All That We're Living For
Chapter VI
Parasomnia
_oOo_
"There's something I gotta tell you."
"You're a werewolf."
_oOo_
From: Mason
R u here yet? Gotta show you something.
The phone that Liam had been currently in his hand made its way to the front pocket of his jeans. He sighed heavily as he pushed through the side doors of the school and caught up with his best friend.
The first thing that popped out of Mason's mouth was a string of words that probably would've confused a bystander and made them question what they were talking about.
"This is the one I was telling you about," said Mason. A old-fashioned leather clad book was in his hands, yellowed pages already flipped open to a specific spot. The two were making their way to their first class, History 103 with Mr. Yukimura as their teacher. "I got it from a rare book dealer in Germany. Cost me two hundred bucks, but it was totally worth it."
Liam glanced at Mason, praying that he would drop the discussion at hand. "You're still reading about this stuff?"
Mason gave him a "You're kidding me, right?" look. Mason seemed determined to find the answer to the things he couldn't explain. "I was attacked by an armor-plated giant wearing a bear skull. It left an impression. Look." He thrust the book into Liam's view, hoping to get a more interested reaction. "Look. Have you ever seen anything like this?"
Liam shook his head as he briefly glanced at the page. "Uh, no. Never."
"And then there's this whole section about the Nagual," Mason rambled on excitedly as they approached their classroom's door. "Have you ever heard of the name Tezcat . . ."
"Tezcatlipoca," Liam finished for him, then realized what he had just did. He struggled to keep it covered with a quick lie. "No. No, never heard of him."
Mason picked a desk from the door and Liam picked the one across from his. A familiar smell entered his nose but he brushed it aside, thinking nothing of it, because it was impossible.
"Take your seats, everyone," Mr. Yukimura called out.
Liam turned and was ready to sit down when a familiar face caught his attention.
Oh, dear God, no. No. No. No.
A petite Latina face, with pretty dark brown eyes and medium curly hair.
"Oh! Great," he sighed aloud.
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be back at Devenford Prep - not here!
Hayden Romero looked surprised to see him too, but then her facial expression quickly changed to anger and hate in her eyes, chewing on her pink-flavored bubblegum in all her former glory . . .
Oh, why today?! Oh my God, someone get me out of here!
"Liam. You're not gonna just stand there, are you?"
"Maybe," he uttered, still glancing around, avoiding eye contact with anyone, especially her.
"The whole semester?" Mr. Yukimura asked.
If that's what it would take, then yeah. "Maybe," he repeated, nodding as he was confident in himself.
"Liam, have a seat."
Hesitatingly, Liam sat down at the desk he was by, then immediately looked down at his seat. He saw pink bubblegum sticking onto the bottom of his pants. He gave Hayden an exasperated look to which she only smiled smugly in reply.
She did it. She actually did it.I'm so done right now, he thought.
Mr. Yukimura smiled and clapped his hands together."All right, welcome to History 103."
Liam went ahead and planted his face against his desk.
It was going to be a long day.
_oOo_
"Look, I'm not saying I believe all of it a hundred percent, but people around us seem to know things," Mason began saying as the bell signaled for class change and the two boys left the locker room. Liam quickly had darted into the locker room and exchanged his jeans for his red shorts.
"Like Lydia, she knows things," Mason continued. He closed his mouth when they reached Liam's locker.
Liam turned. "Dude, it's the second week at school. Shouldn't you be thinking about other things like . . ."
He glanced over Mason's shoulder, searching for an reply. "Like the soccer team?" he suggested. The two watched as several boys in bright green soccer gear walked past them.
"What do you think I'm going to do? Follow them out to the field and watch them practice while I pretend to study?"
"It's warm out. They'll probably gonna be shirtless," Liam told him.
Liam could see the wheels turning in Mason's brain as the human boy was contemplating his suggestion. It was very tempting. Mason sighed. "I'll see you in Physics."
Mason brushed past him and he turned to his locker, fiddling with the combination lock. Out of the corner of her eye, he saw a flash of curly black hair and made eye contact with Hayden.
Another annoyed sigh escaped his lips. Of all the lockers in the school building she had to have the one next to his.
"Nice shorts," Hayden smiled, obviously pleased with her work.
"Yeah, thanks. You know, I was wondering if you were still pissed off about the sixth grade, but I guess you cleared that up."
She definitely had. He remembered her as this cute girl on the playground that he used to follow around during fourth grade and when sixth grade came, it had all changed.
All because of that one incident.
"I'm not pissed off, Liam," Hayden looked at him directly for the first time. She said in a cold voice as she closed her locker door with a click."I'm vengeful."
Ah, Jesus. She's still on that? Ugggghhh! Liam mentally cursed his life as he leaned his body against his locker.
He thought of ways he could skip the school day to avoid her, but then decided against it. Scott wouldn't be too pleased. Liam figured that he had to find a way to make amends with Hayden before she went and made his life hell.
And he was going to do whatever it would take.
Just not today. Definitely not today.
_oOo_
Stiles had shot him a text asking him to meet him in the parking lot during Liam's break. He took it as a sign to get away from school so he went.
The Jeep was unlocked when Liam arrived and papers were scattered in the passenger seat. He threw his backpack onto the backseat and climbed in.
Grabbing one of the papers that had been lying in his spot he began scanning it, when Stiles opened the door in frustration and practically jumped in the driver's seat.
"What's a criminal tremor?" Liam asked.
Stiles snatched the paper out of his hand and jammed the key into the ignition. "Doesn't matter," he said as the Jeep reeled backwards, tires squealing.
"So, you know Theo?" Stiles asked.
"The kid that showed up last night? The one who was all like "I wanna join your pack", that guy? Then yeah," Liam replied.
Stiles didn't seem too amused and shot Liam a look. "Yeah, that guy."
Liam was getting bored. His muscles were crying in protest from staying the same crouched position underneath Theo's window. Finally, Theo left (presumingly to do something villainous as Stiles put it) and the garage door opened, a Suburban pulling out with Theo in the driver's seat.
Stiles and Liam dashed to the Jeep and followed him into the forest. They watched him retrieve something from the back of his car and hurried after him.
"I told you he was up to something," Stiles said.
"We just spent three hours watching this dude play video games in his bedroom," Liam reminded him. "He better be out here getting high or covering up a mass murder."
"Let's find out."
"You still got his scent?" Stiles asked.
"Don't need it," Liam responded, looking down, seeing Theo's footprints in the mud below them.
A buzzing from the back of Liam's pants sounded again and Liam got his phone out, staring at the screen which indicated another text from Mason.
"What? What's wrong?" Stiles turned to face Liam, a confused expression on his face.
"I forgot, I was supposed to meet Mason at the school gym."
"Okay, why didn't you just tell him?"
"Tell him what?"
Stiles looked offended. "Anything."
Liam stammered out an explanation. "I can't just tell him anything."
"Why not?" Stiles pressed on.
"Because I haven't . . . I haven't told him everything."
"Still? We said it was okay." Scott and Stiles had gave him the rundown and as much as it sounded easy to hear, actually doing it and telling someone were different things.
"Yeah, I know, but it's not that easy. It's a lot to accept."
"He watched my dad blow up a Berserker with a land mine. I think the groundwork's been pretty thoroughly laid for acceptance. Scott and I have been through this. Okay? More than once. It's always been better when they know." Stiles turned to walk away as if that ended this whole conversation. But Liam wasn't finished.
"But what if he freaks out?" Liam rambled on nervously as he hurried to catch up with Stiles. "What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he tries to stab me with something silver? Or what if . . ."
The ground gave out from underneath him and he fell straight down into the mud below him with a loud thud.
"What the hell are you doing?" Stiles asked in a hushed whisper, peering into the hole Liam just fell in.
"I. . ." This wasn't my fault!
"There he is. Hurry up. Stop screwing around."
Liam sighed, grabbing his phone from the mud, wiping it off with his thumb. He turned it on and saw the texts Mason had sent. With a little chime, the flashlight app was activated and something silver glinted.
"Come on."
Liam managed to hop - well, more like jump - out of the hole and go after Stiles. They paused behind a cluster of bushes, watching as Theo made his way to the wooden bridge in front of them.
"Try and get his scent. Get anything?"
"Soap. It's nice. It smells good."
"Not his soap, his emotional state. Chemosignals, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Okay. I . . ." Liam took a breath in. It smelled familiar. He should know. He felt it before. He had taken it from Josephine. "He's sad."
"He's sad?" Stiles repeated incredulously.
"Well, not just sad . . ." Liam struggled for the correct word. "It's more like grief."
"Grief?" Stiles looked deep in thought, then suddenly grabbed Liam's arm and began leading them away from the bridge, away from Theo. "Oh, my God! Go! We have to go."
"What? Why?"
"Go! Right now. Just go," Stiles said, then gave Liam an explanation. "That's the bridge where they found his sister."
Sister? "What sister?"
"The one that got lost and died from exposure. He's leaving a flower for her."
"That doesn't sound evil," Liam said to him.
"I know."
Suddenly, they froze, seeing a figure perched on top of a fallen tree. Theo Raeken jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet and straightened, a smirk on his face. "What you guys doing?"
Liam gave a growl and stepped forward before Stiles stuck out a hand to stop him.
Where the hell did he come from? He was just back at the bridge!
"Whoa. Why do I get the feeling this kid's tougher than he looks?"
"Only when we let him off his leash," Stiles remarked.
"Stiles, we were in Little League together. Why are you so suspicious of me?"
Because maybe you showed up exactly when someone else was trying to kill Scott?
Apparently, that wasn't what Stiles had in mind because he ripped out two pieces of papers and showed them to Theo. "Because of these. One's a speeding ticket signed by your dad eight years ago. The other one's a signature on a transfer form to Beacon High. They're different."
Theo glanced at them. "Huh. Yeah, they do look a little different."
"No, they're totally different. Signed by two different people."
Liam was getting a headache. He didn't know how the hell Stiles came to conclusion that they were two different signatures and he didn't want to know.
"So my dad's not my dad? Like he's an impostor?" Theo continued, cocking an thick eyebrow.
"Yeah, something like that."
"Who do you think I am? We don't know yet. Want me to give you a DNA sample or something?"
"No. I don't have anything from the fourth grade to match it to," Stiles said.
"You know, Stiles, I came back here for Scott . . ." Theo told him.
Liam felt like he wasn't there and looked down, seemingly admiring and interested in his shoes when he wasn't. He listened to Theo's words, understanding them, knowing what it must've felt like, being alone with no one by your side.
". . . But I also came back for you," Theo continued. "Someone like you. Someone who's willing to walk into the woods in the middle of the night to protect his friends. I don't have anyone like that, but Scott does. You all do. I know I'm in the right place. I'm meant to be here. I'm meant to be part of this pack."
_oOo_
Stiles and Liam were making their way back to the Jeep to where they found Scott leaning against the door.
"Find anything?"
"Nope," Stiles gritted through his teeth.
"I fell in a hole," Liam offered, attempting to lighten the mood to no avail.
"It was the bridge where his sister died, wasn't it?" Scott went on.
"Yes, it was. Very embarrassing. So we are gonna leave now," Stiles turned the key but the engine sputtered and stopped.
"Son of a . . ." Stiles got out and popped open the hood. "Liam, just do me a favor, get in the car and turn the ignition when I say."
"Stiles?" Scott was trying to get his best friend's attention but Stiles wasn't having it.
"Be with you in a sec. Try it."
The key turned and Liam tried his best to get the engine started. Nothing happened.
"Stiles," Scott cut in.
"Yes. Okay, we followed him out here. What do you want me to say? That I'm a stalker, huh? That I'm crazy, totally paranoid? None of this is new information. Now you're gonna try to at least give him the benefit of the doubt? I give people the benefit of the doubt. I've given a lot of benefit to a lot of people," Stiles ranted in frustration.
"Like Derek? Kira?" Scott paused. "Liam?"
"I was right about Peter. Try it again.
Liam turned the key once more and the Jeep's engine sputtered and stopped.
"You know, I bet you still think that there's something about him that can be saved."
"Maybe."
Stiles exhaled deeply. "Try it again."
Liam obeyed, sensing the anger and frustration rolling off from the human boy, not wishing the provoke him further.
"Why can't you trust anyone?"
"Because you trust everyone!" Stiles yelled as he exploded, then let out a scream of pain as his fist connected with the alternator.
Liam looked up at the sound of bone crunching, wondering if he should get out of the car and do something. He decided to stay in the car. He had never seen Stiles this angry.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Stiles lied.
"You could've broken it. It's not broken. Let me see it," Scott pleaded with concern.
"I'm fine," Stiles lied again.
"Let me see it."
Scott must've taken and siphoned Stiles' pain because when Stiles got back into the Jeep, his hand wasn't broken. Liam shot a text to Mason letting him know where he was and that he was on his way. The whole way neither Stiles or Liam talked.
Liam jogged the rest of the way to the school when Stiles dropped him off at his house.
Mason was standing outside, cellphone in his hand when Liam arrived.
"Hey," Liam mustered, out of breath, ready to issue an apology.
"Hey."
"Sorry I'm late."
"Oh, no, you're not late. You missed it. I worked out. For two hours."
"Yeah, I know. I forgot. And I'm gonna tell you why," Liam began. Thoughts kept flitting through his head and he wondered how he was going to continue with this. Probably start off slow and easy. Go with simple. "Actually, I'm gonna tell you a lot of things. A lot of hard to believe things. Really hard to believe."
"There's a wolf," Mason told him.
Yes, I'm a wolf, Mason. "Yeah, I'm getting to that."
"No. There's a wolf right behind you," Mason told him, eyes gesturing to look over his shoulder.
Confused, Liam slowly glanced over his shoulder and saw a big black wolf standing there in the parking lot. "That's a wolf," he confirmed.
The wolf growled and let out a roar, sending the two boys taking off into the school. Seriously, why did the school not lock their doors at night?
The wolf chased after them until Liam remembered "Hey, I'm a goddamn werewolf! I shouldn't be running from an ordinary wolf."
Liam turned and let out a roar that echoed through the halls.
The wolf paused in its steps, blue electric eyes fading into normal dark brown or black. Then it turned and trotted away from the building.
Liam turned slowly, ready to face Mason, canines slipping from his mouth, eyes fading back to normal. What if he thinks I'm a monster? What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore? What if -?
"There's something I gotta tell you."
Mason didn't seem scared, instead he looked impressed. "You're a werewolf," he said excitedly as he nodded to himself, then grinned.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, and allfandomslover.