I promise i haven't forgotten about this story for the few that follow it!

Part 8: Roommate Roulette

After Sam stepped out of the room, Ben continued with introductions. Sam was eyeing Derek probably just as warily as Derek was eyeing him. Ben, completely oblivious, had Sam agree to help Derek download the app for the credit card. After he had left, Sam spoke up first. "Alright, first off, don't touch my stuff. Everything is labeled and I don't want your scent on my stuff."

Derek chose to ignore the sour attitude, understanding what it's like to have an unfamiliar wolf nearby. "You're pack as fine with you leaving them?"

Sam paused, eyed Derek up and down for what felt like a minute before fully stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him. "Yeah. I'm the only one with the chance to go to college. What about yours?"

Derek scratched the back of his neck. "I don't really have a pack like that. I was adopted by a warlock."

Derek noticed that Sam seemed… sympathetic? Somehow, Derek mentioning he was without a pack made Sam a little more friendly. "How old are you?" Sam asked.

"I'm 17, but I turn 18 during the time I'm here."

"Nice, not that that does much for you anymore. You can't even buy cigarettes at 18 most places."

"How old are you?"

"I'm 17, too. You hungry? I was just going to make a sandwich."

Derek was astonished at the sudden change of mood. Sam was now being incredibly accepting and talking with him, something he really didn't expect.

"Yeah, I'm hungry." Derek wanted to laugh. He was sure Sam understood just how hungry he gets.

Sam pulled out some sandwich meat and other ingredients and began to put together two sandwiches. "You have any adoptive brothers or sisters?"

"I've got one brother and a sister. A warlock and a witch. I was adopted pretty young so we are close." Derek said and took a bite into the sandwich Sam handed him. "You?"

"Oh yeah. I've got 7 different brothers and sisters. Thankfully my mom says she's done having kids. But, my older sister just had a baby and I have a younger sister that just got pregnant."

"Pregnant? How old is she?"

"16. You probably don't know, but it's pretty common for young girls to get pregnant easily with pups. Even before you start changing, wolves get pretty horny. I have a brother and his girlfriend is bound to get pregnant any day now, if you know what I mean." Derek wished he didn't, but was appreciative of the information. Derek suddenly realized this was his opportunity to learn more about himself and about the wolf he was struggling to keep at bay. Of course, he didn't want to bombard Sam with questions, so he promised himself he'd wait before asking. "Do you know anything about your birth parents?"

Derek shook his head. "No, not really. I know that my father was a werewolf. I was in a lab being tested on when my father saved me and took me in."

"Oh shit, your a test baby? I've heard of that. My family tells rumors about others who get kidnapped as babies and tested on. I didn't think it was real."

"Yeah. Taking me caused my dad a lot of stress. We were moving around a lot trying to stay out of trouble. Of course, it didn't always work out. But, now, we haven't had an incident in a few years."

"So, I got family that's going to be coming to visit in a month. Is it going to bother you if I bring them over? I've met some wolves that get very sensitive when folks outside of their pack are in their space."

"No, it should be fine. My girlfriend is coming to visit on my birthday, and my family is coming shortly after."

"You have a girlfriend? What's she like? Does she know you're a wolf?"

Derek had just told himself he wouldn't ask too many questions and yet here he was being interrogated. "Oh, yeah. She knows. She's supernatural."

"But not a wolf? I have not seen a relationship between two different supernaturals before. Then again, it's not like I'm surrounded by a very diverse community. Is she a witch? Is that like your type now cause you were raised with them?"

Derek shook his head. "No. She's a necromancer."

"What?! I have never met a necromancer before. I've met a vampire before, they are assholes. Don't even bother trying to be friends with one, they will stab you in the back-literally."

Derek felt like there was more to the story, but decided not to pry. "Have you smelt any other supernaturals while you've been here?"

Sam gave him a look. "That's kind of a weird thing to ask, dude."

"Uh…"

"Do your friends and family ask about what you smell all the time?"

"Uh… I don't know. I guess?"

"Yeah, it's obvious you didn't grow up with other wolves."

"Yeah, it seems so. Well, thanks for the sandwich. I'm going to unpack."

"Okay. I'm going out to eat tonight if you want to join."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Thanks." Derek pulled his luggage into his new bedroom and closed the door. He threw a bag onto his twin bed and sat at the desk that was next to it, pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his messages. He had texted his dad and Chloe to let them know he had gotten there safe. It'd be really soon that Chloe was leaving for her vacation with her dad, and they'd only be able to communicate through social media whenever Chloe was able to access wifi. Derek could tell he was already missing his family and Chloe. He began texting Chloe.

I met my roommate.

Oh yeah? What r they like?

A werewolf.

What?!

Yeah, I'd call you to talk about it, but he'd probably hear me.

Oh yeah… makes sense. Well, that's pretty crazy. Are there any other supernaturals?

I don't know yet.

Does he at least seem nice?

Yeah.

I'm packing for Italy. Do you think its going to be hot?

Derek chuckled to himself at the silly question. He went to google and quickly looked up the temperature of Italy.

Yeah. Hopefully your makeup doesn't melt off.

Haha! 0.o

I'm going to unpack. Talk later?

Definitely. I'll call you before I go to bed?

Sounds good. Love you.

Love you too.

He set his phone down and began to unpack, putting his clothes away and his toiletries in the bathroom.

It was time for his summer journey to begin.

There was no remnants of the sour attitude Sam had given Derek initially. Derek realized with a smack in the face that the attitude was shot in his direction instead of towards other people, no wonder everyone thought he was so unfriendly at first. Sam called an Uber and they were taken to a Thai restaurant.

"Have you ever been to Cali before?" Sam asked Derek.

"No, I live in New York. I've really only lived on the East Coast and some areas in the Midwest."

"Damn. That sounds like a lot. I'm from Oregon. I've never been to this city, but I've been to a few communes up North that have other wolves. We are pretty close to the border of California so we have an agreement with each other to exchange goods and information when necessary."

"Wow, that all sounds so complex."

"Oh yeah. Werewolf communities have Pack councils and an Alpha. My family is a bunch of Omega's and Beta's, which is another reason we have so many babies. When you're an Alpha, I hear it can be harder to have kids. That's why Alpha's can sometimes have multiple wives."

Multiple wives? Derek had never heard such a thing before. Sam must have noticed the look on Dereks face and chuckled. "I know it sounds like one of those sister wives reality TV shows. I'd say the concept is similar. There's still plenty of drama. But our Alpha's family is very close. Their kids get along pretty well, but they have the least amount of interaction with other communities unless it's another pack that's visiting ours."

Derek looked around anxiously. "Don't you get nervous about talking about this in public?"

Sam shrugged. "I mean, its not like a normie is going to really know what we are talking about. It's not like I'm constantly talking about wolf stuff at home. Most people hear werewolf and just brush it off as us talking about a movie or DnD or something. Well…" Sam eyed Derek. "We always thought kids getting kidnapped and experimented on was something elders would tell us to scare us. I'm suddenly realizing you probably had to live through it."

Derek nodded. He rarely talked about that part of his life to anyone- not even Chloe. He wasn't sure if he was ready to open to some werewolf he just met. Thankfully, Sam didn't press the topic. "So, you must not have met many werewolves, then. I know on the East they are a lot more spread out- or so I've been told. I have never been outside of the West coast."

"We ran into a handful of wolf packs while we were moving around but I never really got much chance to talk to them or anything. My Dad was worried about me getting in trouble and the group that took me would get us. We finally stopped moving once my Dad heard from someone that the group disbanded because of internal issues-people got fed up with what they were doing. So we finally stopped moving when I was in my Freshman year. But, my dad got a better job and we moved again to where I am now." Sam nodded in understanding. "I ran into a small pack when I went skiing with my family… It didn't go so well. I doubt I'll ever see them again."

They both ate their food, finishing their plates and Sam even licked his clean. "Good, right?!" He said with a happy smile. Derek nodded. He peaked at his phone and realized it was starting to get late and he needed to call Chloe. "Do you mind if I step outside?"

Sam nodded, heading back up to the counter to buy dessert. Derek stepped outside and thought the weather was so nice on his constantly warm skin. Summer was only just starting, but there was a big difference between New York and California. He pulled out his phone and called Chloe.

"Hey!"Chloe answered, but Derek could hear her stifle a yawn.

"Heading to bed soon?"

"Yep. How's everything going with the new roommate?"

"Good. He's… nice. He's telling me a lot about his family. I've learned a lot more than I thought. I… didn't know I didn't know some of this stuff."

"Wow, anything super interesting?"

"Yeah, apparently Alpha's take multiple wives."

"Woah! I'm not sharing you!"

Derek chuckled. "I don't think I'm an Alpha."

"You're my Alpha." Chloe stated over the phone flirtatiously. Derek inwardly groaned. She made him go crazy sometimes. How was he going to last so long without seeing her?

"I love you. Message me when you are leaving, okay? I'll make sure to have an instagram at that point."

"You haven't even made one yet!?" she playfully yelled.

"I promise."

"Alright… I miss you."

Suddenly, Derek wanted to cry. "I miss you, too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Derek decided that he would call his dad after he got back to his room and headed back into the restaurant. Sam was already half way done with some pastries and ice cream. "Damn, I bet that was your girlfriend. You look like a lost puppy." Derek rolled his eyes and slumped into his chair. "You got a picture or something? She must be hot if you're all broken hearted about her or something."

Derek tried not to roll his eyes once again before pulling his phone out and showing Sam his screensaver. It was Chloe asleep cuddling with a blanket. She wasn't wearing any makeup because it was one of their movie nights that she had fallen asleep in the middle of. His screensaver after unlocking his phone was a picture of him and Chloe at the concert for her birthday. Derek showed him both.

"Damn… goth girls know what's up." Derek couldn't help the quiet growl that was released from the back of his throat. Sam geld up both arms. "I'm just saying! Its hard for us to find people understanding of… well everything when they aren't from a wolf community."

"She's been there for a lot. She's the only person I really feel comfortable around anymore. I always thought my brother would be there when I started to fully change, but she was ther, and she's staid."

"Wait, back up. You've changed? Like fully changed into another wolf."

Derek nodded. "You haven't?"

"Hell, nah! I only just started to have symptoms of changing a month ago. Most boys don't change fully until they are 18. I had a cousin who couldn't fully change until he was 20. He got a lot of shit for that. Plus, partially changing for that long really wears you down."

"Tell me about it." Derek grumbled. Deciding to be vulnerable in an effort to give what was given, Derek mentioned, "I had been changing fully for a few months… I got into a… I guess you could say disagreement with Chloe-my girlfriend. I've been struggling to change fully since then and it's driving me crazy."

"I've never heard of that shit. I could maybe ask around for you if you want."

Derek shrugged, "I got those book from an older witch in my town. She said it might have something to help me. I just have been dreading reading it." Too afraid of what might be inside. Derek did his best to push down that thought.

"So what's your focus? Mine is engineering."

"Physics."

"Damn. You a nerd nerd. A nerd with a goth girl. Interesting."

"Are you dating anyone?"

Sam shook his head. "Nah. Some say I'm picky."

With some other small conversations about space and the internship, the returned home and entered their rooms. When Derek laid in his new bed, taking a deep breath I'm of the new smells. He allowed himself to sit in the new sensation of his sheets. He pulled out a sweater that Chloe had slept in for the past week and gifted to him. An odd gift for others. But absolutely perfect for him. He drank in the familiar scent of his mate as it mingled with the new sounds and sensations that were engulfing him and he drifted to sleep much quicker than he thought.

The next week Sam and Derek looked around town at what was to offer. 5 days later their next roommate moved in.

He seemed normal enough. Nothing indicated that he was supernatural. He had the room next to Sam's. Ben introduced him the same way he introduced me. His name was José, he had dark black hair that was slicked back with gel or grease. Pimples dotted his chin and neck. Derek almost instinctively went to scratch his own chin, reminded of the terrible acne he had months ago. Thankfully it had died down to a few flare ups every once in a while. Sam did a similar talk to José, telling him not to touch his things.

Sam actually had a handy label printer and was nice enough to let Derek borrow it to label his own things. But, outside of introducing his name, Derek wasn't very social and went back into his room to continue his work. He had started a drawing of the woods behind Chloe's house. Something he was fond of and easy to remember. He was feeling blocked and dissatisfied with his shading and he started to feel on edge. As if she knew he was struggling, a message popped up on his newly created Instagram from Chloe.

This is my room!

Beneath the message was a picture a dramatic looking room covered in things accosted with the sea. Derek responded with a laugh emoji.

Totally your style

Chloe sent back a heart.

Suddenly she was calling as a video chat. It was great to see her face and her voice, but it felt depressing without her touch or her scent. Derek began to think he might be a bit different then Sam. It seemed as though his senses might be a little more highetened. Or maybe Derek just felt embarrassed about the smelling thing.

After the call, Derek decided to reach out to his family members to check in via text. His Dad was quick to respond even though it was late for him. Derek smiled at his Dad's use of exclamation marks.

The program started in 3 days. The last roommate wouldn't arrive until the day before. It hadn't even really started but Derek was deeply home sick. He was glad to have the sweater Chloe gifted him, but was worried to even wash it for fear the scent would go away too quickly. It was a two month program and he still has 3 weeks before Chloe was going to visit. How would he survive?

The last boy to arrive was an African-American warlock named Deshaun. He had the same energy as Simon, Derek recognized it immediately when Ben brought him into the apartment. It boggled his mind a bit to have two out of the three roommates to turn out being supernatural. It made him extremely curious to how many others would be in the program, or even just working at Space X.

He eyed Sam and Derek, most likely trying to figure out what they were. After Ben stepped out of the apartment he shut himself in his room before anyone could say anything else. Didn't bother Derek, he wasn't looking at making a ton of new friends.

The night before his first day, he made sure to video call Chloe. He was feeling antsy and warm. Was it just nerves? Was he going to change. Derek prayed to anything that would listen that he wouldn't wolf out while in front of others.

If was Chloes last day in Italy. She had been sending pictures and videos of the different ancient looking ruined she visited. On one occasion she had a run in with an angry ghost, but has managed herself throughout the vacation. Plus, Derek knew how big of a deal it was for her Dad to spend time with her. While he desperately missed the smell of her hair, the smoothness of her skin, he hoped she was happy. That's what he really wanted.

"Have you found a place to go to…. Just in case."

"Yeah. There's actually a lot of mountains and foliage not too far from here. I just have to be careful."

"Okay good. I miss you so much. I can't believe it's still so long before I see you!"

"Me too."

After Chloe reassured him he would be great on his first day, they said their goodbyes.

Derek wrapped his head with Chloe's Hoodia, engulfing his senses to make him relax. He hoped she was right.