"Wow, you were pretty brutal." Amira leaned back on the stack of crates she sat on. They could hear the voices of monsters practicing their lines for their respective scenes on stage, waiting for their turn.

Vicky had just gotten finished retelling the weekend, half-leaning on another crate while her eyes struggled to stay open. The entire weekend Vicky had gotten no sleep. The thought of Scott prying her door open to come after her and her father was enough nightmare fuel to keep her awake. She had gotten several texts from Scott after she had shut him out apologizing and asking if he could do anything to fix the situation. After the tenth text, she had shut her phone off. Even when she came to school that Monday, Scott was nowhere to be found. She would have told the rest of the group about her situation but Oz had gone quiet on her since that day in the hall and Brian was always horrible at answering texts.

"I don't know what to do …" Vicky groaned. "I know I should apologize, but I can't!"

"You need to apologize, that's for sure." Amira crossed her legs and arms. "Scott didn't deserve any of that crap."

"What do I say?" Lifting her head, Vicky put on a cheesy grin. "'Hey, Scott! Sorry I yelled at you yesterday. I'm totally fine that you don't understand why you came to my house and tried breaking and entering! The next time the full moon rolls around, I'll just keep the door unlocked!'"

She slammed her head back on the crates. "You don't have to be that dramatic. Just apologize for your behavior."

Vicky tilted her head to look at Amira, hoping she couldn't see the heavy bags under her eyes. "I feel if I do I'll just get hurt." Her fingers grasped at nothing, scraping across the crate. "I know what they become when the full moon's out …"

Amira let out a huff. "Vicky, you can't let your past dictate your life now. Whatever happened to you back then was just one incident."

"But what if it happens again?" She picked her head up, panic rising in her voice. "What if I find myself too close and I can't escape in time? What if he comes at me? What if—"

Her mouth moved but no words came out, only soft whimpers. Her mind was already shutting down at the feeling of sharp teeth piercing through the flesh of her neck. A very warm hand found its way on her shoulder. "Ssh, lamb. It's okay. There is some caution to take with werewolves. I mean, no one tries to be near them during a full moon, that's just stupid. I just think you're going too far with this."

"I don't know what to do …" Vicky lifted her chin, staring up at the calmness in Amira's eyes. "Homecoming is this Saturday. Even if Scott hates me and didn't want to go anymore, I bet he talked with Liam about this and he'll hate me too."

The devastation slumped her shoulders, resting her head on the hard crate. "I'm going to be a sad, depressing loser for homecoming …"

Amira clicked her tongue, looking away for a moment. "Vicky, I think you should let go of Liam."

"Why?" Vicky had enough strength to pull herself out of her slump to then slump on the crates after she switched to sitting on them.

Amira gave her a wary glance. "Ozzie didn't tell you? He and Liam have been seeing each other. Like, a lot."

It got her out of her head for the moment, eyebrows lurched. "Wait, what?"

Then again, this wasn't new information to her. Whenever she saw Liam Oz wasn't far behind. The same upsetting anxiety crawled up her intestines, clutching her chest. "B-but he kissed me! Well, he did it on the cheek, but that's like first-base, right?"

Amira's shaking head only made Vicky feel worse. "I think his route has closed up for you. Besides, you made out with Scott! Don't you feel anything towards him?"

Vicky lowered her head, the anxiety replaced with fuzziness and even more nervousness. "I do … his smile always makes me forget about my problems and he's so sweet in his goofy way."

"There you go," The same warm hand now patted her back. "You like Scott, Scott likes you. It's a match-made! Just make up and go to homecoming together."

The pats weren't quelling her mixed emotions, murmuring. "It's not that simple …"

"No, it is that simple." Vicky spooked, she wasn't expecting Amira to hear her. Her tone was straightforward. "Scott's a lot more forgiving than you think. If you don't make this out to be more than what it is than it will be that easy. Trust me, I've gotten into my fair share of fights with Damien but we always stick the landing when it comes to making up."

Vicky wasn't so sure of Amira's words, however. She didn't know how much longer she could experience feeling like a pile of exhausted garbage when Polly floated over. "Sssup sad fucks!"

"Polly, what's hanging?" Amira lifted a hand up for Polly, who slipped her a small bag of white stuff in return. Vicky watched Amira eye the contents, grin and then stuff the rest away in a pocket.

"Oh, my bad." A playful wink and a teasing smile was just a bonus for the bag she then gave her. "It's the good stuff, trust me." Vicky eyed the bag for a second longer and did the same as Amira. "So, what's the drama this week?"

"Vicky's having some troubles with Scott." Vicky gave Amira a hard look, noting to herself to tell Amira to keep their conversations under lock and key next time.

Polly seemed more shocked than Vicky had expected. "Really? That totally sucks. I know just how you can get the party sizzling again." A ghostly arm was slipped over her shoulder, with Polly giggling into her ear. "Give him like, the best blow job in the world. That gets me out of a lot of situations where monsters are pissed at me." The mental image destroyed Vicky's mind, leaving her a gawking mess while Polly leaned back, speaking louder. "Or go doggie-style, those werewolves like to be animals, am I right?"

Amira simply shrugged. "Sex does help. Didn't you try having sex with a werewolf once, Polly?"

"Ohohoho, it was wild." Polly rubbed her hands together. "But then like, he died a week later from overdosing on Wolfsbane. He still blames me for it, even as a ghost! Even though I know my stuff was legit and he was totally overdosing on that cheap crap! Probably was more rat poison than Wolfsbane."

There was a story to be told there, but for once Vicky didn't want to hear it.

"Anyways, enough with the boring shit!" Throwing her hands into the air, Polly fanned out several envelopes she had stashed somewhere on her body. She handed Amira and Vicky each one, which, upon opening it, contained a syringe needle filled with glowing green goop. "I'm throwing a balls-to-the-wall insane party Friday night, so we can all get fucking fucked up before lame homecoming. Both of you should come and get down to get high!"

"You know I'm there." Amira didn't even look at the bizarre offering, simply stashing it in her costume. Vicky gave herself a moment to glance at it until Polly was in her face again.

"Everyone's going to be there. Including Scott~"

The name brought only more misery to Vicky, remembering that she was trash. "What about Liam?"

"Huh? Yeah, he'll be there too." Polly lowered her eyelids, nudging Vicky. "You thinking of double dipping? If you are, I'd like to get in on that action."

"Amira, Vicky, Polly! Get your asses out here!" They turned to the shrill cry of the director from the stage. Liam, Damien, and Brian were already off the stage, strolling past the girls with minimal glances.

"That's us. Let's break a leg while looking damn sexy." Polly gave another wink before floating out. Amira hopped down first as Vicky followed, eyeing the invitation still. Liam and Scott were both going to be there, the day before homecoming. One final chance to make a move.

"I'm going to confront Liam."

Amira stopped, turning to face Vicky. "That sounds like a bad idea."

"I don't want to get serious with Scott until I know how Liam feels about me." She shot her a serious glance before stowing her invitation out of sight. "I'll ask him at the party."

"And if he says he's interested in you?" Amira cocked an eyebrow, challenging Vicky.

Their eyes caught one another yet neither said another word. The cry came back louder. "Move it or lose it, girls!"

They hurried onto the stage without another warning. After rehearsals, Vicky was treated to a watery surprise when half of the school was flooded thanks to Miranda's attempts at 'vanquishing the airpeople'. It canceled class but it also made the entire school, students and all, have to clean up the aftermath. Damien tried to get it done faster by equipping the student body with flamethrowers, which quickly turned into flooding the school again just to put out the raging fires.

Long story short, after getting a mouthful of salt water and downing another five cups when the school was ablaze, Vicky really had to use the bathroom after school. She didn't even care if the bathroom was still flooded—since her clothes had been sticking to her skin since the last hosing—though she did mind the crab that was trying to lay claim to the toilet. After a very short-lived karate battle, Vicky had won the toilet.

She was just about done washing her hands when the bathroom door was slammed open, staring down Josh and a couple of other wolves that decided to follow. "There you are!"

Vicky barely had time to react before Josh strode over and swung her over his shoulder. Her mind blanked and her body rag-dolled in the wolf's grasp, too petrified to do anything else. "Dog, you're really fucking light."

Held captive, Vicky hoped to god they weren't going to take her somewhere private and continue to sexually harass her. Instead, she was taken straight to the gym and sat on the bleachers. Right next to Scott.

He looked just as surprised and confused as she was, though he probably didn't feel like a complete asshole like she did. Josh pointed a finger at her. "I don't know what you did, but Scott has been a sad loser the entire day! So whatever you did, undo it!"

"Bros!" Scott set his football helmet off to the side instead of where it was originally in his lap. "This isn't cool! You shouldn't have dragged Vicky in here like this!"

"No, it's fine!" Vicky was the one to interject, even going to so far to hold her hands out that like would suddenly stop the conversation. With the floor hers, she timidly looked at Scott. "I'm … sorry about what I said yesterday. I was way out of line."

She didn't even feel right looking at him, choosing to stare at her lap instead. His tone was grounded. "It's fine."

"No, it's not!" Her eyes shot back up, feeling even angrier at herself. "I said horrible and terrible things to you! You have every right to be angry with me!"

"No, really, it's fine!" A sympathetic smile came over his lips while his eyes looked apprehensive and upset. "I get it. I messed up and I scared you. I don't blame you for saying those things."

"That wasn't your fault, though. That's not your blame to take." Like a delicate vase, Vicky was hesitant and gentle when placing her hand over his. He slightly bristled. "But I made you think it was. I should have never hurt you like that."

"I was pretty hurt …" The truth stung her but she more the deserved it, seeing his features take on the same emotions as his eyes. "But I was more scared that you wouldn't want to see me anymore. I thought you'd hate me forever."

Vicky slowly shook her head, her voice delicate. "I can't stay mad at you. You know that. I'm so sorry for making you feel that way."

"I'm okay if you are." Scott's ears perked up, his hand overturning to take hers. She felt him lightly squeeze her hand, noticing slight hope in his eyes. "Are we okay?"

And just like that, the world felt a little more right. Vicky slowly nodded her head, pushing herself to scoot closer and peck his cheek. "We're okay."

Like nature intended, Scott's smile found itself right where it needed to be. Her heart felt like Scott's smile, bright and cheerful when they both heard several sniffles around them.

"Bro, that was so fucking romantic." Josh sniffed, using one of his teammate's shirt to blow his nose. "We're not crying or anything! We're just sweating so hard it's blinding us!"

A new blubber came from the Coach, who apparently was there the entire time. "Working together as a team to work through your emotional issues … Now that's what a team does for one another! I'm so proud of you two!"

"Really? Thanks, Coach!" Scott accepted the praise while Vicky wanted to slither away and hide under the bleachers. She'd have to remember the next time she got into an emotional conversation to keep it somewhere private.

Wiping the last of the tears from his eyes, Coach picked up his whistle. "All right, that's enough sentimental love for now. Let's get to practicing!"

The whistle pierced the air, getting the pack to run towards the open doors towards the football field. Scott was a few steps behind, strapping his helmet onto his head. "Wait up, bros!"

He was almost out the door before he did a complete 180 and ran back towards Vicky. She only had enough time to stand up as Scott's arms surrounded her, swinging her in the air and settling into a nice, tight hug.

She hugged back as fierce as she could, which was probably nothing to Scott. He even tried to kiss her, though, his helmet stopped him from being able to accomplish that, simply butting his forehead into hers. It made her laugh. "Silly wolf."

He chuckled as well until another whistle blow prompted him to set Vicky down, wave and head off towards the field. She waved back, the last one left in the gym yet she felt she was soaring through the clouds. Amira was right, it was just as simple as that.

And if he says he is interested in you?

One simple sentence was all it took to have Vicky crash landing back into her pit of despair. Part of her wanted to forget Liam, to close that chapter of her life and be content with Scott. But that day in the car kept replaying in her head. That warm smile, the rosy glow on his cheeks. Even when they fought in the hall he was clearly blushing when she complimented him. He might have been aloof and awkward with how he felt about everything but Vicky had no doubts in her mind that Liam did like her at some point. Why else would he be so bold as to kiss her in the car? To be so vulnerable?

They still hadn't talked about that moment since then; perhaps Liam did still like her. If he did, what then? What about Scott?

She shook her head, trying to physically get the thoughts out. She didn't want to and wouldn't worry about that until Friday. Right now, she wanted to feel happy.

Her hand instinctively went to her phone, ready to text her dad until her gaze floated over to the open gym doors. A second later, she had pocketed her phone and jogged out towards the field. The team was already stretching when Vicky made it over. Scott noticed her immediately, mainly because she walked straight over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"You wanted me to come to practice, right?" Vicky put forth her cutesy act, cocking her head to the side and sticking out her tongue.

His smile was the answer she needed, pointing to a few bleachers. "I'll be over there. So do your best for me, okay?"

"I'll do more than my best. I'll do my super duper ultra best!" His reply sent her giggling.

"I'll be counting on it." With a cute turn, she playfully jogged over to the bleachers, setting her stuff down and pulling out her homework. When the team was in a lull or taking a break Vicky got to work on her homework and study, but mainly watched when the team was doing their exercise routines or laps.

Vicky only had limited knowledge of Scott's skills when it came to football or how he was compared to the rest of his family. What she did see from him set the bar high, from him almost taking the lead in running to pushing through several over teammates trying to dogpile him when he had the ball. She knew Scott was pushing himself for her, but she hoped he was this good even if she wasn't there.

Once practice was over and the team was heading home, Scott came right over to where she was. He plopped himself on the bleachers, panting and not caring he was laying more so than sitting. His head was ripe for the petting, though, upon doing so she realized his hair was entirely drenched in sweat. Half of her wanted to immediately yank her hand away and wipe it on her clothes, but Scott seemed to loosen up even with just a couple of strokes. For the sake of him, she continued. "You did good."

"Thanks." He cracked open one eye to glance at her sweetly. She reciprocated the feeling until she noticed him move up to kiss her.

A large rock crashed into her stomach, forcing her hand between them. "Whoa, wait."

Scott lifted his upper half, mostly hurt while Vicky back-pedaled. "I mean, I'm feeling pretty sick right now. I don't want you catching whatever I got."

"You're sick?" He scrunched his eyebrows together. "But you kissed me on the cheek earlier."

"Well, I felt fine then, but now I'm feeling sick." It was enough for Scott to buy it, though lying to him wasn't a great feeling.

He looked highly concerned. "That's terrible! If you're sick you can't come to school, and if you can't come to school then we can't hang out! You should be home, resting so you get better faster!"

"Right! That's exactly what I should be doing." Vicky hopped up from the bench, pulling out her phone. "But uh, I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow."

"Well, if you aren't you shouldn't push yourself! Just get better and then we can hang out some more!"

"Will do!" She shot him some finger pistols before briskly turning around and speed-walking away. Part of her really wanted that kiss to make her feel better, but the rock was too heavy in her gut. It was almost as if Liam was right behind her, grabbing her shoulders. She couldn't feel right kissing him again until she had this figured out.

Only Friday would tell if that rock disappeared or crushed her entirely.