I Love Awoo

Chapter Three: Confrontation

Nicole had been wrong about one key element of her plan. The moon wasn't waning, it was waxing. She clutched the pill bottle in her purse like a lifeline as she watched her fellow werewolf classmates chatter and laugh with friends. Many were shoeless as their feet were elongating and becoming paws, hair stuck out of strange places under shirts and pants hung low to let tails free. Any other day Nicole would appreciate the free spiritedness of it all, three years ago, back in high school, people were assholes about how someone transformed. She remembered the night of prom walking in on her best friend crying in a bathroom because it was the new moon but she still had a bit of fang showing and her complete asshole of a date had pointed it out. But the stresses of being an adult and having papers to write or research to do on top of bills and having a job really mellowed people out about what werewolves looked like at certain points of their cycle. Today however, was not a good one for them to be on the wolf side of things.

Dread was trying its damnedest to fill Nicole's headspace as she trudged along the sidewalk towards her next class. She shared both Photography and History of Advertising with Oliver, so, like an idiot, she had just spent the weekend just locked up in her apartment, doing a painting and that stupid essay, totally unaware of the moon's betrayal. It had to be today though, the longer she waited the more the moon would be exposed and the harder it would get, both emotionally and physically. Of course she had nothing to fear from her classmates, they weren't animals after all, but still, if there was the smallest chance she had to confront an angry werewolf, she wanted to do it closer to the new moon than not.

All of this was going to be fine, she reminded herself pushing open the side door of the campus building and walking down it's barren hallway. He'll be grateful, they'll have a good laugh, and then it will be back to the every day schedule. No harm no foul. Nicole paused at the classroom door to take in one last breath before seeing Oliver.

Grabbing the silver handle, she pulled the door open and walked into the class, a smile on her face and a confident step. Just got to fake confidence, that was the key to many of life's problems. Her eyes fell onto Oliver, who was wearing the same black tee from before, or did he just like black? Either way, it didn't matter right now.

"Hey, Oliver!" Nicole said.

Her only response was a twitch from one of Oliver's now fuzzy ears. Maybe he was in the focus zone and didn't hear her.

"I finished that essay, ugh such a bitch. I'm no good at writing, but I was hoping to take up that offer of reviewing each other's work." Nicole said, a little louder this time, sliding her stuff onto the desk next to his.

Oliver had definitely heard her this time, head snapping over, and teeth bared in a snarl. His blue and amber eyes pierced a part of her soul she didn't know could be touched by an acquaintance. She swiftly grabbed her purse and book, skittering towards the farthest desk she could without saying anything extra as his claws dug lines into the desk's veneer.

He was pissed well beyond Nicole's wildest imaginations.

There was an angry grunt as Oliver looked back towards the classroom and Nicole sat herself down in the padded office chair this far corner of the room held. Okay, it's fine, just got to follow the plan, there was always the chance of this happening. She just had to roll with it, like getting a stray paint blotch on a piece of art she had spent days crafting.

Nicole spent the rest of her class not paying attention to what her professor was talking about. Her eyes were glazed over as she watched war time advertising pop up on the projector, man there were a lot of traditionally manly looking werewolves with their pups. Her hand doodled aimlessly on her overpriced textbook, and her mind wandered to her next speech. She'd have to confront him after the full moon. Maybe Oliver was just going through some rough patch without the medicine, making him all growly and angry. But if that were the case shouldn't she give them to him now?