Clayton

I was walking Eve to her locker when I froze at the sight before me. Written on her locker in red paint was "You should have died that day."

Poor Eve's face was completely white. With a hand over her mouth she hurried into the closest girls' bathroom with a hand over her mouth.

After grabbing some wet paper towels, I started wiping off the paint.

"You don't have to do that," said a familiar voice behind me.

"Well, someone should; I can't just stand here and pretend like it's not there. When I discover who did this, I will rip them into tiny pieces and feed them to the wolves." I growled

When her small hand touched my back; most of the anger slipped away. With a deep breath, I turned to focus on the girl who I was quickly beginning to cherish.

"C'mon, big guy, let's get to class."

With a sigh, I obediently followed, grumbling under my breath with my arms crossed, growling at anyone who got too close.

Later that evening, I ran through the woods in my Guardian form. The familiar scent of vanilla drew me toward the edge of the tree line, where I spotted a familiar Little Birdie.

From here, I could see her sitting in a hammock facing the forest from here. She had a pencil and was focused on the sketchbook in her lap.

I felt a strong urge to protect her as I walked out of the tree line. She looked up and smiled when she saw me. "Hello, Puck," she said, reaching down to pet my head once I was close enough. I sat at her feet, enjoying her hands running through my fur.

A few days passed, and it was now Friday. Eve had to ask her friend Penny for a ride home since I had football practice after school.

"Hey, cheer up, man," Says Asher as we change into our football gear. "You can't possibly spend every second with the girl. Why don't you invite her to the bonfire tomorrow?"

With a sigh, I did what Asher suggested, feeling happy when she agreed to go.

The next day I pulled into the driveway to pick her up before the bonfire. My heart skipped a beat when she stepped outside wearing a light blue sundress.

By the Great Spirits, she was lovely.

"Do I look okay?" she asked, doing a twirl.

Snapping back to reality, I held out a hand to help her down the front steps.

"You look magnificent, Little Bird," I replied, placing a light kiss on the back of her hand, then helped her into the Jeep.

Thirty minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot at Nantahala lake, then went down to the beach. I groaned when I spotted my brothers sipping spiked punch out of red solo cups.

"Hey, little brother, is this the girl we've heard so much about?" Asked Cole

Eve looked up at me with her eyebrow raised in question.

"Little Bird, these twin idiots are my older brothers Cole and Flint," I explained.

This time her eyebrows rose in surprise…. Her facial expressions were kind of adorable…

"You never told me you had siblings." She said, crossing her arms. Turning to my brothers, she asked, " What does he say about me?"

I suddenly had a strong urge to get something to drink. "Stay with my brothers; I'm gonna get us something to drink," I said before running away.