The ferry ride was quiet except for the low rumble of the Humvee\u2019s diesel engine. Gabriel sat in the passenger seat, sunglasses on, trying\u2014and failing\u2014not to grin like a maniac. Even with the windows down, the smell of saltwater clung to the air, the kind that seeps into everything it touches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStill think we should\u2019ve kept it low-key?\u201d I asked over the engine\u2019s growl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLow-key is for people who don\u2019t<\/em> have a military Humvee,\u201d he shot back, smirking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We pulled into the school lot just as the first wave of buses was unloading. The sound of those kids and the usual carpool chatter died off quick when the Humvee\u2019s brakes hissed. Heads turned. Conversations stalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I shut off the engine, the sudden quiet almost as loud as the motor had been. Gabriel and I stepped out in sync, sunglasses in place, not rushing, not speaking\u2014just walking like we belonged at the center of this little universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for a moment\u2026 no one dared to touch us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until the new guy decided to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tall, broad-shouldered, wearing the smugness of someone who thought he owned every room he walked into. I caught the way his fellow jocks eyed him\u2014half warning, half pity\u2014but he either didn\u2019t notice or didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, well,\u201d he said loud enough for the nearest crowd to hear. \u201cGuess the freak bus has a VIP upgrade now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel\u2019s jaw tightened, but he didn\u2019t move. I took one slow step toward the guy, tilting my head like I hadn\u2019t heard him right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou wanna try that again?\u201d I asked, my voice low but carrying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He snorted. \u201cWhat, you gonna bite me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The air between us tightened like a wire. My hand went to the bridge of my sunglasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou really want me to?\u201d I said\u2014and slid them down just enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The shift was small, controlled, deliberate. Blue bled into gold, bright and molten, catching the morning sun in a way that made the light itself seem sharper. I let the growl rumble low and steady, a sound that didn\u2019t belong in a human throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His smirk died. His breathing hitched. The scent of his fear was instant and sharp\u2014followed by the unmistakable realization that he\u2019d just pissed himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crowd around us froze, a ripple of shock rolling outward. Nobody laughed. Nobody spoke. They just\u2026 knew<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I pushed the sunglasses back up and stepped past him like he didn\u2019t exist. Gabriel fell into stride beside me, but I could feel the questions radiating off him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We made it halfway to the doors before he leaned in, voice barely above a whisper. \u201cThat\u2026 was the coolest thing I\u2019ve ever seen. Can I do that? Tell me I can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I just grinned. \u201cOne day, pup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bell rang, but nobody rushed us. Not after that<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The ferry ride was quiet except for the low rumble of the Humvee\u2019s diesel engine. Gabriel sat in the passenger seat, sunglasses on, trying\u2014and failing\u2014not to grin like a maniac. Even with the windows down, the smell of saltwater clung to the air, the kind that seeps into everything it touches. \u201cStill think we should\u2019ve […]<\/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-81","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-school-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81","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=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions\/82"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}