Le Loup-Garou-And for Some Reason He Looked at Me

Authors Note: I am SOOOO sorry it took so long. I've had so many problems writing this one that I almost gave up. But I promise I haven't died or anything. I'm working on the next chapter now. I'm always up for comments. Thank you for EVERY THING :) I'll try to be more quick this time.
Le Loup Garou
Beth.
Chapter Two.
And For Some Reason He Looked At Me.

"Bethy." My mother whispered sweetly. My eyes immediately shot open to look at her frail body lay on the hard hospital bed that seemed to big for her small body.
"Mom, you shouldn’t be awake," I began. She beckoned me over with her finger and smiled as she cut me off. I got out of the uncomfortable chair that had been my home for the past month or so.
"Come lay with me." She whispered. She turned on her side and I slid next to her in the bed. My mothers unnaturally pale face seemed to focus on every single detail of mine. She grabbed my hand and held it in her hands.
"How do you feel?" I whispered almost too softly to hear.
"Better now. How are you?" She whispered.

"Scared." I squeezed one of her hands. She laughed.
"You worry too much Little One." I smiled and kissed her cold forehead.
"I know Mom. It’s my job."
"It’ll be like all the other surgeries." She whispered.
"Except this time it’ll work." I laughed.
"But if it doesn’t-" She began but I quieted her.
"No buts mom. It will."
"I want you to be ready Beth. There’s a chance," She stopped to smile at me, "There’s a big chance that it won’t work. I want you to be ready for that."
I swallowed, my stomach rising to the back of my throat. My heart started to beat relentlessly against my chest.

"Mom, it’s going to work." I nodded, my eyes betraying me as a tear slid down across my nose and landed with a thud on the hard pillow.
"Beth," She smiled, "I love you darling."
"Good morning Ms. Breez." The doctor said from the door. I hadn’t realized the time. Tears began to cascade down my face. I knew it was coming. My stomach turned and I looked at my mother. She seemed to glow.
"Are you ready?" The doctor asked. My mother smiled and laughed.
"As ready as I’ll ever be." She nodded at me.
I squeezed her hands in my own as I got out of her bed unwillingly. She smiled as she shut her eyes, still holding onto my hand.

The doctor again explained the procedure, but I didn’t listen. I heard it all before: what was supposed to happen, the emphasis of the risks, what the outcome should be. Before I knew it, they were rolling her down the long hallway. I knew I didn’t have much more time before I couldn’t follow along side her bed.
"I love you Mom." I whispered.
"Be good Bethy." She smiled. With that she let go of my hand. I couldn’t follow her. The doors shut in my face and I took a deep breath.
"Good Morning Augusta," The voice from the radio said as my eyes shot open, "its Five A.M." I rolled over and turned it off quickly. It was too entirely early to be awake.

"You look exhausted." Abby nudged as she met me before school.
"I didn’t sleep well last night."
"Why?" She asked.
"Bad dreams." I nodded and picked at the piece of toast in my hands.
"What were they about?" She probed. I looked at her and something in her face changed.
Abby and I had been friends now for about a month. She included me in everything that she did or was planning to do. It felt nice to have a friend that I could depend on and trust. She told me everything it seemed like, and I wanted to return the favor. But I couldn't tell her about my mom, not yet anyways.

"You don’t have to tell me Beth." She finally whispered, bringing me out of my thoughts. I just nodded my head, and we spent the rest of the time waiting for Josh. When the bell rang and we all walked to our first period classes together.
"Have fun in math Bethy. We’ll meet here." Abby said happily as she walked with Josh around the corner.
I could feel that something was going to be different about today.
The moment I walked into Mr. Wayne’s class I felt a sense of hostility. It was if I was walking into a spider’s web. It clung to every part of me.
I walked down the row to where I usually sat with my head down. When I looked up, I was met with the darkest, angriest eyes I had ever seen in my life.

"Is this your spot or something?" Noah whispered irritably.
"No." I breathed. "I’m right next you." He scooted in so I could sit on the other side of him. I took my seat and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He sat there, unmoving, faintly resembling some kind of pissed off statue. His arms crossed his chest and his fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white. He didn’t speak, even when we had to talk to our partners.
"Is there a reason you’re not talking to me?" I whispered angrily. Of course I received no answer from him. He just clenched his fists tighter harder making me wonder if there was any blood getting to his hand.

"What’s wrong with me that you can’t even look at me?" I argued, with what felt like myself.
"What’s wrong with you? What isn’t wrong with you? There’s nothing about you to like. You’re too pale, your eyes as well as your smile hold certain lifelessness to them, I’ve met dogs with better personalities, there is nothing interesting you could possibly tell me that I don't already know and I have absolutely no desire to look at you or even talk to you."
"Is there a problem Mr. Avery?" Mr. Wayne stopped in the middle of his lecture. "Because I’m sure that if there was…" He trailed off as he raised his eyebrows.
"He’s just fine Mr. Wayne." I said. "I just had a question. He cleared everything up for me though." I looked back at Noah and he had turned away and was now gazing down at his book.
I scooted my chair farther away from him. "I’m sorry I repulse you so much. I had no idea that your hatred for me was so great. I’ll try not to bother you with my presence anymore." I whispered.

And for some reason he looked at me.
My heart began to pound inside of my chest as the intensity of his stare began to grow with each passing second.
"I don’t hate you." He whispered seconds before the bell rang. He got up and left as the bell rang, leaving me confused and angry.
I didn't even bother waiting for Abby. I walked to my counselor’s office and waited to make an appointment for an immediate schedule change. I couldn't handle another day next to him. I would rather die and I knew he wouldn't complain. He would be completely happy sitting by himself in the back of the class room, drawing little to no attention to himself, getting by with just the bare minimum, and he would be happy. That wasn't okay with me.
I walked quietly back out the door and to my locker.
I wasn't going to change my schedule. I was going to make him miserable. If any one was going to change their class it was going to be him. He could go back from where ever he came from.

"You look like you're on a mission." Someone whispered from behind me as I was walking. I stopped to turn around and Josh stood right there.
"Josh you scared me." I whispered catching my breath.
"I didn't mean to." He blushed, "I just wanted to apologize on behalf of Noah."
"Word travels fast, doesn't it?" I smiled, "Is he always so charming?" I said mockingly as I brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. Josh laughed.
"He told me everything and that was completely unacceptable for him to do. He's usually not like that. He's not a mean person." Josh shook his head.

"Well, he could have fooled me." I rolled my eyes. "Listen Josh, I don't mean to be rude, I understand completely that he's your friend and everything, and I know that we don't know each other very well yet but I don't care that he hates me. He's free to feel whatever he wants about me. Just next time, for future reference, people usually don't like to be called uninteresting and lifeless." The bell rang simply as it was fate that the conversation should end. Josh nodded his head, without saying another word and walked past me. I tried to quickly compose myself, realizing that a tear or two had escaped my eyes, and then walked to my next class.
The rest of the day, I avoided all contact with Abby. I was afraid that I had upset Josh earlier and I knew that he would tell Abby everything I had said. I didn't want her mad at me. I also knew that where ever Abby was, Josh was, and where ever Josh was, Noah was. And I didn't want to see Noah anymore. I wanted to just go home.

The day didn't seem to end fast enough.
The moment I got home, I started on my chores. I took out the trash after I cleaned the majority of the house, although by no means was it messy, and I was finished in about thirty minutes. It was then time to go and feed the dogs.
It was mid October in Maine, and much colder than I was used to. I went upstairs to my room and grabbed the heavy duty boots my father had bought me when I first moved, and my brand new puffy jacket that made me look like the Michelin Man's wife. Soon I made my way downstairs and out to the barn to feed the dogs.
"Bethy." My father called from the open barn door. "Are you in here?"

"Yeah, I'm feeding the dogs Dad." I called from inside the food stall. "I'll be in the house in a minute." I heard him shuffle away as I poured cups of food into the food bins.
The dogs began to bark, like always. I thought they were barking because they heard the food being poured; they always got a little antsy when it was time to eat. There was something different in the sound of their bark this time. They were growling. I stuck my head from the stall just in time to see one of the dogs run out of the barn. I took a quick look at all the dogs to see which one had taken off.

Shadow.
I followed it, of course shutting the doors behind me.
"Dad!" I cried. "Shadow's out!" I took of after him, not waiting to see if my father even heard me.
The ground disappeared quickly beneath my feet as I ran into the forest on the outlying property of my father's land. The only sound I could hear was the sound of my boots hitting the ground heavily as I ran. The woods were rather dense so I had to focus on not running into any trees. I could still see him though.
"Shadow! Halt!" I cried as I realized that I was beginning to fall further back from him. "Halt Shadow!"

I tried to run faster but my boots were sinking into the mud considerably deep. The forest was beginning to get denser; my jacket was getting stuck on branches of old trees and bushes. "Shadow!" I cried. I kept running though. My heartbeat was in my ears and my legs began to burn. I had to catch him though.
I ran until I couldn't catch my breath.
The world began to fade, everything turning a gray scale color. The light was non existent anymore. I couldn't tell if I was even running anymore. I struggled to take another breath as I felt a certain tingly sensation move through out my whole body. I should have stopped...but I couldn't.
"Shadow." I said.

Everything went still. I felt the cold, muddy ground lay beneath me. It squished against my face as I tried to pick myself up. It was no use though, I had no strength left.
I heard a faint sound of breaking twigs and leaves rustling, but I couldn't see anything. I hadn't realized it was so dark before. Everything was so black. I tried to pick my head up again. My eyes wouldn't adjust to the dark so I couldn't see anything. I just shut my eyes and put my head back down.
"Bethany." I heard my father call as my eyes shot open. My hand began to throb and I looked down to see my father gripping it. "Bethany, you're awake."
I opened my mouth to try and speak but my throat felt like it was glued shut. I just nodded my head and looked around.
"Why did you just run off like that? You could have been killed." My father said in a very serious tone that made me look at him again. I shrugged my shoulders and he shook his head.

"Shadow." I finally said.
"Shadow's just fine. He's in the barn. Now are you going to tell me why you ran off like that?"
"Shadow." I said again.
"What about Shadow?" My father said.
"He ran off. I ran after him."
"No, Shadow was with me Beth. He followed me in the house after I came to check on you." He shook his head.
"One of the dogs." I squeaked. I tried to think of what other dog it could have been. "One of the dogs ran out of the barn. I chased it."
"Beth all the dogs were in the barn except Shadow. You ran all the way to the Avery property-"

"The Avery property?" I questioned cutting him off.
"The Avery property. Those woods aren't all mine. Jonathan owns some-"
"The Avery property?" I questioned again.
"Yes, the Avery property. It starts a couple miles into the forest. They own the majority of the land. I actually bought the house from them. My land is separated by a fence. You don't remember running through a fence?"
"No, I don't remember." I whispered.
"Well, there's a fence. Thank God that Avery boy was out in the woods. We would have never found you."
"What Avery boy?"
"Not Josh, the quiet one. Noland or Nathan or-"
"Noah?" I whispered.
"Yeah! Noah, that's his name. He said he was out when he found you unconscious on the ground."

"Noah found me?" I whispered.
"Yeah, thank God he did. I mean you were on the back side of their property. Not many people go through those woods anyways Beth. That's why it's so dense. It's a miracle that he was out so far. He must have carried you the whole way home too. I don't think he had his car." I slowly sat up and looked at my father.
"I'm sorry I worried you. I won't go into the woods anymore by myself. I'm glad all the dogs are safe."
"Well honey, why don't you take a shower. It seems to me you've already taken a mud bath." My father laughed at his own corny joke. I looked down at my jacket covered in mud and grass and smiled.
"Will do." I whispered to my father as I stood up slowly. After that I was going to call up Abby, I had to share my confusion with some one else.