It was no secret that I was the popular guy at school. I was best friends with Jackson and Lydia. I knew who Scott and that other weird kid he hangs out with. I'm co-captain of the lacrosse team. I always knew that I was destined for greatness, I mean, come on I'm hot, tan, and blonde what else could you want. Lately, Jackson has been acting weird and these new people just coming in are weird too. They all have one thing in common… Scott McCall.
Chapter 1
I woke up in my boxers and wiped the sleep out of my eyes. I grabbed my clothes and headed down the hall for the shower. I wouldn't say that we were rich, I'd say that we were loaded. My dad had a high paying job, before he passed away, and so does my mom. I got dressed in a nice long-sleeve V-neck and jeans. I headed downstairs and caught up with my mom.
"Good morning Sweety." she told me.
"Morning, mom." I told her as I prepared myself a bowl of cereal. I sat down at the table across from my mom. She was a blonde and tan too and exercised so she was definitely looking good for her age, not that she was old, but she is a mom. She was reading the newspaper, I know… the newspaper, and I normally didn't care and practically avoided the periodical, but the front page was kind of hard to miss. In huge bold letters, "TWO TEENAGERS KILLED IN WILD ANIMAL INCIDENT". We got a lot of those, but not once had I ever seen an animal that could inflict any damage let alone kill two teens.
"Was Marcus told about this?" I asked my mom sarcastically. Marcus was my mom's boyfriend. My dad had passed away in "an animal incident" as well. Marcus was a fireman in the next town over. He was nice, dark skinned, and good looking, but I hated him. He was cheesy and just too nice like he was hiding something. I don't know if it is just my natural curiosity and suspicion, or if it was this town because people around here usually did have something shady going on.
"Yes, as a matter of fact he was. Tomorrow he's going to take you to school." she told me. The cereal in my mouth almost spilt out all over.
"What?!" I yelled as I swallowed. She folded the paper and laid it down on the table.
"There is no need to yell." she told me.
"No need! You could have given me a heads up or… just not have done it!" I yelled at her.
"I didn't do it, this was Marcus' idea." she told me.
"So you're telling me that he wants me to be in a confined space with him for like a whole ten minutes and you just agreed?" I asked her.
"Wyatt." she gave me that, "really?" look. Almost like she was disgusted with me.
"Mother." I shot the look right back at her.
"You need to give him a chance," I just looked away from her, "He's been so good to me… and you, but you just refuse to see it." she told me.
"I have a perfectly good car that has a full tank." I told her still not looking at her.
"Oh, I know," she told me. I heard a distinct jingling, the keys to my Audi, "and if you want to be able to drive it again then you'll go with Marcus, be nice to him, AND talk to him-"
"Be nice AND talk? How am I suppose to do that?" I told her as I turned and faced her. I saw a small smile on her face. My despair turned into happiness as we both smiled at that one.
"I don't know, but you're gonna. It's time for school so you better get going." she told me as she tossed me the keys. I gave her a kiss and hug right before I grabbed my backpack and was out the door. The trip to school was short and I pulled up to Jackson and Lydia kissing. I swear the two could be models. She was leaning against him and he was leaning against his awesome porsche. The two always had the top looks and were literally the "IT" couple. I hopped out of my car as the two came apart and practically gasped for air.
"The next time you two want to have sex on a car, you might not want to do it on school property." I told them.
"Why? Are you jealous?" Jackson asked me as Lydia curled up under his arm.
"Of course. Why do you think I said you two and not Lydia and I," I told them. Jackson laughed and Lydia scoffed. I mean really, Lydia was hot and smart, the girl's got it all, "Where's Danny?"
"Oh, he said that he's coming in late." Jackson told me.
"His boyfriend broke up with him." Lydia told me. I nodded.
"Let's go." Jackson told us. We headed into school and I noticed the always panicked Scott McCall followed by his always trusty sidekick, I think his name is, Stiles. This time though, he was trailed by another two girls.
"Lydia, who are they?" I asked as I pointed to the two girls.
"Oh, Kira's the black hair and Malia is the other one." she told me.
"Well hello Malia." I said to myself, but Lydia didn't fail to give that, "can you not" look. I took a book out of my backpack, my math textbook, and headed her way. I had it open and my head dug in it. Lydia tugged me back.
"What are you doing?" she asked as if I were a crazy person.
"I'm about to hook, line, and sink-her." I told her with a smirk. She just shook her head and I headed Malia's way. I made sure that I was going to cross her path. I picked up my walking and held my textbook close. The next second I was prepared to make contact when nothing. I looked up and turned around to find Malia standing there looking at me all confused. It's liked she knew I was about to hit her and she sidestepped. Now I was confused. I realized now that I was drawing looks from Stiles too. I snapped out of it and walked away. As I walked away I was just able to hear.
"Who was that?" Malia asked.
"Who, him? Oh he's just jerk number two, right behind jerk number one." he told her. I was really hurt… I wasn't number one?! Anyway, I decided to avoid the disappointing looks of Lydia and headed straight to class. Unfortunately, Lydia, Malia, and the rest of that group were all in my class too. I sat in the second to last row and Stiles sat right next to me. I mean who wouldn't want to sit next to me, but him, really? Danny came in late and sat near me. I passed him a note telling him that it'll be alright and that there are plenty of other balls that he could juggle. I saw a small smile form on his face. He didn't send a note back, but he was able to turn and he mouthed thank you to me. The class ended and Scott's group huddled together. I went over to Danny to see how he was doing.
"Hey Danny." I told him with a pat on the back. I felt awkward, but me and Danny were pretty close friends since whenever we would hang out with Jackson and Lydia they were always together.
"Oh, hi Wyatt." he told me all quiet. He didn't really look up at me.
"Listen, I'm sure that there will be somebody… some person who has yet to make you feel good like… you know where." I told him. I wasn't really sure how that whole situation worked.
"Thanks, but I don't… I just don't wanna talk about it now." he told me with those big eyes of his. I looked around for Lydia. She was better at this than me. Surprisingly, she was huddled in the group around Scott. I walked over to them and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to me.
"Our friend Danny is breaking down and you're over here just huddled like a group of penguins. Could you come talk to him and remind him that you're still friends?" I didn't really ask her, I just kind of told her.
"Fine, and next time you could ask nicely." she told me.
"I know I could, but I didn't. That's beside the point! Can you just go talk to him?" I told her again. She just rolled her eyes and headed towards Danny. I was about to follow her when a hand landed hard on my shoulder. I turned to find Stiles there.
"Listen, jackass, you can't talk to her like that. Just because you think you're above everyone else doesn't mean that you can treat everyone else like trash." he told me. I couldn't help it, but I let out a small chuckle.
"I don't think I'm above everyone else, I know I am. Don't you worry about your precious little crush, Stiles. She's not going anywhere, especially with you." I finished. I turned and walked over to Lydia and Danny.
"So do you want to rent a movie later?" Lydia asked him.
"Um… sure I guess-"
"Great! I'll meet you after school." she finished. Danny didn't seem any better right now, but Lydia would do what she does and he'd be better once they watched that movie or whatever.
"So what were you doing over there with them?" I asked Lydia.
"Believe it or not, but I have other friends besides Danny and Jackson." she told me.
"You didn't say that we're friends," I got close to her and pushed my hand into hers, "does that mean that we're more than friends?" I asked. She pulled her hand out of mine.
"Not. even. close." she told me.
"Then what were you talking about with them?" I asked. She drew a blank.
"Oh, you know, the usual." she told me.
"No, I don't know because I don't talk to them. What were you talking about?" I asked.
"It was nothing." she told me.
"I'm sure it was nothing, but I want to know. Why can't you just tell me?" I asked again.
"Fine. We were talking about the murder." she finally answered.
"Murder?! I thought it was an animal incident." I told her. Her eyes grew big in surprise.
"Yeah, that's what I meant! Murder, no, just another animal incident." she told me. She cleaned up her things quickly.
"No, you said murder, as in like someone purposely killing someone else." I told her now shocked and scared.
"Wyatt, just mind your own business." she told me as she swung her bag over her shoulder and started walking out. I sunk into a chair next to Danny who had yet to move from his statue like state.
"I can't believe that. Do you believe that?" I asked him.
"I don't know. I gotta go to my next class." he told me as he got up and left. I gathered my things and headed to my next class too. I don't really remember it now that murder was stuck in my head. Between classes I saw Lydia with Scott and all them again. I tried my best to listen in, but I couldn't hear anything. Jackson came up to me.
"Hey." he told me with a nod of his head.
"Oh, hey." I answered, but kept trying to listen.
"What are you doing?" he asked. I guess my listening face was obvious. The "animal incident" happened in the town over. I wanted to check it out.
"Oh nothing. Hey, tonight do you wanna hang out? I know a great place to check out." I told him.
"I don't know. Lydia said that she-"
"She's hanging out with Danny. They're gonna rent some movie she said. SO are you in?" I asked again.
"I guess." he answered.
"Great. I'll text you about it later." I told him. he nodded and left for his next classes as did I. Today was the day before lacrosse started, so I had to check it out tonight.
I got home to find my mom sitting across from Marcus. They were eating an early dinner and had a third plate set for me. I sighed loud enough for them to hear me because they both looked at me.
"Oh good, you're home." my mom chimed. She had a glass of red wine in her hand as did he.
"How was school today?" he asked. I glared at him.
"Oh it was school." I told him as I walked to the cabinet next to the refrigerator that had all of our glasses in it so I could get some water from the fridge.
"And how is school?" he asked again.
"Oh just the usual." I told him again.
"Wyatt." I heard my mom's voice in that tone where she was getting annoyed.
"School is school and school sucks so there you go." I told them as I filled my glass with water.
"Wyatt, you should be so glad that you have school." she told me. I just nodded my head sarcastically and overdramatically as I drank my water.
"Why don't you join us." Marcus told me as he motioned towards the seat with the plate.
"Sorry, I'm actually not hungry-"
"Wyatt." my mom glared at me.
"But… I guess I am feeling… a tad bit peckish." I told them as I slouched into my seat. I picked up my fork and took the tiniest possible sliver of lasagna that I could take and ate it. They watched me. My mother was horrified and Marcus actually looked a little annoyed. Finally an emotion other than that fake happy that he always used.
"I hear you like lacrosse." he told me. I held up my finger as in for him to wait a moment. I chewed that tiny sliver until it had practically been digested in my mouth. Finally, I swallowed.
"Yup, I do. That's me, the lacrosse player. Well, this evening has been absolutely wonderful, Marcus, but I'm afraid that I have somewhere to be." I told him as I stood up from the table, but before I could move my mother stopped me.
"Wyatt. sit. down." she growled at me. I stood for a moment with my mother's eyes burning a hole in me. I finally sat down into my seat. I just looked at my plate. A long silence occurred. Finally, I broke the silence.
"I really do have somewhere to be." I told my mother, but I didn't look at her.
"Well, I don't know if you can go now." my mother responded.
"But Jackson is waiting for me!" I yelled to her as I finally turned to her.
"Well, he can wait." she told me.
"Michelle," oh my god, he used her first name in front of me. Dear god, "Maybe you should let him go." My head shot up. What?!
"Wait, what?" she was confused as well.
"Maybe you should just let him go. Where are you and Jackson going?" he asked me. I didn't have a cover story. The fact was is that the place where the "animal incident" happened behind this club. I couldn't tell her that we were going to a club.
"Oh, we're gonna... go play lacrosse." I told them. I wasn't sure how believable it was, but my mom seemed to buy it.
"Alright, but I want you home before 9:00." she told me.
"Okay, okay. I'll see you later," I turned to Marcus, "Thank you Marcus for opening my mother's eyes to what's right." he didn't believe it at first, but then he gave me that fake smile that hardly ever left his face.
"My pleasure." he told me. I never really noticed how low his voice was. He got up out of his chair to shake my hand. I never really noticed how tall he was either. He had to be like 6'8. He was like freakishly tall. I shook his hand hard and ran upstairs to my room real quick. I grabbed my lacrosse stick, ball, and phone. I came back downstairs and went to the bathroom. My mom gave me a look of disappointment as I entered the bathroom. I called Jackson up.
"Hey, Jackson. Meet me at," I pulled the address for the club out of my pocket and told him it. I came out of the bathroom and made direct eye contact with Marcus and he was there with that smile of his.
"I have to make a quick phone call. Excuse me." Marcus told us as he got up and left the room. I went over and gave my mom a hug.
"Wyatt, I mean it. Tomorrow on your way to school with Marcus you better be golden you hear me." she told me.
"Yes mom." I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then left. I pulled out and was off. Jackson followed me. We pulled up into this alley next to the club. It was getting late, but the place wasn't open yet. The club was called "Lupo". Apparently it was owned by some Italian guy. Jackson got out looking confused. We walked down the alley towards the back of the club.
"What the hell is this?" He asked.
"I told you that we were going to a club." I answered.
"Yeah, the club is over there, not back here." he told me.
"I know. I never said that we were going in the club." I explained to him.
"Then what are we doing here?" he asked. We walked until we almost stepped on what I presumed to be the outline of the animal victim.
"This is why we're here." I told him.
"Is this where that guy was killed?" he asked.
"Yeah, but from recent sources I don't think it was an animal that killed him." I finished. I looked down and pulled the paper about "Lupo" out of my pocket. It had a picture of the victim. It was blurry, but I could tell it wasn't any animal.
"I can't believe this. I gotta go to sleep and get ready for tomorrow's practice." he told me.
"Just wait a second," I showed him the picture, "You see this. Those claw marks are so far apart. An animal did not do this, especially out here in town."
"What do you think it was?" he asked. Suddenly, he was all quiet and intrigued.
"I don't know what, but it wasn't an animal." I told him.
"Great. Now, can we go home." he told me. His attitude changed to pissy.
"Fine," I told him. He was about to move when his eyes became huge, "What?" I turned around to see some man standing not far from us. He was breathing heavily. His fingernails were sharp like claws. His teeth were sharp as well. His ears were in a point and his eyes glowed a bright yellow-orange. I felt my heart pound rapidly.
"Run." I heard Jackson say. I turned and sprinted. Jackson was so fast. I wasn't even halfway down the alley when I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and pull me back. My feet flew out from under me and I landed hard on my back. I hit the ground with a grunt. The man was tall and built. He raised his free clawed hand and was going to bring it down on me, when all of a sudden he was pushed away. Jackson had hit the man-thing off of me. I barely had time to catch my breath before the man hit Jackson back. Jackson flew back and almost hit me. For the moment that he was on the ground I had seen it. Jackson was one too! He had a widow's peak, glowing blue eyes, sharp teeth, and claws. Jackson got right back up and attacked the man. Jackson was faster then him and had landed more hits. He had cut the man's shirt up and he was bleeding. The man was getting tired and Jackson made him retreat. The man pulled back and ran back down the alley. Jackson slowly turned to me still in full on monster form. He had a few cuts, but they weren't that bad compared to the other guy. I crawled backwards as Jackson faced me. He started lifting his hands, but I got up started running for my life. I got in my car and got out of there as fast as I could.
Oh my god! Jackson's a… a… a thing! He was the same as that guy. Oh my god! That guy was still alive! He was on the loose and he was a thing too! It was getting dark and I swear that at every alley or shadow seemed to move towards me. Every traffic light reminded me of the that strange glow that each of their eyes had. Jackson's was a fluorescent blue, and the man's eyes were this golden color. Finally, I made it home and ran inside. I closed the door behind me and sprinted upstairs until I was in my room. I pulled my shirt off and checked my body for any scratches, for any evidence of their existence. My phone was going off like crazy from Jackson, but I didn't look at the messages. I didn't want to hear what it had to say. My best friend was this thing. I paced frantically in my room. My mom walked in as she wrapped herself up in her robe.
"What's wrong?" she asked. I guess I looked as crazy as I felt. I didn't know what to do, where to start, or what to even say. I just looked at her as she stood there in her robe and looked at me from behind her reading glasses. I just gave her a hug. She didn't say anything, but she hugged back. It was that loving mother hug that sucked that dark and coldness out of me. I just breathed deeply and tried not to explode. I never felt so many emotions. I looked up to find Marcus in my doorway buttoning up his shirt. Oh my god! I let go of my mother. I just looked at him. He wasn't smiling. He looked just like I had interrupted something and I tried my best not to throw up all over him just from the thought of… oh god no.
"What happened?" he asked. He didn't sound sincere or looked sincere.
"I-... I don't know." I was barely able to get out.
"Why don't you get ready for bed?" my mom asked me. She put her hand on my shoulder and I just nodded slowly. I wasn't sure of anything anymore. She gave me a kiss goodnight and walked out. Marcus left, thank the lord. I was just left in my room with nothing but my boxers, thoughts, and new fears.
