Kim was already half asleep when her phone buzzed that Friday night. Wrapped up like a burrito and feeling toasty, she decided to ignore the person texting her and go back to sleep. Her phone buzzed again. Then she heard a clink against her bedroom window. Clink. Clink. Buzz.

"What the actual fuck," she mumbled and grabbed her phone. Three messages from Paul.

Yo, you up?

Can you come down? We're in front of your house. We need to talk.

Seriously, grandma, are you actually sleeping at 11 o'clock?

Clink.

She got up and tiptoed to the window. Two figures were standing in the darkness and she could barely make out their faces. Paul and Jared.

"What is happening?" she whispered to herself. Right then her phone buzzed again and startled her, so she almost dropped it on the floor.

Connweller, I know you're up. We can literally see you peeking through your curtains. Please, come down.

"Oh, like hell I will," she muttered and stepped away from the window. Buzz.

It's important. Please.

"Said every serial killer ever," she muttered again and craned her neck to see if they were still outside.

Buzz.

We're not killers. God. Stop being so paranoid.

"What the fuck?!" She yelled and jumped further away from the window. "Calm down Kim, it's just a coincidence. He knows you and he's messing with you. He can't actually hear you," she tried to console herself. Her phone buzzed again.

I'm not messing with you. I can actually hear you. So can Cameron. Test it, if you want.

She stared at the screen in horror. "This is so stupid," she finally mumbled. "This is just an elaborate prank, nothing else."

I agree, it's stupid, so let's just talk face-to-face.

She started pacing her bedroom, checking Paul's messages like they were some secret codes about to disappear. She hoped they would disappear. They didn't. Then she checked her bedroom for hidden microphones or bugs. Maybe they bugged her phone, too? She looked at it like it was radioactive. Buzz.

Connweller, it would be so much easier if you would just talk to us. Please?

"Well, dammit. Fuck, fuckfuckfuck." She took a deep breath and tightened her fists, and before she had a chance to change her mind, she grabbed her jacket and tiptoed downstairs.

As she walked out into the cold night, Kim had to admit that maybe everyone was right about Paul and now Jared, and she was the naïve and delusional one. If you met either of them on their own, they seemed kind of tough. However, standing together in the dark, they looked downright menacing. Two tall, strong figures, waiting quietly in the darkness. She still couldn't wrap her head around how tall they'd gotten in such a short time. But it wasn't just the height. Nowadays, there always seem to be an air about them, of cautious concentration, like they were constantly listening for something no one else could hear and it made Kim feel uneasy. Maybe she should have woken up her parents. Maybe she shouldn't have gone out at all. She squeezed her fingers tighter around her phone, like it could bring her any sort of protection. She should go back before they –

"Kim," Jared said quietly and even though she couldn't really see his face, she somehow knew he was smiling.

"Took you long enough," Paul grumbled and, strangely, her shoulders relaxed a bit at that.

"I thought you didn't want to see me anymore," she said shakily.

"Yeah, well, things change."

"How so?"

"Well, that's what we wanted to show you. But we can't do it here. Too risky."

"Well, I'm repeating myself, but if you think I'm going anywhere with you, you're crazy."

"Why are you here, then? Why did you leave your house and come down here to talk to us? If you're as scared as you say, why bother?"

"You were bothering me and I wanted to tell you to leave," she stammered.

"You could have done that over the phone, easily. But you didn't. You're curious, aren't you? You want to know the truth," Paul stated and her insides fluttered a bit.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't force anything?" She addressed Jared this time.

"I did, I know. But... Listen, Kim, you're probably right. This is probably a mistake. I've been so eager to tell you the truth, that I've ignored everything else. I've dragged Paul into this mess as well… I wouldn't push anymore, but it's really important for me, no, for us, to tell you the truth. If you let us do that, we will leave you alone and let you decide what you want to do. No one will annoy you any further. We'll just-"

"Are you in a cult? And tell me the truth," she blurted out. Her heart was drumming inside her chest and her hands started shaking.

"No," Jared said and the word exploded with such conviction that she decided to believe him.

"And if I go with you tonight, I'm not going to- Nothing bad is going to happen to me?"

"Of course not, Jesus. What do you take us for?" She could almost hear Paul roll his eyes.

"Whenever you're with us, nothing bad is going to happen to you. Don't worry," Jared added gently.

"You promise?"

"You have my word. And Paul's."

A word doesn't really mean much when you're surrounded by people so much stronger and faster than yourself, but they were right about one thing. Kim wanted to know.

"I'm not sure about this," she said and turned to look at her house. She could be in her bed now, burrito style.

"OK, let me show you something," Paul said and disappeared in Kim's backyard.

"What is he doing?" she asked Jared.

"I have no idea."

They stood awkwardly for a few moments and Jared was squirming nervously the whole time.

"What's wrong with you? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," he mumbled.

"You don't look fine. And you're making me nervous. I'm getting serious serial killer vibes from you."

He chuckled nervously. "Well, it's definitely not that, so you can relax. It's just, I'm kind of excited. But I'm also kind of… Anxious? It's not easy to share this, but I would also really like to share it with you. If that makes sense. I'm sure Paul feels the same."

Paul chose that moment to come back and he was carrying something long, that looked like sticks. Kim took several panicked steps backwards, trying to put as much distance between herself and Paul as possible.

"Paul, man, what are you doing?" Jared said exasperatedly. "We said we were going to do this in a calm, civilized manner. Kim, don't worry, he's not going to hit anybody with those."

Paul slowed down but he didn't stop. He approached Kim and slowly lowered two construction rods in front of her.

"Touch them," he instructed her. "Can you feel that it's really steel? That it's not something soft or plastic?"

"Where did you find that? If it's my dad's, he's going to be so pissed," she finally regained composure.

"Never mind that," Paul said impatiently. "Can you confirm it's steel?"

"I don't know, Paul, I'm not a fucking builder! It's some kind of metal. It's firm and heavy."

"Good, that's all I wanted to hear," he said and then took one of the rods in both hands. With a slight grunt of effort, he bent it in half, like it was a piece of plastic. Kim gasped and took a step back.

"Show her," Paul turned to Jared.

"Man, maybe-"

"Show her."

Jared approached reluctantly and sighed. He took the remaining rod, examined it shortly and just like Paul, he bent it in half, then, with a grunt, he bent the half in half. He then gently put his handiwork on the ground. Kim gaped at them, not really able to see their faces properly in the darkness. They stood there in silence for some time. Kim wasn't sure how long, but she started shivering. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold or stress.

"Is it really the steroids?" she asked in a pathetic attempt to find a reasonable explanation for their strength. "I could have sworn that was the stupidest story about you that I've heard. Guess I was wrong," she said through chattering teeth.

"You're freezing," Jared stepped towards her, arms extended, like he was going to hug her, but then seemed to think better of it, so he just stayed where he was. It was only then that Kim realized that both of them were in T-shirts. Jared's didn't even have sleeves. In December. They didn't seem remotely uncomfortable, as far as she could see.

"No, you're right. It's not steroids. This is all genetics. So, you see. We are not ordinary people anymore. You're smart, Connweller. You know the legends. So, tell me. What are we?" Paul asked and for the first time since she'd met him, his tone was completely calm and level; no teasing, no sass, almost sad.

"If this is some super elaborate prank, you're, like, terrible people and you should be locked up," she sniffed. Her throat felt blocked and her eyes stung with tears.

"We wouldn't do that, Kim, you know us," Jared said gently and, for a second, she wanted to run into his arms and make him repeat that everything would be ok, over and over. "Don't be scared, it's all good," he told her, like one would a scared child. He stepped towards her, then backwards again.

"Kim, what are we?" Paul had never called her Kim before. Her spine froze. She swallowed thickly.

"Werewolves."