We\u2019d been in Gabriel\u2019s room maybe ten minutes after the conversation when the door swung open without a knock. Nathan stood there, phone still in hand, wearing that smirk that said he\u2019d been looking for trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, Gabe,\u201d he drawled. \u201cDad wants you to help him in the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel didn\u2019t look up from restringing his guitar. \u201cTell him I\u2019ll be down in a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nathan ignored that. He sauntered in, leaning against the bunk bed frame. \u201cSo this is the big new friend, huh? Doesn\u2019t say much for a guy who takes up that much space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I kept my eyes on him, expression neutral. \u201cYou always this charming?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He snorted. \u201cYou should hear what people say about you in the neighborhood.\u201d He glanced at Gabriel, smirking wider. \u201cBet he doesn\u2019t even know half of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKnock it off, Nathan,\u201d Gabriel said, his tone sharp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Nathan wasn\u2019t done. He reached over and plucked one of Gabriel\u2019s guitar picks right off the desk, twirling it between his fingers. \u201cYou still playing that stupid band stuff? Nobody\u2019s ever gonna care. You should just\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was standing before he could finish, the chair legs scraping across the floor. Nathan froze mid-sentence as I closed the distance in two slow steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t touch him. I didn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I leaned in just enough for him to see the change in my eyes \u2014 that subtle sharpening, the predatory focus. My voice stayed calm, almost quiet, but there was no mistaking the edge under it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re gonna put that back where you found it,\u201d I said, \u201cand you\u2019re going to leave your brother alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nathan\u2019s smirk faltered. \u201cOr what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOr you\u2019re going to find out why the wildlife doesn\u2019t come near me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He blinked, the color draining from his face. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, he set the pick back on the desk. Then he stepped backward toward the door, hands slightly raised in mock surrender \u2014 but his eyes stayed wide, calculating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhatever,\u201d he muttered, disappearing into the hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The door clicked shut behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel was watching me carefully. \u201cYou didn\u2019t even touch him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t have to.\u201d I sat back down. \u201cSome people learn faster when they scare themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t argue, but I could feel his curiosity sharpen again \u2014 like he\u2019d just seen another piece of the puzzle and had no idea where it fit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We\u2019d been in Gabriel\u2019s room maybe ten minutes after the conversation when the door swung open without a knock. Nathan stood there, phone still in hand, wearing that smirk that said he\u2019d been looking for trouble. \u201cHey, Gabe,\u201d he drawled. \u201cDad wants you to help him in the garage.\u201d Gabriel didn\u2019t look up from restringing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-school-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/38"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}