Mutual Transitions

Trusting Her With His Balls

He saunters out from the locker room in the dark red gym shorts and a baggy old shirt. I quickly noticed that he didn't have his bag or navy blue hoodie on. He really must be in this class. Damn. Rolling my eyes, I turn away and sit on my number. His converse slap against the blacktop as he runs over to the class.

"Hey." He pants out. I feel him standing behind me, looking down. I thought I told him to leave me alone. "Ms. Fralls, don't you know ignoring people is considered extremely rude?"

"So? Maybe I want to be rude." I tell him and cross my arms across my chest. Please just leave me alone already.

He sighs and slumps over at hearing my words. A whistle pierces through the air, making the students run to their spots of the burning ground. Alex shuffles to the other side of our class, sitting on the very last number. A pang in my chest grabs my attention as I catch a quick glimpse of him sitting with his knees to his chest. Mate.

No. Not our mate. I mentally growl. My fingers clench tightly, my nails embedding themselves into the soft flesh of my palm. There is no way he could be our mate.

Mate. The wolf ignores my words and focuses on the brunette boy. He leans back up and shifts his head. Our eyes meet for a brief moment, my heart begins to pound. Mate. It repeats, taking on a more amused tone.

We'll see about that. I grumble and turn my head away.

Mr. Egert stands in front of the class and grins. "Today, we are going to start our tennis unit. I want you all to get into pairs."

Shit. No one ever wants to be with me. I stand up but don't move as the others group together. My gaze shifts back over to Alex where he has a few girls smiling up at him. My chest tightens as I watch him smile back at them, clearly enjoying himself. I glare at the four girls. He was clearly going to choose the blonde who had already laid her hand on his bicep. The two brunettes would probably pair up together and the poorly dyed red head... well someone always has to be stuck with me. My eyes shift down to the ground as I wait for her to finally approach me and go off about how I shouldn't get in her way. The typical day of PE for me.

"Hey partner." The low voice calls out to me. That isn't Becky... I look up at him and raise my brow. Alex grins down at me, "So are you ready for this?"

"You." I blurt out. "You are my partner?"

"Well yeah, unless you would rather be with the Barbie's." He shrugs and gestures to the four chicks.

I sigh deeply and look back up at him. "Ok, fine. But only for today." I tell him. Or maybe just for this class.

His brown eyes glisten, "That's fine by me. You might change your mind after you see me play."

"I won't crush the meagre hope you have." I smirk.

"Everyone has a partner?" Egert looks around with a triumphant smile. Must be because this is the only time he hasn't had to force me on some other poor group of kids. "One partner can come grab the rackets for the both of you while the other partner comes and grabs one of the tennis balls."

"I'll get the rackets." Alex volunteers and runs up to the cart. Guess I'm getting the ball. I get to me and saunter over to the small plastic bin full of the grossly yellow spheres. By the time I turn back with one on my hand, the brunette boy is already standing in our spot grinning at me. Why does he have to look so goddamn joyful all the time? I stand next to him, not saying a word. "So are you coordinated?" He asks, breaking the silence.

"Why don't you just wait and see?" I smirk slightly. His eyes widen as he looks me over. I feel a pang of relief and I thank the stars that I remembered to shave this morning as I feel his eyes move down to my long legs.

The corner of his mouth tugs up into a slight grin, "I'm sure I have nothing to worry about then. You seem like you could kick anyone's ass in a heartbeat, let alone just hitting a ball."

"This isn't the only ball I'll hit if you don't shut up." I growl at him.

His jaw drops open, "Oh my, Ms. Fralls. You really are going to threaten me after only one day?"

"I threaten strangers, what makes you so different?" The words blurt out.

Because he's your mate. The animal inside barks at me.

I wasn't talking to you. I snap back, Just leave it be.

"I thought we were getting along so well." He shakes his head, his eyes shifting down to his worn out Converse. Quickly, he glances back up at me, scouring my face for any hope of forgiveness.

You would if it wasn't for your stubbornness. The wolf growls softly, pacing the extremities of my mind.

Before I could reply back, the exercises soon begin. We do the stupidest of activities for Mr. Egert to judge our level of competency. With arms crossed, I lean on my left leg and watch the brunette boy carefully jog across the basketball court while balancing the neon yellow tennis ball on the racket. He makes slight adjustments in his hand so as to not drop the ball against the black pavement. His eyes meet mine as he runs back and hands the ball to me. He smiles with a sense of calm, "Your turn. Let's see what you got."

I roll my eyes and sprint to the edge of the court and back, all without letting the ball slip out of my control. The corner of my lip tugs up into a smug smirk, "Was that good enough for you?"

He closes his agape jaw and looks me over, "I knew you would be a great partner."

Yes, we are a good mate. My wolf barks out.

I grumble at it, Oh shut up already, will you?

The loud whistle pierces through the air and everyone rushes to put their equipment away. Once the last racket is set back in the cart, the whole class runs to the locker rooms to change. Alex waves softly at me before running off with the other boys.