2025-11-21 16:36:01By the time class ended, Wesley's brain felt like it had been dragged across gravel. Everyone else seemed completely normal, packing their bags, joking with friends, drifting into little clumps of conversation that floated toward the hallway.
Him? He just sat there, staring at the blank page on his notebook like there was something written on it that only he understood. ' Maybe I'm just overthinking everything. I should go eat first for a change. Maybe I'm just hungry...' He forced himself to stand, slung his bag over his shoulder, and followed the stream of students out of the lecture hall. His legs felt strangely light, as if he'd lost too much weight. Not only that, every sound around was just sharp in his ears. The scrape of chair legs, the echoing footsteps, even the fluorescent buzz overhead. It all felt… amplified. ' Is this paranoia?' Wesley wondered, fighting the urge to press his palms to his ears so as to not look crazy. He refused to believe anything else but it being some sort of psychosis. The campus cafeteria sat right across the courtyard, tucked under a spreading jacaranda whose fallen purple petals stuck to everyone’s shoes. Normally, Wesley didn't like the place as it was crowded most times. But he had no choice and had gotten used to it. It was near and the food were cheaper. Not that it's better to the restaurants outside but... It's okay. So Wesley had no problem eating here. It always smelled of coffee, fried chicken and cheap pastries inside. And the loud chatters and laughter made the place seem lively. But for some reason, he had issue with the place today. The moment he stepped through the glass doors, the noise hit him all at once, and the smell, it was so pungent and suffocating. It felt like being shoved underwater. Wesley could hear the clatter of plates overlapping with the chatters, laughters, and the music from someone’s phone all in his head. A sudden burst of laughter from a table near the window almost made him mad. It wasn’t overwhelming, it was just… too clear and close. As if his ears had learned how to eavesdrop on its own. Wesley swallowed hard, clenching his fist hard beside him as he fought the urge to not hold his ears and embarrass himself. ' Nothing is wrong with me...' He muttered to himself and proceeded to join the line for food, his head glued to the floor. The vent above the counter blew warm air that smelled of spices, and he could smell everything in it distinctively. H could tell the pepper, thyme, and the faint sweetness of onions apart. Wesley scoffed several times, trying to shake the strange clarity of the smells away. 'It has to be some sort of illness. I've read somewhere that some sick people hallucinate smells or sounds…' Wesley told himself, though he didn't really feel convinced. Afterall, he wasn't feeling feverish and he wasn't feeling weak like any sick person would. If anything, he felt in fact a bit too awake, like his body was trying to adjust to something it hadn’t asked for. Wesley was so lost in thoughts that he didn't realize it was his turn. Not until a girl behind him cleared her throat. “Sorry,” he jolted and murmured, stepping forward to the counter. He took a plate of white rice, chicken, and iced tea. Wesley knew he needed something bland. He then took his tray and found a corner table, away from most of the chatter. Dropping into an empty seat in the corner, Wesley let out a sigh. He pressed his palms against the sides of his head for a moment, his tray in front of him, untouched. What was happening to him? His head felt swollen with thoughts he couldn’t untangle. His senses were still turned up too high as every laugh, every whispered conversation, and every scrape of a chair felt like it was happening next to his ear. He tried to retrace his steps mentally to find a clue as to what was wrong with him. From waking up on the cold pavement, the pool of blood, his healed skin, the way he felt like someone else was piloting his body. Nothing made sense. He didn’t even know how to put his confusion into words. His gaze fell on the food before him. It looked really nice. Wesley lifted his fork, but even the smell of the food hit him too sharply as he poked at it and tried to eat. He set his fork back down. He wasn’t even hungry! Just as he leaned back, trying to force his mind to calm down, a shift in the cafeteria’s energy tugged at his attention. He didn’t know how he noticed it, he just simply 'felt' it. His eyes drifted toward the entrance. And there, he saw her. Emma. Her dark blonde hair was tied loosely today, a soft shape around her face that brought back memories he’d been trying to repress. Wesley almost rose to go meet her. But he frowned and stayed in seat when he saw the guy beside her, laughing like the universe revolved around his stupidly perfect jawline. Ethan Hale; the college’s golden boy. Wesley felt something in his chest tighten at the sight of them walking in together. Worse, Emma didn’t see him as she scanned the room, talking easily with Ethan. She looked comfortable, like she belonged in that world of sparkles, attention, and loud confidence. Ethan draped an arm lightly across her shoulders, pulling her close to him as if to showcase his possession. Emma didn’t push him away, she even leaned in close to him. Wesley exhaled slowly, bitterness rising. He had liked her long before Ethan ever entered the picture. Long before college... Long before anything! His mind drifted back, unbidden, to their childhood street. Their bedroom windows faced each other just nextdoor. Summer evenings used to be spent talking through open windows with her, whispering jokes and secrets until their parents yelled for them. And in winters, she would draw smiley faces on her frosted glass before going to sleep, and he would stay up all night, smiling, and turning in bed at it. He’d always thought… maybe they had something. Something soft and growing. Something that could turn out someday to be something. He remembered the way she used to smile when she saw him. The way she would blush when he complimented her. The way she leaned over the window frame with her chin resting on her arms, looking at him under her eyelid like he mattered. He had been so sure he’d tell her everything once they got into college together. She'd mentioned applying for the same college, which he'd conveniently also applied for 'coincidentally'. He spent all summer planning it. He pictured it so clearly, seeing her on campus for the first time, confessing how he felt, and hoping he heard that she felt the same. But reality had hit him like a slap. His first day on campus, he’d walked toward her dorm, practicing what to say… only to see her laughing beside Ethan. Ethan holding her in his embrace. Ethan touching her waist like she already belonged to him, and the nail in the coffin, they kissed. The world didn’t end dramatically. It just… sank inside him. Quietly. “I waited too long,” he muttered under his breath. “I let someone else take her.” Wesley had always believed this was what had happened. He believed he should have expressed his feelings faster. Wesley lowered his head and stabbed at his food, appetite definitely gone now. His thoughts spiraled again, the confusion about his body mixing with the heart ache he’d carried since the semester began. He didn’t even know which part of his life hurt more at this point. Emma waved at someone across the room, completely unaware he existed in the corner. Ethan whispered something to her and she laughed again. Wesley clenched his teeth in frustration. That laugh used to be his favorite. It used to make his world run. Wesley tore his eyes away, jaw tight. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He didn’t want to think about Emma and Ethan. He didn’t want to think about the fact that his heart still reacted to her like nothing had changed when everything had. He stared down at his tray, the room buzzing around him like white noise. His throat felt dry. "You know…” A voice came from his right all of a sudden, soft yet confident. At first he thought it was his hearing issue again, but this time, he could tell that this one was right next to him. Wesley froze. He turned slowly. “I can help you get her back.” crouched beside him, said a girl he'd never seen before. Her long silky-smooth brunette hair fell on one side of her perfect, radiant, beauteous face. Her hot hazel eyes peered at him with a cunning glint that had Wesley petrified. And her presence, it was marked by a subtle scent of jasmine. The very first pleasant thing Wesley had smelt all day. Wesley was stunned. He watched in a daze as she pulled out the chair beside him without waiting for permission, and slid in. A smirk tugged slightly at her red lips could drive any sane man crazy. She looked at him, her eyes blazing with intense pressure and mockery at his shock. It was as if she knew things he didn’t. As if she’d been waiting for this exact moment. As if she couldn't wait for him to answer. And just like that, the thin balance Wesley had just started to hold on to tilted again. 
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Who?
Night crawled slowly across campus, tinting the sky in deep bruised darkness with a tinge of light as Wesley made his way down the dim path leading toward the woods. The air was cooler now, crisp enough to sting lightly against his cheeks. His hands were tucked into his hoodie pockets; his “best” attire. Standing next to her earlier in the morning had felt too painfully inadequate. Wesley remembered to not let that be the case again this time.He walked with uneven steps, half-dreading and half-excited, his thoughts noisy and tangled.' What does she want to do tonight? Are we going to practice being a werewolf and what it's about? Why did I even agree to this?'On his way, he rehearsed questions in his head. Questions that had been on his mind since afternoon, questions he should have asked her earlier in the mornin. About werewolves, about what he’d turned into, about the strange instincts that kept flaring inside him. She was the only person he could talk to about any
Determination
Wesley pushed into his dorm feeling fatigued. He expected to meet his roommate, Ralph, but only the quiet walls greeted him with a wave of silence. His roommate was gone, probably off to class or the gym or wherever normal people with normal lives went at this hour. For once, Wesley was grateful. Silence was exactly what he needed at the moment.He stepped inside and shut the door gently behind him, leaning against it for a moment. His pulse was still unsettled, beating in uneven thumps as his mind replayed his encounter with that pretty girl.‘I’m a werewolf…’She had said it casually, like someone telling him he had forgotten to tie his shoelace, and it only left him confused as to the truth of it.Wesley dragged himself to the bed and collapsed face-first into the thin mattress. He stayed that way for a while, breathing into the fabric, letting the exhaustion sink into him. He had classes to attend, he probably should have gone to at least take some notes…but how was he supposed to
Bargain
“You’re a werewolf now.”The words hit him with such force that the world seemed to tilt. Wesley’s mind blanked…‘Werewolf.’‘Werewolf.’His pulse spiked violently, panic surging up his spine as the word echoed in his mind. ‘Werewolf?’He subconsciously stepped back, knees weak and sweat pooling on his forehead.‘No! It can’t be…I’m not a-’ Wesley wanted to deny, but his brain betrayed him with a flood of memories that seemed to slap the denial out of him.He remembered the wolf that’d attacked him last night. He remembered the bite, and how he’d woken up in a pool of his own blood just this morning—proof of how he’d been mortally wounded by that wolf. And strangely, he had no wounds on him.As if-As if he’d healed someway.Wesley’s chest tightened painfully.‘No.No, no-’He sucked in a breath, ready to deny it still. Anything to escape the possibility of him being a werewolf. How could he believe that? It has to be a prank!Wesley subconsciously looked at the girl to see if she mean
What you are now
Wesley didn’t realize he’d stood up until he noticed the scrape of his chair on the cafeteria floor. The girl was already walking away, unbothered by the looks she’d stirred up. He followed her because his body seemed to have chosen for him, still buzzing from embarrassment, still trapped somewhere between panic and the lingering warmth of her breath against his ear.The cafeteria doors shut behind them, muting the chatter inside. The air outside was cooler and quieter, it left him feeling a bit relieved. She walked ahead with long, confident strides, her long hair swaying like she didn’t have a single question or doubt in the world. Wesley trailed a few steps behind, every heartbeat reminding him he had far too many problems at hand.' Why him? What did she want? How did she know about him liking Emma?' His thoughts kept loopingAnd beneath that he questioned the feeling in his chest, 'Why does it feel like the air around her pulls me in?' Like he couldn't resist for some r
Strange girl
Wesley stared at the girl like she had spoken in another language when she said she could help him get Emma back. His brain stalled, tripped over itself, and finally shut down entirely.“W-what?” he croaked, voice cracking in incredulity. The girl rolled her eyes, looking at Wesley as if he was denying something so obvious that it made him look stupid and lame.Heat rushed up Wesley's neck at his own fumble. He tried to recover, tried to pretend he wasn’t just seconds away from imploding just now.“I don’t…" He paused realizing he'd be feeding right into it. " What are you talking about even?” "Her." The girl pointed right towards Emma, her expression as dry as cement. Wesley sucked his teeth, he said fast, waving his hand dismissively. “I’m not-- no, that's not it...”He tried to deny, but his tone was unconvincing, even to himself." I don't need anything or anyone." He stabbed a forkful of food, shooting his head down as if to ignore everything else even though
Crushed
By the time class ended, Wesley's brain felt like it had been dragged across gravel. Everyone else seemed completely normal, packing their bags, joking with friends, drifting into little clumps of conversation that floated toward the hallway. Him? He just sat there, staring at the blank page on his notebook like there was something written on it that only he understood. ' Maybe I'm just overthinking everything. I should go eat first for a change. Maybe I'm just hungry...' He forced himself to stand, slung his bag over his shoulder, and followed the stream of students out of the lecture hall. His legs felt strangely light, as if he'd lost too much weight. Not only that, every sound around was just sharp in his ears. The scrape of chair legs, the echoing footsteps, even the fluorescent buzz overhead. It all felt… amplified. ' Is this paranoia?' Wesley wondered, fighting the urge to press his palms to his ears so as to not look crazy. He refused to be
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