Dodging a phone call was easy. Dodging an actual human was a lot harder, and Scott McCall thought he had done just that, but somehow Danny found him hiding in the janitor's closet.
"Stiles told me you were here," Danny answered before Scott could ask the question. The tall Hawaiian boy stepped into the closet and shut the door, trapping Scott inside. The irony was lost on neither. "Scott, what the hell are you doing?"
"Trying to avoid this conversation we're having right now," he admitted simply as he tried to step back and nearly tripped over a mop handle. Scott then decided to stand still. "I really, really don't want to do this."
"I knew I was wasting my time. You are an asshole, Scott, and I do not have time to play your games. You have three seconds before I walk away from you for good."
Three seconds seemed a lot longer than it really was as Scott's mind raced at the speed of light.
"I almost slept with Allison's dad the day you and I broke up," Scott gasped as though he couldn't breathe. He felt like the weight sitting on his chest had been replaced with a thousand white hot needles, but he did everything he could to avoid looking at any part of Danny. "It was the full moon and I was out of my mind. He was drunk. Nothing happened, but we came close. How is that for honesty?"
Scott crouched and stared at his shoes as he held his hands over his head. Involuntarily, his body shrunk away from the touch of Danny's hand as he reached out to Scott.
"Please don't tell anyone," Scott begged quietly. "Stiles doesn't even know."
"Then why would you tell me?" Danny was trying his best to hide it, but, with minimal effort, Scott could hear the judgement in his voice. He supposed it was nice his ex-boyfriend was at least trying to not be open about his disapproval of his colossal screw up, but it didn't make him feel any better.
"Because I actually, legitimately like you. And you don't have to worry about Allison. I'm pretty sure that's never going to happen again." Scott squeezed his eyes shut and did his best to block the memory of the love of his life his screaming profanities in his face, but he couldn't pull it off.
"How do you almost sleep with a guy in his forties when you aren't even old enough to smoke?" Danny wasn't playing around.
The conversation made Scott feel almost as uncomfortable as he was sure Danny looked. He found it impossible to look at anything that wasn't his shoelaces. Whoever said that honesty was the best policy never went to high school. Or had a best friend whose father was in law enforcement. The social ramifications of what would happen if the mess that was Scott's life were nothing compared to the legal ones.
Not to forget that Scott was a werewolf. It was kind of amazing how that wasn't his top priority.
"Scott?" Danny's voice was tinged with impatience.
"How many times do I have to say that I don't remember anything?" the young man whispered angrily as a reply even though he hadn't actually made that claim to the person he was speaking with. "I don't know. All I do know is that I woke up on Allison's living room floor in my underwear and Allison's dad telling me clothes were on his floor. It came out of nowhere."
"At least you weren't naked. That's one small mercy," Danny offered weakly. "We broke up on the full moon, right? So do you not remember a lot of that werewolf stuff?"
"When I have an anchor, something to ground me, I do. This summer, I kind of haven't. My mom usually locks me in the basement after giving me sleeping pills, but that kind of didn't happen." Scott scratched the back of his neck as the words he said grew more and more revealing. "This is so screwed up. Do you get why I've been avoiding you?"
Danny rose to his feet and offered Scott a hand. "Get up. We're late for class and the last thing you need is to start the year off skipping all the time. I can't have you getting grounded this weekend."
"So, you still want to go to Lydia's party with me?" Scott looked up at Danny and took the outstretched hand even though he really didn't need it.
"I would love to go to Lydia's party with you, Scott, but I think a night in sounds better. No exes, no werewolves, no Stiles. Just me getting to know you all over again."
"And you're fine with everything I just told you?" Scott knew he was pushing, but he couldn't help himself.
"I doubt I'll ever be fine with any part of this conversation, but I have to say that you didn't lie to me and that it's a good sign for a clean slate."
TW
Allison dodged Scott. Allison dodged questions about why she was dodging Scott. Lydia groaned and complained about how it was Allison's fault she couldn't even hang out at the loser table anymore. Silently, Allison just sat at an otherwise empty table and listened to Lydia's rambling rants.
Her every thought, no matter how innocuous, somehow always led back to her father trying to assure her that he hadn't slept with her ex-boyfriend. Scott. As if the drunk driving somehow made it better than her father had gone to second base with someone younger than she was: someone she had had sex with herself.
"I can't remember, are those two back together or not?" Lydia asked as she threw a french fry at Allison's head. She was pointing off to the side, and Allison followed her finger to see Scott and Danny sitting with Stiles. Everyone looked kind of uncomfortable and Stiles was pointing at his seatmates and bobbing about rather busily.
"I doubt they can keep it straight themselves," Allison muttered as Lydia snorted at the unintentional pun.
Lowering her eyes, Allison focused on her food. She remembered when she was the one constantly breaking up and getting back together with Scott once a week. However, she found that she didn't miss it. Where she used to miss Scott, she just found disgust.
All she had heard was her father talking about driving while drunk. And when she confronted him about it, in front of her ex-boyfriend, he confessed to almost sleeping with said ex-boyfriend. And Scott didn't refute it. Her reaction was to throw her backpack on the floor and run out of the house.
But she didn't let herself cry. Instead, she called Isaac and moved their date up. The best way to get over someone was to get under someone else. It didn't matter if her friends thought she had a werewolf fetish.
Deciding not to dwell on her ex, Allison pulled out her phone and started looking at places to eat that night. She only looked up when Isaac sat beside her. The grin he shot Lydia when she sighed inspired Allison: she leaned in for a quick kiss. It wasn't often she got to surprise someone like that.
"Um, hello to you, too," Isaac blinked at her as Lydia's dropped open.
"It's just a preview of tonight," Allison promised at she made a point not to look in Scott's direction. "Looking forward to it?"
"Every boy looks forward to being the rebound relationship," Lydia snarked as she wrinkled her nose at them. "I swear, you better make sure this one has his shots up to date."
"Has she gotten you fixed yet?" Isaac shot back with a laugh.
For her part, Allison just sat back and smiled as she watched them take swipes at each other.
TW
"So, am I chaperoning the big reunion date?" Stiles asked as he threw a ball of wadded up paper into Scott's trashcan. When it went in, he whooped in celebration.
In reply to the question, Scott shook his head in the negative. "He said he wants a night in. You know, talking and chilling and stuff."
"Am I not even allowed to be the third wheel anymore?" Stiles sighed as he threw his head back and looked at the ceiling. "Is it because I'm white?"
"Shut up," Scott laughed as he tried to concentrate on his homework. It wasn't going well, because Stiles was the perfect distraction. "I've gotta be over there by six, which means I need to have this done by five thirty and it's already four. Are you gonna help me or not?"
Stiles put his hands on Scott's shoulders and peered at what he was working on. "Creative writing? Dude, I'm not even in that class. How am I supposed to help you write a whatever it is you're writing?"
"I need to write an essay on what I'm going to do next summer, since apparently writing about what I did over this last summer is cliched or something. I don't know. I kind of suck at writing, but I needed an elective."
"How about you describe turning into a werewolf and ripping out the throats of innocent villagers with your bare teeth and calling it symbolic of the growing pains of being a teenager? The more pretentious you are about it the more writers love it," Stiles suggested.
"How about I don't?" Scott slammed his head into his desk in the hopes that it would knock loose an idea. "I mean, I don't even know what I'm doing next week. How am I supposed to know what I'm doing next summer?"
"The sneaky bastard has you thinking about your future beyond high school without you even thinking about it," Stiles realized with a snap of his fingers. "This is gonna lead into that college and career stuff now that we're juniors. I just know it. I am so glad you have to take this class and I don't."
"You are so helpful," Scott said with a roll of his eyes.
"Believe me, I know," Stiles agreed as he backed away from Scott and sat back on his bed. "I'm like Mother Teresa."
"Who?"
It was Stiles' turn to roll his eyes. "You are the worst Catholic ever. You guys are still Catholic, right?"
"We kind of stopped going to Mass when my dad left," Scott answered with an awkward shrug. "I think Mom goes sometimes when things get overwhelming, but I haven't in ages. And I don't miss it. Honestly, my life is busy enough as it is."
"But you still believe in some sort of god?"
"Yes, Mr Atheist, I still believe in God. I'm nonpracticing. Or something like that. I would say I'm a lay person, but I think that's a Protestant thing. I dunno. Religion is weird."
"And with that I'm going to remind you that you're dating a boy and we should just drop the subject before we start yelling at each other. We should talk about something more calming, like war in the Middle East or domestic gun control."
"What does Danny have to do with my religion? The new Pope doesn't hate gay people," Scott argued in a confused voice.
"I said we're dropping it," Stiles repeated as he pulled out his phone and began loudly playing a rock song.
TW
Opening the front door, Danny smiled when he saw Scott standing on his front stoop. He was even wearing a shirt that buttoned up.
"You look nice," Danny said as he stood back and let Scott into his house.
"Thanks. Goodwill had a half off sale on clothes," Scott replied as he pulled at his new blue shirt. "I thought this one went well with my skin tone."
"You sound so gay right now," Danny laughed as he fingered Scott's collar. He kicked the door shut behind him. "And you're also wrong. Red is much more your colour."
"I'll keep that in mind," Scott nodded as he stared at Danny. "So, you said you want a night in. What are we doing? Netflix?"
"Yeah. They put Batman Beyond up. The whole series. I figured we could veg out and get our geek on. And we have microwave popcorn ready to make this this as unoriginal as possible."
"People watch The Notebook in melodramatic teen dramas, not Saturday Morning Cartoons," Scott countered before Danny shut him up with a kiss.
It hadn't even been a full week, but Danny forgot how much he liked kissing Scott when things weren't complicated to hell. He put his hand on the small of Scott's back and Scott responded by pressing Danny against the wall. Then, just as suddenly, they broke apart.
"My parents are having a date night of their own. They're supposed to be out until nine," Danny told Scott as he let him go and slipped out of his grasp. "You get the show ready. I'll make the popcorn. What do you want to drink? All we have is milk, orange juice, and store brand ginger ale since my mom is addicted to the stuff."
"Um, orange juice, I guess? All we ever get is orange drink. It'll be nice to have the real thing for a change," Scott answered as he scratched the back of his head and went into the living room.
Danny threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave and grabbed a large bowl from the cabinet over the sink. All the while, his mind was reeling. Did he want to spoil what looked to be an entertaining evening with talk about Scott's ex and supernatural things or did he want to try to ignore it and enjoy spending time with Scott like he did before? Denial seemed like such a wonderful option.
He puttered over to the pantry and started looking for the completely unhealthy but totally delicious cheese powder his mom kept in the house at all times for when she watched movies and ate popcorn. He needed something to indulge in.
The microwave beeped just as Danny found the cheese powder. He grabbed it and shuffled over to the microwave in his socks like a little kid. He pulled out the full bag that was still popping and threw in a second one. When the microwave resumed running, Danny held the finished bag away from his face and pulled it open. Steam billowed from it and Danny quickly dumped the cheese powder into the bag then crinkled it closed and began shaking it.
"Hey, Danny, did you still want to talk?" Scott asked as he leaned into the doorway of the kitchen. He scratched his chin and stared at the bag of popcorn in Danny's hands longingly. Then he shook his head and looked back at Danny. "You know, about stuff?"
"Only if you want to," Danny answered weakly. "I mean, we kind of already know where you stand on the whole ex-girlfriend thing."
"I want to be here," Scott assured Danny as he walked into the kitchen.
Danny stopped shaking the popcorn and dumped it into the bowl. "I know, Scott."
Scott grabbed a few kernels of popcorn and threw them into his mouth. Then he grabbed a few more and held them up to Danny. More than happy to oblige, Danny opened his mouth and let Scott feed him. Then he held Scott's hand in place and sucked the cheese dust off of his fingers. The look of surprise on Scott's face was a much welcomed form of levity.
"I want you to be here," Danny grinned as he let go of Scott's hand when the microwave beeped. He grabbed the second bag and repeated the actions he performed with the first one. "Now, tell me about this werewolf stuff."
TW
She had to admit that the boy had good taste. Rather than fight over action movies or chick flicks, Isaac instead treated Allison to the illustrious Beacon Hills community theatre production of My Fair Lady. She didn't even know that Beacon Hills had community theatre.
The acting was bad and the sets were laughable, but Allison was having fun. Sure, her dad would freak out if he knew she was spending time with Isaac, but the last person she cared about pleasing was her father. So she just leaned into Isaac when he did the yawn and stretch. It may have been a revenge date, but it was a revenge date she was thoroughly enjoying.
During intermission, Isaac offered to go get her some snacks and a drink. Allison was pleasantly surprised when he actually returned. All those months of Scott disappearing mid-date had skewed her expectations.
"Thanks," she said as she took the offered soda. For his part, Isaac jumped over the back of his seat and landed on his butt without spilling anything. When she saw he had a hotdog, she snatched it.
"Hey, I wanted that," Isaac whined as Allison prepared to bite into the frank.
"Sorry," Allison apologized sheepishly. She handed the hotdog back to Isaac and took a box of malted milk balls from his lap. "Is this one free game?"
"Help yourself," he answered with a smile as he took a bite out of the hotdog. "So, is it just me, or has this been fun?"
"It's been fun," she agreed as she sat her soda on the floor and tore open the box of candy. "I don't remember the last time I had a night out that was actually somewhat normal."
"Really? A night out with graveyard boy is normal?" Isaac teased. "Man, what your life must have been like before coming here."
"Lots of people avoid the new girl. Y'all are weird," Allison laughed as the stage crew began assembling the next set.
"Y'all?"
"I spent a few years moving around in the South when I was little. I picked some things up," she shrugged in response. "I also know how to make biscuits from scratch. And I mean the kind that give you a heart attack after eating two. Southern people are serious about their food."
"So you cook?" Isaac sounded intrigued. "After my mom... well, I had to learn how to cook for dad and my brother. I'm not an expert chef, but I know enough to get by."
"I'm more of a baker, actually," Allison confessed as she picked her soda back up. "Nothing too advanced, but I make some mean brownies. As long as I have brownie mix. Ha! The biscuit thing is about all I know."
Isaac leaned back into his chair and put his arm around Allison's shoulders. Again. "You know, I think I'd like to try your biscuits sometime. Do we have a neutral third party who'll let us use a kitchen?"
"Stiles or Lydia, I guess. I don't think I have any other friends. Weird."
"That's more than I have. Hell, Derek isn't so much a friend as he is a leader. A really, really bad leader. I think Scott is my only actual friend."
"Oh." Allison said quietly. "Well, that's going to be interesting. Who gets to tell him we're having a second date?"
"I guess I will, being the man and... Wait, a second date?" Isaac cried out, causing the half-empty theatre crowd to look at them. Allison shrunk a little into her seat, but concentrated on Isaac. "I'll let you pay on the next one. I'm all about equality of the sexes."
Allison snorted her approval.
TW
"So, do I have to meet this Derek Hale guy or can I skip it?" Danny asked nervously as he leaned back into Scott's chest as they lay on the sofa. The werewolf thing, when explained in detail, was a lot more than he had expected. Complicated wasn't even the word to use.
"You actually kind of already have," Scott admitted as he ate more popcorn and ignored the fight scene on the TV. They were on the third bowl. "You remember that time you traced a text for Stiles?"
"Last year? Yeah..."
"Well, Stiles told me about it. Because he's evil like that. His cousin Miguel isn't his cousin. That was Derek."
A whistle was Danny's response. "Dude, he was hot. And scary, but mostly hot."
"I honestly never even thought about that," Scott noted. "I guess he is. I was kind of focused on nobody dying most of last year. Haven't seen much of him since summer break, to be honest. It never came up."
"A lot of you werewolf types are hot. I'm noticing a trend. I mean, when Erica got all boobilicious last year she told me I could play with them," Danny said thoughtfully as Scott crunched the gel in his hair.
"Did you?"
Danny grinned as he reached out for the popcorn on the coffee table. "Of course. Who wouldn't? She had fantastic boobs."
It was nice. Yeah, the werewolf stuff was weird, but in theory Danny could handle it. And it was nice to have someone trust him with such important information. It wasn't like he stumbled on it. Scott told him. Not even his best friend Jackson told him what was happening.
"My boobs are better," Scott chuckled against Danny's scalp. Then he kissed the top of Danny's head and crossed his arms over Danny's chest. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," Danny sighed. "I had a freakout."
"An understandable one. I wasn't exactly innocent. I told Allison last week that if she wanted me back, I was hers. Now, though? I don't even miss her," Scott lied. Danny didn't need to have the werewolf senses. He just knew.
"Yes, you do. I'm your second choice. But I know that, and I'm okay with it. I think. And let's face it, Allison is probably never going to take you back so you're all mine now." Danny wasn't nearly as comfortable as he was trying to let on, and he knew Scott could tell. "I'm the one time the consolation prize is better than the showcase, you know."
Neither boy had anything to say after that, so Danny just reclined as best he could into Scott's arms. They stayed like that and quietly watched the cartoon until Danny's parents came home.