Chapter Two
Tommy was wondering where Merton was. He hadn't seen him since yesterday. But, Merton hadn't looked like he was having a very good day. An announcement over the PA system jolted him out of his thoughts.
The nurse's office? The nurse's office? Why would he have to go to the nurse's office. Unless. . . Paranoid fantasies filled his head, beginning with blood tests, and ending with experimental testing and dissection. Step right up and see a werewolf and how it responds to electroshock therapy! But there was no way they could know. No way. Merton was the only one who knew he was a werewolf, and there was no way anyone else could guess.
There had been some very close calls. He wasn't exactly brilliant at hiding the inner wolf. He ran faster than he should, lifted things that were heavier. . .
God, football. He knew some of the feats he accomplished on the football fields were nothing short of inhuman. God, drug testing. What if they thought he was . . .
Was werewolf urine the same as human? Tommy made a mental note to ask Merton. He was spending too much time with Merton – Tommy Dawkins, football captain was a pretty laid-back, come what may, person. It was Merton who got all worked up. Not that it wasn't cute.
He opened the door of the nurse's office. Took a deep breath, and stepped in. He looked up and saw – Merton? Something was wrong with Merton? Good god, something was wrong with Merton. Tommy felt the wolf inside him rising to the surface. Someone was going to die. "What happened?"
"Mr. Dingle had a bit of an accident, Tommy." The nurse was older, stout and round with short brown hair. "He's not feeling very well, and we can't locate his guardians. We can't hold him, either, and he doesn't want to stay. Principal Smith hoped that perhaps you could ensure he reached home safely?"
"Of course." Tommy bit back all the questions he felt at the tip of his tongue. Thank god for Mr. Smith. Otherwise, Merton might just have walked out of here, all alone. "C'mon, Merton, old buddy."
Merton was looking up at him, with an emotion that was hard to identify. Tommy took a deep breath, and the wolf could smell the self-hate. Whatever Merton was feeling was terribly twisted by self-hate and not recognisable now. Merton stood gingerly, but Tommy didn't say anything.
They walked down the halls in silence. "Do you need your back-pack?"
"No." Merton answered, flatly.
Tommy frowned, and they continued. Tommy didn't ask Merton if he could drive the Hearse, just took the keys out of his hand when he went to open the door. And Merton didn't protest, just went around to the passenger's side.
Walking into the Lair, Merton turned back to Tommy and finally said his first sentence. "I'm okay, now, you can go."
Tommy snorted. "I bloody well think not!" He yelled, and Merton flinched instinctively. Tommy couldn't help himself. There was the Merton he knew. And the Merton he wanted to spend all day reassuring. He just went up to Merton, and gave him a hug. Merton flinched again.
Tommy released him and started unbuttoning his shirt, fighting Merton's half-hearted attempts to stop him. When he had exposed the series of black and blue marks that decorated Merton's ribs, he went into a cold fury. "Who?"
"Doesn't matter." Merton said softly.
"The hell it doesn't." Tommy pushed the shirt of Merton's shoulders to expose Merton's back.
"It's okay."
"Is not." Tommy gently nudged Merton to the couch. "Sit down, I'll get you some Tylenol." Tommy went to the bathroom at the back of the lair, and searched through the medicine cabinet. "TNT? Cause I'm going to kill them. I told them to leave you alone." He knew it wasn't TNT, they'd listen to him, Tommy knew the whole reason that they even picked on Merton now was to protect their reputation. And knowing that, and seeing Merton's ability to walk through the school, not caring what anyone thought of him, well, Tommy hadn't made it a big deal. But looking at Merton now, he was starting to reconsider.
Now he was going to go screaming through the halls, beating up everyone who even looked at Merton funny.
That look was back on Merton's face. It was unidentifiable, but the self-hate was even more obvious. "It wasn't them." Merton leaned back on the couch.
"Then who?" Tommy tried to keep the rage out of his voice. He was going to find the person who did this, and then he was going to beat them black and blue. Maybe he'd try for orange. Tommy passed the pills to Merton, who swallowed shakily.
"Look. No one cares, Tommy, I mean it could be anyone, okay?"
Tommy was playing out little fantasies in his head. Blood, gore, what happens when someone gets thrown through the air like in the movies?
There was a choking sound, like Merton was trying not to cry.
And the blood thoughts were buried again. Tommy ripped Merton's black down comforter off of the bed and draped it over him, before working his way under the covers and wrapping his arms around Merton. "You know I care. Merton. I mean you're a really good guy, and damn it, football players aren't wired for this. You know you're my best friend, right?"