Rebecca reclined against the wall and tapped her foot. She bent her knee, propping her leg up for a second before immediately putting it back down. She crossed, then uncrossed her arms. Some girl was standing at a locker, rifling around looking for God knows what, because she wasn't having any luck finding it. Rebecca glanced down the hall, releasing a slow breath while eyeing the back of the girl. If she didn't turn around …
Rebecca edged closer to the boy's washroom, keeping her eyes glued on the girl, who had started to text someone. Cool, cool, just don't turn around, Rebecca internally pleaded as her hand slowly pushed open the door.
The girl slammed her locked shut and Rebecca leapt away from the washroom, trying and failing not to look guilty. The girl glanced her way and when she noticed Rebecca's expression, she pulled a face. In an attempt to look casual, Rebecca waved and offered a tight-lipped smile.
"Hey," Rebecca said, shoving her hands into her pockets.
"Hey," the girl nodded, then hurried away.
Rebecca dragged her hands down her face, glaring at the door to the boy's washroom. Without waiting for someone to ruin her chance, she marched purposefully up to the door and slipped inside. When the door swung shut behind her and she was faced with an empty room, she faltered.
"For the love of … Ren!" Rebecca rasped, tiptoeing deeper into the room. "Ren, if you're not dying I swear to God…"
"Don't say that," Ren said from within a closed stall. Rebecca dropped her shoulders and walked up to it, unsure whether she should knock and ask him to come out. He sounded distressed, but what could she do?
"What's happening?" Rebecca said, stopping a foot away from the door and playing with her fingers. "Is … Ren, when you said it hurt to sit down, you don't mean you're having trouble with …"
"No!" Ren said curtly, making Rebecca relax a fraction.
"Thank God, because I'm not the girl if that's the kind of help you need," she said, hoping to hear a laugh or at least a strong puff of air. Nothing. "Okay. Uh, what is happening?"
They stood in silence for a moment. Ren broke it; "Don't freak out."
"I don't think there's…" Rebecca started with a humourless laugh. Ren kicked the door open and gave her a second to compute his exhausted expression before he turned around and lifted his shirt. Her eyes zeroed in on his lower back, where his skin was red and swollen, circling a … a … "What the hell is that?"
She knew what it was, she just couldn't believe it. It was a tail. A monkey's tail was growing out of his back, even if it was just a nub at this stage. The fur was damp with sweat and what looked like blood. As soon as Ren heard the fear in her voice he covered himself and spun around, red with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Rebecca said, taking a step forward while covering her mouth. "It's just … that wasn't what I was expecting."
"Did you think I was going to ask for help with my erectile dysfunction?" Ren muttered, palms anchoring his shirt down as his eyes flit from object to object.
"T.M.I," Rebecca said, holding up a hand with a scoff before using that same hand to comb through her hair. "Holy shit, though. Just … holy shit. When did that start?"
"First period," Ren said, his voice weak. He still couldn't meet her gaze. "I skipped second."
"I don't blame you," Rebecca said, swallowing hard. "I don't even know what to say."
"Thanks," Ren said bitterly.
"Sorry, I've just … your dad doesn't have one, right?"
"No," Ren said, wincing as he shifted from foot to foot. "But I think it's happened before? Can't remember what it means, though."
"Maybe it means you're super strong," Rebecca said, gesturing at him with raised eyebrows and an optimistic tone.
"Or maybe it means I'm going to super die," Ren retorted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Practicing on Lori's done something to me, that's for sure."
Rebecca pursed her lips, but before she could voice the scathing thought bouncing around her head, the washroom door swung open again. The two of them stared at the doorway in embarrassment and horror. One of their classmates, Austin, stopped when he noticed Rebecca and her furious blush. He looked from Ren, then back at her.
"This is the guy's room?" he stated, pointing to the urinals before squinting at Rebecca.
"Oops?" she offered lamely, before shooting Ren a look. "I'll see you later."
"No way, I'm going home," Ren said, but started to back into his stall, sizing up Austin and tugging at the bottom of his shirt.
"Okay, I'll … see you," she said quickly, dropping her chin and running to the door. She was too mortified to give Austin another look.
Once out in the hallway, she hugged herself tightly and tried to squeeze the embarrassment out of her body. She knew she should probably go back to her locker and pick up her bag even if lunch wasn't even halfway done. Yet between Ren's new mutation and the embarrassment still tinting her cheeks, she knew she'd never be able to focus on any of her homework.
"Hey." Rebecca jerked her head up at the sound of a familiar voice. Kamilla, amongst her soccer teammates, was heading the opposite way down the hall.
"Hey!" Rebecca said, a genuine smile cracking her expression. She touched Kamilla's arm when they were close enough and leaned in so she could whisper without anyone overhearing her. "Ren's got a tail."
"Wha- Pardon?" Kamilla asked, scanning Rebecca's face, looking for the punchline. "Really? Woah. Okay. Since when?"
"Two hours ago," Rebecca shrugged, as Kamilla furrowed her eyebrows, adjusting her cleats that she had slung over her shoulder.
"What does that mean, then? Is he gonna grow fur now too? Go full Monkey Brain?" Kamilla asked.
"Kamilla?" one of the soccer girls called from down the hall, just noticing that Kamilla was no longer with them. Kamilla sighed and gave Rebecca a look.
"It's cool, we'll talk later," Rebecca said quickly as Kamilla opened her mouth to conjure an apology. "See you."
"You know who might know?" Kamilla said, walking backward toward her teammates so she could send Rebecca a wolfish grin. "Theo. He's in the gym."
Rebecca sent her a level glare, but Kamilla was persistent. With a shrug, she added:
"Hey, if he acts up, I'll kick his ass. Bros before hoes, right?"
Rebecca shook her head with a smile, watching Kamilla catch up with her teammates and disappear around a corner. She stared at the place on the floor where Kamilla had been standing for a long moment, crossing her arms and frowning.
Without anyone to see it, Rebecca flung her hands in the air and huffed, pouting like a five-year-old.
"Fine," she snapped to no one before she sobered up and made her way toward the rec centre.
She had to shimmy past an extremely sweaty and irritable senior to get into the gym, and that interaction alone made her want to turn around and run for dear life. Unfortunately for her, while she was in the process of spinning on her heel, she made eye contact with none other than Theo Raeken across the room.
For a moment, he looked surprised to see her, until his expression soured into arrogance. Rebecca's throat tightened.
She scoffed, crossing her arms and glancing toward the door, but she and Theo both knew that she had made it that far, so what was the point in leaving? So instead of running she kept her gaze trained on the ground and wandered over to his side of the gym, where he was lifting weights, alone. He pretended not to notice her when she came to a stop right beside him.
Drumming her fingers against her arm as he finished his set, she couldn't stop her eyes from watching the muscles in his arm contract then release. When he finally did put the weight down and stand up, she had to discreetly clear her throat to banish the fluttering in her chest.
She stood up a little taller when he turned to her, but to her annoyance and disappointment, he looked right past her and reached for his water bottle on a nearby bench.
"Oh, come on," she exclaimed, dropping her arms to her sides. "I know you can see me. You're being ridiculous."
"More ridiculous than lying to someone about what you are?" Theo said, opening his mouth and squirting a stream of water into it. He swished it around thoughtfully before swallowing and finally looking down at her. "Or is that equally ridiculous?"
Rebecca pursed her lips but dropped her gaze. Realizing he wasn't going to get an answer, he shrugged and looked around the room.
"If you'll excuse me," he says, moving over to the cable triceps bar and adjusting the weights. Rebecca hesitated for a minute before following him.
"I was going to tell you, you know," she said. He began to repeatedly pull the bar down, his triceps hypnotizing to watch and causing her sentence to end in a mumble. Judging by the smirk plastered across his face, he thoroughly enjoyed throwing her off guard. She shook her head and patted her thighs with her palms, in the hopes that he wouldn't see how her fingers were trembling. "I mean it. I just … It was never the right time."
"You know," he said, voice strained. "It's easy to say that after you've been found out."
"Yeah, I know," she all but growled, rubbing the back of her neck, then her eyes, trying to purge the image of him from his mind and spur her feet to carry her away.
"Tired?" he asked mockingly.
"Ain't no rest for the wicked," she quipped, that garnered a flash of a real smile from him, but it was momentary.
"I don't know," he said, stopping abruptly and facing her head on. For some reason, looking into his eyes made her breath catch in her throat. They were nice to look at when he wasn't pissed off, she had to admit. Yet the emotion within them wasn't shy of mischievous, and so when he sauntered closer, she tensed. "I slept pretty good last night."
Steeling her nerves, she furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a level glare. "Have to have a good night's sleep to properly torment me, right?"
He gave her a smile that bared his teeth and she felt a stir somewhere deep in her stomach. "Anything for you."
"Um?" Rebecca said, tilting her head with a furrowed brow. Wow, that was intelligent, she thought to herself. He was still looking at her with that damn smile. Say something! She internally screeched, feeling a hot blush of embarrassment colour her cheeks. "Oh."
Before she could gut herself for being so stupid, Theo's laugh rattled any more common sense out of her brain. He took another half step closer and she was on sensory overload.
"So what now?" he asked.
"Um, I…" Rebecca's brain flickered then finally jolted back to life. "I can tell you now."
He turned his head to look at the clock against the wall. Following his gaze, she almost groaned aloud upon seeing that lunch was almost over already. God, how long had she spent ogling him?
She slammed the breaks on that thought before she blushed yet again.
"Looks like you don't have time," Theo said, shrugging while looking back at her. He didn't seem nearly as frustrated as she had expected, but that's when the mischief reentered his eyes. "But…"
"But?" Rebecca demanded, causing his smile to grow.
"But I know that I'm free this Friday for the semi formal," he said. "You'll have my undivided attention if you go with me."
What?
"Huh?" Rebecca said. She stared at him for a long moment. "You… you're going to semi? There are supernatural serial killers going around, and you want to … really?!"
He raised his eyebrows. "I think we need a break, don't you?"
"You're not kidding," she said, leaning back on her heels. "You're asking me to go with semi with you?"
"I'm saying if you want to make it up to me, you can explain yourself at semi."
She blinked. He was serious. He couldn't be serious … yeah, he was serious. Rebecca's inspiring inner monologue continued like this for what felt like forever.
"And what if I say no?" Rebecca asked, shifting her weight to feign indifference. Who was she fooling? He could definitely hear her thrumming heartbeat.
He shrugged and started to turn around. "Then I goodbye, I guess."
"Goodbye?" Rebecca echoed, moving to stay in front of him. "No. No 'goodbye', we have an English project we have to work on, remember?"
"I don't mess around doing work, Rebecca," he said with a growing smirk. "I get right down to business."
Oh. Rebecca felt her heart skip a beat. This is where she should have said some scathing retort, but as before, her mind filled with static. Her mouth fell open then clenched shut.
"Or, you know," he said, reaching behind him to grab a fistful of his tank top. Rebecca felt the colour drain from her face as he yanked the shirt up and off his body, exposing the expanse of his chest to her wandering eyes. "There are other ways you could make it up to me."
Rebecca swallowed hard, closing her eyes and clenching her jaw. It was all too much. His smile, his abs, his words. If there was a God and if he was merciful, he would kill her right then and there. Unfortunately, after a few seconds of waiting, she was still alive.
Mustering up the nerve to re-open her eyes was nearly impossible, but she managed. Her blush reached epic proportions, but she salvaged what dignity she had left by meeting his eye.
"I," Rebecca squeaked. She cleared her throat loudly, then tried again. He sat back on his heels and watched her try to function like a normal human being with an amused expression on his face. "That … that's gross. Semi is fine."
"Great," he said, with a genuine smile on his lips. "I'll pick you up at six on Friday."
She blinked and he snatched his water bottle, making a move to sidestep her and head for the locker room. He was directly beside her when he stopped short. The hair on Rebecca's arms stood up and she tilted her head toward him, battling the urge to lean and close the minute distance between them.
There was no way he missed the way her breath hitched when he ducked his mouth to hover by her ear. His breath was warm on the shell of her ear as he mumbled: "And the assignment… come over whenever you want."
Rebecca raised her chin slightly, steeled her nerves, then turned her head to face him. Their noses were an inch apart. He was so close that her eyes were struggling to focus on his features, but she didn't miss the way his eyes glanced down at her mouth…
The bell rang. Rebecca jerked her head back and took a breath, looking at the ground and blushing anew, trying to banish the less than civil thoughts floating around her head. She heard Theo chuckle, a low sound that sent a shiver through her body, then the heat of his body disappeared. Feeling bereft, she greedily watched him saunter into the change room, admiring the expanse of his bare back until he turned a corner.
Rubbing the back of her neck, she casually studied the rest of the room, trying to see if anyone else had witnessed what had just happened. No one met her eye, which could mean anything.
"Good God," Rebecca muttered, shaking her head and darting to the exit. "Pull yourself together."
Her mom gave her hell the last time she had talked on the phone and drove, so Rebecca waited until she pulled into the parking lot of her house before dialing Ren's number.
He picked up after the fourth ring and sounded more exhausted than he had before. "Yeah?"
"Just calling to check up on you," Rebecca said, tucking her phone between her shoulder and her cheek as she reached for her backpack. He groaned and shifted. "Were you sleeping?"
"Trying to," he replied, the end of his sentence cut off by a yawn. "Did you really just call to check up on me?"
"Yes?' Rebecca said, hopping up and out of her car, kicking the door shut with her foot. Rifling through her chain to find her house key, she frowned. "Is that so crazy?"
"Kinda," he said. As she entered her house, Rebecca paused, actual concern crossing her face. "Because you know that I'm gonna kick your ass for waking me up for no reason."
Rebecca smiled, relieved. She shut the front door and ignored Mrs. Lovelace's form hunched over Stacey McLennon in her living room. Her mom wouldn't be home for a few hours yet, so she stomped up the stairs as loudly as she pleased. "Okay then," she said. "How about this; I called because I needed to make sure you didn't drop dead."
"God, I might as well," Ren groaned. The creak of his bed told Rebecca he was most likely shifting and prodding at his lower back. "This thing hurts like a bitch. Dad went out to get me a hot pad, but I think he just needs to go and freak out without me there to see it."
"He doesn't know what's happening?" Rebecca asked, pushing open the door to her room with her elbow. "This can't be the first …"
Her voice drifted off as she scanned her empty room. No sign of Connor, which made her brow furrow. Typically he was sitting on her bed or at her desk, reading or doodling. Her closet was closed, so she headed toward it, dropping her backpack onto the ground along the way.
Oblivious, Ren responded. "No, he seemed pretty shocked. He gave me like seven cups of tea and told me to take a nap. You don't think he's going to go get Gus and ask him, do you? I'd rather this thing strangle me, if I'm being honest. It's gotten bigger, by the way…"
Rebecca yanked open the door and her blood ran cold. The only things in her closet were Connor's makeshift bed of old clothes and a folded piece of paper resting atop it.
Ren was still talking, but she couldn't hear him over the ringing in her ears as she picked up the paper and read its message. She recognized the handwriting; Connor always curled his 'y''s. Her phone fell to the floor as she read, then reread the only two words on the page.
Finally realizing something was wrong, she could faintly hear Ren's voice through the phone. "Becks? Rebecca? Is everything okay?"
She was gripping the paper so hard it quivered. She said, too quiet to be heard, "No…"
Her grip slackened and the page leisurely floated to the ground, its message skyward when it came to rest at her feet: I'm sorry
Hey-O! I know, another year has passed. If I can come clean as to why I haven't been writing; I feel like my writing ability has improved in the 3+ years I've worked on this story and it's a tad frustrating knowing that I made some rookie mistakes in past chapters. So, I'm hopefully going to use the holidays to go back and edit the chapters to clean them up a bit. I don't want to change everything because I like this story and most of the ideas used in it.
And everybody who has read, reviewed, and done anything at all with this story have encouraged me so much! I never thought my OC fest would get any traction. Since Teen Wolf is officially over I have no idea how many people would have interest in this story any more, but I have an ending clear in sight and though it'll take time, I won't be deterred!
That being said, I would still love, if you have any thoughts or ideas, of any scenes you'd like to see. For instance, the gym scene with Theo and Rebecca was suggested by a Guest reviewer way back in 2015, who probably doesn't even read this story anymore, so I'm so sorry! But this is for you, my lovely German friend!
Love every single one of you guys!
pinkdoughtnuts - Anytime! well, anytime that I can, anyway :) Neutralize indeed...
Verona1700 - No so soon update, but thank you kindly! I'm glad you like it!
NicheNiche - I'm glad you thought it was fun! Gotta have something to break up the tension, right?
