Chapter 44 – An unexpected friendship.

With ten minutes to go before training starts, Justin and I enter the clearing, and I quickly take note that almost everyone is here by now. This, of course, means that almost everyone sees the two of us arriving together, and I can't help the small blush that creeps up into my cheeks at the curious stares we're receiving.

Man up, woman.

David, Wendy, Wayne and Dean all stand at the front of the clearing, all apparently deep in discussion. Amy stands off a little way away with her parents but, so far, Jess, Devlin and Beck aren't here yet.

Justin and I left his house just after one, heading back to mine so I could get changed into some sweatpants and an old top, before heading over here. Just as we were leaving his, Wendy informed us that Devlin and Jess had taken off a little while ago to go and grab some lunch before training, so they should be here any minute. I have no idea where Beck is, though, and can only hope that he shows up soon. The girls were right this morning, I do need to talk to him, and I plan on doing so tonight.

"Justin," David calls out to him, waving us over.

"Come on," Justin says, taking my hand in his and tugging me over to his parents.

My blush only deepens at the looks everyone else is giving us, most of them consisting of outright disbelief, the others more a smug knowing. I frown at that slightly, coming to the realisation that apparently people have been starting to guess anyway.

Melissa and Rachel stand at the far end of the clearing, Rachel's expression unreadable whilst Melissa is trying to shoot daggers at me with her eyes. As I watch, Melissa turns to her friend and starts to say something, most likely about how much she wants me dead. Either way, I'm not too bothered and just continue on my way to David with Justin.

"Are you almost ready?" David asks as soon as we reach the group, and Justin and I both nod. "Good."

Justin's already explained the training plan to me, not long after we had the discussion about Rachel, and so I'm aware of what we're going to do.

David wants it so that we'll be ready to attack tomorrow and, to do that, he first needs to find our toughest fighters. The plan is to eventually split us into two groups: those who will be going out to attack the rogues, and those who will be staying at home to protect our land in case some of the rogues slip past us. Those with less experience and skill will be the ones staying at home as they, hopefully, won't have to fight unless it's our very last resort.
David, Wayne and Wendy will be taking over the training session, with the occasional input from Dean and Justin. I don't think Justin minds all too much, though. In fact, he was telling me earlier that he's glad he doesn't have as much pressure resting on his shoulders, he doesn't think he's good enough yet. In response, I told him that he needs to stop doubting himself and that he's going to make a great Alpha someday.

For training, we'll be pairing up like last time, switching from human form to wolf so that we can be properly assessed on our skills. The training routine was prepared earlier so now pretty much all we have to do is listen to whatever the three teachers tell us. I'm kind of excited, to be perfectly honest, as I've never really seen Wendy in action before. I've heard she's skilled, though.

Jess and Devlin eventually turn up, not long before we start, and immediately come over to stand with the rest of us. Beck, thankfully, shows up at the very last minute, just in time to start. David begins by telling everyone to pair up with someone, with Wendy and Wayne standing either side of him, before they demonstrate a few moves like Justin and Dean did last time. Slowly, everyone begins to do as they're told. Justin's already told me that we're going to be pairing up during both training and the attack, which Dean doesn't mind in the slightest as he's said the same about Amy. Obviously, Jess and Devlin pair up, and I can't help but smile at this outcome.

The training starts off fairly simple but eventually gets more difficult, with Justin knocking me on my butt more than once. I eventually start to get the hang of it, though, with Wendy coaching me on the best ways to beat up her son. It soon becomes pretty apparent, to both me and Justin, that his mum is clearly taking sides.

"This is completely unfair," Justin informs us both as I send another jab to his side and grin in triumph.

"Hey, now," I say with a small giggle, blocking his next attack. "Don't be a sore loser."

Wendy laughs at us both, a soft smile playing on her lips as she moves on to the next pair.

"I hate you," he mutters to me as he manages to block my next hit.

"You love me," I correct, still grinning.

"Whatever you say, orange," he replies with a smug smirk.

"Hey!" I complain with a laugh, this time batting him around the head playfully.

"What? You started it," he reminds me with a laugh, pushing my hand away.

"Hey, you two, stop flirting and get fighting," Amy calls over to us from where she stands, a few meters away, training with Dean. I glance over to her and roll my eyes at the amused smile she's giving me.

Soon after that, David calls us to a stop and the true training begins. The girls go over to the left of the clearing to change under the cover of the trees whilst the guys do the same on the right.

"Hey," a quiet voice says from behind me, just after I've pulled my shirt over my head and dropped it to the ground. Turning around, I'm surprised to see Rachel stood awkwardly behind me.

"Hey," I repeat, letting my voice trail off awkwardly. Is there any particular reason why I'm stood here, half naked, talking to my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend? If anyone else notices us they don't show it, except for Jess and Amy who are currently stood a little behind me to the left and are watching the interaction with open curiosity and clear suspicion. I haven't had the chance to tell them what Justin told me earlier.

"So, you and Justin, huh?" she asks, somewhat nervously.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," I reply warily, unsure of how I'm supposed to reply. Where is this conversation going?

"Yeah, I thought so," she says with a small smile, taking me off-guard slightly. "I mean, it took me a little while to figure out which girl it was that stole his heart but, well, it eventually became pretty obvious, so," she trails off with a small shrug, still smiling.

"Um, okay?" I say, returning her smile with a hesitant one of my own before moving to turn back to my friends.

"Wait," she says quickly, reaching out a hand to grab my arm before obviously thinking better of it and dropping it back to her side. I turn back to face her with a questioning look. She wants to carry on with this awkward conversation? Really?

"What?" I ask, not quite unkindly despite my blunt question.

"I just," she starts before cutting off and shaking her head slightly, seemingly unsure of what to say. "I've been trying to get hold of Justin," she admits.

"Yeah, I am aware," I tell her, my patience slipping slightly and my words turning harsher. "You tried to call him earlier." She winces slightly.

"I – it's not – I mean, I'm not," she replies quickly, clearly struggling to form a proper sentence. I stand there staring at her, not bothering to hide how much she's currently starting to irritate me, until she speaks up again. "It's not what it looks like," she eventually tells me, glancing at the floor and then back up at me again. "I mean, I'm not – I'm not trying to get back with him or anything. I just wanted to talk to him. Well, to both of you, really."

"Why?" I ask, clear surprise in my voice at her confession.

"I..." she starts, before taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh, holding her right hand out to me. "I just wanted to tell you both that I'm not going to be weird about this. Well, any weirder than this conversation is, at least." She lets out a small laugh and I can't help but give her a small but confused smile in return. "I'm not going to turn into one of those jealous ex-girlfriends or anything. I mean, I know I'm a ditzy cheerleader but I'm really not that cliché." She laughs again before shrugging. "You clearly make him happy, happier than I ever did, and that's okay. I mean, that's good. Besides, I've just started seeing someone else now, anyway. I just want things to be okay between us, no grudges or anything, like, maybe we could start fresh?"

Okay, that's kind of a lot to digest. Here I was thinking she was going to become even worse than Melissa, but she's actually being extremely mature about the entire situation.

Her smile falters slightly and I soon realise it's because her hand is still hanging in the air between us. Oh, right. I quickly move to shake her hand, my smile becoming more genuine as I watch the relief flit through her eyes.

"Hi, I'm Lucy," I say before letting go of her hand.

"Rachel," she replies, her smile mirroring my own.

"Well, Rachel, it's nice to meet you," I say with a small laugh. This is so odd.

"You too," she replies with an amused grin. "Do you maybe think that you could talk to Justin for me?" she then asks hopefully. "Explain to him that I'm not some creepy stalker, or something? I don't want things to be weird between any of us."

"Sure," I agree with a small shrug. "I'll see what I can do. So, you're seeing someone else now then, huh?"

"Yeah," she replies, her smile brightening even more. "Um, Ricky Jones?"

"Oh, yeah, I know Ricky," I say. Well, I mean, he's Justin's friend so I kind of know him, but I definitely know who she means. "Well, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. I mean it's early days yet, but," she trials off with a shrug and I nod slightly before she speaks up again. "Well, I guess that's all I really wanted to say and I need to get changed now. I'll see you around, Lucy."

"Yeah, see you around," I reply before she walks away, and I can't help but be slightly dumbfounded about the entire situation.

"Well, that was unexpected," Amy says, breaking the silence as she watches Rachel walk off back to where Melissa stands.

"Yeah, you're telling me," I reply.

Melissa, unlike her friend, doesn't seem to be very mature about the whole thing. As soon as Rachel reaches her, she immediately starts ranting, to which her friend just shrugs and starts getting changed.

I don't know how much time has passed but, judging by the lack of other people around us, it must've been quite a bit. Deciding I don't want us to be any later than we already are, I finish getting changed and we head back out to the clearing.

Finding Justin (already in wolf form) standing where I left him, I quickly trot over. Even as a wolf I can feel the stares of the others as we stand together. His large frame towering over my small one must be quite a sight to see but, instead of feeling ashamed of my size, this time I stand proudly next to Justin. People are just going to have to deal. Screw them and their judgements.

With a sharp bark of order from David, we all get to work.

***

Training last for a fair few hours before David decides that he's seen enough to know who's going to be doing what tomorrow and, I have to admit, I'm a little tired. Going back to get changed, I soon figure out that Jess and Amy are pretty shattered too. Maybe that should be something that changes, regular training sessions from now on, proper ones, so that people have more stamina and will be more prepared for situations like this.

"Dean's a total ass," Amy grumbles as she pulls her socks on, rotating her shoulders slightly to try and stop the aching.

"He's just trying to protect you," I remind her with a small laugh, knowing that the guys were just trying to prepare us for tomorrow. I'm going to have bruises everywhere from training with Justin. They'll be gone by tomorrow, though, thanks to our fast healing.

"Yeah, Devlin didn't exactly go easy on me either," Jess pipes up, holding her arm up to inspect the scratches with a small frown.

I roll my eyes at the pair of them and laugh again. Morons.

"How did it go with Dean, anyways?" I ask, looking over at Amy as she pulls her jacket on.

"It was alright, I guess," she shrugs evasively, but the pink tint to her cheeks gives her away.

"Ooh," Jess taunts, her frown turning into a grin. "Amy and Dean, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-" her sister smacks her around the back of the head, effectively shutting her up. "Okay, ow!" she complains with a frown.

"I hate you," Amy deadpans as her sister rubs the back of her head, still complaining.

"Like you can really talk, Jess," I remind her, smirking. "How'd it go with Devlin?"

"Oh, um, yeah, so we're kind of a thing now," she replies, her face becoming a tomato.

"Wait, what? I thought you were a thing before?" Amy says, clearly confused.

"Yeah, but now they're an official thing," I explain, my smirk becoming a full on grin. Jess and Devlin are so cute together.

"What? Since when?" Amy asks, her scowl fading as her expression becomes happier than a kid at Christmas.

"Since this morning," Jess explains quietly, still bright red.

I'm not quite sure what happens next, but I'm pretty sure Amy's about to explode. Squealing like a dying pig, she starts jumping up and down like a complete maniac.

"Amy, shut the hell up!" Jess hisses at her, glancing around to see all the attention her sister's currently bringing to us.

Amy, of course, doesn't listen.

"Jess and Devlin, sitting in a – ow!" Amy cuts off with a yelp, glaring over at her sister who just slapped her back twice as hard.

"Well I told you to shut up," Jess says in her defence with a shrug.

"Come on," I laugh at them, walking back to the clearing with the two of them following behind, still squabbling.

Now that training's over, all that's left to do is find out the plan for tomorrow from David and go home. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and we're going to need all the rest we can get.

When we get back to the rest of the group, everyone now back in human form and dressed, the three of us head over to the front of the clearing. David, Wendy, Wayne, Justin, Devlin and Beck all stand around in deep discussion, and I come to the conclusion that they must be figuring out a plan for tomorrow. Beck, I'm unsurprised to see, hardly has a scratch on him from training, and I can only hope that whoever he was paired up with didn't get too damaged. He's easily our best fighter.

"Hey," Justin says as the three of us join them, and I move to stand next to him.

"What's going on?" Jess asks curiously as Devlin wraps an arm around her shoulder, causing her now paling cheeks to flame once again. Smiling at the couple, I give Amy a clear warning look as I can see that she's about to flip out once again. Thankfully, she manages to hold it in.

"We've figured out who's going to be staying at home and who's going to be on the attack team," David explains, his expression serious as he gets straight down to business. "You three girls will be coming with us."

I nod at that, along with Jess and Amy, but I don't miss the way that Devlin pulls his girlfriend slightly closer to him with a small frown. It's clear that he's not too thrilled about the decision, but he doesn't argue.

"I've tried to work it out so that the two groups will be pretty even in numbers," David continues. "Twenty-eight of us will be going to the forbidden land and the remaining twenty-three will be staying at home."

"But that twenty-three includes the children," Justin explains to me, and I nod again to let him know I understand.

"We'll be fighting in pairs to make sure that someone always has our back," David tells me when I look back at him. "Out of us, I'm going with Wendy, You with Justin, Jess with Devlin, Amy with Dean and Beck with Wayne."

"Okay," I agree, feeling slightly happier now that I know Dean and Devlin will be protecting my friends. Especially as, with Dean being the future Beta, he and Justin will be fighting pretty close together, meaning so will Amy and I. Beck and Devlin most likely grew up with this kind of thing on a day-to-day basis, so I know that Jess will be in good hands, and Beck's Beck, so he'll be fine too.

"We're going to do what we did the first time," Justin explains. "Just with a larger amount of us and the element of surprise."

"Will it work?" I ask, concern lacing my words. Last time we tried this plan it didn't go too well. Not too well, at all.

"It'll work," Beck replies, and Devlin nods in agreement. "The only reason they beat you last time is because they knew you were coming. Now, with Quinlan out of the way, it'll pretty much be plain sailing."

I become more confident in the plan after that, trusting Beck's opinion above all else. He knows what he's talking about.

"Kailen lives on the left side of the camp," Devlin says, drawing my attention to him, "so that'll be guarded the heaviest, which is why we'll be sending two extra pairs to that side of the camp."

"In total, six people will be attacking from the front, six from the right, six from the back, and ten from the left," David says. "That ten will be us."

"Okay, that makes sense," I agree, not sure how I feel about facing Kailen again but knowing, more than anything, that I want him dead.

"We're going to try and box the rogues in and eventually meet at the middle," Dean says, glancing over at Amy. She nods.

"Seems like a pretty solid plan," she agrees.

"Okay, good," David says before calling for the attention of everyone else.

It takes about forty minutes for him to explain the plan to everyone, going through everyone individually to tell them what group they'll be in and who they'll be fighting alongside. Those who stay at home and are strong enough will be assigned to patrol our territory until we get back.

Melissa (not too surprisingly) will be staying at home to patrol, along with Rachel and a few other kids from our school. Louisa is also on patrol duty, whilst Richard and his friend Tony will be fighting in the group coming in from the back. When everything is all smoothed out and everyone knows what they're doing, David tells everyone to be back at the clearing for midday tomorrow before letting them go home.

Most of the people linger around for a bit, though, chatting amongst themselves. Some seem nervous, some excited, but all equally as determined as each other.

"I hope this is over soon," I sigh, turning to Justin with a worried frown. I don't like the idea of the people I care about being put in danger. Then again, who really does?

"It will be," Justin assures with a small but understanding smile, snaking his arm around my waist and kissing the top of my head. I don't think too many people notice, though, as everyone still seems pretty focussed on what's going to happen tomorrow.

"You promise?" I ask, deciding to ignore everyone else around us for a few minutes.

"I promise," he murmurs, kissing my forehead before pulling back to look at me. "And then I'm going to take you out on a proper date."

Grinning, I quickly agree before remembering that there's something I was supposed to talk to him about.

"Oh, yeah, by the way," I say, looking up at him with a small smile. "You don't have to worry about Rachel anymore."

"Why, what did you do?" he asks with a confused smile.

"I didn't do anything," I tell him with a shrug. "She just wanted a clean slate and I gave her one."

"Really?" he asks, seemingly surprised.

"Yeah, did you know she's going out with Ricky now?"

"Wait, Ricky Jones?" he asks and I nod. "Huh, did not see that coming. Well, good for them, I suppose."

"Yeah, Melissa's not happy, though," I inform him, remembering the glare she was giving me earlier.

"Is she ever?" he asks, and it's only made funnier by the fact that it seems to be a genuine question, not just a dig.

"Lucy, you coming?" Amy calls out, and I glance over to see her and Jess stood with Richard and Louisa, seemingly ready to go.

"Yeah," I call back.

Turning back to Justin, I'm about to say goodbye when he cuts me off with a kiss, taking me completely by surprise.

This time, people do seem to notice, if that small gasps I hear are anything to go by.

When he pulls away I give him a subtle but clear 'what the hell?' kind of look, to which he just smirks.

"See you tomorrow," he says, his voice highly amused. Giving me a wink and one last smirk, he heads over to where his parents stand as I still stand here dumbstruck.

Did he really just do that? Glancing up at the people still staring at me, I decide that he definitely did.

What a dick.

With my face burning, I quickly walk over to where Jess and Amy stand, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. Amy stands there, grinning like an idiot, whilst Jess just raises an eyebrow at me. Yep, well, now everybody knows. Great, just great.

Casting a quick glance over my shoulder, my eyes connect with Rachel as she stands on the other side of the clearing and she smiles at me, not looking in the least bit bothered. Huh, well, that's one way to test if she's telling the truth, I guess. My eyes move over to Melissa, who's standing next to my boyfriend's ex, and she looks shocked speechless. Her expression changes, however, the second she notices me looking at her, and her face becomes livid.

Laughing under my breath, I quickly turn back to face the direction I'm walking in, a certain smug satisfaction settling over me as I replay her expression over and over in my head. No matter what comes next, it'll be totally worth it, just to have been able to see miss high-and-mighty knocked down a peg or two.

"So, Justin Detroit, huh?" Richard asks me, sounding way too amused for my liking and immediately evaporating my smugness. Why is everyone asking that today?

"Shut up," I mutter, causing both him and Louisa to laugh and, therefore, my cheeks to flame once again.

(Hey guys!!! Soooo, two updates in one day, I bet you weren't expecting that ;) Well, I mean technically it's night, five minutes to midnight to be exact, but I'm still counting it :)

So, yeah, not really a lot to say about this chapter. I wanted a chapter to focus a bit more on Rachel, don't ask me why, I just did haha. So what do you guys all make of her? 

Sorry if there are any mistakes, I literally have just finished writing this chapter and want to get it uploaded pronto to try and make up for my awful uploading over the past few months. I hope you guys liked the chapter and if you do, you know the drill: Vote/Comment/Add/Follow :) thanks!

Um, right, so yeah, I'm trying not to make this A/N too long because i'm tired, haha :') thank you guys for reading, I still can't believe how close we are to the end!!! 

Oops, so I've been writing this for five minutes and it's now midnight. IT STILL COUNTS!!! :') 

Okay, so I'm going to go to sleep now. Until next time, byee!!!)