A/N: Finally began to regain my muse for Teen Wolf as I get caught up. I finished season 5 today.
"My parents? But they basically disowned me." Joel raised an eyebrow. "Pardon my French, but they told me to get the fuck out of their house two years ago. Why would they send you to save my ass now?"
Cochran sighed and put a hand on Joel's shoulder. "Because, despite your history of delinquency, your parents believe that you wouldn't assault four boys without provocation." Joel frowned and seemed to be deep in thought before Isaac squeezed his hand.
"How many counts of what do I have?" Joel looked up. Cochran produced a small notepad from his jacket pocket.
"Four counts of aggravated assault using a metal baseball bat," he said. Isaac released Joel's hand and stared at him in shock, as did Scott and Stiles. "Four counts of cruelty to persons under sixteen..."
"Not only are all four of them seventeen and eighteen, that second one is under British law!" Joel retorted. Cochran put up his hand and he silenced instantly.
"That's my last case. Sorry," he apologized. "Just those four of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Since this took place in Ohio, this is a fourth degree felony, which means..."
"Six to eighteen months in jail." Joel nodded.
"How do you know that?" Cochran looked at Joel in wonder; he'd never met a kid who knew the legal system so well.
"I didn't have any friends, so I took up studying the law in different countries. Of course I focused mainly on Ohio," Joel explained with a small shrug.
Stiles looked at Joel, mouth still wide in shock. "You beat people up with a baseball bat?"
"Have you seen the size of me?" Joel returned Stiles' gaze. "It's not like I could do any damage to a bunch of upperclassmen-slash-football players without something useful. Besides, I never struck them above the chest, which maybe would have done them some good. I mean, their pretty faces and all."
Cochran pulled a chair over next to the cell. "Joel, I received what seems to be something close to the truth out of Kyle Clark just before he left us. The night of the party, the other boys, they were going to..." Joel looked away, biting down on his lower lip to contain his tears.
FLASHBACK
"It's time we took you for ourselves," Steven sneered as he opened Joel's blazer. "You're such a little fucking tease. No wonder you don't have any friends." Joel squirmed but the ropes held him down. "Stop fighting it, twerp. You have no chance." Joel felt all the air go out of him as Steven punched him in the gut.
"I— I need my inhaler," Joel whimpered. "Please." He struggled to get loose; he always kept a spare inhaler in his blazer pocket.
A redheaded boy stepped in, holding Joel's inhaler. "Dude, we don't want him dying on us," he murmured to Steven.
Steven scoffed. "Shut up, Ross." He flipped Joel onto his stomach. Ross quickly hurried over to Joel's front and helped him ingest the medication.
"Just because you're helping me now doesn't excuse you from any of this," Joel growled once his breathing returned to normal. Ross blinked and smirked slightly, tapping Joel's cheek twice before moving away. Joel could feel his pants being yanked down. "No, please!"
A moment later, the other boys gasped. Joel managed to turn his head, seeing Steven knocked out cold on the floor. Ross was suspended in mid-air, yelling at someone to get him down. The ropes untied themselves from Joel's wrists and ankles. "What's happening?" he whispered to himself.
END FLASHBACK
Joel didn't know what was wrong with him. All he knew was that he was different, and since that night, no other supernatural oddities had presented themselves, so he shoved it to the back of his mind, his main priority becoming getting the hell out of dodge and moving away.
"If it's possible, please, can I talk to Scott, Stiles and Isaac alone?" Cochran nodded and excused himself into the Sheriff's office with Stiles' father, leaving the four boys alone.
Isaac took Joel's hand once more and reached out, wiping the tear sliding down his face. "Joel, what's wrong?"
"I lied. To Daryl, to you, to the Pack." Joel pulled back from Isaac and sat down on the bench. "I'm only mildly aware of my powers. They saved me that night, but no other opportunities had come up. I think they only showed to save me when I'm in serious trouble, like when I almost got—" He didn't finish his sentence, but the boys knew where it was going.
"I'm so sorry. I only lied to protect you. Had I known that any of you were even remotely like me, I would have— Outside of my powers, everything else was true. You guys really are my closest friends. You're the only friends I've ever had. P-please don't hate me."
The boys looked at one another and back at Joel. Isaac was the first to speak up. "We don't hate you. Just know that you don't have to keep any more secrets from us, okay?" Joel nodded and reached out for Isaac's hand again, which the curly-haired boy took.
The Sheriff told Stiles to go home, but being Stiles, he was adamant about staying at his friend's side and, eventually, the Sheriff gave up. Scott and Isaac, however, were ordered to come home immediately by Melissa. Isaac came close enough to Joel for the boy to press a gentle kiss to his cheek before his departure.
"I'm getting out of this, I promise. We'll go out to dinner. Really nice place," he whispered just before Scott led Isaac out of the station. Stiles pulled a chair over next to the cell and sat down, hands fidgeting. "Thanks for staying with me, Stiles."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Joel beamed and sat down on the floor, leaning against the bars. "Can I ask you something?" Joel nodded. "I mean, you don't have to answer if you're not comfortable with it..."
"Just ask the question," Joel sighed. "I'm open. I'll tell you."
Stiles' fidgeting increased and he cleared his throat. "Are you asking me if I'm gay? Because yes, I am."
"Well, I kinda figured as much, but what I was going to ask is..." He coughed. "About your parents." Joel gave Stiles a small, sad smile.
"When I came out to them two years ago, they told me to get out and never come home," he elaborated. "They were devout Catholics and were very highly disapproving of the gay lifestyle. My dad once told me when I was a kid that if I turned out gay, they would never forgive me. And look where we are now."
Stiles bit his lower lip, deep in thought. "Well, they sent their lawyer for you. They still care about you, regardless of your lifestyle." Joel muttered something that Stiles took as an agreement. Stiles looked around for his dad before opening his backpack and handing Joel a wrapped sandwich. "Scott's mom made this for you."
As Joel ate, he looked up at Stiles and reached out, poking him. "Stiles, what did Scott mean by a cure?" Stiles averted his gaze and kept his eyes trained on Parrish, who was reading case files. "Stiles, tell me. There is literally nothing you can say now that will make me see you guys any different."
"We all agreed—well, most of us, at least—that if you have the powers you're supposed to have and then Scott gives you the Bite, it might be really, really bad." Stiles turned in his chair to look at Joel. "Do you want to be a werewolf?"
Joel seemed to think it over for a few minutes before shaking his head. "No. I don't want to be a werewolf. It's nothing against you guys, it's just it seems like so much to deal with. Full moons, hunters, rival packs, you know? I can't do that. However, I wouldn't mind being the Pack's token guy with superpowers. I'm like a real-life superhero."
"Why?" Daryl groaned. He hadn't moved from his spot on the floor since the group's arrival back at Luke's place. "Why do these things always happen to me?"
Morgan and Tracy looked down at their so-called leader. "Dude, will you relax?" Tracy sighed and lifted Daryl by the arm. "So he's not The One. Do we really need it? We're perfectly fine as we are. Right, guys?" The others looked up with nods and murmurs of agreement. "See?"
"But I need him," Daryl whined. "I can take his powers and then be the—"
"Will you listen to yourself?" Luke spoke up for the first time. "Daryl, you're delusional. First off, our abilities don't work like that. Second, drop the arrogant douchebag act. It's been so long I think it's finally gotten to your head." Everyone had turned to their attention to the youngest of the group. "You used to be nice, Daryl. That's why we're even friends to begin with. It's not because of what we can do. Let's end it before someone gets hurt. Scott and his Pack aren't going to retaliate if there's nothing to retaliate for. Please."
Daryl looked over at Luke, green eyes sad. "You're right. Why is it the youngest who knows best?" He put an arm around Luke. "I guess something we can do now is maybe help Joel."
"We can't even see him now?" Stiles protested the next morning. He, Scott, Isaac and Derek went to visit Joel and was given the news from Parrish that Joel had been transferred. Where, according to the deputy, was a mystery.
"Stiles, it's completely out of our hands," Parrish replied, closing another case folder. "He's in the care of someone bigger than us now. I'm sorry."
Isaac leaned against the desk. "Where could they take him?"
Parrish cleared his throat and leaned in. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but when I got here, I saw three people in white jackets taking Joel away. It was no ordinary kind of white jackets. He was gagged and was carried by one of them. Haigh allowed them entry. Wouldn't tell me where they were from." The boys looked at one another. "Another deputy said Joel got on Haigh's last nerve last night and he ordered Joel to be taken away."
"Oh, shit." Stiles put his head in his hands. "That means—"
Haigh chuckled from a nearby doorway. "That's right, Stilinski. The little shit is off to Eichen House."