T W E N T Y - F O U R

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"We need to talk," Eli says, a desperate look on his face. Cass stops her incessant chattering long enough to look up and see Eli pinning me with his stare.

"Who's this?" Cass loudly whispers. It's the kind of whispering where everyone can hear what she's saying but it gives the illusion that she's asking for me to tell her a secret. I don't see the point in it, and I'm not in the mood to answer any of her questions in too much depth because Eli is right in front of us. I'm still quite angry with him for grabbing me at Velvet Elixir, and then he wouldn't let me go to class today. Just the thought of what would have happened if Cooper wasn't there shakes me to my core.

"I'm not in the mood to chat, Eli. Are you going to let me leave now? Or do I need to scream before someone comes to save me again?"

Cass looks shell-shocked at the tone I'm using. I've never been the type to lead with animosity, but I'm honestly so tired of Eli bothering me. I considered him a friend until he became pushy. I can tell that he's sorry for his actions and wants to be forgiven, but forgiveness isn't something one can rush.

"I'm really sorry about that, Thea. I was just desperate for you to talk to me. I still am. I'm so sorry for the way things went down. If you would just let me explain-"

I don't let Eli finish his sentence. Instead, I link Cass' arm with mine and drag her right past Eli's begging form. Cass usually drives to work and I usually walk, so I'm making it clear to her that I want a ride home as I lead her to the parking lot. She understands my need for a united front, so she turns her head back at Eli and gives him one of her infamous glares as we walk by.

Right as I'm about to pass, Eli grabs my elbow. It's not an aggressive grip, but it's still tight enough to where I can't walk any further and Cass' arm is ripped out of mine. "I'm sorry," he whispers before he starts mumbling words that are too fast and too quiet for me to understand. Looking at him, I'm about to snap with rage when his eyes do something funny. For a moment they seem to flash electric blue, way brighter than his normal eye color. What the heck?

He continues to mumble words incoherently until he lets go of me. Once his hand loses contact with me, I stumble back as a wave of dizziness hits me. Cass is quick to catch my faltering form and is about ready to pounce on him. "You better stay the fuck away from Thea or else I'm calling the goddamn cops! Don't you ever touch her again or I'll call my father, the best fucking lawyer around and he'll make sure you end up in prison for assault!"

Cassidy, ever the protective friend, waits until Eli backs up before shifting her evil glare off of him and setting a softer gaze on me. Eli looks at me once more, tears in his eyes. His tears shouldn't affect me, but they do, and I start to rethink my decision to not hear him out. As a tear falls, he sighs. "Remember, it didn't have to be like this." He leaves moments later and I'm left to think about his words.  What is he talking about? I understand his words, but I feel like there's a hidden meaning behind them, something big I'm missing.

I didn't miss the flash of blue in his eyes. However, I'm not going to brush it off like I would have a few days ago. After my eyes were opened to the supernatural, I'm not going to take any little thing too lightly. I have to remember to ask Cooper about it. A wolf's eyes turn black, a vampire's eyes turn red... so what creature's eyes turn blue?

~

The car ride back to my house is a short one spent thinking about how, yet again, one of my friends is a supernatural creature. Looking over at Cassidy, I begin to wonder if she's human or not. I've known her my whole life, but how well do I really know her? My head hurts with all of these new thoughts flowing through it, and as crappy as it sounds, the person I long for the most is Grayson. I haven't seen or talked to him since I woke up in the pack house, and as cheesy as it sounds I feel like there's a piece of my heart missing.

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