Taming the Beast
Chapter 22 (Caroline)

I wasn't as cranky as I normally was on Monday. After Keegan left my house Saturday, he stopped by Sunday to see how I was doing. He even brought a toy airplane for Preston. It was still amazing how much Preston liked him. They played in the living room for almost the whole day. With Monday rearing its ugly head, I actually wasn't that affected by it. I mean, I still wasn't talking to anyone until lunch, but that was okay. That was my tradition. I was relieved when lunch rolled around. I couldn't wait to see Keegan. I wanted to see him. I wanted to touch him and feel that comforting warmth I always feel when we're touching. I slid into my seat at the table with the lunch I packed. Stacy and Mariana were the first to the table. They looked sullen and sad.

"We are so sorry about what happened at the party," Stacy blurted first. I shook my head.

"Nothing happened and I got home okay. That's all that matters," I said. Mariana put her head on my shoulder and her hand rested on my far shoulder as she sighed.

"I'm sorry too. I never should've let Stacy talk me into taking you to a party," she said. Stacy's mouth dropped as she looked at Mariana.

"Hey!" she protested. I only laughed.

"It's okay, really. Keegan took me home and I was fine," I shrugged. Stacy and Mariana's eyes lit up. I ignored their curious and pleading faces and took a bite of my sandwich.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore. Spill. What happened?" Stacy asked. My cheeks turned bright red as I thought about what actually happened. "Oh my gosh! Did you hook up with him?" she squealed. My eyes widened as I started shaking my head.

"No! And keep your voice down," I said quickly. She only giggled. I sighed and looked around before I looked back to my friends. They leaned in expectantly. "He broke up with Natasha. And my brother caught him at the house and asked him to stay the night, but he slept in the guest room. And then we all had breakfast together and my brother questioned me about the party and I broke down. Keegan came to my room and just held me and it was the best feeling I'd ever had. Then, get this, Preston even sat in his lap. Preston loves Keegan which is so weird because you know how he is. Then Keegan left, but he came back Sunday to check on me and ended up playing with Preston almost the whole day. It was so cute!" I explained in a rush. Stacy and Mariana squealed but quickly stopped when Keegan and the guys came into view. We all started eating our food, pretending like we weren't just talking about Keegan. They all slid into our table. Keegan sat on my right and grabbed my hand. I loved the way it fit perfectly into his; his fingers laced waffle-style with mine. Mariana held her place on my left. Gregg sat as far away from me as he could. I laughed when I realized it.

"Hey Gregg, why are you way over there? You know I don't bite," I said with a wink.

"Yes you do," he murmured, keeping his eyes on the table. Mariana, Stacy and I laughed. None of the guys did. Gregg kept his nervous eyes down and Keegan's grip on my hand tightened. The others just stayed quiet. When we sobered up, I released my hand from Keegan's which made his eyes snap to me. He was about to protest but the she-witch interrupted him.

"Hey Keegs," she smiled as she sat on his other side, pushing Asher over in the process. He sighed and turned to her. I looked on confused. I thought he broke up with her?

"Natasha, I told you, we're not together anymore," he said sternly. She only smirked at him as she touched his face and leaned closer.

"That's not what my dad says," she said in a sing song voice. "He said you can't do that. And you know you can't be with... Caroline... she's not like us," she added. I wondered what she meant by that. Was she saying that it was because I wasn't popular like them? And what did her dad have to do with anything?

"Natasha," he said slowly like he was reprimanding to a two year old. "You know very well how this all works. I'm going to be... in charge soon and I want what I want, so get used to it. As for us... we're over," he said carefully but sternly. His voice was laced with authority. She puffed out a breath and stood before she pointed a finger at me and narrowed her eyes.

"This isn't over," she gave her final words before she left. Gregg was the first to speak up.

"I hate to say this, but she's right until you figure something out," Gregg said. Keegan glared at him.

"We'll talk about this later," Keegan snapped at him with the same amount of authority. Gregg lowered his head and started eating again. The whole table was silent for the rest of lunch. What was with all the secrecy? An even better question: what the hell was going on?

The lunch bell rang. Everyone was too happy to get out of there. Keegan walked beside me quietly to our Forensics class. Before he could walk into the classroom, I pulled him aside. He leaned up against the wall and waited as I tried to figure out what to say.

"What the hell was that at lunch?" I asked quietly. He only shrugged.

"My parents are... friends with Natasha's parents. They shipped us a while ago and they expected me to stay with her, but I didn't," he answered carefully. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "She's not going to leave me alone. You know that right?" I said. He shrugged again.

"She will if I tell her too," he muttered.

"Why?" I asked confused. He looked surprised that I heard him. He ran a hand down his face before he sighed.

"She just... she has to, and let's just leave it at that," he said before he walked into the classroom. I followed after him. Something told me that this was going to be a long year.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

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