Random Rambles: Okay, so I have this thing of making things difficult for myself when writing...I'm not so sure where I wanted to go with this chapter, so I hope you guys bear with me. Also, tell me your biases, perhaps I can manage a fun scene or two between them and our Jae (no promises though, it'll also naturally depend on whether inspiration strikes and whether it'll fit the story hihihi ^^; ) thanks again sweethearts <3

***

Was this it? Would everything settle down now? Would all the awkwardness and suspicion finally be over?

I walked towards the school building amongst the crowd of students as usual, my head still reeling and my body sore all over. Honestly, I was grateful to be back to normal, with my usual shoulder-length, boring brown hair and brown eyes, not a hint of "wolviness" about me. Preferably I'd forget that last night happened at all. In fact, after last night I vaguely remembered promising not to utter a word about it, which was rather redundant since, hello?! what reason would I have exposing their secret which was now apparently my own as well?!

I shivered a little when thinking about it and tried to focus on school matters instead. It was Friday today which meant that the weekend was near and I could definitely use a break. Most tiring first week ever! and that was an understatement. I did feel awkward walking through the fancy school halls as though I was the new girl all over again, except this time I was the only one who was aware of it. 

How was I supposed to behave now? How would they behave? Would they pretend like nothing is going on? I remembered running with them and eating with them, and they were different then. Far more relaxed and nicer, but still a bit reserved. I guess it was strange for them to find another one like them as well, but to me... Ugh. If only I could turn back time. None of it even made sense! Why them? Why me?! 

I caught Suho walking ahead of me and I froze a little, but kept moving. Almost as if he sensed me, he turned around briefly. He looked straight at me, his face expressionless and then turned around, giving me the cold shoulder. I let out a breath of air. Well. That answered my question. We're gonna pretend nothing ever happened then. Fine. Got it. Sheesh. 

What does a person do after finding out that they're not entirely like other people? Do I go on living with this as if it's nothing? I mean, there are a million and one questions floating around in my head right now and it's making me dizzy. Literally. Maybe it had something to do with the aftermath of having transformed into a freaking wolf and back, but man, I was seriously all over the place. Apparently, last night was just a favor done by the Majestic Twelve, but it looks like all of that is over now. I don't think I can depend on them for moral support... Or can I? 

I picked up a familiar scent of hortensia flowers followed by a steady flow of warm air and startled lightly when I saw that Chanyeol was walking casually next to me. He met my confused gaze with a brilliant smile. 

"Good morning, noona," he greeted cheerfully, making me feel just a little bit suspicious.

"Eh, g-good morning, Chanyeol," I looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to us and wondered whether he was here with a purpose. Did Suho sent him to warn me or threaten me all over again? 

He only smiled and walked next to me, looking a little bit nervous, though I don't know why. "Yah," he suddenly started, rubbing the back of his neck. "That looks heavy, noona. Here, I'll carry it," he pointed at my backpack and too stunned to react, I numbly let him take over my backpack while he carried it, a big smile on his face. He walked towards our lockers in a confident stride and I watched him for a moment. 

When it just clicked what happened, I went after him. "Ah, Chanyeol, that's really not necessary. I can carry my own stuff," I said a little awkwardly, but he shook his head, easily swinging my bag over his shoulder. 

"It's no problem, noona, our lockers are close anyway and you look tired. Did you have a rough night?" he suddenly teased and I flushed red when he winked at me. I approached him and took hold of his sleeve and yanked it, leaving Chanyeol no option but to bend down and stop walking to hear me out. His eyes fluttered when I leaned towards him to make sure no one could be eavesdropping.

"You know what kind of night I had to go through," I hissed. "Is this some kind of way of messing with me even further? Because, seriously, dude, I am not in the mood!" I spewed at him, Chanyeol's eyes widening before his expression softened and he tried not to laugh. 

"Wah, noona, you have to learn how to relax. I'm not messing with you, honest. You really do look tired, so I thought I'd lend a help with carrying your bag, that's all," he said and it bugged me that he was absolutely sincere when he said it. "But, if you don't want to draw so much attention to yourself, then maybe you can let go of my hand? Oh, and I know noona has pretty eyes, thank you for giving me a close up of them," he teased. Realizing that we were standing very close to each other, I quickly retreated, making him chuckle and rub the back of his neck shyly as well. I noticed a few bystanders eye us curiously and I tried to recover, walking next to a smirking Chanyeol, making sure there was a healthy distance between us. 

I couldn't help but feel suspicious. He was usually reserved around me, ignoring me politely. Even last night he only seemed to tolerate my presence. Why did it feel like I was going to be set up?

We arrived at our lockers and Chanyeol waited patiently for me to open mine first, still diligently holding my bag, his signature smile plastered on his face. I attempted to smile back, but I wasn't sure what to think of his behavior yet. Was he really just being nice since we share the same secret now? Or was there something else going on?

I moved to my locker and per usual, the door was stuck again. Since I still felt like I used up all my strength, I weakly pulled at the thing, but couldn't get it to budge.

"Ah, noona, here, let me," Chanyeol suddenly moved, placing both my bag and his own gently on the floor as he stood behind me, reached over to the lock of the door while I was still standing in front of it and clicked it open with ease. Unwittingly, he had trapped me between his arms and the locker. I turned around to look up at him and he gazed back, startled at the rather intimate gesture he displayed.

"Oh! S-sorry, noona," he blushed- Chanyeol blushed! - and moved away, handing me my bag.

"That's okay, uh, thanks," I muttered as he went to his own locker a few doors down. I still felt his body heat lingering and quickly focused on the books I had to get. I felt him peeking behind his locker door from time to time, a perpetual smile on his face.

What's with this kid? 

Did he put something in my bag? I quickly checked, but there was nothing there. Could it be that he was just being nice then? Oh man, I cannot handle all this stress...

"Uh, noona?" Chanyeol suddenly called, closing his locker door and standing next to mine, watching me grab the books I needed.

"You can call me Jae, Chanyeol, no need for formalities," I told him, but for some reason it made him giggly.

"Oh, uh, o-okay," he said. "Say, J-Jae-noona," he bit his lip, unable to let go of the habit, "I could carry your books for you to class, if you want. It's no trouble," he said and I frowned at him, while grabbing the bundle of books in my arms and shutting my locker. 

"Uh, thanks, but it's okay. You should head over to class as well, right?" I said, wondering why he was acting so weird. And why was he all blushy and nervous? 

"I don't mind at all," he offered, following me when I had started walking. I pondered about it for a moment, but it was rather sweet that he'd offer it. Should I?

"Well, I mean, if you won't be late for class..." Hey, don't judge me, I had a rough night and everything still hurts! These books are like freaking anvils in my arms, okay?!

Chanyeol beamed a cheerful grin my way and moved to get the books from my arms. He looked very happy that he could carry them while accompanying me to class. I looked straight ahead, the two of us sharing a surprisingly comfortable silence, when out of the blue, Chanyeol yelped for no reason and I heard a ruckus beside me. When I turned around, Chanyeol had mysteriously disappeared and when I turned around again, I jumped lightly at seeing Chen smiling at me, holding my books for me.

Huh? What's going on here?

"Annyeong, Newbie-noona!" he greeted, casually walking close beside me as if nothing was going on. 

"Uh...hi," I muttered, looking around the hallways amongst the students for Chanyeol. I was sure I just heard him growl in the distance, but Chen was unfazed. "Where did Chanyeol go?" I asked, side-eying Chen when he shrugged, sighed lightly and put his arm over my shoulder with ease.

"I don't know, I think he had a sudden emergency. Between you and me, Chanyeol has a bad case of irritable bowel syndrome," he pulled a face. "Yeah, it's not pretty," he grinned at me. "Wah, Newbie-noona looks pretty this morning," he continued smoothly, but something told me that he had a hand in with Chanyeol suddenly disappearing.

The cinnamon-like smell of snapdragons tickled my nose when I was near Chen, but refrained from asking more questions. I was just wondering what was going on right now. I felt lost. Why was Chen being so openly friendly towards me? Wasn't he concerned that Suho might see? And why is his arm still around my shoulder?

I heard him humming happily to himself and I just smiled at him when he beamed at me. Out of nowhere, a plastic tube suddenly hit him on the head and rolled over the floor. 

"Yah, what's this?" he asked, bending down to pick it up. At that moment, the tube suddenly started smoking and it popped in front of Chen, startling everyone in the hallway. Chen coughed as he looked at the busted, smoking tube in his hand.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" I asked, blinking rapidly when a teacher suddenly walked over, yelling at Chen.

"What is the meaning of this, Jongdae?!" she shouted in indignation, the poor guy hardly being able to process what just happened.

"No, wait, I didn't do this, seonsaeng-nim!" he said and I nodded to confirm his plea.

"Well, if you didn't, then who did?" she directed herself towards me all of a sudden, but Chen immediately stood before me.

"I don't know, ma'am, but it really wasn't any of us, I swear!"

"Hey, Chen-Chen, what's going on?" Baekhyun appeared, the scent of orange blossoms filling the air. He had a look of bewilderment on his face at seeing the tube and Chen's disheveled appearance, then he shook his head, but did so in a dramatic fashion that I found very suspicious. "Wah, pranking people before classes even started already, Jongdae?" he suddenly piped up, which was uncharacteristic of him. Chen's eyes widened at this and he quickly turned to the teacher, who had crossed her arms over her chest. The youth shook his head.

"No, I swear, it wasn't me!" he started protesting before he looked at Baekhyun and I saw a flash of red in his eyes that made me gulp. Wasn't he afraid that anyone could hear him growl? Or was it a wolf-thing that only other wolves could hear? He pointed at Baekhyun accusingly. "You!"

"Ah, seonsaeng-nim, shouldn't Chen be reprimanded for his cheeky behavior?" Baekhyun asked with an angelic face, to which the teacher responded and grabbed Chen with her, the youth still protesting.

"I'll take these," Baekhyun took my books from Chen's arm, waving pleasantly at the boy as he was escorted away. "Bye-bye!"

Meanwhile I was still staring at the scene, utterly lost and confused when Baekhyun took Chen's place, accompanying me. Something definitely was wrong, especially when someone had suddenly opened a window and a blast of wind swept through the corridors, but to such an extent that it knocked Baekhyun off his feet. The moment that happened, the wind stopped. My books were thrown into the air and while I prepared myself to catch them, Sehun was suddenly there and took care of it instead, a sweet smile on his face when he looked at me.

"Noona, you should be careful, it's easy to slip on these marble floors," he told me, but I caught the quick snarl he directed at Baekhyun before he smiled at me again.

"Okay...what's going on?" I asked him when I had arrived in front of the class room and took my books away from him.

Sehun pulled an innocent face and shrugged. "I don't know what you mean, noona," he said.

"You sure about that? Because something was up just now and I'm not sure I get what's going on...Did Suho put you guys up to this? To mess with me, or something?" I confronted him directly, but Sehun only seemed to flush, shaking his head lightly. He blinked at me and supressed a grin. 

I frowned at him. "What?" I asked, startling him lightly.

"Sorry, noona, I'm not laughing at you," he quickly assured, "it's just...eh, here," he reached out to my face and I felt his fingers brush through my hair. "Leaf," he explained, before he dropped it to the floor. The gesture had me flustered for a moment and I carefully tucked the loose strays of hair behind my ear to avoid having to look at him, the scent of fresh freesias making me dizzy.

"O-oh. Thanks."

Sehun was still smiling at me and he opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes darted to someone behind me and he froze a moment. "Lay-hyung," he prompted, looking a little confused and a little sour at the same time. 

Sure enough, the scent of lillies hung in the air and I couldn't help but smile at Lay when he gave a wave, hiding something behind his back. "Hi Sehunnie, good morning, Jae-yah," he greeted amicably. "Ah, Sehunnie, aren't you supposed to go to math class? You'll be late if you stick around."

Sehun looked like a pouty child at that moment and then he jerked his head towards Lay's hidden hands. "What do you have hiding there, hyung?" he provoked in an attempt to make Lay uncomfortable. The older youth simply smiled, unfazed. 

"Oh, this was something I wanted to give to Jae-yah," he said honestly, a dimpled smile on his face as he directed himself to me. "I saw this on the way to school and I thought it would be a nice welcome gift for you," he whispered and gave a quick wink since his 'welcome' had more meaning now. I was taken aback when he handed me a bundle of small jasmine flowers that still had morning dew on them. If my face wasn't as red as a tomato by now, there was something wrong with my bloodflow. 

"Wow, that's very sweet of you, Lay," I murmured, smelling the flowers. 

"Aw, that is to be expected of Lay-hyung, always so sickeningly sweet," Sehun commented, and I heard it again, a deep, low growl. I startled and felt uneasy, since Lay, whom I know to always be wearing a smile, had a similar vibe about him when he looked at Sehun now. His smile was still there, but I heard the purr coming from his chest, the rumbling growl. 

"I have to set an example for the maknae to learn to be sweet as well, Sehunnie, maybe our baby can learn well, yeah?" Lay retaliated, even ruffling up Sehun's hair in the process. Both their eyes flashed red now and I felt like crab-walking away. I flinched when the first bell rang. 

"Ah, class is starting. Come on, Jae-yah, don't want to be late. Bye, Sehunnie, see you at lunch," Lay greeted, guiding me into the class room with his hand on the small of my back. 

"O-oh, yeah..." I stammered, still unsure what was going on. Seriously, I was perpetually lost, what is happening here? "Uh, bye, Sehun, thanks for carrying my books," I quickly said before he was gone. Lay even walked me to my seat before finding his own next to Suho, who looked like his usual sour self when he eyed me and Lay in suspicion. I wasn't sure, but were his eyes flashing red as well when he kept staring at Lay? 

By the time the first class of the day started, I felt tired and hungover. The day hadn't even properly begun or I was already done with it. And judging by the way things were going, it was looong from over. 

Awooo...ugh. 

***

Suho glared at Lay, cursing inwardly at how relaxed and happy-go-lucky he was at his interaction with Jae. He knew that things were different now. He was very much aware at the change it brought between them, now that it was obvious that Jae was a wolf as well. He knew how to handle male wolves, but a female? He didn't even think that would exist. He gnawed on his bottom lip again, as he usually would do when he was agitated or nervous. He couldn't even properly focus on the lesson at hand. 

His eyes kept moving towards Jae, who was sitting a row beside him, two seats behind. And if he couldn't see her, he'd glare at Lay, who looked to be about the happiest person on the world right now. 

Hey, can you hear me? he thought, sending the thought over to his younger brother. It was true that Luhan was usually the only one that could read minds and communicate telepathically with others. Without him, they didn't stand much of a chance in communicating this way, but with full moon around, they were naturally more in tune with each other so communicating mentally wouldn't be too much trouble. Then again, with Lay, one could never know. 

I heard that.

Lay turned his head lazily, smirking at an embarrassed Suho. 

You might want to be careful, hyung. Jae-yah might be able to hear as well. 

Suho grunted quietly at hearing this and he resisted the urge to glance back at the girl. About that, he started, what do you think you're doing? 

What do you mean? Lay even looked confused. 

You know what I mean. I saw you being all friendly with her, Suho accused. 

Ah, I was just being kind, hyung. She's one of us now, after all. 

Suho shook his head. How could Lay be so naive? 

She's like us, but that doesn't make her one of us. 

It was quiet for a while and Suho thought that maybe Lay didn't hear him. After the silence dragged on too long, he eventually looked at him, jolting in his seat slightly when he saw that Lay was looking directly at him, his eyes narrowing a little in suspicion, a playful smile on his lips. 

What? he inquired.

Are you jealous, hyung? 

Suho didn't know why he felt warm, nor why he had the urge to hide his face at that moment. He didn't look at Lay until he thought he heard his other brother's voices as well. They both simultaneously checked whether Jae could hear it as well, but she was listening to the teacher, looking exhausted. Suho felt uneasy at hearing his brothers' voices, but at the same time, he wanted to accept their challenge. He could tell that Lay thought the whole ordeal amusing, but Suho was less inclined to think so. He knew this girl was going to be trouble from the start and for once in his life he'd wish that he was wrong. 

A dark shadow has woken up inside me.

Sparks fly in my eyes as I look at you.

Everyone step away from her, step away!

It's going to get fierce from now on. 

I'm growling, growling, growling...

Suho felt the restlessness when he caught Minho teasing Jae by tugging gently on her hair and he felt the corner of his mouth pull up into a snarl when he saw that the boy had made her laugh. His eyes shimmered red at the sight of it. 

If you don't back away then I don't care if you get hurt.