Full Moon Kisses:A Full Moon Novel(3)

"I had to. It was the only way to help you," I said again. I couldn't seem to make him understand my motivations. Nash spent his nights in lycan form as if in a dream, without control or awareness of his behavior. Two lives and memories separated by the full moon; now they all were one. Maybe it was harder for him to deal with it now than before he understood.
"And Brandon. I know it just about killed him to see us together," he said, almost gloating.
This time I didn't respond. Then the bell rang. "I should get to class now."
"I don't want you to fear me," he said. "Not under a full moon. Not then-or ever."
What is he going to do now? I wondered. But I didn't have time to find out.
"Celeste? Hurry up!" Ivy called from down the hallway.
"I've got to go-" I started off, but Nash blocked my way.
"One last thing … "
"Yes?" I asked quickly.
"I have to fight this. There has to be some way to cure this horrible condition. This can't keep happening to me every full moon. I have games, school … . I have a life."
"What can I do?" I asked.
"You are the only one who knows, besides Brandon. But you are the only one I can confide in."
I didn't know what to say. I felt flattered that Nash still felt that I was his one true friend. But was I supposed to take on his issues as well as my own and Brandon's? I thought I'd solved that with the moonlight kiss. Of course I wanted to help my friend, but at the moment, I didn't know how to help him any more than I did Brandon.
"Do you think there is some way to fix this?"
"I'm sure there will be." I tried to reassure him, even though I didn't know if there was. I didn't have time to go into Brandon's possible cure. And how could I when there was only enough for one and I didn't even know if it worked?
"You are the only one I can talk to about this … ." he lamented. "Am I supposed to tell my parents? Would they even believe me? I've been pranking people for so long, no one will take me seriously. I need to find a remedy. I only have a few weeks until this awful thing will happen again."
"We can talk later," I said.
"This can't wait. I have to speak with Brandon," he said urgently.
"About what? There's enough tension between the two of you already." Now that Nash remembered our kiss, I feared he'd want to confront Brandon about our relationship.
"It's not about you and me," he said. "This is about Brandon and me. I have to do something before anything bad happens, Celeste. I already demolished the shack and threatened you. But we have to find a cure."
Just then the second bell rang.
Ivy and Abby called me again as they slipped into class. "I have to go," I said. "I'll be late."
As I turned away, he stopped me once again. "You are my lifeline," he said genuinely. "Thanks to you, now I remember everything, Celeste. Everything."
I gave him a quick nod, then broke away and hurried off to class to find solace in the company of my friends and a lecture that I was only hoping I could get lost in. I thought I'd remedied our problems with him with the moonlight kiss. But with him wanting me to ensure that he found a cure, it seemed like Brandon and I had to find a cure for all the werewolves in Legend's Run. It was a lot to ask-but maybe I could help. Maybe on the next full moon Brandon and I really needed to test the antidote his father had sent to make sure it worked.                       
       
           



       
TWO

lycan lunch

After third bell, I caught up to Brandon at his locker. He was grabbing a textbook, and when he spotted me a huge smile came over his face. For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me. But the crowd of students prevented him from displaying his affection and instead he brushed his hand against mine.
"Hey, Celeste," he said.
I knew I had a worried look on my face. I could feel it, my brow wrinkled and my lips tense. I held my notebooks tightly against me as if they were a shield.
"What's wrong?" he said.
"Nash … " I said privately. "He wants me to help him find a cure."
I knew it had taken a lot for Brandon to stand by while I kissed another guy-especially when that guy was interested in me-all for the sake of making him deal with being a werewolf. Brandon's selflessness was so dear to me-I cherished it, but I knew that deep down, that act still pained him, as it would me if I were in his situation.
"He feels like I'm the only one he can trust. Who else can he tell? Dylan? Jake? I know it must be lonely for him," I said sympathetically.
"He's going to use this to try to get back with you," he said.
"I don't think so," I said firmly. "I really think he just wants to find a solution. I'd tell you if it were any other way."
Brandon shook his head. "To think your major problem could have been dating a guy from the wrong side of town. Now you have as many headaches as both Nash and I do."
It was so gracious of Brandon to think of what I was going through when he was the one who really had to deal with a life-altering situation. It was only my issue vicariously. "And I think that Nash feels like you two are kindred spirits now, I guess," I said.
"Did you tell him about my father and the serum he sent me?"
"No. I didn't think it was the time, nor my news, to share. Anyway, since you haven't taken it, we don't even know if it works. I didn't want to get his hopes up. Especially since you only have one dose. Should I have told him?"
"No, not yet. I agree, we need to know if it works first. You did the right thing." Brandon embraced me.
We got a few stares, but I didn't care. The insider with the outsider, the Eastsider with the Westsider, the human with the werewolf-none of it mattered. I felt so warm in his arms and comforted by him. It was heaven to be with him, and it was as if just being in his presence-let alone wrapped in his embrace-took all my worries away.
"It's time for lunch," Brandon said, pulling back.
"Who can eat?" I asked wearily. But I knew Brandon must be starving. Since he'd become a werewolf, his appetite had grown to the size of a sumo wrestler's. The smell from the cafeteria wafted through the hallways, and I heard his stomach begin to growl.
Lunch bell should be a happy time, a break to relax, eat, and hang out with my friends and new boyfriend. But I knew we'd be seeing Nash in the cafeteria, and I wasn't sure how he was going to react or what he was going to say after our talk an hour ago. With Brandon by my side, I wasn't sure if it would bring out more of the animal in Nash even in the daylight hours. After all, Brandon was hungrier than normal and could communicate with canines all the time now. I wasn't sure how Nash would behave with me and Brandon sharing a simple lunch at our normal table.
However, as Brandon took my hand and we began to walk through school, I lost track of all things except being in his company. I was in heaven, our fingers entwined and our arms touching as we passed empty classrooms and students milling in the hallways. I'd never felt so alive and at peace at the same time. I'd always been happy, but something had been missing deep down inside my soul-until I met Brandon. I saw how Abby and Ivy lit up when their boyfriends were around and how they planned their futures together. And now that I'd met Brandon and fallen in love with him, the inner turmoil I'd once felt about my romantic life was replaced with warmth and joy. I couldn't have been happier-except that I now had to deal with the consequences of my boyfriend being a werewolf.
And this was the first time I was taking Brandon to eat lunch with me at our group's table. Before, I'd eaten at his table or by myself, but this time I wanted him to be part of my group, which he should have been long ago. However, I was having second thoughts and wasn't sure if I wanted to take this on after my conversation with Nash. What if he brought it up again somehow? Or tried to make Brandon jealous by saying he needs me, too?
"Should we just eat alone today?" I asked Brandon as we reached the cafeteria. "We could eat near the library instead."
"I'm not afraid of sitting at Nash's table. Are you?"
"No," I said with a sigh. But I was afraid of the awkwardness, of the secrets that I was still keeping from my friends, and that Nash might very well slip and reveal his and Nash's condition.
And who knew? Maybe Nash was so focused on finding a cure-perhaps instead, he was searching for answers in the library-that he wouldn't be eating with us anyway, and I wouldn't have to deal with it today at all.
I squeezed Brandon's hand as we walked through the cafeteria and outside to the patio. My friends were already at our table, and Abby waved us over while Ivy smiled. I loved the outdoors and was happy to have lunch in the open air. The sounds of birds played in my ears and the fresh spring breeze blew through my hair. I would have loved my classes to be outside, too, but I knew that would never happen. This was my time to feel the freedom and invigoration that nature offered.
I walked to our table with Brandon. Ivy and Abby and Jake and Dylan were already eating, but by their polite gestures I knew they were accepting of us. I was just hoping this wasn't a mistake, bringing Brandon here to be taunted by Nash, who watched us as we approached.
I didn't make eye contact with Nash at first as we stood at our empty seats.