The Mouse and The Wolf - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

-Jaden-
I had no idea what got into me. I just kept talking and talking and talking... I never meant to spend so much time with Oliver, and I was definitely not going to tell him anything! But... It was so easy to talk with him... Every time he asked something, I just started vomiting words uncontrollably.
And I told him things I really shouldn't have... Like about our village and the fact that he was my freaking mate! But I couldn't help it! I might as well have given him all my passwords and codes for crying out loud! All he needed to do was ask...
I kept my eyes on the darkening street, making my way back to school, where Tilly and Arch promised to wait for me. What made Oliver suitable for me? Why wasn't he freaking out? He did say he had the feeling he already knew about our world, but how could anyone just forget something like that? But then again, I didn't know his past. I didn't even know why he was living in an orphanage. Something bad must have happened to his parents, or they had done something bad to Oliver, meaning he had suffered... Trauma would explain why he forgot, but I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all.
Did I just make things much more difficult by talking with him? He didn't seem to hate the idea of being my mate... Hell, he didn't even seem that interested in the topic! He just found out he was destined to be with me for the rest of his life and he just basically shrugged it off... Well, maybe he didn't fully understand the concept, in which case I had to explain it to him... Wait, no! I would not explain anything to him anymore! I really needed to avoid him in my human form, so I wouldn't spill anymore of our secrets.
"Did you forget something?"
I snapped my head up, ready to make a run for it. Why was Oliver standing right in front of me?! Then, I looked behind him.
"Oh, for fuck's sake..." I sighed. I was back at the orphanage.
"Why are you so spooked?" he asked. There was a fence between us, and it seemed like he never got into the house.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"Why are you here?" he asked with a curious smile on his lips.
I let out a short growl, and decided not to tell him anything. "If I don't pay attention to where I'm going, I'll walk straight to you," I said, and snapped my mouth shut. Damn it!
"Oh, I see," he said, leaning against the fence. "So, you're drawn to me?"
I bit my lips together. I bit them so hard I could taste blood. But the way he looked at me, being all curious and innocent and friendly... "Yes! But it's because of the bond! Stop asking me questions!"
"Okay," he chuckled. "But I think you should go then, because I have like a million questions in my mind right now."
I squinted my eyes at him. I, too, had a few questions of my own. "Do you understand what a mate is?" I asked before I could stop myself.
"I've read a lot of werewolf books," he shrugged. "I don't know how accurate they are..."
"Well, most of them are right about that..." I trailed off, and hesitated for a moment. "So, you understand that you're supposed to be with me for the rest of your life?"
"Yeah, I got the idea," he breathed out. "I just don't know what to do with that information. This is the first time you are talking with me, after all..."
"I could just reject you and that's it," I said carefully.
"Let's not make any drastic decisions now," he chuckled. "Like you said, let's wait and see what happens."
"So you... wouldn't mind...?" I trailed off.
"Well it depends," he said looking like he was thinking really hard. "What kind of privileges does the Alpha's mate have? Money and fame?"
I stared at him for a moment, until I realized he was just messing with me. "You think you're so funny..." I muttered, and he laughed lightly.
"I used to joke around a lot before... Well, back in the day," he said, and his mood changed. His smile turned timid, and I could feel a hint of... fear?
I stepped closer, and leaned against the fence as well. "Back in the day, huh...?"
"Yeah..." he muttered.
I wasn't sure if I should bring it up, but... "You know... Traumatic incidents can cause memory loss..."
"Yeah... That could be it," he breathed out. "But I'm freezing, and you don't want to be seen with me, so you should go now."
"That's not true – I just don't want to make your life harder," I hurried to say.
"Honestly? I don't care, and people are already talking," he said and took a few steps back. "Besides, I don't really see how things would get harder for me."
I watched him turn his back on me. Suddenly, I wasn't ready to let him go, not like this. Not when he was clearly feeling bad. I looked around hastily, making sure there was no one around to hear me.
"You said you've read a lot of werewolf books," I then spoke, and he turned to look at me. "And you still thought we were aliens. You didn't even mention werewolves – not even once!"
He started laughing. "You're not letting that one go, are you?"
"Nope," I said, and he stopped walking. "I was a wolf, for crying out loud! How did you not think about werewolves?"
"Because that would've been way too awesome," he said with a smile, waved at me, and continued walking to the front door.
I watched him get inside, before I let out a long breath and started making my way back to school. At least he was feeling better now, but I knew I was right. About the traumatic event. Something bad happened to him. Back in the day.
Tilly and Arch kept smirking at me the entire time until we arrived at school the next morning. Ever since I returned to them after talking with Oliver, they hadn't talked about it much, but they had that annoying look on their faces. The 'I told you so' look. I just ignored them.
At school, I could tell Oliver was there already. It didn't take me long until I found his scent, but I decided to ignore it. Classes were about to start anyway. I thought again about what he said yesterday, that his life wouldn't get any worse if he was seen with me. It had been crossing my mind often last night. Oliver didn't have any friends – none whatsoever – so what was I afraid of?
I just... needed more time... I was sure Oliver understood that. He seemed to understand me pretty well.
"Someone's smiling," Tilly cooed next to me, so I turned to give her a glare. "Aww, now it's gone..."
I rolled my eyes and ignored her.
I spent the entire period thinking about Oliver, and what I should do... and why he was supposed to be my mate... And what the hell happened to him in the past? Did someone hurt him??
"Oi... I can't write like this..." Arch breathed next to me, and when I turned to look at him, I saw his hands were shaking, just like mine.
I took a deep breath, trying to get rid of my sudden anger so I wouldn't trigger our transformations.
Who the hell would want to hurt a guy like Oliver? What did they do to him?
I tried to avoid thinking about it for the rest of the class. Once it was over, I gathered my stuff and exited the room, Arch and Tilly following right behind me. I didn't watch where I was going, I just walked until I found the perfect spot to stop.
There was a brief moment of silence around us, until...
"Uhmm...?"
I looked down at Oliver. He was standing so close that our toes were almost touching.
The silence continued. I spend a short moment sniffing the air around him, moving my head closer to pick up even the tiniest scents on him. Oliver stood still, looking at Arch and Tilly like asking them what I was doing.
"I guess this is my life now," he then said, and stepped back. "But I'm sorry – I need to go talk to a teacher about this assignment I have..."
"What? Now?" I frowned.
"Sorry," he said quietly. "I thought you didn't want to be seen with me."
I squinted my eyes at him, and didn't say a word.
"I have to go – raincheck?"
I still didn't reply to him, so he just gave me a smile, patted my arm, and walked past me.
"Curved..." Tilly sang behind my shoulder. "Doesn't feel nice, does it?"
"Shut up," I muttered, and continue walking.
Later, when lunch break started, Arch and I followed Tilly to the lunch hall. This time the food got Tilly's approval – spaghetti and meatballs always did in her opinion – so we grabbed our plates.
"There's some empty tables at the back," Tilly informed us, and we followed her.
"It sure is crowded today..." Arch muttered as we passed by the groups of people.
"The food is good," Tilly smirked, breathing in the scent of her food.
I stopped following her. Oliver had just stepped in. I could feel his heartbeat behind me, so I turned around. He was already looking at me, and he gave me a small wave, before he went to get his tray.
I mean... he was right. Being seen with us wouldn't make his life harder. He did seem to like us... And I... I liked his company, and... I missed our evening walks as well. It was so easy to hang out with him.
So, I waited for him.
"So... Have you changed your mind about hanging out with me?" Oliver asked when he stopped next to me.
"I guess..." I muttered.
"That was fast," he said with a surprised voice, and I growled at him. "Well excuse me, but I really thought I'd have to wait for days or even weeks before you'd make up your mind."
"Who said I'd even consider it?" I asked as we started walking towards Tilly and Arch.
He gave me the side-eye. "Yeah, let's forget I know exactly what you're feeling..."
Oh, right.
We sat down at the table my friends had reserved for us. They were both looking at Oliver in curiosity, before they started raising their eyebrows at me.
"So this is happening," Tilly said, and turned to look at Oliver again. "Hello."
"Hi..." Oliver said, and for some reason, he seemed to lose a bit of his courage when they were both staring at him. "Is this... all right?"
"Sure," Tilly nodded. "Let me just embrace the fact that Jade finally found his balls," she said, and Arch laughed lightly next to her.
"Shut up..." I muttered and stabbed a meatball with my fork.
Oliver seemed much happier now, though, so I couldn't stay mad much longer. While Tilly was thanking Oliver about the chocolate, I looked around. There were some who stared at Oliver, and soon, everyone would know he was hanging out with us...
I could only wish I made the right choice.