When Cas
Met Cricket

"Would you fucking stop that already?"

Sara sighs in annoyance, but I just glare sideways in response. She's lucky I don't smack her damn phone out of her hand.

"You're supposed to be my boyfriend. You can take one picture with me, Cas." She huffs and crosses her arms, which only makes her tits look bigger and perkier. She smirks at me as soon as she catches me looking.

I growl quietly and force myself to focus on the road instead. Boyfriend. It's honestly such a fucking joke, and I hate thinking of her as my girlfriend. But in exchange for telling people we're together and doing couple stuff every now and then, Sara has sex with me literally whenever and wherever I want. And she is by far the hottest girl I've ever met, and definitely the best lay I've ever had. Plus, she doesn't care if I ditch her to hang out with my friends, and she never gets mad when I say something shitty to her. She doesn't even care if I sleep with other girls, as long as I 'break up' with her first so that people can't say I cheated on her.

All in all, I really don't think it's a bad trade. Theo and Hollis disagree and always say it can't be worth it, since Sara is pretty fucking annoying. Most girls are annoying though, so I don't see why that matters much.

When I see her lifting her phone up again from the corner of my eye, I turn my head to bare my teeth at her. "I said no, Sara! I don't want my fucking picture taken. I'm already taking you to get coffee, and I agreed to walk around downtown so people can see us together. That's fucking more than enough."

She sticks her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. When she realizes that dumb shit isn't going to work on me, she rolls her eyes. "Whatever. If you take one picture with me, I'll give you a blowjob while you drive me home later."

I narrow my eyes at the road instead of looking at her. I really don't want another picture of us together, but...how can I argue against that? "Fine, deal."

She giggles and flips her hair over her shoulder, and I grit my teeth against the shrill sound. Since she doesn't have to sneak a selfie while I'm driving now that I've agreed to her request, she waits until we've parked. It's pretty busy in downtown Emery Ridge today, so I end up having to park kinda far down the street from the coffee shop she wants to go to.

After taking a picture next to my car, which I refuse to smile for, we start walking down the sidewalk. I hold Sara's hand, but I completely ignore her while she talks about some stupid ass drama between her and her friends. Instead, I pull out my phone to see if I have any new messages from Hollis or Theo.

Neither of them has texted me since this morning when they asked if I wanted to go up to the mountains to run around and blow off some steam. I was definitely tempted. That would have been a lot more fun than hanging out with Sara. I'm assuming they're still out, and I can't help regretting declining their offer earlier. Especially since it's probably the last chance the three of us will get to shift together before school starts in a couple of days, as Theo's been ditching us all week for some chick. But I know I'm going to end up confronting Theo the next time I see him, and I can't see that going well.

I breathe angrily out of my nose and shove my phone back in my pocket. Sara doesn't notice my distress and continues blathering on endlessly. I hum noncommittally when she asks for my input on something, and then I let my thoughts wander again.

Hollis thinks Theo might have found his mate, and I'm absolutely terrified. Not only does that mean that our pack hierarchy is going to change and I'm probably going to lose my best friend in more ways than one, but it also means I'm that much closer to finding my mate too. There's no way I'm ready for that yet. I don't want to be tied down, especially not when I'm only seventeen and still in high school. I can't stand the idea of ending up like Lettie and Ezra, and my parents are already dealing with enough shit with Ellie right now.

And god, what if my mate is fat or ugly? What if she's a fucking prude ass virgin? Most female wolves are, so the odds are pretty high, unfortunately.

"Are you even listening to me, Cas?" Sara whines in a shriller-than-usual voice.

I cringe and then glare at her. "No, you know I'm not."

She rolls her eyes and pushes me sideways. It takes me a second to realize we're at the coffee shop already, and then I open the door for her out of habit. But the moment I step into the shop, I'm hit with the most incredible scent I've ever smelled in my life. I flare my nostrils and inhale deeply, and my entire body shudders as my eyes roll back in my head. I want to shift so badly now. More than I've ever wanted to before.

Just when I think I'm about to lose all self-control, Sara smacks my arm and hisses quietly. "God, what is wrong with you? You look like a freak, and people can see us together!"

Sara's image is the last thing I'm worried about, so I ignore her completely as I frantically look around the café for the source of the intoxicating scent. As soon as my eyes land on the girl in line at the register, I know it's her. I walk forward and stand behind her without thinking. Now that I'm closer to her, the urge to shift is even stronger than before, but I manage to stay focused and in control of myself.

She's nearly a foot shorter than I am, and her blonde hair is an absolute mess. Since she's turned away from me, I take the opportunity to let my eyes wander over her greedily. I've never really been into curvy girls, but I'm practically salivating at the way her hips jut out, and I desperately want to run my fingers over the exposed soft-looking skin of her back. Even her lightly-freckled shoulders are sexy.

My heart beats loudly in my chest. I'm trying to decide if I should tap on her shoulder to say something. While I'm figuring out what I could possibly say to her that wouldn't sound desperate or insane, I listen to her order her coffee from the barista. Fuck me, even her voice is attractive. I definitely need to talk to her somehow.

When she hands her money over to the barista, I panic and start to pull my wallet out so I can pay for her. The girl behind the counter is too quick, and then she flirtatiously hands the blonde a paper bag.

“I know you love those chocolate blueberry scones, and I still had a couple left over from this morning.” The barista winks. “They’re on me.”

The blonde girl laughs and thanks her quietly before gracefully stepping aside to wait at the other end of the counter for her drinks. I keep my eyes on her for a few more seconds, and then I turn to settle a murderous glare on the barista. She's just going to hit on my dream girl in front of me like it's nothing?

Sara suddenly wraps her arm around my waist, shocking me back to reality. I freeze up and widen my eyes at her, trying very hard not to glance over at the blonde girl again. Sara narrows her eyes at me, clearly pissed off. I honestly forgot she was here for a minute.

"Uh, just get whatever you want." Normally I'd make her pay for herself, but I'm too distracted.

The barista gives me a nasty look before she asks Sara what she'd like to order. I stop listening, and my eyes slowly move back to the blonde girl of their own accord. I've never felt so crazy or irrational in my life before, and I am freaking the fuck out. I mean, holy shit. I just subconsciously referred to her as my dream girl. I don't even know her name, and I haven't even had a good look at her face yet.

She has to be my mate. Why else would I react like this? She smells so good, and I've never been so attracted to somebody in my life. I'm suddenly terrified and excited. And then angry that I'm excited. I shove my credit card at the barista without ordering anything for myself. The moment she hands the card back to me, I step away from Sara to go stand behind the blonde girl.

She's looking at something on her phone while she waits. It's still hard to get a good look at her though, as she's facing away from me and her hair is falling into her eyes. I clear my throat, hoping to get her attention so she'll turn around and look at me. She must not hear me because she just continues to stare at the phone in her hand.

Why is this happening to me right now? No fucking way am I ready for this. I consider texting Hollis and Theo, but they're nowhere close by. And what could they do? Hollis would just freak out and get excited, and he'd tell me to talk to her. I guess I can do that. It's obvious she's not a wolf, otherwise she would have smelled me when I walked in here. But she hasn't acknowledged me at all.

My mouth turns up in a small smile at the thought that my mate might be a human. I never expected that to happen, and it definitely makes things more interesting. Okay, so...I can just ask for her number or something, right? Ask her out on a date? Whether she's my mate or not, the fact that she's a human takes a lot of the pressure off of the situation for me.

I spend the next few moments deciding what I'm going to say and how I'm going to ask her out. I'm so zoned out, staring at the back of her head while I envision the conversation I might have with her. So, I'm completely startled again when Sara roughly shoves my side.

I look down at her, more in confusion than anger. I forgot she was here again. I wonder if I can get her to leave without causing a scene. I really don't want the blonde girl to see me acting like an asshole.

"What are you doing!?" Sara hisses quietly, glaring back and forth between me and my possible-mate. I've seen Sara get pretty pissed off before, but nothing like this.

I'm just about to quietly tell her to fuck off when the barista hands the blonde girl her order. Fuck, she's getting ready to leave! I completely panic, thinking I'm going to lose my chance to ask her out because Sara's jealous or something stupid.

I step behind the girl, so close we're almost touching. I reach forward slightly and open my mouth to offer to help her carry her order, but she spins around so fast and without warning. The next thing I know, she's crashed into me and has spilled her entire iced coffee all over me.

"What the fuck!?”

The words just slip out, and I'm immediately furious with myself. My god, how have I fucked this up already!? The girl tilts her head back to look up at me, and I finally meet her eyes for the first time. I suck in a short breath, accidentally inhaling her scent again, and my wolf trembles in excitement. She is without a doubt the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life.

Before I can apologize or say anything remotely normal to make up for what happened, she narrows her gorgeous blue and brown eyes and frowns angrily. "Calm down. It's coffee, you're not going to die."

I react without thinking again. "Are you serious right now? You're not even going to fucking apologize? I can't believe this is happening."

Why am I doing this? Why the fuck am I fighting with her? I want to tell her she's beautiful and that she smells fantastic, but everything is getting all fucked up in my brain and I can barely focus on a coherent thought.

"Why were you standing so close to me, anyway? Have you never heard of personal space?" She looks so angry.

I keep my mouth clamped shut while I stare at her. I'm terrified I'm going to say something to make things even worse. After a few moments, the blue-haired barista who took our orders walks over and hands a new drink to the blonde girl. Once her eyes are off of me, I try to regain my cool a bit.

But she really is so fucking beautiful, I can't help looking her up and down again. Her shirt is cropped so that her stomach is showing, and there's a slit in her skirt too. God, I'd really like to fuck her. If she is my mate, then I am one seriously lucky son of a bitch. I remind myself that I need to check her wrists as soon as possible. Right after I apologize and get her number, of course.

I'm so caught up in checking her out that I don't even notice when she turns to face me again. "Oh my god! You're going to sit there and scream at me like a lunatic and then turn around and gawk at me like a pervert?"

My eyes snap up to meet hers again and my face flushes. Oh no. I've messed up again. I open my mouth to say something. Anything. But it's too late. She storms out the door of the café. She only turns back once to glare at me and yell, "God, you're disgusting!"

I lurch forward to go after her, reaching my hand toward the door pathetically. But then Sara grabs my arm. She's not strong enough to pull me back, but I don't want to accidentally hurt her. So, I turn around and glare down at her instead.

"For once, can you please just fuck off, Sara?"

I know I'm yelling and being ridiculous, but I'm still so freaked out from everything that's happened since I walked in here a few minutes ago.

"Are you serious right now? Why do I have to constantly remind you that you're my boyfriend? And who is that girl!?"

I glance at the door where she's disappeared. I've never felt so conflicted before. My wolf is practically howling at me to go after her, and I'm definitely still being affected by her scent. But I'm also fucking pissed, mostly at myself. I've never wanted a mate, and I can't believe I reacted the way I did. Besides, I'm not even entirely sure that girl is my mate. But if she is, does the fact that she's crazy fucking hot change anything? I'm still being forced into feeling something intense for a complete stranger.

"I don't know her," I finally answer Sara. "But you don't need to fucking worry anymore. I'm done being your boyfriend. I'm fucking done with you, for good this time."

Sara's eyes flash with rage, and she slaps me across the face. It stings more than it really hurts since she's so weak, but it absolutely infuriates me. I begin trembling in anger, desperately trying to keep myself from shifting or growling. I would never hit a girl, but god, I really fucking want to right now. I stare at Sara for a few more seconds, and then I walk away from her and straight out the door of the coffee shop without saying a word.

Outside, I look up and down the sidewalk hoping to catch a glimpse of the blonde girl. She's nowhere to be seen, but I could probably track her scent fairly easily.

Sara runs outside after me, whining in a shrill voice. "Cas, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it. Let's just pretend that never happened, okay?"

I brush my hand through my hair and turn around to face her with an annoyed sigh. "I mean it, Sara. I'm really done. Text one of your friends to come pick you up."

Her jaw drops, and she screeches again. "No way! We are not breaking up already. We just got back together a couple of weeks ago, and I let you spend almost the entire summer gallivanting around with all those nasty little skanks that caught your eye!"

I hesitantly take a step closer to her and lower my voice a little, trying to level with her for once. "Come on, Sara. What we have isn't real, and it never has been."

She crosses her arms and pouts at me, her bottom lip trembling. There are tears forming in the corners of her eyes too, but I can tell that she's faking. So, I roll my eyes and flare my nostrils, already turning away so I can try to figure out which direction that blonde girl went.

Sara huffs loudly and shouts, "You are such an asshole, Cas Seymour!" But she walks away then, already texting somebody on her phone.

Thank god, that's one less thing to worry about. I stand on the sidewalk outside the coffee shop for a couple of minutes, lost in my own thoughts while I try to decide what I should do next. I really want to talk to Theo and Hollis, but I refrain from calling either of them. I'm still pissed at Theo, and I don't want to be a hypocrite by bitching about possibly running into my mate. I always thought he was on the same page as me when it came to finding our mates, but now I'm not so sure. And Hollis would just make me feel shitty about how badly I fucked up trying to talk to her.

In the end, I decide to just go home. For now, at least. I need to think without the influence of her scent around me. I can always come back here to track her down or ask the barista who she is since they seemed to know each other. I just want my decision to be my own. Plus, I need some time to come up with a good apology if I am going to see her again.

---

I finish typing out the text letting Theo know he doesn't need to pick me up for school. With the way things are going this morning, I'm definitely going to be late. If I make it to school at all.

"Eloise Seymour, do not walk away from me!"

I shake my head and worriedly glance back over my shoulder as I walk downstairs. My mom never yells like this, but she and Ellie have been at it all morning. Ellie has always been a such a fucking brat and a cry-baby about everything, but this is really taking the cake. I just wish there was something I could do.

When I walk into the kitchen, Kit's already sitting at the island helping himself to a bowl of cereal. I bare my teeth and growl low in my throat, but he just gives me a friendly smile in response. God, I can't fucking stand the guy.

"Hey, bro." I try to ignore him and act like I'm entirely focused on choosing something to eat from the fridge. But he just chuckles and asks, "They still fighting upstairs?"

I spin around and snarl at him, "Don't fucking talk to me, you piece of shit!"

He raises his eyebrows and holds his hands up defensively. I continue fuming and growling at him for a few more seconds before I turn back around to face the fridge. Ellie met Kit earlier this summer at the pack meet-up in Montana. He's way too fucking old for her, but I guess I can kind of see why they're mates. My parents were pretty freaked out about their age difference. Especially because Ellie literally just turned sixteen, and she's only going to be a junior in high school.

Well, she was going to be a junior in high school starting today, anyway. Kit's from some small ass hick town in Idaho where he's part of a fairly large traditional pack. Ellie spent pretty much the entire summer crying and pining after him since they were separated. I mean, I guess I can understand how hard that might be. Living apart from your mate right after meeting and shit.

But then Kit showed up here a couple of weeks ago without letting anyone in our pack know. Just before the full moon, conveniently enough, when he and Ellie snuck off to complete their mating bond. Saying that everyone in our pack was pissed off is a huge fucking understatement. I don't think I've ever seen either of my parents look so angry or disappointed.

Kit's been crashing here ever since, acting totally nonchalant and freeloading off my parents. It's like he honestly has no fucking clue that he did anything wrong. I know my parents don't particularly want him here, but Ellie would probably run off if they kicked Kit out. Since school is starting up, Hawthorne approached Kit a couple of days ago to ask if he's transitioning into our pack, or if he needs help finding a job.

I came home the other day fully intent on freaking out to my mom about possibly running into my mate. Instead, I came home to find both my mom and Ellie in tears while they screamed at each other for hours. I'm still not entirely sure what exactly happened or why, but Kit has decided to go back to his own pack in Idaho and he's taking Ellie with him. As her mate, he has the right to make the decision for her despite my parents' wishes. They're leaving sometime this morning, and Ellie just casually let slip that she won't be enrolling in school once she's there. She's dropping out.

This entire weekend has been totally shitty, and I've been trying really hard to be comforting and supportive for my parents. Ellie won't talk to me at all, and Kit just pisses me off every time I'm even around him.

Needless to say, I haven't mentioned the blonde girl from the coffee shop to anyone. Not to my family, and not to Theo or Hollis. I haven't been able to stop thinking about her though.

Yesterday, I actually went downtown with Hollis to look for her again. He wanted to check out the bookshop there, so I made an excuse about being bored and needing to get out of the house. While Hollis was being a fucking nerd over his books, I snuck away to scope out the coffee shop again. The barista was a bitch to me, but the blonde girl’s scent was pretty strong there and the bookshop. I have a feeling she works nearby.

I still don't know how I feel, and I don't know what's going to happen. But I've decided I need to face my stupid ass fear and find out if that girl is my mate for sure or not. I'm hoping I can convince the guys to go back downtown after school today to help me find her.

"So..." Kit clears his throat awkwardly.

I've been sitting at the other end of the island, eating quietly while I ignore him. When he breaks the silence that's settled between us, I turn my head to glare at him. "What? I already told you not to talk to me."

"I don't know," he shrugs. "I know you don't really like me, but we are pretty much brothers now. I just hate sitting here not talking like this."

I continue to glare at him without saying a word. He's a lazy, grown ass adult who’s never worked a day in his life. And now my baby sister is throwing her life away for him.

Kit keeps on smiling though, but I'm happy to see that he's starting to look nervous. He clears his throat again and rubs his hand over the back of his neck. "So, you're uh, gonna be a senior? That's cool. You know what you want to do after you graduate?"

"Fuck. Off." I enunciate each word clearly with my lips curled, a growl building up in my throat again.

Kit's face falls, but he perks up again when my dad walks into the kitchen. He's dressed for work, briefcase in hand while he texts furiously on his phone. He looks up and frowns at Kit before settling his gaze on me.

"What time is Theo picking you up, Cas?"

"He's not." I brush my hand through my hair. "I told him I'll be running late and not to worry about it. I'm waiting 'til after Ellie leaves, to make sure mom's okay."

My dad smiles sympathetically and nods. "Same here. I had to postpone a meeting, but I'm waiting too. I'll drive you to school on my way in, alright?"

I nod in agreement and quickly finish off my breakfast. When I get up to rinse my dishes in the sink, Kit opens his dumb fucking mouth again.

"Listen, Mr. Seymour. I know you're all really worried about Ellie, but I promise everything's going to be fine. I love her, and I'm going to take care of her."

I meet my dad's eyes from across the kitchen, and I can see rage simmering in his gaze. But he responds in a calm, unwavering voice nonetheless. "You're going to take care of her, huh? Remind me again, Kit. How long have you been out of high school?"

Kit looks like a fucking deer in headlights for a second, but then he laughs like this is a fun easygoing conversation. "I graduated three years ago."

My dad nods and strokes his hand over his chin, raising his eyebrows quizzically at Ellie's mate. "Three years. What have you been doing since then?"

I snort when Kit's face falls again, and he glances at me quickly before meeting my dad's eyes again. "Well, um, nothing really. Just hanging out mostly. I lived in the pack house, so I didn’t have to pay rent. But—"

My dad cuts him off. "So, I'm sure you can see why we don't have the most confidence in you. We were willing to give you a chance here, but now my youngest daughter isn't even going to finish high school. And so we're clear, she will not be receiving her trust fund unless she finishes school. Just in case you were banking on that."

Kit winces like he's been hit, and it makes me want to fight him so badly. God, he's fucking weak. He's got to be the weakest wolf I've ever met in my life. He stumbles over his words pathetically for a moment and finally says, "My alpha will help me get a job. I know you don't believe me, but I promise I will take care of Ellie! She's my whole world now."

My dad stares at Kit for a long time. But when he turns away, he doesn't say anything. He just looks heartbroken.

---

I ended up making it to school about halfway through second period. My mom was just as upset as I expected she'd be after Ellie and Kit finally left, and my dad actually offered to skip work entirely so they could stay home together. But my mom insisted they both go into work today, if only for the distraction. When my dad dropped me off, he told me he's taking my mom out tonight so not to worry about rushing home after school.

I really don't want to be at school at all. I'm so irritated and pissed off, and I just really fucking want to go up to the mountains with the guys so we can shift. I'm sure Theo will be cool with skipping the rest of the day once I tell him what happened.

When the lunch bell rings, I'm up out of my seat before anyone else. But my stupid teacher calls me back so she can catch me up on the first half of class I missed. I try to be polite and patient, even though I'm extremely fucking annoyed. As I'm making my way through the hallways afterwards, people keep trying to stop me to talk. I ignore everyone.

I'm so relieved when I finally make it to the cafeteria. But just before I walk in, I catch her scent again and I freeze up. She's here? I don't know why I didn't even consider that she might go to school here now. I never saw her before that day in the coffee shop, and she's probably close to my age, so it makes sense if she's a new student. My heart is beating loudly in my chest, and I still can't decide if I'm more excited or terrified.

I look around for the blonde girl as soon as I walk into the room, and it only takes me a few seconds to spot her. It takes me another second to realize she's sitting with Theo and Hollis. The three of them are laughing and joking around, and Theo is sitting way too fucking close to her.

No, no, no! I walk over to their table in a panic. She's way too fucking hot to go unnoticed by my friends, so I'm not surprised. But Theo doesn't know I've claimed her yet, so he's probably trying to sleep with her.

As soon as I'm standing beside their table, I growl at my friends without taking my eyes off of the blonde girl who I'm still pretty sure is my mate. "What the fuck are you doing with her?"

She turns and looks up at me with those disarming blue and brown eyes, and her perfect mouth parts in surprise. She's even more beautiful than I remember. Theo asks me a question, but I'm not paying attention to him at all. The blonde girl and I haven't taken our eyes off of each other once, so I'm hoping she feels this same intense connection between us. I sit down across from her slowly, still not breaking eye contact.

"You didn't answer my question. What the fuck are you doing with her?" I need to establish my claim now before it's too late. I should have just fucking told them what happened at the coffee shop the other day instead of being a pussy and waiting this long.

Her cheeks turn a pretty rosy color, and I realize she probably thinks I'm angry with her. That's not my intention at all, so I feel like a fucking idiot. Theo reaches out and gently grabs her chin, tilting her face up towards his. My entire body tenses up, and I can't look away from his hand where he's touching her.

But then he starts laughing. "No fucking way. When did you two meet!?"

I stare at my best friend like he's from another planet, and then it slowly dawns on me. Holy shit. This is the girl he's been hanging out with all week, the one he's been hiding from me and Hollis. The girl who Hollis thinks might be Theo's mate. I can literally feel the color drain from my face while I glance between her and Theo. Their connection is so fucking obvious now that I'm paying attention.

When I meet her eyes again, my cheeks warm up. I I don't even know what to think. Was I wrong to assume she's my mate? I just don't know why I feel so crazy around her. All I've done is embarrass myself in front of her, and I desperately want to fix things.

After a few seconds of staring back at me with wide eyes, the girl shoves nearly an entire piece of pizza into her mouth. I smile a little in surprise, because it's pretty funny. I've never seen a girl eat like that before.

Theo shakes his head and snorts. "Nice try, Cricket. Hurry and chew your food, and then tell me what happened."

He's using his alpha voice on her, which definitely freaks me out. But I'm more focused on something else he just said. "Cricket? Is that your name?" And here I thought my name was weird.

She glares at me while she finishes chewing her pizza, and then she shrugs nonchalantly. "Well, the other day, I sort of bumped into Cas at that coffee shop next door to Flora & Feathers."

My brain goes all stupid and fuzzy when I realize she knows my name. She knows my name! But then...she must know my name because of Theo. I suddenly feel irrationally angry and sputter, "You didn't just bump into me. You spilled your entire fucking coffee on me and then screamed at me like a psychopath!"

"What? You started it, asshole!"

"You didn't even apologize!"

"I would have if you hadn't started yelling at me and causing a huge scene! And like I said before, it's not my fault you don't understand the concept of personal space!"

"I was only standing that close because I was walking over to ask for your number!"

Cricket laughs wildly in surprise. "What!?"

I grimace, pretty sure my entire face is red now. I didn't mean to say that, any of that. Why am I fighting with her? I swear to god I'm going insane. I'm starting to think I'll never have a normal conversation with this girl. When I finally see the way Hollis and Theo are looking at me, I feel even more embarrassed. I pretend to focus on my food, even though I know Theo's not going to let this go.

"Let me get this straight." Theo growls quietly. I look up to meet his eyes even though I already know what's coming next. "You went into the café, saw Cricket, thought she looked cute, and decided to ask her out. She accidentally spills her coffee on you, and you decide, for some unknown fucking reason, to yell at her? In public, in front of other people?”

It sounds pretty bad when he says it out loud. But in reality, I know it was actually so much worse. Cricket probably hates me. I still don't know if she's my mate or if she's Theo's, but the thought that she might hate me is absolutely devastating.

"Um, well, I guess I might have overreacted.”

Cricket laughs, and the sound is so light and wonderful that I can't help looking at her. She's probably laughing at me because I'm such an idiot, and I don't blame her at all. "I'm sorry, okay?" I turn my eyes back to Theo and grudgingly say, "I didn't realize she was the girl you've been fucking around with."

He doesn't deny it. He just continues staring at me intently. Eventually, he asks Cricket, "Do you forgive him?"

Cricket stares at me for what seems like forever, and I feel my heart practically beating out of my chest. Please, please let her forgive me. Maybe we can start over, and I'll show her that I'm not such an asshole all the time. I want her to like me, and I want to know her. I'm trying not to think too hard about what that might mean, but I know I'll do anything to make her give me another chance.

She finally smiles and takes my breath away in the process. "Yes, I forgive you. And I'm sorry too."

I sit up straight and smile back at her until my cheeks hurt. I don't think I've ever been so happy in my life before. I can't believe she's really forgiven me after I was such a jerk, but I'm determined not to mess up again.

Theo finally introduces us properly, but the douchebag uses my full name. When Cricket teases me for my name, I tease her back. I mean, come on. She seems to find it funny though, instead of being offended. And for a little while, the four of us all sit around talking like we've all known each other forever. I'm absolutely dying to ask Theo how he met her, and I want to know when he introduced her to Hollis too. But I don't want to say something in front of Cricket, especially since I'm absolutely certain she's human.

I decide to wait until after lunch when I can get one of the guys alone. For now, it's kind of nice to talk to each other and Cricket about stupid shit that doesn't really matter. And every time she meets my eyes, she smiles and makes me feel like a million bucks. Now I just need to figure out what's going on with her and Theo, and I really need to check her wrists.