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A/n: Another Wolfboy fic that just popped into my head, dedicated to Eirwen because she really wanted to read it.
“Eww, Aslan! Go bother Sasha or somebody!” she snapped, then promptly rolled over and dragged her pillow over her head.
“So that’s why he keeps coming to wake me up every morning.”
Sasha’s voice coming from her doorway – so unexpected – made her yelp and sit up. He was smiling at her but she was glaring at him. “You’re too cheerful in the morning!” she yelled.
“I’m sorry,” he said contritely. “I won’t be, if you don’t want me to be.”
“No, Sasha! I didn’t mean it like –" Kat was all set to apologize immediately and explain when she saw the twinkle in his eyes. “You’re – you’re joking?”
His smile widened. “I’ve been practicing. Did I do it right?”
Kat couldn’t help but smile back at him, annoying boy though he was. “Yes, you did it perfectly. Now, out!” she playfully threw a pillow at him, which he dodged easily and left her alone to get ready. The next time she saw him he was sitting at the table with her dad, wolfing down breakfast.
“Morning Kitty,” her dad greeted as she sat down and helped herself to a corn muffin. “All set for school?”
“Almost. If Brianna doesn’t hurry up we’re GOING TO MISS OUR BUS!” she deliberately raised her voice for the last bit, directing it up the stairs.
“All right, already!” Brianna yelled back.
“You ready, Sasha?” Dad asked, carefully timing so he caught the boy between bites.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Sasha replied cheerfully.
Dad grinned. “Good. Now,” he continued, as Brianna came running down the stairs and out the door, “You’ll take care of our Mogli, won’t you Kitten?” he reached out to ruffle Sasha’s hair affectionately.
“I don’t think he needs my help,” Kat replied mischievously. “He was actually joking this morning.”
“Joking? Has the world come to an end?”
“Very funny,” Sasha said to both of them, waiting impatiently at the door.
“Coming, coming,” she said in response to his impatience, and within a few moments they were both out the door.
“High school,” Kat interrupted his thoughts. He looked at her and she grinned back. “The phrase you’re trying to think of is high school.”
“Do I have to do this?” he asked, his dark eyes wide and pleading.
“No,” she answered seriously, “You don’t. I want you to do this, but if you don’t think you’re ready…”
Something in her face or voice must have made the choice for him, because he squared his shoulders and said, “Let’s do it.”
To Kat’s ultimate surprise, Sasha took to school better than she had ever expected. He was naturally sharp-minded and absorbed information like a sponge, and could often be found listening intently. It wasn’t until school was almost out that they ran into a real problem. Or, if not a problem, an embarrassment for sure…
“What are they doing?” he asked curiously as they walked towards their last class of the day. She followed his eyesight and immediately went redder than her hair. The people he was looking at were very enthusiastically making out in front of a set of lockers.
“Um…ah…” Kat stumbled slightly, practically feeling the heat coming off her cheeks. Why did he have to be so naïve about some things? “You’ve read books. I know you have. That’s – uh…that’s romance.”
Sasha kept staring, now fully stopped in the middle of the hall. “That’s not romance…”
Kat grabbed his arm and tugged, making him move again and guiding him down the hall. “Its also not polite to stare.”
“If they didn’t want attention, why would they romance there?” he asked innocently.
She didn’t have an answer to that, because she had to admit he had a point. “Anyway, you’re right. That’s not the kind of romance you read about. That’s kissing, romance is – oh, I don’t know – getting flowers. Something nice, something that makes you smile and feel happy. Romance is something between two people who like each other. Its hard to explain.”
Sasha sighed, but at least looked like he understood a bit. “A lot of things I ask you are hard to explain.”
This – at least – made her laugh. “This world is hard to explain, Sasha. Come on, we still have class, you know…”
For the second time that day Sasha had managed to sneak up on her with no warning at all. She shrieked and jumped, dropping her book.
“Don’t do that!” she scolded, but it wasn’t even half-hearted.
“Sorry,” he apologized, sitting next to her, though he didn’t look sorry. She was out on her favorite spot: the part of their roof that sloped away from her window, and overlooked the lake. It was where she mostly came to read or think, and Sasha had found out about it his second day there.
They sat for a few minutes in companionable silence until – characteristically – Kat broke it. “Was there a reason you wanted to come up here, or was scaring me the reason.”
“Scaring you is fun, but its not the reason,” he laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him. “I got you something.”
“Really? What?”
He smiled, like a little boy on Christmas, and pulled out a daisy from behind his back. “I got you a flower. Remember, you said when someone likes someone else, they get them flowers. You’re my friend, so I got you a flower.”
“Oh, Sasha, I meant –“ Kat started, then stopped herself. He looked so happy, like the flower he had given her was made out of gold or something, she didn’t even bother to explain that you gave flowers to someone you like liked, and that they were usually roses. Instead she smiled and ignored the warm fluttery feeling she got when she tucked the daisy behind her ear.
Instead she said, “Do you want me to start reading again?” He nodded eagerly so she opened it back up to their marked page. “Muted light, richly colored, poured gold and sapphire into the sparsely furnished sitting room…”