His gaze ensnares me. Even after all the heartbreak he's put me through his eyes still leave me breathless. I want to run, collapse, or even cry, but I cannot move. All I do is stare at him across the grounds as he stares back at me.

"He your ex or something?"

Silently thanking the world for the creation of the blonde boy next to me, I manage to snap out of my trance-like state and breath normally again.

"You could say that," I manage, looking to the ground as my cheeks flood with a red color.

Peter winces sympathetically and pats my back. "You'll be okay," he reassures, smiling at me in support. 

I chuckle bitterly and turn in the opposite direction of my mate, shaking my head at my roommate. "He's..." Stopping when I realize that I can't admit that he's my mate, I take a deep breath, shaking breath. "I'm still in love with him," I say, deciding that's the best way to phrase it.

Peter frowns and goes silent, following me when I begin to walk into the opposire direction of James, not really thinking about the direction I'm going in. It hurts to move away when I know that he's so close, but it wouldn't do anyone any good. He's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want me, and I've made it perfectly clear that we're out of each others' lives. I blocked him on my phone and any other means of contact, so if he didn't get the memo, then he's extremely dim-witted, which I know he is not.

"Where are we going?" Peter asks innocently, his voice quiet as he most likely thinks about the new information I've bestowed upon him.

"Don't really know," I respond, shrugging. "I would rather be anywhere but over there, you know?"

"I can understand that," the Sealander says, smiling innocently. He seems so young and innocent. I sort of envy him. I wish I weren't so ruined and broken like I am. "Want to go to the bookstore? I've read all of my most recent buys." He gestures to the small bookstore that's just across the street from the campus, which is where the two of us seem to spend most of our time.

"Sure, I'm almost out of good books, too," I agree, shrugging my shoulders as I stuff my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket.

We cross the street and enter the small store with a charming little jingle of the bell that signals the appearance of customers. The place has shining wooden floors and large, oak bookshelves lined with both classics and new releases alike. The register is to the left, and the rest of the store is literally just bookshelves with a door to the staff lounge/storage on the right and in the back

"Hello, boys," the old woman, who is the owner of the store, greets. She's a sweet woman (who tends to tell wild stories of her youth) that's come to know Peter and I as regulars to the store.

"Hello," Peter and I chorus, causing the woman to smile at us fondly.

Without anymore words being spoken, Peter and I lose ourselves among the maze of shelves. I love the feeling of walking through bookshelves. It's as if I'm in a land where I can choose the universe that I lose myself in, even if only for a little while. I guess I just have a weird thing for books. They're sort of like my safe haven when it comes to escaping the real world.

Pulling off books that seem interesting and stacking them upon my arms, I cradle them carefully. It always breaks my heart when people deface or destroy books, so I try treat them as delicately as possible. 

Taking my small stack to the corner of the store, I sit down and open up the first one. It's just my luck that a few noisy customers enter right when I try to start reading. Yes, I'm one of those people that likes peace and quiet when I read, and I don't think it's that weird.

Peaking through the small spaces between the books, I'm able to spot that they're jocks from my former high school. I sort of recognize them as familiar faces, but there's one that I don't recognize. He's wearing the varsity jacket, so he must have joined the school after I graduate early, because I knew almost everyone in that school.

He is rather attractive, despite how he's so annoyingly loud. He has perfectly styled blonde hair that looks as soft as a feather. He has pale skin with rosy cheeks, bright blue eyes, and features that look as if they belong on a statue, and don't get me started on the athletic body that he has. Even wearing the simple, jacket, shirt, and jeans that he is, he looks like a model straight out of a magazine. It would be a lie if I said that I didn't blush at the sight of him.

Shaking my head to clear it, I try and focus on my books as the jocks snicker quietly to themselves. To any normal person, they're perfectly tolerable at the noise level they're at, but to me, they're unacceptably loud. It's probably due to my extremely sensitive hearing.

"So, where's James?" one of them says quietly, capturing my attention. 

With wide eyes, I stare at the pages of my book and listen in, not being able to restrain myself from eavesdropping.

"He said something about wanting to set up his dorm and everything," another one responds.

"He's no fun sometimes," the first guy says.

A new voice snorts. "Yeah, before you got here, he was a lot of fun, but now he seems so stressed all the time." He must be talking to the blonde guy.

"What do you mean?" a voice that I assume belongs to the blonde responds. It's smooth, flowing like velvet, and it's oddly relaxing. I'm not sure why.

A different voice, the second one breaks in again. "Well, right around the time you showed up his best friend Aaron graduated early. I'm pretty sure the two of them got into some sort of fight right before it, and Aaron cut off any sort of communication between the two of them. Ever since that happened, he's never really been the same."

I feel guilt start to seep into my heart, and I close my eyes tightly, fighting back tears. I don't understand how he can act like he's the one who got hurt. Does he even remember what he did to me? Then again, randomly kissing your best friend isn't something that's normal in this day and age, especially when you're both guys. Sighing, I let my head rest against the bookshelf behind me and shut the book that I have clasped between my hands.

"What do you think happened?" the blonde asks, his voice filled with curiosity.

"Well, I have a feeling it had something to do with Aaron admitting his feelings to James, but James won't tell me if that's really the case."

"What do you mean?" the blonde asks again, and I lean up from my spot. I sure as hell didn't tell anyone other than my pack about my feelings, so how did they know?

"Oh, it was so obvious. You should've seen the way he looked at him. James was his whole world. He'd do anything for the guy."

"Yeah," one of the other guys adds. "It was like he got stars in his eyes whenever he saw James. His face would light up at the mention of his name. It's such a shame, too. They would've been cute, but James was way too clueless and busy chasing skirts to actually notice him."

I didn't really think I was that obvious. Clutching my book so tightly that my knuckles turn white, I bring my knees to my chest and take deep breaths. I can feel the tears begging for me to let them fall, but I refuse to cry in a bookstore of all places. Standing and thanking the fact that the jocks have stayed on the opposite side of the store, I return my books to their original place.

But I'm so lost in thought that I don't notice the person coming up behind me while I'm putting away my last book. They catch me so off guard that, when they run into me, I end up falling to the floor in an extremely graceless way.

"Shit, I'm sorry."

Looking up, I internally panic when I realize that it's the blonde jock from earlier. At least it's not one of the others that knows me.

"It's fine," I say, getting up and ignoring the stare of awe he gives me as he notices my eyes. What he does happens to often for my liking, but I guess I've gotten used to it. Everyone does it, so it's nothing out of the ordinary.

He blinks owlishly when he realizes that he's been staring at me, as they all do, and smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, you just have really cool eyes," he tells me, and for some reason, the compliment makes me blush. 

"Thanks," I respond, giving him a small nod as I step passed him.

He stays quiet for a moment as I head towards the front of the store, where Peter is having a casual discussion with the owner.

"Hey," he says, catching my attention. "What's your name?" he asks curiously, nibbling on his lower lip, and I suddenly have a bad feeling. If he likes me, this could easily end poorly. I have a... No. I don't have a mate anymore, not one that will accept me.

I smile shyly. Why not give this guy a shot? He seems nice, and if I'm being completely honest, he's extremely hot. "Aaron," I answer, trying my best to seem interested. If I can't have my mate, I can move on. Plenty of humans get married to people who aren't their soul mate and live happy, peaceful lives that are full of love. I don't see why I can't have that, too. Sure, I wouldn't be able to love someone to the same degree. but that doesn't mean I can't still love them.

"Do you go to the college across the street?" he asks, his bright blue eyes starting to gleam with hope. 

I nod. "Yeah. I guess I'll be seeing you there?"

He nods and blushes. "Yeah, I just enrolled for my first semester."

I look him up and down and decide that I like what I see. I don't have a confidence problem, because I know I'm attractive. It's a given thing for most werewolves. "I look forward to it," I respond, giving him a sly smile as the jocks start to come around one of the bookshelves and join their friend.

Deciding that's my cue to leave, I start towards the door, causing Peter to hastily end his conversation with the owner of the store.

The blonde stutters before calling out to me. "So, I'll be seeing you?" I can tell that he's a little flustered, and it's honestly kind of adorable.

Turning around, I back into the door, causing it to open with the force of my backside. "Count on it." He grins at that, looking as if his entire day has just been made with our short conversation.

Stepping into the morning sunlight, I ignore Peter's suggestive grin and start back towards our dorm.

I have a feeling I've just started something, and I can't really bring myself to regret it.

It's time to start moving on.

And I may have just found a backup prince to my fairy tale.

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Heylo, my lovely little nuggets! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave any comments, suggestions, feedback, etc., because I love to read them! It makes my day when my notifications are spammed with comments! Anyway, I'll see y'all nuggety readers in the next update! Until then, have an absolutely fantastic and fabulous day! Bai!!! >:3

-IggyScones