A/N: Sorry it's been so long; school has been crazy.
After my conversation with Isaac, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt. I mean on one hand, I'm glad that he did get the bite so that he could be away from his father; but on the other hand I still don't see the bite as the "gift" they all claim it to be. It's obvious that it's helped Isaac, but what about everyone else?
I was trying to decide who I would go and apologize to next, when the decision was made for me. I got a call from Erica, telling me to meet her and Boyd at her house later that afternoon. I was a little skeptical about going there for a few reasons. For one, I wasn't sure how much her parents knew about everything that has happened in the past few months with Stiles and I.
After the situation with Gerard, it was decided that the best thing to do would be to go ahead and tell the parents of everyone who was in Derek's pack what they were and how to protect themselves. At first they were upset of course, but after a while they came to understand and get used to the idea. Stiles was apparently the one who kept everyone's parents up to date on pack business and reassuring them that their kids would be safe with them.
Since Stiles has pretty much been the face of the Hale pack to everyone's parents, he's definitely well-liked by them all, and they were extremely devastated that he had been hurt to the point that he needed to be hospitalized. Derek and the pack knew it was my fault because they were there, but I'm not sure what their parents had been told about the whole situation.
The next thing that I was worried about was Erica and Boyd themselves. Boyd has already gotten some revenge on me for hurting Stiles when he, Jackson, and Peter came looking for me, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's completely calm. Then there's Erica; Erica used to have a crush on Stiles, and even though now she doesn't, she's still extremely protective of him just as he of her. If anyone was going to come after me after what happened t between Stiles and myself, I was for sure that it would be her. Even though Erica knows about what happened with Boyd, Peter, Jackson and myself she probably won't be satisfied until she can enact some sort of revenge on me herself.
I pulled up to Erica's house on my bike and saw Boyd standing outside waiting for me. Instantly, I became nervous and I'm pretty sure that he knew because he was looking at me with a devious smile on his face. As I started walking up the walkway to the front door Boyd spoke up.
"You can calm down Scott. I'm not going to attack you." He said before turning an walking inside.
"I can't make any promises for Erica though." He said as we crossed the threshold, and instantly the nervousness was back. Boyd led me down the halls of Erica's house to get to her room. On the way there I started noticing things about Erica's house that I'd never seen in anyone else's house before. For one, most of the house carpeted or covered in rugs; any and all tables were either round or had child safety caps on the corners; even the stairs leading to the second floor were blocked off. I didn't understand what was going on, but before I could ask Boyd about it we were at Erica's bedroom door. Boyd stepped off to the side and waved me in; apparently they were going to talk to me separately.
Walking into Erica's room I noticed some of the same things in there that I had in the rest of the house. Round tables, carpets and rugs; pretty much anything with a corner or a sharp angle was either absent from her room of completely covered. Even her bed was just a box spring and a mattress on the floor; there was no bed frame at all. Erica noticed me looking around her room and stood up from sitting on her bed.
"Epilepsy." She said, looking around the room herself.
"That's the corners are covered and my bed is on the floor. I never knew when I would have a seizure, so my parents took every precaution that they could. They put me in a downstairs bedroom so I wouldn't fall down the stairs, they covered everything that had a sharp angle and put carpets and rugs in every room so that when I had a seizure, I wouldn't hurt myself when I fell. I never had any friends because people thought that I was weird because of my epilepsy.
I was ignored and bullied pretty much all my life, I always felt guilty that my parents had to spend every waking moment watching me, making sure that I was ok; and then I met Derek. I met Derek; and he told me that he could help me; that he could get rid of my epilepsy and allow me to live a somewhat normal life. He sat me down and explained what would happen, about the hunters and all the dangers that could come to me if I was to accept the bite, to become a part of his pack. He left me and told me to think about it; to seriously think about how my life would change and the dangers I would be in because of what I would become."
Erica paused and allowed me to absorb all that information before she spoke again. She turned and looked me dead in my eyes.
"Do you know why I said yes, Scott?" She asked; I shook my head no.
"Because I was already in danger of dying before I got the bite; I could have a seizure at school, fall and get a concussion; or the seizure could be bad enough where it kills me itself. Derek gave me the chance to live normally, just like you, Stiles and everyone else lives."
Erica sighed and shook her head at me.
"Look I know that you didn't ask for this but you need to understand and realize that not everyone feels the same way that you do about the bite. Jackson, Isaac, Boyd and I all asked for this, because this is the life we want. Our parents don't understand it either, but they respect our decisions and are happy for us that we all have what we were looking for, why can't you?"
She asked a good question. Why does it bother me so much that they choose the bite? Why do I care?
"I know you're here to apologize and I accept it, but not for you. I'm accepting your apology because you not being around is killing Stiles as much as he tries to hide it; we can all tell. But understand this Scott; you hurt him again, and I swear on everything you hold near and dear that I will tear you limb from limb and thoroughly enjoy doing so." And with that Erica walked out of the room.
I stood in there for a long time looking around her room and thinking about what she said. Just like with Isaac, I understand why she felt she needed the bite, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it. I left Erica's room and went looking for Boyd; I found him in the backyard looking out into the woods. I walked up to him and when I got to his side he started talking.
"Do you know what a pack is? Not what Peter wanted in the beginning, but a true pack. Do you know what that is Scott?" He looked over at me and I shook my head no. Boyd turned his head and looked back out into the woods.
"A pack is a family. It's a group of people who care about each other and depend on one another. We're friends, siblings, confidants, and supporters of each other. A pack, a true pack, is everything that you need and everything you were missing. For Isaac, it's security, it's the knowledge that if he messes up in school or accidently breaks something at the house, he knows that there will be someone to help him study or someone to help him clean up. He's not waiting around for the next beating or afraid of being locked away because of it. He knows that we love and care about him.
For Erica, its reassurance, assurance that she can go outside, get her license, travel, and not be treated like she's breakable because of her seizures. She can finally lead a normal life and enjoy herself. Her parents don't have to worry about her anymore and they have the chance to live their lives the way they want."
"What about you?" I asked Boyd. He chuckled before turning to look at me.
"Acceptance. They accept and appreciate me for who I am. I don't feel hated, or disliked or unwanted with them. The only thing I feel is love and understanding." Boyd sighed and looked me in the eyes.
"I accept your apology man, and I hope that one day you realize that what we have in this pack is the best thing that ever happened to us. It could the best thing that happened to you as well, but it'll never work if you continue on this path that you're on. You need to wake up and think about what really matters in life." Boyd patted me on the shoulder and walked away.