You would never call me baby
If you knew me truly
Oh but I waited so long for your love
"I'm hitting the shower. If I come back and you're lying under a pile of weight, I'm taking the Porsche."
Jackson can feel a smile tagging at the corner of his lips that he doesn't even try to hide because he likes how being around Danny makes him feel like everything's still normal. In the rest of the world Lydia went crazy, McCall is the best on the lacrosse team and werewolves are real. But when it's just the two of them, it feels like nothing has changed. Danny still is the only one who makes fun of Jackson, who faces him head on and calls him out on his bullshit, he's still the one grounding Jackson and telling him when he's being a moron. Danny feels like normality and a little bit like home and if there's one thing he'd never change, it's this.
Finding out that now he's stronger makes him feel like he's one step closer to reaching what he wanted, he's sure that it's just taking more time to turn, something he blames on Lydia (something he almost always does).
Suddenly he hears something that sounds like drops of water hitting a wall. He closes his eyes trying to focus and find out what's happening and there it is, the noise growing stronger. He hears a faucet being turned, Danny's feet against the wet tiles, his hissing when the cold water hits his skin and a sigh when the faucet turns again this time towards the hot water.
Jackson blinks furiously. He can hear every drop of water coming out of the shower head and hitting Danny's skin, can hear Danny's hands sliding across his body, can hear him starting to hum softly. Then he hears his own heartbeat speeding up with no reason. He blinks again and the noises go away. He takes a deep breath and stares up at the ceiling. Everything sounded so clear that he could picture the faucet being turned, Danny standing under the spray.
He clears his throat and sits up. Sweeping his hands over his thighs, he tries and fails to get some sweat away. He's so caught up in trying to understand what just happened, that at first he doesn't hear Danny's voice.
"JACKSON!" It's shouted as if Danny has been calling him for a while now. Jackson takes a deep breath and looks around the empty locker room.
"Yeah?"
"I thought you had actually died over there." Danny laughs, deep and freely, like he always does when he's joking with Jackson, like when they are making fun of Stiles at Chemistry.
"Still alive," Jackson replies and then gets up from the weight bench. He doesn't hear Erica coming, doesn't think anything is wrong until he blacks out.
Jackson hates Derek Hale with the passion of a thousand burning suns. He gets kidnapped and paralyzed and all because the jerk doesn't know how to get a job done. He should have asked Peter, maybe by now he'd be a werewolf. He's sitting in the library waiting to have his video back so he can see for himself what that dumbass has done to him, Danny at his side, when Matt shows up. Jackson is not sure why, but there's something about him that Jackson doesn't like. To see Danny looking at him like a schoolboy with a crush, makes him frown. He's used to Danny getting crushes because that happens frequently, only the previous week he was going on about some dude named Miguel who he had met at Stiles', but he doesn't like Danny having a crush on Matt.
Even the way Matt looks at Danny makes Jackson clench his fists.
After Matt leaves, feeling Jackson's eyes on him, Danny turns to look at him. "What?"
"Got a little crush going on there?"
"No."
And if Jackson was actually honest with himself, he'd admit that Danny with a crush is almost a cute sight because he gets all flushed and stumbles over his words. He looks like McCall when he has a crush, almost can't put two words together. But Danny has never been like that around him, so Jackson knows Danny is honest when he says that Jackson is not his type and maybe that's the whole problem.
He gets kidnapped. Again. And the worst thing is that he has to listen to Stilinski going on about what kind of strange creature he is. Jackson doesn't believe him of course. His super-hearing now means that he also gets to hear what Stiles, Scott and Allison say when they think he can't hear them. Their words cut deep because he knows it's the truth. He had Lydia but he pushed her away. He has Danny but he's pushing him away. It's not like he's not aware of how much inhuman he can be. He thinks back about Derek calling him a snake and hates him a little bit more because he knows Derek was right.
He waits until he hears McCall and Allison getting carried away outside and then runs away. He sees exactly what he turns in, sees his skin becoming blue and yellow, nothing like a werewolf. He's a monster, just not the right kind. Another thing at which he has failed.
He finds himself standing outside Danny's house because Danny still doesn't know anything, he can be normal here.
Mrs. Mahealani opens the door with a frown upon her face that quickly turns into a smile when she sees who's standing on her doorsteps. "Jackson, here you are. I told him you'd come!" She grabs his arm and pulls him inside. "Danny's upstairs studying. Go on." Her smile becomes gentler. "You know the way better than I do," she jokes.
Jackson is grateful he can't remember attacking his best friend, he wouldn't know what to do with himself otherwise. He has no idea why he has done something like that. Of all the people in the world, Danny is the last one he'd get after.
He nods at Mrs. Mahealani and quickly goes up the stairs. He doesn't bother knocking, just pushes open the last door on the right and closes it behind him.
Danny's shoulders tense for a moment and then he sighs heavily. "Where have you been hiding all day?"
Jackson leans against the door, his eyes downcast. "Stilinski and McCall kidnapped me."
Danny snorts and resumes his writing. "Funny how while he was holding you hostage, Scott still found the time to stop by the hospital."
Frowning, Jackson finally steps further into the room. "What? Hospital?"
"Yeah." Danny sighs again and then runs a hand through his short hair. He turns his chair around and levels his gaze with Jackson's, studying him. "You actually didn't know."
In that moment, all Jackson can do is feeling so much more guiltier. He put his best friend in the hospital. His fucking best friend. He takes another step and sits down on the edge of the bed unable to look at Danny. "I... I'm sorry." It feels like the dumbest of things to say but it's all he can come up with. It's sorry for putting you in danger, sorry for almost killing you, sorry for everything...
How can he feel anything resembling normality when he tried to kill his best friend, his only friend. He can hear Scott's words all over again.
"He has no one."
"It's his own fault."
Being Jackson's best friend was easy, Danny had no one to compete with. No one ever puts up with Jackson for long, he still had no idea why Danny still sticks around after the way he's been treated lately. But being Danny's best friend means the world because everyone likes Danny, just like everyone hates Jackson, being his best friend is actually important. He should get around to asking Danny why he puts up with Jackson, except that Jackson fears that if Danny stops to think about it, he'd leave too.
"It wasn't anything serious. I went back to the club yesterday and someone must have slipped something into my drink."
Jackson nods and throws a glance at the other boy. "You okay now?"
"Yeah." Danny licks his lips slowly and then gets up from his chair and takes a seat next to Jackson. He slides his hands over his thighs and stares at the carpet for a few minutes. "Did you get my message last night? I restored your video."
"No, I left the phone at McCall's."
Danny gets up again and walks over to his desk. He shifts around the papers covering it until he finds his tablet. "McCall wanted to see the video but I said that the tablet was still in my car." He hands it to Jackson and sits down next to him. "I didn't watch it."
"When did you go back to retrieve it?" Jackson heard Scott saying that it had been Jackson to steal the tablet, if he was wrong about that then maybe...
"I sent a message to one of my friends to go get it. He had to break in the car but better him than a thief."
Jackson stares down at the device in his hands. If he watches it now, then he will find out the truth but he's not sure if he actually wants to find out. Once the truth is out, you can't put it back in. "I'll watch it at home."
Danny nods. "Alright. You can forward it to your e-mail."
Jackson does just that and then hands the tablet back without thinking about deleting the video from it. "I should go."
"Why did you come over?" Danny asks, stopping Jackson in his tracks.
"I..." He trails off and tries his best to hold his best friend's gaze. There's no way he can explain this without telling Danny everything.
Danny sighs and shakes his head. "Never mind. Wanna stay for dinner? Ma made our favorite."
Jackson grins, normality coming back. "Sure."
He's actually a gigantic deadly lizard. The first thing he's able to rationally decide after watching the video, is that he has to stay away from Danny. He has tried to kill him once already, he doesn't want it to happen again. That plan lasts for about a week but he should have known better. If there's someone who doesn't just lay back and take it, it's Danny, it's why he puts up with all of Jackson's bullshits.
He's lying on his bed replaying the video for the millionth time when suddenly Danny is walking inside his room.
"What the..."
"I told you that I know your mom doesn't lock the kitchen door," Danny whispers and closes the door behind him so he won't wake Jackson's parents.
"What are you doing here?" Jackson whispers harshly.
"You've been avoiding me. Actually, you've been doing it for months now. What the hell is going on?"
Jackson licks his lips and puts down his tablet. Then he gets up and walks over to Danny without bothering to put on a shirt. "Listen, there are some things happening that..."
"I'm tired of this, Jackson!" Danny raises his voice enough that Jackson is surprised his parent don't hear him. "You know, the whole dark and mysterious act was cool for a while, I bet it got you girls, but enough! I want you to talk to me, now."
Jackson can feel the frustration accumulated finally coming up to the surface. He takes another step and Danny doesn't back down, it doesn't surprise Jackson. "You wanna know what's going on?" He asks a bit derisory because he knows what's going to happen next. "I wanted to become a werewolf but since nothing ever goes to the plan in my life, I turned into a fucking monster!" It's hard not to yell the last part. He clenches his fists tight enough that his nails cut into his palms.
Danny's gaze doesn't waver. His lips quirk into a grimace that doesn't belong to his face. "You know what, Jackson? Fuck. You." He pushes Jackson with each word. "You don't want to answer me, then fucking be it, but don't make fun of me!" Danny pushes him once more, hard enough that Jackson finds himself on the floor staring up into Danny's angry eyes.
He doesn't have to endure that gaze for long though, because Danny shakes his head and turns away. In a second, he's gone and Jackson doubts he'll ever come back.
For a week, whenever Danny sees him in the hallways at school, he changes way. It hurts Jackson more than anything else. Now he knows Scott was right and he really has no one.
He has lot of other things to focus on. Whole hours are missing and then days, he's confused most of the time.
"JACKSON!"
Jackson blinks and looks around himself. He has no idea how he got into the locker room. He turns and finds Danny standing close to him. "I... Are you okay?"
"I'm perfect," Jackson lies easily.
Danny smirks. "Yeah, we all know that. But are you okay?"
Jackson hesitates, almost asks if Danny really cares, but there's something more urgent he has to say now while he can. He should really thank Danny for snapping him out of his trance.
"Stay in the goal tonight, Danny."
"What..."
"Do not come out and if you see me coming towards you, run the other way." He holds Danny's gaze to let him see how serious he is. "Promise me."
Danny gulps and stares straight at him as if finally beginning to understand how serious everything is. "Okay. I promise."
He can't believe he's alive. He can't believe he's a werewolf. He runs away from Scott and Isaac and Derek and anyone else who might be looking for him. He lets his instinct guide him. He picks up a scent and follows it, feels deep in his bones that there's only one place where he's supposed to be and he doesn't understand where until he's standing outside Danny's home.
The lights are all out and he quickly jumps on the roof and crawls over the tiles until he's crouching outside Danny's window. He can hear Danny's heart beating erratic, can hear his breath itching. He peers inside, his eyes easily seeing in the dark.
Danny is sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking violently. He still has his lacrosse jersey on and Jackson can smell more than see his own blood on it.
He jumps inside the room as effortlessly and elegantly as a cat.
Danny's head shots up and his eyes widens. He jumps to his feet and falls on the floor in the hurry of getting to the light switch.
"Danny," Jackson whispers, his ears focused on listening for movements in the house. Everyone's still sleeping so he steps forward and grabs Danny's hands and pulls him to his feet but doesn't let him turn on the light because he has no idea how to control the nails and the fangs and he's pretty sure his eyes are glowing yellow now and he doesn't want Danny to see him.
"Jack... Jackson?"
"It's me," he whispers.
"Your eyes," Danny says. He reaches out with a hand and Jackson lets him do it. "They're glowing."
"I'm... On the field..."
"You're alive," Danny interrupts him. "God, you're alive." He slides his arms around Jackson's neck and pulls him to him.
Jackson can hear his heartbeat picking up. He brings up his hands to hug Danny back but his eyes catch the claws and then his reflection in the mirror behind Danny. His eyes are glowing but blue. He's more confused then he was before. He has no idea what happened, why he's alive, why he's now a werewolf.
"I..." he tries again but doesn't know what to say. Something made him come here but now he's lost for words.
Danny pulls back and in the light coming from outside, he's able to make out Jackson's face. His fingers skims over the deformed face. He gulps loudly and Jackson can smell something that he knows is fear. It doesn't last long though, soon there's confusion and then understanding and a bit of anger.
"I thought you were dead."
"I can't explain."
"You told me the truth."
Jackson nods and wonders when Danny will start to freak out and demand him to leave. He feels the gentlest of touches against his face and can feel something inside him shifting. He raises his eyes to the mirror again and sees his face turning to normal even though his eyes are still glowing blue.
Danny steps closer and brings up his other hand as well. "I'm sorry," he whispers.
And Jackson would like to tell him that it doesn't matter that no one in their right mind would have believed him, but before he can say something, Danny's fingers skim over his lips that part showing his fangs.
Danny licks his lips slowly and gulps loudly again. His heart is beating so fast that Jackson can't hear anything else besides it.
"Danny," he begins and then just steps forward following Danny's hands.
In that moment, there's sudden clarity. He understands what it is that he's been feeling all month, maybe even for longer. That feeling of normality, of acceptance... he puts a name to it now but doesn't say it out loud because it's something he hasn't said for eleven years, not even to his parents. He has forgotten how to word it.
Danny steps forward, his head bending and his lips finding Jackson's in the darkness as if they had done it a million times before. His hands hold Jackson's face tightly and he moves with determination. The clarity gets bigger and brighter until Jackson isn't standing in the darkness anymore and there's just him clutching at Danny, his fangs and claws disappearing leaving just a sixteen boy in love for the first time in his life and the guy who's his home.
There's so much more to figure out, so much Jackson doesn't know yet and it's terrifying and confusing but there, with Danny pressed up against him, an arm sneaking around his waist to keep Jackson even closer, it feels like all the rest is just melting in the background. He feels free and light and good and he knows deep down that he will do anything in his power to never lose what's anchoring him to the ground pushing away his fear of falling.