Notice Me (9 page)

Chapter 12: New Guy
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Anya's disbelieving voice said through the
receiver of my cell phone. "Rewind and tell me again." She cried
excitedly. Really, again? I was explaining to her how Tristan and I
are officially together now. After telling Tristan I accepted being
his mate and a long make-out session ensued, Tristan asked me to be
his girlfriend.
My heart burst with happiness as soon as the words escaped his
mouth. I've never had a boyfriend before. Of course, I couldn't
explain the entire story to Anya. I had to leave out the whole
'mate' thing along with what I witnessed in the woods. In time,
she'll know from Luke. It's not my place to ruin his chance with
her. Hopefully, she won't freak out the same way I did.
She's an easy going girl, so I can totally see her thinking Luke
and the guys being wolves is the coolest thing since the invention
of the Iphone. Anya called me this morning while I was getting
dressed for school. The ear-piercing scream that I had to endure
was traumatizing.
She heard from Luke last night that Tristan and I are now a couple.
Well, that didn't sit very well with her. Boys, they gossip worse
than females do! "Why am I the last one to know that my best friend
has a boyfriend?" She all but shrieked into my ear before I
finished saying hello.
Hence, why I'm having this conversation with her right this Moment.
She couldn't wait until after school when she saw me in person to
bring any of this up. "I said sorry." I apologized for the tenth
time. "I wanted to tell you in person." I scrambled to come up with
an excuse so she'd stop screaming. "Listen Anya, I have to finish
getting ready for school. Can we talk about this later?"
"You better believe we'll talk about this later." She huffed an
annoyed breath into the line, "Be over around six."
"Ok darling, have a great day at school." I sang out. "Love ya
bish."
"Love ya too." She grunted before hanging up. I know she's a little
angry at the fact that I didn't call her up right away when I got
home last night, but I couldn't help it. Last night was like a
dream. I hardly recalled getting home, eating dinner, showering or
even going to bed.
Pulling on my blue strappy sandals, I took a final glance at myself
in the mirror. I decided to leave my hair down and curly today.
Hope I look all right, I thought staring at my outfit. I was
wearing a pair of gray shorts, a blue tank, and a three-quarter
sleeved black cardigan. I rushed out my front door, even though I
already knew what would be patiently waiting for me in the
driveway. Seeing his angelic face still manages to take my very
breath away.

Once again, he was leaning against his truck looking mighty
delicious. Wearing a plain white T-shirt with baggy army green
cargo shorts and a pair of timberland boots with the laces undone.
OM to the friggin G, he gives that thug-look a whole new meaning.
He has the sporty look, the baggy look, and don't get me started on
when he cleans himself up, eek!
"Like what you see?" Tristan's voice disrupted me from my drool
session. If I don't stop, I'm going to make us extremely late. He
was smirking at me with a knowing look plastered to his face. My
cheeks felt warm, I'm sure they're tinged a scarlet red color as I
grew embarrassed. I chewed down on my bottom lip, making my way
towards the car.
"Ehh, I've seen better." I mumbled walking by him in a dismissive
manner. Before I made it a step past him, I was gripped up into a
bear hug from behind. The shock of being picked up off the ground
in one swoop caused me to yelp out, "Tristan!" in surprise.
His warm breath against my cheek made me shiver involuntarily.
"You've seen better?" He growled his face pressed right up against
my ear. "Who is it?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"No I haven't." I admitted shaking my head no, because honestly,
I’ve never seen anyone better looking. I let out a giggle.
‘
What a jealous buffoon.
’ It's
so cute though.
"That's what I thought." His chuckle vibrated against my back as he
leaned his face down and kissed me on the cheek. "You look
beautiful today by the way."
"Thanks, you're looking beautiful today too." I joked getting into
the car. He gave me the playful stink-eye as he made his way around
to get into the driver's side after shutting my door. Tristan held
my hand the entire way to school; it's hard to believe how much has
changed in just a matter of days. Things between us felt so,
natural. It's hard to explain it's like we don't even have to try
to get along with one another. Our different personalities seem to
mesh well together.
Pulling into a parking spot right next to Max's Suburban, Tristan
gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before he brought the back of it
up to his lips. He could probably feel the stress omitting off me
in waves. Think anyone noticed both Tristan and I missed school
yesterday? I can just imagine the gossip now.
"Don't look so worried." Tristan insisted with a smile. "Luke
already let the cat out the bag." His eyes went wide in mock
horror. "Everyone knows you're my girl and we're together." Oh god,
what does he mean by everyone knows? Everyone as in all the guys or
everyone as in the entire freaking school?
I heard the driver door close at the same time my door was yanked
open. Max practically dragged me out the truck, twirling me around
like a rag doll in an embrace "Aww our wittle Tristan's all grown
up and got himself a girlfriend!" Max cried out dramatically
causing people to stare at us strangely.

Thanks a lot Max. For those who didn't hear the news from Luke,
surely didn't miss it escaping from Max's blabbermouth. "That's
quite enough, put her down." Tristan laughed at my horrified
expression. Nice to know he gets a kick out of my
humiliation.
"We gotta go. Coach called a meeting before homeroom, Tris." Luke
said coming over and slapping him on the shoulder. "Wants to go
over this year's plays."
"Ok." Tristan answered with a slight nod of the head, he looked a
little disappointed. "You going to be alright?" He asked me with
concern.
"I'll be fine, I'm sure none of my stalkers will get me while I'm
walking to homeroom." I joked giving him a big smile to reassure
him I'd be fine.
“That's not funny." Tristan warned with a serious glare. "Maybe you
should come with me to the meeting. I'll get coach to give you a
pass if we're late."
He can't be serious can he? "I'm not going to the soccer meeting,
I'm not even on the team!" I squealed in disbelief. "I promise I'll
be fine."
Tristan stood there and stared at me for a few minutes
contemplating on what he wanted to do. "Just be careful." He
whispered leaning down to hug me then pecking me lightly on the
lips.
I watched as he pulled away and walked off towards the soccer
field. The rest of the team seemed to be over there waiting on
their captain. Coach wasn't on the field yet. Be careful...of what?
We're in school for heaven's sake! What could possibly get me while
I'm walking to homeroom? Then again, let me not speak too soon. The
girls at this school can be vicious, so I've heard. Now that they
know Tristan is off the market I can only picture what will happen
to me.
Walking into the school I tried holding my head up high as I
happened to stroll by Jewel's locker. She was standing around with
her usual minions. Let's just say if looks could kill, I'd be
laying dead on the ground. The amount of evil daggers thrown my way
as they mumbled under their breath about me was chilling.
Stopping at my locker to grab my things, I passed by the main
office on my way to homeroom. Just as I walked by, I heard my name
being called by Principal White.
"Ahh Annalise, just the person I was looking for." Principal White
lilted happily. "I've got a huge favor to ask of you."
I cringed slightly with my back facing the good old principal. Last
time he asked me for a favor, it involved volunteering my free
period to serve lunch. He was short staffed after one of the lunch
ladies called out sick. Let's just say me in a hair net and apron
scooping globs of mashed potatoes onto trays was not something I
looked forward to in the future.
"Yes Principal White?" I answered in my smallest voice, turning
around to face him. My eyes went agape as I took in the guy
standing next to him. From what I could see of him, he was good
looking. He could fit right in there with Tristan and his group of
friends.
This guy was at least six feet tall, brown hair, mysterious
chocolate brown eyes that hid behind the hood he had on his head. I
wondered why Principal White hasn't asked him to remove it yet, or
maybe he has and the guy refused. He looked older or maybe it was
just the scruff that grew along his jaw line. Considering the fact
that I’m only sixteen, older to me meant like eighteen or nineteen,
Tristan's age.
Not to judge a book by it's cover, but this guy looked bad ass.
Like he wasn't the type to follow any rules and did whatever he
damn well pleased. "This is our newest student, Axel Fisher."
Principal White introduced. "Since you'll have the same homeroom, I
was hoping you'd be so kind and show him around."
Ahh great...nerd girl's just been volunteered yet again. Except
this time I'd be the new guy's personal tour guide. Breathing out a
sigh, I accepted the fact that I wouldn't have much say in this.
It's not like I could decline. What's my excuse going to be?
'Sorry Principal White, no can do. My boyfriend's overly protective
and would rip this guy limb from limb if I were seen next to
him?'
"Hi Axel." I said reintroducing myself properly; I held my hand out
for him to shake it. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lise."
At this Principal White thanked me for being such a model student
and walked off towards the direction of the teacher's lounge. No
doubt to get his third cup of coffee. Axel gave me a shy smile,
"Pleasure to meet you Lise." His voice was stealthy yet resonant.
Maybe he's not a bad boy and I had him pegged all wrong.
He reached his hand out to grab a hold of mine and as soon as that
happened, I began panicking as my breathing quickened and my heart
pounded wildly against my chest.
Snatching my hand out of his like I'd been burned, I looked at him
in stupefaction. What the hell was that and why were there shocks
when he touched me?
From what Tristan explained to me yesterday, those little
shockwaves we felt between one another when we touched were because
we're mates. So if that's the case and it's something mates share.
Why the hell did I just feel what I felt when I touched the new guy
Axel Fisher?

Chapter 13: Protector
We stood there staring at one another in astonishment until the
warning bell sounded, causing me to remember we needed to get to
homeroom. Clearing my throat awkwardly, I turned my back on Axel
and began walking. "This way to homeroom." I croaked
silently.
What the hell was that and what am I going to do now? How am I
going to explain this to Tristan? There are two things I am
absolutely positive of. One, being the new guy Axel Fisher is
without a doubt a wolf and two, there's some sort of weird
connection between us. As for what type of connection, that's the
part I need to figure out.
I could tell right off the bat the shocks aren't half as strong as
they are when I touch Tristan, but they’re definitely there.
There's no denying that. The sound of his feet shuffling closely
behind notified me that he was indeed following me to homeroom. He
hasn't said anything since I snatched my hand away from his.
Just as we both walked into the classroom, the final bell sounded.
Tristan was already in his seat looking extremely uncomfortable
that I had yet to arrive. As soon as he saw me, his whole stature
seemed at ease seeing that I was unharmed. His eyes narrowed in
confusion once he saw Axel walk in closely behind me.
’Please don't think the
worse’,
I pleaded over and over again in my mind. I
just hope he isn't angry with me for conveniently waltzing in at
the same exact Moment the hot new guy did. All the girls in
homeroom practically foamed at the mouth once they got a gander at
Axel. He just made his way to an empty seat towards the back of the
room without so much as a glance at anyone.
Can you say uncomfortable, how about awkward? That's the vibes I
was getting off of Tristan's watchful eye as he focused on me the
entire fifteen minutes of homeroom.
Why was he staring at me so strangely? Did he know something was up
between the new guy and me?
As soon as the bell rang, he stood up and walked over to Axel. Oh
god, he's going over there to confront him! He's going to start a
fight. Rushing over towards them in the back of the room, I could
hear Tristan speaking quietly. "Don't hesitate to ask any of us
guys if you need anything, alright Axel?"
What the heck is going on? How do they even know each other? The
way Tristan is speaking to him is almost as if they already met.
Axel nodded and gave Tristan a thankful smile. "Thanks for all the
hospitality. I really am sorry about the other day." Sorry about
the other day, what happened the other day?
"It's not a problem." Tristan said reassuring him it really wasn't
a big deal. "There's nothing to apologize for, simple
misunderstanding. Don't worry about it." As if Tristan could sense
me standing a few steps away, he whipped around and slung his arm
around my waist pulling me closer.
"Hey." He said placing a kiss on my forehead. "I want you to meet
Axel. Axel this is Lise."
I gave a small smile to both of them before answering, "I know, we
already met. Principal White asked me to show him around."
A look of understanding flashed across Tristan's face. "Designated
tour guide?" He laughed shaking his head in disbelief as he waved
his hand in a c'mon gesture for Axel to follow us.
We were walking down the hallway towards my next class. Tristan had
his arm draped around my shoulder and Axel was walking along the
right side of him. "Only you'd get singled out for something like
that." Tristan winked with a smirk. "Make sure you give me a double
scoop of mashed potatoes at lunch today ok?"
Haha, hardy har har. See what I get for telling him my horror
stories. He thinks he's cute making jokes! This caused Axel to
break out into a grin also; wow must be nice to laugh at my
expense. I can't help being such a great student that teacher's
seek me out for all types of favors.
"Don't worry, Gabe's going to take over and show Axel around."
Tristan reassured me as Gabe came walking down the hallway towards
us. "They have a lot of the same classes together."
This little tidbit of news was relieving to hear. "Do you two know
each other from somewhere?" I inquired looking between the two of
them. Curious to know why they seemed like long lost friends.
"Something like that." Tristan responded glancing over at Axel then
back at me. "You two got a brief glimpse of one another in the
woods the other day."
We got a glimpse of one another in the woods the other day? All I
remember seeing in the woods the other day were two wolves. Whoa,
one of them was Axel? I wondered which one? And if so why did it
look like he was ready to attack us? What did we do to him that
made him feel the need to lunge at Tristan?
Axel nodded appreciatively. "You've got a great set of lungs." He
complimented with a chuckle, "Nice to see you up close. I only
caught the back of your head as you ran the opposite way."
Giving Axel a pointed look, I narrowed my eyes at him and scoffed.
Great, now I have another first class comedian to add to the bunch.
Otherwise known as Tristan's friends. The rest of the morning
passed by rather uneventful, that is until lunchtime rolled around.
Seems like Tristan and I being a couple was old news.
Axel's the hot commodity around here now; everyone wanted a piece
of him. In a way I was rather grateful, now they can all back off
Tristan. But as you know, there are still always a few girls that
still want what they can't have. So the glares were still thrown in
my direction.
"What time's Anya coming over?" Tristan asked softly, leaning over
to whisper into my ear. His closeness made me nervous. He was
sitting next to me eating his slice of pizza. At the mention of
Anya's name, Luke's head snapped up and he gave me the cheekiest
smile. Somebody's happy.
The guys seemed to instantly make friends with Axel; he was sitting
on the opposite end of the bench in between Gabe and Max. Jewel and
her followers were seated across from them giggling away. Here and
there I'd notice her looking at Tristan out the corner of her eye
to see if he was paying her any mind, but of course he
wasn't.
I didn't think she'd give up on him that easily. She's probably got
something up her sleeve to try and make him jealous or something.
"She said around six." I answered stabbing a forkful of salad and
moving it around on my plate. Losing my appetite all of a sudden.
"Why what's up?"
"We're all going to the beach tonight. I want you to come." The
intentness of his gray eyes bore into mine, making me feel like the
only girl in the room. "Of course Luke wants Anya there too. Stop
playing with your food and eat." He ordered glancing down at my
full plate of salad. "I'll take you to the library if you finish
all of it." At this I couldn't help but laugh, was he seriously
using bribery to force me to eat my lunch? I felt like such a
child, but did as I was told.
Breathing out a sigh of relief as school let out, you would think I
endured an entire week instead of two measly days. We were sitting
in the Navigator headed home, I noticed Tristan was being awfully
quiet as he mindlessly clenched his fingers opened and closed
against mine.
"What is it?" I asked staring over at him with worry. I wasn't used
to seeing him look so bothered. "Is something bothering you?"
There's so much more I need to tell you." He blinked his eyes
bringing them back into focus and bit down sexily onto his bottom
lip. "Something Axel told me, but I don't want to scare you
off."
Oh lord, what else now? Did Axel tell him about the sparks and if
so, what could he possibly tell me that'd scare me off? I already
accepted the fact that I'm the mate to the future leader of a pack
of wolves. What else is there left?
Tristan parked up in his driveway and turned to face me. "You're
not Luna of the pack yet, but you will be when we complete the
process and I become Alpha." Ok, I don't even know what a Luna is
or what process we'll be completing, but I'm sure he'll fill me in
on it when the time comes like he has with everything else. Or
maybe I'll just google it in my spare time.
"Don't worry it won't be for another few years, but in the mean
time I'll have to start taking an active role in things." Tristan
began. "You'll see what I mean when I bring you to your first
meeting next week."
First meeting? What meeting is he bringing me to? Why is he always
announcing things instead of asking me for my input? Yea, yea,
shake your head in shame at me. I enjoy a good romance or mystery
novel over vampires or werewolves so smack me if I don't know what
it entails to be the mate of an Alpha. He let out a huge sigh and
looked at me with such a sad expression. I wanted to kiss away his
sorrows.
"Being Luna of the pack is kind of like being the First Lady." My
eyes widened at his comparison. How is that even possible? Do I
look like I could amount to the likes of Hillary Clinton or
Michelle Obama? "There's a lot of responsibilities that come with
being a Luna and with that also some dangers." He winced a little
as he said that. Almost like it caused him physical pain just
thinking about it.
What does he mean dangers? I'm a stinking human, what can I protect
myself against? Uhh nothing, unless I take some lessons at the
local shooting range. "So naturally with every Luna, comes what we
call a protector." Tristan's eyes turned a dark cloudy gray as he
ran his fingertips over the side of my face leaving a trail of
fire. "Like a personal body guard."
Isn't that what Tristan is to me? He acts like my very own personal
bodyguard the way he shields me from any and all types of danger.
It's rather sexy if I don't say so myself. "Yes, I'm your mate and
I'll give my dying breath to assure your safety. But being Alpha
means I can't always be by your side when I'd like to. Hence, the
protector."
What is this guy a mind reader? It's freaky how he can sense what
I'm thinking sometimes without me having to say a word. "Axel told
me what happened when he shook your hand this morning." Tristan
confessed with a knowing look. Uh-oh, he doesn't look too excited
about me not telling him first.
"As much as I would've liked your protector to be Max, Gabe, Sam or
even Jordan, I guess we'll have to settle for it being Axel." Aww,
do I sense a tad bit of jealousy in his tone of voice?
I just stared at him with a dumbfounded look, "So those shocks mean
that Axel's my protector?" I asked idiotically still not having a
clue what was being told to me.
"Yes, sweetheart." Tristan answered giving me a crooked smile. He
knows I'm completely lost with all this stuff so he can't expect me
to understand any of it. "He'll watch over you when I can't. It
won't be often, but as a precaution."
Ugh! Great, there will be even more eyes watching over my every
move. Exactly who signed me up for this sort of fate? I'm a plane
Jane teenager not somebody famous. "I want you to know Axel's
family's been through a lot. Rogues attacked their old pack and
everyone was killed. His family are the only survivors, that's why
they moved here to join our pack." Tristan explained slowly, I
guess it was in hopes that I'd follow along with his story.
For someone who is so smart, I felt awfully dumb at the Moment. I
know the definition of a rogue is an uncontrolled animal that lives
apart from its group or herd. Do I get points for knowing that
much? I still didn’t comprehend the need to tell me all of
this?
"I'm telling you all this for two reasons. One, so you don't wonder
why he's constantly around you all the time. Secondly, so you
wouldn't be freaking out about the shocks thinking you have two
mates."
"Hmm, think you know me so well do you?" I asked with a sly grin.
Sad to say it he hit it right on the money. Letting out a sigh
filled with relief and happiness, I figured I needed to start
paying more attention to everything Tristan tells me. I get so
caught up in ogling him the majority of the time that I don't
listen. Not listening is what's going to get me in trouble when I
need to know something.
"I know you well enough." Tristan said huskily, he reached over and
pulled me across the console onto his lap. He began planting
open-mouthed loud kisses all over my face and down to my neck
tickling me like crazy. A loud blaring noise sounded, causing us to
separate and glance over to my driveway. Anya was staring at us as
she annoyingly held down her horn.
She made a funny face, which consisted of pushing her nose up to
resemble a pig and sticking out her tongue. Whoa six o' clock
already? Time just seems to fly by when I'm spending time with
Tristan. "Oops, gotta go get ready for the beach." I said trying to
wriggle out of his lap.
Before I could move an inch he pulled me back and kissed me so
passionately it made my toes curl. "Be back here in a hour."
Tristan ordered looking into my eyes and kissing me softly once
more.