I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
The future is coming on
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
The future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on

- Clint Eastwood, by Gorillaz

A child screamed and streaked past in nothing but their diaper, nearly running straight into my legs. I barely managed to step back in time and let out a disgusted sneer. "For heaven's sake," I muttered.

The counselor was nowhere to be seen, naturally, and I scanned the crowd for my nephew. After Derek explained what exactly my newfound abilities meant, I told him I would need a minute to adjust. To clear my head. He understood, but stressed that I'm not to tell anyone about anything. I snorted, darkly. I mean, who do I even have to tell? Who would believe me?

So I came to the first place I thought of. My nephew's daycare. I haven't been coming as much, because it's been easier to just stay away from him. He doesn't need me in his life; I need him. And it's not fair to be that selfish. So for the most part, I'll stay away. Until something happens and I need to see him. This is one of those times.

He was sitting at a table nearby, playing with some dinosaur toys and rambling to some uninterested children around him as they colored. It clearly didn't even register to him that they were totally ignoring him as he explained how many teeth an Allosaurus had compared to its smaller cousin, the Ceratosaurus.

I waded through the pool of children and kicked a rogue tonka truck aside, marveling at the fact that I didn't fall over or lose balance at all. The tonka truck sailed into the wall and a few kids turned to frown at it as it crash on its side.

The chairs were tiny and pastel colored, and a frizzy-haired ginger girl occupied the one right next to William, my nephew. I mildly wondered if she was related to Jimmy. They had the same complexion. I patted the back of her yellow seat and pointed down at her picture she was coloring.

"Oh," I struggled to speak over the rumble of the children. She turned to look at me uncomfortably, apparently familiar with the concept of stranger-danger. Even if the stranger is a teenaged girl. Apparently, I wasn't the most approachable looking teenager out there as I leaned closer so she could hear me. "Is that… a Christmas drawing?"

"It's Rugrats," She sneered. I looked down at Tommy and Chucky, Tommy donning a red Santa hat and Chucky sporting an elf costume.

"Yeah, but it's the Christmas edition." I pointed at their clothes and she shrugged a shoulder.

"Whatever."

Definitely a relative of Jimmy, then. "I used to love this show…" I tried.

She snorted. "Like I care."

I straightened up slightly and raised my eyebrows. That's how it is? I knelt down to her level. "The truth is, they're all dead."

She froze for half a second, squeezing her crayon tightly as she continued to color. "That's not true." She shook her head.

"No really! Angelica is crazy, and she imagines all of the kids. I think Tommy was like, aborted, or he died as a baby, and the twins were miscarried… that's why she's able to be so mean to them without their parents getting her in trouble." I pointed to Chuckie. "He died in a car wreck with his mom. That's why Chaz is such a spaz all the time."

She threw her crayon down with a frustrated cry. "Shut up!" She exclaimed, shoving away from the table and sprinting away with tears running down her face.

"Santa isn't real," I hollered after her.

"I know!" She screamed back, stomping her foot. "God!"

I couldn't hold back a surprised laugh as I slid her chair out and awkwardly sat in it, my knees basically touching my chest as I sat in the short seat and turned to see William watching me with those judgy, disapproving eyes he probably inherited from his mom.

"Oh," I cringed. "You are way too young for that face." I reached out and playfully tried to wipe the expression from his face, and he jerked quickly out of my reach. I laughed as I shoved the abandoned coloring off to the side.

"What are you doing here?" He frowned.

"Oh," I brought my thumb to my mouth and awkwardly smiled at him. "Good to see you, too." He stared blankly at me. I sighed, "Alright. You're still the same, I see."

"You look different." He turned back to his toys and picked up the yellow one, with spikes coming from its back.

"You know that Spike and Sarah weren't even around in the same—"

"Periods, I know. Spike was from the Jurassic period and Sarah was from the late Cretaceous period."

We were talking about his favorite movie as a toddler, The Land Before Time.

"You know most kids your age struggle to speak without having their fingers up their nose. And here you are, spouting out facts that would make Alan Grant proud."

"Alan Grant," William latched onto that name and turned back to his toys. "The paleontologist that specializes in velociraptors."

I smiled at him and pulled out a book from my pocket. "You know him from the movies, but he's totally different in the books."

William, or Rex, as I called him, stopped midrant. He turned to me. "He is?"

"Oh, yeah. He's got black hair, and a thick black beard." I continued, pawing through the pages of the book in my hand.

"He does?" Rex scooted closer, peering down at the cover. "I didn't know you owned Jurassic World! I've wanted to read this for forever…"

I looked at him and nodded, pushing the book closer to him. "Go ahead. We'll read it together."

He hungrily took the book from my hands and flipped to the first page. "The Ingen Incident," He started. His dark brown eyes paused as he turned to look at my shirt. "Did I say that right?"

I nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"The late twentieth century has witnessed a… scientific gold rush of…"

"Astonishing," I provided.

"Astonishing," He tried.

I nodded. "Proportions."

"Proportions." He slowly repeated. I nodded at him again and smiled encouragingly. "The head…head-long and furious haste to…"

"Come on, you can sound that out." I pointed to the first part of the word. "What's that?"

"Com…"

"Say it like come."

"Commerck—"

"Okay, what are those ads on television? What are they called?"

"Commericals." He stated simply, looking to see if he got it right. I nodded.

"Okay, that's the first part of this word here, see?"

"Savannah," Maria stood over us, her glossy black hair tucked into tight curls. She's the adoptive mother of Rex. My brother had Rex with Maria's sister. It's an extremely dysfunctional situation, which should really not come as a surprise to you at this point. You see, Rex and I have something in common. We're both orphans. Isn't that neat? It's been quite the bonding experience, let me tell you. Joking, of course, I'm joking; Rex has no clue he's adopted. It's easier that way, for everyone.

Maria looked between William and me, blinking in disbelief as if to adjust her eyes to what she was seeing. "What an… unexpected surprise. How nice of you to drop by."

I sat back and closed the book. He tried to grab it from me and I snatched it out of his reach as I turned to reply, "Oh, you know how it goes. I was in the neighborhood, yada, yada, yada…"

"It's been a while." She paused, glancing at my eyes and over my form. "Good to see you sober."

"Ah, geez," I smirked, my irritation leaking in the form of my clenched jaw. "You're looking particularly youthful today, Maria. Did you just finish eating some souls, or?..."

She scoffed and turned to my nephew, gesturing to him with a grabbing motion of her hand. "Grab your toys, Will, let's go."

"Call me Rex." He insisted as he gathered his dinosaurs, taking extra special care with the large T-Rex.

"That's not your name, we've been over this," She started and he dutifully ignored her. I bit back a smile.

"I get the feeling that he won't respond to you from now on unless you call him Rex."

"Oh, and who's fault will that be?" She sighed, exhaustion written all over her face.

"Hey, why don't you let me take him for pizza?" I suggested.

"Oh, Savannah… that's sweet of you to offer—"

"I wanna go!" Rex insisted, balancing the toys in his arms and peering up at his mother from under his moppy hair.

Maria shifted uncomfortably and cut out an exasperated sigh, "I know you do, Will, but you have to go see June."

"Who's June?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"You're always saying that I need to try new things; this is new." Rex continued, tightening his grasp.

"I know, I know I said that, but we need to try and stick to your routine. We've just gotten into the swing of things, it wouldn't be good—"

"How can I try new things if I'm not breaking my routine, pizza is my favorite food," He continued, his words monotone. He didn't pause between sentences or raise his voice at the end of questions, so the best way to follow him is to take it all in stride.

"I thought dino chicken nuggets were your favorite," Maria managed to look both confused and frustrated all at once, her face turning red as she ran her hand through her hair.

"Yes, but pizza never touches anything." Rex nodded. "The dino nuggets always touch my macaroni, and then I can't eat one of them—"

"Who's June?" I break in, stepping forward to wave slightly so that I catch her attention. Her mouth flounders a bit as she glances between me and Rex, conflicted with who to focus on.

"—so I'm never full when I finish eating—"

"She's the specialist we've hired to help Will," she sent a meaningful glance to Rex, "to communicate more."

"Specialist?" My nose scrunched up and I looked back to Rex. "He communicates fine."

"—it makes more sense to me to go tonight anyways, you and dad are busy."

"What?" Maria broke in, focusing intently on her son. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, you guys are barely around anymore. You always leave me with June. Hey, I know, June likes pizza! Well, she probably does, everyone likes pizza, she can come with us!" He turned to me. "Savannah doesn't care."

"No, honey," Maria broke in. "She needs to help you at home."

"Why?" He looked back at her. "I want to go with Savannah."

And with that last part, silence fell over our small group for a moment. The sounds of children playing around us filled Maria's shock. I winked at Rex and he looked back to his mother, who was standing with her mouth hanging open in surprise.

"William," She finally said, squaring her shoulders. And then I knew how the rest of this was going to go. I deflated on the inside, but kept my face a mask as she brought the finishing blow down. "You're not going tonight, and that's final. I won't cancel a session with June—"

"No," Rex stomped his foot as he whined. "Why don't you listen to me? She can go with us—"

"That's final!" Maria pointed in his face, and he geared up for a fit.

"Whoa, Rex," I tried, but he ignored me as he threw his toys on the ground and started stomping and screaming about wanting to go eat dinner with me. I backed up in alarm and cast a weary glance around the room, guilt eating its way into my stomach as Maria struggled to control Rex. The children in the room paused in their games to watch what was happening.

She finally gave up trying to settle him, picked him off the floor, threw him over her shoulder, kicking and screaming, and dragged him outside. I wordlessly gathered his toys and followed out the door after them.

By the time I joined them by the car, Rex was strapped inside with red eyes as he stared forward, his arms crossed and bottom lip puffed out. I looked at Maria, and braced myself for her onslaught as I approached her with his toys in my hands.

"I had no idea…" I started, and she put her hand up to silence me.

"What were you thinking?" She snapped. "You can't just drop by without notifying me,"

"Well excuse me for making an effort! I came to see my nephew," I frowned. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," She exhaled, running a hand down her face. "Nothing, look… It's great that you want to make an effort now. Finally. But you can't—William is… he's difficult to reason with. It's been really challenging. I know you don't understand because you haven't been around—"

"I'm trying to change that," I started, and she barreled over me.

"And we don't blame you for that. It's just… he's got a routine now, Savannah. It's taken months of meeting with June to get here. You know how Will is with new people. I know you miss him. He misses you too, but… it's just not a good time right now, okay? Maybe in a few months, if we see some progress."

"Are you cutting me out?" I stumbled back in shock, unable to mask the hurt on my face. "You can't do that!"

"No!" She waved her hands as if she could physically clear my head of those thoughts. "That's not what I'm trying to do! I'm simply saying… Wait. For a little bit, okay?"

"I'm not going to stop seeing him." I stood, resolute. She sighed.

"Fine. Just… try to be consistent, for once in your life."

I worked hard to not let what I was actually feeling show through. "That's rich coming from you, Maria." She flinched, regret staining her face. "Don't you worry, I won't be around to corrupt your child. Wouldn't wanna be inconvenient, or anything like that," I shoved the toys into her arms and started to back away. "Message received."

I put my hands up and started to turn around, but thought better of it at the last minute. I strode back up to her, swallowing my pride as I handed her our book. "Oh, and I know you're all about reading him the stories, but he likes to read it himself. Try letting him have some control for once. It's good for him."

And with that, I turned away and yanked my hood over my head as I slinked down the street, tears burning my eyes.

When I returned from my trip to see my nephew, Derek didn't even try to ask me where I'd gone. It was a trait in him that I knew I could learn to appreciate intensely, if I'm to be spending much time with him. And if what he says is true, it seems like I will be.

After he gave me a granola bar from his jacket pocket, which I hesitated to eat but ended up eating when he fixed me with a glare, he led me to the woods. It was a little creepy, but I could roll with it. I wanted to make a comment to him about it, but something told me we had a purpose for heading out here. I hoped it wasn't to murder me, and the urge to make a smart comment about it was nearly impossible to ignore. But then, after my meeting with my nephew, I didn't feel like joking around or engaging in a childish battle of wits with Mr. Tall Dark and Vague over here. So I chose to keep my comments to myself, a tactic I've been known to utilize sparingly.

He gave me a little speech that highlighted what it means to be bitten, even though I've already heard it before. He wanted to be clear about what I can expect to happen. If it wasn't for my healed limp, I might have a little trouble believing this whole thing. I've never bought into miracle remedies… until now.

I had claimed a spot on the ground, near a rather large fallen tree, and I have to admit I was enjoying the show. Derek had taken his jacket off the second we came to a stop, and he currently proceeded to shed his shirt. Rippling muscles winked at me in the gentle sunlight offered through the storm clouds that still lingered overhead, and I raised my eyebrow in appreciation.

"I need to what?" I laughed, sitting back on the stump.

"If you're going to be a part of my pack, you're going to need to train." He crouched down and turned to look at me from the corner of his eye, his ears growing to a point and his eyes flashing that bright red. He dug his claws into the dirt and exhaled slowly. "Watch carefully. There's a test at the end."

I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could say anything, he pushed off the ground and blurred past me. He ran like… nothing I had seen before. If my senses weren't as heightened as they are I would've missed him entirely.

But thanks to my new vision, I saw the whole thing. I watched as he pushed himself forward with his feet stuck together, and caught himself with his hands. He then pushed himself forward with his hands, and repeated. His ass was straight up in the air as he whizzed past me, kicking up his own breeze and sending leaves flying about my black, slightly frizzed hair.

I couldn't hold back my giggles and my eyebrows scrunched together. I bit my knuckle to muffle my laughs as he jumped up and kicked against a tree, sailed through the air, kicked against a different tree, and proceeded to ricochet between them. When he reached the top of one, he perched there.

"Wait, Tarzan," I started, looking down as I pushed myself up to begin. I bounced on my heels, a grin spreading across my face as my leg bent smoothly—no click, no clench, no pinch, no pain at all. I looked back up and he had disappeared. I blinked and looked back to the ground, but he was gone. Vanished. I turned wearily on my heels and suddenly ducked, missing his fist just before it crashed into the side of my head.

I fell on the ground, and Derek snapped at me. "Let's go!"

My finger came up as I clutched at my stomach. As soon as I caught sight of him, the image of that run he'd just done passed through my mind, and suddenly I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard. He tilted his head and I could sense his anger as he stood over me. His chin was down and he panted heavily.

"Why are you laughing?" He snarled.

"Hell no." I wiped a tear from my eye and pointed at him as I gasped for air. "I won't run like that. Do you know how ridiculous that looks? First of all, dogs don't even run like that," He tilted his head the other way and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh god… that was good. I needed that."

His foot swung out and knocked into my shoulder, sending me sprawling back on the ground. He loomed over me with a brooding scowl. "Don't laugh at me."

I bit back another laugh. "Don't be stupid, and I won't laugh."

He roared and brought his fist sailing down towards my face. I squeaked and barely managed to roll away before it connected with the soil. I gulped as I saw the dent he had made there, and neither of us moved for a moment.

"You got a lot of pent-up rage in that tight body," I simply said, and he narrowed his eyes at me. I huffed and pushed myself up. "Okay, seriously, you want me to do that?... Just like that?"

He blinked and stood straight. "If you're—"

"Minus the Scooby Doo." I added.

Derek crossed his arms. "I don't think you're taking this seriously."

I snorted and he scowled at me. I rolled my eyes up to the leaves above us, "Derek, I'm taking this very seriously." I peered at him from the corner of my eye and he visibly deflated.

"I can't deal with you right now," He turned to pull his shirt back over his head and came up short when I childishly shoved him from behind. He slowly turned back to scowl at me and stared, unimpressed at my fists I had poised in front of my face.

I hopped back and forth on my feet and playfully punched the air in front of me. "What'd you bite me for? So you could have a self-healing punching bag? Train me, you lazy ass!"

He rolled his eyes and dropped his shirt to the forest floor. "Okay, Rocky." He cracked his neck and matched my stance, right foot forward and fists up. "You asked for it."

I danced around him with quick little steps and mockingly swiped my fists at him. "Come on," I drawled. "Hit me with ya best—"

I deflected his punch with my fist. He didn't give me time to recover before he came at me again, aiming low for my stomach. I jumped to the side and his fist sailed past my stomach, and I whirled around the side of him so that we were face to face again.

We slowly circled each other and he gestured for me to go first.

I cackled breathlessly. "No way. I'm not falling—"

CRACK! My nose stung sharply, and stars danced in my vision. I brought my face forward slowly, grunting through the blood in my mouth. I leaned down and spit the blood out on the ground beside us. Derek faintly grinned behind his fists. I panted and gently prodded at the tender area around my nose. "Oooh," I whined. "You're enjoying this too much. Not afraid to hit a girl? Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"You're not a girl," He mirthlessly panted. "You're a beta. Stop prissing around." And with that, he charged forward and started to throw punch after punch at me. I struggled to keep up with him, turning from side to side whilst backing away as he swung his fists. He basically pushed me back until I nearly tripped over a root, and then he pushed me to make sure I fell.

An abnormal amount of rage fueled me. All amusement flooded from me as I leapt up and brought my hands forward to swipe at his face. He ducked back and I just barely missed him. His eyes flashed red and he smirked as I brought my foot around to catch his side. He easily caught my foot and tried to tug it up, but I brought my fist down and broke his grasp. Surprise flashed across his face at my technique, and I snarled my lip as I spun on my heel and reengaged him, swinging out with my fist. His hand clamped around it to stop my punch and I closed the distance between us, bringing up my knee and slamming it as hard as I could into his groin.

He wheezed and immediately dropped to the ground.

"Ohhh," I cruelly mocked, closing in on him. "What's the matter? … You gonna cry, little girl?"

"That was a…" He broke off, coughing slightly into the leaves under his cheek. "A cheap shot."

"Yeah well," I dropped my fists and held my hand out to him. "I fight dirty."

He sighed and rolled to face the sky for a moment. His chest quickly rose and fell, and he looked up at me curiously, apparently not one to hold a grudge. Or so it would seem. "You usually get that angry so easily?"

"Are you usually such a—"

He moved so fast, I didn't even catch it as his foot swiped mine out from under me. I landed with a resounding thud and my sight blurred black around the edges. "Bitch," I finished with a wheeze. Derek pushed himself up and looked down at me with his eyebrows raised, and I let out a loud sigh. "I'll take that as a yes," I bitterly said, shoving myself off the ground.

"You're going to have to learn to control your anger," Derek said, and got up to move towards the edge of the woods.

"It's easier to do when there's not someone pushing you down every two seconds."

"Here's the bad news," Derek started, turning to me with his arms crossed.

"Really? There's more bad news?"

He ignored my immature passive aggressive dig as he continued. "It's going to feel like that," He nodded to where we had sparred. And by spar, I mean he pushed me down on the ground a bunch of times and I got pissed at him. "All the time. That anger? It's not going to go away like it used to."

"I was only angry because you kept pushing me down. People are going to be pushing me down?"

"They might as well," Derek nodded. "All your emotions will be heightened from now on. You're going to have to learn to keep a lid on it."

"Fantastic," I sighed. "Something you should know about me…" I tilted my head at him. "I'm not so great at suppressing myself."

Derek sighed heavily and turned to start back towards the driveway, and I followed behind him. I wondered if he was having second thoughts about choosing me when he pulled his shirt over his head and sighed again. "Come on," Derek started to walk away and I scrambled to join him.

"What?" I jogged to catch up. "You mean training is done?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "For now." He didn't look back as he continued, and it took me a moment to match his wide loping gait. I smiled though, because it was no longer an issue for me to do so. "Tonight, I want to recruit another person."

I hopped slightly and let out a sudden laugh. "Hell yeah! Do I know him?"

"Depends." He scratched the back of his neck. "Do you know an Isaac Lahey?"

I frowned down at my boots and muttered to myself. "Lahey, Lahey, Lahey… Oh! Actually, yeah, I think I know that kid. He's real shy. I think I stole his bike once. Made a lot of money off it, actually…" I trailed off as I realized Derek was staring at me. I looked back at him and shrugged unapologetically. "Hey, you knew what you were getting into when you scouted me, coach."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Thing is, I don't know if I did…"

I smirked and nodded.

That night, I found myself slinking in shadows of a graveyard. "Remind me why we're here again?"

His eyes flickered to me. "I told you, we're getting Lahey—"

"No, dumb ass," I snapped. His eyes flashed. "I meant why are we here? We can't just wait until his shift is over?"

"Are we going to have a problem?" He demanded, standing tall with his shoulders spread wide to loom over me.

My eyes narrowed at his obvious intimidation tactic, and I looked him over with a barely concealed sneer. "That depends."

"Look," He tilted his head and I glanced at the seemingly empty graveyard behind him. "This is a pack. You can think of it as a team. You're new to the concept, so let me break things down for you," He stepped forward and his eyes flashed red. "I'm the one who calls the shots. I'm the alpha."

My eye twitched. The thing is, these werewolf terms he's throwing around are supposed to intimidate me, but they don't mean shit to me. I'd been on my own for so long that I don't exactly feel comfortable letting someone else call my shots for me. He had been waiting for me to reply, but when it became apparent that I had nothing to say, he snarled a lip. "And right now, I say we're going to do this."

I watched him crouch and sneak along, and rolled my eyes before quietly following his lead. I moved as quietly as my boots allowed, concentrating on staying out of Isaac's sight, but frowned when I spotted him.

Not Isaac. Isaac was in the seat of the backhoe as he dug a new grave. No, I definitely wasn't worried about him. Well, I mean, maybe I should've been since it was almost midnight on a school night and here is Isaac Lahey out doing hard labor—but that's not what had me coming up short. I was worried about the other man in the graveyard, who was wrist deep in the grave behind Lahey, frantically digging and snarling like a little Jack Russell Terrier. I straightened slightly and watched him for a few breaths.

He's digging like a… well… like someone who's trying to get a quick fix. It reminds me of when people I know turn to their relatives for drugs, and then show up at their house and start digging through their shit for things to pawn. That was always one of those things that gave me conflicting emotions.

On the one hand, this guy—this squatter that I've shared meals with over the past few days—the one I met on the street, the one who's been so resourceful, is stealing his grandmother's prescription pain-killers. And he'll tell me it was so he could sell them on the street to get a warm meal, and that she would want him to have a warm meal if she knew. But then I see him take a few pills for himself. I would feel sick to my stomach. I remember I felt disgusting, dirty, like I needed a shower to try and cleanse myself of something very wrong…. And on the other hand, I could empathize with needing a fix. When the drugs have a hold of you, you're not yourself. You're not in control. There's not a whole lot of logic involved. When the drugs have a hold of you, morals become a work of fiction, and ethics are just another fairytale.

And as I stand here, watching this scraggly looking man, I had that same dirty feeling. He's digging in someone's grave. Someone out there visits that grave; that could be someone's dad. Someone's brother—someone's nephew, and he's digging them up. My hands were clenched into tight fists, and before I knew it I was moving towards him, when a hand clamped on my shoulder.

I turned around to see Derek frowning at me. I opened my mouth and pointed back to the freak with dirt flying over his shoulder like a rabid dog, and Derek vehemently shook his head and placed his hands on my shoulder. I grudgingly focused back on his face and he pointed slowly to himself, and then to the freak.

"I got it," I snapped, and he shushed me as he calculatingly assessed the graveyard.

I resisted the urge to smack the back of his head and settled for scowling at him as he turned to approach the stranger. He crept up behind Jack Russell Terrier, and that's when I noticed that Isaac had stopped working.

He sat, peering into the darkness with wide eyes. I followed his gaze. The straggler sensed something. He had bristled over his grave and started to growl lowly.

Derek approached him from the side, hoping to reach out to him. The man snarled viciously and scrambled away, paying no heed to the backhoe in his way as he shoved it out of his path, sending the entire machine toppling over and Isaac sailing into the freshly dug grave. I popped out of my hiding place and sprinted out to meet the freak halfway, latching onto his shoulder and slamming him into the ground.

He leapt up to swipe at me, and I stepped back right as Derek reached us and stomped forward with a large roar. The straggler yelped in fright and literally tucked tail and ran.

No, really. He yelped like a kicked dog, cowering away with his hands up, and dove back into the night, fleeing the scene.

I stepped forward to pursue him, but Derek's hand clamped on my shoulder. He shook his head and I opened my mouth to protest. He bore his teeth at me with a growl, and I clenched my fists. We stared at each other for a beat longer before I relented with my hands up in surrender.

He turned back to the grave and leisurely approached it. I crossed my arms, minding my bite, and pouted off to the side and Derek reached down to lift the backhoe. He glanced behind him, searching for me as he laid his hands on the machine. I stubbornly sneered at him, which was all he needed to sense I would offer no help to him. He sighed and lifted the machine up, and in great testimony to his strength, lifted the whole thing up and sent it flying over our heads. It crashed nearby and I gaped at the man as he wiped his hands and looked back at me, silently motioning me to join him.

He turned and walked cockily back to the grave, crossing his arms as he stood at the edge. I scrambled to join him and peered down into the hole.

Lahey cowered down in the corner under his hands, and when he finally gained the courage to look, he froze. His eyes zeroed in on me. I cleared my throat and straightened slightly as Derek quipped, "Need a hand?"

I sent him a scathing glare. "What is that, your catch phrase?"

He dutifully ignored me as Lahey uncrouched, sensing that perhaps he had overreacted. I actually saw… what… is that?

Lahey blinked and stepped forward cautiously, wringing his hands.

Oh, god. It is. He stared up at Derek with what can only be described as worship, and then spared me a quick glance that was filled with contempt.

I reared back in surprise and looked to Derek. "What did I do?" I jammed a thumb against my chest, my voice high. Derek's face, although appearing blank, trust me—I know this bastard well enough to detect his amusement. Or maybe that's my newfound sixth sense, as I could smell his suppressed laughter.

I grumbled to myself and crossed my arms as Derek knelt down to offer Lahey a hand.

"W-What are you doing out here?" Lahey grunted as he began to lift himself out of the grave, but Derek made his efforts moot as he literally lifted him to the grass. Lahey staggered slightly and breathed in astonishment. "Whoa," He chuckled, and glanced briefly at me, keeping quiet in his reverence. "I-I mean, how did you find me?"

"You were kinda hard to miss.." I scoffed, and Derek visibly tried to ignore me. "Helpless idiot operates dangerous machinery in the black of night." He turned a pointed glare at me and this time I ignored him. "Backhoe spontaneously tips over freshly dug grave—I suspect operator error—idiot falls in grave. Heroes," I place emphases on the s as I gesture wildly between Derek and myself. "Save idiot." I started to cross my arms before thinking of something, "You're welcome, by the way." Satisfied, I crossed my arms and turned away from Lahey slightly in derision.

Derek focused on me with his eyebrows raised and eyes slightly wider than usual, as if to silently ask if I was quite finished. I shrugged a shoulder and gestured for him to go.

"Lucky we came along when we did." Derek said, his voice surprisingly sincere. I peered at him from the corner of my eye and ignored Lahey as he traded his hate filled look of scorn for me in for a cautious look at Derek.

"Oh, yeah…" He waved at the ruined backhoe with feigned apathy. "It-it happens a lot." I exchanged a dubious glance with Derek, and Lahey hesitated. "I mean, it doesn't happen a lot—actually, my dad is gonna murder me, so… that's kind of where I'm at right now…" He trailed off, now unable to look away from the smashed backhoe. His hands were picking at each other viciously.

"Your dad?" Derek stepped closer to Lahey and finally, I saw where he was going with this. I let my arms fall limply to my sides and stepped back, letting Derek take the complete spotlight. Lahey glanced back at me briefly before focusing entirely on the tall drink of water in front of me. "Surely he'll be relieved you weren't hurt. I mean, after whatever happened to you for your eye to be so…" Derek cut off and looked back at me with a laugh. "I bet he's already worried."

Lahey touched a hand to his eye and seemed to shrink into himself. "You don't know my dad," He breathed, trying to pass it off with a laugh, though I could still see the glint of fear. And maybe I could smell it a little, too. "Trust me. I'm dead."

"Well, I bet he's got insurance, though," Derek gestured back to the machinery.

"That's not the point." Lahey deadpanned, his voice changing slightly. It occurred to me that maybe he was feeding us his father's line, and I was struck with inspiration.

"Yeah, the point is, ya fucked up." I ignored the feeling of Derek's eyes on my face as I licked my lips and squared my feet, meeting Lahey's chastised gaze. "I mean, he sent you out with a pretty simple task. Dig a hole. And actually, you didn't even have to dig the hole! You had a machine to do the hard part for you… So…" My hands gestured vaguely. "Ya know. Actually, my dad probably would've smacked me one good for this," I gestured over my shoulder with my thumb before bringing it back to scratch at my cheek. Glancing between the boys in front of me, I nodded and shoved my hands in my pockets as I focused on Lahey. "Your dad wouldn't do something like that, would he, Isaac?..."

Lahey blinked widely at me and stepped away hesitantly. "N-No…" He whispered, his eyes fluttering. "I…" He looked at the ground and Derek slowly crept closer to him, placing his hands on his shoulders.

"What if I said that I could make sure your dad would never lay a hand on you again?" Derek's façade of nice was gone, and back again was his menacing growl. Lahey cleared his throat weakly, gearing up with automatic denial. He looked up to see our facial expressions and clamped his mouth shut. "You'd never have to cover for him again. You wouldn't have to live every second of your life filled with dread and walking on eggshells, constantly worried that you'll do something wrong… say the wrong thing…" Lahey shuddered slightly, his head hung down as Derek leaned in to whisper. A moment passed, and Lahey nodded jerkily.

I exhaled from my reverie and felt tension flood from my coiled muscles.

"Oh!" I suddenly snapped my finger and pointed excitedly at Lahey. "I get it!"

Lahey blinked at me, glancing briefly at Derek in question. Derek looked blankly back at him, and I grinned widely and crossed my arms.

"It's the bike. Isn't it?" I nodded smugly, proud to have finally figured it out. "That's why you're so shitty with me. It's because I stole your bike."

Lahey's face scrunched in disbelief and he promptly turned away from me. I shrugged cluelessly at Derek and he shook his head before leading Lahey off to some dark corner so he could … seal the deal.

I chuckled at my own thoughts, amused at how dirty they sounded. I lifted my head as I heard a brief whimper, the sound of flesh breaking, and suddenly Derek's hand was at my shoulder. He nodded to me as the red glow in his eyes faded and his canines shrank into his jaw.

I jokingly shuddered and pointed at his face as we walked away from the cemetery. "When is that gonna start happening to me?" He sent me a surprised glance. "Ya know, the Bela Lugosi shit."

Derek snorted in surprise and nodded, flipping the collar of jacket up as he picked up his pace and ducked into the woods. "He was a vampire."

"Not always." I defended. "Just… most of the time—anyways, that's not the point. The teeth thing," I bared my teeth and him and tapped my nail against them. "ETA to canine distention."

He audibly shuddered and shook his hands out, "Ugh, Savannah…" I laughed at him and he tilted his head in disgust. "Do you always have to be so… crass?"

I put my hands out like I was holding something round. "I wanna know when my balls will drop, god dammit!" He laughed, the sound echoing through the trees, and I smiled with him in surprise. "I can't believe that's what your laugh sounds like. It's so nice," I exclaimed, earning a strange look from him. "I pictured it to be more evil than that!"

He said nothing as we walked, his eyes focused on the forest in front of us. I smiled secretly at him and focused back on the ground as we walked. "You'll phase during your first full moon."

"What," I groaned, smacking my forehead. "Not another monthly thing to dread…" I gasped and screeched to a halt, holding my hand out to Derek in as dramatic a fashion as I could muster. He forced himself to stop and visibly controlled his patience as I continued. "What does this mean… you know… as a woman? Does this change things for me?"

He frowned at me like I was the stupidest person he'd met, and continued walking, grumbling to himself. I scrambled behind him and relentlessly continued. "No more riding the cotton pony?... Leak week has officially drawn to a close… for good? Derek! Wait! This is of vital importance, it could save me from some serious panic attacks and unnecessarily uncomfortable conversations in a few weeks –"

He shook his head and pointed at me, rage and disgust evident on his handsome visage. "I do not like you enough to have this conversation."

"Oh," I mockingly cringed. "Come on… You can't keep something like this from me!" Derek left me where I stood in the woods, breaking into his Scooby Doo run.

"Alright," I held my hand out and waved awkwardly, as if it was a mutual decision to draw the conversation to an end. "I'm gonna crash with you tonight, though!" I hollered, sure that he heard me.

I turned my head to the side and waited, but heard nothing more from the man as he fled from me. I shrugged and started to walk again, taking that as an okay. "Guess we'll find out next week." I muttered.