Pain And Trouble

HARLOW SLAMMED HER HAND ON HER BEEPING ALARM CLOCK. The alarm clock in platinum chrome sings each morning, signalling the transition from sleepy dreams to wakeful happenings. 

After yesterday, she wanted today to be different. Typical, just like the rest of her days were. Throwing her legs over her baed, she sat up, rubbing her eyes for a good five minutes before she ever attempted moving. Early mornings weren't her thing, especially if the school was involved.

Standing up, she walked towards her bathroom. Harlow still felt the uneasy feeling in her gut that someone potentially might've been in her room. She'd even asked her mom and nan if they'd gone in her room to open the window, and they'd said no. Alarm bells went off at that point; it defiantly confirmed that someone had been in there. She was sure of it and knowing that it never eased the feeling she felt inside.

The water fell into her hands, and she splashed it on her face, freezing, waking her up completely. Coldwater on her face always seemed to do the trick in waking her up entirely. Looking into the mirror, her face dripped with tiny droplets of water, and her hair reminded her of a drowned cat. Sighing, she attempts to dry her face with the towel that hung on the chrome towel ring next to her sink.

Harlow couldn't help the bags under her eyes caused by the lack of sleep last night; how could she when she was so aware of the fact that if someone had broken into her room, they could do it again. They would somehow return, and honestly, that thought was scary beyond relief. What if they came in only to do something horrific like kidnap her or, worse, murder her. Maybe, it was just a coincidence, and her hectic thinking resulted from all those murder mysteries she watched online. Sighing again, 'definitely need to stop watching them.'

Walking back into her room, she needed to get ready for another day at school and had to stop thinking about the crazy possibilities that someone was out to get her, which was highly unlikely since she was a nobody.

Unzipping her suitcase still filled with clothes and clothes that she was too lazy to put in her wardrobe, she decided it was easier to wear them slowly, and when she does the laundry, she will put them in there instead of her suitcase. It wasn't like she had many clothes. They were pretty basic, some plain t-shirts and jeans, primarily leggings she used to lounge around the house. Some sweaters for the winter, but she always didn't understand why she'd bought them in the first place when she lived in her puffy winter coat. But then again, it might've just been a splurge of the moment.

Not that she has ever worn them, ever.

She walked towards the mirror, popping her plain white long-sleeved shirt over her head and black jeans. Staring at her reflection in the mirror that seemed so essential, she was basic. So normal. Inside she wished something was interesting about her, and She couldn't help but wonder if that was the reason why her mysterious mate seemed so disinterested in her.  

Maybe, that's why her mate left. He took one look and thought to himself, 'dam,n she basic,' maybe that's why he didn't want to associate himself with her. Whatever it was, she knew deep down he didn't want her. Whether she was okay with it or not was still being deciphered by the second that passed.

"Harlow!" Her mom called, booming through the hallway of the upstairs. It was clear she must've been on the steps of the stairs, "You're gonna be late for school!" 

Ugh! "Coming." 

"Well, hurry up. You're going to miss the bus!" She shouts clear enough for her to hear, which wasn't hard for werewolves; their hearing abilities were significantly enhanced, which was either an upside or a downside to having such an ability.

Looking once more into the mirror at her reflection, she didn't even bother wearing any makeup, even if she needed it. No one was going to care if her eye bags were a little darker than usual, and honestly, if they cared, she didn't care what they thought about her at this point; there was no reason to be bothered by them since they didn't matter in the first place. 

With an inhale of breath, she turned and made her way to the kitchen downstairs, where her nan and her mom sat at the dinner table, sipping on some coffee. Her nan held a newspaper in front of her face, most likely reading it.  

Taking her backpack and swing it over her shoulder, "You're not going to have breakfast?" Her mom asked, making her escape from breakfast harder than it needed to be. Not that she hated breakfast, but she'd lost her appetite since last night; knowing there was an unknown person in her room didn't trigger her hunger for food.

"I'll pick up something at a vending machine at school," She replies as she leaves to make her way to the front door, "I'm going to be late if I don't leave now." 

Her mom sighed, "Fine, just make sure you don't starve yourself all day." 

"I won't," she says, opening the front door, and with that, she left, running towards the approaching bus that was just around the corner. It was a good thing she didn't delay herself any further.

The bus came to a stop in front of her, and instantly she wasted no time and got on it. Harlow felt happy about this, and her routine seemed to go back to normal as much as it could in a new place. And she didn't want it in any other way. Her contempt with a basic routine was beyond satisfying. She didn't have to think about her mysterious mate at the supermarket and the unknown person breaking into her room. Everything was perfectly and utterly normal.

She couldn't be happier than this; the day was typical.

When she reached the base of the school, the suspicious eyes remained on her. And just as yesterday, she ignored them completely. Harlow barely even looked at anyone in the eyes, keeping her eyes on the walls, the floor, or the ceiling. Eventually, she saw a sign from yesterday leading towards the assembly hall. With relief, she followed it.        

Just as last time, she sat in the back. Away from the prying eyes, the attention the people who didn't want her to be here in the first place seem to give her, and Harlow didn't understand what their problem was. It was beginning to annoy her.

There weren't many people here, just a few students here and there. They were scattered throughout the rows of empty seats. Her eyes shifted towards the clock on the far end of the stage, ticking away the seconds, realising she still had five minutes before the assembly would have to begin.

"Hey?" Mia says, slumping down on the seat next to her.  When Harlow turned her head toward Mia, she realised Mia looked very tired, drained just as she did, but Harlow wondered why. At least she had an excuse.

"Hey." She replies, her eyes still on her, but Mia was facing straight ahead as her shoulders began to slump into the metal chair, raising an eyebrow at her, "You okay?"

"Yeah, peachy." She says sarcastically, instantly she knew her new friend wasn't serious. It was apparent something was bothering her.

"That sounds convincing."

"That's because it's not supposed to be." She huffs, finally turning to look at Harlow, and when she did, her body full straightened, her eyes widened slightly. "Did you hear?"

Harlow was confused, "Hear about what?"

"Seriously, you didn't hear about what happened last night?" 'What happened last night?' Harlow shook her head, "Michael Collins was found near the outskirts of the territory."

The saliva in her throat formed, and she almost choked on it. Suddenly her mouth went dry, "What?" She asked nervously, and this was alarming. Especially since he was a dangerous person, and if he was found lurking around the territory, for sure, he was planning on attacking anytime now. 

God, imagine if he did?

"Yeah, it was so strange." She says, clearly feeling just as invested as any other person here. "Jason, who was on the portal in the afternoon, saw him walking out of a supermarket?!"

Harlow froze; everything in her body suddenly became vivid. She wonders if her heart was still beating in her chest. "How strange is that." Mia continues to say, completely missing Harlow's sudden change of response.

A supermarket? Instantly her mind went to her mysterious mate, linking them together. From the strange clothing he was wearing to her strange encounter with him,m if Michael Collins was there for real, what was he doing there.

"What could he possibly be doing there?" Mia wondered out loud.

Harlow's mind was running with theories, questions. Mostly questions. The massive one that kept returning to her- Was the guy that everyone hated, feared so much her mate? Her truest mate? Was he Micheal Collins? His eyes appeared in her mind; the sheer coldness within them frightened her like winter always seemed to brew in them. He had seen so familiar to her, but at that moment, she couldn't pinpoint where she had seen him, and from what Mia was saying, it suddenly clicked. Everything seemed to click in place. 

They consistently described his eyes to be cold, and she couldn't help but agree. There was nothing in them, and it was like looking into a frozen block of ice. At first, Harlow had thought, he was just surprised to find her there, find his mate and didn't know what to feel, but at the same time, she knew that wasn't the reason for it.

Her gut had been correct about him not caring, and she didn't anything less coming from Michael Collins.    

The breath was knocked out of her instantly. Micheal freaking Collins was her mate! The crazed lunatic whose hobby was murdering anyone who he came across to.

'Fuck.' Her day was supposed to be expected. She needed her day to be expected, but knowing this, it was far from ordinary. 

"Harlow?" Mia waved her hand in front of her face, pulling her out of her dazed. "You okay?" 

No, she wasn't okay; the need to cry was so strong. The universe had mated her to a murderous, cold-hearted being. What was worse is knowing that your mate rejected the person you were if he was rotten inside, so was she. How could she be alright? She was far from alright. With a trembling lip, "Yeah..." Her voice cracked at the end. It was so faint, and even Mia had trouble believing her.

She was still frozen in place, barely even moving in her seat even as the assembly had started. 'Oh, God.' Her mind seemed to repeat; the sheer shock within her system increased by the minute, and breathing suddenly became hard to breathe. As the headmistress spoke about the recent news, her heart seemed to beat faster within his system, pounding as if it was going to burst at any moment at the fear.

Micheal Collins was her mate.

"No..." She mumbled so faintly, eyes lowering to look at her hands and feeling ashamed.

"Miss Gage, could I possibly see you after the assembly?" She heard the headmistress speak across the room, and her head snapped towards her.

Harlow began to fiddle with her fingers nervously, she knew. Her face flushed red when the entire school turned their head towards her. Once again, those suspicious eyes looked at her with curiosity.

"Yes." She mumbles, nodding her head as a response.

This was it, they knew. They knew that he was her mate. What would happen to her now? It wasn't like they could use her as leverage to lure him in, only to kill him.

'Stop it!' Her wolf said, upset at the thought of her mate dead. On the other hand, Harlow was struggling to understand why she would be paired up with someone like that; she always kept her head down the complete opposite to him.

When everybody diverted their attention elsewhere, Mia elbowed her slightly on her side, grabbing her attention, only to mouth, "What is that about?"

Harlow only shrugged; whatever it was about it differently wasn't good.  

"I'll see you in class," Mia says. "Let me know what the headmistress wants." She winks, seemly unaware of the battle that was going inside her mind, the constant conflicting thoughts. When the assembly ended, she waited as the head mistress had told her to.

The headmistress's heels clinked and clonked on the smooth surface of the hard floor that was polished to perfection. "Follow me, please."

This defiantly wasn't going to be good. The expression on her face told her that, and Harlow knew it had something to do with her encounter with Micheal Collins.