He lay still on the ground, still trying to comprehend what just transpired.
Jayden spit out a mouthful of dirt and got back up.
Austin was smiling. "Don't you feel embarrassed, being beaten by a human?"
Jayden snorted. 'Human my foot!' He didn't believe that one bit.
Austin swiped his leg at Jayden, tripping him. Luckily, Jayden managed to react, albeit barely, and he performed a backward somersault.
'Somersaults are just not meant to be for everyone,' Austin thought as he watched Jayden crash onto the ground once more.
'Here's my chance.' Jayden bolted forward and speared Austin, causing them to fall together.
Austin kicked him off and quickly got up.
"Good one there, Jay," he commented.
Jayden really felt like he was supposed to be the one to do that.
Pivoting on his left heel, he jumped and attempted a spinning kick on Austin's head.
He felt his leg hit nothing but air, and a fist landed on his back soon after.
Austin smiled, then gritted his teeth at the madness going on before him.
Jayden, with whatever unusual jungle cunning he used, hooked his leg on Austin's neck and pulled him with him.
Austin slammed face first onto the ground.
Jayden said, "Good one, Jayden."
Austin replied, "Thanks," before replaying the comment again in his mind.
He lifted his head and stared daggers at Jayden, who was wearing a huge smile on his face.
'I'm going to beat that smile off your face.'
A few minutes later, both teenagers were resting under a tree, exhausted.
Austin had multiple bruises, courtesy of Jayden, who seemed to be getting better with each blow.
Jayden's body was perfectly fine, not a scratch, and this annoyed Austin to a great degree.
Jayden noticed Austin's glare and sighed, saying, "Oh, the benefits of being a Werewolf, don't you agree Austin?"
The very next second after, Austin pounced on Jayden with renewed vigor, and the fight began all over again.
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Maya was in her room, standing in front of an art board.
In her right hand was a paintbrush, and it moved gracefully over the paper.
Maya had an expression of joy on her face as she painted away.
All of a sudden, she paused.
Her eyes became dull as her movements resumed.
The strokes were slow, and seemed stiff. Maya's eyes had no life in them whatsoever.
She removed that paper and put another one before drawing again, with those strange movements.
There was a knock on the door. "Maya?"
The color instantly returned to Maya's eyes and she went silent for a while.
The door opened, revealing her mother, Clara Steele.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Maya replied, "Yeah, just lost in thought."
Clara nodded and said, "Could you come downstairs? I need your help preparing dinner."
Maya replied, "Sure. I'll be down in a minute." Clara closed the door and left.
Maya looked at the two paintings. They didn't make any sense whatsoever!
"Since when did I start painting this horribly?" She asked out loud, but decided not to discard them.
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"I really can't understand why you still practice archery in the world of guns, son."
A middle aged man spoke while looking at a certain handsome teenager.
"I just like archery, is there a problem?" Aiden asked his father.
"Well, technically no."
"Then let me practice in peace, lest you become the target."
Bryce Walker's eye started to twitch. 'Its been a while since I've disciplined this brat.'
Aiden felt a kick connect with the back of his head, and he fell to the ground.
"Hey! What's with the...kick?" Aiden felt a chill run down his spine as he saw Bryce remove his suit jacket and tie.
He knew exactly what this meant.
Aiden did what any sensible teenager would do.
"Of all things, I didn't expect that!" Bryce laughed.
Aiden had run away.
Unfortunately, there was no escaping this one.
The door was locked.
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Sofia was lounging in the lounge, just like any lounger would do.
Her favorite cartoon, yes, cartoon, was on, and her eyes were glued to the TV.
The doorbell rang.
"Sofia, could you get the door please?" Vanessa's voice echoed from the kitchen.
Sofia mumbled something under her breath. She felt like having a sister in law was annoying, especially when Sofia was the younger one.
She went and opened the door.
"No way!"
Sofia squealed and enveloped the person at the door in a hug.
"You're here! Wait, how did you get here?"
The person at the door replied, "Your address, blockhead. You gave it to me last night."
Sofia smiled and said, "It's good to see you again, Elena."
The girl named Elena smiled. "I'm glad to see you too."
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That night, Jayden was on his phone, hurling a barrage of curses at Austin. Surprisingly, he omitted the 'F' word during the entire session.
Aiden, not wanting to be left out, joined in, and together, they went up against Austin.
Austin had no choice but to cut the group call.
'I hate WhatsApp!'
The phone rang, and sure enough, it was Jayden attempting to add him to the group call.
Austin weighed his options.
'I could answer and suffer more insults, or decline the call and miss out on something important.'
After a little back and forth, he answered the call.
Jayden spoke, "Okay, Playtime's over. Thanks to Austin, my reaction speed saw an increase."
Aiden asked, "How about your training with Lady Greystone?"
There was a prolonged silence.
"On to the next topic...."
It was clear Jayden didn't want to talk about it, leaving the remaining duo wondering what exactly she had done to him.
"Tomorrow's the big day, people, so we have to be prepared."
Austin suggested, " How about you come back to school? That way we can monitor you and protect you much easier wince the four of us take the same classes."
Aiden asked, "Austin, other than the dirt in your head and your air inflated body, we've finally discovered a hint of cleverness, well done!"
There was silence from Austin's end. "Tomorrow's coming, dear friend."
Aiden tried laughing, but winced in pain and his hand went to his ribs.
Jayden picked up the sound and asked, "Aiden? You sound hurt?"
"Uh, yeah, I slipped on a wet floor and fell, I'll be okay in no time."
"Okay." Jayden didn't bother with it that much.
After a small chat, the trio cut the call.
Jayden turned off the lights.
He felt something was amiss and turned them on again.
There was nothing.
He walked to the full length mirror and looked at his reflection.
There was something off, he just couldn't figure out what.