Chapter Four

"OK, here's the dress," said Maddy, coming into Shannon's room.

Shannon gasped slightly and smiled when she saw Maddy in the dress. The top of it was a low round neck with sleeves to the elbows in white lace, whilst the bottom was dark gauzy blue chiffon. It had a black belt at the waist between the two materials. "You look amazing, Mads!" Shannon exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before!"

"Aw, Shan, don't fuss about it," said Maddy shrugging, but she was smiling too. "Do I really look alright?"

"You look better than alright!" Shannon grinned, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Wait until Rhydian sees you."

"Shut up," Maddy laughed. "You put yours on then."

"Alright," said Shannon. A few minutes later, she came in wearing a very classy dress. It came to the knees and was a dark green silk with a little white spot pattern. It had a white bow tied at the waist, and short sleeves.

"That looks great on you, Shan," said Maddy with a smile.

"Thanks," said Shannon. "Come on, I'll do your hair for you."

"Are you going to curl it?" Maddy asked, wrinkling her nose.

"No," Shannon replied. "I'm just going to straighten out the kinks."

After Shannon straightened Maddy's hair, Maddy got out Shannon's new curling tongs and curled the ginger girl's hair. After they had finished, they put on their shoes and jackets. For Maddy it was dark blue Converse and a black leather jacket, and for Shannon it was white Mary-Janes and white denim jacket. Both were ready, and then waited for Tom to pick them all up in his car. When Tom arrived, Rhydian, Jana, and surprisingly Aran, were sitting in the back. Jana, instead of a dress, had opted for a red peplum top and white jeans and Aran no longer looked like a wild Wolfblood, wearing a crisp white shirt and black jeans. Rhydian wore denim jeans with a blue and grey plaid shirt, and he smiled at the other girls as they approached the car.

Shannon took her place in the front seat by Tom, and though it wasn't strictly legal, Maddy sat on Rhydian's lap for the short ride. He put his arms around her waist and she leant back on him, smiling. "You look incredible, by the way," Rhydian whispered in her ear.

Maddy grinned. "Really?"

"Gorgeous," Rhydian replied. "You should wear dresses more often," he remarked.

"Maybe I will," said Maddy.

The Kafe was glowing with light from inside when they rounded the corner and got out. Many people were already there, all old friends, or classmates, from school. Everyone piled out of the car and made their way into the Kafe, looking around at everyone else.

"I hear you guys were the ones who organised this," said Kay, coming over to them. She was pursuing a career as a backing dancer.

"That's right," said Rhydian.

Kay then noticed Maddy for the first time. "Maddy Smith!" she exclaimed, "You're back in Stoneybridge then?"

"Yep," Maddy replied. "The Kafe looks great by the way."

"Tell that to Katrina's mum," said Kay, "She's the owner. But we all helped get the place up and started."

Katrina came hurrying over to them. "Rhydian, I am so sorry," she said. "My mum still thinks I still like you, but I don't. She's just-"

"Its fine," said Rhydian.

"Maddy! You're back!" said Katrina.

Maddy sighed. She would be hearing those words a lot that night. "Yep, I am," she said.

Jana came in, holding Aran's hand to keep him calm. He wasn't used to things like this. "These are all the people I knew when I had to come to school here," she told him.

"The lights are very bright," Aran commented. "Are they always this bright?"

"Not everywhere," said Jana. "But this is a café, so the lights are quite bright here."

"Jana!" said Kara, tottering over in her heels. She was now studying science. "Who's this then?"

Aran felt his blood pulsing in his veins. Who was this young human woman?

"This is Aran," said Jana. She paused for a beat, "My boyfriend."

Aran was confused. They had spoken of this boyfriend business earlier that day, but he still wasn't sure. "Jana, I'm-"

Jana smiled and elbowed him. "Been up to anything recently, Kara?"

"Oh, just studying," said Kara, "And shopping of course. You?"

"A bit of travelling," Jana replied vaguely.

"Cool," said Kara. She looked over and saw Kay ushering her over. "I haven't seen Kay for ages," she said. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure," said Jana, and she and Aran watched as the young woman walked off.

"Your boyfriend?" Aran said immediately.

"It makes things easier to explain," Jana told him. "We're closer than most friends would be, so it makes it easier for people to understand, without knowing the truth."

"Alright," said Aran. "What do boyfriends do?"

"Just what you're doing now," said Jana with a smile. "You can hold my hand... and do nice things for me. And I'll do the same for you."

"It doesn't sound too hard," Aran said after a moment of thought. "If it makes things easier for you, I can be your boyfriend tonight."

"Hey, Jimi," said Kara, walking over to the young black-haired man, "Jana's got a boyfriend."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jimi asked.

"Come on, mate," said Liam. "Everyone knows you liked her in school."

Jimi narrowed his eyes. "No, I didn't," he said.

"Well, it looked like it," Sam shrugged.

"Yeah, it really did," Kara added.

Jimi sighed and left the Kafe.

"These burgers are good," said Maddy over at the counter.

"Yeah, they're the best," Rhydian agreed, taking a bite. He suddenly stopped and put down his roll. The two of them sat frozen for a few moments. "Do you smell that?" Rhydian asked.

Maddy nodded. "Yes, but it's not like any Wolfblood I've smelt before."

"They're not wild," said Rhydian. "Who are they?"

Maddy and Rhydian looked around the room. There were only four Wolfbloods – Maddy, Rhydian, Jana, and Aran. Everyone else was definitely human; they'd known them for years. "Hey, do you suppose Liam's a secret Wolfblood?" Rhydian whispered.

Maddy laughed. "And after all that time he spent hunting us!" Her expression became serious then. "But seriously, who is it?"

Jimi leant against the wall outside the Kafe, muttering to himself. He never even liked Jana. His so called friends were stupid. He pulled up the collar of his overcoat at the cold, and watched his breath as it froze in icy puffs when he breathed. It was definitely getting into winter now, he decided. Just then, a young woman walked down the road. She looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, and as best as Jimi could make out in the dark, she had mid-length blonde hair. She wore a knee-length blue coat, buttoned up against a turtle-neck jumper. On her feet were tall brown lace-up boots and she pulled along a small suitcase. And then, much to his surprise, she walked up to Jimi. "Any idea where I could find a hotel?" she asked.

For the first time in his life, Jimi hesitated. He stared into her blue eyes behind her orange glasses. "Um," he cleared his throat, "There's one right down the road."

"Is there?" she asked. "Just down that way?" Jimi nodded. "Well thank you for the direction, my tour guide." She smiled then, a brief, glinting smile.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name," said Jimi as she turned to walk on.

"No, you didn't," she said. "It's Harper, Harper Glenn."

And she even has a pretty name. This young woman was beautiful, mysterious, and funny, Jimi thought. He'd never met anyone quite like her. "I'm Jimi," he called after her, "Jimi Chang."

"Nice meeting you, Jimi," said Harper, before passing out of sight into the shadows.

Maddy and Rhydian were watching from the window of the Kafe. "It's definitely her," said Rhydian.

"But she's wearing glasses," Maddy pointed out. "Wolfbloods don't need glasses."

"She could be wearing them for fun?" Rhydian suggested. "Look, I don't know why she's wearing glasses, but the scent is coming from her."

"I know," said Maddy, "but I still don't get it. Why did she ask for directions? From a human?"

"People do do that, Mads," said Rhydian. "I think you're thinking of wild Wolfbloods. This one's definitely tame."

"It's just making us nervous, Rhydian," Maddy replied. "I don't like new Wolfbloods. You should know that."

"You smell like me parents," Rhydian joked, imitating her. "Look, we'll figure out who she is later. Let's just have fun!"

"Alright," Maddy agreed, and the two of them started dancing.

The night wore on, and soon enough, everyone started to leave. Still dancing, Maddy's head against his chest, Rhydian whispered, "You want to run home, or get a lift?"

Maddy thought about it. "Tom can give us a lift," she said.

"OK," said Rhydian.

"Guys, if you want a lift, we're leaving now," said Tom from the doorway.

"Sure, we'll be there in a minute," Rhydian replied.

He and Maddy, hand in hand, made their way to the door. Outside, the moon was high in the sky – about three-quarters full. The rest of the sky was a dark blue, twinkling with stars. Maddy slipped her hand into Rhydian's, still hardly believing she was back in Stoneybridge.

"Maddy," said Rhydian softly, "I told you I'd find you."

"I'm glad you did," Maddy replied, turning to face him. "Canada was good, but it wasn't the same as being here, being able to run wild on the moors."

"With me?" Rhydian asked.

"With you," Maddy confirmed with a smile. "I wish I'd never left."

"No sad faces, Mads," said Rhydian. "Come on, Tom's waiting in the car."

Maddy smiled and looked up at the pale moon in the dark sky. Yes, she decided, it was good to be back.

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews guys - I really appreciate them :) Here's the next chapter (though it sadly isn't 2K words) and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please review and if you like Disney and/or DreamWorks, be sure to check out my latest fanfic - it's a high school AU called Finding Yourself. Thanks again,

Ginger xx