Sakura's P.O.V
The girls and I continue to talk until we hear the sound of screeching tires from behind us. Kate slows the car down and looks in her rearview mirror. Her face goes pale, which encourages Soren and me to do the same. We look back to see the boys' car face to face with a tree at an odd angle. We immediately jump out of the car.
The car hadn't hit the tree yet, so Seth couldn't be severely injured, but that didn't stop me from worrying. The car had abruptly stopped, and that alone was enough to inflict a concerning amount of damage.
We race to the car, and I see Seth's dirty blonde hair on the right side of the car. I quickly yank the door open to see Seth with blood running down his nose. "Oh my god, are you okay?" I say in a panic, but try not to be too loud in case I worsen his apparent headache. He looks up at me, and I can tell his vision isn't focused.
"Are you guys okay? What the hell happened?" Kate says from the other side of the car next to Laurence with Soren at her side. "You're bleeding!" I gasp at the blood gushing out of his nose. It was worse than when I had arrived, which had only been a minute ago at best. I pull out a handkerchief from the pocket of my skirt. If there was one thing Kate did right when shopping, it was finding a skirt that had pockets. I wipe the blood off his nose and lips, but more blood quickly replaces it.
Worrying that there could be more damage than I initially had thought, I take a risk and embrace Seth. I put my hands over his eyes so that he does not witness what I am about to do. I close my own eyes and work my magic. I feel my eyes shine through the use of my powers. It takes only a few seconds until Seth is completely healed.
Hoping he wouldn't question my actions too much or the sudden pain relief, I kiss him on the forehead and say, "You are going to be okay." I take my hands off his eyes, and he gazes up at me.
The look in his eyes made my muscles relax and calm me. There was a moment of peace until I hear Catalina yell. "Of course, you caused this! You can never help yourself can you?!" She storms off toward our car but Liam is quick to respond.
"Everything bad that happens is always my fault! There is no winning with you!" he retorts. Catalina doesn't stop in her track and flicks Liam off. "Go fuck yourself! Or better yet go fuck Ashley. It wouldn't be the first time!" Catalina reaches the car door and yanks it open, then closes it with a slam.
Seth takes his seatbelt off and gets out of the car. He looks in the direction Catalina went with a distressed expression. This evening started to look less and less promising and I started to wonder if Seth and I were ever going to have a first date.
Soren's P.O.V
After hearing Laurence reassure Kate that he was fine I go to help Lucas in the front seat. He keeps his head down and doesn't bother looking up when I reach him. Trying to be as comforting as possible I say, "Hey, are you okay?" I reach my hand out toward him but he doesn't seem to appreciate the gesture since he quickly slaps my hand away and shoves me into the tree he nearly crashed everyone in.
This pisses me off. "I'm fucking fine!" he shouts. Clearly not if he thought he was going to get away speaking to me like that. On his way out of the car, I give him a hard slap on the face that leaves a resounding echo. His head twists to the right. All eyes are on us. "First off, that was for touching me. Don't do it again. Second, I should do the same to the rest of you. You nearly killed everyone by worrying about a relationship that isn't yours.-"
I turn to the guy in the middle seat who I am assuming is Liam by Catalina's earlier reaction. "-I don't know why you tried to pull a stunt like that while you were in a moving car, especially to the fucking driver. Could you be more stupid? And what, nobody tried to deescalate the situation until you nearly crashed? Until Tweedledee and Tweedledum over here decided to get physical?"
Nobody says anything as I continue with my lecture. "Get the hell in the back seat," I say toward Lucas who still has his head turned in the direction I slapped him in. "Are you physically okay or mentally as dumb as the rest?" I ask the pink-haired guy. "Yes and no."
Not like he helped the situation any but he was the only one here who looked the least injured. "Good, get in the driver's seat." He gets out of the passenger seat and rounds the car to where I and Lucas still stand.
"Laurence, get in the passenger seat, Lucas, take his place," I order.
"I don't think it's a good idea to put them both in the back seat together," Laurence says. I turn toward him with a glare. "Then it's a good thing I didn't ask you. Looks like they are going to have to act mature for once and toughen it the hell out."
Laurence shuts his mouth and wisely doesn't say another word. He too rounds the car and sits in the passenger seat. Everyone moves to their respective spots but Lucas, who is standing still looking down.
"We don't have all day. The longer you stand there feeling like a clown, the longer it takes for my sister to go on her first date." It takes him a minute, but he sits in the seat Laurence had just vacated. Satisfied with the seating arrangements, I finish my lecture. "Now, please do us all a favor and stop acting like fools for the rest of the trip."
I have never been one for teenage drama and now I have to deal with Catalina internally or externally, hopefully, it isn't the latter, bitching about how she got cheated on. I slam the two car doors on my side and walk back to the car leaving a stunned Kate and worried Sakura behind.
Sakura's P.O.V
With Soren's new seating arrangement Noah was the new driver with Laurence in the passenger seat. Lucas on the left, Liam in the same spot in the middle, and Seth on the right where I found him.
Still stunned about the events that happened, none of the boys say anything. I hug Seth and he reciprocates the action after processing it. "I'll see you at the mall," I say in his chest and he kisses the top of my head.
After exchanging another glance I head toward our car and Kate soon follows suit. "Your sister is my new favorite person." Her statement shocked me. "You aren't mad at her for talking to Laurence like that?" she shrugs her shoulders.
"It ticked me off a bit but I soon got over it. Those boys needed to be humbled."
We make our way into the car and Kate waits a moment to drive off. "I didn't expect you to slap him," I say to Soren. Kate chuckles and Catalina hesitantly responds, "I heard it from in here. It gave me whiplash. I had to blink to make sure I was seeing correctly."
This turned Kate's chuckle into a full-blown laugh. Soren shakes her head but still doesn't turn to either of us. "I didn't intend to slap him that hard but I wasn't planning on going soft on him either. They were acting childish. Your behavior didn't help." She didn't need to clarify for us to know she was talking about Catalina.
Catalina slightly blushes at her behavior. "I couldn't help it. When Laurence told me what had happened I exploded. He is always doing something stupid."
Soren pays full attention to Catalina for the first time during the entire ride. "I'm not saying your actions aren't justified but there is a certain place and time for everything. Today isn't about you or your relationship issues. It's about Sakura and Seth. Please try to set aside any personal vendettas for the day."
Catalina puts her head down in shame and nods. I have never been more grateful for Soren and her honest nature.
The rest of the ride is filled with me and Kate's singing.
Seth's P.O.V
The ride is silent as everybody processes what happened. Lucas hasn't lifted his head and from here I can see his face starting to swell from his well-deserved slap. I normally don't condone violence but it is good someone whipped these boys into shape.
While I think it was harsh, I also know these men are thick-headed and wouldn't have taken Soren as seriously had she not done what she did.
"Are you okay Lucas?" Noah hesitantly asks. Lucas puts his hand on the cheek Soren slapped him on. He lifts his head toward the car ceiling and keeps his eyes closed. "Yeah, I'm sorry."
He opens his eyes and looks at Liam. "I was way out of line." He genuinely looks guilty. Liam pats him on the shoulder. "Nah, don't worry about it, man. I said some stupid shit too." It was good that they were making up.
"Shit might as well give each other a kiss," Laurence adds from the front. This draws a laugh from Noah and me. Liam leans into Lucas and puckers his lips. "Get the fuck away from me. You look like you got stung by a bee." We all start to chuckle. Everybody knew about Liam's allergies to bees.
The first time he was stung by one his entire face swelled up and he looked like a bloated pufferfish. He ran around the pack screaming his head off. Our toddler days were the best.
"But fuck I can't say that wasn't hot," Liam adds. Lucas rolls his eyes. "That makes one of us. She slaps hard as hell." Lucas says while rubbing his ever-swelling cheek. "What did you say about her being fun, again?" Noah says to Laurence.
He laughs and pats Noah on the shoulder. "Icy exterior remember?"
"You can't say the authority wasn't sexy." Lucas rolls his eyes but doesn't disagree. "Keep saying crap like that and Catalina will never forgive you." I shake my head. Instead of being taken aback as I initially thought, Liam gives me a big grin. "Yeah, she will. I just have to play my cards right."
He seemed fairly confident in his statement so I didn't say anything but I seriously doubt that mindset is going to last long.
Sakura's P.O.V
We finally reach the mall after what feels like a millennium. We get out of the car and step into the parking lot as the guys pull up.
"You boys getting along?" Kate smirks as she makes her way to their truck. To my surprise, Liam wraps his arm around Lucas' neck and grins. "Better than ever." Lucas doesn't seem to return the sentiment but doesn't say anything.
We walk into the mall and it's huge. I could see the escalator from here. Kate grabs my hand, knowing exactly where to go. Everybody tags along. After going up the escalator and past a few food stands, we find ourselves in front of a lingerie store.
Hell no. As if he read my thoughts and knew exactly what not to say, Liam speaks up and says, "Hell yes. My kind of store." Catalina rolls her eyes but doesn't comment.
"I don't think Seth is going appreciate me showing up to our date in my underwear." Seth coughs as if to disagree and I elbow him in his arm. He blushes but doesn't say anything. "I beg to differ." Kate points at Seth's rapidly growing blush.
I too, blush at the thought of Seth imagining me in any of...this. I look around the store and suddenly I'm grateful for Kate's skimpy clothes.
"The boys can rate them."
"Like hell, they will. I thought the entire point of this was so that Seth doesn't know what I am wearing." Not to mention I have no intentions of showing Seth what's beneath my outfit anytime soon. Not that my current outfit is leaving much to the imagination.
"It doesn't have to be for tonight. Just for future activities." Kate winks at me. "We can pick out a few but leave the final decision anonymous so Seth doesn't know what we bought." I wasn't ready for Seth to see me in lingerie. Sensing my discomfort, Seth wraps an arm around me.
"Nobody is going to force you, especially if you don't feel comfortable." I slightly blush and nod my head.
"That is okay. None of the boys have to be here. We're comfortable around them because we have known them since diapers but I know it's different for you." Catalina assures me. "And it's not like I haven't seen anything under all that clothing," Liam says to Catalina. I'm surprised her head doesn't explode as she tries to keep herself from rolling her eyes.
Soren is the first to walk into the store with her eyes locked on a certain section. She picks out a two-black piece set that resembles a bikini. It's laced but covers up the important parts and isn't too see-through. The bottom half wraps around the body's midsection.
It isn't too flashy but still sexy. "What do you think?" she asks in Laurence's direction. "I'm thinking I should have brought Alison." The guys laugh while the girls roll their eyes. "Jokes aside I think it would look good on you."
Soren nods her head, considering Laurence's words. "I guess we will find out." she turns to the changing rooms. "That's my girl!" Kate shouts. "Come on." Cat grabs my arm and we go deeper into the store.
"You boys do whatever you want." Kate doesn't wait for a response.
Liam goes deeper into the store as expected. Laurence waits by Soren's changing room, Noah follows us, while Seth and Lucas awkwardly stand at the entrance.
Soren's P.O.V
I change into the lingerie I picked out. It isn't too bad so I have no problem showing Laurence especially since he has a mate. I don't have to worry about anything but knowing him he wouldn't do anything shameful even if he didn't have Alison.
I have seen bikinis more revealing than this. I knock on my stall door. "Are you still there Laurence?"
"Yeah." I open the stall door. My hair is up in a messy bun so he can see everything. I give him a 360 view. I raise an eyebrow in question. He nods his head in approval. "You look beautiful," I smirk at his choice of words.
I look back in the mirror and look at myself. It wrapped around my curves nicely enough and it was weirdly comfortable to be in. The top wrapped around my breast and upper torso and the bottom wrapped around my hips. Definitely the lesser of the bold lingerie.
"I will take your word for it." I close the stall door and change back into my shorts and crop which admittedly cover less than the lingerie did.
I come back out to find Laurence leaning against the stall. A few girls swooned over his muscular build and pretty yet masculine face. His arms crossed over his chest made his muscles bulge in a way that attracted all the women and some men.
"You're quite the player." I grin at him. He returns the gesture. "That's Liam's role in the friendship." A few girls frown when they see me come out of the stall, assuming I am his mate. If a wolf is fully mated then their scent changes as it mixes with its mate's scent. Because I have been suppressing my wolf so much, his scent probably over-powers mine.
I shake my head at the girls' sudden change in behavior and walk toward the register. It was only then that I realized I had no money. We never took any with us because we weren't expecting to go into the city.
I stop in my tracks and go to return the lingerie. Laurence puts his hands on top of mine stopping me from putting it back. I glance at him and he shakes his head. "I'll pay for it."
"That really isn't necessary. It's not like I'll be showing it to anybody anytime soon."
"You showed it to me." I roll my eyes at his statement. "You know what I mean." He takes the outfit out of my hand and quickly pays for it before I have time to say anything.
I glare at him and he returns it with a goofy smile. I give up on being mad and opt for being disappointed instead. I shake my head but say thank you. "You didn't have to do that you know."
"I wanted to." What was up with him? We barely knew each other. It's not like I have any room to talk. I felt comfortable enough to show him the outfit. It wasn't too revealing but maybe I was actually starting to consider him trustworthy. Or worse, a friend. I shiver at the thought.
Sakura's P.O.V
Kate and Catalina drag me throughout the store but I don't find anything even remotely concealing enough.
"You can pick a dress you know," Noah states from behind me. I look at where the dresses are and they don't look any better. I give it a shot and shift through them. I find a simple-looking dress that I consider holy compared to the other things around here.
It was a V-neck gray spaghetti strapped dress that stopped above my knees and had lace lining the top and bottom with a slit in between.
Satisfied, I walk up to the girls and show them the dress. They encourage me to try it on and I go into the changing room. I look at myself in the dress and nod in approval. It hugged my curves and covered enough. It was weird that I was so picky considering the outfit Kate put me in but that was how I felt.
I show the three of them and they all give approving nods. "When you guys get to that point, Seth is going to love you in that." I blush at the thought. She said 'when' not 'if'. I don't know if I'm going to get to that before the rouges infiltrate. I try not to think about it too much. We pay for our clothes after Catalina and Kate pick out their underwear and we make our way back to the front with the rest of the group.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Seth asks me. I nod my head with a smile. He wraps his arm around my waist and we continue to shop for the rest of the day.