Monday rolled around and Devon turned towards Taia in the passenger side of his Jeep after he had parked in the school parking lot.

"Mom already covered everything with the teachers so all you need to do is stick by me, okay? You will not leave my sight, not even for a moment, er, unless you need to use the bathroom and I could have Armani take you." He finished his long-winded explaining.

Taia nodded her head as she played with a strand of her curled hair, courtesy of Janie. She could do that and besides, she was still too frightened to trust anyone who wasn't the Martins.

"You will be fine, Taia," Devon patted her head. "Just take a deep breath and follow what I had told you okay? You don't need to be worried or anything which I can tell you are, you are biting your lip."

Taia frowned, stopping herself from biting her lip as she tugged on the shirt she had been given. She didn't like how he could tell when she was worried, it was annoying to her.

Devon placed his hands on hers pulling them away from her shirt. "And please don't try to undress again. Around people you keep those clothes on, even if you get hot, you tough it out or if you get cold you can borrow my sweater." He explained, unzipping his backpack and showing her the sweater. "All you gotta do is get it out." He shoved it back in and zipped it back.

Taia rolled her eyes crossing her arms over her chest as she stopped messing with her shirt. It's not like she could do anything about it. It felt weird to wear clothes instead of having her fur as a fully shifted wolf.

Devon groaned, pulling out his keys and stuffing them in his pocket after he had gotten out of his jeep. "Don't, don't give me those puppy eyes - er werewolf eyes, it isn't going to work on me." He closed his door and kept reminding himself.

Taia tried even harder to give him those eyes, hoping it would work. She sighed inwardly and frowned realizing no matter how hard she tried they didn't work on him.

Devon walked around and opened the passenger door. "You got this. There is nothing to worry about and uncrossing your arms, you look intimidating."

Taia sighed heavily, increasing her arms and letting them fall to her sides. He was so bossy. She didn't like bossy people. Why did she have to follow all these rules? How could anyone follow them all let alone remember them all? It was too much to bear.

Devon grabbed her hand and closed the door after gently pulling her out. "Come on." He softly led her into the school and towards his locker. "You would be at home but since Dad has worked, Mom has errands and Janie is at school, I had to bring you along. Hopefully you'll go to the Mental Health Center tomorrow." He smiled softly. "They will help you a great deal."

Taia walked beside him, looking around at the many different kinds. She could hear a lot of their conversations at once and she tried to only focus on one.

Being a werewolf at a school full of humans was not going to be good, but she had to remind herself it was just one day.

Devon could hear the whispers from his schoolmates as he walked by with Taia who was clinging to his arm. 'I can imagine what they are saying about me . . . Eh, it doesn't matter. I could care less about what they're saying. I endured my emo phase with their whispers. This is no different.' He thought to himself as he glanced at them.

Armani Peters ran her hand through her short black, her blue eyes sparkling as she looked at her friend. "Devon," She beamed from her locker, waving at him from down the hall.

Devon turned his head towards the voice and saw Armani waving him down. "That's Armani, one of my friends. She's quite talkative so just listen and nod your head with whatever she says." He whispered as he stood at his locker.

Armani piled several books into her arms. "I hope you studied for our science test. I feel like acing the test since I stayed up late every day since Friday studying. I even deprived myself of naps, do you know how hard that is?"

Devon gave a lopsided smile and nudged her shoulder. "Hello, Armani. I did happen to study. Shockingly, I know! I'm aiming for at least a B since I can't remember half of what I have studied since yesterday." He explained then pursed his lips. "I have been a little preoccupied to focus much on studying."

Armani narrowed her eyes at him, searching his face to see if he was joking. 'He's serious!' She thought as her eyes grew wide and she gasped. "Dev! We've talked about you and your procrastinating! How will you ever get through the junior year if you slack off! Don't become a slacker!" She exclaimed, running a hand through her hair.

Devon rolled his eyes and shook his head at how dramatic she was being. "It's just a test. It doesn't count for much this semester." He put his hands up in defense of her words. "I'm not a slacker! When have I ever slacked on anything? Procrastinating, sure, but never slacking."

Armani shook her head and pressed her pointer finger into his chest. "Same thing," She declared, crossing her arms over her chest. "Procrastinating and slacking go hand and hand. One is just a nicer way of saying it and the other is what it truly is!" She explained making various hand gestures. 

Devon nodded along, listening to every word she said, although he had heard it many times before. "I know, I know," He held back an attempt at a witty remark by simply smiling.

Armani turned to see Taia, who was peeking out from behind Devon. "Oh, I didn't see you there. You are just so cute, look at you, you're so short." She gushed in a pitchy voice, gently tapping her cheeks with her hands.

Taia shuttered at her pitchy voice, it was a little annoying. But she ignored it and merely just waved at the girl, a smile on her lips and a curt nod was all she gave, just as Devon had told her. Before crouching down on the floor and opening up the backpack she had been given.

Armani was at loss for words, her face showed it because her mouth was partly open, and her eyes gave off this unbelievable look. "She is quite a character isn't she?" She turned up and looked at Devon, not sure how she ought to feel about Taia.

Devon protectively shielded Taia behind him, holding her hand for a brief moment. "Taia's been through a lot if you've seen the news, those dumb reporters. Tread lightly, Armani. If you had been through half of what she had you'd be silent too." He reminded his friend in a hushed voice, not wanting to make a big deal about it.

Armani put her hands in front of her defensively. "All right, I'll tone it down." She vowed. "Now please tell me you have a plan for her today at school right?" She asked, placing her hands on his arm.

Devon grabbed her arms with his hands and pulled them off his arms. "Armani, please." He looked down at her then back up at his friend. "Please just focus on school today for yourself."

"But -" Armani opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by their other friend. She placed her hands on her hips and turned towards the young boy walking up to them.

Smith Andrews grinned as he walked up to his friends, pulling his hat off to reveal his black hair, his brown eyes bright. "Hey guys, why does it look like I walked into a steamy closet make-out?" His brown eyes bounced between Devon and Armani.

Armani gave him a quizzical look, shaking her head. "Do you have to say that? I feel like I need a shower, yuck." She pushed off her locker and shifted her books into her other arm. 

Smith chuckled, an amused smile gracing his lips. "Oh come on, it was a joke, Mani," He then turned towards Taia and grinned. "Who is this pretty young lady?" He smoothly said with a wink, it was a playful wink nonetheless. 

Devon rolled his eyes, giving his friend a narrow look. "Don't even think about it, Smith -" He paused, realizing something. "Wait, you haven't watched the news have you?"

"Oh no, the TVs were out over the weekend, Pop's trying to fix it, why?" Smith asked, wondering what was going on. 'Had something happened and I was kept out of the loop? Did someone die!' He exclaimed within his thoughts, his eyes growing wide.

Armani could tell he was trying to figure out what was going on. "This is Taia Reagan! You know," She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "The youngest daughter of the family that was allegedly attacked by wild animals after their car ran off the road and into the ravine?" She explained, her eyes shifting around to see who was nearby.

Smith gasped loudly with wide eyes. "Say what?" His voice turned pitchy as he blinked a few times. "No way! A real-life animal attack survivor goes to our school! That is mad cool bro." He exclaimed but apologized to those around him who he startled. "I can't believe it! If you're on the news! You're. Like. Famous!"

Devon groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is what I didn't want to happen." He mumbled under his breath and looked up at Smith. "It isn't mad cool bro, it's why you were held back focusing on other things rather than schoolwork."

"It was dyslexia, don't forget that." Smith frowned a little. "And it was one year, I'm one year older than you guys." He shook his head. "Anyways, I didn't realize that it must've been hard for her to survive alone at such a young age. I wonder who she managed."

Devon looked over at Taia who was chewing on the seam of her collar. "Only Taia does. I doubt even she would tell us. The doctor said that whatever happened to her, her brain had locked away to protect her. She'll probably make progress at the Mental Health Center Mom is taking her tomorrow." He explained, grabbing her collar gently and pulling it out of her mouth. 

Taia frowned, letting out a soft whine when Devon pulled her collar out of her mouth. She wanted something to chew on, so she moved onto the cuff of her sleeve, gnawing on the fabric.

Smith mulled over Devon's words. "Understood." He walked over beside Taia and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Taia, we've all got your back because Devon is our friend and a friend of his is a friend of ours."

Armani smiled, nodding her head to second what Smith said. "Agreed. Come whatever may, we will have your back and protect you from any evils out there." She tried to sound heroic but sighed. "At least the evils of high school like Jeremiah Cullen and his worm fascination, yuck."

Taia frowned, leaning against the locker as she crossed her arms. She faintly recalled school, since she had been in kindergarten, but yet all those memories were hazy or blank.

"Stop chewing on your sleeve." Devon scolded her, trying to pull the sleeve that was now soaked in saliva out of her mouth. 'Gross.' He thought, holding in a gag.

Taia tightened her grip on the sleeve in her mouth and lowly growled at him, signaling for him to stop. All the things she did while trying to survive on her own in her full shifted form she was told not to hear, mostly by Devon.

Smith could tell that Taia didn't want to stop chewing on the sleeve and thought he'd talk about something else to distract Devon. "Anyways, did you hear? For lunch, we will be having pizza! I mean real pizza, like Pizza Palooza pizza!" He exclaimed, throwing around Devon's shoulder.

Devon let go of Taia's sleeve and just let it be. "How did they manage to snag that? Principal Andrews would never go for that! He's a health nut and greasy pizza isn't something he would approve of."

Smith nodded with a smile. He knew exactly how that happened. "Well, it just so happens his daughter is dating the son of the owners. Mom told me when she was at the hairdresser and her hairdresser was sisters with the pizza owner. So, it was suggested that they serve pizza every week on Monday!" He exclaimed, squealing a little. 

Armani giggles at how excited Smith was about it. "Principal Andrews must be happy his daughter is finally dating someone. I overheard him gripe a lot to the secretary about how his daughter was mooching off him, never having a job or dating anyone. Believe me, I heard a lot about helping out the secretary." She explained, glad that maybe things would be better at school.

Devon glanced at the clock and knew the bell would be ringing any moment. He pulled out his noise-canceling headphones and placed them on her head. He pulled out his old MP3 player and plugged it into the jack, turning on some classical music for Taia.

Smith raised his eyes, looking between Devon and Taia. "Uh, Devon, what are you doing?" He asked slowly, wondering why Devon was putting headphones on Taia.

Devon looked up with wide eyes. He wasn't sure how to answer. "Uh, oh, she has very sensitive hearing and the bell is about to ring so I wanted to make sure she was okay."

The corners of Smith's mouth curled into a smile as he laughed. "Dude, you're sweating." He teased, making the other boy panic. "Come on, we got to get to class or Mrs. Justine is gonna have our hide." Just as the words left his mouth the school bell rang, signaling that everyone was to get to their classrooms.

Armani tilted her head at Taia as soon as the bell rang. 'Hmm, Devon is a horrible liar and awful at making stuff up on the fly. He's totally hiding something!' She thought to herself, eyes flickering between Devon and Taia.

Devon grabbed Taia's hand and walked towards his first class, which he had with Smith. "See you at lunch, Armani." He waved to his friend, watching her depart to her class, to which Smith echoed the same.

〰️🐾〰️

Once morning classes were over, the bell rang for lunch. Kids rushed out of their classes chattering away. Lunch was no doubt everyone's favorite part of the school. Considering they were serving pizza, everyone wanted to be the first to get a slice of that deliciousness.

Armani excited her classroom and stood on her tippy toes, spotting Devon, Smith, and Taia exit their classroom. "Devon! Smith! Wait for me!" She grunted as she weaved through the flock of kids.

Devon turned his attention to the voice that had called him. "Armani!" He shouted back, holding tightly onto Taia's hand as he searched for her. Once his eyes laid on her she was a foot away. "I was afraid you'd get lost. It's like a stampede." He noted, lingering back with Smith for the crowd to get less cluttered.

Armani hooked her arms with Devon and Smith, smiling brightly. "Who's ready for pizza?" She asked, walking down the hall with her two best friends and Taia. "Taia, have you had pizza?"

Taia tilted her head to the side. Pizza. That was something she couldn't recall. She shook her head, confirming to Armani that she never had pizza before.

Armani's jaw went slack at this revelation. "You'll love it! It's cheesy and with the delicious garlic pizza sauce - hmm, I can almost taste it now." She dreamily mumbled, feeling drool gathering in her mouth. "Hopefully we get big slices not pathetic slivers."

Devon wiggled his arm out of Armani's and pushed open the cafeteria door. "Come on, we have to get a spot if we want it hot." He grabbed Taia and Armani's hands, pulling them over to the line. "What choices do you think they have? I hope it's pepper lovers' heat! All those spicy peppers." He stood on his tippy toes.

Smith wrinkled his nose and fake gagged at what his friend liked. "Ew, that's as bad as pineapple on pizza. The only way to go is simply cheese and nothing else. Why would you mask the ooey-gooey cheese?"

Armani laughed, they both had different tastes in pizza. "Puh-lease! Pizza should have all the meat on it or just one, either way, the more meat the better." She licked her lips, the smell was filling the cafeteria.

Soon the trio had gotten their pizzas and all filed into a table near the back.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one eating meat supreme!" Armani grinned, holding the pizza up to her face. "And look, it's a big slice! As big as my face!" She giggled, then looked at Taia who was carefully inspecting the pizza. "Here, you eat it like this." She brought it to her mouth and bit a piece off, Taia copying her.

Carla pushed open the doors to the lunchroom. She looked around with disgust on her face, nose wrinkled at the chatting student bodies all in their respective clicks - er friends. Her eyes zoned in on the table Devon, Armani, Smith, and Taia were at.

A grin grew on her lips as she walked down the middle of the lunchroom. Once beside the table, she snatched Smith's lemon-lime soda.

Smith had just rolled up his pizza and taken a huge bite out of him. Moaning at how delicious it was and then Carla caught his eye, and soon his lemon-lime drink was in her hand. "Hey! Give that back, Carla!" He demanded after having swallowed what was in his mouth.

Carla mockingly pouted at him, stroking the can with her fingers. "Aww, you want it back?" She taunted, jumping back as his hand reached out towards her. "Not gonna happen muchacho." She sassed at him, running her fingers along the rim.

Smith's glare was deadly as his eyes narrowed into a thin line, just as thin as his pursed lips. "Why not?" He asked, feeling like at any moment he would launch himself across the table and wrestle her for it.

Carla smirked, amused at how upset he was over the loss of his drink. "You see, yours is the only one available. Everyone else has one that is open and used, while yours is unopened. Now all of them were gone by the time I ended up there so I saw yours and swiped it." She remarked, placing a hand on her hip.

"Carla no swiping," Armani said condescendingly. "That's stealing. Stealing is wrong. Why don't you tough it out like a big girl and come early next time to be able to get your little sticky fingers on, hmm?"

Carla's eyes widened and her jaw went slack in mock terror. "Oh no, I'm so scared!" She cried, using her hands to shield her face and tense up. "The chimera is baring her fangs, oh no!" She laughed and shook her head.

Taia lowly growled, not liking how this girl was treating Smith. She also noted there was something familiar about the girl but she couldn't place her finger on it. She just got a bad gist from her the longer she lingered around the table. 

Devon placed his hand on Taia's arm and looked at her, shaking his head.  "Don't," He commanded in a whisper, not letting her arm go. He was not about to have Taia lose it in front of the whole school and rip Carla to shreds.

Armani stood up and extended her hand out with the palm up. "Give it over, Carla." She demanded, folding her fingers in and out a few times. "I'm not messing around and you know it."

Carla thought about it for a moment, pretending she might just give in. She slowly reached out the can towards Armani. "No," She pulled it back and popped open the can, and took a big swig of it. "Hmm," She sighed as she dramatically wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. 

Armani was livid at Carla's actions. "You asked for it!" She yelled and launched for Carla only to have a strong hand on her arm. "Let me go!" She tried to yank her arm away from Devon. "She needs to learn she can't just take things that are others!"

Devon's grip tightened but not enough to cause harm and shook his head. "No, you're better than that. You know your parents would be upset if you got detention again for starting a fight. Just let it go, and it's Smith's battle, not ours." He reminded her, pulling her back into her seat.

Smith didn't want a fight over a soda. Besides, all eyes were theirs and normally he wouldn't mind, but this was different. "Dev's right, just let it go, Armani. It's not worth it." He told her, taking another bite out of his pizza. "I can just have water, it's not a big deal."

Armani yanked her arm out of Devon's grip and smoothed down her sleeve. "Fine. I'll let it go for now, but I swear, the next time you pull a stunt like that I will throw fists." She spat at the dark-haired girl with a lethal glare and deep frown.

"Trying to be Rosiano, huh?" Carla rolled her eyes and stuck her free hand into her Jean pocket as she sipped on the drink. "Looking forward to it," She gave her a two-finger salute and walked down the aisle. "Oh, pepperoni," She swiped a piece of pizza from someone's tray and ate it as she left the cafeteria. 

Armani growled under her breath, shooting daggers with her eyes as Carla left the cafeteria. "That girl is insufferable!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "No wonder she doesn't have friends."

Taia nodded her head, agreeing that Carla was insufferable. She also wanted to tell them that there was something off about her, but she couldn't find her voice or the words to speak.

Armani angrily ripped a piece of a pizza off and chewed it aggressively. "I don't know what her problem is but next time she does it, oh, she is gonna see a chimera!" She exclaimed, triumphantly holding her first up in the air.

Devon took a bite out of his pizza and set it back down on his plate. He put his cheek in his hand that was propped up on the table. "Just a few more hours and we are home free!"

🐾〰🐾〰🐾〰🐾〰🐾〰🐾〰🐾

A/N: 
So, this chapter took a really long time to complete. For the longest time I had writer's block but I was able to finish it with a burst of inspiration. 

Chapter Talk:
We meet Devon's two friends, Armani and Smith, who will play a major role in this story. As you can see, he has an acquired taste for friends but they go well together and have been friends since kindergarten and later you will hear about that story.

Carla didn't even notice Taia nor pick up she was a werewolf, which she normally could. Perhaps it was all the pizza that prevented her from picking up the scent. I will say, I love Carla's spunk and I love how Armani isn't afraid to throw fists. They are like opposite ends of a magnet and there will be a lot more fights between the two throughout the story.

Thanks for reading!