Back at school on Monday Ronald walked towards Lucas, ready to talk things out with him but before he could even open his mouth, Lucas spoke.
“I miss my best friend, this is so stupid that we are not talking”, he said.
“Agreed”, Ronald said. “We need to talk things out.”
“Care to explain why you’re mad at me?” Lucas asked and leaned against the hallways’s wall.
“You didn’t tell me you have a boyfriend. You lied to me”, Ronald said after gathering all his courage to finally admit it out loud to Lucas.
Lucas was silent for a long moment, just staring at Ronald. He had to adjust to the feeling of Ronald suddenly out of nowhere knowing about his boyfriend-ish. Then he remembered it and he wanted to slap his own forehead. He just knew he had heard Ronald’s voice back at the mall the other day. This proved it.
“I actually never lied to you”, Lucas finally said. “You just assumed it was a girl who I was talking about and I never corrected you.”
“Why didn’t you? Why was it so hard to tell the truth to your best friend?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“I needed you”, Ronald said accusingly. “You have no idea what I’ve been through lately and I needed you but you weren’t there!”
“That’s not fair!” Lucas said frowning. “Youignored me. Yougave me the silent treatment. Don’t you dareblame this one on me.”
Ronald could feel the anger rising but he managed to take a deep breath and think his feelings through and be rational.
“You’re right”, he said, “and I’m sorry. But–“
“I know”, Lucas interrupted. “I’m one to blame too, I should’ve told you about him before. I’m sorry too.”
Ronald started smiling and they man-hugged and then Ronald patted Lucas on his back and said, “Are you going to tell me the lucky guy’s name?”
Lucas grinned and smiled widely.
“His name is Ransley”, he said.
Ronald smiled and tried not to frown. He was sure he had heard that name before. It was a rare and old name, he was sure that he had heard it somewhere before but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“What have you been going through?” Lucas asked.
“What?” Ronald asked confused.
“You said you have been going through a lot and you’d have needed me”, Lucas reminded him. “Has it something to do with that man, Ramsey?”
“Oh right, that”, Ronald said. He looked at his phone. “We have to go to the class. Let’s talk some other time, okay? It’s kind of a long story and I’d rather tell it somewhere other place than school.”
Lucas nodded in agreement and they walked to their classroom.
After school Ronald walked to his home, greeted his mother who was already back from work and went to his room to do his homework, happy that he had managed to sort things out with Lucas.
His good mood disappeared as soon as he entered his room because he saw Ramsey sitting on his bed. Ronald cursed under his breath and quickly closed his bedroom’s door.
“What are you doing here?” he hissed. “My mother could’ve seen you!”
“I didn’t use the door”, Ramsey said.
Ronald rubbed his face and sighed. “What are you doing here? Last time I checked you were leaving me alone, again.”
“I changed my mind, again, when I realised I can’t be like… him”, he said, gritting his teeth. “And you were right, I shouldn’t just disappear and leave you alone. You’re a newborn, after all.”
“And?” Ronald said, expecting there was more Ramsey wanted to say.
“And I came to give you this.”
He handed Ronald a piece of paper. Ronald took it and saw numbers written on it. He looked at Ramsey and raised his eyebrows.
“I got myself a phone. That is my number”, Ramsey said, clearly mortified that he had had to do it. “Don’t call me or text me unless you have to.”
Ronald wanted to coo and hug Ramsey, if only to make him feel even more uncomfortable.
“Thank you”, he said instead and put the piece of paper in his pocket.
“When the next full moon comes, I will come to get you and we will go to the woods again, okay?”
“Okay”, Ronald agreed and then he scratched his neck. “I have to do my homework so...”
Ramsey got the hint, swirled his finger in the air and was gone just like that. Ronald smiled and added Ramsey’s phone number to his phone and then he started doing his homework.
He was halfway done when he realised something.
It was Monday. Farrah had said that they could go out this week! He took his phone out and pondered if he should text her or not. She had said that he should text her, right?
He sent a quick message that simply said ‘Hi, how about that date?’ on WhatsApp to her and then he returned to his homework. He couldn’t concentrate because he kept glancing at his phone, nervous and excited. When Farrah finally answered he took his phone so fast that he almost dropped it.
‘How about tomorrow, after school?’ was what Farrah wrote to him. Ronald lifted his fist up and yelled, “YES!” before quickly typing in his answer where he agreed to Farrah’s suggestion.
He was going on a date with Farrah, Lucas would never believe it! He called his best friend immediately and told him everything. Lucas was happy for him and said that now they could go double dating some day.
“Speaking of dates”, Ronald said on the phone. “When I saw you two at the mall, he looked a bit older...”
“He’s not some pedophile if that’s what you suggest”, Lucas said, his voice muffled by the bad quality of the phone call. “Ransley looks older than what he is. He even sounds old sometimes when he speaks.”
“That’s not what I suggested. How old is he, though?” Ronald asked.
“Nineteen.”
“Okay”, Ronald said and wondered if he should tell Lucas now about the whole thing of him being a werewolf now. He opened his mouth to say something, to start from somewhere when Lucas suddenly spoke.
“Hey, he’s texting me, I gotta go”, he said. “Talk to you later.”
“Laters”, Ronald muttered and ended the call. He would tell Lucas some other time. The timing was everything. Now he had to mentally prepare himself for his date tomorrow.
The school day was pure torture. Not only was he stressed out because he had counted the days to the next full moon aka the night of pure pain but he was also nervous because he was going on a date with Farrah after school. Waiting and being patient wasn’t his strongest feature.
But, eventually, the school day ended and Ronald met up with Farrah by the school’s gates. They smiled at each other and then started walking towards the movie theatre. It was a bit long walk but neither of them wanted to take a bus since it was such a beautiful and warm day even though the autumn was right around the corner.
“When do you have your next math exam?” Farrah asked.
“I don’t know”, Ronald answered honestly. He had forgot all his future exams because he had been a little too busy with thinking about the changes in his life.
“Maybe that’s why you’re failing”, Farrah joked and Ronald laughed.
They arrived at the theatre and Ronald bought them tickets to a movie that Farrah picked.
“Do you want popcorns?” Ronald asked.
Farrah shook her head.
“I’m on a special diet”, she said. “No junk food allowed I’m afraid.”
“Oh, okay”, Ronald said and they walked to their seats and sat down.
They had a little small talk before the movie started and then shut their mouths when the commercials started rolling.
During the movie Ronald really wanted to hold Farrah’s hand but he was afraid that she wouldn’t allow it or would think it as a cliché which it definitely was. So he ended up just crossing his arms and staring at the screen, awfully well aware of Farrah sitting right next him so, so close.
When the movie ended, Farrah didn’t immediately stand up. Instead she stayed in her seat and said, “The music in the end is always the best. I always stay and listen to it while the credits roll.”
“So you’re always the last one to leave”, Ronald said.
“Always”, Farrah admitted and smiled. They sat in silence and listened to the music. Ronald could feel Farrah staring at him so he turned his eyes on her and then she leaned in and kissed Ronald quickly before pulling away.
Ronald opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He could feel himself blush and he looked down on his hands.
“Since it didn’t seem like you were going to do that...”, Farrah said smiling. Ronald looked up at her.
“Can we do it again?” he asked shyly.
“Thought you’ll never ask”, Farrah said and leaned in. Ronald lifted his hand up and pulled Farrah even closer and kissed her. Their lips moved in sync and Ronald had at least a million butterflies in his stomach.
“Kids, it’s time to leave!” a cleaning lady said to them. They pulled apart and smiled at each other before looking at the blank screen and then the cleaning lady who was waiting for them to move.
“Sorry”, Ronald and Farrah said in unison and then they stood up and walked out of the theatre.
Farrah took her bike and climbed on top of it.
“Thanks for coming with me”, she said.
“Thanks for asking me”, Ronald said. He felt bad for not having the balls to do the asking but in the end who cared, he had got his date with Farrah and it hadn’t been a catastrophe, quite the opposite, actually.
“Bye, Ron.”
“Bye, Farrah”, Ronald said and looked how she cycled away. Ronald took the bus to home and walked inside his house. He barely managed to close the front door when Lucas jumped on his back.
“You’re back, lover boy!”
“Lucas? What are you doing here?” he asked confused.
“I came to hear everything about your date before I go to mine!”
“Come on, let’s go into my room before Mum gets home and remind me to never tell you again where the spare key is”, Ronald said and pushed Lucas into his room.
“Well?” Lucas said, anxious to know everything.
“Well… we kissed”, Ronald said and grinned widely.
“You kissed Farrah?” Lucas yelled. “No way! After all these years of drooling after her you finally kissed her!”
“I know!” Ronald yelled and then he realised what Lucas had said. “Hey, I haven’t drooled after her! I have just… admired from far.”
“Yeah, sure”, Lucas laughed and looked at the time. “I need to go.” He stood up from the bed and winked at Ronald. “I have a date.”
“Have fun”, Ronald said, a little disappointed that he couldn’t tell his secret to Lucas now either. “Let’s talk later.”
“That we will!” Lucas replied and then he walked away and Ronald could hear the front door be slammed shut. He fell down on his bed, sighing and smiling. What a day. Now all he hoped was that he hadn’t been a terrible kisser.
“I miss my best friend, this is so stupid that we are not talking”, he said.
“Agreed”, Ronald said. “We need to talk things out.”
“Care to explain why you’re mad at me?” Lucas asked and leaned against the hallways’s wall.
“You didn’t tell me you have a boyfriend. You lied to me”, Ronald said after gathering all his courage to finally admit it out loud to Lucas.
Lucas was silent for a long moment, just staring at Ronald. He had to adjust to the feeling of Ronald suddenly out of nowhere knowing about his boyfriend-ish. Then he remembered it and he wanted to slap his own forehead. He just knew he had heard Ronald’s voice back at the mall the other day. This proved it.
“I actually never lied to you”, Lucas finally said. “You just assumed it was a girl who I was talking about and I never corrected you.”
“Why didn’t you? Why was it so hard to tell the truth to your best friend?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“I needed you”, Ronald said accusingly. “You have no idea what I’ve been through lately and I needed you but you weren’t there!”
“That’s not fair!” Lucas said frowning. “Youignored me. Yougave me the silent treatment. Don’t you dareblame this one on me.”
Ronald could feel the anger rising but he managed to take a deep breath and think his feelings through and be rational.
“You’re right”, he said, “and I’m sorry. But–“
“I know”, Lucas interrupted. “I’m one to blame too, I should’ve told you about him before. I’m sorry too.”
Ronald started smiling and they man-hugged and then Ronald patted Lucas on his back and said, “Are you going to tell me the lucky guy’s name?”
Lucas grinned and smiled widely.
“His name is Ransley”, he said.
Ronald smiled and tried not to frown. He was sure he had heard that name before. It was a rare and old name, he was sure that he had heard it somewhere before but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“What have you been going through?” Lucas asked.
“What?” Ronald asked confused.
“You said you have been going through a lot and you’d have needed me”, Lucas reminded him. “Has it something to do with that man, Ramsey?”
“Oh right, that”, Ronald said. He looked at his phone. “We have to go to the class. Let’s talk some other time, okay? It’s kind of a long story and I’d rather tell it somewhere other place than school.”
Lucas nodded in agreement and they walked to their classroom.
After school Ronald walked to his home, greeted his mother who was already back from work and went to his room to do his homework, happy that he had managed to sort things out with Lucas.
His good mood disappeared as soon as he entered his room because he saw Ramsey sitting on his bed. Ronald cursed under his breath and quickly closed his bedroom’s door.
“What are you doing here?” he hissed. “My mother could’ve seen you!”
“I didn’t use the door”, Ramsey said.
Ronald rubbed his face and sighed. “What are you doing here? Last time I checked you were leaving me alone, again.”
“I changed my mind, again, when I realised I can’t be like… him”, he said, gritting his teeth. “And you were right, I shouldn’t just disappear and leave you alone. You’re a newborn, after all.”
“And?” Ronald said, expecting there was more Ramsey wanted to say.
“And I came to give you this.”
He handed Ronald a piece of paper. Ronald took it and saw numbers written on it. He looked at Ramsey and raised his eyebrows.
“I got myself a phone. That is my number”, Ramsey said, clearly mortified that he had had to do it. “Don’t call me or text me unless you have to.”
Ronald wanted to coo and hug Ramsey, if only to make him feel even more uncomfortable.
“Thank you”, he said instead and put the piece of paper in his pocket.
“When the next full moon comes, I will come to get you and we will go to the woods again, okay?”
“Okay”, Ronald agreed and then he scratched his neck. “I have to do my homework so...”
Ramsey got the hint, swirled his finger in the air and was gone just like that. Ronald smiled and added Ramsey’s phone number to his phone and then he started doing his homework.
He was halfway done when he realised something.
It was Monday. Farrah had said that they could go out this week! He took his phone out and pondered if he should text her or not. She had said that he should text her, right?
He sent a quick message that simply said ‘Hi, how about that date?’ on WhatsApp to her and then he returned to his homework. He couldn’t concentrate because he kept glancing at his phone, nervous and excited. When Farrah finally answered he took his phone so fast that he almost dropped it.
‘How about tomorrow, after school?’ was what Farrah wrote to him. Ronald lifted his fist up and yelled, “YES!” before quickly typing in his answer where he agreed to Farrah’s suggestion.
He was going on a date with Farrah, Lucas would never believe it! He called his best friend immediately and told him everything. Lucas was happy for him and said that now they could go double dating some day.
“Speaking of dates”, Ronald said on the phone. “When I saw you two at the mall, he looked a bit older...”
“He’s not some pedophile if that’s what you suggest”, Lucas said, his voice muffled by the bad quality of the phone call. “Ransley looks older than what he is. He even sounds old sometimes when he speaks.”
“That’s not what I suggested. How old is he, though?” Ronald asked.
“Nineteen.”
“Okay”, Ronald said and wondered if he should tell Lucas now about the whole thing of him being a werewolf now. He opened his mouth to say something, to start from somewhere when Lucas suddenly spoke.
“Hey, he’s texting me, I gotta go”, he said. “Talk to you later.”
“Laters”, Ronald muttered and ended the call. He would tell Lucas some other time. The timing was everything. Now he had to mentally prepare himself for his date tomorrow.
The school day was pure torture. Not only was he stressed out because he had counted the days to the next full moon aka the night of pure pain but he was also nervous because he was going on a date with Farrah after school. Waiting and being patient wasn’t his strongest feature.
But, eventually, the school day ended and Ronald met up with Farrah by the school’s gates. They smiled at each other and then started walking towards the movie theatre. It was a bit long walk but neither of them wanted to take a bus since it was such a beautiful and warm day even though the autumn was right around the corner.
“When do you have your next math exam?” Farrah asked.
“I don’t know”, Ronald answered honestly. He had forgot all his future exams because he had been a little too busy with thinking about the changes in his life.
“Maybe that’s why you’re failing”, Farrah joked and Ronald laughed.
They arrived at the theatre and Ronald bought them tickets to a movie that Farrah picked.
“Do you want popcorns?” Ronald asked.
Farrah shook her head.
“I’m on a special diet”, she said. “No junk food allowed I’m afraid.”
“Oh, okay”, Ronald said and they walked to their seats and sat down.
They had a little small talk before the movie started and then shut their mouths when the commercials started rolling.
During the movie Ronald really wanted to hold Farrah’s hand but he was afraid that she wouldn’t allow it or would think it as a cliché which it definitely was. So he ended up just crossing his arms and staring at the screen, awfully well aware of Farrah sitting right next him so, so close.
When the movie ended, Farrah didn’t immediately stand up. Instead she stayed in her seat and said, “The music in the end is always the best. I always stay and listen to it while the credits roll.”
“So you’re always the last one to leave”, Ronald said.
“Always”, Farrah admitted and smiled. They sat in silence and listened to the music. Ronald could feel Farrah staring at him so he turned his eyes on her and then she leaned in and kissed Ronald quickly before pulling away.
Ronald opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He could feel himself blush and he looked down on his hands.
“Since it didn’t seem like you were going to do that...”, Farrah said smiling. Ronald looked up at her.
“Can we do it again?” he asked shyly.
“Thought you’ll never ask”, Farrah said and leaned in. Ronald lifted his hand up and pulled Farrah even closer and kissed her. Their lips moved in sync and Ronald had at least a million butterflies in his stomach.
“Kids, it’s time to leave!” a cleaning lady said to them. They pulled apart and smiled at each other before looking at the blank screen and then the cleaning lady who was waiting for them to move.
“Sorry”, Ronald and Farrah said in unison and then they stood up and walked out of the theatre.
Farrah took her bike and climbed on top of it.
“Thanks for coming with me”, she said.
“Thanks for asking me”, Ronald said. He felt bad for not having the balls to do the asking but in the end who cared, he had got his date with Farrah and it hadn’t been a catastrophe, quite the opposite, actually.
“Bye, Ron.”
“Bye, Farrah”, Ronald said and looked how she cycled away. Ronald took the bus to home and walked inside his house. He barely managed to close the front door when Lucas jumped on his back.
“You’re back, lover boy!”
“Lucas? What are you doing here?” he asked confused.
“I came to hear everything about your date before I go to mine!”
“Come on, let’s go into my room before Mum gets home and remind me to never tell you again where the spare key is”, Ronald said and pushed Lucas into his room.
“Well?” Lucas said, anxious to know everything.
“Well… we kissed”, Ronald said and grinned widely.
“You kissed Farrah?” Lucas yelled. “No way! After all these years of drooling after her you finally kissed her!”
“I know!” Ronald yelled and then he realised what Lucas had said. “Hey, I haven’t drooled after her! I have just… admired from far.”
“Yeah, sure”, Lucas laughed and looked at the time. “I need to go.” He stood up from the bed and winked at Ronald. “I have a date.”
“Have fun”, Ronald said, a little disappointed that he couldn’t tell his secret to Lucas now either. “Let’s talk later.”
“That we will!” Lucas replied and then he walked away and Ronald could hear the front door be slammed shut. He fell down on his bed, sighing and smiling. What a day. Now all he hoped was that he hadn’t been a terrible kisser.