Hi, do you think you can make this coin into a necklace for us please?" I ask the lady behind the desk counter. She has her brown hair into two braids with beads cascading down the sides. She looks really...bubbly.

"Yes, of course!" She puts her hand out and I carefully put it in her hand, silently hoping it doesn't hurt her. When I see it doesn't, I notice Blake visibly relax in the corner of my eye. She is full with a new energy after putting Titus in his place as she bounces on her feet, before stopping when a sign catches her eye.

"You do friendship bracelets here too?!" Her eyes light up like a kid's face on Christmas, I smile to myself. She rarely gets this happy anymore ever since Sam, so whenever glimpses of her old self pop up, I make sure to savor it.

"We sure do." The lady answers, seeming quite pleased with the fact. Blake looks at me and I roll my eyes, before pulling her back away from the lady's earshot.

"You can't be serious." I start.

She crosses her arms across her chest. "Why not? We are best friends aren't we?"

I smile at that. "Well of course we are but we don't need some stupid bracelet to prove it."

"I know that but it would be nice...to have something to hold on to, you know, in case you ever move somewhere far away, or I do. Something to remember the other by."

"What, are you trying to get rid of me?" I ask incredulously, with humor evident in my voice.

"No, of course not. I know it's stupid, but can we please get them?" She looks up at me, there is something indiscernible in her eyes, but I can tell how badly she wants this.

I tilt my head back dramatically. "Fine!" I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited about this as well.

We walk up to the lady once more and tell her that we are going through with the idea. She claps her hands in excitement, and I find myself smiling at her enthusiasm. She hands us a book that looks hand crafted, with designs of bracelets on the cover. "Feel free to sift through this book until you find a design you like. We can always tweak the band and colors and stuff like that. Also, let me know if you want something engraved. There are some quotes on the back, if you need some inspiration."

I look at Blake and raise an eyebrow, not really believing that we are actually going through with this. Blake and I have been best friends since kindergarten. Everyone around us knows how close we are, but we don't go around flaunting it in people's faces because what is the point? As long as we know what we mean to each other, there's no need to showcase it and inform the world. But part of me also likes the idea of having this bracelet. Blake and I haven't discussed anything college wise, but I hope we end up going to the same place, or at least somewhere close to one another, because I can't imagine my life without her, or River. So I'm not opposed to having something to remember her by. It would serve as a reminder of sorts.

After almost half an hour of looking through pages, and consulting the internet we decide on a design. I didn't want anything too girly or flashy, and she didn't want anything trivial or plain so it was hard to agree, but we finally did. We settle for a bracelet with a black braided band made with some form of elastic material. It is centered around an infinity charm. Mine in silver, hers in gold. I got mine in silver to match her eyes, and she got hers in gold so they'd be a bit different. On the other side of the pendant, which is pressed to my skin, is her name. She has my name on hers. The bracelet said on top, "Best Friends. Always and Forever. In this life, and the next." We had collectively agreed on the first bit, but the last part was her idea. I don't understand why she added it, but I love it.

She puts her hand down, before remembering what happened prior. "Did you see his face?" She gasps, trying to stifle her laughter. Tears are starting to build up in the corners of her eyes, before one slips out and she quickly wipes it away. "It was priceless."

I nod my head in amusement, it was pretty funny. But there are more important issues to discuss. Wow, I'm not usually the focused, more put together person in our friendship. It feels...nice. "What do you think about him being a part of the pack?" It's not like there is anyone around us, but I just feel safer knowing we are the only two who can hear this conversation.

She sobers up at that, grin vanishing from her face. She shrugs, "I don't know. Does it matter who's in the pack anyway? It's not like we can do anything about it."

I frown at her lack of interest. What's up with her anyway? "Well he doesn't seem like the agreeable type, you know? If we are expected to be a team and work this whole problem out then—"

"E, think about what you are saying. You are acting like this is some sort of algebra question we can solve. As if finding him is another step we can check off. We have no idea what we are doing." She isn't mad, I can tell. Just worried, but her tone is stern.

I stop her, grabbing her by the wrist gently, and turning her so she is facing me. I try to scan her eyes, looking for a hint of what she is feeling but find none. "Of course I understand that B, but this is bigger than us. I thought that you'd be happy that we finally found another pack mem—"

She seems to recoil at that phrase. "Can you please not call them pack members? We hardly know them." She turns away from me before muttering, "And I'm not happy we found them." I think she was hoping I wouldn't catch that, but I did.

My face falls. What does she mean she isn't happy? I thought she was. "Blake, what are you saying?"

She turns back towards me and shoots me a glare. Unlike the playful ones she always tosses me, which makes my stomach sink. "Emerson, don't you think this is all too much? When I went to the spirit that night I was looking for answers to a mysterious voice in my head, and now we are supposed to save the world? Too much is changing..."

"Sometimes change is a good thing." I say, trying to make her see what an opportunity this all is. All of my life I've stuck to the same routine. Tennis, tennis, and more tennis. River broke the cycle after I realized I am in love with him. But even then, I've always felt like there was something missing in my life. Something I had dropped and had forgotten, a part of my soul stripped away. All of this, the craziness, the unpredictability, the challenge—it feels so right.

"No, it's not." She asserts fiercely, "sometimes you get more than you bargained for. Or worse, you can lose something. Someone."

I close my mouth at that, stunned by her sudden outburst, and sympathetic for the reasons behind it. I've been so careless, so stupid, I didn't realize who this is really all about. She is just scared of all this change, scared of losing another person close to her. "I won't let that happen, I promise." I start to walk towards her, but she just steps back.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, E." And with that, she is gone. I look down at my bracelet, touching my finger lightly to the infinity symbol as I watch her stomp away, quickly becoming a speck in a sea of bodies.

Blake

I find myself in the cemetery trying to clear my head. I shouldn't have snapped at him like that.  He is just so excited about all of this wolf business and I wish I could reciprocate those same feelings, but I can't. Too much is changing too quickly, and I don't like it. I don't like feeling this way. Terrified of the unknown, dragged into something without having the slightest clue of the outcome.

Too lost in my thoughts I don't even notice River staring at me with wide eyes. "Oh! Hey River, I didn't see you there..." I look around me, and scrunch my eyebrows together in confusion. I'm not near any of the entrances, and there are no tombstones here, and as far as I know, no one has died recently in his family. It's like he just appeared out of thin air.

He looks equally as stunned as me, before chuckling nervously to break the tension. "Yeah, me neither. I should have expected to see you here though, I know you come often." How did he know that? Oh, Emerson must have told him. Plus, it's not really a secret anyway.

"So why are you here?" I ask, looking around us warily again trying to pinpoint where he could have entered from.

"I came here to see you actually." He says, lips quirked in a tight smile.

"Oh okay. What do you need to talk about?" I ask, voice returning back to normal.

"Is something going on between you and Emerson?" He asks. I freeze, mouth opening in shock before I catch myself quickly and close it. Does he know about the pack? About the wolves? About the "mission?" How did he find out?

"Uh, I don't know what you are talking about..." I say, eyes darting between all the trees around us. I probably look so suspicious, oh no. I force myself to look at him again.

He looks at me with a weird expression that implies he thinks I'm acting crazy. But I can see why he may think that, considering I am acting crazy. "You guys haven't been talking as much, is what I mean."

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding, my shoulders visibly relieving the tension I was feeling moments ago. Oh, that's what this is about? It's hard to believe that the whole thing in the hallway only happened days ago. It feels like a lifetime away. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about. We made up already." I smile, trying to seem inconspicuous.

A realization suddenly dawns on me. Emerson hasn't told River what's been going on. Is that for the best? Probably, considering the fact that he'll think we are crazy if we tell him. They are are so close though, and I don't think E has it in him to keep this a secret for too long. Since when have Emerson and I been so...disconnected? Like two people walking by each other at a crossroad. Lately it seems like we are hiding things from each other. I know we'll have to sit down sooner or later and clear the air.

"I'm so glad to hear that. He's seemed so distracted lately, I was scared that something had happened between you two." He says, relief clear in his features. I suddenly begin to feel guilty. Here he is, genuinely worried about his boyfriend and I'm lying through my teeth. I can see how much he cares about him, and that only makes me feel worse than when I got here.

"Well I'm going to go meet up with him before he goes and practices." Emerson usually practices almost every day for tennis. He is dedicated that way. He's always working, always trying to improve, sometimes I'm afraid he'll wear himself out. "Do you want to come with? We can annoy him together..." He says a playful grin replacing the worried frown he had on moments before.

I shake my head. "No, I think I'm going to stay here a little longer."

He raises an eyebrow, but his eyes don't look judgemental. "Well, stay safe. If you stay here any longer, I'm sure the spirits will start talking to you or something." He says, laughing at his own joke. My face just turns into stone, while all the blood rushes from it. "Blake, I'm joking. You look like you've seen a ghost jeez." He says, sobering up.

If only he knew.

Emerson

I stare out at all the empty courts around me. Taking in the cool night air that feels crisp as it breezes through my hair. I close my eyes and try to get my mind to focus on one thing. Tennis. I stare at the court opposite me where the tennis ball launcher is set up. Usually I have it at a medium speed which is the skill level my teammates are capable of. But tonight however, I've set it on high.

The maximum speed.

Coach says we are to never put the launcher on top speed. Something about not wanting us to get hurt, or getting himself sued. He says it is for our own protection, and his included. He always expects great things from us, since we are one of the top schools in the league and it is only natural for us to play the best. But rules, like expectations, are meant to be broken. And now is as good a time as any, considering the "new abilities" I've acquired.

The serene calm that I had established moments ago, is replaced by the sound of my pulse beating in my ears. My heart rate goes up, and my vision focuses on the court across from me. Everything else around me is blurred as I focus on the target. Suddenly a green, tennis ball is shot out from the machine at lightening speed, and I jerk out of the way in surprise not expecting the ball to move that quickly.

Maybe this was a bad idea. If that ball had hit me, it would have left one hell of a bruise or even broken something of mine with how fast it moved. I take a deep breath and shake my hands out. I tighten my grip on my racket, and position myself properly. Turned at an angle, feet apart, and crouched a bit in a ready position. The next ball shoots out, and I swing at it hitting it with great precision as it lands on the opposite court in the left serving box. I did it. I actually did it. I drop my racket, and do a little victory dance, elated by my accomplishment.

So elated, that I forget to turn off the machine and another ball is spit out. There's no time to pick up the racket, or jerk away, so I brace my arms in front of my face protecting my best features. The ball comes zipping towards me, and before I know what is happening I'm clutching it in my hand. I-I caught it. Another ball spits out, and with my eyes alert again, I catch it in my other hand. I just stare right in front of me, stunned. This is so cool! I'm doing things I never thought I could do. Reaching feats I never thought I'd be able to accomplish. I quickly turn the machine off, before dropping the balls allowing them to bounce off somewhere.

I wonder what else I can do. I have such quick reflexes now, I bet I could run ten miles now, no problem. Or maybe I can scale a building like Spider-Man? But Spider-Man isn't a wolf, or is he? These abilities are so foreign to me, but I can't shake the feeling that this is meant to be.

I return the balls to the machine, deciding that it's time to go home. I don't want to push myself and risk losing these "abilities," before fully figuring them out. I crouch down near the edge of the court to where I lay my gym bag. I see a towel laying on the top, that I usually use to wipe off any sweat I get while training. I swipe a hand across my forehead and there's no moisture there. How in the hell did I do all of that and not break a sweat? Awesome.

I dig deeper for my phone. I have a missed call from Blake and one from River. Some texts from the boys on my team, but other than that nothing. I put my phone back in my bag sighing. I'm not shocked to not hear from my parents. I could probably go on a vacation for a month, and they wouldn't even notice I was gone. That, or they just wouldn't care. I also really need to talk to Blake after what happened today. I hate that's we've grown apart. We're B and E. We're so close that we even have the same birthday. That's the way it's always been, but now it feels like we're none of that. And River, I just realized I love him and yet I'm keeping all of these secrets from him. I know I should come clean, but I'm just too scared of losing him. I couldn't cope with losing him, not after just acknowledging how I feel. Not without telling him how much he means to me. Just then, I smell something weird. My nostrils flare, as I try to make sense of what I'm smelling. It is a sour smell, that makes me gasp and choke on my own breath.

It's smoke.

I turn around abruptly and see that a fire has started near where the machine is...or used to be. I watch as the fire consumes all the courts opposite me, I turn around running to the exit before stopping in my tracks. A ring of fire has formed around me, surrounding the perimeter of the courts, and blocking the exit.

I'm trapped.

I reach down to grab my phone from my bag, but before I can reach it, an ember from the flames spews out landing on my bag setting it aflame. If Blake were here, she'd make some random sarcastic comment about my luck. Too bad I'm going to die before hearing another of her comments again.

I'm going to die.

My eyes widen, as I take in my surroundings. Fire is blazing all around me, and flames beat against one another in an angry fury. The flames are an orange-red with wisps of yellow, and if I wasn't about to be engulfed in them, I would have been mesmerized by their beauty. The smoke in the air is heavy now, and I find myself yearning for the fresh air I had taken for granted when I first arrived here. Note to self: If you survive this, remember to appreciate oxygen more.

The flames are getting closer, forming a circle around me. In a few minutes, the flames will catch in my hair and travel down, setting my whole body on fire. I'll burn and burn until my body can't take the heat anymore, or the smoke overpowers my lungs. I'll die a painful death, screaming and being literally burned alive. My corpse will be unrecognizable. I bury a sob that is threatening to come out. I won't cry. If I'm going to die, I'm going to die with pride and with my head held high.

I close my eyes, and the image of River appears. His dark grey eyes are vivid in my mind now. The way they twinkle in delight when I tease him, or kiss him like he is the only boy in the world. He is the only boy in the world, to me. His smile that always starts off timid, but when he warms up to you, takes over his whole face. His dimple. I'll miss our stolen kisses in the hallways, whispering sweet-nothings to him, and watching him sleep as his eyelashes cast long shadows on his face. I will never get to tell him that I love him. That I adore him more than anyone in the world, that's he's the only guy for me. He makes me feel things no one ever could, and I don't want to die without him knowing, but now I'll have to.

And Blake, our last words were so full of anger. Our last moment together was a fight. She couldn't bare to lose another person, not after Sam. She won't cope well, but I know River will help her through it. She is my best friend. She's always been there for me. During the good times and the bad. I wish I could tell her how sorry I am about that night. How I would go back if could, do everything differently. But know she'll lose everything and it's all my fault. Best friends don't keep secrets from one another, and I've been keeping the greatest one

of all, and now she'll never know. The fire begins to brush my clothing and my hair and I begin to feel its scorching heat on my skin. I close my eyes, and brace myself for the end.

Always and forever. In this life and the next.

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What do you think of the friendship bracelets, aren't they nice?! Also, what do you think of Blake's outburst? And will Emerson survive? Thanks for reading up to this point, the support means the world to me:) Remember to like and comment, and thanks to those of you who have added the book to your reading lists!💕 Stay golden:)

~Fallen Rose🥀