Thanks for your support, all. Keep those reviews coming, you're awesome!
WARNING: sensitive content ahead. Reader discretion is advised.
Finally, special thanks go to my beta reader, ItIsShad0w. :)
That night, Greg was in his living room with his mom and dad. Greg yelled, "If it were Finn in the hospital, you wouldn't be arguing with me!"
Linda stood up from the couch where she and Alan were sitting. "Greg Edmonds, do not raise your voice at me! I said no, and that's that! You could get sick, Greg!" Alan was silent; he had let Linda handle this one for the most part so far.
Greg stood his ground, despite the tears coming to his eyes. He pointed at Alan. "Dad goes to the hospital every day to save total strangers that are sick, too! You won't even let me go up there to see my best friend?! IF I HAVEN'T GOTTEN SICK YET WITH FINN, WHY WOULD I WITH CONNOR?"
Linda started to say something back, but Alan interrupted. "Linda, stop. He's won this one." She looked back at him in exasperation. "He can come with me in the morning. He can stay all day if he wants to."
"Alan, why?"
"Hang on. I'll tell you both." Alan raised a hand and beckoned Greg over. The boy was big, but he needed a hug from his dad. "Sit down." Greg did, and Alan wrapped an arm around him, and Greg sobbed. Linda looked on, and her gaze softened at the sight of this.
Alan took a deep breath and quietly explained, "Greg. By the time we got him to the hospital, he was… I've never seen a child his age with a fever that high." Alan was shaken, too, and tears formed in his eyes. "Your best friend almost died in my arms this morning, Greg. And all I could think about once we stabilized him was that it could have been you or Finn." Alan wiped his eyes with one hand and held Greg tight. "So, you're gonna get to see him in the morning, and that's that."
Now, Linda looked upset, too. "Oh, Alan. You didn't tell me." She sat down with the boys and snuggled with them, too.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the last thing Greg had to do that night; it was a full moon, which meant the Wolfies would be out. He and Owlette met up at the HQ, and PJ Robot showed them some surveillance footage. Owlette said, "Alright, some of them are at the park, and some of them are at the school. I hate to say that we should split up, but it seems like we should."
Gekko sighed. "PJ Robot?" The little robot beeped from his position nearby. "Is there any sign they're up to anything bad?" PJ Robot shook his head no and made an ambiguous face. Gekko looked at Owlette. "With Connor not here, we're outnumbered. We might run into trouble if they decide to do anything tonight."
Owlette nodded. "Yeah. We might have to call Armadylan."
Gekko rubbed his temples. "I was afraid you were going to say that."
Owlette sighed. "Well, how about we do some recon first?"
"Good idea. I'll take my PJ Rover."
Owlette replied, "Alright, I'll take the Owl Glider."
Gekko said, "Alright, let's go! I'll go to the park; you go to the school."
"Deal. Be careful, okay?"
Gekko nodded. "I will be."
So, Gekko and Owlette split up; Owlette in the Owl Glider, and Gekko on his PJ Rover. Gekko practically flew toward his destination, even though the cold wind stung at his face. As he neared the park where one of the Wolfies had been seen, he steeled himself mentally for what could be a difficult encounter.
He parked the rover behind a tree and ran the rest of the way into the park. He looked around; nothing was broken. He whirled around when he heard giggles and ran toward them.
Gekko's eyes locked on when he saw two figures sitting on a bench with their backs to him. It was Kevin, and someone Gekko didn't recognize. Is there a fourth Wolfy now? Feeling fearless tonight, he said, "Ha! I found you!" Gekko's bravado dried up when he realized… Are they kissing? He stopped several feet away and said, "Oh, uhm, I'm sorry."
Kevin and the other boy pulled apart from one another and looked at Gekko. The unfamiliar boy looked up and said, "Who is this then, Kevin?"
Kevin took a moment to collect his wits, and replied, "Oh, th-this is Gekko!"
Gekko waved awkwardly. "Uh… Hi."
Gekko examined this new boy. Even though the other boy was bundled up heavily to stay warm, it was apparent that he wasn't a werewolf like Kevin; he looked to be about their age. He was quite lean in structure, a fair amount of muscle, but it wasn't noticeable. He was fair skinned, sporting messy hair, brown at the roots but gradually it lightens up to white at the tips. He had quite a friendly face and a solid British accent. Kevin said, "Oh, and Gekko, this is Ryan."
Gekko waved, suddenly feeling shy. He walked closer to the bench. "Hi, uh, Ryan." He could feel his cheeks turning red. What had he interrupted? A date?
"Heyya, I moved here from England a few months ago. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Ryan politely said to Gekko. He reached out his hand for a handshake, and Gekko took it.
"Heh, nice to meet you, too." Gekko quietly returned. "Did I, uh, interrupt something?" He enquired of the two boys in front of him.
"Not really, is he, hun?" Ryan replied, looking over at Kevin who was also bright red by this time.
"Haha no, I was just taking this one out on a little date while the other two are, well, being the other two," Kevin said, quite timidly.
"Oh," Gekko simply said, "Sorry, I saw you two here and thought you were up to no good like the other two."
"Don't worry; I won't let him get in any trouble, except in the bedroom!" Ryan commented, giving a little wink, and making Kevin go bright red.
"Chill man, I'm just messing with ya." Ryan giggled.
Kevin pushed him lightly and quietly said, "Ryan, don't embarrass me! Gekko's a friend."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Is he, then?"
Gekko spoke, finally. "I'd like to think so, yeah." He paused and pointed at Kevin. "I… I didn't know you're gay? Or bi?"
Kevin moved his shaggy hair back and said, "Gay, and really? I thought it was obvious."
Gekko said, "I mean, it was obvious a minute ago when you, uh, had your tongue down Ryan's throat." Gekko felt himself beginning to blush, too. Something about this situation got his blood moving.
Ryan laughed. "Hey now, I wasn't the one receiving most of the tongue."
Gekko laughed, too and decided to leave the two alone; he wouldn't want to be interrupted if it was him and Mandy. "Well, whatever. I'm glad you two are having fun… I suppose I'll go see what Rip and Howler are doing."
Kevin interjected, "Probably not much." He smiled slyly. "I told them to behave tonight because Ryan and I were meeting up."
Ryan eyed the werewolf. "You did? I'm proud of you, but I'm right surprised that they listened."
Kevin smiled and winked. "I've got some tricks up my sleeve." He stood up and said, "Speaking of which, I'll show you a few of them if we can go back to your house."
Ryan stood up to and said, "Right then, let's go." He looked at Gekko and said, "Cheers, Gekko." They started walking away.
Kevin added, "Bye, Gekko! Tell Catboy and Owlette hi."
Gekko said, "Sure… and uh, cheers, boys… You two stay warm." As they walked away, Gekko figured that those two definitely didn't need any help staying warm. He trotted back towards his PJ Rover and glanced back once more. He looked just in time to see the two boys kiss lightly and giggle. They were a cute couple, Gekko decided.
Gekko got back to his PJ Rover and tapped his ear. "Owlette. I found Kevin and he's not up to anything nefarious… I think. Did you find Rip and Howler?"
Over the communicator, Owlette came back over, saying, "Yeah, but in the weirdest way. Meet me back at HQ; I'll fly you over to see this."
Gekko called back, "Okay, on my way."
Twenty minutes later, Gekko and Owlette watched from atop a tall building as Rip and Howler played some sort of board game at a picnic table near their school. "That's odd," Gekko said quietly. "Rip and Howler are sitting still? Miracles are real." Rip was wearing a black hoodie, in contrast to her usual attire. Howler was clothed as normal; the cold apparently didn't bother him very much.
Owlette said, "Yeah before the wind changed, I could hear them grumbling about Kevin telling them to behave tonight. Howler said something like 'It's too cold just to be sitting still,' but Rip told him to shut up because Kevin was on a date or something. That was all I heard."
Gekko tapped his chin. "I mean, yeah, as I told you in the Owl Glider, he is definitely on a date."
Owlette snickered. "I still can't believe you were surprised that Kevin is gay. You know he has hit on you before, right?"
Gekko looked at Owlette seriously, and loudly said, "How was I supposed to know?" He clamped a hand over his mouth, and they ducked behind a wall; the sound of his voice echoed slightly through the area they were observing. They waited several seconds and then moved back up to their previous perch. Rip and Howler were scanning the area, now. They ducked back down, and Gekko quietly said, "Look, the point is, they're behaving… Let's just go home. It's too cold for this."
Owlette nodded, and they moved to the other side of the building. Owlette took Gekko's hand, and they flew down to the Owl Glider parked nearby. They hopped inside, and took off, chattering lightly about Connor and school. They reached HQ and landed the glider. They went down the elevators, and Owlette changed the subject when they stepped out. "Oh, did you see Rip's new hair color?"
Gekko shook his head. "Nope."
As they approached the picture player, they waved at PJ Robot, and Owlette said, "It's almost Catboy's blue, now. It's pretty wild."
Gekko nodded. "Cool. Ready to go home?"
Owlette stretched and said, "Yep. Seeya PJ Robot." She hit a few buttons on the picture player, and they transformed into beams of light and were whisked away from the HQ.
When Greg got home, he stretched tiredly and then sat down on his bed. He picked up his phone from his nightstand and unlocked it. He admired the background photo of Mandy with her new hair color, that cute black hoodie she'd been wearing around in the cold lately, and that distinct, fierce grin that she liked to make when she was photographed. He didn't have any new notifications, so he locked the phone, and laid down and covered up, ready to sleep.
A minute or so passed, and something clicked in his mind. His eyes shot open and were illuminated by the pale moonlight streaming in from the nearby window. "Oh my God, my girlfriend is a werewolf."
