Chapter Text
The sun rose in New Salem, and the coarse wind whispered. The aroma of the wet fall of Autumn has arrived. And a sound of groaning was heard nearby. Toralei staggered her way out of bed to get ready for school. The werecat, showered and pampered herself before putting on her usual attire consisting, her infamous spike, punk black leather jacket. Powerful and swiftly the cunning werecat was ready to take on Monster High. Today the werecat was early, usually stalking the school hallway or hanging out with Purrsephone and Meowledy, her best beasties. As she walked through the school hallway, her ear pricked up when she sighted the werewolf and her fiends by what seemed to be Cleo's locker. Focusing she eavesdrops.
“Oh my Rah! Deuce and I went to this expensive restaurant, the food there was to die for.” Cleo exclaimed. Ghoulia is right beside her handing her the books that she needs for the first few classes.
“UuuHHHhh” Ghoulia reminded. You're so right Ghoulia thank you for reminding me about the test that I didn't study for “ Cleo sarcastically remarked, which consequently made Ghoulia’s eyes roll.
“Did you go to Tempest Terrors? Clawd and I went there for our anniversary, it was so scary gore-gous and so romantic”
Draculaura chimed. Her face was so bright and if she had heart-shaped eyes she would. Her smile always extends to her eyes, and often finds her in a frenzy talking about Clawd.
“No, I am De Nile, you know me and Deuce would only go for a 5 skull restaurant” The socialite smirked.
Toralei wasn’t the type to have soft spots for anyone, but after the trip to the reef with Lagoona and her fiends, something about Clawdeen had shifted. What exactly it was, she wasn’t sure, but it was there, and it bothered her. Shaking her head, Toralei dismissed the thought and slipped away, ready to find the twins and get the day started.
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Frankie frantically joined her fiends,
“Hey, Frankie” Draculaura and Clawdeen joined in unison. “Hey, ghouls, what's up” Frankie responded.
“We were having a conversation about romantic dinners that we had with our manster” the little ditsy vampire continued.
“Oh, I wish I could have a romantic date, like you guys, it sounds so electrifying, it just makes my circuits spark just hearing that. Jackson and I are taking it slow, but I read about this in a normie magazine that-”
“Uhhhh I had enough of you guys talking about romantic dinners. Can we change the subject?" Clawdeen interjected she was a little pissed having her ghoul fiends talk about their boofiends all the time, especially worse from the little pink vampire as she was dating her brother, Clawd.
“Not our fault that you don't have anyone in your love life”
Clawdeen growled in response to Cleo's comment. Draculaura, Frankie, and Ghoulia watched the two, well just in case one of them had to step in to be the mediator. It wasn't often the two would quarrel but when they do it becomes out of paws.
Taking a deep breath, and trying not to go down Cleo’s level “You know what, I don't want to be late for my clawculus class." The werewolf walks off to class, from her fiends.
Draculaura and Frankie glared at Cleo. “What? Did I do something wrong? All I said is the truth.”
Both ghouls shock their head in disapproval
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Clawdeen was just about to get into her clawculus class but was stopped by Mrs Hydra the Mathematics Teacher. “Clawdeen, a word please”.Her voice was stern and stiff, but also concerned. The wolf felt a wave of dread. The furry fashionista knew she struggled a little in the Math department but whatever it was couldn't be too bad.
“Clawdeen you failed your previous math test, and lurking at your other test scores I can see a lot of inconsistency”
The wolf's ears were down and embarrassed, she often studied for her math but it just seemed like all her efforts weren't enough. She needs to get her math scores up especially if she wants to take AP Ekkonomics next year.
“With that, I have a volunteer who will help you with your studies, You will be sitting beside her so she can help out”
Clawdeen nodded, she wondered who it was but she shrugged it off until she entered the classroom. When she sat down and started her day off. A sly orange feline stood beside her.
“You know you shouldn't let Cleo talk to you like that”
“Could you maybe fuck off or is that beyond your comprehension”
“hmmm” her voice was low and a sly smile crept on her lips, she lowered her body down to the desk, pulled the chair out and sat on it.
“How can I when you're not even comprehending anything in this classroom and I was nice enough kitty to offer to help you out” Toralei had a smirk plastered on her face, she started to get set up for the class, still smirking.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” shocked and in disbelief. To be fair, ever since Toralei was sent to math camp last summer she has become pro-efficient at math, speeding her way through complicated equations. But why would Toralei offer to help her out? I mean, they don't get along.
“What are you up to, you're usually scheming something”
“Well I just thought this would be a purrfect opportunity to hang out, I mean we did have a little fun in the reef with Lagoona ”. Toralei's voice was soft and genuine.
“Gimme the real reason” Clawdeen had a deadpan expression.
“I need extra credit because you're a dumb bitch and Mrs Hydra offered extra credit to help you so… It was a purrfect”
Clawdeen growled at Toralei.
Grabbing the attention of the pair, Mrs Hydra starts the lesson.
“Please turn the page to 356, I want you guys to work through the questions.”
The two sat in companionable silence, each focused on their work. From the corner of her eye, Toralei caught glimpses of Clawdeen wrestling with the questions in front of her. Despite the werewolf’s visible frustration, Toralei couldn’t help but find her utterly captivating.
Those stunning golden eyes, so full of determination, even when narrowed in confusion, were mesmerizing. The slightly furrowed brow and the way Clawdeen’s lips pressed together in concentration made her look so endearingly perplexed. Toralei smirked to herself—how could someone look so effortlessly bootiful, even when struggling? was quite endearing.
“Psst Do you need help with that? ” snapping Clawdeen from her thoughts.
“Huh?“
“I was saying do you need help with that question”
Clawdeen hesitated before finally swallowing her pride and admitting she needed help. She gave a reluctant nod, and Toralei wasted no time, leaning in close to peer over her work. The werecat’s shoulder brushed against the wolf’s, their closeness making Clawdeen’s ears droop slightly in embarrassment. She hadn’t even gotten far with the problem, and she braced herself for some teasing.
To her surprise, Toralei didn’t comment right away. But that reprieve didn’t last long.
“Clawdeen, you’re overcomplicating this—and seriously, where the hell did that number come from? Did you pull it out of your ass?” Toralei chuckled, her tone light and playful.
The wolf’s ears twitched at the jab, but her reaction wasn’t playful in return. Clawdeen’s claws lightly scraped against the table, her frustration visibly bubbling beneath the surface.
“Whoa, easy there, wolf,” Toralei said, raising her hands defensively, the smirk still on her lips. “I was just teasing. Purrhaps we should start fresh with that question?”
Toralei grabbed a blank piece of paper, neatly rewrote the problem, and began working through it step by step. As she explained her process, Clawdeen asked questions here and there, her initial irritation gradually giving way to curiosity.
It was hard not to notice how effortlessly Toralei took control of the situation. Her emerald-green eyes were sharp and focused, her signature smirk ever-present as she worked. She was completely in her element, radiating a confidence that was hard to ignore.
That’s when Clawdeen became acutely aware of how close the werecat still was, her warmth pressed against her side. The wolf’s heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, she almost forgot about the problem altogether.
“Thanks Nerd”
“Don't ever call me that”
“I won't call you that….. Nerd”
Toralei hissed at Clawdeen, both ghouls lurked at each other and laughed. They continued to work together until the end of their class. As they were about to leave Clawdeen spoke up.
“Toralei?.....” Catching the werecat's attention.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for helping me out today” A blush formed on the werecat's face, Clawdeen lurked so bootiful standing in front of her, how her thick dark curly hair relaxed on her shoulders, and her dark fur lurked so soft, her amber eyes were bootiful gold orbs, she was mesmerized by the wolf's features.
“Are you going soft on me wolf”
“Bitch plu-lezz, don't get ahead of yourself”
Both ghouls left the classroom and went their separate ways. furry Fashionista lurked back, caring a glimpse of the feline walking away.