The day was bright and cheerful, but Rebecca was far too busy drowning in her own thoughts to think of the shining sun as anything more than a nuisance. Laying with her back against a patch of grass, she pretended to nod along with whatever was being said to her.

Kanima-werewolves. What kind of messed up D.N.A. did Omar have? One part of him accepted the wolf, the other didn't? How did Gus not pick up on any traces of strange activity?

Rebecca secretly hoped that next an idiot with wings would happen so that the boy yammering in her ear would sprout some, be picked up on the breeze, and fly away from her.

"Wow," Rebecca tried to summon any ounce of emotion she could spare into that single word, and it still ended up sounding flat and bored.

"You know, Becks, I'd hate to pull you out of your concious slumber, but you can't just keep saying 'that's crazy' and 'great' every few minutes and call it a conversation," Rebecca's friend snorted, causing her to give him a disapproving glare.

"That's why I said 'wow' this time," Rebecca responded. Her hands were supporting her head and her legs were crossed. "Listen, Ren. It's been a long day."

"I know, I know, you're tired," Ren said, rubbing his own eyes as if her exhaustion somehow effected him. "Weird ass hybrid supernatural creatures are not going to give me warm and fuzzy dreams tonight."

"How the hell could it be a Kanima and a Werewolf?" Rebecca exclaimed, exasperation evident in her voice. She shifted, turning to she could face Ren to show just how clueless she was. Working over possible solutions for hours only left her frustrated.

"Alien invaders," Ren deadpanned. "We all know the government's being run by lizards, maybe Omar was one of them-"

"Ha ha, you comedic genius," Rebecca rolled her eyes, trying to settle into the ground once more, but soon becoming restless and sat up to look at her friend eye to eye. "But seriously. We have enough weirdness in this town without this. Even Gus hasn't heard of anything like this..."

"Gus? The ancient werewolf officer that never smiles?" Ren asked, eyebrows raised. "Becks, who the hell knows what that guy really thinks, or knows. Just because he owns a beastiary doesn't make him invincible."

"I know!" Rebecca said, picking a twig out of her braided hair. "I just don't want to be stumbling in the dark all the time. I hate it!"

"You're stressing about one little incident, Becks," Ren shook his head, returning his gaze once again to the football field where jocks were laughing and tumbling, enjoying the autumn weather. "Omar was gone for a week. He might have left town! This probably doesn't even concern us."

Rebecca had nothing to say to that. Instead, she leaned back on her hands, observing the field as well. They sat in silence, but the unsaid thoughts between them were practically deafening.

She was so distracted, she barely noticed when Ren firmly placed his hand on top of hers.

Jumping a bit from the sudden movement, it took her a second to comprehend what was happening. Recovering quickly, she shoved Ren's arm away so forcibly he lost balance and fell flat on his back.

He huffed in pain, but Rebecca was too furious to care what damage she caused him.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded. "Are you trying to read me? Seriously?"

"Becks, you're starting to really freak me out here," Ren admitted, sitting up and rubbing his arm. "I just have to make sure that's all you're worried about-"

"Yeah? Well next time how about you ask me like a normal person instead of trying to read my mind, ass-hat," Rebecca fumed, crossing her arms like a pouting child. "Just because you're a half-monkey monster thing doesn't mean that you can use your weird Satori powers on me, Monkey Brain!"

Ren was taken aback by her vicious rage. His mouth flopped open and shut, but soon his eyebrows creased. "Don't call me that, Airhead!"

Rebecca made a face at him, but before they could continue hurdling jabs at one another, a school bell chimed through the air, signalling the start of last period.

Ren made a pained expression, looking at Rebecca with pleading eyes. "I hate biology."

"Well, I'm definitely not skipping with you now," Rebecca shook her head, her grin somewhat mischievous. "So you're on your own to do your special monkey business."

"Are you sure?" Ren said, wiggling his eyebrows and making Rebecca clench her teeth. She hated whenever he read her mind. He always knew how to blackmail her afterwards."Because that guy you met yesterday - Mr. Theo Raeken - is in that class with us."

Rebecca visibly faltered, blinking and trying to recall some trace of him from her memories in that class. "Are you sure?"

"He sits a few seats in front of us, dumbass," Ren rolled his eyes at Rebecca. "He's the guy Kamilla won't shut up about. She even says she thinks he's a-"

Rebecca suddenly abandoned all of her fleeting happy emotions and sunk back into her sea of misery.

"Let's just go," Rebecca mumbled, cutting her friend off briskly and trudging towards the school, leaving a very confused Ren in her wake.

Sure enough, Theo Raeken was seated a few desks in front of where her and Ren sat. Ren looked at her, concern evident on his face as Rebecca looked at Theo with a cocked eyebrow and an intensity in her eye that would make eyes water just observing it.

"Hey, I know he was an idiot and nearly crushed your car, but if you keep staring like that, he'll get a restraining order against you," Ren hissed, hiding behind his propped up book, every now and then taking a peak at Theo as well.

"There's something not right about him," Rebecca sighed, picking up the worksheet in front of her and reading it numbly. "Why was he rushing around the night of a murder? Why don't I know about him at all? Is he new?"

"New as in came at the beginning of the school year just like everybody else, then yes," Ren replied, tapping his fingers against the textbook he held in front of his face. "As for the rest, how the hell should I know? I haven't been near him at all. Haven't gotten the chance to. But it is weird how quickly he got Kamilla wrapped around his finger."

Rebecca, her brown eyes just peaking over the sheet, looked at the girl sitting beside Theo Raeken, currently smiling and making jokes about the assignment they were doing.

"Oh my God, it's like they're in love!" Rebecca fake gagged as Ren snickered. Theo and Kamilla were laughing and fooling off. "Does this guy use like ten bottles of axe to get people to fall in love with him or something?"

Ren stopped mid laugh. Rebecca, who was writing something down, looked at her friend beside her in concern as he suddenly gasped, burying his face in the book. Out of the corner of his mouth, he whispered: "Oh my God, he's looking."

Rebecca turned back to her sheet too quickly. Sure enough, she could feel someone's gaze staring straight into her soul. Filling in the blank to the question she was on, she barely got to read the next one when her mind was suddenly distracted by the sound of a scraping chair.

She looked up, and saw no one other than Theo Raeken pull up a chair to her and Ren's joined desks. Rebecca's pencil fell from her now limp hand as she could do nothing but watch as Theo sat down and put his hands on the desk with an expression that was a cross between content and victory. Probably because even though he was a foot away from her, he could probably smell the guilt that she felt from being caught talking about him literally behind his back.

"Hey, um, Rebecca, right?" Theo said, pointing at Rebecca when he said her name, his mouth quirking up in a greeting. His eyebrows furrowed slightly when Ren didn't even acknowledge his existence. He quickly turned his gaze back to Rebecca. "And, uh, friend of Rebecca. What are you guys talking about?"

Rebecca cocked her head ever so slightly, picking up her pencil as defiantly as she could. He came over just to call them out. Sure, he had done nothing wrong, but Rebecca wouldn't bend at the knee because he confronted them. The look in his eye made it seem like that was precisely what he wanted them to do, so she wouldn't.

"This is Ren," Rebecca shrugged, jerking her thumb at the boy next to her. In her mind, she just wanted Theo to go away, but Ren had something else planned.

Before she could even open her mouth to say anything else, Ren slammed down his book, looking Theo right in the eye and said: "We were just discussing how you nearly killed Rebecca last night with your crazy driving."

Rebecca's face flushed red as most of the class glanced at their table. She closed her eyes as Ren and Theo stared at each other. Theo was taken aback by the scene Ren had made, but Ren stood by it, unwavering.

"It was an accident," Theo finally replied, putting emphasis on the word accident. His palms were skyward, as if that made him seem more innocent. His voice was low and calm, trying to soothe Ren into backing down. "I didn't even see her."

Rebecca finally opened her eyes, her blush faded to a dull pink as the teacher glared at them. Ren looked ready to jump out of his seat and swing a punch. Rebecca's hand was pressing against his arm in a second. Despite being on the scrawny side, Ren hand started more fights than practically anyone else she knew. Both boy's attention drifted to her as she gave Ren a wide-eyed look that screamed: "Calm down!"

She then turned to Theo, who looked scared. Not scared in the way that he feared for his safety, but scared in the way that he had no idea what kind of drugs Ren had been overdosing on lately. Ren was medication free, but suffered from severe overreacting-at-every-little-situation disorder, and it had wound up in a trip to the principals office more than once in his lifetime.

Not to mention got on Rebecca's nerves when she had to bail him out.

"Sorry, he's just worried," Rebecca said, trying to apologise for Ren's behavior. "It was an accident, I know that. No one got hurt, so I think we should just let it go."

At the last part she turned back to Ren and nodded along with her words. Ren shook his arm free and looked at Theo with an odd expression.

"Sounds good to me," Theo agreed, looking at Ren even though he didn't need his forgiveness. Ren ignored both of them.

"Sure. Where were you going in such a hurry yesterday then, Theo?" Ren asked. Rebecca elbowed him in the ribs with an irritated expression. He yelped slightly and whispered to her, "What? It's not like you didn't want to know."

"That's rude, Ren," Rebecca hissed. She took a deep breath and shook her head slightly at Theo. "You don't have to answer. Ren's a bit insensitive."

"Nah, it's fine," Theo said, glancing at Rebecca before looking back at Ren. "I was the one that nearly ran her over. I was on my way to the hospital, my mom had just been sent in for having a heart attack."

Ren raised his eyebrows, but even he cowed a bit. That seemed like a legitimate enough reason. Rebecca immediately softened, but when Theo's gaze drifted to the desk she put her guards back up slightly. He seemed too eager to share and get their sympathy. Ren didn't seem to notice.

"I'm, " Rebecca swallowed, trying not to sound suspicious. "I'm really sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, well," Theo shrugged, looking back up at her. The sadness in his eyes seemed as real as the sympathy in Rebecca's, but she had a feeling they were both faking. "She's not in critical condition, so I guess me and my dad will just have to wait and see."

"Too much information," she almost said. It would be so easy to expose him were he sat, but Rebecca bit the inside of her cheek and looked away. Theo Raeken was hiding something else, she could tell. Rebecca nearly missed the way he silently studied her, but when Rebecca noticed she turned her head away to look at Ren.

It felt strange, as if her and Theo were putting on some sort of civil show for Ren. Rebecca knew Theo was withholding something, and Theo now knew that Rebecca was on to him. She tried to keep her emotions steady so she wouldn't seem too guilty.

The people around them seemed to be packing up, and Rebecca looked at the clock, noticing that class was going to be over soon. Trying to hide her relief, she had an excuse to shut down the tense conversation before it dwindled for too long.

Theo had started to stand, opening his mouth for a goodbye when Ren, who already had stood, suddenly reached across the table, ready to grab any exposed skin Theo had.

Rebecca, still sitting, swatted Ren's hand away, and they proceeded to glare at each other. "Nice seeing you, Theo," Rebecca said, her gaze on Ren unwavering, and Theo retreated back to his desk without another word.

"Would you learn to control yourself for three seconds!" Rebecca snarled at her friend, standing so she could tower over the slightly shorter boy. She continued, but quietly so no one would overhear them. "I get that you don't trust him, neither do I. But that doesn't mean you can get away with casually caressing his arm in public."

Ren opened his mouth, ready to retort some smart comment, but his face suddenly went blank. He shouldered his bag and muttered a quiet, "See you later," before hurrying out of the classroom.

The bell rang and she looked over to see what Ren had been so earnest to escape from. She understood as soon as she saw Theo Raeken, staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

Rebecca felt like running too.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Theo asked, making Rebecca's heart sink.

"Um, actually, can this wait? Ren's got to be somewhere right after school and I'm his ride, so," Rebecca said, relief filling her as she had a chance to escape him.

"Okay, well, I'll just talk while we walk then," Theo said, seeming pleased. Rebecca gave an uncertain half-grin, shouldered her own backpack, and started to walk out of the classroom. When Theo spoke she almost tripped over a desk.

"So, you know, since now you know why I was out and about last night," Theo started from somewhere behind her. "I suppose it would be fair for me to know why you were as well."

Rebecca stopped walking in the doorway, and turned to give Theo a questioning look. "Why?"

Theo caught up with her, so they were face to face. She had to crane her head up a bit since he was a few inches taller than her. When he spoke, he sounded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because someone was murdered last night. It was all over the news, no way you could have missed it."

"And what?" Rebecca asked. "You think I'm the murderer?"

Theo let out another sarcastic laugh, not unlike the one he used last night. "No, but I was just wondering if you know anything about it."

"So," Rebecca said, as if trying to piece something together. She began walking out of the classroom, the hallway almost deserted already. Theo quickly caught up with her. "Now you're, 'Theo Raeken, super secret detective'?"

Theo smirked. "It's just kind of weird, and if you do know anything, well, I want to be ready for it."

"Ready?" Rebecca asked, mocking his choice of words.

"You know, I heard everything you and Ren were saying," Theo admitted, making Rebecca's heart skip a beat. "And you're right. I am new, I moved here in August. It's just a bit overwhelming for me to adjust to a new town, a new school, new people, when there's a murderer running around killing people. So I just ... want to be ready."

Out of all the things Theo had said to her in the short time they'd been aquainted, he had finally said something that didn't make Rebecca question her safety or make her suspicious. In truth, the new potential murderer terrified her as well.

Rebecca looked at him before they descended down a short flight of stairs, and he looked back, giving her a seemingly innocent look. He slightly bit his bottom lip and underneath furrowed eyebrows his eyes pleaded with her silently.

Rebecca knew she wouldn't be able to ignore such a request. "Yeah, actually. I was there."

Rebecca was thankful Theo only gestured for her to continue, not asking why she was there. She wanted to give him as little information as possible.

"I didn't actually see the body, but I heard that it was bloody. And, the weirdest part, is that there was mercury dripping out of almost every orifice," said Rebecca. They reached the bottom step and the exit was now in sight.

"What about those rumors? About the, um," Theo looked behind her in case anyone was listening. Although no one was, he leaned into her slightly anyway. "The claws attached to the body?"

Rebecca gave him a grim expression, but it was obvious he'd believe the rumors if they were true or not, so she decided to humor him. "There were definitely claws, but I heard some officers say it was probably just someone gluing on claws to the victims fingernails to make them seem more, you know, primal."

Her tone sounded reluctant, and bored, as if it wasn't something to make a fuss about. She didn't feel like giving him the 'supernatural creatures are actually real' talk.

"That's-" Theo searched for the right word. Rebecca looked at him with a cocked brow, ready for whatever was about to come out of his mouth. "Strange."

Rebecca nearly laughed. She would have used 'disgusting', 'inhumane', even 'gross', but 'strange' worked well enough.

"It certainly is," Rebecca nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile. There was something sketchy about this Raeken kid, but he seemed as naïve as anyone. Until he spoke again.

"It's kind of like those stories of, werwolves and stuff, isn't it?"

In her mind, alarm bells were going off like crazy. Her expression, however showed disbelieving humor, as if he had just told a really bad joke. "Yeah, sure. Werwolves."

She chuckled a bit. The stare he had fixed on her was analyzing, and it made her nervous. Theo knew something, and he wanted to know if she did as well. What he didn't know was that Rebecca had been hiding that secret for years and was used to lying about it so blatantly.

She looked up at Theo, still acting clueless. She noticed his face didn't hold any humor and her expression fell.

"You're serious?" Rebecca inquired, incredulously. "You think there are werewolves running around? Where the hell did you come from?"

Rebecca noticed how Theo struggled to regain his composure. He had bought her act. She resisted the urge to laugh. "No, I'm just saying, it's like werewolves."

"I'll remember that, Theo Raeken," Rebecca said, walking backwards and opening the exit with her backpack so he could see the amused expression on her face. "The werewolf detective."

Theo gave her one last questionable smile before turning and going the other direction. As soon as she was out of the building, her face dropped. Who the hell was this kid?