Extra Saving Jade Pt 2
Their trips to the thrift shops became a near daily event. Now that they had secured Jade’s blessing, Ivy and Sylvia spent even more time around her, walking between classes. She was included in their shenanigans, which more often than not involved Ivy causing trouble, with Sylvia- and now Jade- trying to fix things.
“I didn’t mean to drop the volcano on Sean’s head,” Ivy said. “It was a total accident!”
“Yeah, and the fact that it happened right after he called Jade a runt has nothing to do with it,” Sylvia said, exasperated. “Like, come on.”
“I think it was something else,” Jade announced, feeling a sudden bravery.
“Oh, yeah?” Ivy said, hands on her hips. “Like what?”
“The fact that Paul was there.”
Ivy stumbled over her sneakers, and Sylvia’s eyes widened in total shock.
“Shut the hell up,” Sylvia gasped, hands going up to her mouth. “Paul? As in, Aegis’s best friend?!”
“No!” Ivy said, too quickly.
“Hear me out,” Jade said quickly. “Whenever he’s around, that’s when Ivy gets even crazier.”
Sylvia squealed and jumped up and down. “No! You never told me! How could you never tell me?!”
“Oh, when would I ever even have time?!” Ivy snapped. “You, with your mooning after Aegis all day long!”
“You seriously like him?!”
“I mean…” Ivy’s dark skin flushed. “Yeah, okay, maybe, he’s just- he’s like, super crazy, and funny, and goofy, and stupid…”
“Ah,” Sylvia said, exchanging a knowing look with Jade. “So, he’s like you.”
Ivy thumped her on the head, and Jade burst into laughter.
“The real question is, how the hell did you notice?” Ivy demanded, turning on her.
Jade shrugged, uncomfortable. “I just… notice everything.”
“A good defense mechanism,” Ivy grumbled. “Man, I thought I was way smoother than that.”
“Well, your biggest stunts always happen in third period and fifth period, and we share those classes with Paul, and every time he walks in the room you almost always do something stupid-“
“And me, the best friend, never noticing,” Sylvia said, pretending to be devastated. “What sort of friend am I?!”
----
It happened while they were in the thrift store. It was one of three that they visited regularly; the woman who tended the register owned the store, and she had never been seen out of her werewolf form in all her life. She dressed in clothes likely straight out of the 70's, and was quite commonly (and lovingly) referred to as "the werewolf hippie".
Jade was watching Ivy and Sylvia coo over a pretty pair of jeans with sequins in it, when suddenly… her body tensed. More than tensed- it wasn’t just her body, it was everything in her body.
“Oh,” Jade gasped, grabbing onto a nearby rack. Her head spun; everything in her was tight, like a spring being wound one too many times.
“Jade?” Ivy said, alarmed. “Jade, what’s wrong?”
The thrift store owner- Jade Harpstring- vaulted over the counter like a bloodhound on the scent. “Step back, girls! Get clear!”
"What's happening?!"
"Is she okay?"
"She's fine- she's shifting! Jade, you have to let it out! Let it go!"
“I-“ Jade was twitching, her muscles spasming. “What’s- what’s happening to-“
“You’re all right, honey!” Joy’s soothing voice was a million miles away, and right in her ears. “Let it go, let it happen!”
Jade took a deep breath, and for a moment, it was like teetering on the edge of a precipice. Her world tilted, her breath expanded, and then-
SNAP.
Like a rubber band ball exploding, her body suddenly ripped apart, bursting at the seams, and she felt like she was there. Really, really there, finally and fully.
With a gasp, Jade looked up into a mirror across from her.
She’d changed. She’d shifted!
“Jade!” Sylvia squealed, and Ivy started clapping and shouting.
“Jade, you did it!” Ivy hooted.
Her fur was pitch black, like Aegis’s. Her amber eyes, much like their father's, glittered in the mirror back at her. She was tall, lean, lithe, and muscled; she was a werewolf.
“Oh,” she breathed, and a peace she’d never known fell over her.
It wasn’t about shifting for anyone else. It was about shifting for her. This was who she was, this creature in the mirror, finally at peace, finally herself, finally full.
“Oh, you’re beautiful!” Joy proclaimed, coming to gently touch her shoulder. “Your clothes are a tad small, but I’ve got something that’ll look lovely on you for when you leave this store! Oh, we have to celebrate, we have to call for pizza- does anyone have the Luna’s phone number?! She needs to be here, to see Jade!”
“I think I’ve got it somewhere,” Ivy said, digging through her bag. “Oh, shoot, I know I got it in case I needed to bring Jade something- shoot! Ah, here it is!”
They were all beside themselves. Celebrating for her, for Jade. Her real friends, people who really cared.
She could’ve died right there, and she’d have still known enough peace to be happy with it.
----
The school was stunned when Jade showed up in her full form, Aegis walking proudly at her side, Ivy and Sylvia on the other. Brittani held her tongue when Aegis was present, but as they’d all guessed, she hunted them down later.
“You’re still dead last,” she said, trying to corner Jade. This did not work to her taste, however, because tiny human girls did not easily corner eight-foot-tall werewolves.
“I’m sorry,” Jade said, standing up from her seat, “did you want to try that again, Brittani? You’re a bit small these days.”
Brittani sneered, dauntless. “You think you’re tougher because you’ve got a pair of sparkly jeans and a new bod? As if. You’re still the runt you’ve always been. Shifting doesn’t change anything.”
“Would you get a life?” Sylvia said, exasperated. “Seriously, Britt. This is getting so old, so fast. Don’t you ever get tired of only having people around you out of fear?”
There was some murmuring around them in the class, and Brittani actually blushed, her eyes looking wild. She pointed at Sylvia.
“You think everyone just adores you,” she said, voice frighteningly quiet. “Just you wait, Sylvia. You’re not so iron-clad. Everyone’s got secrets.”
If only they’d listened.
----
It was the last week of school, before summer break, when Brittani Choi pounced.
Nearly the entire school had gathered by the outdoor cafeteria. There, Aegis sat, cold and distant, surrounded by as many students as could fit themselves close to him. They were all celebrating the end of the year, and if someone wanted to humiliate a person in front of the entire school, this was the perfect time to do it.
Jade was standing with Ivy and Sylvia, proudly shifted, proudly part of a friend group. The other two had their arms linked through hers, though the size differences made this awkward enough that the two looked almost like they were dangling off of Jade, rather than walking together.
Suddenly, the music blaring through loud speakers came to a screeching halt, and everyone looked around, startled. In the silence that followed, a familiar, horrible voice crackled on through the speakers, and everyone stiffened.
“Dear Diary: Today, I saw Aegis helping another student. I can’t get over how kind he is, and for nothing in return. If I could be more like him, would he notice me? Not that that’s the right reason to be kind. He’s an example, but I should be kind for others, not for me. I could never hold a candle to him; he’s an Alpha through and through.”
“Oh, no,” Sylvia whispered, and both Jade and Ivy watched the color drain straight out of her face.
“Dear Diary,” Brittani’s voice went on. Everyone was twisting around, now, trying to figure out where she was… and who she was talking about. “Aegis held the door open for me today. It’s so stupid, but I can’t help but feel butterflies whenever he’s around. He’s gorgeous, amazing, and good to everyone. It meant nothing, but I can dream, can’t I?”
“Oh... no, please,” Sylvia whispered, digging in a panic through her backpack.
“Sylvia, tell me that’s not your diary,” Ivy begged. A few students nearby looked over, and the snickering started.
“Sylvia?” Jade asked, but her friend was silent, eyes wide in horror.
“Dear Diary: What would it be like to be held in Aegis’s arms? Warm and loving, I bet,” Brittani’s voice said, filled with malicious energy. “To have someone like that love you most of all-“
Sylvia let out a soft, choking noise, and Jade, spinning in place in her panic, made a choice.
“Ivy,” she hissed, “go! Find her!”
“On it!” Ivy gasped, disappearing through the crowd.
Jade threw back her head and howled. She gave it her all, filling her lungs with the deepest howl she possibly could. Another howl sounded beside hers, drowning out Brittani Choi’s voice no matter how much louder she tried to talk. One by one, a few other werewolves jumped in, picking up on the hint.
There was laughter, of course. Aegis looked incredibly uncomfortable- and who wouldn’t be, with that kind of attention. But like the diplomat he always was, he got to work trying to distract the crowd, pull them closer, disengage from Brittani. With a squawk, someone got her away from the microphone, and Jade quickly picked up Sylvia and ran.
For the final days of the school year, Sylvia was different. All of the light had gone out, and she weathered the kind of teasing and bullying that Jade wouldn't have wished on anyone, let alone Sylvia. She tried to stop anyone who came near her, but even as a werewolf, there was only so much she- or Ivy- could do.
Summer was worse. Sylvia refused to go out, out of sheer terror of running into either Aegis, Brittani, or basically anyone who might recognize her. In a small town, that was everyone.
"Why can't you just tell Sylvia you like her?" Jade asked Aegis one day. "I can tell you do, you're miserable about this."
"Now is not a good time," Aegis told her, amber eyes suddenly fierce. "And if you tell her anything, I will never, ever speak to you again. The last thing I want to do is humiliate her more; and what if this whole thing has changed her feelings?"
"When is a good time?" Jade asked, exasperated.
"There's plenty of time," Aegis shot back. "And I'm serious- do not tell her."
That was the end of that, because that was an Alpha order, and she felt like her lips were sealed.
In the meantime, Jade vowed to keep anyone from saying anything to Sylvia. All summer long, she worked to the bone to find some dirt on Brittani, something to keep her from ever bringing up the diary again, because if they started up the school year without a backup plan, then Sylvia’s humiliation would be complete.
And boy, did Jade find it.
By pure chance, far later than she would’ve been out, Jade left to go get snacks at the local drug store. As she passed the bathroom, she nearly ran smack into Brittani herself, a pregnancy stick in her hand.
She tried to hide it, but Jade was faster. She had snapped a photo with the cell phone already in her hands like a blessing from God Himself before Brittani could even register who she was looking at.
“Wow,” Jade said, dancing out of the way when Brittani lunged for her. “Would you look at that. Little Miss Perfect, Prim, and Proper, checking to see if she’s pregnant. What would everyone think if they found this photo plastered all over school our senior year? Or, better yet, your parents?”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Brittani hissed. “I’ll make your life a living hell.”
“Been there, done that,” Jade drawled, dangling the cell phone in her claws. “But I am willing to make a trade.”
“Anything.”
“Promise to leave Sylvia alone.” She grinned, watching Brittani go through a thousand and one emotions. “Mention that diary to her once, and this will be sent to every single phone in the school.”
“You don’t have the connection.”
Jade leaned in. “You forget who my brother is, Britt?”
She stayed silent.
“Promise me,” Jade half-sang. “I can send this to Ivy without any context, if you like-“
“Deal,” Brittani said quickly. “I’ll leave you losers alone.”
Jade flashed her a smile. “Brilliant.”
“So? You can delete it now.”
Jade burst into laughter. “You must think I’m stupid, or something. It’s called collateral, Britt.”
“You promised,” she said, teeth gritted.
Jade tucked the phone away and backed up. “I promised not to tell. I don’t trust your promises, Brittani. Your word’s not worth much around here. Just remember that if you say anything at all about that diary… this picture’s all over town. I’ll make sure your dear old Dad gets it, first.”
Brittani paled. “Fine. I’ll make sure.”
“Golden.” Jade smiled. “I knew we’d agree on something, eventually.”
With that, senior year was sealed. It didn’t matter that just a few months after graduation, Brittani’s private “activities” ended up biting her in the butt, and her pregnancy scare became real.
For a short, sweet time, Jade had the friendship she’d always dreamed of in Ivy and Sylvia. She swore she’d defend and protect them as long as she had them.
Then Sylvia disappeared.