As I shifted on the bed, I felt the warmth of another person. I smiled, knowing it was Carlie. I wrapped my arms around her and draped one of my legs over her. I pressed my body against her back when I pulled her closer to me. Wow, her shoulders are actually pretty wide and masculine. I took a deep breath as I snuggled next to her.

Wait, this doesn't smell like Carlie! I immediately kicked the person off the bed and quickly sat up. Who the hell is it?! I looked around frantically. Yep, I'm definitely in Carlie's room. The person I kicked got up slowly, revealing themselves from under the sheets wrapped around them that got pulled down with them when they fell.

Anthony emerged from the covers and looked at me, his face a bit red.

"Hey, why are you blushing?!" I yelled, trying to cover my legs and upper body, which were exposed since I was wearing short, comfortable shorts and a black tank top.

Wait... I don't remember changing!

"Did.. Did you change my clothes?" I asked nervously, holding the covers close.

"What?! No! I swear! It was Carlie!" He yelled, putting his hands up in surrender as his face turned more noticeably red.

"You better not be lying! If I find out it was you, you can kiss your dick goodbye!"

Just as I about to kick him, the door flew open and Carlie, Iris, and Carlos entered the room and began singing.

"Happy birthday, to you! Happy birthday Lumpy Laurie-Poo, happy birthday to you!" They all sang together.

Carlie ran to me and hugged me, causing us to fall backwards onto the bed. I hugged her back as the realization that it was my birthday hit me hard. How could I forget a day so important? Even Carlie remembered!

When she pulled away, she had a wide grin on her face.

"W-wait.. Are you sure it's today?" I asked, still a little surprised.

She smacked my arm and replied, "What do you mean 'Are you sure it's today'?! Don't tell me you didn't remember your own birthday?!"

"Well..." I laughed nervously.

Carlie rolled her eyes and a smile formed on her lips again. She kneeled down next to her bed and pushed aside Anthony, who was curled up into a ball, hugging his knees. She rolled him away and reached under her bed, pulling out a sparkly silver gift bag. Everyone clapped and cheered when she handed it to me.

"This is only the first present, and it's not as big as the second one, but I thought I should give it to you now so you can use it. You can get your second present after school," she said with a wink.

"You didn't have to.." I said in a small voice, feeling bad they went through so much trouble for me.

"Of course I did! You're basically my sister! You sleep here more than you do at your house, and I'm closer to you than I am with my idiot brother. Even my parents like you!" She bubbled.

"That's true. I almost love you more than Carlie," Iris said with a grin on her face.

"Hey!" Carlie yelled, glaring at her mom.

Her mom laughed and said, "I'm just messing with you, sweetie. I love both of you. And I guess you too, Anthony."

Anthony rolled out of the room, still curled into a ball. Everyone went silent for a while as they watched him. After he was gone, everyone continued chatting as if nothing happened.

"Anyways, open it!" Carlie cheered.

I opened the bag and carefully took out the the blue tissue paper inside, revealing a tight, black long sleeve shirt that stops right at the waist. Under it was a perfectly folded red skirt that reached a little under mid thigh and some black tights. Then, I saw a pair of long, black boots that reached a little above the knee. Under all of it was a hundred dollar gift card to the Salcerine Restaurant that I really love.

"It took me forever to choose that outfit. It's so hard finding a good outfit for you, especially since you think you don't look good in anything, which obviously isn't true since you have a nice body," Carlie jabbered, making me feel slightly embarrassed with her last words.

She continued, "And that gift card. I know how much you love that place and would prefer it over a gift card to a clothes store, so that part was easy."

She knows me so well.

"Thanks, Carlie." I thanked her quietly as I pulled her into a hug.

She patted my back and said, "Anyways, get dressed and meet us downstairs. And hurry before it gets late! We have a big breakfast planned!"

I nodded and everyone left the room, closing the door behind them. I entered her bathroom and took a quick five minute shower. Afterwards, I dried myself with one of my towels I have at her house, since I stay here so often. After I put on my under wear and dried my hair, I wrapped the towel around me and walked back out to her bedroom.

I took the bag with the outfit she got me and laid everything out. I first slipped on the black shirt, then I put on the black tights, which were actually not as bad as I thought. I thought they would be more uncomfortable. Afterwards, I put on the red skirt and zipped it up from the back. Once I had finished with the skirt, I sat down on the bed and put on the long, above-the-knee boots. They had a bit of heel, but not so much I couldn't walk. I stood up and felt a little taller with the heel. Now I can make more fun of Carlie because of her height!

Now finished, I walked out of her room and joined everyone in the kitchen. When I walked in, the smell of freshly made waffles and bacon filled my nose. I looked at the dining table and noticed it was filled with food. There was waffles, French toast, bacon and eggs, muffins, and a cake that said "Happy 18th Birthday, Lauren!" right at the center of all the food.

I noticed Nathan sitting next to Carlie. When he noticed I was staring, he smiled at me. I looked to his left and noticed there were crutches leaning on his chair. I guess the injury was more serious than I thought. Didn't think a chair could hurt someone that much.

"Happy birthday, Whoren!" he cheered.

"Why is he here?" I asked as I looked at Carlie.

"We can't celebrate your birthday without one of your best friends!" Carlie beamed.

She was in a good mood today.

I looked at the crutches and asked, "Are those really necessary?"

"Yes, they are! It hurts to walk, and to make it worse I can't play soccer for two weeks!" He whined.

I rolled my eyes and said, "You'll be fine. It's not that long anyways."

I took my seat next to Carlie and looked at Carlos, who was busy serving all the food he had just made.

"Thank you, Carlos. You didn't have to go through all the trouble just for me," I said while playing with the ends of my skirt. I'm not used to wearing skirts or dresses, so I'm feeling a bit more self-conscious than usual.

"Lauren, I went through all the trouble because it's you," he said with a smile.

I thanked him once again, returning a smile, "Thank you."

"See, Lauren. You look good in that outfit! I knew it would suit you! Don't you think so too, Anthony?" Carlie asked with a smirk on her face as she nudged Anthony from across the table.

His eyes grew wide and his face turned red, causing Carlie and Nathan to laugh. I didn't really know what was going on, but seeing Anthony like this was quite rare and funny. When Carlos finally sat down after he was finished serving everyone, we all began our big meal.

"Sorry to bring this up now, but could you please excuse us with your parents, Nathan. Carlie was really rude when your family came over on Monday. She shouldn't have kicked you out like that," Iris apologized to Nathan.

I noticed Carlie tensed up a little bit and looked down, while Nathan's face turned a light shade of pink.

"I-it's alright. It was partially my fault, too.." He said awkwardly.

Huh? What happened on Monday? And why hasn't either of them said anything?!

We all continued our delicious breakfast with an uneasy aura. Well, that is until everyone started making fun of Anthony, making it lively all over again.

I took my last bite, then leaned back in my chair. I placed my hands on my stomach and looked at the dining table where there had previously been piles of food. Now all that was left were loads of empty plates.

I looked at Carlie, who was looking around for anything else to eat. She frowned when she didn't find anything. Even all of the cake had been eaten.

"We should get going. It's getting late," Nathan said, checking the time on his phone.

"Wait! We still have something to do!" Carlie shouted as she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back to her room.

She sat me down at her desk and pulled out her makeup bag.

"Uhh.. What are you doing with that?" I asked nervously.

"You need your finishing touches!" She said excitedly.

I tried to struggle, but it was no use. There's no stopping Carlie once she gets like this. She quickly applied light eyeshadow, mascara, and matte dusty rose lipstick. Once she was done, she rushed over to her floor mirror and looked herself over. She straightened her clothes, then rushed over to her bed and picked up our backpacks which were on the floor, right next to her bed. She tossed my backpack to me, then we both quickly rushed downstairs.

Iris spotted us and said, "Nathan's outside waiting for you, girls."

"Okay. Bye, mom," Carlie said as she hurried outside.

"Bye, Iris. Thank you once again," I said with a smile before following Carlie outside.

"No problem!" She called out before the front door shut loudly.

Carlie and I jumped into Nathan's roofless car. She sat in the front with him while I sat in the back. I hate sitting in the back, but whenever we're in Nate's car, I always end up sitting here. Plus, his crutches are laid out on the seat, making it uncomfortable for me.. Wait should he even be driving?

"Is it okay for you to drive? Shouldn't you let Carlie drive instead?" I asked, worried for our safety.

"No way in hell am I letting her drive my precious car. I can drive, I just need to press with my heel instead of my foot. Besides, it's just my ankle that hurts," he said as he started the car.

"If we crash and die, I'm gonna bring you back to life and kill you with my bare hands," I threatened, not entirely convinced he was fit to be driving right now. Was his doctor seriously okay with this?

We started our drive to school, and Carlie flipped through the radio stations, trying to find a good song. Nate was driving pretty well, so I worried less about whether we were gonna make it out of this alive.

While Carlie was searching for a good song, I asked, "Hey, Carlie. Why was Anthony in the bed while I was sleeping?"

In all the excitement, I had forgotten to ask her about it earlier.

She laughed and replied, "I thought that if someone else was lying in bed with you, you wouldn't notice I was gone. And it worked. You didn't realize it was him until after an hour. By that time, we already had everything prepared."

"You know, you could've just used a pillow and I would've been fine," I remarked.

"Eh. Using Anthony was more interesting," she grinned.

"Oh, I was gonna get you a present, but I figured giving you money would be better," Nate said as he made a left turn.

He grabbed an envelope inside the drawer in between him and Carlie with one hand while the other remained on the wheel. He tossed it back, and it landed on my lap. Inside was two 100 dollar bills and a small card that read, "Don't worry, they're real!"

I smiled after reading the card and said, "Thanks. You didn't have to, you know."

"Well, I couldn't not get you anything," he said.

I closed the envelope and put it into my backpack.

Remembering what Iris had said about Carlie kicking out Nathan, I asked, "So what happened on Monday?"

Both of them stiffened. I leaned my head into the space between Nate and Carlie's seats. Carlie was looking out the window with pink stained cheeks while Nate was looking ahead at the road, trying to act like he didn't know what I was talking about.

Why won't they tell me anything?! They shouldn't be keeping me in the dark like this!

"You know what? I'm using my birthday card. You guys have to tell me what's going on." I demanded.

Carlie whined, "Noo! Not the birthday card! That's not fair!"

"Yes it is. I'm choosing to use it now. Remember when we went to a restaurant for your birthday and you ate everything there, then used your birthday card so I could pay the 250 dollars? That wasn't fair." I mentioned.

"I refuse!" Nathan denied, acting like little kid who was ordered to wash his hands before dinner.

"You can't! I'm using my birthday card. Remember we said that no matter what it was we were asked to do, we had to do it if one of us decided to use our birthday card," I declared.

Carlie let out a sigh and hesitantly said, "I guess there's no way around it."

Nathan looked at her, then back at the road. He didn't say anything, but he nodded, saying it was okay for her to tell me.

Carlie explained, "On Monday, my mom invited him and his family to dinner.. She sent me to get something from her room to show it to his mom, and Nathan came with me. It was at the top shelf of her closet, and Nathan made a short joke about me and said he would get it since I wasn't tall enough, so I pushed him away and said I would get it.. Then all the boxes fell on me, and I landed on top of him... That's when..he.."

"Found Carlie's baby pictures where she was completely naked. She got angry and kicked me out, and dinner ended short," Nate butted in.

"Huh?! That's it?! That's what you were acting all nervous about?!" I yelled in disbelief.

"What did you expect?" Nate asked as Carlie looked down and began twiddling her thumbs.

I shrugged as Nate parked his car in the parking lot. When he turned off the engine, Carlie and I got out. She grabbed his crutches from the back and handed them to him.

"Thanks.." He said as he took them from her.

He slowly stood up and began walking. Carlie and I walked next to him at his pace.

When we entered the building, a heavenly scent made its way to my nose. I stopped walking and faced the direction the smell was coming from.

"What's wrong?" Carlie asked as she stopped and faced me.

"N-nothing.. I just need to use the bathroom," I said as the intoxicating scent was starting to drive me insane.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'm fine," I said as I hurriedly entered the hallway the scent was coming from.

"The bathroom's this way!" Carlie shouted, but I was too distracted by the scent.

I quickly followed the natural, earthy scent that reminded me of the forest to the end of the hall. At first, I didn't know what it was, but my wolf got extremely excited.

'Mate!'

She kept repeating herself over and over again. My anxiety was building up and I found myself getting excited over finding my other half. I wondered who it could be, and I could no longer contain myself. I turned the corner and immediately stopped when I saw Daniel, Lucas, and Jeremy standing next to the closed door of a classroom. My eyes met Daniel's and I couldn't look away.

'That's him! That's our mate!'

Jeremy and Lucas looked at me and smiled.

"We'll see you later," Jeremy said with a grin as they both walked off.

Daniel slowly approached me, my eyes still glued onto him.

He took one last step and finally stopped when he was right in front of me, only inches away.

In a low, resonating voice that sent shivers down my spine, he uttered, "Mate."