Author's note: This story is a slight re-imagining of BH episode 8: Children Shouldn't Play with Undead Things. It mostly follows canon, but diverges during Josh's transformation. I thought there was great potential for some revelatory moments between Josh and Sally during this episode, so I wanted to extend the scene. It went kinda quick in the episode, didn't it?
Anyway, it's been over 7 years since I've submitted anything as an author on this site, so I'm pretty nervous of the reactions I'll get to this new foray into writing. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Enjoy!
The Truth Shall Set You Free
Sally sat on the couch, pouting. It was Friday night, and there was nothing for her to do. Sure, she could go to club or a bar, but who would she talk to? She'd have to hope that there'd be some random ghosts hanging around, but the last few ghosts she's talked to have been Grade A Douches. It doesn't help when the only two people who can actually talk with Sally are both boring.
Aidan is practically an old man, despite his eternally good looks. When he does go out, he goes alone, off to do creepy vampire Things-We-Don't-Talk-About. No one ever said supernatural beings weren't masters of avoidance, and since Sally sometimes considers herself a PhD candidate, she can't really blame him.
Josh, the only roommate with a heartbeat, is so awkward that the poor guy hasn't had a "normal" friend in almost two years, not counting Nora. Despite his insistence otherwise, Sally isn't convinced that his lack of friendships stems completely from his "furry little problem". He only has to turn into a monster once a month, and Sally thinks that should leave plenty of time for some socialization. Earlier, she even said she'd be willing to trade problems with him, if it meant she could be alive. She realizes now that she might have been a little harsh, but nothing could possibly be worse than being dead, right?
Despite Josh's problems, Sally still missed him on nights like this. There was a full moon outside, and Josh was going to be changing in the secluded hospital basement. Well, they thought it was secure. After Josh's sister almost got trapped in there with him mid-transformation, Sally thought it might not be the best idea to keep using that room. The whole situation made her uneasy.
Aidan seemed unconcerned as he searched the house for something to give Bernie, the neighbor kid he somehow managed to take under his wing in less than a week.
"You think Bernie would like this?" asked Aidan as he displayed the wooden ship-in-a-bottle for Sally's scrutiny.
"Someone made a new friend," Sally replied as she grinned at him mischievously. Aidan rolled his eyes. Sally thought that if Aidan were still alive, he would be blushing. It's pretty adorable.
"Shut up," he grumbles, and quickly places the bottle on the coffee table.
Taking most of the teasing out of her tone, Sally adds, "It's sweet. He could use an older man in his life, and you could definitely stand a little innocence. What's age, anyway? You're what..." she trails off with her eyebrows raised, giving Aidan his cue to fill in a number.
"Two-hundred and fifty-seven," he blurts, without missing a beat.
She hadn't thought he was that old. "For real?"
A loud bang startles Sally and Aidan out of their conversation, and they both stand up in alarm as they watch Josh run into the room looking equal parts panicked and disheveled. He looks scared, too, more scared than Sally has ever seen him before.
"I ran out of time!" he shouts, mostly at Aidan. "Get everything breakable out of the room!"
Aidan, cool and composed as ever, asks, "How much time do we have?"
Josh looks at Aidan gravely, like a man going to face his death. "Minutes... Save the TV."
Aidan started running around the house like a madman, picking up anything within reach that was valuable or breakable. Sally watched as he grabbed the TV (as per Josh's request) and Bernie's bottled ship, but she still couldn't figure out what the problem was.
"Woah, woah, what's going on?" she asked urgently, looking to either Josh or Aidan for some answers. They shared a look, and Sally could feel her irritation growing. They didn't have to hide the truth from her, she was one of them, and their split-second hesitation hurt her.
Finally, Josh swallows and says, "I'm changing." He looks like he can barely stomach the words.
"In the house?" For some reason, the admission has startled her, though she knows it shouldn't. Since it's "that time of the month" for her werewolf friend, it should make total sense that an impromptu change of plan (which could result in innocent people getting hurt) would be the only thing to make Josh look that upset. But the apartment is their home, their sanctuary, so the idea that anything so inhuman would happen here strikes Sally as profoundly wrong.
Josh has started to get a pinched look to his features, and his muscles have tensed up in anticipation. "Turn the stereo up... Loud," he orders, gesturing towards the sound system on the mantle. Aidan does as he's told, and promptly the house is filled with music so loud, it rattles the books on the shelf.
"But you just cleaned!" Sally cried, trying desperately to appeal to Josh's OCD.
Josh gasps in pain, and slaps his fist down on an end table, as if to ground himself. "It's coming," he says urgently, "get out now."
"Sally, come on!" Aidan yells from the front hall, his arms loaded high with their valuables.
Suddenly, a thought strikes her. Although she has lived with Josh for some time now, she has never seen what makes him a monster. Aidan, who drinks blood out of ceramic mugs and doesn't need sleep, displays his inhuman side every day. Sally is the same way; just by existing she knows she is the farthest thing from human. At this point, she thinks it would only be fair for her to know more about Josh's insecurities. More than that, she's just plain curious. "Nonono, I want to see what happens."
Almost before she can finish her sentence, Josh yells, "No!" He starts walking away from her as he strips off his shirt. Master of avoidance, indeed, if he thinks he can end their argument just by leaving the room.
Determined to stand her ground, Sally argues, "Why not? It's not like you can hurt me!" Being a ghost has seen to that, so the fact that Josh would be worried about causing her harm makes no sense; however, she knows how absolutely terrified he is at the prospect of hurting his loved ones – it's how he came to live with her and Aidan in the first place.
"I don't care about that – Aaauuhhhh!" Whatever Josh was going to say is abruptly cut off by a strangled scream of pain, and Sally's eyes go wide. She has never heard someone make a noise like that, and it scares her.
"Fine, do whatever, just stand where it can't see you," Josh says in a tone of resignation as he sucks in a few deep breaths and continues undressing. Sally briefly thinks that it might be awkward to be with her roommate while he's naked, but her curiosity and nervous excitement outweigh that particular hang-up.
"Are you sure?" Aidan shouts from the front door. Sally hadn't even noticed he was still in the room.
"Yes!" she hollers back impatiently, reluctant to take her attention away from Josh for even a second – she doesn't want to miss anything. The door slams as Aidan finally leaves, leaving her alone with a very naked Josh. A beat passes, then two, and Sally starts to relax a bit.
"So, ballpark, how long does it – "
Another tragic-sounding scream is ripped from Josh, and it is so sudden and so loud that Sally has the momentary urge to cover her ears. He curls in on himself protectively, but his entire body is tense and shaking. He screams again and lashes out, desperately trying to fight the transformation that's gripping him. The kitchen counter is the first to feel his blows, but he quickly twists in the other direction and brings his body slamming down on their dining table. Plates and food go flying under his assault, but the normally-clean Josh doesn't give them a second glance.
His clear suffering tears at Sally's unbeating heart. Some part of her had entertained the idea that turning into a werewolf would be quick and relatively painless, like the wolves in some popular monster stories. Never had she imagined the slow, torturous, An American Werewolf in London-esque ordeal that her friend is being forced to endure.
Josh has curled in on himself again, and Sally sees the opportunity to get closer to try and comfort him. She rushes to his side, but he sees her coming and scrambles back until he is pressed up against the cupboards, his knees drawn tightly to his chest.
"Stay away from me!" he shouts frantically, the sound of his voice muffled by his knees and the pounding background music.
Surprised by his quick retreat, Sally keeps her forward advance slow, as if she is approaching a frightened animal. The comparison makes her feel a little sick, but she presses on until she's kneeling next to his quivering form. He jerks and moans as if he wants to move away from her again, but stays put.
"Josh?"
He looks up at her, and her heart shatters into pieces. His teeth have grown in, and they jut horrifically out of his human mouth, too big to fit unless they are set in the jaws of a beast. At some point he has also grown claws, and he cradles them against his chest as his fingers slowly change into their new shape. As jarring as it is to see her sweet best friend with vicious-looking fangs and claws, Sally can't tear her eyes away from Josh's face. He has tears in his eyes, and his expression is full of so much misery, she's willing to try anything to soothe him.
He screams again, and she hears nauseating snapping sounds as something inside him breaks and shifts. "It's okay – God, Josh – shhh... It's-it's alright..." she whispers ineffectually as her voice trembles.
Josh clenches his eyes shut, and his tears leave shiny tracks on his cheeks. There's extra coloring to his face – a blush high on his cheekbones – which Sally immediately recognizes as a blush of shame. The revelation hits her like a ton of bricks. Josh's hesitancy to let her watch was not for her safety, but so that she wouldn't have to see him like this, see him so miserable and out of control. He doesn't want her pity, either, because it will only make him feel less human than he already does.
She feels like she can really understand Josh now, with all of his crippling insecurities and hesitancy to get close to people. He's afraid someone will get hurt, but he's just as afraid of someone seeing his animal side and hating him for it. Sally wishes, not for the first time, that she was capable of giving hugs.
Sally is torn back to reality when Josh screams again, but this time it is high-pitched, more desperate. He writhes on the floor as his ribcage expands and reshapes itself, growing larger and more lupine. Josh is practically sobbing now, his deformed chest heaving as he takes huge, gulping breaths between screams. Her gives her one final, pleading look before he lets the transformation consume him; Sally stands up and backs away a few paces to give him his space.
When Josh's face starts cracking and morphing; when his body starts sprouting thick hair, Sally almost looks away, but she forces herself to keep her eyes on Josh. If he must endure this, so must she. The minutes drag on, and Josh's voice has stopped sounding human, and become more of a howl. Sally's friend is gone, and as the whimpers fade away there is a wolf in his place, crouched low and ready to attack. There is no warmth in its (she refuses to think of this monster as Josh) eyes, and as its lip curls back in a threatening snarl, she can see rows of sharp, deadly teeth.
Without preamble the wolf springs at her, and Sally can tell it's time for her to go. She disappears right before the wolf can jump through her, and reappears on the front porch next to Aidan.
Since becoming a ghost, Sally has learned a lot about the supernatural world. Much of her education has come from being of the inhuman persuasion herself, but having two roommates with two different perspectives has helped. She thought that by living with Josh, she understood him and his condition, but she was wrong. There is so much about what Josh goes through once a month that she doesn't know.
She doesn't know what it's like to lose total control over herself, or to feel the fear that one day she'll wake up to find she has killed someone. She doesn't know how he lives with it every day, the ticking clock that constantly counts down to one night filled with pain, horror and shame.
Sally only knows one thing – she has some major apologizing to do tomorrow.