Switched

Almost Attacked

Yori and I entered the dining hall together. It was nine thirty and all the tables were relatively full. Yori looked to me ang I scanned for empty seats, only to leave us wanting. I flashed her an awkward grin. "Uh, I guess we could eat by the back window." "We'll have to stand," she sighed. "Yeah," I agreed. We were about to head over until.......

"Selene!" The familiar voice made me freeze mid-step. Both Yori and I checked over our shoulders to see Jacob waving at us. "Come sit with us!" Yori blushed, leaving me to slowly lead the way to the table. It was full of young werewolves; mostly guys with a few girls. We couldn't ignore all the eyes glued on us as we approached the group. Wearing his signature smirk, Jacob pulled out the chair beside him and patted it. I sat down and Yori followed suit across the table from me. Some guy named Paul didn't hesitate to size her up, casually resting the side of his chin on his palm.

"Who're your friends, boss?" Paul asked, not taking his eyes off the fiercely blushing Yori. "This is Selene," Jacob's large hand landed on my shoulder, making me flinch. "We're in the same history class. And this is her friend........ uh?" "Yori," I finished his sentence. "Hey girl," Paul smirked as he leaned in closer. The others laughed while Jacob rolled his eyes. Then he turned his head to face me. "So how are you likin' the academy so far?" "I love it here! With the exception of my roommate, everyone and everything is wonderful." "That's right. You guys don't stay in our dorm building," the one named Quill snapped his fingers. "Where do you guys live?" "I live in the staff dorm," Yori answered first; everyone nodded like this made perfect sense. I swallowed before giving my response. I knew how vampires and werewolves felt about each other, and from what I've heard about Zero, I bet none of them were on good terms with the perfect.

My mouth opened but Yori unexpected spoke for me. "She lives in a shared dorm with Zero." "Zero?" All the wolves unsurprisingly stiffened. "You mean that dumbass perfect for the vampire class?" Paul asked. My head reluctantly nodded. Jacob looked utterly scandalized, blinking at me several times in disbelief. "You mean they actually let a human live with one of those leeches?" He asked in a dark tone. I looked at him, a bit taken back. "I-it's ok! It's totally safe. Zero ignores me and I have lots of locks on my door. I'm perfectly safe." "Heh, you're never safe with that lot," Paul uttered. This earned a glare from a now worried-looking Jacob. "Are you sure it's ok?" He turned back to me. "Yes," I nodded firmly. "I would have never come here if it wasn't. Besides, he's a perfect; I think he's the last one I have to worry about." He didn't seem so sure though.

Jacob walked me back to my dorm after breakfast. He seemed unusually quiet since our uh, dorm conversation. "Do you...... think I have to worry? About Zero I mean," I asked as I reconsidered the situation. "If he's anything like the others, then yes." "Have you ever met him?" "No," his head shook. "He doesn't seem bad to me; just standoffish." "Do you have someone who'll help you if he turns?" This made me face him in surprise. "I think so. Why? You wouldn't come to my rescue?" I decided to tease. Alarm filled me when he didn't say anything, just kept his eyes locked forward like he was thinking. "Damn," was the only thing he whispered under his breath some minutes later. We didn't bring it up again.

"What are you doing for dinner tonight?" Jacob was finally speaking by the time we reached the door to the narrow staircase. "Eating in the dining hall," I shrugged. "Good, I'll save you a seat," he said, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. We looked at each other for a long minute until Jacob scratched the back of his neck. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was a little shy. "Listen, a few of us were thinking of going to the beach next Friday. Would you...... like to come?" "To the beach? Sure! Uh, I have to get permission from the headmaster first, but that should be fine." "Cool," his lips curled into a genuine smile. I think this made him happy! Which in turn made me happy.

"Alright, awesome!" His hands clapped together. "I'll see you at dinner then." "See you at dinner," I mirrored his grin. We nodded good bye and I went upstairs to my dorm. "I'm home!" I called as the door opened. Nothing- of course. "He's still not home." Huffing to myself, I went to put on the kettle and get changed. Seriously, it's daytime; why is he going through all this effort to avoid me? What did I ever do to him? Ugh, never mind; it's his problem, not mine. Thus, I didn't take it personally when Zero eventually came home late the next morning. It was Monday and I didn't have time to try and cross the bridge between us. I had class to get to.