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I feigned confusion. “Huh?”
“I was kidding.” Her gums showed as she grinned.
Sighing in relief, I let go of the breath I was holding.
“Why am I making myself look like a fool again? I swear I look like a mud woman from a horror movie.” Her face distorted in disgust as she ran her fingers over her mucky arms. “Ew. Yuck. I’m gonna puke. I swear I’m gonna puke on you.”
I cleared my throat, trying not to laugh. “I will go check if it’s safe to go out now.”
Aera grabbed my hand before I could leave. “Don’t go,” she whispered, her smile fading into a frown. “Let’s stick together. Unless you really want to die and waste my time hiking all the way here, just stay put and hide with me. You don’t have to tell me what’s going on outside if that makes you feel better.” The flash of determination in her eyes made me falter.
So I caved and sat on the ground beside her, silently hoping for the threats of the night to go away on their own.
“I know you were scared too,” she spoke out of the blue. “You were running so fast. Wasn’t I heavy? I eat a lot, you know.”
“You’re just right,” I replied, eyes fixed on my dirty shoes.
Aera sniffled, and in the corners of my eyes, I saw her hugging her trembling knees.
After a few minutes of awkward silence passed, she came up with another question. “So, what did you and Krystal talk about?”
“Kryssy? When did we talk?” I tried to remember the last time I had a chat with her, which was a few months ago when we coincidentally sat next to each other during detention. I couldn’t even remember what it was about. It could have been a simplehiorhelloorwhat the hell did you do wrong this time?
“The other day or something,” Aera said. “Remember when I had to babysit Keith Roeske? She said she was going to talk to you.”
“We didn’t.” I raised my shoulders with uncertainty. “Why do you ask? Are you jealous, my dear small bean?”
“Never mind.” She waved me off. “Aren’t you cold?”
I pursed my lips, trying so hard to hide the blush creeping up against my neck and replied shyly, “Not really.” As a werewolf, I had the capacity to control my temperature depending on the weather. I was warm then, warm enough to embrace her—if only cowardice wasn’t one of my attributes.
Aera’s shuddering made her seem terribly delicate. I was afraid she would fall apart or break into pieces, but just as I was about to offer my unnatural warmth to her, she leaned into me herself and made my whole body stiffen.
“You don’t mind this, right?” she asked.
With a small smile, I wrapped her slim body between my arms, albeit hesitantly. She didn’t react badly to it, so I thought it was okay—to think about staying in that same position forever. And ever.
“Gray,” she whispered.
I hummed.
“Please,” she pleaded, “don’t do anything stupid. I’d rather have you annoy me for the rest of my life than see you get hurt or something.”
“Is that a confession?” I jested.
“There you go again,” she whined, lightly hitting me on the shoulders. “Also, stop faking it, will you? If you’re sad, then you’re sad. So what? Just don’t jump off some cliff!”
“You watch too many K-dramas, small bean. They’re giving you wild ideas.”
She scoffed. “Doesn’t matter if I do. It’s obvious you’re still faking it.”
“I’m not.” I smiled softly, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and leaned in to whisper, “It’s calledpractice ‘til you make it. Practice smiling, practice laughing, and practice having fun. It doesn’t always have to be perfect, just as long as you make it.”
“Aish,” she seethed before sighing in defeat and resting her cheek against my hammering chest. “What’s the story behind Skyhigh Falls anyway?”
I perked up, doubting her startling enthusiasm. “I mean, it’s a silly story. You really want to know?”
“Sure, I do.”
