Chapter 43 – What's going on?

Lucy's POV

The next morning I wake up fairly early. Well, it's only just gone nine, which is extremely early for me. As the whole Pack has training today from two, most of us have taken the day off school or work, and those who haven't will only be in for a half day. I'm not quite sure how we're going to pull this off without the humans suspecting something's off but I'm not the one who has to worry about that, some other's will probably be pulling all the strings they can to make it work, so I don't spend too much time worrying about it.

"Morning," Beck murmurs, and I glance over to find him still curled up in the makeshift bed on my floor. "You're awake early."

"So are you," I remind him with a small smile. "How long have you been awake for?"

"A couple of hours," he replies with a shrug. "I didn't have a very good night's sleep."

"Why, what's wrong?" I ask, concern crashing over me as I lean up on my elbow to get a better look at him. He looks tired.

"Nothing. It's just..." he starts, his eyes meeting mine for a few seconds before breaking contact. "Nothing. It's nothing," he then assures me.

I sigh but decide not to push him; if he doesn't want to tell me then he doesn't have to. I hate it when he does that, starts to open up before thinking better of it and playing it off as nothing.

"What are your plans for the day?" I ask, deciding to change the subject.

"I'll probably head into town for a few hours before training," he tells me, sitting up and reaching for the T-shirt he left on the floor last night and pulling it on. "What about you?"

"I don't know," I admit. I've not really got anything to do until two o'clock. "I'll probably spend the day with Jess and Amy."

If it's not already obvious, things have been pretty off between Beck and me since last night, and I hate it. I know he knows that there's something going on between Justin and I, and he knows I know he knows, but neither of us bring up the subject.

We quietly make our way downstairs, him now fully dressed and me in my pyjamas, and bump in to Jess and Amy who are currently sat in the kitchen having breakfast.

"Hey, you two are up early," Amy says, smiling when she sees us, and we just mumble some noncommittal response in reply.

"O-kay..." Jess says then, seemingly picking up on our mood pretty fast.

I grab two bowls and pour some cereal into them before handing one to Beck, who takes it with a quick "thanks" before moving to the fridge to get out the milk. Once we've got our breakfast the four of us head in to the living room to watch some TV.

"Where are Richard and Louisa?" I ask curiously once I've taken a seat on the sofa next to Jess.

"I think dad's gone into work for a few hours and mum's still in bed," Amy says, flicking through the TV channels to try and find something good to put on.

Eventually, she settles on an episode of 'Melissa and Joey' and we watch it in silence. When the episode ends, Beck announces that he's going out for a bit and will see us all at training later, and the second he's out the front door Amy and Jess both turn to me.

"So, what the hell's going on?" Amy asks.

"I don't know," I sigh, running my hands through my hair in frustration. "Things are just really weird right now."

"So, he knows about you and Justin then?" Jess asks.

"Yeah, I think so. Or at least he knows that something is going on. We haven't talked about it, though."

"Well, do you maybe think that you should?" Amy then asks. "Things between you won't get any better until you do."

"Yeah, I know," I agree with a mumble. "I've just not quite figured how to bring it up yet."

"I'd just tell him," Jess says with a shrug. "Lay all your cards out on the table so there's no confusion or secrets."

"Yeah, I guess," I sigh, leaning my head back against the sofa and looking up and the ceiling before returning my eyes to my best friends. "Okay, I'll talk to him about it later... after training or something."

"Good," Amy says. "Make sure you do or we'll kick both of your butts into gear. It's not right for you two to be so distant towards each other. I mean, there wasn't so much as one inch of sarcasm between you this morning... it's too weird."

"I will, I will," I promise, smiling slightly as I roll my eyes before deciding to change the subject. "So, what're everyone's plans for today? Fancy having a DVD day?"

"I can't," Amy says apologetically. "Sorry."

"Oh, yeah? Why not?" Jess asks with a mischievous glint to her eyes and I can't help but laugh.

Amy refused to tell us anything about her conversation with Dean last night despite our constant pushing but, if the smile she wore the entire walk back was any indication, it went well.

"I'm... going out," she replies with a shrug.

"Oh, yeah? Say hi to Dean from us," I say with a grin.

"Whatever," she rolls her eyes whilst a small smile tugs at her lips. "You're both idiots."

"We know," Jess and I both reply in unison before laughing. After all this time with Amy going on about Justin and Devlin, it's fun for the boot to be on the other foot for once.

"Whatever," she says again. "If this date is a complete waste of my time then you're both dead."

"Okay," I say, "but if you guys end up getting married then I'm being a bridesmaid."

"Ooh, me too!" Jess chips in with a giggle, causing Amy to blush.

"It's just one date guys!" she reminds us with a frown. "Who's to say there's even going to be a second?"

"Oh, please," Jess says, rolling her eyes. "Dean's not going to give up that easily."

Rolling her eyes, Amy stands up with a huff, probably knowing better than to argue. "You're both idiots," she tells us again, "and I'm going to go and get changed."

With that, she heads up the stairs to her room.

"I really hope Dean doesn't mess up," Jess says with a sigh. "I think they'd go well together."

"Same," I agree with a smile. "So, what are you doing this morning?"

"Going to see Devlin," she explains somewhat apologetically. "It's going to be the last time we get to properly spend time together until after the attack."

I nod at that; it makes sense.

"Well, say hi from me," I say with a smile and shrug.

So it looks like it'll be a DVD day for one.

"Why don't you come with? What's Justin doing this morning?" she asks, confusion clear in her voice.

"He'll be helping out with planning the training session," I inform her with a shrug. "I don't want to get in the way."

"You should still come with," she tells me. "Planning a training session can't take any longer than an hour, right? Besides, Justin's probably going to be stressing about tomorrow right now. I'm sure he'll want to see you."

"Yeah, maybe," I say, contemplating what to do. I suppose I could call him but I don't want to interrupt him if he's busy. There's always the chance that they're already done with the planning and, even if they're not, I could always just wait in the living room or something. I'd offer to help but I haven't got the tiniest clue as to what kind of training session would be most beneficial and effective for the whole Pack, especially as we only have one day before the attack.

"Well, I'm not leaving without you so if you don't want to cut my time with Devlin shorter then go get changed," Jess says, officially making my mind up for me.

"Okay, okay," I say, standing up and heading for the stairs. "I'll be half an hour tops."

Once in my room I move over to my wardrobe and pick out a thin blue jumper and a pair of black skinny jeans before getting changed. Quickly running a brush through my hair I decide to leave it down as it seems to be behaving today, before adding a little bit of eyeliner and mascara to my eyes. Next, I move to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I'm ready, I grab my shoes from under my bed and put them on before heading back downstairs.

"You ready?" Jess asks when I enter the living room.

"Yep," I reply. "Is Amy still here?"

"No, she left a few minutes ago. She's meeting Dean at half ten," Jess explains, standing up from the chair and turning off the TV.

I follow her out the front door, closing it behind us before catching back up with her.

"So, what are your plans with Devlin?" I ask her.

"I'm not sure. I think we're hanging around at the house for a little while and then maybe going out for a bite to eat at lunch," she answers, a smile slipping onto her face.

"Have you thought any more about you two becoming official?" I ask, taking note of the way she tenses up a little at the question.

"Are you kidding?" she sighs. "It's all I think about."

"And have you reached a verdict yet?" I then ask.

"I don't know, I'm so confused," she admits glumly. "I mean, I can't deny that we're getting closer, and I definitely know more about him now than I did two weeks ago, but we really haven't known each other for that long."

"Two weeks, is that really all it's been?" I ask in surprise. It seems like Devin's been around forever.

"Pretty much," she shrugs, "and that's including the days I spent trying to shut him out."

"Huh," I say, not really sure what to reply.

"It's just, growing up I kind of had this idea of what finding a mate would be like, you know?" she continues. "I thought it would be more like what Amy and Dean have going on; the whole going on dates and gradually developing relationships thing. I mean, it's so bloody rare to find a predestined mate and I'd never even dreamed in a million years..." she cuts off with a sigh. "It's just so..."

"Fast, intense, scary as hell?" I supply knowingly.

"All of the above," she agrees with a small humourless laugh. "I just want to be with him all the time and, as crazy as this sounds... I think I've fallen in love with him. That's just stupid, though, right? I mean, I've only just met him!"

"I don't think it's stupid," I admit, looking over at her frown. "I mean, how long did Justin and I hate each other for? Now look at us. If you'd told me a few months ago that I'd seriously be giving him a shot I would've called you mental but, well, here I am. Things happen and things change, it's just a part of life."

"So, what do you think I should do?" she asks.

"Honestly? I think you should tell him about how you feel," I tell her with a shrug.

"I don't want to mess up what we have, though," she says. "I mean, isn't it too soon?"

"Okay, firstly, you're not going to mess up what you guys have," I tell her. "The only reason he's become a part of the Pack is for you. He wants you. The only reason he helped me escape Kailen was for you. If anything, telling him that you love him is only going to make what you guys have stronger. Secondly, I don't really think there's such a thing as 'too soon' with him. He risked his life coming to speak to you that first time because he wanted to get to know you. I have no doubt that if you'd told him then and there that you wanted to go through with the mating ceremony he would've done it. The only reason he's agreed to take things slow is because you asked him to. Hell, Jess, the guy would quite literally follow you to the ends of the earth and that's not something to be taken lightly."

"So... you think I should tell him?" she asks, sounding slightly less unsure this time.

"Yes," I say with a nod. "I think you should. Besides, the guy's already told you that he'll wait for as long as you need him to and I doubt that will change anytime soon. At least if you told him how you feel then it'll reassure him he's doing something right and that you're moving in the right direction."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she nods with a small smile. "I'm glad you're coming too. If things go bad then it's down to you to save me."

"Things won't go bad," I assure her. "I promise, though, if you give me an SOS signal of any kind then we'll come up with an excuse and bail."

"Okay, good," she grins, looking more relaxed about the whole situation now. "So, what about you and Justin?"

"What about me and Justin?" I ask, not completely sure what she's getting at.

"Are you guys good?"

"Yeah, we're good," I tell her with a smile. "We were texting until pretty late last night, I guess. It's just..."

"Beck?" she guesses.

"Beck," I agree with a sigh. "I mean, I knew I was going to hurt him when I went over to Justin's on Saturday but now that it's really happening it just sucks. We never fight, you know? If that's what you can even call it. We're just... not talking."

"The way I see it, whatever you do you're going to hurt someone," Jess reminds me. "If you choose Justin over Beck then Beck will get hurt and if you choose Beck over Justin then Justin will get hurt. If you choose neither of them then they both get hurt and it's not exactly like you can choose both of them. If you want to be with Justin then be with him, it's not your fault that Beck has fallen for you too, as horrible as that sounds."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," I agree reluctantly. "I'm just going to have to talk to Beck about it later, maybe clear the air between us a bit."

"Sounds like a plan," Jess says with a smile, "and I'll return your favour. If you send me an SOS signal I'll bail you out."

"Thanks," I laugh, rolling my eyes at her as we cross the road that separates us from Justin's house.

Jess quickly knocks on the door, looking nervous yet excited, and I know that she's taken my advice on board and is gearing up to talk to Devlin.

"You'll be fine," I assure her, receiving a smile from her in reply, a few seconds before the door opens.

"Hey," Devlin says with a smile, his eyes immediately landing on Jess as he opens the door for us to come in. Glancing over at me briefly, he grins. "He's in the kitchen," is all he says before the pair of them begin to make their way upstairs, Jess throwing me a nervous wave over her shoulder. I give her one last reassuring smile and a thumbs up before making my way towards the kitchen.

Entering the kitchen, my eyes instantly seek out Justin as he sits on one of the stools, looking about as bored as wood. Some of his school books sit, scattered across the surface in front of him, but the pen sits unused on top of his notebook.

"Am I interrupting?" I ask, an amused smile slipping on my face when I notice him jolt slightly in surprise. I totally just scared him.

"No, not at all," he says, a small grin slipping onto his face as he lifts his head to look at me. "Come sit. What are you doing here?"

Smiling, I move to sit on the stool next to his, briefly glancing over the books. Chemistry and History... looks fun.

"I just thought I'd come and keep you company for a bit," I admit with a small shrug. "Jess and Amy are both busy."

"Why didn't you call? I would've come to pick you up," he asks, still smiling his infectious smile that only makes mine widen.

"I thought you would still be in the meeting and I didn't want to bother you," I explain. "I was going to wait in the living room until you guys were done."

"We finished about an hour ago," he explains. "And even if we hadn't, you could've just come in."

"Nah, I wouldn't have been much help," I admit with a small laugh. "I don't really know much about training tactics, only the basics."

"Well, I'll teach you one day," he offers, turning to pack away his books. "Then you'll be a pro."

"Okay," I agree with another laugh.

With the books all stacked in a pile, he turns to me with a warm smile and takes my hand in his, resting them gently on my knee.

"I'm glad you're here," he tells me. "It's been a long day."

"It's barely even midday yet," I remind him.

"Okay," he relents with a small laugh. "It's been a long morning, then."

I bite my lip slightly as my heart thumps harder at the sound of his laugh, leaning in to press my lips against his. Before we make contact, though, the sound of footsteps has me leaning back out again.

"Oh, hello, Lucy," David says in surprise, obviously not expecting to find me sat with his son.

"Hello," I reply, turning to look at him with a smile as he walks in and throws a stack of paper into the recycling bin.

"Have you finished?" he then asks, aiming the question at Justin.

"Yep," Justin replies. "Every last boring bit." I give him a questioning look and he quickly explains with, "catching up on missed school work."

Ah, that makes sense. David has always pushed Justin to do well in school.

"Good," David says, clearly happy at his sons work ethic.

"Yeah, well, we're just going to take my stuff back up to my room," Justin informs his father, and I can't help but blush at the knowing look David gives the two of us.

"Okay," is all he says, but I don't miss the grin forming on his face when Justin picks up his books in one arm and uses his other to steer me out of the room.

We walk up the stairs in silence, still hand in hand, until we reach his bedroom door. He walks in first, quickly moving to put his books on the desk, before coming back to stand in front of me as I close the door. The second the click of the door shutting sounds, his lips are on mine, kissing me relentlessly. I'm not going to lie, it takes me off guard a bit, but I'm far from complaining. My hands clasp around his neck as his move down to my hips, pushing me backwards until my back's firm against the door.

"Hey," he greets, a small smile tugging at his lips as he moves back slightly to look into my eyes.

"Hey, yourself," I reply with a breathless laugh before he reconnects our lips and a full-blown make out session ensues.

We end up on the bed, fully clothed may I add, with my hands now raking through his hair and his resting on my waist.

"I've missed you," he announces out of nowhere, pulling back slightly to look me in the eyes.

"You literally saw me just yesterday," I remind him with a girly giggle that, I have to admit, I'm not proud of. I always used to pride myself in the fact that I'm not one of those girly gigglers.

"I know," he says, leaning forward to press his lips against mine quickly. "Doesn't change the fact that I've missed you, though."

"Anyone would think you're going soft, apple," I say, unable to keep the cheeky grin off my face.

"Oh, you did not just go there," he says, pulling back further and leaning on his elbows so he's hovering above me, playfulness shining in his eyes.

"Huh, that's funny, because I'm pretty sure I just did," I reply, letting out another giggle that I secretly want to punch myself for. "What you going to do about it?"

"Well, orange," he says, putting extra emphasis on the fruit. "I'm going-"

The sound of his phone ringing cuts him off and, frowning, he glances over at the nightstand to see who's calling. His frown deepens and he quickly reaches over to press something, the ringing immediately cutting out as the call gets cancelled.

"Is everything okay?" I ask when he looks back at me, his frown loosening slightly but not completely disappearing.

"Yeah," he replies, leaning down to give me another brief kiss, but I don't believe him. In fact, I get the distinct feeling that he's hiding something.

"Who was that?" I ask with reluctant curiosity. I've never wanted to be one of those clingy girlfriends that always get jealous and insecure but, well, with Justin's history, can you really blame me?

"No one," he answers immediately, but I don't miss the slight look of guilt that passes through his eyes and tells me he's lying.

What's going on?

"Justin?" I ask, unable to keep the uncertainty from my voice, causing him to sigh.

"It was Rachel," he admits, taking me completely off guard.

Rachel, his ex-girlfriend Rachel?

"I didn't know you two still talk," I admit, my voice quiet as I shift slightly underneath him, putting a bit more distance between the two of us.

"We don't," he insists, his voice practically begging me to believe him before he lets out another sigh. "She just... she keeps trying to contact me, says she needs to talk to me about something." He shrugs slightly. "I've been telling her to stop for ages now, but she's not exactly taking the hint, so I've resorted to ignoring her."

I frown at that but I can tell he's telling the truth. It doesn't really make sense, though. Why?

"What does she want to talk to you about?" I ask curiously.

"I don't know," he admits with another shrug. "Probably nothing important."

"I wish you'd told me sooner," I tell him with a small frown. We're supposed to be a team, right? Why would he feel like he had to hide this from me?

"I know, I'm sorry," he murmurs. "It's just, things were just starting to turn good between us; I didn't want anything to get in the way of that."

I roll my eyes at him and smile slightly. "I can deal with a few crazy ex-girlfriends, Justin," I inform him.

"Well, good," he says, leaning down to kiss my cheek as the playful glint returns to his eyes, "but I still can't deal with you calling me apple."

Unable to stop myself, I laugh.

(Hey guys!!! So, here's chapter  43 :) I hope you enjoyed it and, once again, I'm sorry for the late update. I'm kind of in the middle of writing another story that I'm hoping to post once this one's finished, so I'm going back and forth between writing the one when I get stuck on the other if that makes sense. That's why I'm taking longer to post than usual but, on the upside, at least I'll be posting something else as soon as this one's finished so there won't be much of a break. I don't know if this makes any sense, I'm kind of rambling. 

Anywho, back to this story. I know not a lot really happened in this chapter, it's more of a Lucy/Justin, Jess/Devlin and Amy/Dean kind of chapter, but I promise the next few chapters are going to be back on track with the whole rogue situation. Speaking of the next few chapters, there are only four chapters left (including the epilogue)!!! :O It's crazzzzyyyy!!!  I'm kind of sad that the journey's almost over but, at the same time, I'm so happy because this will be the first story I've ever properly finished :D 

Right, so ,yeah. I'm not really sure what else to say except THANKS FOR READING :) I mean, I know I've probably forgotten something really important that I was supposed to say, but I can't think of anything right now :') So, I'm going to stop boring you all with my mindless rambling. Sorry if there are any mistakes within the chapter but I'm sure you all know the drill by now, I'll be going over it all once the story's finished and all that jazz :) Um, so yeah, if you enjoyed the chapter then don't forget to Vote/Comment/Add/Follow as I'd really appreciate it :D I'm almost at four-hundred followers right now which is just insane!!! :) Thank you all so much for your support!!!

Okay, right, I'm really going to stop rambling now so, until next time, byeee!!!)