Instinct

Bruises

"Ow! let go of my hair!" You yelled, kicking the sorry excuse of a human on the chest, knocking her down on the ground. Her friends let out an audible gasp as she sat back up, hissing under her breath while rubbing the back of her head. You backed up, putting space between you and four girls.

"Jayla, are you ok?" Cindy, her right-hand girl said and held out a hand to help the blonde up, only for her hand to be slapped away.

"I'm fine." she spat, standing up and straightening her skirt and blouse, gasping when seeing her once that white skirt was wet and grey with from puddle that was on the pavement. Cindy jerked her hand back, letting out a small whine as she rubbed her hand.

Jayla shot her eyes back at you, angrier than before. "How dare you? Do you know how much this skirt cost-" You cut her off with a scoff and a nasty look, prompting her groupies to glare at you.

"More than what you're worth," you snickered, watching as she almost turned red, stomping her foot on the ground like a toddler. "If you cared about your skirt so much, why did you wear it on a day where you'll get your ass kicked?" You mocked, earning another over-dramatic gasp from her followers.

It really didn't make any sense for her to wear a skirt on a day like this. It was a gloomy, rainy, cold day, definitely not "My rich daddy spent too much on this skirt" weather. She was always overly dressed for everything and everything, flaunting her money any chance you got.

"Because I have to look good when I get my revenge." She growled, whipping her hair over her shoulder, smacking her follower on the left, Becky, directing in the face. Becky wouldn't dare say anything about it, Jayla was scary, especially right now, since you had dared to even lay your hands on her.

"Well, you don't look too good right now, considering you just rolled around in a puddle." You grinned, observing the reaction of her and her followers once more. Jayla lowered her head and let out a low chuckle before snapping at Mika, the only animal out of them. You and Mika locked eyes and she let out a defeated sigh.

You and Mika used to be friends all throughout middle school, high school, and a little bit of college. You two were neighbors and practically were glued at the hip. It didn't matter that she was a cheetah, she was your best friend. Was. Jayla strolled along and tore you apart when you crossed paths. Mika was tied into her little cult, forced to turn against you.

And what was Jayla's issue with you? Everyone seemed to like you and not her. What did you have that she didn't? You didn't have to pay people to be your friends, they just came to you. Willingly. Jayla couldn't stand it. She had more money, was prettier, and was way more likable than you. You guessed at some point she just snapped and blackmailed these girls to be her servants or something. They catered to her every beck and call, never complaining or saying a word.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get her!" Jayla snapped, earning a yelp from Mika who locked eyes with you once more before darting straight at you. You swore you saw her mutter something under her breath before she came after you, pain within her eyes.

You immediately dodged her attack, causing her to stumble. 'That was weak,' you thought, 'she always played rougher when we were kids.' Is she going easy on you on purpose? You didn't have time to think anymore since she swiped her claws directly in your face, barely missing you by a hair. 

You took this as an opportunity to run, something you weren't too good at. You weren't the best runner but it was your only option at this point. You ran as fast as your legs could which was barely faster than Mika who seemed to be going slower on you on purpose.

You didn't know how far you were running, but at some point, you lost sight of Jayla and the rest of her gang. Mika was still directly behind you not even out of breath. You were running out of breath and would slow down soon.