CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Avilla's POV I was finished with the three paintings and I wanted to surprise ben today at school. Camilla has seen hers but wasn't ready to take it home so I planned to take Ben's to school to show it to him... I finally told Camilla what ben said and this was her reaction, "What?! He wouldn't!" She shouted "Calm down, I said no" I assured her "Damn right you said no, what other answer would you have given?" She asked me. "Seeing as Rohan, your stupid brother gave him the permission to ask me out. I would have said yes!" I told her "You did the right thing by saying no to him, ben is too dense to notice that you guys are mated and Rohan is too stupid to say anything to him" she said giving me a side hug. "Come on! We would be late, I want to see Ben's face when I give him his painting" I grinned at her "Are you sure he would think this is a nice gesture as a friend?" She asked unsure "Of course, now come on! We would be late!" I urged her "Okay, okay" she rolled her eyes before getting into the car. We got to school early even when Camilla drove really slow like a grandma today, I kept teasing her about but she wouldn't speed up. I brought out the painting, I had it wrapped like a present, and I wanted to see the smile on his face when he opens this. I got to my locker with Camilla and he was there waiting for me like I told him to but he wasn't alone. Rohan was standing with him with a troubled look on his face but as usual I ignored him. I gave ben a hug which he returned with so much joy, Rohan was staring at us both and Camilla was off to see Mitchell. "Hey, you doing okay?" Ben asked me "Yeah sure...I..." I started to say but I didn't get to finish before Rohan cut me off. "Hey Avilla, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked politely Ben furrowed his brows but otherwise said nothing. "Sure after I am done speaking to ben" I told him offhandedly, he tensed up immediately but wisely kept his mouth shut. Ben on the other hand had a big smile on his face. Now, I had to give him his surprise. "So I got you something..." I stared to say Ben started shaking with excitement that made me laugh a little, he was like a little kid on Christmas. I brought out the big painting I was holding behind my back and showed it to him. Ben squealed making people look over at us but he just waved them off while Rohan looked even more furious. Ben quickly unwrapped the paper and stared at himself on the painting "it's so beautiful, thank you Avilla" he dropped the painting aside and hugged me to him. I hugged him back, if this is how he acted then I wanted to give him more presents. He was so adorable. "Where is Rohan?" Ben asked, he seemed to realize that he wasn't standing there anymore. I shrugged "I have no idea, he was just standing here a minute ago" I said I didn't care where Rohan was, all I cared about was that somebody appreciated art and my efforts for once. I shoved my books in my locker, taking out the ones I needed. Ben had gone to go keep the painting in his car. I was arranging my locker when I felt someone beside me and I just assumed it was ben. "Back already?" I teased him "Avilla" one simple word from a familiar voice. I sighed out loud because I wasn't ready for a fight. I mentally prepared myself for another fight still but when I turned, no amount of mental preparation got me ready for what happened next. "I am sorry" I froze. The words felt strange coming from his mouth. "What?" I asked shocked "I said I am sorry for what I said the other day, I know it's going to be hard for you to forgive me but I am willing to start out as friends" he said. I almost started laughing, he wants to be friends? What a joke, my mate wanted to be friends with me because he thinks I am human but okay then. "You can't just say you are sorry and make everything okay" I told him. "I know and I am willing to put up an effort just so you can forgive me" he said What exactly was his game? What the hell was he trying to play at? Well, seeing me with ben must be more painful than I expected for him but it didn't mean I was going to let him off easy. "I am kind of busy and I think I like how we avoid each other. It's perfect for our situation, don't you think so?" I asked him I didn't wait for an answer before leaving him standing there and staring at my back. If he thinks that he would just come apologize and all would be forgiven then he was dead wrong. I couldn't concentrate in class at all, I was thinking about what could have changed his mind about this, was it the beating he received from his father? Or because he simply didn't like seeing me with ben? Or he just seemed to regain his senses now? He looked so worn out and dejected like the fight had gone out of him but I just didn't care about that, I hated the fact that he wanted to waltz back into my life and I was willing to let it happen but I had to put up a fight. My mind was all kind of jumbled and I couldn't grasp a word the teacher was saying, I couldn't wait to tell Camilla About what happened and seek for her advice. I didn't find her in the cafeteria so I figured we didn't have the same lunch schedule today and I couldn't sit with chandler because I didn't want him all over me like last time, the option was to sit with ben but Rohan would be there so I entered my car and drove him. Skipping the rest of the classes. I sent her a text asking her to meet me after school. Avilla- come to the house as soon as you get this message, this is an emergency. Knowing Camilla, she will drop everything she is doing just to come know what's happening. And I was completely right because fifteen minutes she was barreling down my door like I was dying, "Avilla!!! I got your message, what's going on?!" She shouted I was in my room, I heard her take the stairs one after the other in a rush, tripping in the process but I was calm as ever in my room. The door to my room was yanked open and there she was heaving and puffing like she just ran a marathon. I rolled my eyes at how dramatic she was being, it was just the stairs. "Avilla!!! I came as soon as I saw your message, are you okay?!" She felt my forehead. I swatted her hand "sit down and catch your breath and stop acting like a freaking lunatic" "Well excuse me for caring about my friend" she huffed before sitting down. I allowed her to catch her breath before handing her a bottle of water. "Thank you" she said in appreciation before gulping the whole thing down. I waited till she was calm before dropping the bomb on her. "So Rohan apologized and asked to be friends" I told her I apparently had bad timing because the water she was drinking went flying everywhere. "Oh my God!!! I am sorry but a little warning next time" she said I rolled my eyes at her, she just messed up my room and she was scolding me instead? Classic Camilla. "So he just came up to you and said that? He must have had a concussion from the beating he endured from my father" she said "That's what I said then the worst was when he said he was going to put more effort in earning my forgiveness, can you believe him?!" I asked her in disbelief "Wait, he just walked up to you and said that?" Camilla asked "Yes" I answered "That's weird, the other day he told me he wanted to talk to me about something but I didn't read meaning to it" Camilla said with furrowed brows That was definitely strange for him to want to change his mind overnight unless.... I think Camilla had the same realization because we both said it out loud. "Unless he found a way wolf and human can be together!!!" we both said "Oh my God! He really did it. He found the solution" Camilla said, she looked so surprised and in awe of her big brother. Looks like he pulled through after all. "I am so happy for you, you finally get to be with the one you love with nothing standing between you guys" I told her as I pulled her in for a hug. "So will you" she agreed with me "Oh please! He doesn't even know I am not human and he didn't care to find out" I shrugged "Speaking of which, how are you able to hide your scent?" She asked "I don't know, something my aunt gave me" I answered "You going to tell him? That you are a wolf?" She asked "No way, I will play along and see where all this leads to. I think my favorite part would be the time he wants to tell me what he is" I laughed a little as I thought about it. "You little devil!" Camilla smiled cheekily at me "I know, I know. But there is no way else I could punish him without punishing myself" I told her "Yeah that's true... I don't believe I get to be with my mate." She said in awe "Yeah now that is out of the way, let's talk about how you are going to tell him and how he will handle it then how you will handle it" I reminded her That was another obstacle on the way, there was a chance Mitchell could run screaming and end up telling everyone that werewolves exist. That would end terribly. "Yeah I know but I have been thinking about this since I met him and I have been planning to get a mate since I first learned what it was, so don't think I haven't thought it through" she said seriously "Alright, let's hear what you have planned so far" I persisted "So, the other day he told me he loved me and he couldn't live without me. That was all sweet but I didn't to test that theory just yet. So all I have to do is to keep reading werewolf books and then he would want to talk about it all the time. With the sudden interest in lycanthropy study, I would slowly reveal that they are not myths and they exists. If he wants proof then I give him proof. This might not end well but that is the best I got." She finished "Well that's good. Manipulating your mate into liking your kind? Nice one" I teased her "My kind? You are one of us dummy." She teased back "Not for another month, I am not" I corrected her Pretending to be human is much more especially where Rohan was involved, I was going to get a kick out of seeing the look on his face when he realizes that I have been a wolf all these while. "You are thinking about it right now, aren't you? 'Of course, I am going to have much fun messing with your brother" I told her in earnest.