#he's still looking at his armless problem child

[mettywiththenotes]

HEY AIZAWA WATCHED AS TOMURAFO KILLED BAKUGOU AND NOW HE'S ARRIVED JUST IN TIME TO SEE IZUKU'S ARMS HAVE BEEN DECAYED

[animatedminds]

Star Wars: Visions - Episode 6: T0-B1

The third one of the night (well, early morning now), and the final one of today’s (well, early tomorrow’s) set. This has been a really enjoyable trio, and I hope the last three are just as engaging as these three. But without further ado:

Episode 6: T0-B1 Developed By: Science SARU Directed By: Abel Góngora Let’s start with an important philosophical question: What if Astro Boy... but Star Wars? And there you have our premise. Let’s get into it. In an indeterminate time after the Original Trilogy, possibly also after the Sequel Trilogy, T0-B1 (or Toby, a riff on Tobio, a name Astro Boy fans should immediately recognize, but hey - it’s also a pun on “to be one.” I like my references to be double layered) is a highly advance and humanlike droid in the shape of a stylized child, the creation of a kindly, armless (not a typo) old scientist named Prof. Mitaka, who looks a hell of a lot like Dr. Light (Megaman being another property with clear Astro Boy reference, this feels like a double-reference). Mitaka is a traveling researcher dedicated to seeding life on barren planets, but T0-B1 only dreams of the stories he hears from his “father” about the Jedi, and the battles they’ve had across the years.

He wants to be a Jedi, and seemingly in an attempt to occupy his endless attentions, Mitaka suggests that he - like the padawans of old - search the planet for a kyber crystal before he even thinks about becoming a Jedi. T0-B1 combs the planet, eventually finding his way into Mitaka’s secret, forbidden basement - where he’s sure a kyber crystal must be. In doing so, he finds a ship and accidentally sends a transmission... which ends up reaching the wrong ears, eventually bringing tragedy... and destiny... down upon T0-B1 and Mikaba’s heads. Let me preface this by saying that, unlike some other fans and writers, I don’t really have a problem with a droid becoming force sensitive, per se - at least, as long as its done right. Partly because Star Wars has always been kind of weird and half-measure about droids. Droids are clearly sapient, some (like R2) outright proactive in the destinies of others, and many clearly have emotion, resolve, and a yearning for more than what they have. But droids in Star Wars are explicitly limited in what they can be, often by the story itself, and are often treated as non-human (in the sense of being non-anthropomorphized) even though they are increasingly written with a degree of humanity. Canonically, droids cannot be force sensitive because they aren’t alive, but the force exists within everything and guides the universe as a whole, and as droids become more mentally alive int he writing it becomes a sticking point that this rule is somewhat limiting. It frankly wouldn’t surprise me if, one day, they decide to say that someone like R2 was force sensitive all along.

Onto T0-B1 himself. Toby, as the Astro Boy equivalent, is very obviously going to be force sensitive. He’s extremely human, fluid and highly contrasting to the design of the other droids in the series - or even in the short itself - for reasons the short chooses not to get into because it’s just trying to tell an Astro Boy without worrying about the lore. As an Astro Boy reference, he also gets a straight up fusion super mode at one point, which is pretty rad but a bit jarring for the setting. But the short invites you not to care about that sort of thing, because it knows what it wants to do and is going to commit to it, by thunder. So this one was interesting, folks. It more than any of the others is a straight up merger of two franchises, one step below a crossover: it’s very blatantly Astro Boy, Star Wars Style, which gives it a very different concept and overall feel from any of the other shorts. But that said, there’s a lot of attention to the fact that both concepts are conducive to the same themes. The familiar Yoda speech of excitement and adventure not being what a Jedi pursues are paramount to the story, in T0-B1 learning that what he chooses to do with his life is more important than his immature idea of what makes a Jedi cool. But at the same time, the Astro Boy theme of someone not part of the world finding their purpose as someone, something great and beyond their beginnings is absolutely something that slots into Star Wars no problem. Visually, it’s fantastic. It has a distinctive visual style that emphasizes the cuteness and fluidity of the main characters while also maintaining strong landscape and epic scale of action which... again... is understandable, given that its a throwback to Astro Boy. Most of the comments one could make about this short eventually cycle back to that comparison, because of what the short is doing. But that doesn’t diminish how well the mix of environment and character can come off in the moment, and the fight scene towards the end of the episode is all the better for it - though it does end somewhat abruptly.

As for the secondary focus of these reactions - the canon potential part... as you might know by now, each Visions short film is non-canon, but we can still look at each to see how well they fit into the universe - as, with enough support, there’s always a chance that things that fit in well might get the incorporation treatment should the company believe there’s potential there. And does T0-B1 fit well into the setting of Star Wars. Oh My, No. We can start with the fact that, my own opinions about whether droids could work as force sensitive aside (and again, I personally think it could work), the company‘s official stance on that is currently “no, absolutely not.” Then we can go into the fact that T0-B1 is way different conceptually than any other droid in the series, on an entirely different level. He feels like a character from another franchise, because he is a character from another franchise. And that’s okay. This feels like another one that isn’t trying to fit within the setting as much as do the thing it sets out to do, and do it well.

And as always, the canon potential bit is an entirely separate question from “does it do the thing it wants to do well?” And I’d say it does. It wasn’t necessarily my favorite thus far, but only because everything in this series has been dynamite thus far. This short fuses two classic narratives from the 20th Century - one from the East, one from the West - into a single story, enhancing the themes and characteristics of both, and it does so with a lot of heart.

[very-grownup]

THE YEAR IS 2020 AND I WATCHED NEON GENESIS EVANGELION FOR THE FIRST TIME, PART 7

Episode 19.

Shinji's tortured screaming from the end of last episode isn't carried over into the beginning of this episode and I mistakenly think this means things will improve. I am wrong.

Rest of Episode 19 behind the cut.

Shinji is holding himself/his EVA hostage after being utterly betrayed by NERV and his shitty father in the last episode and seems to be threatening to blow himself, the giant robot, and NERV up. Everyone at NERV (except his father, because his father will never explain, justify, or apologize because he is the worst) tries to reason with Shinji about how lying to him and nearly killing Tohji was necessary and yes he may feel betrayed but no one cares about his feelings.

I feel like an apology or active listening would go a long way to making Shinji not want to blow himself and everyone up but instead they just keep justifying their actions and Commander Ikari has the EVA plug flooded with orange stuff and Shinji passes out from lack of oxygen.

Oxygen deprivation: NERV approved parenting technique.

They have to cut open the EVA to get Shinji out and then he and Tohji are both at the hospital because they are nearly dead. No one appears to come and visit Shinji this time, although Asuka and Rei hang out in the smoking hallway in the hospital and Asuka is pretty sure that's the last they'll see of Shinji.

Tohji has a flashback to eavesdropping on a conversation on the train between Rei and Shinji where Rei tried to convince Shinji to do all the emotional labour in his relationship with his father. He also gets an actual visit from the girl who doesn't pilot an EVA. They are awkward at each other about teenage romantic feelings that they can't express and also Tohji wants her to tell his little hospitalized sister that he totally wasn't nearly killed in a giant robot by a different giant robot. Will they show up after this episode? Shrug!

Discharged from the hospital before Tohji, Shinji is /escorted from his cell/ in /three sets of handcuffs/ to have a meeting with his father about his crimes of not wanting to kill Tohji in a long ominous red chamber. Shinji is fourteen.

Shinji tells his father he does not want to pilot the EVA again. Commander Ikari takes the 'you can't quit I'm firing you' approach both as a military commander and a father, straight up telling Shinji they won't see be seeing each other again. Cool dadding, very quality.

If he's no longer piloting the EVA, nothing else in Shinji's life as we've seen it will continue either. So, no more school, no more living with Misato, no more living in Tokyo 3 in general? I guess he's being sent back to wherever he was living before NERV had use for him? Don't worry, he gets a call from the glasses nerd that's basically SHINJI HOW COULD YOU NOT WANT TO PILOT THE ROBOT ANYMORE YOU SUCK I WISH I COULD PILOT A GIANT ROBOT I LOOKED UP TO YOU AND YOUR GIANT ROBOT and then the call gets cut due to military censorship I guess? Misato goes to see Shinji off and they take a moment to talk about how Shinji is such a loser that Asuka doesn't want to even see his face to say bye, but Shinji is reassured by this thing remaining constant. Misato continues to try and fail at being a parental figure for Shinji. she recognizes that it's important to make decisions for yourself and not because of what will make other people happy and this is the first time Shinji's been assertive about something but she really wishes Shinji would consider how they all want him to get in the robot and do what his father says. You can't have it both ways, Misato! LET THE CHILD SET BOUNDARIES.

Of course, as Shinji's on his way to living a normal life without his shitty father and giant robots, the emergency siren goes. Shinji realizes that this is not his problem and goes to evacuate with other, totally normal non-EVA pilot residents. Again, don't worry, he hears plenty of voices in his head the entire time telling him how terrible he is and what a failure coward he is!

Meanwhile, at NERV, they only have two teenagers to respond to the latest angel attack and one of those has an EVA that is down one arm. Asuka's sent out first while they decide to put Rei in Shinji's EVA (I guess cutting Shinji out was less damaging than the arm melting). It's a cute angel this time, like a rounded toddler's toy with stubby limbs and paper streamers it can shoot out that cut everything forever. Asuka takes her usual approach of giant guns for giant robots, even though it appears immune to gun. Maybe it's an issue of not using the right gun? She goes through a lot of guns and then the angel rips both her arms off. Asuka is determined to defeat it, though, all the moreso because Shinji is gone. So, armless, she rushes the angel and headbutts it. The angel cuts off the head of Asuka's EVA and that's ... a bad time.

Meanwhile, in Shinji's EVA, Rei is failing to synch with it and getting rejected. She can no longer pilot THIS giant robot. So ... one-armed prototype it is!

The severed head of Asuka's EVA crashes through the evacuation shelter right in front of Shinji in case he didn't already feel terrible about NOT WANTING TO PILOT A MURDER ROBOT FOR LIARS WHO DO NOT CARE ABOUT HIM.

Rei in her one-armed EVA just takes a giant bomb and does a suicide run at the angel because she recognizes that she is replaceable in the eyes of NERV and Commander Ikari. The angel closes the boss vulnerability hole on its torso before Rei can jam the bomb in there. Things also go bad for Rei but it's less limbs being pulled off and more the strange skeletal outline of bits of a giant robot after the bomb goes off.

Shinji with the evacuated residents is now outside of city limits and guys? FUCKIN' KAJI IS THERE WATERING A GARDEN. Fuckin' Kaji is there to go oh hey Shinji shouldn't you be in the giant robot? If I was someone who could actually do something in this scenario instead of being me, fuckin' Kaji, I'd definitely probably do that, but for reasons I don't even get to be at NERV these days.

The thing is, in this episode no one has empathy for Shinji.  Of course they want him to get in the giant robot and fight the angel, but even previously sympathetic/empathetic figures are dropping the ball and not showing him the consideration of earlier episodes. Shinji has been very good about getting into the robot for a while now and doing what he is told and his reward seems to be now no one is even going to listen to him because he's been doing it so surely he should understand the important of doing it! Stop complaining about piloting a giant robot after being forced to nearly murder a classmate because you've been agreeable about piloting a giant robot to fight alien invaders seems to be the stance. It sucks. Shinji needs more now and instead is getting less than ever.

Anyway, the extenuating circumstances have Shinji racing back to NERV as the angel is bearing down on headquarters and coming to his father and the EVA and asking to be allowed to pilot the EVA, /his/ EVA.

You can see Commander Ikari weighing the options of dying from angel attack against having to admit, even if just to himself, that his son is useful and perhaps even needed. It's not even taking the L it's just ... needing to win gracefully but he's still torn.

Luckily (I /guess/) Shinji is 'allowed' to get in the robot and goes absolutely fuck wild against the angel ... until his battery runs out and his EVA gets to be the third punching bag for this angel, cracking through armour and breaking limbs, shaking Shinji in his seat. Shinji is pressing all the buttons and shaking the controls and begging it to work just a little longer and then /it does/. Lights come on and the EVA catches the angel's attacks and there's an instant where maybe it's going to be okay, Shinji's going to save the day!

Then the EVA shoves the paper streamers from the angel into itself and uses that to regenerate the arm the angel ripped off and I'm like wait they can do that and everyone from NERV is like wait they can do that OH NO and then the EVA is moaning and it has white human teeth. AND THE REGENERATED ARM IS JUST A NORMAL FUCKING HUMAN ARM YOU GUYS JUST A GIANT ROBOT SIZED FLESHY HUMAN ARM AND RITSUKO'S LIKE OH NO IT'S GETTING LOOSE BECAUSE THAT WAS NEVER GIANT ROBOT ARMOUR THOSE WERE RESTRAINTS AND GUYS I THINK THE EVA MAY NOT BE A ROBOT AT ALL. SO THE BREAKING FREE EVA TURNS THE TABLES ON THE ANGEL AND STARTS RIPPING IT APART much like Tohji's EVA-angel was getting beaten and ripped in the last episode but there's no indication that anyone but Shinji is controlling the EVA now. AND THEN THE EVA STARTS EATING THE ANGEL WITH ITS WHITE HUMAN TEETH AND THERE IS BLOOD EVERYWHERE AND MOANING AND EVERYONE WATCHING KNOWS IT'S EATING THE ANGEL IS THERE A BUTTON IN THE COCKPIT THAT IS LABELED EAT HOW IS THIS HAPPENING I HATE IT IT IS UPSETTING. Fuckin' EVA leaping around and moving like a goddamn cryptid in a jumpscare videogame and it's worse than Tohji's angel-EVA in the last episode with its stretch armstrong choking limbs and this concludes my report on Episode 19 of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

[diamondsareapearlsbestfriend]

Bonely This Gyftmas

finally posting my contribution to the @sorieldiscord​ (not so) Secret Santa for a Good Clown Pal, @purpleangrywitches !! belated Merry Gyftmas my dude, I hope you like it~~   shoutout to the wonderful @drawingwithgreen13​  for helping me out with some parts of this and of course @mintkupocream​ for organising this exchange for us!! ^w^;; FellSoriel is something I’ve wanted to try for a while now so hopefully this turned out okay! (basically “more cursing and everyone is tsundere” lmao - that’s how you Underfell, right?? anyway yeah feel free to lmk your thoughts etc!! <3)

on AO3

Another Gyftmas in Snowdin – not that it really meant anything, any more than any other “season” did in the Underground. Snow was a permanent fixture, and so was the threadbare pine tree in the centre of town, the only difference being the half-assed decorations and dimly flickering lights draped about its branches, and the kids still young or dumb enough to gather around it and casting hopeful glances at the parcels underneath. If Sans had it in him to care, he might even have felt bad for the little shits, watching the light die in their eyes year after year at the meagre offering, until that one bear who hung around the tree “arranging” the presents all day growled at them til and they beat it.

Other than that, it was same shit, different day – Papyrus didn’t believe in holidays, and as he never tired of harshly but not incorrectly pointing out, Sans did so little that his entire existence was basically one big break. He was more than happy to live up, or down, to his boss’ expectations, taking every opportunity to slip away from his post and deep into the forest where, at least, he had the promise of more interesting company.

“Yo, anyone alive in there?” he asked the door, rapping his phalanges against the ancient wood and sliding into the routine as easily as he did into the snow. “Why did Sally fall off the swing?”

“Oh, now you are here?” The response was curt, even for her. “How profoundly lucky am I to be graced with your presence.”

Sans scoffed, lifting a brow bone as he leaned back against the door; Door Lady was crankier than usual tonight. It was gonna be a fun one. “Geez, lady, someone rattle your chain or what? ‘Scuse me if I missed the memo on the fuckin’...school timetable or whatever this is.”

“Hardly. But you have been stopping by approximately the same time for the last three nights – it is called setting a precedent. And surely even you should know it is impolite to keep a lady waiting.”

“Good job it’s just you, then, ain’t it?” Sans snickered as he could practically feel her unamused glare through the thick, battle-dented wood that separated them. “Now do you wanna hear about Sally or what?” (He was actually sorta proud of this one; he’d been saving it for a worthy audience, and those weren’t easy to come by.)

“I suppose,” the lady answered, the slightest hint of a pout in her voice. “Why did she fall off the swing?”

“‘Cause she had no arms.”

“Oh.” A beat went by. “Well, that was a little lacking, even for –“

“Knock knock.”

She huffed an irritable sigh. “Who is there?”

“Dunno, but it ain’t Sally.”

That finally got the reaction he wanted as a snort rumbled through the door, followed by her throaty cackle - long, low and filthy, it sent a shiver of satisfaction through Sans as he chuckled with her. Making her laugh always felt like a victory, somehow. “Oh, how unfortunate,” she drawled, sugary sweet and dripping with contempt for the imaginary kid. “She was one of the lucky ones.”

“Don’t sweat it, she’s totally armless.”

“I suppose that really put her out on a limb.”

“I’d say you gotta hand it to her, but…”

Their snorts and guffaws rang out through the barren forest, sounds it probably didn’t hear often and that definitely would have aroused suspicion, but not many monsters ever wandered this deep into the forest anyway. “All she wants for Gyftmas,” Sans continued, on a roll, “is a break.”

The lady still laughed, but a little less heartily this time. “Oh, is it that time of the year already? I would not know - such things tend to pass one by when every day is much the same as the last one. How nice for those of you with something to celebrate.”

“Yeah, right.” She had a point, Sans had to admit, with a dry, sarcastic snicker. “Don’t mean shit to me either, but I guess it’s somethin’ for the kiddos. ‘Least, til they get old enough to figure out there ain’t no miracle happening any time soon to get us out of this hellhole.”

Weird thing was, he couldn’t even remember being a kid like that himself, a time when he didn’t understand how the world worked - with his HP, he’d had to wise up pretty fast or he’d be long dusted. But he did remember walking hand in hand with Papyrus through the snow - way back  when he was still shorter than Sans and either of them might ever have considered such a display acceptable - and how his brother used  to getso excited he’d almost tripped over his boots until Sans yanked him upright, and let himself be dragged towards the presents at top speed before they all got snatched away. But before they started, Papyrus would always pause to look up at their pathetic excuse for a tree, his sockets sparkling with hope and wonder as if it was the most amazing thing he’d seen since - well, last Gyftmas, as astounding as the stars they’d never get to see.

Might’ve been the last time Gyftmas meant something.

“Yes, well.” Door Lady gave a dismissive snort, snapping him back to reality. “What use have I for such child’s play? The last few foolish enough to wander through my door...well, suffice to say they are long gone.”

That, somehow, didn’t surprise Sans, but noticing her slightly sharper tone, he decided against pointing it out. “Hey, look on the bright side. Maybe this year one of the suckers that throws themselves down here’ll get lucky enough not to make it, and you got you a real nice traditional Gyftmas dinner.”

She hummed, a long, low noise somewhere between intrigue and what almost sounded like desire. “Mmm, I do hope not. Fresh prey always tastes better when it puts up a little struggle, does it not?”

Not for the first time, Sans wasn’t totally sure whether she was kidding – and he kinda liked it. He was pretty good, usually, at reading people, picking up on the little pauses and stutters that most assumed he was too dumb and/or lazy to notice. It was a good way to survive, being able to see through the bullshit, but it also took some of the fun out of seeing how far he could push it when he knew to the second how close Papyrus was to throwing a steaming plate of lasagna in his face.

Door Lady was...different. Probably helped that he had no idea who or even what kind of monster she was, of course, but even though they’d fallen into a thing of telling jokes and talking shit to pass the time, her mood seemed to swing back and forth a hell of a lot more than the door ever did. Some days he just seemed to irritate her, and she’d snap that if he wasn’t going to entertain her, he might as well go off and not do his job elsewhere. Which, whatever - wasn’t like that was anything Sans didn’t hear on a daily basis anyway, but in a weird way her unpredictability was part of the thrill. Made it all the more satisfying when he did get to hear her laugh. And damn, her laugh...

True to form, she dismissed him not long after that, saying she had business to attend to and she was sure he must be terribly busy with Gyftmas preparations for his beloved brother. They shared a sarcastic chuckle at that, but hers had sounded a shade darker than usual - bitter, almost.

Maybe he’d said something to annoy her (unintentionally, mostly) or she was getting bored with him, or - well, whatever, wasn’t Sans’ problem. She was just a voice behind a door, a convenient distraction. None of it meant anything.

He was sharp enough to know by now that you didn’t survive long by imagining it did.

Days went by, and the pile of presents under Snowdin’s tree grew steadily bigger. How many of them would actually make it to Gyftmas unopened was another story, especially if there was anything that the thriftier locals might be able to sell on to Muffet or one of her goons, but whether it was the prospect of more gold or just the place looking a little less of a dump, people did seem happier, or at least less likely to metaphorically or literally snap your skull off for looking at them funny.

Sans had his own reasons for keeping a socket on the gyfts, his grin tugging a little wider when he spotted the telltale gleam of curiosity in his bro-slash-boss’ sockets as they passed the tree every day – not, of course, that the Great and Terrible Papyrus would ever admit to the slightest interest in such things. Gyftmas was for baby bones, Sans, he’d better not be thinking of wasting their hard-earned gold on such frivolous nonsense.

He said the same every year, and every year Sans ignored him, because he still couldn’t think of many better ways to spend his gold than adding to his brother’s now-substantial collection of action figures - if only to catch the briefest glimpse of surprise and excitement flicker across his features, just like when they were baby bones, before it hastily rearranged into his usual scowl. He’d sigh and roll his sockets and mutter something about how if Sans really wanted to help he’d buy him something actually useful, like that new stove they so desperately needed, while mysteriously never getting around to selling the figures that had stood artfully arranged on his desk for years. Sans would shrug and pretend to believe him, while slurping extra appreciatively and obnoxiously from the extra-large bottle of mustard that appeared under the tree for him every year from some mysterious benefactor.

It wasn’t much, but it was their thing – tradition, even, if you wanted to call it that –  and maybe about as close as he ever got to feeling...safe. Comfortable – not, obviously, that Sans or Papyrus or anyone in the Underground with half a brain cell would ever acknowledge it. You sure as shit didn’t survive long down here by laying your soft spots bare for anyone to rip into.

Sans might be a good-for-nothing lazy lump of bones and countless other more colourful terms, by his own admission, but he wasn’t stupid – and yet for some reason, he’d kinda thought that maybe it’d be cool to be able to tell someone about the time he’d had to shove that deluxe Mettaton action figure into his jacket before Papyrus got in (that ultra realistic chainsaw stung like a bitch) or the priceless look of pure terror on that one kid’s face when his mom told him Krampus would be coming for him if he didn’t quit tripping over his tail. Really, he probably should’ve known Door Lady wouldn’t wanna hear about that – or much of anything he had to say, lately. There’d definitely been laughter and a lot more snapping and sighing and the the glare of barely concealed irritation he could practically feel through the door.

If he didn’t know better, he’d suspect she had some kind of issue around the whole Gyftmas thing – bad memories, pretty much everyone was carrying something, or maybe she just hated the idea of other people having fun. But it was an even bigger waste of time than usual, and not the fun kind, to wonder about it – everyone knew you didn’t talk about these things, didn’t trust people outside your closest family (if you were lucky or unlucky, depending on your perspective, enough to have any) with anything the slightest bit personal, and you didn’t get involved with other people’s baggage unless you’d come prepared for a fight. Sans was too tired to start shit; he’d been too tired for most things for a long time, even if she kept wandering into his skull at the most inconvenient times, and he’d catch himself wondering what her deal was. What had happened to the lady with the dirtiest dead baby jokes and even dirtier laugh, the one who made sentry duty with the boss breathing down his clavicle sorta bearable, because – if he was dumb enough to consider being honest with himself or anyone else – he might have been starting to miss her.

The smart thing would’ve been to cut his losses and move on, since he’d obviously outlived his entertainment value and there were plenty other places in the Underground he could nap or jack up the price of hot dogs to a more appreciative (or nonexistent) audience.

Thing was, Sans wasn’t stupid, but he also was never big on doing whatever he was supposed to.

It was, by Toriel’s estimation, the night before Gyftmas. A fact she would not have known, nor would she have cared to know, had it not been for her...friend? It still seemed absurd to think of him as such, a disembodied voice with no face nor name, and yet he was probably the closest equivalent she had had for decades, perhaps centuries, or however long it had been since the term meant anything.

Perhaps visitor was more appropriate;  a moderately amusing, yet inevitably temporary distraction from the tedium of her day-to-day life. Toriel was not alone in the Ruins – she had seen the monsters scurry away into the shadows each day when she swept through the halls, her sharp eyes scanning every corner and crevice for anyone foolish enough to have fallen into her domain, but that was exactly how she wanted it, was it not? The last thing in the world she needed were these snivelling, pitiful little Froggits and Whimsuns getting attached to her in any way, getting under her feet and clutching at her paw. Heaven knew, her nurturing days were long behind her.

Fear was power – as the former queen of the Underground surely knew better than anyone – and having vacated her throne, it was the only sort of power she could hope to yield these days. Yet, she could not quite put her paw on when it had all started to feel...empty. As empty as the Ruins, for all their inhabitants, might well have been when she was around, and empty as the many rooms she no longer had any use for, sitting untouched gathering dust for years. Though she did not care to admit it, her visitor had reminded her of that; of just how good it felt to laugh again, even playfully trading insults. His lack of fear, casual disregard for the authority she would never disclose to him – she could not help but welcome the change, and occasionally found herself anticipating her daily surveillance more than she ever imagined she would, her ears pricking up almost without her permission at those first few raps on the old forest door.

He had been reminding her of many things, as of late, and there were many, many things Toriel did not care to remember, this and any other time of year. At first, she had tried to find it endearing, in a simple-minded way, listening to him prattle on about Snowdin’s Gyftmas preparations with a unmistakable note of fondness that belied his professions of indifference. Yet it was much more difficult to conceal her disgust, much less pretend to be as amused as her visitor was when he turned to stories of the “Krampus” Snowdin residents, in particular, seemed to take such delight in threatening their children with. Of course, she thought bitterly, paying the least amount of attention possible as her visitor recounted the story of one little brat who had seen his presents dissolve into fire magic before his ungrateful eyes, the fool would persist in playing ridiculous games instead of attempting to restore the smallest modicum of hope to his people that no doubt still suffered and squabbled and tore each other apart every day, as they had for centuries.

Pathetic, utterly pathetic – well, let them suffer. Toriel had abdicated her part in the whole sorry charade long ago, and she certainly had not returned to the Ruins to discuss her former husband. She could never be so careless as to let the slightest hint of her true identity slip through the door, of course; any sentry worth his salt would immediately run off with such sensitive information, throwing it out for as much gold as they could get to the many Royal Guards out for her head. As much as she sometimes welcomed the idea of a fight – an opportunity to unleash centuries’ worth of anger and frustration by turning all Asgore’s lackeys to dust – preserving the relative peace and safety she had here was her best hope, if she imagined she would feel such a thing again.

Peace she certainly had, as her visitor had not stopped by for the last two days. Toriel had wondered idly whether he was busy, although she had gathered that his interpretation of “busy” was most often not having time for a nap and drinking copious amounts of mustard on one of his many lunch breaks. Regardless, it was no business of hers; they had no formal obligations to one another, although she had briefly toyed with enlisting him as her eyes on the outside, but that idea now held little appeal. In truth, she could not claim to be surprised if he had finally tired of her pointed remarks and taken his business – or lack thereof – elsewhere, just like the rest of them.

Good riddance, she ought to have thought, for it could have been nothing more than habit that carried her back to the halls, vanquishing the cobwebs with her broom and taking small satisfaction in the startled squeaks of the gold-grubbing spiders dangling from the ceiling, until she reached the familiar, well-worn door. Toriel sighed, shaking her head at the now futile, yet automatic stirring of anticipation in her soul as she nonetheless tapped her claws half-heartedly against the old wood. There was no reason for him to come by tonight, she had not even bothered to suggest it last time they’d talked, so she did not know why...

“Who’s there?”

“...Oh.” Toriel faltered for a moment, blinking foolishly at the door; having not actually anticipated a response, she had not come prepared with a suitable joke. “Old – old lady.”

“No shit. Old lady who?”

“I did not know you could yodel.”

The joke was much more innocent than their usual exchanges - and ancient, almost as much as Toriel herself, but when it elicited a familiar gravelly chuckle she felt herself relax a little, her own muzzle curling into a smile. “Lady, there’s a lotta things you don’t know about me.”

Well, that was certainly true for the both of them, and yet she felt a peculiar kind of relief, a warmth settling over her like an old, scratchy but nevertheless comforting blanket as she sank into a sitting position, leaning back against the door with her paws clasped around her knees as she awaited his response.

“‘Kay, I got one. Why didn’t the skeleton go to the Gyftmas party?”

“I cannot imagine why.”

“He had nobody to go with.”

“Oh, that is truly dreadful,” Toriel snorted, her braying laugh echoing through the empty Ruins - so dreadful it was genius, and actually her favourite kind of joke since she was a young girl, like a distant whisper of simpler times. She would not tell her fr - visitor that, though, for he was surely smug enough as it is.

“C’mon, it’s a bone-cold classic. Hey, uh, speaking of...” As their laughter slowly died away, she heard him scuffling about in the snow, followed by what sounded like the crinkling of paper, “don’t get mushy on me or nothing, but I found this lyin’ around and I thought maybe - uh - here, just take it…”

An even louder snort escaped her at that, though more of disbelief than anything. “My goodness. You have not brought me a gyft?”

She was waiting for some punchline or other, but instead a rectangular object, crudely covered by a few sheets of old newspaper, poked its way through the small space under the door before jamming halfway through, causing the old wood to give an almighty creak. Toriel simply scoffed and rolled her eyes at the soft grunt of exertion and his poor attempt to shove it through the space, a little sorry he could not witness the full effect of her disdain.

“A flawlessly executed delivery,” she observed, deadpan. “Here, just let me -"

She grasped the sides of the package and tugged, and after a moment’s struggle it slid free and her fingertips brushed against something else. Slight and bony, yet surprisingly warm, they were unmistakably fingers - his fingers, and that briefest of contact sent an unexpected jolt of electricity up Toriel’s arm and through her magic as she immediately pulled her paw away as though she had burned herself on the stove.

Hurriedly, she turned her attention to the object in hand, her claws making short work of the wrapping (if one could call it that) to reveal its contents.

“Human Hunting with Fluffy Bunny,” she read, arching an eyebrow in bemusement at the sight of a simplistic cartoon rabbit, proudly bearing an axe in its teeth while holding up a distressed-looking head. “...What? Why in the world are you giving me this?”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome,” her visitor retorted, effortlessly bouncing back her own sarcasm in a way she could not help but smirk a little at. “It’s the boss’ fave, y’know. Swiped it fresh from the librarby.”

She was about to correct his abysmal pronunciation, but as she idly drummed her claws over the bunny’s face, Toriel felt a few joints slide into place in her mind, and the revelation hit her: “Wait a moment. It is you. You are the skeleton.”

There was a long, protracted silence, more than enough to confirm her suspicions. “...Heh. Welp, congrats, lady. Finally saw through me, huh?”

His tone remained flippant as ever, but having many centuries’ experience of keeping and guarding secrets, Toriel easily detected the tremor in his voice, that potentially fatal moment of hesitation as he waited to see how she might leverage this new-found information against him. Though, honestly, it ought to have been of no interest to her whatsoever - the species of a lowly sentry mattered not in the slightest. It was her identity that may have been compromised by that...moment of contact, her hand reflexively curling into a fist as she recalled how very tiny and fragile his fingers - phalanges - felt against her own; to her simultaneous embarrassment and immense relief that the man on the other side could not see her, Toriel became aware that the warmth was rising to her cheeks as well. This was ridiculous - had it truly been so long since she had touched another monster, however briefly or inadvertently, that it should affect her this much?

“Hmmm. How very interesting,” she mused, elongating the vowels to regain most of her composure through drawing out the wait, and rather wishing she might be able to see him squirm. “It has been such a long time since I have seen one of your kind. Why, I would not have been surprised to hear you had all died out some decades ago.”

He let out a gruff chuckle, perhaps just a touch more defensive than usual. “Well, maybe there ain’t too many of us left, but lemme assure ya, lady: calcium’s tough stuff.”

“Now that I think about it, it does explain a lot. Of course, only a genuine bonehead could consider this an appropriate gift for a fully grown woman.” Fully grown and considerably larger than him, as she now understood, although it did not explain quite why that thought lingered in her mind as it did.

He laughed more fully at that, a sound she had come to savour; it sounded a little like he was gargling rocks. For all Toriel knew, he may have been. Perhaps it was a common skeleton practice.

“Okay, geez - you don’t want it? Just slide it on back to me and -”

“No,” Toriel protested, a little more forcefully than she’d intended as she protectively clasped Fluffy Bunny to her chest - it was absurd, she knew, but any book she had not read a hundred times over was indeed a rare and precious commodity. Plus...it was a gyft. However unsatisfactory, one did not simply throw such things back in someone’s face...or under the door, as the case may be. “I mean, I...I want to know what happens.”

She did not need to see her visitor to be absolutely certain that his grin was now at its smuggest. Even more curiously, she was discovering, it was infectious. “Gotcha. No spoilers. Lucky we already got, like, five copies back home - trust me, you do not wanna try sending Boss to bed without his bun. Huh, right, guess I should…” Toriel heard the creak of the door as he got up, followed by a barely audible popping noise and a soft, satisfied sigh; stretching out his bones, she supposed, now more curious as to what it might look like than she ever imagined being. “G’night, lady. And, uh...happy -“

“Do not,” Toriel interrupted, before he could say it, but she could summon no sincere vitriol in her voice and he simply chuckled knowingly.

“See ya ‘round.”

Neither of them had any need for such sentiment, and Toriel carried no more affection for the season back to her empty house than she had left with.

But perhaps, she reflected, walking briskly back through the Ruins with her first real gyft in centuries carefully tucked under her arm and the remnants of a smile lingering on her lips - of all the Gyftmases she had still to endure, some of them might be a little less...bonely.

[underheart-magica2000]

UnderHeart - Angel of Fire

Chapter 16!!!!!

Story is below! (Wishing all the Loves a late Happy New Year!)

As soon as I close the door to the bar behind me, yelling starts, loud angry yelling. Shivers go down my spine, as for a second I'm not miles underground surrounded by monsters but trapped in a blue painted house, with no Brother to comfort me, and two very angry parents whose only comfort is taking their problems out on their worthless child. I move as fast as I can, almost full out running away from the door, I don't care if I make a fool of my myself in front of a bunch of monsters, as long as the yelling stops.

I run into something-someone if the gasp of surprise means anything. I regain my bearings long enough to realize I'm falling, then suddenly I'm not. I open my tightly shut eyes and stare up at a ceiling of orange light - no - not a ceiling, a face, a face made of fire.

"I-I'm Sorry," I mutter out, blinking in confusion up at the flame monster. The flames flicker a little brighter, and I think I see the ghost of a smile form through the flames. Then I'm set back on the ground, on my own two unsteady booted feet.

"You okay pup," a voice asks from behind me, I turn around and meet two dog monsters, one female, one male, both wearing simple armor and covered in white fur. They look at me worriedly and all I can do is nod in my complete embarrassment. They both nod back, smiles on their faces, "Good" the lady says. "Had us worried pup." The guy agrees.

"Don't think I've ever seen anything move so fast," another voice chimes in, its another white-fur dog monster, this one is obviously still a teenager, and a punk, with piercings, a collar, black jeans, and a camouflage tank-top.

"Don't mind them," yet another voice cuts in and suddenly the monster child from this morning is standing in front of me, his eyes huge in wonder. "You came here with Undyne right! Tell me everything dude! Come on! She's the like the second coolest monster in all the Underground!! You're so so sooooo lucky!!!" I back up a step as he keep ranting, the fire monster behind me lets out a soft hissing noise that sounds both like steam being released from a kettle and a sigh. "When I grow up I'm going to-," He stops suddenly and focuses on something over my shoulder. He sighs loudly, "but do I gotta Grillby?" He whines loudly, looking at something over my shoulder still.

I turn and the flame monster, dressed in what I now recognize as a waiter outfit, complete with white button-up shirt and black apron, is holding his hand up in the air and by - what I assume is magic- is spelling out words made of fire. It's both cool, oddly practical, and a fire safety hazard all at once.

At the current moment all Grillby is saying is "Yes." But I suspect an entire conversation was happening over my shoulder before I turned around.

"Well okay...," the monster kid in front of me grumbles, sending me one last smile before he heads for the door, "see you later not human kid!"

I wave, because I'm not really sure what else to do. Once the armless monster is gone, I'm acutely aware of the fact that despite this being a bar or a restaurant of some sort, there's no noise, everyone is watching me. I fiddle with my bracelet trying to distract myself, as the silence only goes on longer.

A warm hand settles itself on my shoulder softly, as though giving me the chance to pull away. Looking up I'm met with the flame monster again-Grillby.

His fire smile is back and he's nodding towards the bar. Grateful for the distraction I follow. He helps me into a seat and moves behind the bar, starting to work on something I can't see. Almost at once the noise comes back to the bar, people start talking and in the case of the punk dog just go back to their food.

A soft 'tap' brings me out of my thoughts, sitting in front of me on the bar is a tray of fries and a hamburger, a bottle of ranch sits next to it for my convenience, and I have a funny feeling, I'm not Sans's only friend after all.

I take a fry, and almost drop it in surprise at the temperature. I had forgotten fries where hot foods. Waylon would always give me the leftovers when he got to go out with our parents, on the down low of course, I don't want to think about what would if we ever caught. Grillby gives me a funny look and a second layer fire fills the air, I carefully read the words, "is something wrong?" as I nibble on the fry, trying my best to imprint the taste into my brain, I probably won't get another chance if I go back. I try to ignore the thought of me staying here, a thought I had hoped was gone, but has reappeared with vengeance and determination to be heard. I swallow my fry and shake my head 'no' to Grillby.

"Everything is fine," I say honestly picking up another fry and looking it over, "I've just never really had French fries this is a treat."

Grillby nods at that, but still watches be carefully as I eat the rest of my food. He pushes the unopened ranch bottle towards me with the words "for Sans."

I smile and nod picking it up and smiling it into my backpack, right as the door to the building opens with a loud chime. Papyrus and Undyne walk in both look downtrodden and Undyne keeps her gaze on the floor as they make their way over.

"I see you are already fitting in!" Papyrus exclaims, But the statement lacks the usual pep that makes it so Papyrus. "Well me and Undyne have decided that perhaps today is a good day to take it easy. We are going to return home now Annabell."

I look over at Grillby, because yes I like Papyrus but I do not want to be present if he and Undyne get into another fight.

"Sans should be coming home soon," Papyrus offers, and that's all it takes to have me out of my seat, a ridiculous grin covering my face, as I practically race towards the door.

..............................

<First Chapter>

Next - >

< - Previous 

[sunshinedjh]

The Wolf of The Woods (full)

The Wolf of The Woods: Dan is an orphan, his parents disowned him after finding out he was a werewolf. He now lives alone in the forest, trying to hide his deepest secret while getting bullied at school. However, his does life certainly does seem to take a turn after he meets Phil Lester.

Werewolf Phan AU

Click here to read this story on Wattpad

Word Count: 45,000  (completed)

T/W: Swearing, description of pain and graphic injury, smut, animal death (not major character)

-

Pad, pad, pad.

Rapid footsteps could be heard sprinting through the trees.

Pad, pad, pad.

A frustrated sounding growl could be heard coming from the owner of the feet.

Pad, pad. pad.

However, they weren’t feet. They were paws.

Not only did this mysterious creature have paws but he also had ears, great huge protruding ones that could be seen darting through the forest.

His name was Dan, although at the moment he didn’t exactly feel like Dan. His body was full adrenaline and covered with fur, lots of fur.

You see, Dan was a werewolf. He had been for most of his life.

It was horrible changing into such a monster, it removed all logical thought and replaced it with desire, desire to kill, desire to eat. But currently Dan’s deepest desire was to get back home. To get back home before… Before…

He wasn’t going to make it.

He felt a tingling sensation in his already aching feet that quickly turned into pain and shot up, infecting the rest of his body. He was panting even more now.

The pain was throbbing, stabbing into him like a thousand knives. Panting faster still he took a few further steps before stopping dead still.

His thoughts were coming back to him now, and the adrenaline was leaving him. He dropped to his knees breathing rapidly before one final excruciating jolt of pain struck him and knocked him out of consciousness.

When Dan awoke, it was long past dawn. He was cold and confused. His clothes were torn to pieces and his eyes were still slightly bloodshot as he opened them.

Gazing down at his hands, he saw that they were no longer large and furry. He looked around at his surrounding area, which rather unhelpfully was mainly trees.

He had to get back home.

Rising to his feet, he groaned at the aching, a painful reminder of the previous night. Thank god he didn’t have school today.

Dan began to clamber through the trees in some hope of finding a path, or better still his home (If you could really call it that). He hadn’t had a proper home since he was a child, before his parents had abandoned him.

He remembered very little about them, only that one night on the full moon they had burst into his room just as he’d had begun transforming. He hadn’t wanted to hurt them so with the last fraction of his brain that was still his, he’d told himself to jump out the window and run. He’d had ran and ran and ran as far as he could, and spent the night in the forest, afraid and hungry.

When he’d awoke the next day he had traipsed back home, still terrified (Mainly of himself) to find his parents. Only for them to say he was a disgrace and a monster. They had disowned him, kicked him out. And he’d never seen them again.

So now Dan lived this lonely life of solitude in his treehouse, which thankfully he could now see in the distance.

He bolted toward it with what little stamina he had left, not even bothering to look around for nearby intruders, or passers by. Though luckily there was no one.

As he began to climb up the rickety old ladder into his home his stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten a thing, in his own form or his werewolf form, for 24 hours and now his stomach was finally catching on.

He got to the top of his treehouse and started searching for any spare scraps of food.

There was nothing.

Nothing except an abundance of coffee cups, and that plate he’d smashed yesterday (he should really clean that up).

He sighed as he dumped himself onto his rickety old bed and thought about what he was going to do next.

As uncomfortable as it was, he was quite grateful he had a bed. He had found it in a scrapyard a while back and it had been quite a feat getting it back into the forest and up a tree.

He looked around the room. His walls were covered in moon charts and crossed out calendars, each having a big red circle around the date of the full moon. There were a few claw marks in the walls from were he hadn’t been able to leave his house soon enough. Dan didn’t care though, they added ‘character’ he had told himself.

'Well I better go back out then’ Dan sighed to himself. Frankly, he had no problem with taking to himself since he had no one else to talk to.

Dan got up and slung a backpack on his back, it contained a few bottles of water, a particularly sharp rock tied to a twig (a knife supposedly) and a few other supplies. Judging by the fact that he had absolutely no money, If he was going out to get food he would have to steal. And he’d much rather do that with some sort of weapon rather than armless.

He began to clamber back down the ladder and go in search of food. Despite how much he hated stealing, right now it was the best he could do.

-

Once he’d arrived, it was quite hard walking down the streets in such a public area while trying not to look suspicious or be spotted. Dan knew he should just take it slow and quiet. But his growling stomach was definitely taunting him, making him want to sprint towards the nearest source of food.

He was so hungry.

Having not eaten in days and having had most of the energy sucked out of him the previous night, he felt as though he could barely walk. But he knew he had to, he had to keep going.

As he walked down the strip of shops, he saw huddles of people peering in through the windows and others making pleasant conversation with eachother.

They all looked positively jolly as the rays of the sun above were bouncing and reflecting from their skin while they spoke.

Dan didn’t know whether this brought him a feeling of disgust or distant longing. They were all with their families, none of them were alone.

Some small children ran around the place playing with eachother under the watchful eyes of their parents. Other children looked slightly less excited as parents dragged them around shops with bags full of what looked like school uniform. A sudden feeling of dread clawed at the pit of Dan’s stomach.

He did not want to go to school next week. He’d almost completely forgotten about that too.

Now he’d have to get (well steal) himself some new clothes. He groaned internally at the thought of having to steal more things from innocent people. But there really was no other option.

Dan, being pretty used to it by now, had become quite good at stealing. As he entered the store, he’d already planned it all out. He snuck, straight past the aisles and oblivious shoppers, into the back room.

Luckily it was quite abandoned at this time as it was a Sunday and the store had only just opened. He had been back here many times, all he needed to do now was find… Aha, right at the back of the room he found a staff badge, a matching jacket and a slightly lukewarm cup of coffee (the coffee not being a necessary part of the plan but still a bonus).

He slipped the jacket on over his torn black t-shirt and pinned the badge onto it. He would blend in now. Now he just had to go around the store, find what he needed and come back here, if anyone asked what he was doing he would say he was 'taking the items out back to be examined’ or 'confiscating them’. He took a sip of the coffee and went back out onto the shop floor.

-

When he returned he was carrying a loaf of bread, some apples, a packet of crisps, a chocolate bar (Becasue why not?), a pack of energy drinks (Particularly useful when you have to stay up all night as a werewolf), and of course, a school uniform.

He shoved the items into a bag that was hanging from an office chair and fled out the back door that was used by the smokers.

Dan was quite pleased with himself as he walked back down the street, his mood had lifted slightly (Mainly because he knew he wouldn’t have to steal anything for at least a few days) and he even smiled slightly to himself.

He was still worried though, the thought of going back to school caused anxiety to seep through him. He hated everyone at school and they hated him too, though granted they showed it a lot more than him. They would always beat him up and call him names for being different and having no parents. Dan tried his best just to keep his head down.

He never dared tell anyone about being a werewolf, that was his secret, in fact he hardly told anyone about anything. He kept himself to himself and hoped that everyone around him would too. It was no wonder he didn’t have many friends.

As Dan walked, he was so deep in his thoughts that he wasn’t looking where he was going at all. So it was no surprise that he soon collided with the nearest stranger.

He tore himself out of his thoughts with shock.

'Ahhh! I errr… I’m sorry’ Said the stranger. This only seemed to shock Dan even more. Was this stranger actually talking to, no, Apologizing to him? He couldn’t seem to get any words out at all.

'Why did you apologize?’ he managed, eventually. 'What do you mean?’ Dan could feel the stranger staring at him but he didn’t dare look back. He took to staring at the floor instead. 'You didn’t, I mean, that was my fault… I walked into you’

The stranger giggled and Dan looked up at him for the first time to see him smiling. 'I don’t know, just seemed like the right thing to say’ he laughed again. Dan looked into his eyes and stopped dead.

They were beautiful.

They shone bright blue and sparkled a glistening green. They were nothing like his own dull brown eyes, they looked just like the ocean dancing in the glow of the sun.

'Well… Er, I have to go,’ Dan started awkwardly, painfully aware that he just been staring at this man’s eyes for a little to long. 'And since it really was my fault I’m sorry’ he added. 'Don’t be.’ The stranger smiled as he turned to leave. 'Have a nice day!’

Dan was pretty sure his cheeks stayed red for at least an hour after that interaction.

-

It was a week later now. Dan was back in his treehouse, snoring soundly as it was late at night.

He hadn’t stopped thinking about that stranger he’d met while out shopping. And his mind kept reliving the encounter over and over and asking multiple questions as to why he’d seemed so genuine and nice. He thought about his appearance: tall, dark haired and pale. And those eyes, those eyes had been mesmerising.

Eventually though, he came to the conclusion that he had been thinking about the boy way to much. He didn’t even know his name for God’s sake, and it wasn’t like he’d ever see him again.

The sun was starting to rise now, a dim light beginning to peek through the curtains as Dan began to stir. The silence of the surrounding forest was broken by birdsong which erupted into a chorus of chirps.

Dan didn’t need an alarm to wake him up, a particularly loud sparrow perched on his windowsill joining the melody and he soon awoke.

Yawning sleepily, he pulled his body into a stretch and rubbed his eyes. Now that he could see clearer he looked around the room, he hadn’t bothered to wash up in days and the smashed plate still lay sorrowfully on the floor.

He glanced up at his moon chart. Seventeen days till the next full moon. Then his eyes fell upon the school uniform hanging from his door; his face fell.

Today was the day.

Rising halfheartedly from his bed he began to get ready. He pulled on his trousers and buttoned up his shirt, rather carelessly, and walked over to the sink.

He brushed his teeth with a toothbrush he’d stolen a while back (Hygiene is still very important, even for someone without a proper home you know) and peered at himself in his cracked mirror.

The bags under his eyes had grown a considerable amount and his hair was a complete untameable mess.

Spitting out the toothpaste quite suddenly and turning away from the mirror he reached for his bag and opened the door. After traipsing down the ladder and taking one last look up at his home, he set off in the direction of school.

-

A few hours later he was sat in a dull, dusty old classroom, hardly listening to what was going on.

It just so happened that his very first lesson was, in his opinion, the very worst lesson: maths. He stared motionlessly at Mrs Lewis, his teacher, with a look of utter boredom in his eyes as she spoke.

She was tall, thin and boney, her slightly crooked nose was shriveled and pointy; her eyes were squinting either side of it. Thin mousy hair drifted down to her shoulders in a rather colourless brown shade, framing her face which appeared to have a positively foul expression.

'Class’ she addressed them, sharply  'today we are going to be doing Pythagoras theorem’ she looked around the room and scowled as she heard the moans and groans of Dan’s classmates.

'Hehhem’ she coughed pitilessly and continued. 'as you very well know your exams are coming up, your first being in 18 days time and…’

Dan’s eyes widened. Eighteen days time? That was the day after the full Moon! Could this day have gotten any worse? He’d already encountered the renowned school bully Seamus this morning, who had tripped him over in the corridor and sneered at him.

He already knew that this test was going to be a complete shambles. He wouldn’t change back until sunrise, and spending the night running through the woods as a werewolf always left him feeling so tired. Oh he couldn’t bare to think of how atrocious it was going to be.

Still trapped in his thoughts he let out a loud sigh. Suddenly regretting this instantly as the whole class, and Mrs Lewis turned to look at him. 'Is there a problem Daniel?’ she asked.

'I er, no miss’ he replied, staring at the floor. He could hear Seamus and a few others laughing behind him. 'Good’ she continued, edging closer to him 'Because if there is…’

'Um excuse me Mrs lewis’ Mrs Lewis froze and looked up, there was another teacher standing in the doorway. 'Yes Miss Graham? 'Well I have a new student with me here today, and he appears to be in your class’ Mrs Graham beamed.

She was the total opposite to Mrs Lewis in every way. She had round, plump figure and a jolly face, on which there perched a pair of round spectacles. She stepped forward and beckoned to the apparent new student to follow.

'Class, this is Phil Lester’ she began 'He only moved down here recently and…’ Dan gasped as he looked at Phil, he looked just like…

But this boy couldn’t possibly be…

Dan looked into his eyes and they shone a glistening greeny-blue. It was him. The stranger he’d met before.

-

The next few weeks went pretty terribly for Dan. The amount of revision that not only Mrs Lewis, but all the other teachers were making them do was quite ridiculous.

Phil Lester was settling in pretty well. Although Dan had not yet spoken to him. He seemed to have joined the group that most of the school knew as 'the populars’ which mainly consisted of Dan’s regular bullies and a couple of girls who tended not to even notice his existence, so naturally he had stayed well clear.

He was still intrigued though, by this Phil character with his mesmerizing eyes. He had seemed so nice that time they’d met downtown and he seemed different to the others he surrounded himself with.

Still unable to take his mind off Phil, he had completely forgotten that he was in a lesson. History to be precise and he hadn’t done any more work than he had talking to Phil.

'Mr Howell’ said a sneering voice belonging to Mr Matthews, the rather tired looking history teacher 'You are supposed to be working’

'I… sorry sir’ 'How much have you done anyway?’ Mr Matthews came strolling over to Dan’s desk and Dan looked into his weary eyes for a second. He had always thought that Mr Matthews looked older than any of the time periods they had ever learned about in history but he kept that thought to himself.

He looked guiltily from his teacher to his empty page of work. 'Detention’ Mr Matthews said, shortly, Dan was sincerely hoping that he didn’t say anything else.

'Your exams are tomorrow Mr Howell! How do you expect to pass if you don’t even do any work?’ 'I um…’ 'Don’t answer me. We’ll finish this conversation later, 4Oclock in my room and don’t be late!’ Dan sighed inwardly.

He had very much hoped that the day would get better from that point on. That however, was the complete opposite of what happened.

He had been set a ton of homework from various teachers, He’d tripped and fallen down the stairs in front of Phil and his detention with Mathews had been horrible. He’d had to write lines for half an hour and then explain we he thought it was acceptable to 'doze off’ in class.

Furthermore, Seamus and his gang had been calling him homophobic names again and threatening to stick his head down a toilet throughout most of the day. Dan had to be very careful. He hadn’t come out to anyone yet and wasn’t planning to for a while, especially around them.

Although, Being gay wasn’t the biggest thing Dan was hiding and he was used to this usual torment from them. What really hurt him was when Phil was with them outside the classroom after his detention.

Had they really waited 40 minutes after school just to torment him? No, they couldn’t have done. 'Hey, brat I’m gonna get you tomorrow! Jack and Harvey are gonna help me aren’t you guys?’

Two huge expressionless and extremely dumb looking boys grunted behind Seamus.

'Oh and Phil here too, he’s part of our gang now, says he’s met you before. I’m sure he’ll come along too’ Seamus smirked, stood next to an extremely uncomfortable looking Phil.

'We’ll teach you to be a fucking fag!’ One of the huge boys seemingly roared at Dan. Dan didn’t know what to say, he wanted to look at Phil but thought better of it.

What was Phil even doing with them anyway, was he like them too? Did Phil think he was gay as well? Was it that obvious?!

His mind was racing so fast it was like a drum rapidly pounding in his head. He couldn’t cope anymore, so he ran for it.

He wouldn’t stop running till he reached his home. He darted down the deserted corridors, ignoring the jeering remarks the three boys were making behind him and sprinted as fast as he could to the forest.

He didn’t stop when he reached it either, he continued to run. Slightly unsure of what he was running from. Branches were cutting into him.

When he finally reached his treehouse, he collapsed beneath it with exhaustion.

Panting heavily, he breathed a long sigh of dread and relief. Why of all days to beat him up did it have to be tomorrow?

He no longer cared about his exams now. He had much more to worry about than answering questions on a stupid piece of paper. He stayed sat there for a long while, his thoughts contaminating him.

Soon darkness filled the forest and the moon was staring to come out. It glistened and gleamed in its almost full state. Shining so brightly it was almost as if it was taunting Dan, reminding him that tomorrow was the day.

-

Dan awoke the next day with twinge of a pain in his neck. Stupidly, he had fallen asleep in the tree roots beneath his treehouse that night. He looked up and he could tell by the height of the sun in the sky that he was already running late.

'Fuck’ he said, unsure of how loudly in his dazed state. He really felt absolutely no motivation to get up and go to school.

-

Around four hours later he was sat, once again, in a dark dingy classroom. The walls and interior looked arguably just a depressed as the students.

Dan had already sat through three of his exams and was thoroughly wishing he’d just stayed at home in his rather uncomfortable position below the treehouse.

Sitting a few rows behind him was Seamus. Dan hadn’t dared to look back at him and was trying extremely hard to focus on his maths exam, when something hit him hard on the head. It was a scrunched up ball of paper. Dan wearily and unwillingly unwrapped it to reveal a note in Seamus’s handwriting.

'U’d better watch out if you no wats good for you’ (Seamus had never been one for good spelling) Dan gulped, he thoroughly hoped that last lesson’s exam would go as slow as possible.

Wasn’t time supposed to fly when you were having fun, not when you were sat in the back of an English classroom writing nonsense? Dan thought to himself as he stared at the clock. As it was, time seemed to be moving excruciatingly fast. And the more Dan stared at the clock, the more time seemed to mock him.

Eventually the final bell went and the class was dismissed.

Dan practically threw his paper onto the teacher’s desk and tried to make a break for it. He was stopped though, only after managing a few short steps through the doorway. He saw Jack, Seamus and Harvey towering over him. All three were intimidatingly taller than him and despite not having much in the brain department they definitely made up for it in brawn.

'See Lester decided not to show up’ growled Harvey 'Guess he wasn’t as tough as we thought’ Jack and Seamus smirked and Dan’s heart skipped a beat at both their expressions and the mention of Phil. 'Come on, let’s drag him to the bathrooms, no one will see us in there’

Dan could hardly argue, he was already being held in a tight grip by Jack and Harvey either side of him. When they reached the bathroom the two boys simply dumped him on the ground.

'Got anything to say for yourself then?’ Seamus bent down and whispered into Dan’s ear.

Dan shoved his huge head out the way and tried to get up, no sooner then was a harsh punch thrown at his face and his head was smacking into the floor tiles.

Blood came gushing out of his nose and he bit his lip in an attempt to hold back a cry of pain. 'Want to try me again Howell?’ Seamus taunted as he seized him by the collar. Dan let a tiny whimper of fear escape him.

'Why don’t you try me instead?’ A voice called from the doorway. A tall dark haired boy strode into the room with a look of pure anger on his face. Suddenly all four boys looked up in confusion and gasped.

It was Phil.

Dan got to his feet, unnoticed by the others who were distracted by Phil. He didn’t know what to do. Frozen, he stood and stared as Seamus interrogated Phil.

'What are you doing here, you backstabbing little weed?’ 'Preventing you from murdering him!’ Phil snapped, surprising Dan when he turned and gestured to him.

'I was only showing Dan here that he should learn to pick his fights a little better’ Seamus snarled in reply. Phil circled around the room, walking slowly towards Dan.

'Maybe it’s you who should learn to pick a fight Seamus’ said Dan, who felt a strange boost of confidence with Phil now stood beside him.

He regretted this immediately However . Seamus went for him again, letting out a remarkably loud growl as he pushed Dan into one of the toilet cubicles.

Phil, who had instantly sprinted for Dan was restrained by Harvey and Jack. The two then remorselessly shoved him in too and the cubicle door slammed shut. Dan and Phil heard a snapping loud noise coming from outside after that and the next thing they knew the door had been jammed shut from the outside.

'You cowards!’ Phil cried. 'You didn’t even try and fight us!’ Dan shouted. 'Didn’t need to’ One of them grunted. Although Dan couldn’t see them he could tell that all three of them would have a look of tormentful glee on their faces.

'Try and get out of that one losers’ said another grunt from outside as stomping footsteps sounded and began too grow quieter. Dan waited until they had gone completely and then turned to Phil.

'Well then, what now?’ He said, sounding thoroughly disheartened. Phil looked up. Above them was a tiny rectangular window where light was coming through. Dan looked up at it too.

'I think’ Phil exclaimed 'that this might be the only way’

He clambered on top of the toilet and grabbed hold of the window, opening it with slight difficulty.

'I’ll go first, once I’m up I’ll check the coast is clear and wait for you okay?’ 'Um, okay’ Dan replied, gazing up doubtfully into Phil’s blazing blue eyes. Phil then clambered through the open window in a way that seemed almost effortless and called up to Dan. 'Okay, now your turn’

Dan stepped up uneasily onto the window ledge and looked out at Phil, he couldn’t possible get through there… 'Phil, I don’t think I can. Ahhhh!’

His footing slipped and Dan fell out of the window, landing rather painfully on top of Phil.

'Ouch’ Phil groaned, but then he started giggling. Dan joined in and soon the two on them were lying on the floor in hysterics, completely forgetting the fact that they’d barely even met and acting as though they’d been friends all their lives.

Eventually they stopped and looked up at each other. Phil let out a gasp. 'Dan your face!’ 'What?’ 'There’s blood dripping all down you! And your eye, I think you have a black eye!’

Dan said nothing. He had forgotten, until now, about what had happened to him and as it all came flooding back to him so did the pain.

'You need help! I, I, I’ll… take you to the school nurse… No we’re not going back in there, we could uh…’

'Phil, it’s okay I’ll just walk home, I’ll be fine’ 'No, I can walk you home’ 'Phil we barely know each other and you’ve already been dragged into this mess and…’

'Exactly I’m already part of it so I might as well continue to be’ 'Phil I’m not letting you…’ 'You’re coming with me’ Phil smirked, pulling Dan up of the floor as well as himself and beginning to walk still clinging onto Dan. 'Now where do you live?’

Dan felt a jolt in his body like his heart was trying to jump out of it. Phil couldn’t come to his house! It wasn’t even a house, it was a tree for crying out loud! What would Phil think of Dan when he saw that he lived in a tree?

'It’s um, this way’ Dan’s half focused brain blurted out. 'Really through the forest?’ 'uh, yeah’

Could he just stop outside someone else’s house and pretend it was his until Phil left? No. Phil, though they barely knew each other, was the closest thing he’d ever had to a friend and he couldn’t lie to his friend.

'Won’t your mum be worried about where you’ve gone?’ Dan was trying to think of something that might convince Phil to go home. 'No, she doesn’t really care about me… anyway won’t your mum be worried? I mean look at you, you’re covered in blood and bruises!’

'Well um… let’s just say that my mum doesn’t really care about me either… nor does my dad for the matter’ 'Oh’ Phil couldn’t think of what to say to that. 'I’m sorry’

-

They were well into the forest by now, all signs of civilisation were gone and all that could be heard was the rustling and snapping of twigs and branches. Dan could see it now in the distance, his home. He paused and tried one more hopeless shot at getting Phil to turn around.

'Listen, I think I can find my own way back from here, I’ll be fine and everything don’t worry but…’

'Dan’ Phil stopped, looking him directly in the eyes. 'I’ve come this far, don’t think I’m turning around now’ Dan sighed and swiftly carried on walking until they reached the treehouse.

Phil looked up as he saw it and then at Dan as he saw him stopping at the bottom of it. 'I live… here’ Dan muttered, his head drooping slightly as he accepted his defeat 'And the reason my parents don’t care about me, is because they abandoned me’

'You, you live here?’

Dan nodded. Why had that been so easy for him to say? He’d never told anyone about his parents before and yet he’d just done so almost without hesitation.

Phil stood completely still for a moment and then looked back at Dan. Dan almost thought he could see tears in Phil’s eyes but then Phil turned and began to climb the ladder.

Once they reached the top Phil looked around the house with deep curiosity. 'Can I sit down?’ He said, smiling as though determined not to make out that he thought this was a little strange. 'Yeah of course, I’ve never actually had a guest here before’

Phil took a seat on Dan’s rickety old bed and looked around the room, Dan followed suit and sat beside him.

'Listen, thanks for helping me, I didn’t get a chance to say it before but if you hadn’t been there then I might still be lying on the floor in the boy’s bathroom’ 'It’s okay’ Phil replied, still smiling. 'I’m glad I did or I never we never would have become friends’

'Friends?’ 'Of course! What did you think we were?’ 'I don’t know’ Dan giggled 'I’m sorry, it’s just I’ve never had a friend before’

Phil stopped and stared at Dan for a moment. 'Really?’ He said laughing slightly. 'You’ve never had a…’ 'Friend. Yes I’ve never had a friend okay? There’s no need to laugh!

'Oh no I wasn’t laughing at you, it’s just, well, I’ve never had a friend either…’ This time it was Dan who stopped and stared.

'But, what about Seamus? And Jack and Harvey?’ Dan said in disbelief, how could someone that attractive… No! Er, someone like Phil possibly have no friends?

'Pftt, oh come on you saw what they did to us, I hate them, I was only… I didn’t… well…’ 'What?’ Said Dan curiously.

'I only hung around with them because my mum made me, she seemed to think that Seamus would 'protect me’. His parents are friends with my parents and when I joined the school my mum kind of forced us together. We both hated it but eventually Seamus noticed my weaknesses and started to use me to do his dirty work for him, I refused many times but that never ended well. It usually ended with me… well I’m sure you can imagine.’

Dan nodded slowly, feeling sorry for him. He knew what Seamus was capable of.

Phil seemed like he wanted to carry on speaking, like he had some deep secret trapped inside of him that he was about to let out, but he said nothing else.

'Well’ Dan broke the silence 'I’m glad we found each other, you know maybe you should…’ Dan had been about to suggest that Phil stayed the night in his treehouse but then he looked up at the sky as a slither of light appeared in it. His eyes widened. The moon was rising.

Shit.How could he have forgotten?!

'Err, maybe you should go back home’ (Nice save Dan) 'it’s getting late, and well, you know’

'Yeah’ Phil yawned, and to Dan’s surprise he agreed 'okay then, can I meet you here tomorrow? We could walk to school together’

Dan’s eyes darted backwards and forwards between the sky and Phil. 'Yeah, I’d like that’ Dan smiled. He lead Phil out the door and back down the ladder and bid him farewell slightly hurriedly.

'Well see you tomorrow!’ 'Yeah, bye!’

Dan waited until Phil was well out of sight. Then he darted back up the ladder and started raiding the cupboards. Where were they, where were they? Aha, energy drinks!

Dan flinched as the moonlight piercing through the window blinded him. Already starting to feel a slight tingling sensation rippling through his body he grabbed a couple of cans and some spare clothes (transforming always ripped his clothes, which he’d found out whilst wearing his favourite t shirt goddamn it!)

He then began climbing down the ladder. Once he was back at the bottom he began tearing through the forest trying to find a good hiding spot.

After about five minuets a little jolt of pain struck the inside of him and he flinched, whimpering slightly. He had no more time to run, this spot would have to do. Ducking behind a tree, he started downing one of the energy drinks. He felt another shock of pain causing him to spill some down himself. This was going to be a long night.

And then the real transformation began. No sooner than after Dan put down the empty can of energy drink did he feel it.

It started with his back, feeling like someone was trying to snap him in half. The bones in his spine cracked with great force, causing him to hunch forwards.

He couldn’t breathe, he was panting furiously just so that the oxygen could enter his body.

Then the pain in his back began coursing through the rest of his body. It was an indescribable feeling, like breaking all the limbs in your body at the same time. The only thing he couldn’t feel was his legs, they gave way and he fell to the ground still gasping for breath.

More of his bones began to snap and he let out a scream of pure agony, a hopeless cry that was enough to haunt the dreams of anyone for years.

But then the scream began to change, it was morphing like the rest of Dan’s body, until it wasn’t a scream at all. It was a howl.

Dazed and disorientated, Dan opened his eyes. Had he passed out? He got back to his feet and looked around, everything was black and white now.

This was very normal to Dan now however, (colourblindness being one of the many traits of a werewolf) though to make up for it his sense of smell had become much stronger. Alarmingly so had his hunger.

Dan wasn’t exactly the aggressive type, in fact he’d never killed another creature in his life. (not all werewolves are monsters you know).

Letting out a sigh, which sounded more like a growl really, he told himself he could wait until the morning to eat.

-

It had been many hours now. The moon was high in the sky watching over Dan who was sat, still behind the same sad little tree.

A tiny baby rabbit hopped past him and Dan, due to his boredom Dan got to his feet and gave chase. Totally innocently of course, he wasn’t going to kill it. It was quite fun actually, he made sure to keep at least three steps way from the bunny (as though that was going to stop it from being terrified) and chased it for a fair amount of time before it eventually got away.

Damn it, He’d been enjoying that.

He lay back down on the ground, head in his paws and went back to relying on his own thoughts for entertainment.

He often thought about whether there were other werewolves in the forest. He’d never come across one. But surely there must be?

He couldn’t be the only one. One must at least live somewhere nearby.

Though even if there was another like him, it wouldn’t exactly want to be friends with Dan would he? Dan, although he had never seen another werewolf, was pretty sure they weren’t supposed to be as small as him. He would probably be dead in minutes.

Letting out another sigh, he closed his eyes as he lay there, deep in his lost and lonely thoughts. He’d never been able to sleep as a werewolf. But still, he yawned, he could try.

-

The peaceful, yet ear piercing sound of birds could be heard echoing through the forest. The trees were still dark shadowy silhouettes, lit only by the slight glow of sunlight on the horizon. As the light began to seep through the trees more prominently the bird’s chirps got louder.

Dan’s ears twitched in annoyance. Naturally he’d been awake all night and hadn’t bothered to move from his spot.

He knew there was no point moving now; as soon as the sunlight hit him he would be thrust back into the utter pain and agony of transforming. At least transforming back wasn’t quite as bad, after all it was more repairing the damage rather than causing any more.

Dan yawned, a feeling of dread in his stomach as the sunlight drifted over him. How could anything so bright and warm possibly hurt him?

Apparently it did. A slight twinge of pain overcame him, which then erupted into the feeling of knives jabbing into him. He felt his bones tingling throughout his entire body like pins and needles. The feeling of knives began hacking into him, tearing him apart.

He was on his hands and knees breathing rapidly, trying to stay conscious. It would be over soon he told himself, dropping to the floor.

After a while, the tingling sensation died down and Dan got to his feet. He could stand up straight now and was no longer covered in fur (thankfully).

One thing that hadn’t left him though, was his hunger and his stomach began to growl as he traipsed back through the woods.

While he was walking his mind turned to Phil. He wondered if Phil would be there waiting for him when he got home and quickly tried to think of an excuse as to why he had gone out so early in the morning.

It felt strange to Dan. Thinking of someone else, caring about them and looking forward to seeing him. He’d never had that before. The only other people he’d ever thought about before were Seamus and his friends and he certainly didn’t look forward to seeing them.

When Dan finally found his way home, however, he was quite glad to see that Phil hadn’t arrived yet.

He darted up the ladder and began to get ready, putting on his school clothes and brushing his teeth. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to make himself look presentable, his messy curls didn’t seem to be cooperating today though.

It also definitely still looked obvious Dan had been awake all night, but hey at least he didn’t have a tail anymore.

He heard leaves rustling at the bottom of the ladder then. 'Daan’ a voice called up. 'I’m coming!’

Dan took one last look in the mirror and sighed, reaching for his school bag and clambering down to Phil.

'Hello’ Dan beamed at Phil, whose blue eyes were glistening in the morning sun. 'We’d better get going or we’ll be late, it took me ages to find this place! How do you cope?’

Dan chuckled as they began to walk. 'I don’t know I guess I’m just used to it’ 'Well it must be horrible living out here all on your own’ said Phil. Dan looked puzzled by Phil’s tone of genuine concern.

'Yeah I guess, food’s pretty hard to come by and…’ 'Oh yeah that reminds me!’ Phil removed his bag from his back and began looking through it, out of it he pulled some sandwiches, crisps and a cereal bar.

'Here’ Phil passed Dan the food 'I took these from the cupboards, my parents never notice when I take food’ 'Oh Phil I…’ Dan was so hungry he was in no position to object 'thank you, I haven’t eaten properly in days’

Phil smiled and Dan began eating one of the sandwiches as they approached the edge of the forest.

-

They arrived at school just in time, the bell rang right as they walked through the gates. Dan got out his timetable and after realising he had history quickly darted to his lesson, bidding farewell to Phil.

'Goodbye!’ 'Wait, what have you got before break?’ 'Science’ 'Okay I’ll meet you outside the class’

When Dan arrived at the classroom all of the buzzing happiness he’d felt from talking to Phil drifted away. 'Hello Daniel’ The tired looking figure of Mr Mathews greeted him 'you are just in time, please sit down and get out your book’

-

That history lesson had gone very slowly. So had the rest of the day actually, Dan had met up with Phil at both break and lunch times and thanks to Phil he’d actually had a lunch to eat.

After they’d eaten the bell would go and they would drag themselves unwillingly to the next class.

The only lesson that hadn’t been utterly terrible was maths. Maths was the only lesson in which Dan and Phil were in the same class and Mrs Lewis had let them sit together.

Unfortunately though, throughout the day they’d both had a fair few encounters with Seamus and his gang.

Seamus didn’t seem at all surprised that Dan and Phil had become friends now but was a little more perplexed as to how they’d escaped the toilet cubicle.

Dan wanted to hurt Seamus so badly every time he saw him, every time he called them names or threatened them but he held back (or rather Phil held him back).

Dan wasn’t sure what had made him suddenly want to hurt Seamus. He was used to the things Seamus did and called him.

Perhaps it was because he had began to call Phil names too. He had even started being homophobic to Phil as well as Dan, which in Dan’s eyes was totally not okay.

Dan cared for Phil, and anyway unlike himself, he wasn’t actually sure that Phil was gay.

-

They spent every school day like this from now on, until it almost became a routine. Phil would could come to Dan’s house in the morning, they’d walk to school together, going their separate ways in the classes that they didn’t share. And they’d eat lunch together, still enduring the bullying from Seamus.

And sometimes Phil would even come back to the treehouse with Dan to do 'homework’, though that was hardly ever what they actually did.

They would have deep conversations with each other, talking about things they liked and telling each other stories of their childhoods.

In less than a month they had become the very best of friends. They knew almost every detail about each other and shared nearly everything with each other.

The one thing they hadn’t talked about was relationships. Which frankly Dan was more than thankful for. He still didn’t feel ready to tell anyone, even his best friend, about his sexuality.

He was afraid that it would ruin their friendship. And that Phil would think it was creepy and that Dan loved him, which actually wasn’t far from the truth. Every time he looked into those deep ocean blue eyes, Dan saw something, something more than friendship.

Something he longed for but desperately tried to hide.

-

Dan was getting hungry.

He hadn’t eaten in days. And ever since he had gotten used to Phil bringing him food everyday, he seemed even more hungry when he was without it.

It was strange. He hadn’t seen Phil in a whole week.

At first he had just assumed that Phil was ill or on holiday but the more that he thought about it, the more worried he became that something really was wrong with his best friend.

As he lay there on his bed looking up at the ceiling, which had a couple of unkept branches protruding through it, his stomach growled again. Perhaps he could just go down to the town and steal some food? But no, he couldn’t, not after what had happened…

-

It had been just a few weeks ago. Dan had needed to get some water and some new clothes, most of his having been ripped and torn, from the shop.

Though he hadn’t needed to get any food in a while (thanks Phil) which had made the journey slightly easier.

He had walked into town and entered the store and determinedly, despite his guilt, prepared to steal everything he needed. It wasn’t until he had his hands full of supplies and one foot out the door that it had happened.

There had been someone there.

A figure was stood by the exit outside the back door in the smoker’s area, almost as though they had been waiting.

'OI!’ The growling voice belonging to the stranger had snapped 'what'dya think you’re doing?!’

Dan had frozen, his face riddled with both shock and guilt. He didn’t freeze for long however. Not long enough for the figure to do or say anything else other than 'Hey! Get back here!’ as Dan ran.

In his shock he’d dropped half of his supplies but he still managed to keep hold of a few water bottles and some of the clothes he’d grabbed.

Sprinting as fast he could, fear and adrenaline burning inside of him, he hadn’t stopped running until he’d reached the safety of his treehouse.

-

Dan shuddered just at the thought of this memory. Then he let out a long and self pitying sigh.

'How am I gonna get through this mess?’ He said out loud after his stomach rumbled again.

Again his mind went back to thoughts of Phil. He longed for Phil to come back and not only give him food but to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay.

Phil was the only person Dan had who could do that.

He had decided earlier that day that he would go and see Phil tomorrow if he didn’t turn up at school. He would have gone today if it wasn’t for the fact that today was the day of the full moon.

Looking up at his moon calendar, he sighed, in just a few hours time he would be transformed into a beast. And he’d be running through the forest alone and afraid.

It also happened to be a Sunday, which was the absolute worst because it meant that he would have to start his Monday morning with huge amounts of pain, tiredness and then rush to get to school on time.

He thought of Phil again and where he might be. In bed, ill perhaps? Or maybe he was hurt? Maybe he was in hospital…

No! Dan was being stupid, Phil was fine. He just needed to stop thinking about him all the time that was all. But he couldn’t. And he couldn’t help wondering whether it was really natural to be thinking about your best friend this much.

-

A few hours later Dan was running, running through the forest. He was a werewolf now, had been for about an hour, or was it two? The pain of transforming had been agonising as usual but he’d gotten through it.

All of his senses had been heightened (except for his now partly colourblind eyesight) but he was used to that, one thing that was a little strange was that his hunger had heightened too.

Yes, he had been hungry all day but now it felt different. His stomach growled and groaned and felt as though it was going to tear his body apart at any moment. It was almost as bad as the transformation had been. Almost.

It was then that he felt the presence of a voice inside his head that very much seemed as though it didn’t belong to him. It was speaking, begging, in a whisper that sounded like 'Food… Food’. It was like his hunger was possessing him, he needed food, and he didn’t care what it was.

For a second Dan swore he heard a sound.

And then he heard it again: a rustling sound. His ears twitched and he crouched down on his four legs instinctively, until he saw it darting out of the trees.

It was a deer, Dan didn’t hesitate for another moment. He gave chase.

It reminded him of the rabbit he’d chased just a month ago, playfully and harmlessly, merely to cure his boredom. But it felt different now. Dan could feel the hunger and adrenaline coursing through him as he darted swiftly through the trees like a panther.

He knew this time, perhaps it was the voice in his head telling him, that he was hunting to kill.

The deer was beginning to grow tired, it was slowing down, getting closer and closer until Dan could almost hear it breathing.

He wasn’t slowing down though. He knew he was faster and stronger than this creature. Then he saw his chance.

Throwing himself against a tree, gripping it with his claws, he pushed himself off it like a springboard until he was hurtling towards the poor deer.

He landed on its back in a perfectly timed pounce which stopped it from running instantly. It began bucking and kicking, desperately trying to get Dan off. But to no avail, for Dan bit its neck and it let out a cry of pain before dropping to the floor. Dead.

Dan had no time to think of his actions or of the crime he had just committed; the voice in his head spoke to him again, it was chanting, saying 'Eat! Eat! Eat!’

Dan did as he was told. Sinking his teeth into his meal, he ate. He wasn’t sure if his overwhelming hunger was disguising the taste of the dead deer carcass but surprisingly it didn’t taste that bad.

And then Dan heard another sound through the trees. Was it another deer? No, it sounded like footsteps. Dan could have sworn he’d also heard a whimper, a quiet sob…

Then a boy emerged from the trees, stepping into the clearing where Dan was. Dan looked up, wide eyed. The boy was Phil.

What was Phil doing in the woods late at night?

Dan was right, he was crying, or at least he had been until he’d seen the sight in front of him.

He looked straight ahead of him, at Dan, and froze. The shock and disgust was clear on his face. He looked terrified.

Dan almost forgot that he was in his werewolf form. That Phil wouldn’t recognise him.

All of a sudden the voice in his head was present again. Dan almost thought he heard it say to chase Phil…

Dan stared at Phil with a hungry look.

No. What was he thinking? He was going insane, Phil was his friend, he couldn’t, he wouldn’t…

He ran for it.

Turning and sprinting away from the scene, away from the deer carcass and away from Phil. The only thing he couldn’t run from was his mind.

He found he could run much faster now he had eaten. He wondered if Phil was running too, running away from him, afraid.

Dan didn’t stop until he’d reached his home and collapsed onto his bed.

He wanted nothing more than to sleep, to escape the hell of his own mind but he knew he couldn’t.

As he lay there the look of terror he had seen in Phil’s eyes kept flickering back into his mind, as did thoughts of the deer peacefully grazing in the forest just as it would be if he hadn’t killed it.

He had murdered that innocent animal and probably would have murdered his own friend if he hadn’t snapped out of it.

Lying there shivering, both in fear and from the cold, he could do nothing but let his thoughts taunt him all night long.

-

Before he knew it, Dan was in a classroom listening to his geography teacher ramble on about nothing as he sat at his desk. He lay his head upon it, memories of the previous night still haunting him.

'Does anybody know where Stockholm is?’ Mr Pike asked. A couple of people raised their hands. 'Yes Phil’

Phil had come to school today. He had called for Dan that very morning (luckily Dan had transformed back by then) and they had walked to school together.

It had been rather awkward actually. Dan not wanting to talk to Phil after what had happened and Phil still clearly upset about whatever it was he’d been crying about.

'Sweden sir, it’s in Sweden’ 'Yes Phil, well done’

Phil had only just moved into Dan’s geography class, and on any other day Dan would have been quite glad of that.

He turned around and looked at his friend, who now had his head on the desk as Dan had done, looking almost as tired.

Of course he wouldn’t have gotten much sleep either, Dan thought. 'How about Berlin? Does anyone know where Berlin is?’ Mr pike asked.

Dan wasn’t paying attention, he continued looking at Phil with curiosity. Phil spotted, looking up at him and smiling weakly.

'Daniel’ Mr Pike snapped. Dan practically jumped out of his skin. 'Ah! I, yes sir?’ 'Do you know where Berlin is?’ 'Erm… France? Is it in France’

Half the class giggled and Dan swore he heard a particularly loud snort from Seamus. 'It’s in Germany you idiot!’ Called a voice from the back of the class. 'Yes yes well done. Anyway children, that is all for today, class dismissed’

-

'Are you two okay?’ Louise asked. It was lunch time now and Dan and Phil had both hardly said anything to each other. Louise had been friends with Dan for a while, though they hadn’t spoke much recently.

'Yes we’re fine’ Phil said hurriedly. 'Hmm okay’ said Louise, very much doubting him.

'But Dan you haven’t eaten your lunch’ she pointed out.

Dan mumbled something that sounded vaguely like 'not hungry’ and shrugged his shoulders.

Truthfully he couldn’t bare to eat anything after what he’d done to that poor deer last night but he wasn’t about to tell anyone that.

'Dan you need to eat’ Phil chimed in. 'No I don’t’ 'Yes, you do, believe it or not that’s how you survive’ Dan shot a look at Phil.

'What if I don’t want to survive, what if I don’t care!’ Dan didn’t mean to raise his voice but he was in such a tired state that he hardly even realised he had.

'Hey there’s no need to shout I’m just worried about you Dan!’ 'Well save your voice!’ Dan snarled and stomped away, not turning to look back at either Phil or Louise who were both frozen in shock.

-

Last lesson was hell. Mr Mathews, Dan’s history teacher, was not in a good mood and for some reason he’d taken every chance he’d had to pick on Dan.

The one thing Dan was grateful for was that Phil was not in his lesson. He was still mad at him, he didn’t know why but he was. As soon as the bell went he practically ran for the school gates and hoped he didn’t see him anywhere.

He was still feeling extremely tense and conflicted when he got home. He couldn’t blame Phil for the way he was acting, he knew it was all his fault, he’d just stupidly taken out his anger and confusion on his best friend and now he had no one.

Dan sighed. He needed to relax, perhaps he could go down to the lake and have a wash. It wasn’t exactly a nice warm bubble bath but for someone who lived in the forest it was about as good as you could get.

Dan grabbed a towel, which he’d presumably once stolen, and headed down to the lake.

The water was freezing.

Wriggling out of his clothes, all except for his boxers (it wasn’t as if anyone was watching him but he still liked to keep some dignity), he climbed slowly into the lake.

He always came here to relax. It was calm and peaceful. And although the water was cold, he soon got used to it. lying down in the water, feeling about as relaxed as he thought possible in his situation he closed his eyes.

But then he heard something. A noise, a rustling and a… a sob. He recognised that sob.

He opened his eyes and sure enough he could see Phil walking through the trees, crying just as he had been before. Dan gazed at him, he didn’t feel one bit of anger towards his friend now.

He didn’t know what was wrong, but he had to help.

Hurriedly he got out of the water and dried himself with the towel; then proceeded to get dressed and follow the sound of the sobbing.

Phil was walking rather slowly so it didn’t take long for Dan to catch up. He looked utterly hopeless and didn’t seem to be trying to get to anywhere in particular.

'Phil?’ Dan called cautiously. Phil froze, Dan approached him slowly and carefully.

'Dan?’ Phil turned and hurriedly tried to wipe his eyes. Dan knew those eyes so well, they had looked bright and beautiful the first time he had seen them, but now they looked cold and sad.

'Phil what’s wrong, what are you doing here? Why are you crying?’ 'I… I’m n, n, not’ Phil sniffed. He turned away from Dan looking slightly afraid that Dan was going to shout at him again.

'Phil please, yes you are… listen I’m sorry about earlier, come here, tell me what’s wrong’

Dan spoke as softly as he could like he was taking to an animal or a baby. Phil seemed to have accepted the apology and he walked solemnly over to Dan.

'If… if I tell you, you can’t tell anyone, okay?’ 'Okay, I won’t’ Dan promised. 'Alright’ Phil sighed.

'Well ever since we moved here my parents have been arguing. The reason we moved in the first place was because they thought they would be happier here. But they aren’t. That’s why they don’t care whenever I come to visit you and that’s why I haven’t been at school for a few weeks, because my parents have split up…’

'Oh Phil’ If Dan wasn’t still slightly wet from being in the lake he would have hugged him.

'But, well the thing is, my parents didn’t just split up because of each other… the thing that caused it was because I told them I was gay.’

Phil was crying again now. 'My dad was furious, he told me that he wouldn’t have his only son being like… like that. It was my mum who stood up for me. She defended me, they screamed and shouted at each other until my mum couldn’t take it. She told him to leave and to never come back. I don’t know what happened then, I ran away and came here… and I don’t want to go back’

'Phil…’ Dan had no words, he didn’t care that he was still wet anymore, he wrapped his arms around Phil and hugged him tight. 'I’m so sorry’

Phil sniffed. 'You’re wet’ 'Oh yeah oops, I was swimming’ Phil laughed slightly, it wasn’t much of a laugh but it was a slight hint of much needed happiness.

'Dan? You don’t care that I’m, gay do you?’ Phil whimpered. 'Of course not silly!’ Dan said as he hugged him slightly tighter.

He didn’t want to let go.

He wanted to stay there and hug Phil forever, as if that would make all of his problems go away. Phil was still sobbing gently against Dan not wanting to speak. It was Dan who spoke first.

'Phil…’ he began 'Would you maybe like to stay at mine tonight?’ Phil sniffed and smiled slightly. 'Yeah, we’ve never had a proper sleepover before, it’d be…’

Phil lifted his head from Dan’s shoulder and gazed into his friend’s eyes. 'Fun?’ 'Amazing!’ Dan stood up and stretched his arm out. Phil took his hand and they started walking in the direction of the treehouse.

Surprisingly, Phil didn’t let go of Dan’s hand the whole way back. It seemed to comfort him. And Dan didn’t mind, of course, but he couldn’t help feeling a little nervous… were his hands sweaty? Was he gripping too tight?

Eventually they reached Dan’s home and began climbing up the ladder. 'After you’ Dan said.

He looked up at Phil as he was climbing and became lost in thoughts of love and pity for his friend… Wait did he just say love?! No no, it wasn’t like that, it was just a strong feeling of friendship not love, of course not.

Dan drew himself away from his mind and clambered up after the darker haired boy. He couldn’t help but realise how much less elegantly he climbed up. Phil had made it seem effortless and graceful, he’d never really noticed it before.

-

'Don’t you have any food?’ Phil asked. They’d been back at Dan’s for a few hours now. It was beginning to get dark and both boys were starving hungry.

'Um, I don’t think so’ Dan replied looking embarrassed and turning away from Phil slightly as his cheeks flushed red. 'Hey wait didn’t you leave your lunch today? After our little, er… argument’

Dan suddenly remembered how Louise and Phil had tried to make him eat and how he’d gotten angry and walked off. 'Oh yeah, you’re right! I really am sorry about that’ Dan said awkwardly as he rummaged through his bag.

'It’s fine, its fine. You know you’re quite cute when you’re angry’ Dan froze.

'What?’ He had turned an extremely bright shade of red now and Phil had definitely noticed. He didn’t reply though, he just giggled mercilessly. Dan wished he wouldn’t tease him.

'Here’ He threw Phil a cereal bar from his bag as he opened a packet of crisps for himself 'this will have to do, we can find some more food in the morning’

'How are we going to do that?’ 'Well, we’re going to have to steal it’ Phil paused for a second and Dan wondered if he’d been a little to honest.

'Ooo that sounds fun!’

Surprisingly, Phil sounded excited. Dan laughed.

'Come on, we should probably get some sleep then, if you want to go around running from the law tomorrow’

Phil smiled and then let out a long yawn.

'Er Dan, where am I supposed to sleep? You only have one bed.’ 'Oh uh, well you can sleep at the other end of mine if you like. It’s not the biggest bed in the world and it’s not very…’

Phil dived onto Dan’s bed and clambered under the covers. 'Hey it’s comfy!’ Dan chuckled as he climbed into the other side.

'Hey Dan?’ Phil said sleepily. 'Yeah, Phil?’ Dan yawned. 'Thank you’ 'For what?’ 'For letting me sleep here of course! I couldn’t think of anything worse than going back to my parents house, who knows what’s going on there, my dad might even be back. Oh it’s all my fault for being stupid’

'It’s not your fault’ 'But if I hadn’t told them I was gay none of this would have happened…’ Phil sighed 'I wish I wasn’t gay’

'Phil, there’s nothing wrong with being gay. I…’ Dan had the sudden urge to tell Phil he was gay too but something stopped him. 'I support you no matter what’

Phil pulled the bedsheets up over himself. 'Thanks Dan’ 'Goodnight Phil’ 'Goodnight’

-

No matter how hard he tried Dan didn’t fall asleep until long after that.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Phil. How earlier that day they’d hugged and held hands, Dan was sure that Phil had only seen it in a friendly way but Dan had almost seen it as more.

It was almost as if he’d been kidding himself this whole time. Ever since he’d met the boy, ever since he’d seen those bright blue eyes… it was almost like he was in love.

In love with his best friend.

Suddenly Dan had the urge to be sleeping on the same end of the bed as Phil, to hug him tightly again and never let go.

He couldn’t help but let his mind drift back to what Phil had said earlier, that he was gay. Maybe, just maybe, he was in love with Dan too.

But no, that was stupid, and anyway Dan really needed to get to sleep. It was probably just his sleep deprived brain that was dreaming all this up anyway.

The two boy’s feet were tangled together under the bedsheets. Eventually Dan drew his mind away from thoughts of Phil and drifted off to sleep.

-

'We did it Dan! We did it!’ Phil cried. It was the next day now. And the two were on their way back from the town having just stolen a fair amount of food.

Dan was quite proud of Phil and himself actually, and relieved that they’d gotten away after his encounter with the stranger he’d seen the last time he’d stolen supplies.

'Yes, all thanks to my ingenious plan’ Dan smirked. 'Hey, I helped!’

It had been a pretty risky plan actually.

They’d both arrived at the store, walking in trying to look anything but suspicious. Then Dan had gone out back to check that his little exit out of the smokers door was definitely clear this time (no smokers in sight thankfully).

In the meantime Phil had gone round the shop, picking up everything they needed (well maybe a little extra) and then quickly darted into the back room after Dan before they both ran for it.

'I’m just surprised you managed to get so much food!’ Dan said 'You should take me every time you need something from the shop’ replied Phil smugly looking rather proud of himself. 'Maybe I will’

-

And for a while that’s exactly what happened. Phil stayed with Dan for almost a whole month, helping him steal food and other supplies. They’d had to steal Phil a school uniform since he wasn’t about to go back home and find his old one and thankfully they’d managed to accomplish that without being caught.

Phil had continued sleeping in Dan’s bed as well, (which didn’t do anything for Dan’s crush which he was now 100% sure he had). It was almost like they permanently lived together.

Although, however much they both loved it, both of them knew that deep down they were ignoring the fact that Phil would have to go back at some point. He couldn’t just let his family fall apart; then abandon it and he knew that.

Plus Dan knew it had almost been a month since his little mishap with Phil an the deer in the woods, meaning it was almost the night of the full moon again.

It seemed strange to think of that now. What he’d nearly done to Phil. Even the thought of it now filled him with fear. What if it happened again? What if he really did hurt Phil this time? He had to get Phil to leave, even if he didn’t want to.

He couldn’t hurt Phil. He wouldn’t.

'Phil’ Dan started, they were both sat on Dan’s bed. Dan’s stomach was full of anxiety 'don’t you think you should go back and well you know… see if your parents are okay?’

'Yeah, I know I’ve been thinking that for a while too. It’s just that I’m scared Dan. What if my dad is back? And what if he takes things further this time. What if instead of just shouting he… he…’

'Phil, it’ll be okay, I’m here for you. If things go wrong you can come and live with me okay?’

Phil looked up at Dan. it was strange how strong their friendship had become, they’d only known each other for a few months and yet they knew everything about each other and would do anything to protect each other.

'Okay, I’ll go, you’re right it’s for the best’ Phil sighed 'Well wish me luck Dan’ 'Good luck Phil’ Phil squeezed Dan tightly, making him blush, before whispering goodbye and darting down the ladder.

'Goodbye Phil’ Dan called after him. …'Please let everything be okay’

Dan sighed, relieved that Phil was now out of the way but also afraid for him.

He glanced up at one of the moon charts that adorned his walls, almost as though he didn’t quite believe that it was the day of the full moon. It was, of course, and there was nothing Dan could do to change that.

He thought again of his best friend, how if this was any other day he could have gone with him, could have helped him and been there for him when he needed it most.

But Dan had his own struggle to go through.

He winced even at the thought of it. The pain, the absolute agony he had to endure just so he could become a hideous beast.

Another thing was how alone he felt about his ability. No one even anyone knew about it. Maybe things would at least be a little better if he could talk to someone about it.

Perhaps he should tell Phil. After all, Phil had opened up about everything that seemed to be bothering him. And it really did seem stupid for Dan to be keeping so many secrets bottled up inside him.

He still hadn’t even told Phil that he was gay for Christ sake. But that story could wait for another time, he decided. He would tell Phil about his werewolf situation though, the next time he saw him.

Dan looked up at his clock now. It was 8pm. Phil had left at least three hours ago, and Dan now had only around twenty minutes before the moon came out.

Clumsily, he rose from his bed and started raiding the cupboards hoping he still had some food left over. He couldn’t risk being hungry before transforming again, that had been disastrous last time. Still, at least Phil wasn’t around for Dan to get any ideas about attacking him.

'Aha’ he said out loud as he retrieved a cereal bar and an energy drink from his cupboard.

Again, he glanced over at the clock and decided it was best to leave now if he wanted to find a good spot to transform.

Downing his energy drink, as he reached the bottom of the ladder he began walking in a random direction, since it didn’t really matter which way he went.

He crushed the empty drink can with his fist and threw it behind him as he carried on traipsing further.

-

After about ten minuets he decided to stop. The place where he now stood seemed good enough. He collapsed against a tree, sinking into the roots to sit down and mentally prepare himself, when he heard something.

Dan hardly had to question what (or who) it was. He knew.

Because for the third time since they’d met, he saw Phil, clambering through the trees alone.

'Shit’ Dan muttered under his breathe 'this is bad’ He decided to get up and act natural, pretend that he was just going for a walk in the woods. Moving forward, every step he took was bringing him closer to Phil.

He wasn’t crying as he had been when Dan had first found him in the woods. And eventually as Dan walked nearer, he got close enough for Phil to spot him.

'Dan!’ He called 'I was just coming to find you’ 'Oh well I was just going for a, er walk’ 'Listen there’s something I need to tell you Dan’

Phil saying this triggered something in Dan’s brain. He remembered what he’d told himself earlier, that the next time he saw Phil he had to tell him. 'Actually Phil, there’s something I have to tell you too’

The panic in Dan’s voice was obvious, it was getting dark all around them, he wouldn’t have time.

'But Dan I…’ 'Wait, there’s no time I have to…’ 'Fine then, what did you want to say?’ Phil asked impatiently, looking slightly offended that Dan didn’t want to hear what he had to say. 'No wait, nothing you just have to get out of here!’

A slither of light appeared on what was visible of the horizon. The moon was rising and it was rising fast. 'Just go, please!’ Phil seemed determined to contradict Dan’s opinion.

'Dan just say what you wanted to say I’m sure it’s not that bad’ He said desperately. 'I… Fine’

There was no way Dan could try and get rid of Phil now, there wasn’t time. He might as well tell him.

'Listen Phil, there’s a reason I live out here, a reason why I live alone and why my parents want nothing to do with me. It’s because…’

He stopped talking then, not because he wanted to but because his mouth could no longer form words.

And then he felt it, a shiver of pain that shook his entire body though seemingly only focused on one area of his body. Until it erupted and spread through his whole body, filling it with agony.

Dan couldn’t take it any longer. He fell to the floor.

'Dan!’ Phil shouted 'What’s happening?’

Dan continued jolting in pain. He was on his hands and knees breathing heavily, trying his hardest not to scream and scare Phil. Although, Phil looked terrified. He’d also found that he could no longer move, all he could do was stand there and watch in horror.

Dan swore he could almost feel the fur forming on his body; he was probably right by the look on Phil’s face…

'Dan, you’re… changing…’ Phil’s shaky voice whispered, his feet still rooted on the spot.

Then the pain Dan felt was even more excruciating. It was like one final blast of agony, and this time he couldn’t stop himself from screaming. Loudly and violently, he howled in agony,

The sound of his cries seemed to awaken Phil from his motionless trance. And suddenly he got down on the floor and flung his arms around Dan, breathing just as heavy as him.

-

Once their breathing (and Phil’s shock) died down, Phil sat up looked into Dan’s eyes, he then looked him up and down and breathed a sharp breath.

'You… you, transformed into a wolf’ he whispered. 'You… that’s why you wanted me to leave earlier…’ he began to piece things together. 'Wait a minute, D, D, Dan… you’re a, a werewolf…’ he breathed.

Dan didn’t really take in anything Phil said after that. He was panicking, not only about what had just happened but about something else. His hunger.

He’d forgotten to eat that cereal bar before he’d transformed. He hadn’t eaten and was now sat right next to Phil who, if he had been a real wolf, would have made quite a nice snack.

But no, he was a human, although maybe not right now. He had the brain of a human though, and that brain was telling him not to eat Phil. So he did the next thing that came to his mind and he ran.

He ran and ran as fast as he could, which apparently wasn’t actually very fast. His body was still drained from transforming and his legs were short as it was.

He could hear the thumping of Phil’s footsteps behind him. Turning his head to look behind and confirming that Phil was in fact running after him he took a sharp turn around a corner, trying his hardest to get away.

He was still looking behind him, which was a foolish thing to do, he couldn’t see Phil anymore but he could hear him shouting. He felt leaves crunching beneath his feet and then, he felt something else… something sharp.

SNAP.

Whatever it was flung itself around Dan’s paw, piercing his skin, causing him to stop running and fall to the ground.

He should have been looking where he was going. Now he could do nothing but lay there. The adrenaline from the chase was slowly fading away and making the pain in his paw suddenly noticeable.

He was bleeding. And whatever the sharp thing was, it was digging deep into his skin. The distant sound of Phil’s feet grew closer and now Dan was glad of it, he didn’t try to get away (not that he could have).

'Dan!’ Phil cried when he finally reached him, dropping to his knees to see what had happened.

'Oh my god, no it’s a bear trap and it’s… it’s really deep’ Phil tried to carefully examine the injury, Dan whimpering in protest.

'I have to get it off, bare with me this is going to hurt’

Phil tried his best to pull apart the trap and remove it from Dan’s paw, cutting himself and drawing his own blood as he did so. Dan winced from the pain.

At first it didn’t seem to budge. But after a while Phil managed to prize it open just enough to get Dan’s paw out of it.

Though now Dan was losing blood fast, he felt dizzy and light headed. 'Oh no, what do I… what can I…’ Phil panicked, trying to think on his feet.

'Wait, I know!’ He pulled off his shirt and began wrapping it around Dan’s paw. It wasn’t the best solution but it would at least act as a bandage until the morning.

Both boys were so tired that they almost couldn’t think straight. Dan was already lying on the floor eyes only half open.

Phil decided to join him, sprawling out on the ground next to him. He was shivering now, due to the fact that he was shirtless.

Dan felt a little guilty having a whole coat of fur to keep him warm. Wrapping himself around Phil he decided it would be best if he shared it.

Honestly, any other time he would have freaked out about being this close to Phil, especially since he had no shirt on. But after all that had just happened, he really couldn’t care less.

Phil buried himself into Dan, hugging him and feeling his warmth. He closed his eyes sleepily and seemed completely contempt despite the circumstances.

'So, a werewolf huh?’ He yawed 'that was what you were trying to tell me, well you certainly went about it in a very dramatic way’ he chuckled, playing with Dan’s fur.

Dan let out a low growling sound that didn’t really sound like a growl at all. It sounded more like a pur. 'Goodnight Dan’ Phil whispered, snuggling into him.

And then, though he didn’t even realise it at the time, something happened. Something that had never happened before.

For the first then ever, Dan fell asleep as a wolf.

-

He was running. Yet again, running.

He didn’t even know what from.

It seemed so strange and yet so familiar.

He couldn’t stop.

It went on forever, the same forest stretching for miles and miles.

'Dan?’ Where was that voice coming from?

He carried on running ,as fast as his legs would carry him, on and on into the distance.

'Dan!’ 'Hmmm?’

The voice seemed clearer now. The familiar sight of the forest was fading away. He felt as though he was being sucked into an alternate universe away from everything. Everything except for the voice.

-

Dan awoke with a start. He was dazed and confused, eyes darting all over the place until they fell upon something: Phil.

And then he remembered where he was, what had happened. For some reason he was panting heavily. He hadn’t really been running had he?

No, that was just a dream. But wait, he wasn’t a werewolf anymore. What was going on?

'Phil?’ 'Dan are you okay?!’ 'I, I think I feel o… wait! Why am I not still a werewolf?’

'You transformed back’ it looked quite painful’ Phil looked up at Dan sympathetically 'it looked quite painful, woke me up instantly. You were going crazy and I didn’t know what to do. I’d assumed that you were awake, that you could feel it but you must have been… still asleep’

'But I’ve never even fallen asleep before as a werewol…’

Suddenly Dan winced in pain. With all the commotion going on both boys had forgotten about Dan’s injury, though now they both looked down at it.

Phil carefully unwrapped part of the shirt that was covering it so that they could take a look.

It didn’t look any less painful in his human form. Dan’s whole foot had swollen and part of it had scabbed over from the dried blood.

Seeing the shirt around his leg made Dan realise that Phil (who was leaning over him still examining his injury) was still shirtless. For the first time since he’d awoken Dan looked up at his friend.

It took more than a few seconds for Dan to realise that he was staring. His cheeks had gone a dark shade of red and he was feeling quite flustered.

It was lucky really, that Phil wasn’t quite paying attention to what Dan was doing. It would have been mortifying if Phil had caught him staring almost longingly at his half naked body.

He really wished he had more control over this little crush of his. Well, it wasn’t really little at all, in fact it was rapidly growing to be quite big.

'Right, we need to clean this up and get some proper bandages or the wound will get infected’ Phil stood up slowly 'I should have some at my house, it’s nearer than town, that is if I still have a house to go back to…’

'What?’ Dan looked confused for a moment and then he remembered something.

'Wait Phil, how did it go yesterday? I totally didn’t give you time to explain before… I’m sorry’

'It’s okay, I understand why you didn’t now’ Phil chuckled 'anyway I’ll tell you on the way, we need to get going’ 'But um, Phil I don’t think I can walk’ Dan groaned apologetically.

'I’ll carry you, you can ride on my shoulders’ Dan blushed slightly. 'What am I, five?’ 'Oh come on Dan it’s a last resort’

-

They’d been walking for about half an hour now (well, Phil had) and although Dan didn’t want to admit it, it was actually quite fun sitting on Phil’s shoulders.

If Phil had the choice right now he really wouldn’t have wanted to roam the streets looking like he did but he knew he had to do it for Dan.

They both looked terrible to be frank. Dan’s clothes were stretched and practically torn to pieces, while Phil’s were half missing and what was left of them was ripped and muddy.

It must have been very early in the morning as there were hardly any people around. Which was something to be thankful for at least.

The occasional person they did come across would glare or look sympathetic and probably think they were both a little bit strange, but that was okay.

'Anyway’ Dan said, clearing his throat 'so what what happened yesterday?’

'Well, it didn’t exactly go to great… My dad was back when I got there, apparently my mum gave him another chance. But it definitely didn’t work out. Basically my parents have had it with everything, especially each other. So they’ve decided to move. Mum wants to go live in the city and god knows where my dad’s going, he wouldn’t even speak to me.’

'Oh Phil, that’s…’ Dan didn’t know what to say. 'They’d already started packing when I got there, I just hope they aren’t already done so we can find what we need’

'Wait Phil’ Dan froze. 'What are you going to do? Are you going to go with your mum and… move away’

Phil stopped walking. He craned his neck around so he could look at Dan. 'No Dan’ he sighed 'I’m staying. Turns out my mum wasn’t as supportive about my sexuality as I thought. I think she just wanted to argue against my dad’

'So what are you…’ 'I don’t know’

They carried on a little further until they reached the end of the road they were on. A giant moving van was parked outside the end house and various items of furniture were placed haphazardly into it.

'Well, here we are’ Phil exclaimed as he lead Dan through the apparently already open front door.

'I told you to stay out there Micheal!’ A voice screamed down the hallway. Both Dan and Phil jumped in surprise and Dan nearly fell off Phil’s shoulders.

'Mum, it’s only me’ A small frail looking woman appeared. She had a stern look on her face and her hands were on her hips. Her eyes looked cold and tired.

'Oh, Phillip I thought you were your father… Oh my heavens, look at the state of you! what are you doing here anyway? And who’s that! He’s not your boyfriend is he?’ She snapped, bombarding him with questions. Dan tried to sink as low as he could into Phil.

'I er, no! He’s not, he’s… we’re just grabbing some of my stuff from my room to take and Dan got a little hurt. It’s a long story but I’m sure you don’t care’

'No you’re right I don’t, and good I’ve been waiting for you to get rid of all that useless shit in your room’ she barked. And with that Phil darted upstairs, Dan still on his back.

He put Dan down on his bed when they reached his room and sat down beside him.

'That’s your mother?!’ Dan exclaimed when he was out of Phil’s mum’s hearing range. 'She’s, she’s, insane! Horrible!’ 'Yeah’ Phil drew a sharp breath. 'Anyway, wait here I’m going to go find a first aid kit’

Lying on Phil’s bed and looking up at the ceiling Dan smiled. Until Phil came back into the room carrying an abundance of bandages and a large bag. 'Right then, sit up and let me tend to you’

It didn’t take him very long. He cleaned up the wound, applied various medical liquids and gels to it that Dan had no idea about the uses of, and then wrapped it in a bandage.

'There we go good as new, well not quite, anyway do you think you can stand?’ 'I’ll try’ Dan slowly lifted to his feet, Phil helping support him. As soon as he felt secure enough to stand properly he wrapped his arms around Phil.

'Thanks Phil’ 'It’s okay Dan, I’m sorry we got in this mess in the first place’ Phil said returning the hug.

'Yeah me too. And er, can I just say we both smell really bad, could we maybe get a change of clothes?’ Phil laughed. 'Yeah, you can borrow some’

-

Soon both boys were reasonably clean again and had nice non ripped clothes. Dan was wearing one of Phil hoodies. It wasn’t the kind of style Dan usually went for (it was bright yellow after all) but it was incredibly comfy.

They both sat there on the bed again for a while, silent but hardly calm. They’d been through so much in the last twenty four hours and their minds were racing.

'Phil’ Dan eventually spoke up, turning to face him. He knew what he wanted to say but for some reason his mouth had gone dry.

'Yeah?’ 'You know, since you don’t really have a, you know, home anymore… I was thinking um…’

Why was this so hard for Dan to say?

'I was wondering if you’d like to come live with me, like permanently’ Phil looked at Dan directly in the eyes. It was funny, he seemed just as lost for words as Dan. 'I, Dan… I’d love too, I… Thank you’

-

It was a few days later now.

Dan and Phil had returned to the treehouse and after Dan’s offer, Phil had moved in with him.

He was settling in quite nicely, even consistently adding to place now that he had all his old stuff from his parents house.

It had taken them many trips back and forth through the woods to retrieve Phil’s things, and some of them (like Phil’s bed) they had outright refused to lug back.

All in all though the treehouse was looking much nicer with various posters and possessions now scattered around the place.

Phil had also had quite an amusing time trying to teach Dan how to use his laptop.

'But seriously why are there so many buttons?’ Dan had asked perplexed. It wasn’t like he was clueless about technology, he lived in the modern day after all, but his parents would never have bought him something like a laptop.

'They’re keys’ Phil chuckled. 'You use them to type, look you press one and it makes a letter come up on screen’ 'So you can write messages and stuff? To the other people who have one of, er… these?’

'Yes’ Phil laughed looking at the puzzled look on Dan’s face. 'And you can share pictures and videos too, it’s called social networking’

'Hmm, my brain hurts’ Dan yawned and sprawled backwards onto his bed.

'You know Phil, we’re probably gonna have to go back to school soon’ he sighed. 'I guess so. Oh god, I couldn’t think of anything worse… After everything that we’ve been through how are we supposed to just go back and live normal lives?’ Dan thought for a second.

'I don’t know, but unless we want to live in the forest forever we’re gonna have to try’ 'Who says we don’t wanna live here forever? this place is awesome!’

'Well, maybe for you but I’ve lived here nearly all my life. I’m going to be eighteen years old soon and I wouldn’t mind becoming something more than a deadbeat forest hobo’

Phil couldn’t help snorting at that comment but then he composed himself.

'Yeah well maybe, I guess it’s just one more year and then we can leave school and get on with our lives with nothing holding us back’ he replied thoughtfully. Dan paused at that comment. He looked over at the moon charts on his walls and then up at the sky.

'Yeah… nothing’ Phil seemed to get the hint. 'Oh Dan I… I’m sorry I forgot’ 'No, no it’s okay I try to forget too’ he sighed 'I just wish I was normal’

Phil looked slightly troubled then by Dan’s words. He shifted closer to him.

'Don’t wish you were normal Dan, wish you were happy. We’ve both been through so much in our lives and now that my family are out of the picture and most of my problems are gone I want to do everything I can to help you through this’

'Phil… I’ 'Come on tell me what I can do to help you. Anything’ Dan didn’t know how to respond to that. He’d already opened up to Phil so much and he trusted him, he really did, but he didn’t want him to get swept away with him and caught up in all his problems.

'There’s nothing you can do Phil, just be my friend that’s all I need’ Dan smiled weakly. 'Come on why don’t we go for a swim down by the lake? That could be fun’ 'Okay’

-

They reached the lake carrying towels and dry clothes under their arms. Dan had always come swimming here, ever since he was a child but it had only just occurred to him that he’d never been with anyone else before.

'Hey Dan’ Phil had a rather mischievous look in his eye 'you wanted to have a little fun right? What do you say we go skinny dipping?’ Phil questioned, a smirk rapidly growing on his face.

Dan looked horrified.

It confused him, it really did, how Phil could go from being so sincere and serious around him to now wanting to swim around with no clothes on.

But then, lots of things about Phil confused Dan. It was one of the things that he found so attractive about him, that he was this strange mischievous boy who just showed up in town one day.

Dan remembered that day well. How stunned he had been just from Phil’s eyes. Had he really felt that way the second he’d met him? Damn how had he not realised how big his crush was from the start?

'Dan?’ 'Hmmm?’ Dan mentally slapped himself. Was he really that distracted? 'Uh okay’ He answered.

Shit.

Being so lost in his thoughts he totally hadn’t been listening and only now did Phil’s words catch up with him. What had he just let himself in for?

He couldn’t swim next to Phil with no clothes on, not if he wanted to keep his dignity anyway.

Phil had already began to take his shirt off. Dan practically spluttered as he lay eyes on him, blushing and turning away.

It was stupid, he’d seen Phil shirtless before, but then that had been in a different context.

Dan let out a quiet sigh. He couldn’t go back now. Besides, he’d been through worse. He was a freaking werewolf for gods sake, surely he could manage to go for a swim.

He began to repeat Phil’s gestures, taking off his clothes and trying his best not to look at the boy standing next to him.

Only did his head turn when he heard a splash, confirming that Phil’s body was now somewhat hidden. 'Come on in, the water’s great!’ Dan wasn’t so sure. He looked down at his friend uneasily.

'Are those goosebumps?’ 'Oh come on you wimp!’ Before Dan had a chance to protest, he felt Phil grip his ankle and pull him in.

'Ahhh!’ Dan cried 'it’s f, f, freezing you ass!’ He was shivering so hard that his teeth had begun chattering together.

He reflexively threw his arms around Phil, trying to retain some warmth, shrieking suddenly as he realised what he was doing. He quickly backed away from Phil as a violent blush began to colour his cheeks.

He had just hugged Phil Lester… while he was naked. Dan was mortified. Phil, for some reason however, seemed totally oblivious to this.

'So Daniel James Howell, what do you say we play truth or dare?’

Dan wanted a hole to appear right beneath him and swallow him up.

He eventually accepted that it wouldn’t though so he decided to play along.

'When did you become so childish’ he teased.

'When did you become so boring?’ Phil stuck out his tongue.

'Fine then, truth or dare?’ 'Truth’ Dan thought for a second. 'Have you ever had a boyfriend?’

Dan didn’t know why that was the first thing that came to him but to be fair he had been wondering that for a while. 'Nope’ Phil answered without looking Dan in the eyes. 'Really but why…’

'One question at a time Daniel, one question at a time’ he smiled but something about him seemed a little off, perhaps he was ashamed about what he had just revealed.

'Truth or dare Dan?’ 'Dare’ 'Okay, I dare you to dunk head right under the water’ 'But it’s so cold!’ 'Oh come on princess moan-a-lot you can do it’

Dan’s blush came out again for a second until he dived under the water in an attempt to complete his dare and to hide it. He reemerged a few seconds later and stuck his tongue out at Phil.

'Who’s a wimp now?’ Phil seemingly ignored this remark 'Your hair’s a mess’ he smirked, looking up at Dan’s soaking wet locks.

Dan cleared his throat. 'Truth or dare?’ 'Truth’ 'Really, again Phil?’ He teased 'Hmmm, what did you think when you found out I was a werewolf?’ He asked. Again, he was genuinely curious as to what Phil would answer.

'Well obviously I was a little surprised’ he laughed 'And the night after it happened I couldn’t stop thinking about it’

Phil’s voice took a more serious tone then and as he began to speak it was clear that the subject had been on his mind for a while

'I wanted to ask you so many questions but I didn’t want to hurt you and I was sure you wouldn’t want to talk about it. The more I thought about it the more I thought about how horrible your life must have been, being so alone and having to go through an much pain while having no one to talk to about it. That’s why I want to be here for you Dan, to help you and hug you and comfort you’

Dan felt like he was about to cry.

He forgot that they were both naked. He forgot that they were just playing some stupid game.

His love for Phil had just grown even greater; he wanted to wrap his arms around him and never let him go. 'Dan’ Crap. He’d gotten lost in his mind again hadn’t he? What were they doing again? 'Truth or dare?’

Dan tried to drag himself back to reality but he still felt so away with the fairies. 'Truth’ he settled on.

'Okay, what’s your biggest secret? Well I know you’ve already kind of told me that but what’s your second biggest secret?’ Phil asked.

Normally Dan would have got up and ran away right there and then. He would never have answered that question, no way, not in a million years.

But in that moment he felt different. He felt like he could tell Phil anything, felt completely safe and that he wouldn’t be judged for opening up.

'Okay’ Dan said so quietly it was practically a whisper. 'Promise you won’t laugh?’ 'I promise’ Phil breathed softly.

And then he said it. The words forming on his lips felt like clouds of vapour escaping him, his tongue speaking them so smoothly.

He felt like he was dreaming, like he wasn’t really saying the thing he’d had bottled inside of him for so long.

'I’m in love with you Phil’ he whispered quietly.

There was silence then.

No sound at all could but heard with the exception of the flowing water coming from a nearby stream and a gentle chorus of birdsong.

The sun had began to sink into the horizon, projecting light onto the trees. Not that Dan noticed any of this at all. He was much to busy panicking about what he’d just done. Or rather, said.

'I’m in love with you Phil’ he replayed the phrase in his mind repeatedly, completely forgetting about the man stood gawping in disbelief next to him.

How had he just outright said something like that? Was he insane? Now he was going to get rejected and probably lose the only friendship he’d ever had.

Phil’s face of shock quickly turned into a look of sincerity. 'Dan…’ he muttered breathlessly. Dan cut him off mid sentence. 'Are we er… carrying on with the game?’

Dan felt like slapping himself, of all the things he had to blurt out. Of course he didn’t want to carry on with that stupid game, not after… that.

Phil chuckled, seeming as annoyingly unphased by anything as ever. 'We could just do one more… but I say it’s your turn again’

'What!’ Dan spluttered 'but I just…’ 'Shhh’ Phil pressed his index finger against Dan’s lip. 'Now’ he began 'Dare or dare’

'What?’

Dan was thoroughly confused.

'Answer the question’ Dan looked up at him. He had that god awful smirk on his face again. 'Dare…’ he said curiously.

'I dare you to let me kiss you’

'Wait, w,w what? I…’ Dan spluttered. And then he just said…

'Okay’

He stood stiff and motionless. Why did he answer so fast? Perhaps he had misheard. Phil surely couldn’t have just said that. Maybe if he just stood there and did nothing Phil would repeat the question.

But Phil didn’t appear to be repeating anything. He was leaning closer towards him and Dan’s mind was racing. With every moment he was becoming more and more sure that he hadn’t misheard Phil… that Phil actually wanted to…

Dan’s flurry of thoughts came to a halt. He felt a sudden warmth press against his lips making them tingle. His eyes fluttered shut.

Phil was kissing him and it was. Amazing. Dan wrapped his arms around Phil, mainly because he thought he was actually going to fall over because he felt so dizzy. And Phil’s fingers traced through his hair and down his back.

Dan had always thought he didn’t know how to kiss. His lack of romantic relationships really leaving him clueless about the whole thing.

But for some reason it was working, he was kissing Phil back, returning the motion and the heat of the other man’s lips was spreading all over his body, making him feel warm inside.

The light all around them was glowing in the setting sunlight which was fading away through the trees almost like it was trying to give them some privacy.

It couldn’t have been more perfect. Moments like this were only supposed to happen in movies.

Phil pulled away after a little while and looked longingly into Dan’s eyes. Dan hadn’t wanted the moment to end but as his brain seemingly switched back on, he thought of something.

What if they could have more moments like that? Surely Phil hadn’t just kissed him for the hell of it, surely this meant…

Phil, for once, seemed just as lost for words as Dan. Both boys had their eyes locked on each other, their lips both curled up into a smiles. Dan’s mind was still trying to process what had just happened.

'Dan I…’ Phil looked timidly at the floor and Dan felt a strange surge of confidence that he’d never felt before

'I think I love you too’ Phil said. Then he looked up again and blushed. Dan tried not to laugh at how adorable and scared he looked.

'There’s no need to be embarrassed you know, I was so scared that you’d judge me when I told you and the whole time you were actually in the same boat as me’ He chuckled. 'I’m sorry’ Phil replied, smiling up at the the brown haired boy.

With that, Dan threw his arms around Phil again, squeezing him tight and resting his head on the boy’s shoulder. Neither of them spoke for at least a few minutes.

'Look at us, we’re such dorks’ Dan whispered. 'If we would have just told each other from the start neither of us would have had to be stuck with hiding the secret’

Phil chuckled and then shivered. 'I hate to ruin the moment Dan, but it’s getting dark, I’m freezing and we both look like prunes we’ve been in the water so long.

Dan looked down at his body and then Phil’s, Phil was right they were both wrinkled from the water. However, Dan didn’t seem to process thi due to something else that had just occurred to him. They were both still naked.

'Oh… er yeah you’re right! Come on let’s go!’ he stuttered and started running back to dry land, hardly containing his blush.

He clambered out of the water and began drying himself off with a towel, trying desperately not to look up at Phil as he did the same. He really didn’t know why he expected Phil not to notice.

'What’s so interesting about that floor that you gotta stare at then huh?’ 'Um, nothing’ 'You’re cute when you’re embarrassed you know’

'Is that so?’ Dan smirked looking up for the first time only to bury his head in his hands shyly after seeing Phil still naked.

'I don’t bite Dan’ Phil stepped towards Dan and lifted his head by the chin 'unless you want me to’ he said in a seductive voice. Dan snorted and pushed him away. 'Get dressed you nerd and then we’ll talk’

Dan felt much more comfortable when they both had their clothes on. Though his brain couldn’t help but think back to seeing Phil’s body. He was so pretty, Of all the people he could have fallen in love with, what did Phil see in him?

'Are we going back home then?’ Asked Phil smiling fondly. 'What? Oh yeah’ Said Dan, smiling back.

-

After walking for a little while, the two seemed to have taken hold of each other’s hands, It was almost effortlessly, as if by instinct. It really didn’t feel as if they’d only just started, well… whatever this was.

'So are we… you know, a thing now?’ Dan asked, carelessly voicing his question. He didn’t really feel embarrassed about what he said to Phil as much now but was still kind of scared for the answer. Phil laughed.

Dan loved Phil’s laugh, the way his tongue poked out and his eyes lit up… he was getting distracted again wasn’t he?

'Well unless you hated that kiss, I think it safe to say yes’ Phil answered jokingly. Dan rested his head in Phil’s shoulder for a moment and sighed in contentment.

The sun was well and truly hidden now. And the moon was rising, a great glistening sphere that shined like a disco ball. Dan looked up at it thoughtfully.

It was strange. He’d always hated the moon (for obvious reasons), but now he couldn’t help but notice it’s beauty, the way it’s silver glow lit up the slowly darkening sky. He didn’t even notice that they’d reached the treehouse, stopping next to Phil and continuing to gaze up at it.

'Pretty isn’t it?’ Phil exclaimed. Dan turned and looked at him, the reflection of the moon sparking in his eyes. 'Beautiful’

-

'Dan’ Phil began, yawning as he looked over at the brown haired boy.

They were inside now, and both of them seemed so tired that they could’ve probably just dropped to the floor and slept right there and then. They’d been feeling like that a lot recently, having had a lot to process.

'Do you think maybe I could…’ Phil was stuttering as he spoke and seemed strangely shy and timid. He composed himself though, managing to get the words out 'Sleep on the same side of the bed as you tonight?’

Dan grinned at the shy mess that Phil had been reduced to and laughed.

'Yes, course you can. Unless you wanted to sleep on the floor, because that could be arranged’ 'No no, I’ll take the bed thanks’ Phil replied.

-

Half way through the night, Dan awoke briefly to find Phil’s arms draped around him. When had that happened? They hadn’t been like that when they’d fallen asleep.

Dan wasn’t phased by it though. Before, he might have been embarrassed, turned to a state of panic in fear of his feelings being revealed.

But now he just smiled and settled back down, slowly falling back to sleep as his breathing synced with Phil’s.

-

The next day, they awoke to the first day of many days that they’d be spending 'together’ as in actually together. Their 'one day anniversary’ as Phil had called it, to which Dan had responded with the usual retort of 'dork’.

They’d decided to spend the next few weeks off school. It’d be the holidays soon anyway and heck, they didn’t have any parents to tell them what to do so they could do whatever the hell they wanted right?

It was nice to spend the next few weeks in peace, nothing to worry about, no commitments to anything but each other.

Speaking of which they’d become a lot more comfortable around one another. Dan would walk round in just his boxers around Phil quite happily now. Though not entirely without embarrassment. he was still induced to a flustered like state when Phil would come up behind him and hug him or kiss him on the neck.

Phil had even smacked him on the ass once. To which Dan had responded with a stutter and a rapidly reddening face.

Things were certainly seeming better. Even food didn’t seem to be a problem anymore, at least for now.

It’d been a rather fortunate day actually, the two boys had been walking hand in hand through the woods when Dan had spotted something.

-

'Hey, Phil look! What’s that?’ The boys sprinted had towards it. 'It’s a… bag’ Phil picked it up and examined it. It was old and tatty but it looked like it would have been valuable once. He opened the bag and peered inside.

'Ew Phil, some animal could have peed on that or something’ Phil gasped. 'Who cares, look!’

He drew his hand from the bag then to reveal a stack of money. It wasn’t a huge amount but it was definitely enough to sustain them for a while. 'Oh my gosh, we could actually buy food with that instead of stealing, we could…’

Phil paused, an unsure look on his face. 'But Dan, this is someone else’s…. What if they want it back, maybe we should return it’

'Oh come on Phil, who would we return it to? I see your point but surely it’s better off being used than just left here in the middle of the woods’

'Okay, maybe you’re right’ Phil turned and smiled. Dan hugged him tight and smiled back. they couldn’t believe their luck. If only such happiness could have lasted forever.

-

It was cruel really, when Dan awoke that morning. It all seemed normal at first, or maybe even better than normal as it had seemingly been for the last few weeks.

Dan was the first to wake up, which was odd since he normally woke up at least an hour later than Phil. He traipsed over to the sink and began his normal morning routine: washing his face, making tea, then attempting to tame his more than wild hair.

His stomach was aching a little and his brain was a little fuzzy. For the first time in weeks he felt as though he was forgetting something, the only problem was, he couldn’t put his finger on what.

He tried desperately to draw whatever lost thought was inside his brain, becoming almost entranced in his mind until the flick of the kettle sounded telling him his tea was done and snapping him out of it.

Pouring out his tea, he was still in this utterly confused state. He began to drink it, staring thoughtfully up at the wall.

And then it came to him, one particular thing on his wall causing him to jump to the realisation. The realisation that today was not a normal day. No, today was the day of the full moon.

He nearly spat out his tea in shock. He didn’t though, instead rapidly swallowing it and nearly burning his mouth in the process.

An intense feeling came over him and he wanted to shout out in his frustration. He couldn’t wake Phil though, so instead he slid down the side of the kitchen counter, dropping to the floor and hugging his knees.

He wasn’t sure why it frustrated him so much. Perhaps it was that fact that it was the first time that he’d completely forgotten about his ability, or perhaps it was the fact that everything had been going so perfectly recently and now it was going to be ruined.

Even the thought of the pain he was going to have to endure make him feel sick with dread and anticipation. He wanted to cry, wanted to sit there and sob like the unfortunate, self loathing wreck he was. He began to as well, burying his head in his knees and closing his eyes.

In his distracted state he didn’t however, notice the footsteps coming towards him and settling down next to him. Only when he felt arms around him did he look up in surprise.

'Dan?’ Phil whispered 'What’s the matter?’

Dan felt conflicted all of a sudden. The sad timid little mess he’d been a second ago gone. He got up, tearing himself from Phil’s grasp, a sudden anger coursing through him as he reached for the hanging on the wall.

'This!’ He yelled, tearing the moon chart from the wall and heaving it in Phil’s direction.

'How could I forget?! This stupid curse I’ve been stuck with all my life! I thought I could be happy now, thought it was gone but no! All my troubles come flooding back when I least expect it and now I have to transform into some… into some…’

'Dan…’ Phil looked up at him. 'I don’t want you to see me like that Phil!’ 'I already have’ Phil stated, not really sure if that was the most comforting thing he could have said but it was true. 'I don’t care! I just…’

Dan didn’t know how he was planning on finishing that sentence but after seeing the look on Phil’s face he didn’t think he could. All the anger had drained from him now. He fell slowly back to the floor, curling himself up again and sighing.

'I’m a monster Phil, why would you ever want to be with someone like me?’ Dan tried to lower his head into his lap but Phil stopped him, placing his hand under Dan’s chin and lifting it back up.

'You’re not a monster Dan’ he said calmly 'and I’m going to do everything I can to help you get through this, I’ll be with you every step of the way’

Dan felt like a completely different person then. How could he have shouted at this man? He was so selfless and caring and probably would have never done something like that to him.

He had streams of tears trickling down his cheeks now. Phil wiped them away with the hand that wasn’t holding Dan’s chin. He leaned in closer to him then until the gap was nonexistent. 'Thank you Phil’ Dan breathed against Phil’s lips as they kissed.

And as they pulled away Dan whispered to him again. 'I love you so much’ They held their gaze.

'I love you too Dan’ Phil whispered fondly back. 'And don’t worry, I’ll do everything I can to protect you’

-

It was getting dark now.

The boys could see the sunlight seeping away through the trees and being overcome by darkness. They hadn’t done much that day, Dan being so anxious and stressed out and Phil simply trying to comfort him.

They were sat together on the bed, gazing out of the window. 'When do you think we should go?’ Phil asked gently. He knew Dan might still be feeling a little temperamental after his outburst earlier and didn’t want to cause another one.

'Well, I usually like to leave just after sunset’ Dan replied sheepishly. 'You know, so I can find a spot to er… transform’

Phil giggled at his shy looking boyfriend, and then ruffled a hand through his hair. 'Come on then, we’d better eat before we go’ 'Yeah that might be a good idea’ Dan smiled and followed Phil over to the cupboards.

'Do you need a change of clothes? And a drink, have a drink!’ Phil was rapidly looking all over the place as he fussed over Dan. Dan however, just stood there laughing.

'Phil you sound like such a mum, stop worrying!’ 'Well someone needs to!’ 'I can worry enough on my own thanks, and besides you’re my boyfriend not my parent!’

'Okay okay but here’ Phil rolled his eyes as he passed Dan an energy drink. 'I think we have stuff to make sandwiches, we can take them with us’ 'How cute, a little picnic’ Dan said sarcastically, sipping his drink.

'Right now lets go’ Phil announced, opening the door and looking over at Dan, expecting him to be ready too. What he saw was far from that though. Dan was still stood by the window staring up at the sky. He seemed distant and distracted, like he was mentally and physically somewhere else.

Apparently he was still in the present though as he sighed and spoke up. 'Okay. Lets go’ He traipsed over to where Phil was standing, feigning self confidence as they both stepped outside and Phil closed the door behind them.

-

After walking for ten minutes or so they came to a clearing. They’d hardly spoke on the way there, not because they weren’t comfortable with each other but simply because they’d just had nothing to say.

Phil gestured silently to the area around them and Dan nodded in approval. Falling silently to the ground, they both sat on the floor of the forest and waited.

'Eat’ Phil ordered, passing Dan one of the sandwiches he’d made earlier, Dan taking it and eating it hurriedly.

'I feel it Phil’ Dan said when he’d finished 'it’s coming’ 'W, w, what’s it like?’ Phil asked, a little afraid of taking the conversation to far and offending Dan. For once though, Dan didn’t didn’t seem afraid of opening up.

'Well, first your whole body feels tingly’ he began. 'Like the feeling of pins and needles but everywhere. That’s usually when the moon starts rising’

Both of them looked expectantly towards the sky then. Sure enough a tiny slither of silvery light was emerging on the horizon.

'And then…’ Dan tried to continue 'then …’ He was still staring up at the sky, just like he had been back in the house.

It was a curious thing the moon, it had seemed so nice and beautiful that night he’d spent with Phil in the lake.

But now it was just a timer. A timer counting down every last minute, every last second it would take until he ceased to be human.

'P, P, Phil’ he whimpered ’ … I’m scared’ 'Dan’ Phil moved closer, eyeing him sympathetically. 'It’s okay’ Dan’s breathing had started to increase. The pain was hitting him slowly; his heart was beating faster.

With every passing second, the moon was getting bigger. Stars were appearing along side it as if they wanted to watch Dan and taunt him. He couldn’t take it, he was panting now, closing his eyes as if that would stop it all. It didn’t of course. He felt so anxious that he thought he was going to be sick.

All the pain was building up inside him as he braced for what he knew would come next.

'Dan’ Phil looked him in the eyes, feeling a sudden sense of assurance 'take my hand’

Dan took it, faster than one beat of his rapidly pacing heart and he didn’t want to let go. That was when it struck him.

That horrific jolt of pain he’d been dreading. It was like a bolt of lightning had hit him and was now coursing through his body.

'Philllll!’ He cried out, screaming and writhing, his hand still in Phil grip as he squeezed it hard. Phil wasn’t going to let go at that squeeze. No matter how much it hurt, he knew it was nothing compared to what Dan was experiencing.

'Dan. It’s alright, you’re going to be okay it’ll be over soon’ Phil said, trying to sound calm despite the fact he was breathing almost as heavily as Dan.

Dan could the feel fur starting to form on his body, Phil could feel it too on the hand that he still gripping very tightly.

'K, keep talking Phil’ said Dan, barely able to speak 'it helps’ And from that point onward, Phil talked to him the whole way through it 'you’re doing great Dan, you are so brave’

Dan felt the pain slowly fade away now as Phil carried on comforting him. One minute he was in utter agony, his bones feeling like they were breaking, snapping in half all at once. The next he felt fine.

All the pain had been released from inside him. The storm had calmed but it had definitely left its mark.

The boys looked down at their still entwined hands. Well, one of them was a hand. The other now a huge, grey, furry paw.

Phil looked slightly startled at this, looking back up to Dan and gazing into his eyes as if to confirm they were still his. They were. They were the same eyes, the very same deep, dark chocolate eyes he’d fallen in love with.

'Dan… are you okay?’

It was foolish of Phil to expect a reply really. He knew animals didn’t talk. Dan held his gaze with Phil, turning it into a look of sadness.

Showing sad puppy dog eyes, he raised the paw that was still touching Phil’s hand, lifting it and showing a silent form of affection.

The two stood there like that for a while, hand against paw, until Dan decided to lean in closer to Phil and nuzzle into him.

'You’re a cute little puppy, you know that?’ Phil whispered. Dan let out a whimper of protest making Phil chuckle. 'You know since this is gonna be a long night’ He smirked 'maybe we should play a game’

Dan lifted his head just in time for Phil to say 'You’re it!’ He ran off then, initiating what Dan would view as a very childish game of tag.

-

Although it was extremely annoying not being able to speak, it really was, Dan soon managed to look past that. Phil certainly helped a lot.

They spent the majority of the night playing games with each other, Dan winning most of them and usually pinning Phil to the floor to accept his defeat.

They were like this now Dan having just won the game of tag for the 17th time, Phil looking up at him, faking annoyance at his loss.

Dan, in his victory, titled his head back and howled triumphantly as Phil covered his ears. 'You know, I can’t help but feel like this is a little unfair, I mean you literally have four legs and I only have two!’

Dan let out a little barking noise 'Is that so?’ Phil laughed. Dan bent down and licked his face, first on the nose, then the cheek, then all over until his whole face was a sopping wet slobbery mess. Phil shoved him off. 'Errghhh! Gross!’

Dan walked away a little and perched himself on a rock, looking up at the sky for the third time that night. The moon seemed calm again now.

He let out a quiet little howl as he sat there, Phil curiously coming over to see what he was doing.

He howled again, seeming a little more sure of himself now he had Phil by his side.

After he’d finished, he looked over at the man by his side expectantly. When he didn’t seem to get the hint Dan gave him a gentle nudge on the arm.

'What… You want me to howl?’ Phil asked. Dan nodded. 'Err okay then’

Phil took in a deep breath in preparation and then let out a loud (almost) wolflike cry. Dan joined in and let out a louder howl. The moon was gazing down at them as the two howled in a pretty harmony to the night sky above.

-

Dan was the first to wake up. He yawned, feeling dazed and confused for a moment until he realized where he was. He felt the arms of his sleeping boyfriend around him and now that his eyes had adjusted slightly, he could see him too.

It was one of Dan’s favorite things, waking up before Phil. Mainly because it meant he could gaze at him without being caught. Dan knew this was a little weird, but it wasn’t like he could help it. Not when the man he laying next to him was so damn cute when he was asleep.

Dan had thought he looked angelic when he was awake but that was before he’d seen the boy like this. It was impossibly cute. His messy fringe fell over his eyes slightly and his lips were parted slightly as he breathed ever so gently. He was curled up into a ball as he slept, like a little hedgehog, his legs pressed up against Dan.

Dan sighed at this image, complete contentment on his face as he slowly rose to his feet, causing Phil’s arms to let go of him.

It was only then that Dan became aware of his own state, having seemed much more invested in Phil’s quite frankly. He lifted up his hands to rub his eyes only to realize that they weren’t hands at all and that he was still very much a wolf.

Letting out a low growl he quickly began to panic. He wasn’t sure why, he’d been a werewolf for the whole of last night, but only now did it seem to panic him.

Perhaps it was the fact that he’d have to transform again soon. What time was it anyway? What if Phil didn’t wake up for him to transform? He didn’t think he could get through it on his own. What was the deal with this thing anyway? Dan had thought after all this time that he knew everything about this strange ability of his but apparently not.

Last time he’d fallen asleep as a werewolf he’d woken up human. So why now was that not the case? Did the world really feel the need to taunt him even more by making his ability so unpredictable.

Dan was panicking now. The sun had begun to rise and Phil was still sleeping soundly. He tried to wake the man up by calling his name, his efforts only resulting in shrill barks that seemingly had no effect.

The sun was peeking out through the trees. With every second that passed it got more and more light and Dan was getting more and more panicked. At the pit of his stomach he could feel it now, a harsh tickling pain that was beginning to build up. He whimpered in the slight hope that he would be heard. He wasn’t though, his quiet pleading noises going completely unnoticed.

Dan didn’t have time to call for Phil again. At the very same moment that the sun reached the point of blinding him he was struck with the pain. Now instead of quiet whimpers he was yelling in agony, crying and screaming for help.

Phil awoke with a start to this. The shrill howling noises alerting him and causing him to sit up with a start. 'Dan!’ He cried, his vision still groggy. He got to his feet and despite being almost completely unaware of his surroundings still he managed to sprint over to were Dan was. Flinging his arms around his boyfriend, he tried to steady him as he shook in pain.

It was burning Dan everywhere, inside and out, the feeling was practically indescribable. He was used to it though. Phil began to try to comfort him with words as he had before. 'It’s alright, it’s alright now’ he said softly 'it’s going to be okay Dan’

The worst of the pain went quickly. Dan hardly even noticing it, only listening to Phil’s voice and not even noticing the harsh sounds his own was emitting. With one last final cry, Dan dropped to the ground. Human yet again.

Panting slowly, breathing carefully, Dan composed himself. He uneasily rose to him feet, albeit a little slowly from the recovery but he still managed. 'Well then…’ he exclaimed, feeling rather awkward now that he had just spoken for the first time in 12 hours.

Phil got up and gave him a soft smile. He was still clearly quite shaken (perhaps not quite as much as Dan) as anyone would have been after witnessing something like that. He pulled other boy into a tight hug pressing his face into Dan’s chest. 'I’m proud of you’ he breathed against him.

'Come on then’ Phil spoke up again, after he two had finished the admittedly lengthy, sappy embrace 'let’s go down to the lake, you clearly need a wash’

Dan nodded in agreement, looking pitifully at the wreckage of his ripped, mud stained clothes. 'Hey uh Phil, you don’t suppose you could go back home and get me some spare clothes?’ He asked as the pair started to walk slowly away from the clearing. 'these ones aren’t exactly in the best condition’ He chuckled.

'Yeah sure, I’ll pick up some towels too’ Phil replied picking up his pace and waking steadily away from Dan in the direction of home. Dan stopped, smiling after him.

-

When Dan arrived at the lake alone, after what was thankfully only short walk, the sun had fully risen. It shone down on the water now, making it glisten and gleam in the light. He sat down on a nearby rock. As inviting as the water looked, he wanted to wait for Phil.

Having not much else to do, Dan began pondering thoughtfully. His thoughts rather predictably only consisting of one thing, or rather, one person.

He still couldn’t even begin to fathom how lucky he was to have Phil. A man so selfless and caring he was willing to ignore everything else just to make sure he was okay. The man had done so much for him, even taught him how to love, a quality Dan had been quite sure he didn’t posses until he’d met him.

The idea of being in a relationship with him still excited Dan. Even though they’d been dating for almost a month now, he still got chills every time he saw…

'Hey Dan’ Phil had returned from his trip. He was carrying two towels and two sets of clothes which he had slung over his shoulder. Dan didn’t notice that straight away though, the first thing he noticed being that the man was wearing next to nothing.

Dan really wished he had realized he was staring sooner. It wasn’t until Phil looked him in the eyes and then followed his line of vision to see where he was looking that he noticed, Phil’s reddening face alerting him like a traffic light that maybe he should stop.

'Sorry!’ He blurted out as his face turned an extremely similar shade to Phil’s. Phil didn’t respond instantly, only letting out a low chuckle and approaching Dan at the edge of the lake. 'I didn’t mean to… I was’ Dan continued to blabber until Phil interrupted, pressing his hand to Dan’s mouth. 'Shhhhhh. You’re allowed to look at me you know, I am your boyfriend’ His other hand trailed downwards and found the hem of Dan’s torn shirt.

'Can I take this off?’ He asked gently. Dan nodded, still unable to speak, whether that was due to Phil’s hand being over his mouth or just because he was in awe he didn’t know. Before Dan knew it Phil had removed his shirt. He had taken his hand away from Dan’s lips too, instead deciding to press his own lips against them and kiss him.

It started off slow, the pair of them wrapping around each other in a soft embrace. They seemed to just be enjoying the warmth of the kiss until Dan felt Phil’s tongue brush along his bottom lip. Everything intensified after that, the gesture being more than just one of affection now. Everything became faster and more intense. Dan ran his fingers through Phil’s hair, messing it up immensely.

'Hey!’ Phil chastised. He let his hands roam downwards then, one tracing down Dan’s back and the other finding his nipple. He flicked it playfully for a moment before squeezing it hard.

Dan let out a whimper against Phil’s mouth, he began to back away slightly as if he was trying to object. Phil knew he wouldn’t though so he carried on teasing. Dan was almost growing hard now, his hunger for Phil rapidly increasing. Phil, almost as if he was aware of this, started biting Dan’s bottom lip. He nibbled it playfully before letting it bounce back to its original position.

Dan moaned. He was definitely hard now. He backed away again slightly, seemingly pretending that he wanted to stop when he obviously didn’t. Perhaps it would have been wise if he had though…

He was so caught up in the kiss that he didn’t even notice what he was doing. He backed up further and further. Phil realized what was happening only a second before it did, calling out a little too late…

'Dan!’ SPLASH. Dan’s footing had slipped. He’d tried desperately to grab onto Phil, arms flailing in desperation but to no avail.

Phil erupted with laughter as he looked pitifully down at the now half drowned mess that was Dan.

Talk about ruining the moment.

-

'Psst, Dan’ Phil whispered in the other boy’s ear 'wake up’.

It was a week later now, early morning and the two were laying side by side in bed as usual. What wasn’t the usual though, was the time at which Phil was waking Dan up. Sure, Dan’s opinion of Phil had always been that he woke up much to early but this was ridiculous. What time was it anyway, like seven?!

'Hmm’ Dan mumbled in an annoyed, half conscious reply. 'We have to get ready’ Phil laughed as he patiently tried to make the other boy comply. 'For what you maniac it’s so early?’ 'Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already?’ Phil sighed. 'Forgotten what?’ 'That we have school today sleepyhead’ 'What!?’ Dan’s eyes snapped open at that point.

He rose to sit up next to Phil like a ghost rising from its grave. Now that he was slightly more awake it came back to him. How could he have forgotten that today was that day? He’d been dreading it for the whole week for crying out loud.

As Dan got ready that morning he kept up the same undead like trance that he’d had when he’d first awoken, treading round the place like a hopeless zombie. He could have partially envied a zombie at that moment in time. At least zombies didn’t have to go to school.

'Dan come on it’s not that bad’ Phil piped up after seeing that Dan was nearly ready. This was probably his third or forth time trying to coax his boyfriend back to the world of the living that morning. 'Besides you get to spend break and lunch with me, it’s not like you won’t see me all day’

'I know Phil but it’s not who I won’t get to see that’s bothering me, it’s who I will… I don’t think I can take another confrontation with Seamus and his idiot associates, I feel like over the last month or so I’ve really grown more confident you know? But now I have to go back to that place and take shit from those mindless bullies’

'Dan I know what you’re saying but…’ 'I don’t think I can take being called a fag one more time and having my head shoved down a toilet Phil, time after time it happens and I haven’t even told them anything, what if… what if they did find out anything about me… about us. Phil I don’t know what i’d do’ Phil looked over at him with a weak smile.

'I don’t know Dan but I’ll tell you something. You’re right, you have grown, you’ve grown so so much, as a person and as my boyfriend so I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do now, you’re gonna walk into school with your head held high okay? And if anyone says anything to you I’ll give them a piece of my mind and you can count in that!’

Dan didn’t know how to respond to that. Heck he didn’t even realize that he’d ended up spilling all of his worries about returning to school until he was half way through talking.

The main reason he didn’t know how to respond though, was because he’d never seen Phil act so protective and assertive. He wasn’t sure exactly what he thought about it, he knew he liked it however. He liked knowing that he was Phil’s number one priority, that Phil would be there to protect him no matter what.

It was also at this moment that Dan realized that he’d yet to respond to Phil’s proud speech, drawing his thoughts away from the man and looking up to gaze at the real thing instead.

'Thank you Phil’ he said simply because It was the first thing that came to him. He meant it though, meant it with all his heart.

'Come on then tough guy, let’s get going’ Phil smirked as he handed Dan his bag that he’d taken the time to pack for him the previous night. The two walked out of the door then, Dan’s head now filled with confidence from Phil’s words instead of the opposing. It was funny how Phil’s words could comfort him so easily.

-

They arrived at school with little time to spare, just having time to walk through the gates and get inside before the bell sounded around the area.

The boys said their goodbyes at that sound, Dan standing pitifully in the corridor for a few moments merely wishing that he could be in the same lessons as Phil.

He wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with being back at school, but this particular moment made him feel like a child again as he stood stood there pinning hopelessly after the person he cared about most.

'Well well well, what do we have here?’ A voice sounded from behind Dan. It startled him at first but that startled expression soon turned into a snarl after he realized who it was.

'If it isn’t Dan Howell?’ Seamus cooed. 'We really missed you, huh guys?’

He elbowed the two boys, Jack and Harvey, who stood either side of him.

'Yeah, haha, we sure did’ Jack grinned in a grin that was probably the least appealing excuse for a smile Dan had ever seen.

'What do you want?’ Dan said coldly to the three of them. 'Nothing’

It was Harvey who spoke this time 'and there’s no need to speak to us like that we were just coming to see you’ he smirked in a smile that was equally as genuine as Jack’s.

Dan paused as he debated his next action. Well, if Phil wasn’t here to protect him, then he’d just have to stand up for himself. 'Well then, I’ll just be on my way’ he said confidently as he began to walk away.

'Ha! Look at him’ Seamus cried out after Dan had began to walk away 'he even walks like the queer little shit he is!’ Laughter sounded the corridor as the three roared at the jeering remark. It took all the self control in the world for Dan to keep walking but he didn’t stop until he got to his class.

-

The rest of that morning had gone excruciatingly slow. Having double history and science in the same morning was bad enough, but by the time it got to fourth lesson Dan was painfully aware of how long it’d been since he’d seen Phil (especially since he’d had a detention that morning that just so happened to last the whole of break time).

Science was his forth lesson of that day and Dan, surprisingly was actually pretty happy about that.

No, it wasn’t because he actually enjoyed listening to his teacher Mrs Graham blabbering on about chemical equations, although Mrs Graham was a pretty good teacher as far as teachers went. No, what Dan was happy about was that he got to sit next to Louise in that lesson.

'Dan!’ She greeted him with excitement and a soft smile as he entered the room. 'Hey Louise!’

Dan was genuinely happy to see her. She was one of the few people in this school that he could actually call his friend, so he threw his arms around her at the greeting.

'Hello there class!’ Said Mrs Graham right after, Dan hadn’t even see her come in the room but was definitely aware of it after hearing her booming, jolly voice. 'Come on then, get your books out. Anyway everyone, welcome back! Today we are going to be learning…’

Dan zoned out to the sound of her voice after getting his book out. Instead of listening he turned and began talking to Louise.

'Hey guess what?’ He whispered to her. 'What?’ 'Me and Phil are dating now’ Dan said casually with a smirk. Louise’s eyes went wide at that. It was clear that she hadn’t been expecting Dan to say this.

Truthfully, Dan had told himself that he wasn’t going to tell anyone, but he couldn’t pursue his relationship with Phil without Louise knowing. Heck, she probably would’ve found out soon enough anyway.

'Really?!’ 'Mhm’ Dan nodded. 'I knew it! I knew there was something going on between you!’ 'You did?’ Dan looked slightly taken aback by this. Mrs Graham cleared her throat suddenly and Dan was reminded, after admittedly forgetting for a little while, exactly where he was.

'Daniel, if you wouldn’t mind ending your conversation for the minute please, I’m trying to teach’ she exclaimed. 'Oh, er sorry Mrs Graham…’

-

The rest of the lesson went pretty quickly. At 1:30 the familiar sound of the bell sounded around the room and the class was dismissed, students piling out of the classroom.

'Hey er, Dan’ Louise grabbed hold of Dan’s sleeve while he was on the way out. 'You don’t mind if I stay here do you? Mrs Graham asked me earlier if I could help her mark some tests’ Dan snorted.

'What kind of teacher’s pet are you?’ Louise didn’t seem to take that comment too well and as soon as Dan saw the look on her face he decided to elaborate.

'I’m joking, I’m joking. Yeah that’s fine’ Dan smiled at her as he turned to leave 'see ya then’ 'Byeee’ she called after.

As Dan walked out the classroom door he was greeted by a rather unexpected sight. 'Hey Dan!’ That sight just so happened to be in the form of Phil Lester.

'Phil!’ Dan cried, throwing his arms around his black haired companion with a grin. He said something else then but Phil couldn’t hear due to the fact that Dan was currently clinging to him so hard he had buried his face into Phil’s chest, though it sounded a lot like 'I missed you’

'You missed me? Dan it’s only been a few hours’ Phil chuckled, playing with Dan’s hair while they continued to share the embrace. That is, until there was an interruption.

'What a heartwarming moment’ said a voice coming from down the corridor. The tone of the voice in no way corresponded to the words, instead being spoken in a harsh, jeering way. The laughter that echoed after it soon gave Dan and Phil a clear idea who it was as they pulled away from the hug.

Dan couldn’t help but blush a little at being caught in the act of hugging Phil but as he realized what that hug gave away, or at least suggested, he started to do more than just blush. And panic began to rise in his stomach.

'Howell and Lester…’ Seamus began 'who would’ve thought it?’

All eyes were on him now as he grinned maniacally. Dan’s face still mirrored that of a deer caught in headlights. 'Back off Seamus’ Phil practically growled, showing the same dominant and protective instinct that Dan had been so surprised by earlier.

'Why should I? I’m just giving the two of you a friendly greeting… Remember when we used to be friends Phil?’ 'No, I don’t Seamus, all I remember is you using me to do your dirty work’ Phil replied stoically.

'There’s no need to be so uptight now’ Jack butted in 'we didn’t realize we were interrupting something’ 'Interrupting w,w, what exactly?’ Dan whimpered, the first words he was able to get out sounding rather unimpressive.

'I don’t know whatever you want to call it’ Harvey said, wrinkling his nose 'disgusting affection, loving embrace’

The silence that followed had never been so piercing, each person waiting for the other to speak up. It was Seamus who did first.

'Anyway, not to worry. We’ll be on our way now, come on boys let’s leave the twinks to it’ he concluded, giving one last side smirk as him and the other two turned to leave.

'Phil…’ Dan whispered after they’d gone. Standing there hopelessly like all the life had been drained from him he turned to look up at Phil. It was all he could manage to say, any other words seeming to difficult to form.

'Come on Dan’ Phil whispered back. He took Dan by the arm and then they started walking.

Dan hardly registered where they were walking to. He didn’t notice the eyes of his fellow students that were looking at his dishevelled form. He didn’t acknowledge the sound of the bathroom door opening and then closing behind him.

'Dan’ Phil spoke softly, his voice waking Dan from his thoughts like a slap to the face, or rather the opposite due to how calm and sullen the tone was. 'Are you okay?’ He asked.

It was beyond Dan, it really was, how someone could be so selfless. It wasn’t just Dan who had been through that back there, it was both of them, Phil arguably more so.

So why? How, could Phil possibly care more about Dan’s feelings than his own?

'They’ll tell everyone Phil’ he said, simply stating the one thought that wouldn’t leave his mind. 'They’ve always seemed to know I was gay but I’ve never actually given them evidence to support it! And now they’ll tell the whole damn school about us!’

'They… they might not’ Phil replied, in a pitiful attempt at comforting. 'But what if they do?! What if everyone in this entire god forsaken place finds out! What if they, what if…’

Dan lost all compassion in his words. He hadn’t really been sure what he was going to say, he didn’t even know why having his secrets unwillingly found out terrified him so much.

It had all turned out okay when Phil had found out everything he’d tried so desperately to hide. But his mind couldn’t help going back to another time when he hadn’t been so fortunate.

The night when his parents had found out about his ability. They had burst into his room while he was transforming, Only gawping in horror, instead of rushing to help their son as he was being mutilated before their eyes. Even when Dan had come running back to them the following morning, hopeless and afraid, they had simply turned him away and left him to fend for himself.

That was what happened when normal people found out about your secrets, people less caring and sympathetic than Phil.

Dan was ripped like a book page from his thoughts then, and thrown back into reality. He didn’t want to live in that reality anymore if these were the consequences. If it weren’t for the loving blue eyes staring back at him he might have said that he’d rather be trapped in his thoughts forever.

He couldn’t stand by himself anymore, couldn’t retain the dryness in his eyes. Throwing his arms around Phil, he let his sobs echo around the bathroom. As he lifted his head from Phil’s shoulder for a moment he found himself staring right back at himself in the form of a mirror.

Oh how drained he looked, how overbearingly sorrowful the wreck that he saw was. Upon meeting his gaze with Phil for the second time, he spoke up in a choked sob.

'Hey Phil’ He sniffed, wiping his eyes. 'What?’ 'Lets go home’ Phil smiled as he pulled away from Dan, nodding in agreement.

'How are we going to get out?’ 'Well’ Dan stood up straight, if it wasn’t for the remains of the tears dripping down his face you might never have known he’d been crying.

'If I recall correctly, we seem to be in the very same bathroom that we crawled out the window of last time, seems like the perfect escape route if you ask me’

Dan looked awfully proud of his on the spot plan as he gestured to he far left toilet cubicle inquisitively. 'Wow, Dan Howell or Sherlock Holmes? The world will never know’ Phil chuckled.

The two boys made their way over to the cubicle then. 'If we can just get out here, the other side is outside school grounds, we’ll be out of here in no time’ Said Dan confidently, although the way he was looking up at the window hesitantly showed anything but said confidence.

'My lady…’ Phil cooed as he sunk down to his knees to help boost Dan up to the window. Dan blushed and rolled his eyes at Phil’s dorky way of carrying out the gesture.

Now had this gone to plan Dan would’ve been up and out of the window in no time. But thanks to Phil this didn’t quite go to plan.

'Dan, are you up yet? I don’t think I can hold on much longer’ Phil strained, struggling to retain the grip he had on Dan’s legs.

'I, just, need… to get the window open’ No matter how hard Dan yanked at the damn window handle it didn’t seem like it was going to budge.

That was why it shocked him so when it did. As the window flew open, Dan was almost sent flying backwards, shifting under Phil’s grip and nearly falling. In a rush to readjust his grip and prevent the boy from collapsing he tried to grab him…

He succeeded believe it or not, only this time it seemed he hadn’t managed to grab his legs like he’d done before. No, this time he found his grip tightly on Dan’s ass.

'Phil!’ Dan shrieked. Phil not managing to respond due to the fact he was desperately trying to hold back embarrassed giggles, somehow though he still managed to keep hold of Dan in the slightly compromising area.

'It’s lunch break you know! If anyone walked in and saw this…’ Phil practically snorted at this, even when Dan looked down at him with a scowl he couldn’t hold back the laughter for a couple more seconds.

Eventually he pulled himself together though, pushing Dan up to the windowsill so he could get out and then following suit. 'Damn, after that you know what we should get into?’ He quizzed the other boy.

'What..?’ 'Couples yoga!’ Phil burst or laughing and Dan, though he tried to hide his amusement, let a couple of giggles slip as they began to walk in the direction of home.

-

It was about three hours later now. The boys, who had been safely home for a while now, were now sat down by the lake. It was worth missing whatever lesson they were supposed to have had after lunch for this.

For the same peace and solitude that they’d had and taken for granted before. Neither of them had talked about what had happened that day since getting back.

Dan hadn’t really had the heart to bring it up and seemingly thinking that Phil felt the same he was surprised when the boy decided to bring it up at that very moment.

'Dan, are you okay now?’ He asked, genuine empathy in his voice showing that he probably already knew the answer.

'I’ve been better’ Dan replied honestly as he played with a piece of grass. 'Yeah me too’ Phil sighed 'it’s cruel really that something like this had to happen so soon after you’d recovered from… you know, before’

Dan threw the piece of grass he’d been fiddling with into the water and let himself fall backwards onto the floor of the forest.

'It’s always me’ he huffed, looking up at the sky 'I keep all these secrets from people and they always come back to bite me, always. I can’t even k…’

Phil stood up, seeming distracted by something as he looked behind him. Dan seemed oblivious to this as he carried on taking. Leaves rustled in the exact spot Phil was so carefully examining.

'What if they find out something worse Phil, what if they find out I’m godamn werewolf! They could turn me in to the government to be experimented on for fucks sake!’

Phil’s eyes went wide. 'Phil, are you even listening to me? Did you hear…’ Phil jumped down beside him to put his hand on Dan’s mouth and silenced him.

Dan couldn’t help but feel like he’d done something wrong. Okay, maybe wallowing in his sorrows after refusing to talk about them for three hours was a bit much for Phil, but the way his eyes had widened suggested there was something else going on.

He was still looking behind them, seemingly at a bush a little further away from the lake. Dan got up and tried to turn around suddenly with the intentions of seeing exactly what had captivated Phil’s attention.

Not getting to do as much however, as Phil caught his attention instead, looking at him with the expression of a rabbit that’d just heard a gunshot. 'Phil?’

It was like he’d just seen a ghost, or something equally horrific. He didn’t give Dan he time to argue though. 'Run! Dan! Run home and don’t look back!’ He yelled, utterly panic stricken. 'But what are you going to…’

'I’ll follow you after, just go home and stay there!’ Dan felt like arguing again, but the sudden authority in Phil’s voice told him not to, instead he bolted in the direction he thought to be towards home and didn’t look back once.

Phil looked behind him to make sure Dan was definitely gone. It might have been a little dramatic making the boy run, but Phil knew what he was like. He wouldn’t have wanted to leave Phil’s side unless they were in mortal danger. And arguably, as Phil gulped turning back around to face the threat, they were.

'Hello there Phil’ Seamus stepped out from behind the bush he’d been using for cover. It was a miracle Dan hadn’t seen him really, Phil had spotted him as soon as he gazed over in the right direction. He stood out like an elephant in a room full of mice.

'What are you doing here?’ Phil said coldly. 'Oh nothing, I was just walking home from school, minding my own business…’

'Quit the fake innocence Seamus’ Seamus grinned, a horrible toothy grin and edged closer to Phil. 'Now now Lester, your mummy told me to look after you when you moved here remember?’ he said in an bittersweet tone, gripping hold of Phil’s shirt aggressively.

'I was soooo worried about you last lesson you know? I didn’t know where you’d gone, I figured you and your boyfriend had gotten yourself into a spot of trouble… and judging by your little conversation I just overheard, it seems you have’

Phil froze. He tried to back away only to find himself drawn in closer to the other boy, the grip on his shirt ten times tighter. 'H, how much did you hear?’ Phil trembled.

'Oh, enough I can assure you’ Seamus smirked 'a werewolf huh? I wouldn’t have thought that scrawny little misfit had it in him’

Phil was growing angry now. The grip Seamus had on his collar was strangling him now, there was no doubt about it, he just hoped that this didn’t have to progress any further.

'Trust you to fall in love with a monster’

All restraint Phil had been trying to have was ditched instantly. He ripped Seamus’s hand from his shirt, a button falling off in the process, and slammed him against a tree. He pinned him there by his shoulders and looked him furiously in the eyes.

'What did you just say!?’ Phil growled, surprising even himself at how intimidating he sounded. 'I said, that boy is a monster. What are you gonna do about it tough guy?’

What kind of spineless idiot was he? He was literally pinned defencelessness to a tree. Phil could do anything to him and there would be no one around to hear any of it.

But Phil stopped at that thought. What was he doing? Was he really going to prove his point this way? Dan may not be a monster but right now at that very moment, it was Phil who was being the monster. He let his grip loosen, arms falling hopelessly to his sides.

The anger on his face, though still present, was now met with fear. 'You wanna fight me?’ Seamus asked, it seemed it was him who was back to being the intimidating one. 'Not really’ Phil said half heartedly, he was just being honest really. Besides, he didn’t really think he had the courage to fight anymore.

'Well that sure is a shame, we were quite looking forward to some bloodshed’ 'W, what do you mean we?’ Phil said uneasily. 'Oh, how rude of me… psst, boys!’ He called.

Two tall figures darted out from behind a nearby tree. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who they were, the ugly laughter that echoed round the forest made it pretty self explanatory.

'Welcome to the fun’ Phil mumbled through gritted teeth as he feigned bravery. 'Listen up chump’ Harvey hissed. 'You’re about to get it’ At that precise moment Seamus decided the grab hold of Phil’s shirt again. The tables had turned and Phil now found himself pressed against the tree.

'If it isss true that you happen to be in a relationship with a monster who turns out to be more of a freak than we thought him to be, then we need to do something about that’ Jack spat, now joining the conversation.

He was stood slightly behind Seamus, the three of them surrounding Phil in seemingly the best, most intimidating formation.

'I won’t let you hurt Dan’ Phil said proudly. 'Yes, that’s the problem’ Seamus spoke again 'you won’t let us anywhere near the twirp to even find out if he’s a threat to us…’

'Pfftt, a threat? What do you think he’s gonna do, slaughter your families?’ Phil wasn’t entirely sure what had make him say such a cocky remark.

'Who knows what he could do, the kid’s a beast! If he really is a godamn werewolf he could kill us all!’ Jack said, dramatically.

'What are you going to do to him?’ Phil scowled. 'Whatever we have to’ Harvey grinned, edging closer.

'But since the little shit got away, we’ll just have get you first and him later’ Seamus, with his other hand, gripped hold of Phil’s neck

'We won’t hurt you to badly though, consider this a warning, of everything that’s to come. After all, we’ve still got to find out if the two of you were really telling the truth about Dan’s little predicament.’

Seamus flashed Phil a grin. Deceivingly ceasing grip on his neck for a moment, of course, he wasn’t letting him go or anything. No. He was just getting ready to…

Phil felt the punch hit him square in the jaw. The impact threw him backwards, causing the back of his head to slam against the tree. It should have hurt more. Should have stung and burned with pain.

But it didn’t. Phil only felt dazed and confused. He’d never hit his head so hard before. He could hear laughter around him and at some point he’d fallen to the floor, but the laughter seemed distant, it felt like it was coming from far away.

The pain hit him then. It was agonizing, it drowned out all other senses, he wasn’t sure if Seamus and the others were still there.

They could have left, or they could have been still there laughing at him, taunting him. Phil didn’t know. All he knew was pain.

Was this how Dan felt when he transformed? No, what he had to go through must be ten times worse. Phil rose slowly to his feet.

If Dan could get through the things he did while going through that much pain, then Phil could sure as hell get through this.

-

The walk home was strenuous. Phil’s vision and hearing still impaired even as he was approaching familiar territory.

The boys must have left though, as he didn’t come across them again. He could only hope that they hadn’t gone to Dan. No, they wouldn’t Phil was sure, what had they said?

They needed to make sure Dan really was a werewolf before doing something about it?

Yes something like that. Well, at least he was sure the hit to the head hadn’t given him amnesia.

By some miracle he actually made it home. However it did take him almost two hours longer than usual. His senses had become much stronger again now, though he was nowhere near recovered. The pain in his head still throbbing violently.

As he climbed up the ladder he called out the familiar name. 'Dan’ It had sounded much louder in his head but it seemed the quiet tone was all he could manage. 'Phil?’

It seemed as though that weak voice had been enough. Dan was already stood in the doorway as Phil reached the top of the ladder.

As soon as Phil crossed the threshold Dan threw his arms around him. He didn’t want to let go, closing the door with one hand while still draped around the other man.

'What happened?’ Dan pulled away finally 'Are you okay, are you hurt… oh Phil, your eye!’ He gasped. 'Hmm what? Oh, I…’

Phil reached to touch his face, only to instantly pull away his hands at the pain.

'Who did this to you?’ Dan questioned, reaching up to touch the black eye Phil only just realized he had. For some reason it didn’t seem to hurt when Dan touched it, his delicate hands caressing the bruise ever so gently. 'Seamus… they…’

'Wait how did they find us?’ 'I don’t know Dan, but they overheard everything we were saying down by the lake’

Phil said in a surprisingly calm voice, despite the fact he was panicking. Despite the fact he was in pain, he still wanted to deliver this news to Dan in the best way possible. The way that would hurt him least.

'What were we saying that was so important any… Oh’ The realization hit Dan square in the face.

Phil was glad that he didn’t have to say it, that Dan had come to the conclusion on his own, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. 'Oh Phil…’

The two embraced again. It was the only way to let out all the emotion they felt in that moment, although it seemed doubtful that any kind of gesture could fully express that amount of emotion. 'Phil are you okay, your eye looks really bad, if you want I can…’

'No. Dan, don’t worry about me I’m fine. They said they’re going to do much worse to you, don’t you understand what they want to do to you? They want to hurt you, much more than they just hurt me…’

'I don’t care about that Phil. It hasn’t happened yet, we’ll find a way to deal with it when it comes but right now I don’t care. I only care about you’

It seemed that even in that moment the two boys cared more for each other than they did themselves. Each of them willing to put the other before themself even in a moment of extreme peril.

'I, I… I care about you too Dan’ Phil smiled up at the brunette, taking hold of his hand and stroking it with his thumb. Dan smiled back at him. 'Come on, let’s go get some rest’

-

Phil was the first to wake up that morning, as per usual. He sat up in bed slowly and groaned at the sudden jolt of pain he felt. His head was still throbbing like mad. It hardly hurt anymore though, which he was thankful for.

As soon as Phil let his mind drift, he began to remember the events of the previous day, the words that had been said to him seeped painfully back into his brain. He shook his head in frustration. No, not now, he had to think of something else to take his mind off it.

Looking down at the boy laying next to him, he smiled contently, not that Dan could see while he was still snoring soundly. At least Phil hoped it was soundly, the look on his face seemed to show something else somehow.

Even as Phil stared closely, examining the expression, he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it meant. Though he did notice that Dan's breathing was considerably faster than usual, which was a little worrying if anything.

Perhaps he was having a nightmare. Yes, that must be it. Phil gently lay back down next to him and tried to comfort him. 'Dan?' He whispered tentatively. At that precise moment Dan shifted under the covers and let out a noise that could only be described as a breathy whimper.

Oh, he must be scared. Phil wondered what he was dreaming about, if it had anything to do with the previous days events. But the scrunched up face he was making now didn't seem to reflect fear. This was all very curious. Perhaps Phil was just being to nosy, maybe he should just drop it and go back to sleep.

All of a sudden Dan's breath hitched and he grabbed hold of Phil's shirt tightly. He began to shift closer, scooting on top of Phil in his sleep. Phil had no idea how he was managing to do this while unconscious and what kind of dream he was having to provoke this but it certainly concerned him.

'Philll' Dan moaned gently under his breath. Phil looked up at him. His eyes were still scrunched shut. Why was he in Dan's dream? None of this was making any...

Oh.

Dan slowly brought his body down on to Phil's, Phil's eyes going wide at what he felt. Dan let out another breathy gasp and began grinding up and down gently on Phil.

Phil just sat there in a state of pure shock. So that was what the dream was about, it hadn't been a bad dream at all... well presumably it had been a very good one.

Phil felt extremely uncomfortable knowing Dan was still asleep and therefore not in control of the situation at all. but he wasn't about to stop what was happening, he couldn't deny that he wasn't exactly against all this. He just had to wake the boy up.

Phil moved around a little under Dan which seemed to visibly disturb his sleep. 'Dan' he spoke up gently. Dan's eyes shot open. 'Ph, Phil!'

His voice was extremely groggy. 'Morning' Phil smirked up at the confused face he was met with.

'W, wait, why am I.. what did you...' Dan looked down in confusion, taking a moment to assess the situation before it clicked into place what was happening. 'Oh... I, ahh!'

'You did it all on your own accord I can assure you'

Dan spluttered immensely, quickly scrambling to get off of Phil. He collapsed onto the other side of the bed, eyes wide with embarrassment. What had caused him to do... that?!

He couldn't face looking at the man next to him, knowing exactly the look that would be currently adorning his face.

Realizing that he was no longer under the covers and that he was only wearing boxers though, it became increasingly hard to keep still.

He was thinking of the dream he'd been having, the thoughts of it not wanting to go away. Much like the current situation in his pants, he could do nothing to control it.

He took a deep sigh, turning to look at Phil. 'I'm sorry' he muttered. Phil only laughed at this. 'Shh, come here'

He was sat up, looking back at Dan, gesturing for him to sit on his lap. Dan couldn't refuse the offer, after all, he was rather cold. He shifted back onto Phil and wrapped his arms around him, burying his head into the man's chest, both out of embarrassment and desire to be close.

'Phil I'm so sorry that I... it's just I was having a dream and...' 'What was the dream about?' 'It err, doesn't matter, oh god this was such a bad time for this to happen after everything that happened yesterday' Phil chuckled again.

'Hmm, or maybe it's an excuse for us to forget everything' 'What are you trying to...' 'Well you seem to have a little situation in those pants of yours don't you?' Dan blushed brighter than he'd ever blushed before.

'And as for everything that happened yesterday, I don't don't care about that. I don't want to think about it, I only want to think about you'

Dan nodded slowly and decided to just give in. He felt the adrenaline coursing through him as he leaned in to kiss Phil.

It was a messy fast paced kiss that didn't last very long, resulting in Phil's mouth trailing down to Dan's neck. 'Is this okay?'

Dan could feel every movement Phil's mouth made against his neck as he spoke. He'd never really considered that his neck might be sensitive until now, when he shivered at the overwhelming feeling.

'Yes' he breathed, struggling to reply as Phil began to kiss his neck.

It was clear that Dan's little episode that morning has made Phil just as frustrated as it had Dan.

The kissing became a little more intense as Phil began to bite and suck in a way that would surely leave marks. Dan felt so overwhelmed that he threw his arms even tighter around the black haired boy, holding on for dear life.

He ran his hands through Phil's hair, messing it up and he weaving his fingers threw it. Coming to a sudden halt though when Phil's mouth shifted away from his neck. He was panting rapidly.

'It seems as though I'm now just as worked up as you are' He exclaimed gesturing downwards in a way that left little to the imagination.

A breathy giggle left Dan's lips as he climbed off Phil and lay back down beside him. 'What are you trying to say?' He teased. 'You're supposed to be seductive, not laugh at me' Phil complained, turning to lie on his side, propping himself up on one arm.

'Give me a reason to be' 'Okay then, do you wanna maybe...' Phil shifted himself so that he was on top of Dan, using his arms to hold up most of the weight before he slowly lifted one hand.

Experimentally, he began to let that hand drift Dan's body, he stopped for a moment to playfully flick his nipple which resulted in a hitch in his breathing.

He could tell how impatient Dan was growing as his hand slowly trailed further down. He felt like delaying in even longer just to let him suffer but he was too far gone for that.

He'd completely forgotten that he'd yet to finish his sentence, far to invested in what was happening. Finally his hand came to a halt again, this time at the seam of Dan's boxers.

'Fuck me' Dan gasped, his blushing face making it clear he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Phil's hand let go at that. 'Oh, so that's what you want is it?' He grinned. 'Well you see, that's what my dream was about...' 'Oh it was was it? Well let me tell you Mr Howell, I can make all your dreams come true'

Dan didn't take a moment to cringe or laugh at the Phil's stupid pick up line, he was far to interested in the connotations behind it.

'But we haven't got any condoms, or any...' 'I think you'll find that won't be a problem' 'Huh?' 'The school just so happens to provide free protection I'll have you know, and well I might have just...' Dan didn't hold back his laugh this time.

'Oh so it's not just me who's been dreaming of this huh?' 'Apparently not'

Phil, it appeared, had had enough of the conversation. He began to fiddle with the hem of Dan's boxers again. 'Can I take these off?' 'Mm, yeah'

Phil lifted himself from Dan so he could remove the remainder of his clothing. He noticed, before tossing the boxers to the side, that they were slightly wet. He didn't comment on that though, considering his were probably in similar condition.

He kept his eyes on Dan as he took them off. He wasn't trying to be creepy or anything, he just realized that he'd never seen Dan naked before and it was quite an overwhelming sight.

His reaction was nothing compared to Dan's though. As soon as Phil's boxers were gone his eyes went wide at the size of Phil's length.

'Touch me' Dan whined. 'You're so needy' 'I know' Phil reached down then and his grip found Dan's cock, it was hard and wet and desperate for attention. Phil began to rub his hand up and down, cautiously at first, until Dan groaned again.

'More' Phil started to quicken the touch and Dan's breathing began to get more intense. Phil's other hand began to wander then. He placed it on the back of Dan's head and tiled it upwards so their lips could collide once more.

The kiss was just as messy as before but it wasn't as rushed, Dan's breathy moans in between strokes made Phil's lips tingle.

Dan began to nibble Phil's bottom lip, pulling away slightly with it still in his grasp, only to let go and watch it ping back into place.

'This is very fun and all but if you don't hurry up and fuck me I'm gonna come to early' 'Shut up and let me stretch you then you needy shit'

Phil stopped stroking the boy's cock so he could lift Dan's legs up and get ready to place a finger in his entrance. He leaned over to reach down the side of the bed. Dan heard the sound of a drawer opening and closing and the pop of a bottle cap.

He couldn't help but feel a little exposed in the position he was currently in but he didn't care, he trusted Phil, and he wanted this more than anything.

It was funny how even in this instance Phil still put Dan before himself, even when he was visibly achingly hard and probably desperately wanted to deal with it, he still decided to pleasure Dan instead.

Soon though, soon Dan would give him the pleasure he wanted.

'This might hurt a little okay? But it should feel good too, you ready?' 'Mmm' Dan hummed in agreement. Phil was right, it did feel very strange Dan was yet to decide whether or not he liked it though.

But as soon as Phil began to finger him, the decision was made for him. The feeling was so good, and soon after a second finger was added too. Dan felt so overcome with pleasure it was incredible.

'You're doing so great Dan, look so pretty like this' Phil leaned down and kissed him on his inner thigh.

Just when Dan thought the overwhelming feeling couldn't get anymore intense, Phil's finger hit him somewhere and the pleasure was multiplied by a thousand.

'Phiiiiil!' He cried out. 'I'm gonna... im gonna' 'Shh, not yet' Phil whispered, pulled his fingers out 'gotta wait until I'm inside you' Dan groaned at the loss but nodded compliantly. 'Hurry up then'

In his mind Phil thought of teasing the boy, of making him beg and wait, punishing him for being so needy. He didn't have the patience to do that though, with the lack of attention he'd been giving his own cock, he was so achingly hard it hurt.

So he decided to fulfil Dan's need, quickly fumbling for the condom he'd placed on the bedside table earlier and putting it on, lining himself up afterwards.

If Dan's moans had been loud before, that was nothing compared to the sounds he was making now as Phil began to fuck him. He was bucking upwards, hungry for pleasure even though he was already getting so much.

The two moaned and whispered each others names with every moment they got. The whole feeling was so intoxicating. 'Mm, you feel so good Dan, I'm so glad you had that dream' 'That dream was nothing compared to this'

Phil let out a particularly low, loud moan at that remark and began to fuck Dan even harder. 'Keep talking, I love hearing the sound of your voice'

'Ph, Ph, Phil, I... c, c, can't when you're going so fast' 'Do you want me to slow down?' 'No keep g, g, going... wanna come inside you'

Phil continued to thrust into Dan, the two of them chasing their highs.

Dan was the first to come, completely losing  it and practically exploding from the feeling as it spurted up his stomach.

'Phiiiilll!' He cried out in a particularly high pitched whine. He would have cared more about how he sounded, but right now all that mattered to him was this.

The sound of Dan moaning his name made Phil come soon after. He rode out the pleasure and moaned a much quieter, lower sound than Dan had done.

He pulled out then and lay down, exhausted next to Dan. Between the two of them, neither seemed all that bothered to say anything.

It was Phil who spoke up first, after he'd stopped panting.

'Guess we're not going to school today huh?'

'Mmm, no thanks, lets go back to sleep'

Phil chuckled.

'Don't you wanna get cleaned up first?'

-

It was safe to say that neither Dan nor Phil got much done that day.

They spent the majority of the morning drifting in and out of sleep, huddled together for warmth because they'd been to lazy to put their clothes back on. It wasn't until around one in the afternoon that they actually decided to move from the confines of their bedsheets.

'Dan?' Phil yawned. 'Mmm' 'Don't you think we should actually get up and do something today?' He sat up with a stretch, warily rubbing his eyes in an attempt to feel more awake.

'Honestly, no not really' Dan laughed as he snuggled closer into Phil's side. 'Oh come on lazybones, we should at least go get clean, we smell like...' 'Okay okay fine! Let's go down to the lake' Dan responded quickly, not wanting to hear what he knew Phil had been about to say.

-

They arrived down at the waterside a short while later. It was a familiar setting to both of them now, having been there so much. The quaint, peacefully atmosphere of the place was like nowhere else in the forest.

It was so calm and quiet, the sound of water trickling down into the lake, the sound of leaves rustling gently in the trees. It was truly one of the most idyllic places to have a bath.

They'd even brought some soap this time too, Phil having been down to the shop a few days ago and buying some. And for Dan this really was a luxury, he was pretty sure he'd never even owned soap before, the idea of picking some up when out one one of his intense grocery store robberies had always seemed to completely slip his mind.

'Try not to fall in again' Phil grinned tauntingly as they arrived and set down their spare dry clothes. 'Shut up!' Dan replied in what was supposed to be an angry tone. He couldn't keep it up though, seeing the adorable grin on Phil's face soon broke his wall of feigned annoyance and made his own smile peek through.

When they first got in, the water seemed unbearably cold. After a short while though it was a little more pleasant. The two boys swam around together, occasionally splashing one another and initiating a playful water fight.

'You know, this method of cleaning isn't really working' Dan exclaimed 'What do you mean?' 'I mean I still feel gross' he said bluntly. He was stood in the shallows near a ledge, waiting for Phil to catch up. 'Well, if you want to get clean, you could let me wash you' Phil replied, matter of factly, as if that was a perfectly normal suggestion.

'You coul... what?! I! Uh...' Dan spluttered, eyes going wide and turning considerably wider when he saw the look on Phil's face. Phil chuckled. 'Not like that, just you know...' 'You want to platonically wash me?' Dan asked, skeptically raising his eyebrows.

'Well you know, I brought soap and shampoo so...' Phil seemed to be questioning his own reasoning too at this point. 'You brought shampoo too?' 'I did' Phil said sheepishly. It was Dan's time to laugh this time. 'Look at us' he sighed 'we've both just had sex and we're still so awkward and unsure about crossing any boundaries'. The two of them said nothing for a moment.

'Is that a yes in answer to my question?' Dan chuckled again. 'Yes, go get the stuff'

After Phil came back with the soap and shampoo (making a less than graceful entrance by jumping into the water with a rather large splash), he began to take off the lid and squirt some of the products into his palm.

'You should be grateful you know, you get a free head massage' 'Hmm, we'll see about that' 'Lean your head back then'

As soon as Phil began massaging the shampoo into his hair Dan felt as though he'd thoroughly underestimated how good it would feel.

It was heavenly, Phil's fingers running up and down his scalp as he leaned his head into the touch. He didn't want it to stop, deciding selfishly that perhaps if he started a conversation Phil would get distracted and carry on doing it.

'So Phil' he began, closing his eyes as Phil's fingers reached behind his ears. 'What are we gonna do about this whole Seamus and everyone knowing everything now business?'

Phil's hands stopped moving for a moment as he registered the question. He seemed a little shocked that Dan had been the one to ask it. 'Well um, I don't know, I haven't really had the chance to think about it' he replied uneasily. Dan was right, it seemed that the conversation had caused him to forget what he was doing momentarily and he continued to run his fingers through Dan's, now rather soapy, hair.

'I guess we're gonna have to go back to school again and face everything at some point aren't we?' He sighed. 'Mmm, well isn't it Friday today? That gives us two days to think about things' Dan replied, surprisingly calmly. It seemed the head massage was proving as a great coping mechanism for this conversation.

However, as he looked up at Phil he could see that the man's expression looked quite the opposite of his. He'd stopped running his hands through Dan's hair now, and he looked like he'd just realized something important. 'Phil?' 'Dan, when's the next full moon?' He asked hurriedly 'Isn't it on Monday...'

It didn't take long for Dan's calm and collective expression to mirror Phil's anxious one. 'You're right' he said, sounding slightly strangled 'I'd forgotten about that...' 'Do you really want to go back to school then?'

Dan sat up straight again. The panic was clear in both his voice and his expression but the words he was speaking sounded strangely reassured. 'Yes. Phil, we can't hide from these things forever right? We...'

'Yeah but confronting Seamus and the others on the day of a full moon is like running into an already burning building' Phil interrupted, once again making Dan change his view on the matter. He thoroughly wished he'd never brought up this topic.

He sighed, leaning downwards and dipping his head into the water to rinse the soap from his hair. If only his problems would wash away as easily as the shampoo. Phil stared down at him tentatively, clearly just as deep in thought as he was.

When Dan had finished he stood back up again and locked eyes with the other man.

'You know, I still think we should do it.' He said decisively. ' Maybe it's stupid, maybe it's crazy, maybe it is like running into a burning building. But sometimes you've just got to do these things. If no one ran into that burning building, there would be no one to put it out, it would stay burning forever Phil. Sometimes you just have to be brave'

He looked down once he'd finished this speech, grasping hold of the other man's hand. He wasn't entirely sure where those words had come from but he knew he meant them, that was what really mattered.

Despite all the courage it had taken to muster up that speech though, he still felt as though it needed some closure so he spoke up again since Phil seemed to awestruck to do so.

'Besides we still have two days to prepare ourselves, we can do this' he added fondly, giving Phil's hand a squeeze.

Looking back up at Phil he found a similar expression to the one that had been there a moment ago. Had he broken the man or something? 'Hey, Phil are you okay?'

Phil blinked and his gaze met Dan's once more. 'Sorry, it's just you said that so beautifully and well... you're right. It's gonna be scary and it's gonna be hard but we're just gonna have to do it' Dan nodded.

'Wow this had been a lot, I really did not expect this to be happening when I woke up this morning'

'I think you'll find that makes two things you weren't expecting when you woke up this morning' Dan giggled. 'Anyways, do you wanna head home?'

'Wait, I still haven't washed my hair yet' 'Well Mr Lester, I think you'll find I can be of assistance there'

'Is that so?' Phil played along. 'Yes, now tilt you head back' Dan replied dismissively as he lathered up some shampoo in his hands.

As he began to rub it into Phil's hair, he felt Phil lean into his touch just as he'd been doing before. It must feel good to him too. He carried on running his fingers through the darker haired boy's scalp and he could hear him making a content purr like sound.

'Phil?' Dan asked giggling a little 'Mmmm?' 'Are you enjoying that?' 'You didn't tell me it felt this good'

He closed his eyes and lay back further until he was practically lying down. Dan's hands progressed further down his head until they reached the back of his neck.

It was at that point that Phil decided to let out a low, gentle hum of enjoyment. Dan sighed happily. He leaned down and decided to take advanced of the fact that Phil was now laying down, softly brushing their lips together in a gentle kiss.

-

Monday morning came surprisingly fast. It seemed like it had only been a few hours since the disastrous events that had happened the last time they went to school, and now it was already time to go back.

Dan, naturally, had spent the majority of the weekend panicking and that was exactly what he was doing now. As he sat slouched on the floor, leaning up against the kitchen counter with his shirt half untucked and his tie not yet tied, he mumbled, sulking to himself quietly. 'Are you sure we have to go in today Phil?'

Phil was perched on the bed on the other side of he room; he seemed to have progressed further in the task of getting ready than Dan had. 'Dan' he began 'it was you who said we should go back today you know' 'I know, I know it's just...' 'You're not having second thoughts are you?' Dan sighed, looking up guiltily.

'I've told you this before and I'll tell you again, you can do this' 'But Phil...' 'No buts, come on we're leaving before you can talk yourself out of it' Phil yanked on Dan's hand helping him up and began dragging him towards the door.

'Phil I'm not...' 'Not what?' Phil stopped and turned to face him. 'Oh right, let me get that for you' He reached down to tie Dan's tie as Dan tucked the rest of his shirt in.

'I have faith in you Dan, stay strong' he stated proudly, then proceeded to ruffle up Dan's hair in what seemed to be his own way of removing the slight seriousness in the atmosphere. 'God, you're acting like a dad' Dan snorted. 'Come on'

-

The two hadn't been walking for very long but they'd stayed quiet for the journey so far, just thoughtfully and silently gazing up at the trees and yet still enjoying each other's presence. Phil in particular appeared to have something on his mind. Something seemed to have resonated with him during the last conversation they'd shared.

'Dan?' 'Mm' 'Do you think I'd make a good dad?' He flinched, expecting Dan to splutter or get embarrassed like he usually did when the topic of anything personal was brought up. Surprisingly though he didn't, he simply turned to face the other boy, looking him softly in the eyes.

'Yeah, I think you would' he smiled 'you're very caring and patient but also fun which I think is a good combination for being a parent, plus you always know how to help and comfort me when there's something wrong, it's like you know what the problem is without me even telling you' Phil grinned.

'But Phil' 'Yeah?' 'If you ever become a parent, promise me you won't be anything like my parents...'

'I... Dan' Phil gazed further into the other man's eyes, trying to gauge how he felt on this situation, it didn't take much to see that he felt very strongly about what he'd just said. 'I'll try. With all my heart'

'I know you will'

'Okay now come on we're going to be late, I bet that conversation was secretly just a way of stalling so we don't have to go wasn't it?' Phil laughed. 'Hey, No it wasn't! Anyway, we're nearly there.

-

'Guys!' Cried a voice that they were met with as soon as they entered the building. It was Louise. She could be seen dashing down the corridor, swerving through people and around lockers and causing complete and utter chaos to be quite frank.

When she finally got close enough to speak normally she stopped, panted breathlessly for a few seconds and then carried on. 'Is it true?'

'Is what true?' 'The stuff about Dan...' Dan interrupted with a gasp and Phil went to grab his hand rather more hurriedly then he'd intended.

'I'm not trying to start rumours or anything, in fact I was one of the last people to hear but well... now everyone seems to know'

Dan didn't seem to want to reply. He turned to face Phil, giving him a look to say that he was allowed to say it. Phil sighed.

'Yes it's true' It was Louise's turn to gasp this time though seemingly she didn't mean to.

'B, b, but we don't have time to talk about it here okay?' Dan stuttered. 'Yes and there's too many people. But Louise listen, if anyone asks about the rumour tell them it's not true, this situation is way more serious than you think'

'I err... okay' 'We'll explain everything soon alright?' Dan smiled apologetically at her and then turned to leave.

'Hey wait!' She called 'Do you guys wanna maybe come round mine after school? We could, you know discuss things, I may not know much and it's fine if you want to keep it that way but I want to help'

'Louise that'd be great' Phil beamed. 'Okay good, let's meet back here at the end of the day, I'm sure my mother won't mind she loves having guests over'

'Okay, thanks Louise, we're sorry that we've really been keeping you out of the loop recently by the way. I feel bad, it's like ever since me and Phil got together we've been drifting apart' 'It's okay' Louise replied nonchalantly as the bell rang 'now, I'll see you guys later' 'Bye'

-

It was safe to say the rest of that day at school was absolute hell. And more so than usual. Dan and Phil had hardly known what they'd let themselves in for.

The rumour, it seemed, had gotten out to absolutely everyone just as Louise had said. Even the teachers seemed to know.

Every person the two boys saw that day would either yell things like 'monster!' or 'its him!' and others would simply give them a look of fear and avoid them completely.

This did also mean though, that for once Dan wasn't picked on or chastised in class, the teachers seemingly too afraid of him too. It was quite stupid really. Before this rumour had gotten out, had anyone seen Dan as anything more than a worthless easy to pick on nerd? No they hadn't.

Another thing that was a little odd too though, was that there had been no sightings of Seamus and the others all day.

Dan had expected him to be showing his face everywhere, announcing to everyone his thoughts on this rather blown out of proportion matter. He'd never have thought of Seamus as being the cowardly type.

-

Dan had never been so happy to leave school in his life, despite the fact that he knew he still had a whole week to endure. He seemed extra clingy to Phil when they met up again. As soon as the trio were reunited in the same spot they had that morning, they were out of the building.

Not one of them spoke until they were almost at Louise's house, Dan and Phil followed a few steps behind her as they didn't know the way. It was Dan who decided to speak up first, just as they reached the driveway.

'So uh, what do you wanna talk about first?' The front door opened at the other end of the driveway suddenly and the three of them were met with a beaming face. 'Bad timing' Phil whispered in Dan's ear.

She was the spitting image of Louise, long blonde hair and soft round face combined with a bubbly personality. 'Lou you didn't tell me you were having friends over, I would have bought more food for dinner!'

'No no mum it's fine, they're not staying for... wait how long do you wanna stay?' She said hurriedly. 'I er... well we've got a lot of... important stuff to do so probably a little while' Phil replied after seeing the look on Dan's face and assuming that he wasn't much up to talking to this new face.

'Okay well we'll just order pizza or something, come on guys!' Louise said quickly as she dragged the two boys into the house and up the stairs.

'We never would have gotten away otherwise' she said, once they'd reached the safety of her room, feeling the need to explain her actions 'my mum could talk for hours'

Phil chuckled, and Dan just looked rather relived to have managed to avoid that conversation.

'So Dan' Both Louise and Phil turned to look at him 'I don't know if you want to talk about this but that is why we're here, you're a, a werewolf huh?' She questioned, hushing her voice slightly on the word as if it was cursed.

'Yeah... yeah I am' 'How long have you?' 'Well I don't know how long exactly but since I was very young'

'Dan, if there's anything you don't want to share then you don't have to, remember that' Phil butted in, defensively. He knew Louise wasn't exactly going to force anything out of him but he also knew how well Dan could hide his emotions when he wanted to.

'It's okay Phil'

'I'm sorry I didn't ever tell you Louise. I didn't actually plan on telling Phil, he found out on his own' 'Wait how?... sorry I'll let you explain'

It was then that Dan proceeded to tell Louise everything, all without leaving too much out. it felt good to talk about it to someone other than Phil, therapeutic almost, Louise seemed to be taking a much calmer approach to the situation too.

Maybe it was because she hadn't experienced any of it firsthand yet.

Her and Phil sat contentedly for the most part, nodding and smiling encouragingly every now and then, and Phil occasionally squeezing the hand that Dan somehow hadn't noticed him grabbing.

Once Dan had finished talking the three of them stopped and stared for a moment until Louise found the courage to speak up. She didn't sound very courageous though, in fact, it sounded an awful lot like she was crying.

'Dan I...' she sniffed 'I can't believe you kept this bottled up the whole time. Don't get me wrong I'm not mad or anything, I couldn't be prouder actually, but w, w, what are going to do?'

'That's the question I guess' Phil remarked. 'I can't believe Seamus woul...'

Dan didn't hear the rest of what Louise was saying. Something louder penetrated his brain instead.

Something he'd completely forgotten about. Something that he definitely shouldn't have forgotten about.

'Phil...' he whispered. The pathetic tiny whimper he let out no where near as loud as he wanted. Unsurprisingly, as Louise and Phil were still engaged in conversation, neither of them heard.

'Phil' he tried again, his voice sounding normal this time but apparently still not loud enough.

'Guys!' He yelled out, this time sounding a little more mad than he'd have liked but still catching the attention of the two none the less. It wasn't them he was mad at anyway, it was himself. How could he have forgotten?

'Yeah?' 'I, I, nothing... I need the bathroom. Can you show me where it is?'

'Oh yeah, of course, it's just down the hall and to the right' Louise answered, still not really paying attention. Lucky really, because if she had been looking at Dan, the look on his face would've certainly given it away.

He had to leave, there wasn't much time. Following Louise's directions, he walked down the hallway and locked himself in the bathroom.

'What now, what now, oh crap, crap, crap' Dan muttered to himself, utterly panic ridden. He perched himself on the edge of the bathtub and gazed out the window.

The sun was sinking rapidly and if his prediction was correct he only had around twenty minutes until the moon came out.

He knew one thing for sure. He would have to do this alone.

It would be fine, Phil and Louise could stay safe at home without him having to worry about them, and he would just have to run back to the treehouse and get spare clothes and food.

He didn't have time to think of the consequences. He was too intoxicated with fear and dread to think rationally, he just knew that he had to get out of there.

It appeared that the window was slightly ajar, the slight breeze coming from it giving Dan goosebumps (or perhaps that was the fear).

It was a reasonably sized opening, probably just large enough to climb through. And there was a tree right outside, if he could just...

Once again without thinking, acting entirely on a whim, he began to climb out of it. He paused for a moment as he sat on the ledge. His legs dangling down, nowhere near reaching the ground below.

'Okay... okay, let's go' Taking a deep breath, he reached forward and grabbed a sturdy looking branch.

'1... 2... 3'

He slid himself off of the window ledge once he was sure he had a good grip, he was left dangling for a few moments until he began to climb down.

It didn't take long for him to get down, the urgency of the situation giving him enough adrenaline to not overthink what he was doing. As soon as his feet touched the ground he began to run.

He ran like his life depended on it and didn't once look back. He was pretty sure he could remember the way back, not that he'd particularly memorised it on the way there, but it couldn't be too far right?

Sure enough Dan seemed to get lucky again, if you can really call any aspect of this situation lucky, and reached the forest pretty soon. As he carried on running through the trees, the sun was no longer lighting his way. The slither of moon that was emerging was enough to keep Dan going though, even in the fading light.

Not long after entering he forest he began to feel the very thing he'd been dreading, the pain building up in his chest beginning to overwhelm him. But he still kept on running. He was almost home, he knew it. he recognised this area, he was sure of it.

Beginning to feel intoxicated by both pain and adrenaline he couldn't help but slow down. He'd never transformed while running before. It seemed like a stupid thing to do as it would be ten times more draining but yet here he was.

The bones in his back were snapping and cracking and he was beginning to give in to the pain. At some point his legs had come to a stop and only now did it occur to him that he was alone in the forest, in the dead of night.

Normally that wouldn't have seemed like such a scary thing, he did it all he time after all, but right now all he wanted was someone else close to him. One person in particular sprung to mind.

'Dan' What? What was that. He was becoming dizzy now, dizzy with pain. He couldn't possibly be thinking straight.

'Phi...' He called out. What felt like a solid spear to the chest hit him and stopping him from finishing. That final blow seemed to do it. He was losing conciseness now and rapidly. Footsteps were approaching him...

That couldn't possibly be Phil could it?

The last thing he was met with was a face, a face that definitely wasn't Phil's. And the last thing he heard was a voice. 'So... it is true' The face looked down with a joyless grin as Dan slowly felt his eyes fall shut...

-

Phil and Louise were still sat down on Louise's bedroom floor. Well, at least, Phil was. Louise had gone to check the bathroom. It wasn't that she was worried or anything, but surely no one took longer than fifteen minutes on the toilet.

Once she reached the end of the hallway she halted for a moment, shuffling her feet so as to delay the interaction. Luckily for her though she wasn't about to get an interaction of any sort. She knocked gently on the wooden door.

'Dan?' After receiving no response whatsoever, she decided to knock again, more vigorously this time. 'Hey Dan, everything okay?'

Hovering her fist over the door she debated knocking for a third time. However, she didn't get a chance to as Phil came up behind her and gave a look that was equally as puzzled as hers.

'He's... er...' 'He's not in there is he...' Phil finished her sentence uneasily. 'I don't know Phil but, but where could he have possibly gone?'

Phil didn't respond. He was panicking. He pushed Louise to the side and began knocking on the door himself. 'Dan! Dan, are you in there?!'

He didn't stop knocking. Louise even began to join in, the two of them making an aimless racket that echoed throughout the house. It was surprising that Louise's mum didn't hear them actually.

Eventually after still no reply, the two accepted their defeat and Louise sunk down to the floor, leaning against the doorframe.

'It's no use' she sighed. Phil stayed standing. He looked down worriedly at Louise as he thought deeply about what to do next.

'Wait Louise, get up!' He yelled, a little louder than intended. He dragged Louise back up to her feet again and took a few steps backwards.

'Phil... what are you?' 'I promise I'll pay for a new one okay?' 'Wait what!' 'One... two...' 'Phil!' 'Three!'

Phil charged forwards towards the door. He wasn't sure why he'd thought that it was a good idea really and he could only be grateful for the fact that Louise happened to have a very old and worn bathroom door.

The door flew off its hinges and fell to the tiled floor with a crash. Phil taking deep breathes, took no hesitation in stepping over it and into the bathroom. Louise, on the other hand, seemed a little too shocked to do anything but stare with her mouth wide open.

It didn't take long for Phil to realise that the room was empty. He walked around in the slight pitiful hope that Dan was in there and they just couldn't see him.

As he stepped towards the bath tub, he felt a sudden chill engulf his body. The window, it was open.

He approached the window as more and more realisation came over him. When he reached it, he was blinded by a bright light. Moonlight.

'The full moon!' He shrieked. 'I forgot! How could I... Dan! He's... gone! And he's all alone...'

'Shit' Louise remarked, finally stepping inside 'he must have climbed out through the window'

'Hey! now what's all this racket up here about?' An angry voice called from downstairs 'what are you...'

The fact that the voice was getting considerably louder indicated that it was getting closer and also that it's owner was too.

'What are you doing Louise?' 'I err...' 'Looks like it's time for us to climb out that window too' Phil exclaimed. 'What?!' 'Ready? Take my hand!' 'Phil no!'

Phil grabbed hold of her arm and began to help her up onto the ledge despite her being less than willing to do so.

'Listen, you'll be fine, just use the tree to gently climb down and I'll follow' He was trying to sound calm and convincing but his inner panic definitely showed through.

He waited patiently as Louise manoeuvred herself onto the ledge and grabbed hold of a sturdy looking branch.

She took one last dreading look at Phil before sliding off the ledge and letting the branch support her fully. As soon as she started climbing down, Phil followed suit.

He couldn't hear Louise's mum anymore for some strange reason but he'd have to ignore that for now.

'What do we do now?' Louise panted. 'We run' Phil replied...

-

Far away in the forest, stood Dan. A furry, pain ridden, half asleep Dan. He had just awoken, dazed and disorientated. Above all though, he was afraid. That voice? Where had it gone? Had he just imagined it? Surely not... it had sounded so real.

He was fully werewolf now and still feeling the remains of the pain flowing through his body.

Everything seemed pretty normal (well as far as being a werewolf goes), he could open his eyes and he was pretty sure that he was alone. Something wasn't quite right though.

As Dan tried to move he found out exactly what that something was.

He couldn't move, not at all. He was bound, tied up, to something. How did he not realise sooner? As his eyes adjusted to the light, or rather the lack of, he saw that he was not actually alone at all.

He could only see shadows, mere ghosts of what seemed to be humans, but he knew that they were there. He began to struggle against the ropes that bound him to what appeared to be a large tree.

It was no use, whoever tied them had done a good job, Dan only succeeded in cutting himself.

It was certainly foolish to have tried. And Dan really should have been concentrating instead, on the figures that were now coming closer.

As one of them approached near enough, Dan could make out who it was. He could've slapped himself for not realising it sooner, it all made sense, this was obviously why he hasn't been in school today.

Of course Dan couldn't have slapped himself even if he'd actually wanted to and quite frankly he didn't. He couldn't speak either, so he just stood trembling in fear as he waited for Seamus to do something.

He felt utterly pathetic in that moment but it seemed he had no control over his movements.

A creature like a werewolf was supposed to be the one doing the intimidating, definitely not the other way round.

'Rise and shine sleepyhead' Seamus cooed in the most bittersweet evil tone.

Dan felt physically sick.

He couldn't bare looking Seamus in the eyes, so instead he gazed down at the ground and tried to ignore everything around him. Maybe if he closed his eyes again he could drown it all out. Maybe he could fall asleep and never wake up...

'What's the matter freak? Can't understand English?'

Dan snarled. He let out a low growling noise. It appeared his werewolf instincts were kicking in. And it was then that he remembered that he hadn't eaten a thing. He was hungry.

Suddenly he didn't feel afraid anymore. He looked up with the intention of looking at Seamus right in the eyes and challenging him. But it wasn't Seamus's eyes he was drawn to, it was what was behind them.

Could it be? Dan wasn't sure if he was crazy, but it almost looked like there were two more figures quickly approaching.

Surely... surely not. How had they found him here, so deep in the woods?

It was then that Dan realised he was staring, making it perhaps a little to obvious to Seamus and the others that something was coming. And if he wanted to make sure he got out of this alive, he would have to make sure they didn't see it coming.

His stomach growled again, reminding him of his hunger. That was it. The perfect distraction, he just had to get himself out of these ropes.

In that moment it seemed his werewolf instincts were beginning to overpower his human ones. He'd said that he wanted to make it out of this alive, right? But not Seamus, Seamus hardly deserved to remain alive after the way he'd treated Dan.

Dan's stomach growled once more, so savagely it was like it was trying to tear itself out of his insides. He lost it then. Just like the time before, when he'd almost attacked Phil, and the time before that when he'd chased the deer. He had no control. He'd forgotten about Phil and Louise, who were approaching, he'd forgotten about all human morals. All he knew was hunger.

He tensed, closing his eyes, preparing to escape. Deep breathes. The one part of his brain that was apparently still thinking, took to counting. Counting down the seconds until...

Dan tore himself from the ropes, using the pure strength and force that he didn't even know he had to pull away from the tree.

Seamus, who was distractedly talking to the other two, quickly brought his attention back to Dan at this disturbance. His eyes went wide with fear as he began to slowly back up. Dan's own eyes had formed slits. Like tiny crescent moon shapes, they glowed threateningly in the darkness.

He was edging closer to Seamus, no longer taking notice of his surroundings, only of his prey. He didn't notice Jack and Harvey backing away in fear because of this, they were whispering in awe things like 'he is a monster' and 'look at him, he's going to kill Seamus!'

He also didn't notice that Phil and Louise had arrived now, and had proceeded to join Jack and Harvey in staring in horror at the scene.

Dan kept on prowling closer. He wasn't himself anymore, he wasn't going to stop. He had no reason to.

As Seamus edged further backwards his foot caught on a tree root. He tripped and was flung backwards, landing with his back pressed against the trunk of the very same tree.

Dan, giving him no time to recover, placed his paw on Seamus's neck. He was pinning the boy there, just like Seamus had been doing to him moments before.

'What is he doing?' Jack whimpered, still in awe of the situation. 'He going to... I think he's going to...'

'No he's not!' Louise snapped. 'Dan would never' 'Well he's clearly not acting very much like Dan now is he?' 'Of course he's not, that scrawny little fag could never pull off something like this...' Harvey chimed in.

'Shut it!' Phil shouted. 'Stop it all of you, we have to stop him!'

Phil just had to think. Maybe this intoxicated bloodthirsty version of Dan wouldn't listen to moral, but Phil knew that the real Dan would. The real Dan, the one he'd fallen in love with, would never hurt anyone.

If he could just talk some sense into him...

'Louise!' 'What?' 'I'm going to talk to him, it's only way' 'What, Phil no!' 'Just... stay here okay?' he said, clearly giving no interest in Louise's concern.

'Okay deep breath Phil' he muttered to himself. Timidly, with feigned confidence he began to approach the scene.

Up close, Dan looked terrifying, Phil hated that he was even thinking it but it was true.

Seamus was bright red from loss of oxygen due to being strangled. Taking another breath, Phil stepped in between the two of them and looked Dan right in the eyes.

'Dan' he breathed 'you have to stop this' His voice, despite trying to sound assertive, sounded more like he was the one getting strangled and not Seamus.

'Yeah nice try pussy' Seamus taunted, still chocking. Really? He still had to be so cocky, even when Phil was saving his ass. Honestly if this wasn't for Dan's own good, Phil would just let him kill the boy.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he tried again. Dan was looking at him now at least. 'Dan don't do this!' He said, confidently. 'I know what they've done to you and what they plan on doing but...'

Dan's mind was still a blur. He wasn't listening. He hardly recognised the man in front of him, hardly registered his words. 'They think you're a monster Dan...'

Huh? He was listening now, he was beginning to remember. Beginning to remember who he was again. 'Don't prove them right by becoming one...'

A monster. No, that wasn't who he was. He was Dan. He looked away from Phil for a second and back at the boy he was strangling. He could see the fear in Seamus's eyes, it was him causing that. The pain he was feeling was all because of him.

He took his hands away from Seamus's neck in a sudden hurry, like he'd burned himself on a flame. His breathing became heavy and his eyes went wide with panic, with realisation of what he'd just done.

He fell to the floor in defeat.

How could someone who'd just had so much power feel so weak all of a sudden? So ashamed? Perhaps everyone had been right about him. Maybe he really was a monster. He'd been so sure that he wasn't up until now, but maybe he'd been wrong.

He heard the rustle of leaves next to him as Phil bent down beside him. Now that he felt was thinking like himself again, he felt pained to think of Phil. To think of how afraid he must have just made the man he loved.

Phil reached out to place a hand on Dan's shoulder. Dan flinched at the touch. He didn't deserve to be comforted after that.

'Dan' Phil said quietly, so that only Dan could hear. 'I'm proud of you'

What? Dan had not been expecting that. He wished he could speak instead of just making inaudible growling sounds.

'As endearing as this moment is, I would just like to take a minute to point out how stupid you are' Seamus interrupted.

He had Jack and Harvey beside him once more and seemed completely not phased at all by what had just happened to him.

'Dan, you had a perfect opportunity to kill me and save your own guts. But you didn't' he said coldly.

'And you, Phil, you're even more of an idiot. You came here to save your pathetic boyfriend's ass and almost got yourself killed. But none of that matters now...'

Phil looked down, distracted by something shiny he saw in Seamus's pocket.

'Now, instead of Dan killing me...' he lowered his voice and reached into his pocket to withdraw the shiny object Phil had just seen. It was a knife.

'I'm going to kill you both...'

'What!?' Louise cried out from behind them. She was tied down now, by the same ropes Dan had been previously bound with.

It seemed that Jack and Harvey had made quick work of making sure she didn't get in the way of the operation. Phil felt extremely bad now as he looked over at her. She really didn't deserve to be part of this mess.

'Yes' Seamus grinned 'I mean I'm doing everyone a favour really, wouldn't want Dan here going round and actually succeeding in killing anyone would we?'

'He wouldn't! You know he wouldn't!' Phil shouted, standing up and attempting to get closer to Seamus, only for Jack and Harvey to grab hold of him and restrain him.

'Hmm, I wouldn't be so sure of that, why don't I kill him first and see if he fights back?'

'No!' Both Phil and Louise cried in unison. It was a pitiful objection really, but it was all they had.

'You always have to come and save him don't you Phil?' Seamus carried on, ignoring the objection.

'Back in the school toilets, when that fight broke out, you were right there to rescue him. The other day in the forest you protected him from us again. But this time you can't do anything to help him, all you can do is watch him die in front of you'

Phil struggled in the grasp of the two boys. He looked down at Dan, who sat hopelessly still on the forest floor. He looked so utterly helpless, like he'd already accepted his defeat. He seemed so afraid of everything around him. Even of himself.

'Wait!' Phil yelled, not taking his eyes off Dan. 'What?' 'Kill me first' Dan did stiffen slightly at this.

'And why would I do that?' 'Because I'd rather it was me than Dan'

'I don't care what you'd prefer in this situation you idiot!'

Phil was stalling. He was trying to give Dan some time. If he could just make sure all the attention was on him then Dan would be able to escape.

The only problem was that Dan didn't look much like he was about to do anything.

'Dan!' Louise called over to him, realising what Phil was doing and apparently going unnoticed by Seamus. 'You have to do something!' Dan looked up at her.

'You have to save him, there's still a chance!'

Dan stared at her, was that all she had? No plan? What was he supposed to do? He was a dead man walking! Well, sitting, currently.

'Wait Dan... Dan run! Run away! They want to kill you first, the won't harm Phil until they've got you. Go now!' Dan wasn't so sure that Louise's theory was correct, but running seemed like a better plan than sitting in hopeless despair so he opted for it.

He ran. He ran as fast as he could. And as he ran he felt alive again, his heart was beating fast and he didn't feel worthless anymore.

He could do this, he knew he could.

Seamus and the others would probably realise he was gone any second. Then once they started chasing him all he had to do was lose them and get back to Phil. Yes. That sounded like a plan.

However, Seamus and the others never did seem to notice he was gone. Dan had just kept on running around the nearby area assuming that they'd come after him, but they never did.

He decided to slow down a little after ten minutes, just as he reached the edge of a gorge. Panting rapidly, he collapsed again in defeat.

Maybe he shouldn't have listened to Louise...

Of course he shouldn't have listened to Louise! What was he thinking? He'd just left Phil on his own with a bunch of people who wanted to kill him. He'd...

Dan's ears pricked up. His thoughts were interrupted by a shrill whistle sound. 'Hey Dan' a distant voice called. It was coming from the other side of the gorge and as he looked up Dan saw exactly who it belonged to.

So he had noticed that Dan had gone. Of course he had. Dan was stupid to think he could get away with no one noticing.

But then his thought track was lost once again as he looked closer at the sight on the other side of the gorge. It wasn't just Seamus stood there. He was holding something other the edge of the drop.

Someone...

-

Louise was still stood in the forest bound to the tree.

Jack and Harvey were standing either side of her, both wearing gormless expressions and looking like they weren't capable of doing anything other than staying put.

Luckily (for them at least) Seamus had left them orders to do exactly that.

He had just finished talking to Phil about how idiotic he was, when he'd turned around. 'Now then, Dan shall we...' His face had turned a dark shade of red.

'Who's an idiot now?' Phil had mumbled under his breath while smiling to himself as he realised his plan had worked.

'Why that little... I'm going to...' He had turned round in a sharp manoeuvre and addressed Jack and Harvey. 'Boys! Stay here and keep an eye on the girl, Lester come with me!'

Louise hadn't seen what had happened after that. She'd longed to run after the two, wished she could do something to stop her two best friends from getting hurt. But she couldn't, she'd only been able to cry out to them aimlessly.

Crying would do nothing however. If only she knew where the boys were now...

-

Dan gasped. He wanted to shout, to yell for Phil and tell him everything was going to be okay. He couldn't, of course, all he could do was glare at Seamus from the other side of the gorge.

'See Dan? See where all this foolishness gets you?' Seamus laughed, his voice echoing obnoxiously loud even from where Dan was standing.

'You thought you could run but I caught up with you, you thought you could hide but I found you, your hopeless little boyfriend thought he could protect you and look where it got him...'

Seamus grinned and Dan let out a low growl.

'So what'll it be now? Are you going to watch him as he falls to his death...'

If Dan were closer, he probably would've seen the glint Seamus had in his eye.

'Or are you going to save him?'

'And how's he going to do that exactly?!' Phil questioned, writhing and struggling against Seamus's grasp while simultaneously trying not to fall.

And then Seamus spoke again, in a voice so chillingly quiet that Dan almost didn't hear.

'Jump Dan' he whispered 'jump and save your boyfriend'

Dan looked down, blanking out the cries that Phil let out after that. below him, without the daylight aiding him, he could just about see a river down below.

He could hear it too. Water was gushing rapidly down it and the chances of survival if you fell down from such a height looked slim.

Taking a deep breath, Dan closed his eyes.

He zoned out. Blocked out everything. The sound of yelling from the other side of the gorge, the rustling of the trees, and the rushing of the river that he very much hoped he wasn't about to plunge into.

Beginning to edge backwards, he opened his eyes. Okay, running start jump, running start jump, he could do this.

He started to run forward. As he was running he could hear Phil's voice as he cried out. 'Dan no!'

It was too late now though, there was no going back. Dan soon reached the edge of the cliff and without thinking...

He jumped.

It felt like he was flying for a second. He didn't dare close his eyes. It was lucky really, that he had such strong back legs in his werewolf form.

No human would ever be able to jump this far.

All Dan remembered after that was landing. Everything after that went so fast, and yet slow at the same time. It was all a blur.

Once he'd reached the edge on the other side, he managed to dig his claws into the ground and haul himself up the rest of the way.

'Dan' he heard Phil breath faintly in relief. Dan longed to speak to him, to tell him everything was going to be okay now, even if he wasn't so sure it was. He had no idea what to do next.

Luckily, or rather unluckily actually, Seamus already seemed to have made that decision for him.

He'd recovered from the shock of Dan, not only being foolish enough to actually try and jump the gorge, but him also actually fucking making it. Who did he think he was?!

For once Seamus seemed speechless. It seemed as though he had no plan beyond this point either so he'd have to think fast. He grabbed hold of Phil again.

'Get off me you jerk!' Phil shouted, punching Seamus in the ribs. Seamus let go at that, and it seemed as though Phil had gotten his confidence back now that Dan was back at his side.

'Oh you wanna fight do you Lester?' Seamus snarled 'That could be arranged'.

And with that Seamus lunged for Phil again, this time attempting to punch him rather than grab him. Phil only just managed to duck out of the way, barely seeing him coming in the darkness.

Dan was stood watching in awe and he was practically trembling. He could feel the adrenaline in his blood pumping, it was telling him to do something. Something stupid.

He saw Phil throw a punch, a punch that hit Seamus square in the face. Seamus was flung backwards and after recovering he looked up at Phil in shock.

'Now see here you little...'

It was like he'd gone mad. Really mad. Dan had never seen him so angry in all the time they'd been going to school together (and that was saying something).

He grabbed Phil by the neck, much like Dan had been doing to him earlier, and then he looked him straight in the eyes like he could murder the boy with his stare alone.

'I will kill you Lester, I will kill you and your stupid little boyfriend! You can't always be there to save each other! You can't!' Seamus roared as he began slowly stepping nearer to the edge, pushing Phil closer and closer to the drop.

Phil fought all he could and managed to get Seamus's hands off of him, then push him away but he was so dangerously close to the edge that he froze with fear. He closed his eyes in a similar way to how Dan had earlier... he was trying to zone out!

No, no, no, no, no, not now! Dan thought. The ground was shaking as Seamus practically stomped towards Phil again.

No, the ground was more than shaking... it was breaking apart.

Dan thought fast. Or perhaps he didn't think at all, perhaps what he did next was based entirely on instinct. He had to do it though, he had to.

Phil was going to fall to his death and he didn't even have his eyes open to see it coming.

So Dan charged forward, finally joining in the fight. He ran right in front of Seamus and pushed Phil out of the way just before the cliff broke beneath him...

Dan froze. Phil wasn't going to fall now, but he couldn't say the same for himself.

The further movement he had made had caused the ground to deteriorate faster, and Dan now found himself (and Seamus) right on the edge of the falling cliff.

Phil yelled in terror at the sight as it happened, there was no time to do anything else. No time to prevent the situation, only to watch it unfold. Dan let out a similar sound to Phil but in wolf form, he howled as loudly as he could as the rock fell apart beneath him.

As he began to fall, it felt like he was never going to stop. Perhaps it would have been better if the falling did never stop. He'd never have to reach the bottom then, never have to hit the water at such a high velocity that the chances of survival were so slim.

When Dan looked up and to his left a little, he saw that Seamus was falling too. Served him right really, this was all his fault. But Dan didn't have time to think about how much of an asshole Seamus was; he was about to hit the water.

He tried to get his body into a slightly better position, one that might hurt a little less, but all he could really do now was pray.

And then he hit it. He hit the water, and boy did it hurt. It was like the pain he experienced while transforming, but all at once (and perhaps even worse), the water felt like concrete as Dan's body collided with it harshly and spectacularly.

Floating in the water Dan felt extremely light headed all of a sudden. The middle of a rapidly flowing river was the perfect place to have a nap, right?

The last thing Dan heard before he was knocked unconscious was Phil's voice calling down to him.

-

Phil was stood dead still, looking over the edge, despite the fact that rocks were still falling. He was still so in shock of what he'd just witnessed.

He had to act fast though now, and he knew it.

Phil wasn't stupid. Part of his brain had been telling him to jump after Dan and try to save him, but he refused to listen.

In fact, He refused to listen to all of he thoughts he was having right now, simply because they were all saying the same thing...

So he ran instead. He followed the sound of the water downstream and ran through the forest in the hope of reaching the river a different way.

Perhaps if he ran fast enough he could escape these thoughts that were trying to break into his head, could leave them behind and be sure everything was going to be okay.

However, his mind appeared to be persistent. Soon it seemed as though it had found another way to communicate with him.

He became more and more weary as he continued to run. Was it just him, or did he just hear a sound coming from the trees around him? It sounded like a voice.

'He's dead' whispered the trees 'He sacrificed himself for you and now he's dead'

'No!' Phil cried out, so determined to deny the fact that he didn't seem to realise what was happening.

'If he hadn't been so selfless, then he would still be here now, it would've been you who'd fallen and he could have been free to live a long happy life'

'You're insane!' Phil yelled.

'Are we Phil? Or is it you who is insane... trees cannot talk you know, we're just a figment of your imagination'

Phil stopped running. Panting rapidly with fear and exhaustion he looked around him. 'I I... maybe I am insane' he spoke, to whom he was no longer sure.

'Maybe Dan really is dead and it's all because of me' he breathed, pacing around in paranoia.

He looked around him, gazing up at the trees. He almost felt like a child again in that moment, a poor innocent child, alone and afraid of everything, with no power to control anything.

The trees made him feel so small. Even if they weren't actually talking to him they were still intimidating. He'd never have thought that the very forest he called home would turn against him.

Taking a deep breath, Phil sat down on the forest floor. He had to stop. Had to think for a second.

He felt physically sick with dread, and anxiety. He'd never had a panic attack before but he could almost sense that he was close to one.

Breathing heavily, he shivered and drew his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them tight.

He needed something. Something that would give him determination to get up and keep going. He needed strength. He needed hope. He needed...

A light.

That was what Phil saw. He saw it glowing in the distance. It was moving, or at least the source of it was. It flickered every time it went behind a tree and seemed to be heading somewhere.

It was so captivating that Phil was almost drawn to it. Standing up slowly, he began to walk towards it in curiosity. As he got closer, Phil saw that there was more than one light; they were flashlights.

And flashlights meant people.

Now that Phil realised what was going on, he could hear voices too. One sounded like a man, he seemed to be doing most of the talking, and the other was a much younger sounding girl.

'Your mother was very worried about you, you're lucky we found you when we did' said the man's voice.

'What's going to happen to the boys?' The girl questioned.

Phil heard laughter after that. Not the jolly sort of laughter though, no, it sounded like more of a pitiful chuckle.

'Well, we'll have to arrest them and keep them overnight but I can assure you that they won't get off lightly, especially if they won't even tell me what on earth they were doing trying to hold a girl hostage in the forest...'

Phil's eyes widened. This man was a police officer. Of course, that made sense. It wasn't as if your average person would be roaming the forests at night. And the girl, the girl must be...

'What did you say your name was again miss?'

'Er, Louise sir '

Of course. The police must have found her tied to that tree with the other two boys and rescued her.

Phil smiled. Jack and Harvey were under arrest, and Louise was safe. He felt a tiny bit better about leaving her now, though not very much.

Still, there was still someone out there who still wasn't safe, not yet anyway. Phil was going to find him. He had to. With a new found confidence and a sudden lack of fear, Phil started running again.

As he carried on running through the trees, the sound of flowing water began to get louder. This certainly seemed like a good sign. If Phil could just get to the riverside and follow it downstream, he was sure it would lead him to Dan. He really hoped it would lead him to Dan.

In the dense darkness of the woods Phil was really struggling to see where he was going, he was almost having to rely on sound alone to guide him in the right direction. He was sure he was close now, he had to be.

It was then, by some stroke of luck, as Phil emerged from one particular group of trees that he found that he'd reached the edge of the span of endless tree trunks. He could see the river in front of him.

Slowing down to a halt, though apparently not soon enough to avoid stepping in a puddle and getting his feet soggy, Phil stopped and caught his breath. 'Okay... okay' he panted 'come on Phil, you can find him'

Without hesitation he set off once more, this time following the river rather than the trees, in almost total darkness.

It's funny how when you want something so badly, so desperately, nothing else seems to matter. Phil was cold and tired and terrified, yet all he cared about was finding Dan.

Scanning every part of the river, best he could with what little light there was, Phil kept on walking further downstream. He knew it wasn't very likely that Dan was still in the middle of the river. Even if he was unconscious or... well worse, he'd probably be on a ledge at the riverside.

Phil shook his head dismissively. He didn't want to think about Dan being 'worse than unconscious', that was anything but a good idea. 'Dan!' He called out to try and distract himself. 'Daaan!'

-

About forty minutes had past now since Phil had found the river. He wasn't going to give up. He'd called Dan's name so many times that his throat was starting to hurt but still he persisted.

'Daaan!' He cried. This time his voice sounded a little raspy and chocked up. He carried on following the river still, and still he saw nothing.

'Dan' he called. His voice sounded a little quieter this time. He'd been on the verge of crying for a while now but had been holding it back until... well, until now.

'Dan' he sobbed, as his tears finally came trickling down his cheeks. 'Where are you?'

He hadn't expected a response. Why should he have done when every time he'd spoken so far he hadn't received one? But this time he could've sworn he heard a sound. A whimper coming from nearby.

A wolf whimper.

'Dan?' Phil sniffed, lifting his head and drying his eyes on the torn sleeve of his shirt.

He heard the gentle whimper again, it was definitely responding to him. Looking around desperately, trying to find the owner of the whimper, Phil spotted him.

After all this time searching he had found him, Phil could hardly believe it. He was lying on the river bank, a few feet away, still half in the water. 'Dan' Phil breathed, running straight towards him as he let out a tiny little whimper once more.

'Are you alright? Oh my gosh I can't believe you're okay... I can't believe you... I can't believe you sacrificed yourself for me' Phil said, sounding happier than he'd felt in a while. He was happier than he'd felt in a while.

Dan lifted his head slightly so that it met Phil's hand. He closed his eyes at the touch and let the boy run his fingers through his fur.

In all his excitement, Phil had completely forgotten about the state that his boyfriend was in.

He was cold and injured, though most importantly, he was alive. Phil had better get him out of the water though, if he wanted him to stay that way.

Dan winced as Phil tried to help him up. He had some visible wounds and probably some bruises that would show up when he changed back human again, but that was a problem they'd have to deal with when it came to it.

'Come on Dan, we need to get you out of the water, it's freezing, just try your best to stand' Phil pleaded.

Seemingly this worked. For the brief couple of seconds that Dan did manage to stay on his feet, Phil was able to push him at least a little further up the bank and out of the water before he inevitably collapsed again.

Phil sat down by his side. 'So, I don't suppose you wanna walk all the way back right now huh?' He chuckled.

Dan shook his head and then shifted slightly so he could place it on Phil's knee. Phil began to stroke his head again for a little while before deciding to wrap his arms around him completely, and cuddle him tight.

The two didn't even need to speak to show their emotion, their love for one another was clear.

Phil wished they could've stayed like that longer.

In that moment, wrapped around the man he loved, he'd felt safe. Safer than he'd felt in a long time.

However, Dan seemed to have other ideas. Which was strange, since he'd shown no interest in wanting to get anywhere anytime soon up until now.

Now he was tugging at Phil's shirt with his teeth and barking like a dog that wanted to go on a walk. Phil finally gave in and stood up in confusion as to what exactly was going on.

'What?' He questioned 'Do you want to take me somewhere?' At that, Dan turned his attention away from Phil and bounded off.

'Hey, wait!' He stopped and turned around, looking impatient as he gestured in the direction he wanted to lead them.

They were heading further downstream. In the complete opposite direction to home, which puzzled Phil even further.

Not only was Phil confused, but he was so exhausted too. He knew Dan must be also and yet he still kept moving further down the riverbank. 'Are we there yet?' Phil whined as if he actually expected Dan to reply.

It only just occurred to Phil that Dan didn't really seem to know where he was going any more than he did. He was looking all around him, much like Phil had been doing whilst looking for him earlier. Was he searching for something too?

It was at that moment that Dan decided to stop unexpectedly. Phil, not really looking straight ahead of him, didn't manage to stop in time to avoid walking right into the back of him. 'Ahh, I... sorry!' He spluttered.

Dan didn't respond, didn't even look at Phil or acknowledge his clumsiness. He just looked dead ahead. Phil, following his gaze, looked ahead and saw exactly what he was looking at. He gasped, gazing in awe.

There was a body in the water.

And not just a body, this appeared to be a boy who was still very much alive. Snagged on a branch, likely to be washed away by the current at any moment, he was rapidly trying to get away. It was...

'Seamus' Phil gasped, eyes going wide at his own words.

God, how was he still alive? Sure Dan had survived to fall too, but Seamus really hadn't deserved to make it this far after what he'd done. Phil almost wanted to snap the branch that was his only life line right now and just watch the water take him, not that he was actually about to do that of course.

Seamus didn't appear to be able to swim very well either, though being caught on a tree branch whilst being thrown about by a river might not be the easiest condition to swim in. It was a miracle he hadn't been knocked unconscious as of yet.

Phil averted his gaze for a second and looked back at Dan, who was still staring straight ahead at Seamus. He had a certain look about him, it was a contemplative expression. And Phil might have been wrong, but it almost looked like he was thinking about saving the boy.

He was thinking about saving the boy.

'Dan...' Phil was panicking 'Dan, you're not going to...'

Dan didn't hesitate any longer, Phil's words doing absolutely nothing to stop him.

He jumped into the rushing water.

The cold hit him again just as it had before, if not colder. He could felt his body going numb.

He couldn't think about that now though, he had a job to do. He began to swim over to the branch and towards Seamus. Quite luckily from behind the boy so Seamus couldn't see him. Well, it was lucky for Dan anyway.

Seamus screamed (a not so manly scream) as he felt Dan grab him with his teeth and begin to drag him back.

The journey back was the hard part. Dan knew that Phil would be watching in horror from the sidelines but he didn't dare distract himself to look. The current was so strong but Dan knew he would have to work his legs faster. He just had to get to the riverbank. He could do this.

Seamus was yelling all sorts of curse words as Dan kept, perhaps by accident perhaps not, biting him when he lost grip and he needed to readjust. At several points, one of them would be thrust under by the current for a second, causing Phil's heart to stop for a moment as he watched nervously.

Despite the journey back being so much longer than the way there, Dan eventually made it to the riverside with both him and Seamus virtually unharmed, which was a miracle. Phil was at the edge to haul the two of them up. As he did this he threw his arms around Dan just as he had been doing earlier, not caring in the slightest how soaking wet he was.

'Daniel James Howell, you are the craziest, most insane, bravest person I have ever met' Phil panted, needing to catch his breathe after the immense amount of anxiety he'd just felt.

'This is cute and all but are you guys gonna fucking kill me for what I did to you already or what?' Seamus snapped. Phil paused, turning to face the other boy.

'Seamus, Dan just fucking saved your life, if we were going to kill you we would have left you in there to drown'

Seamus looked stunned. 'So you aren't going to kill me? You... actually want me alive?' 'Oh don't take this the wrong way here, I don't think after all you've done you really deserve to live. But if we let you die now then we would really be just as bad as you are for trying to kill us so...'

'Yeah but your psycho boyfriend already tried to murder me earlier, what's your point? Seamus interrupted.

'I think you'll find that that psycho boyfriend of mine just saved your life! The least you could do is thank him!' Phil couldn't help getting angry, he really couldn't.

'Ha, yeah! Like I'm going to do that' Seamus smirked. He was either really good at hiding his emotions or he was just so cocky that he really just didn't care about what he'd just been through enough to be appreciative. Phil though, perhaps wasn't so good at concealing how he felt.

'You asshole! Just... just, get out of here before we change our minds and throw you back in the river!' He yelled, unwinding his arms from around Dan and trying to stand tall and intimidating. This didn't seem to be doing wonders. Seamus almost looked like he was going to approach the two of them again.

He probably would have too if Dan hadn't decided to get up as well. He rose to his feet and stepped in front of Phil. Then he let out a low growl and began barking intimidatingly at Seamus, much louder than he'd ever done before.

Growling and barking, even howling, he began to chase the boy and snapped at his heals as he turned to get away. Dan almost looked like he'd gone savage again, which was all just an act (this time) of course, but it definitely seemed to be working.

He continued to bark as he came to a halt. Seamus doing quite the opposite and running so fast to get away that he didn't even notice Dan had stopped. No doubt his screams and yells could be heard for quite a while even after he'd gone out of sight.

Dan felt Phil place a hand on his head as he came towards him, he scratched behind his ear gently and Dan leaned into the touch.

'So' Phil began 'I guess we won't be seeing him for a while'

-

All they could do now was wait.

Dan longed to be able to talk to Phil, to hear his comforting words and be able to comfort him back in return. He wished he could have his own body back, his own hands and feet and eyes and nose. He just wanted to be human again. For this long night to come to an end.

Surely the sun would rise again soon.

The two boys were sat alone on the riverbed. The excitement they'd felt about chasing Seamus away earlier had faded. And the exhaustion they felt was starting to catch up with them. Dan was lying with his head on Phil's knee as the two yawned in unison.

'I think it's going to be light soon, I can feel it' Phil exclaimed hopefully, as he gently scratched underneath Dan's chin. 'Are you ready?'

Dan let out a groan. He was already in so much pain. The remnants of the scars and bruises that adorned his body still felt like they were stabbing into him and they throbbed immensely.

He just had to get through this bit of pain, one final endurance on a night full of struggle and he'd be back to normal. That was all it was. One. Final. Challenge.

The only thing was, Dan didn't know if his body could endure any more pain.

Phil had been right, the sun was definitely rising now. Patches of light had started to emerge, peeking through the trees, and a slither of the actual sun could be seen on the horizon.

Phil got to his feet rather abruptly then, pulling Dan up with him and then turning to face him.

'Dan' He said suddenly, holding on to Dan's shoulders and looking at him in the eyes. Taking a deep breath, he continued to speak.

'You can do this. I know you've been through a lot, we both have, but I promise you, after this...' he reached forward and pulled the other boy into a hug.

'Everything's going to be okay'

Dan didn't get to have the moment he'd wanted to after that. A moment to stop and appreciate Phil's sentiment and hold him tight for a little longer. No. He was forced to let go as he began to be overcome with the agony he knew all too well.

He let out a howl of pain and tore himself from Phil's grasp. Dropping to the floor and on his hands and knees as his worst nightmare came to him once more.

As he cried out, he tried to think positively. He tried to think about how good it would feel to talk to his boyfriend again, to hold him properly again and to kiss him. Because despite the fact it had only been one night, to Dan it had felt like an eternity.

But the pain was still shaking him violently. He could hear Phil shouting from somewhere. Somewhere. He wasn't sure where. He didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings at all anymore, though from what he could hear, Phil appeared to be trying to comfort him.

The pain tore through his body like a hurricane, and it felt like it was going to rip him apart. It seemed that the further the sun began to climb, the more intense the feeling became.

'Breathe Dan, just breathe' Phil soothed.

Dan heard this very clearly. Which was lucky for him, honestly, because he had almost forgotten to inhale properly in his panic.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air before he released it again. This seemed to work as quite a good distraction for a while actually. That was at least, until Dan's bones felt like they were actually going to snap in half.

The pain sure was intense, but despite how much it hurt to change back, Dan couldn't help but think that it was almost cleansing in a way. He was transforming, from a hideous beast, a monster, back into, well, Dan.

And no matter how much he was reassured whilst in his werewolf form, that he wasn't a beast, that he wasn't a monster. Whatever he was, he still much preferred being just, Dan.

Looking down now, he could see his hands, his human hands. And pain was starting to cease. Slowly but surely Dan could feel the rest of his body returning back to normal. He took another deep breath as the final of the transforming occurred.

And then he stopped.

He stopped, and he stood. On his own two legs, he stood. He'd never been so happy ever before to stand on his own legs. He'd never been so happy ever before to look up and see...

'Phil' he spoke, using his voice for the first time in what felt like so long.

'Dan' Phil looked up lovingly at the other man.

With that, Dan ran over to his boyfriend and threw his arms around him.

And then he kissed him, he kissed him like he'd never kissed him before.

It may have been sudden, it may have been rushed but it didn't feel that way. The second Dan's lips touched the other man's, it felt like he had melted into him. He felt Phil weave his fingers through his hair with one hand, as he traced down Dan's back with the other.

Dan couldn't help the small moan that slipped out against Phil's mouth, he was just so caught up in the moment. They continued like that for a while. Phil's lips were so warm, as was the rest of his body. Dan never wanted to let go.

Phil pulled back slightly, still in Dan's arms, and then proceeded to kiss all down his neck. Dan let out a low hum of amusement and tilted his neck back invitingly for Phil.

He wasn't entirely sure that this display of affection wouldn't leave marks. But who was he to care? He was practically covered in bruises and wounds and scratches from the events of the night already.

He wasn't thinking about any of that though. Not right now. And as if he needed anything else to distract him from it right now, he suddenly felt the kissing stop, only to be greeted with piercing ocean blue eyes.

The very same eyes he'd fallen in love with on the day they'd met.

'I fucking love you Phil Lester'

'I love you too Dan Howell' Phil smirked. 'But can we go home now?'

Dan chuckled 'yes, yes we can'

-

Dan and Phil held each other, hand in hand, all the way home.

They spoke the whole way too. Not only because they were interested to hear about the events of last night from the other's perspective, but also just because they really liked hearing each other speak.

'You must have been so scared!' 'Yeah I was' Dan looked sheepishly at the floor. 'Not as scared as Seamus though, when I chased him away!'

Phil chuckled. 'Hmm, you sure were brave' he cooed, leaning into Dan slightly. Dan nudged him playfully. 'Hey, you were too you know, it's not like I did all the work!' 'I suppose' 'And Louise! She helped...'

Dan stopped in his tracks then.

'Wait!' he paused 'Where is Louise?' The panic that shot through his face then was sudden and clear. Phil put an arm on his shoulder and tried the explain that Louise was very much okay but Dan didn't seem to be about to give him the chance to do so.

'Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh god! I forgot about her! How could I be that bad a friend?' 'Dan' 'What if she's still there? What if she's still tied to that tree all alone!' 'Dan!' 'What if she...' 'Dan!' Phil shook him out of his panic, letting out a little chuckle at the startled look on Dan's face.

'She's okay' he whispered 'The police came and rescued her' Phil took Dan's hand again and they continued walking down the path as Phil explained.

'They took Jack and Harvey too, thought that they'd kidnapped her, I don't know where they'll be going now but I doubt they'll get off lightly' he smirked.

Dan looked puzzled. 'How did the police find them?' 'I don't know, I guess Louise's mum must have called them' Dan nodded as he took in the new information.

The two turned a corner then and were suddenly presented with the sight of...

'Home' Phil breathed.

'We're... ow!' He felt a punch on his arm. 'Race you to the top!' Dan shrieked.

He ran for it then, leaving Phil, who was stood staring in shock, behind him. 'Aren't you tired?' Phil called. 'Nope' Dan laughed.

He slowed down a little then, waiting for Phil to catch up. 'I wouldn't slow down if I were you Danny, it's on!' Phil yelled and gave chase to the other boy.

The rush that took place then to get to ladder was what could only be described as a clumsy mess. Once they reached it, the pair of them were tripping over each other and scrambling up the ladder like their lives depended on it.

'I'll beat you Lester!' 'Oh no you won't!'

They somehow managed to reach the door both at the exact same time. Hands grasping around the handle in in unison, they opened the door.

Then proceeded to fall through the doorway and on top of each other in fits of laughter. 'Phil Lester you oaf!' Dan shouted whilst laughter spilled from his mouth.

'What was that?' Phil responded with an evil glint in his eyes that Dan just managed to catch before he was being pinned to the floor.

'I said I love you' Dan lied. Phil leaned down and pecked him on the lips. Then flicked him on the nose in a retort. 'Sure you did'

-

It was a little later on in the day now. Phil was sat on the bed on his laptop. The one that he'd taken from his house the day he'd left. Well to Phil it was a laptop, Dan liked the call it his 'magic internet machine' since he still didn't quite understand it.

Dan himself was in the kitchen area scrounging around for something to eat. Not that there was anything, he knew that already, but he really couldn't be bothered to go buy (steal) anything from the shops.

He accepted this defeat in the end, sinking to the floor and sighing as his stomach rumbled. 'Ever the dramatic aren't you Dan?'

Phil giggled at the pout his boyfriend's face was currently sporting. 'It's not my fault, I'm starving' Dan sulked 'What are you doing anyway?'

'Oh, nothing' Phil said in a way that sounded not convincing in the slightest. Dan was suspicious.

He looked up at his moon chart on the wall. It had been the only thing on that wall a couple of months ago, except for perhaps a few claw marks, before Phil had moved in. When Phil had moved in he had brought all sorts of things with him, 'crap' as Dan liked to call it.

Dan didn't really think of it that way though, it wasn't really crap. Dan actually quite liked all the quirky, nerdy things that Phil had put up on the wall, they really made the place feel quite homely...

Knock. Knock. Knock.

There was a banging sound coming from the door.

Dan looked up startled. Looking straight at Phil, he mouthed something. Only for Phil to laugh and say 'Go on, get the door'

Feeling a little uneasy to say the least, Dan got to his feet. He walked slowly over to the door and hesitated once his hand touched the handle. Phil must know who this was, he was smiling like an idiot. Phil wouldn't set him up though would he? No, of course not.

Twisting the handle and pulling the door open, Dan was greeted with quite possibly the cheeriest face he'd ever seen. And Dan's own face quite quickly mirrored the expression once he realised who it was.

'Louise!' Dan cried. 'Pizza for two?' Louise smirked, holding out a warm box that smelled absolutely heavenly. 'What! How did you? Why are you...'

Footsteps sounded from behind as Phil stepped into the doorway. 'I asked her to bring us pizza' he smirked. 'Are you sure you don't want to come in and have some Louise?'

'W, w, wait a second' Dan exclaimed 'how did you know where to find us?' 'Phil messaged me of course, on his...' 'Internet machine? Man, I never will understand those things' Louise looked puzzled for a second but Phil gave her a look that seemed to say 'Don't ask'

'No Phil, I'm sorry, but I can't stay. I'm technically grounded right now, my mum got pretty mad that I ran out into the forest with you guys... so I, I guess I'll see you around' She turned to leave.

'No Louise wait!' Dan shouted all of a sudden. No sooner than when Louise turned back around did she feel Dan's arms wrap around her. He hugged her tight.

'I am so sorry I dragged you into all this mess Louise' he whispered 'You've helped us both so much and now this, you're honestly the best friend I could ever wish for'

Louise squeezed Dan before letting go 'Don't mention it' she said before actually turning to leave this time. 'Enjoy the pizza boys!' 'Thank you, we will!' Phil called after her as she began to climb down the ladder before he shut the door.

'So' Dan exclaimed 'that's what you were doing huh? You sneaky little...' 'Amazing boyfriend?' 'Yeah, something like that'

Phil gestured over to the bed as he walked over to the kitchen with the pizza. 'You go sit down, I'll get dinner ready'

Dan went over and sat on the bed. He could hear Phil pouring drinks and getting plates ready but he was suddenly much more interested in the thing in front of him. Phil's laptop.

Dan glanced quickly over at Phil to check he wasn't looking, before pressing one of the buttons. He went for the biggest one, at the top, it seemed to work too. The whole screen lit up.

He tried pressing a couple more buttons in the hope of the machine doing something else but it was at that moment he realised he had no idea what he was doing.

'Trying to work my laptop huh?' Dan jumped practically 5 feet in the air. When had Phil got here?

Phil sat down next to him, placing the pizza and their drinks down. 'Hey, let me show you something' he said. Dan gazed curiously at him, taking a slice of pizza.

Then Phil clicked on something. Dan had no idea how he did it but it worked, some huge logo came up and the machine started playing music.

'It's a game' Phil explained. 'It's really fun, here let me show you' Phil proceeded to tap more keys then and somehow, Dan had no idea how, the screen changed again.

It came up with a little man in a forest who Phil seemed to be able to move. 'Who's he?' Dan asked. Phil laughed. 'He's my character, and he's a prince. He's trying to rescue his love, the other prince. Watch this'

Mesmerised, Dan began to watch as Phil pressed more buttons and made the character move.

They ate the pizza too. And Dan had to say, it was the best damn pizza he'd ever had in his life. 'Mmmmm, this is so good' 'Enjoying the piz... ahhh!'

Phil began to mash the buttons on the keyboard frantically now. It appeared as though he was being attacked by a monster, on the game of course. Dan watched in awe.

Although, he did look away from the battle every now and then to watch Phil's face and he couldn't help but chuckle. Phil was concentrating so hard that even his little tongue was poking out.

They carried on with the game for a while. Dan watching, Phil playing. And Dan was quite happy with it that way. Though it seemed Phil had other ideas.

'Wanna have a go?' 'I, er...' 'Oh come on, impress me' Dan looked at him and then back at the screen. Surely it couldn't be that difficult? He had no idea where this sudden confidence had come from but hey, what could go wrong? 'Okay, watch me'

-

Turns out Dan actually did impress Phil. It was like he was a natural. After Phil had taught him how the buttons and controls actually worked, he seemed to get the hang of it quite fast. And now Phil was sat watching him fight an enemy.

'Feed me' Dan demanded all of a sudden, not taking his eyes off he screen. He was clearly to occupied with the game to feed himself pizza. Phil complied, despite the desire to distract Dan and sabotage his game. He brought a slice of pizza to Dan's mouth as Dan tried to, somehow, eat it and play at the same time.

Dan certainly was persistent. He'd been playing for hours, non stop. Phil was still watching him, of course, curled up in the bed and hugging one of the pillows. He giggled to himself every time Dan got frustrated, which honestly was quite often.

'Ahhh, fucking fuckity fuck fuck!' 'Language Daniel' Dan ignored him, pressing the respawn button and trying again. Somehow though, he managed to die agin straight away.

'Arghhh, fuckkkk me!' He yelled 'Maybe later' Phil replied with a cheeky grin on his face. Dan did acknowledge Phil's remark this time, turning to face him. 'Is that an offer? Cause I'll stop playing right now if...' 'Speakingggg, of stopping playing, don't you think we should go to bed now' 'Whatttt, but it's not even...'

Dan looked out the window. When had it gotten dark? 'Come on' Phil said, closing the laptop and placing it on the floor. He got into Bed. Dan, yawning, followed after. Phil pulled the covers up over the pair of them.

-

'Feels strange to be living normally again now doesn't it?' Phil mumbled, switching of the light. 'It does' 'Well hey, at least you've got 30 more days of not being a werewolf' 'Yeah I guess so... damn, I can't believe we have school tomorrow'

'Yeah, another day, another fight I guess' 'I'm sure everything will be fine, I don't think we'll be seeing Seamus for a while' 'Yeah, who knows, if we're lucky, maybe he'll even move out of town' The two laughed.

Dan buried himself deeper under the covers and wrapped his arms around Phil. He could feel his heartbeat.

'Well, whatever happens' Phil kissed the top of his head 'at least we've got each other'

Dan snuggled even deeper into the other man and hummed contently as Phil played with his hair.

'I love you, my little wolf' 'I love you too Phil'

[greenportal]

1, 5, and 24 for my favourite fishies.

(From this meme!)Lol. Last time you gave me all the hard questions, and this time it’s all the easy ones.1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything?

Ruben’s old name was Ruben of Knifeblade Ridge, and now he goes by Ruben Taylor.“Ruben” means “Behold, a son,” because his mother had been trying to have a child for a long time and was very proud of him. If she wasn’t so dignified, she probably would have gone around shoving baby Ruben in random people’s faces and saying, “Look. This is my baby. He’s mine. I made him. My baby. You’re not looking.”Knifeblade Ridge is, of course, where he was born. He wasn’t there long enough to earn a title, so his name would seem unfinished to most other Fantails.After he got his transformation spell, he learned that humans use surnames instead of hometowns, and he would look suspicious without a last name. Taylor was a very common name he would notice around town, so he took it for himself to blend in.

Quint’s full name is actually a nonverbal gesture, as the wild sharks in their universe use a sort of full-body sign language to communicate. It consists of a quick chomp of the teeth (which can mean “happy,” indicating their sweet nature), a light headbutt or brush against the listener (essentially an armless hug), and a quick tail swing to the left (a title kind of like “Jr,” as they were named after an older shark in SpotNose’s family). They like to translate their name to English as “HugSmile,” but Ruben has been trying to convince them on something more shark-like, like “LoveBite.”Ruben gave them the nickname “Quint” when they first met. At first he wasn’t as interested in being friends as Quint was, and he also had a fear of sharks so he didn’t want to get close enough for the second part of their name. So, since he didn’t think he would have to interact with them for very long, Ruben figured it was okay to give them a nickname that’s subtly rude (Quint is the name of the shark hunter in Jaws, while mershark Quint would cry if they ever saw that movie), while still making him look like he was being a good friend and giving out cool nicknames.If they ever need to give a full name, Ruben has told them to use “Quint Delmar.” Delmar means “Of the sea” or “From the sea.” (Though it’s also the name of a street near my house. lolselfinsertmarysue)

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults?

Ruben doesn’t have any siblings that he knows of. However, his parents didn’t have very positive views on monogamy (which is somewhat common among Fantails), so he probably has dozens of half-siblings along his father’s old traveling routes that he’ll never get a chance to meet.

I’ve been thinking of giving Quint a large mershark family too, but they don’t really matter since Quint hasn’t met them either.They do have LittleNibbles though, who is sort of like an adopted shark sister. Quint found her when she was a baby, and she was born too small and weak to survive on her own. Quint, being Quint, couldn’t just leave her to die, so they started catching food for her and protecting her from the bigger sharks. Now Nibbles is about Quint’s size (still pretty small for her age), and they have something like a sibling relationship that fluctuates between protecting each other, teasing and annoying each other, and being each others’ best friend.

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress?

Ruben is a fairly heavy sleeper, and he does snore but only when he’s sleeping on land. Even though he’s been trying his hardest to fit in among humans, he hates sleeping out of the water and prefers going back to his house in the ocean every night. The snoring and dry air tend to give him sore throat problems.He likes having a soft surface to sleep on. His bed is a large sand pit in the middle of his room, and he usually has to spend a few minutes scratching through the sand with his fingers to fluff it up and pull out any little rocks or crabs that get in. This has become a habit for him, and even with a human bed he’ll spend a few seconds scratching at the sheets before he realizes what he’s doing.He tends to sleep curled up in a tiny ball. The only thing he really likes about his tail is that his long, flowy fins make nice built-in blankets.

Quint doesn’t usually sleep when they’re in shark form. The closest they get to sleeping is when they’ll zone out every once in a while, which usually lasts a few hours and they’ll keep swimming while they’re unconscious. Their movement senses keep them from bumping into things, but they still might not know where they are when they wake up. They can be woken up from this state very easily.In human form Quint still isn’t used to needing to sleep so often. They would be diagnosed with insomnia by ordinary human standards, as it takes them a long time to fall asleep and they’re a very light sleeper when they do. They also tend to toss and turn, stretch out in their sleep, and move around the blankets around if they’re in a human bed. They prefer lightweight blankets too, as their Sun Blood is enough to keep them warm, so heavy covers can be too toasty.

[behindheremeraldeyes]

SasuSaku Month 2016 Day 25- Do You Believe in Magic . Title: Wicked . Summary: He’s waiting for her to finish her shift at the hospital, when a very intriguing patient of hers catches his attention. Kids are certainly weird creatures. . A/N: AHH! Another theme I had to struggle to write! All the ideas were AUs and then I kept thinking about that quotation, and then there was Moana and then I cracked XD Just kidding, guys… I’ve tried something different with this one, and I wanted it to be shorter, too, but in the end I guess I couldn’t really write less than 2,5K words XD Still, I loved the way it turned out! Hope you enjoy it, and please, tell me your opinion!! . . . The hospital cafeteria is by far the best place where those destined to wait can literally sit and relax. The chairs are comfortable, the disinfectant smell gives the feeling of a safe atmosphere and the large variety of food certainly helps those who must spend hours confined in those white walls. It’s the perfect place for those who want to take a break from all that stress caused by all kinds of illness and procedures; and certainly the one place where those who can’t allow themselves to sleep go to remain awake for the following hours. The demand for coffee is abnormal, but thanks to her, the Uchiha understands the importance behind that beverage.

For the Konoha Hospital is never quiet or empty not even during peaceful times, the medics aren’t allowed to be sleepy or tired at all. They have to be alert at all times whether they like it or not, and of course the pink haired woman- aka the head medic of the hospital, is one of those whose vital functions are fueled by caffeine. If she has coffee, he’s seen, then she can go on for days without anything else in her stomach. That woman is certainly neglecting when it comes to her own health, therefore his presence there is more than just necessary, as he waits for her shift to end so they can go grab something decent to eat.

What an annoying woman, he thinks. Making him wait like that almost every week after her night shifts. She should feel guilty for making him go through those silent, lonely hours just so that he could make sure she would take care of herself.

Annoying, indeed.

Luckily, waiting was never a problem for Sasuke. As long as there’s nothing bothering him, the raven haired man can be alone with his thoughts for hours. Time is precious, and thanks to his grumpy reputation, no one in the hospital dared bother him.

No one who actually knew him.

“ Hey, ojji-san… Do you believe in magic?”

The low, childish voice sounded too close for his own liking, and for there are only women standing in the cafeteria, he knew immediately that that annoying voice was talking to him. His eyes, which were previously closed, remain like that in one last attempt to shove away that unwanted brat, as he tries his best to convince himself that he’s just having a nightmare and that it will soon come to an end.

Sasuke doesn’t move and he's barely breathing right now in order to send that bad dream away.

But of course, he doesn’t succeed in waking up from that living nightmare that is a talkative child.

“Oi!” Tiny hands pull his armless sleeve, making dark orbs finally shoot open in pure annoyance. “ I’m talking to you! You’re not that old to be deaf, ojji-san.”

When he looks below, he’s not surprised to see a small girl, not older than 7, with two brown eyes that match perfectly with the pigtails hanging over her head and a demanding expression ruling her infant features. There is a tooth missing in the front row of her smile, and she’s wearing that typical, lime-green dress offered by the hospital to the patients.

People would definitely call her cute.

But not him, for sure.

“ Tch, go away.” He ignores her, looking away and through the glass widow where he can now see Sakura. Apparently, her shift is already over, which means that torture will end even before it starts.

“Eh!? But I need your help! You’re a shinobi, right?”

“ Aah.”

“Then will you help me?”

“No.”

“ B-But…” Tears start forming around her eyes, and the Uchiha isn’t moved by that at all. However, when the sobbing start, he realizes that he will be in big trouble if that brat starts crying out loud. The ladies enjoying their break will definitely think he was the one who made her cry, and his peaceful waiting will never be the same with all those future stares.

She will definitely ruin his moments, and never again will the people of the hospital allow him to wait for the pink haired medic in that more private area. The comfortable chairs will be gone along with the food and the hot coffee he has found himself to appreciate very dearly.

He certainly can let her destroy it all. And that’s when he realizes that he will actually have to talk to her in order to preserve his current condition.

Defeatedly, he sighs. Kids these days. “ Tch, what do you want?”

“ What happened to your arm?” She asks, her eyes now entirely dry after the tragic expression she had worn minutes before- such thing certainly annoying him more than it should.

“ None of your business.”

“ Does it hurt?”

“ No.”

“ Not even if I touch it?” She lifts her index finger, slowly moving it towards his missing member.

“ Kid… If that’s all you have to ask me, then leave me alone.”

A deadly glare finally appears to stop her, and she feels as if her entire body burning. Her brown eyes watch as the man in front of her closes his eyes, massaging his temples with his free hand. Apparently, he’s having a headache just like her mama every time she makes the same gesture.

Adults and their heads, she thinks, still looking at him without saying a single word. Her head is falling to the right, as confusion takes over her round, chubby face.

“ Oi!” His strong, imposing voice brings her back from her trance and it’s as if she snaps back to reality. “ Are you going to ask me what you have to ask or not?”

“… Ojji-san, is your head okay?”

“ Tch, I’m leaving.You’re just like that idiot.”

“ No!!” She moves her small hands in front of her face, as if telling him not to go. The little one, then, holds onto the hem of his shirt when he finally stands up from his sitting position. “ Please, ojji-san! Don’t go! I need your help.”

“ Let go off my shirt! I don’t want to hear another childish question.”

“ B-But it’s important!!!”

“ I doubt it!”

“ I promise it is!! Please, listen to me!! Please, please, please!!!”

What he didn’t want is finally happening right in front of his eyes. While the little one pulls his shirt down with all her childish strength, all the eyes of the cafeteria are set on him and there are two ladies already whispering something to one another.

That brat had really done it, after all.

The Uchiha bites his lower lip in pure annoyance as he tries to think of a way out of this situation. He knows he can’t cause a commotion in the hospital, for the pinkette will definitely kill him if he does so. It stresses out the patients, she says and he has been listening to these words for longer than he would’ve liked to. It’s true that he and Naruto were always the ones to be blamed for every time a wall was destroyed, but now these days are long gone. He’s a grown man now, who doesn’t pick a fight against his best friend in the hallways anymore and who certainly won’t create any problems in the girl's workspace.

Uchiha Sasuke is a mature man now, who certainly knows how to perform a silent kill without any of those people noticing.

He’s certainly a new, improved man.

“ Tch, spill it out already!”

After the tall man’s approval, the little girl quickly let go off his shirt, smiling from ear to ear and blinking rapidly those brown eyes of hers. “ Thank you, ojji-san!”

“ Hn.”

“ Back to my first question, then… Do you believe in magic?”

Sasuke lifts one eyebrow in response to her weird question, sighing once more. That girl was really abusing his good will. “ Kid, I’m not in the mood for these games. Go bug someone else, will you?”

“ It’s not a game, I promise!! Do you or not?”

The determination in her eyes certainly caught his attention as he continued looking at her. Her hands are turned into fists, there’s a pout decorating her lips, and for a moment, he swears he could see the pinkette’s own green eyes glaring at him.

Apparently, the toddler doesn’t seem to be joking this time, and so, he finally decides to take it seriously.

Magic, uh?

Of all the things he believes, magic is certainly not one of them. He believes in a goddess from the moon, reincarnation, life after death (in more ways than normal people would interpret this sentence), different dimensions, spirits and even in the possibility of Naruto being a good Hokage for the village. All of those things have something to do with chakra, so none of them actually seem that impossible, let alone for the last one.

There’s logic behind all of those things, and so it isn’t hard for him to actually accept them.

But magic? There’s no such thing as that, for sure.

“ No, I don’t.”

“ I didn’t either when I first came in here… But you see, ojji-san… It’s real.”

He rolls his eyes at the dramatic tone in her voice, not wanting to continue that talk anymore. Still, when he sees the evident yearning spread around her face, Sasuke changes his mind. That girl will definitely not leave him alone until he asks that question she’s dying to hear. That previous mystery in her voice is nowhere to be found anymore, and instead, an exciting feeling can be seen creeping behind every unsaid word.

What an annoying child.

And to make matters worse, he can see the pinkette looking at him from the corner of his eyes. There’s a silly smile on her lips, and he knows how funny that view probably is.

What an annoying woman, he thinks before sighing.

“…. Tch, and how do you know that, kid?”

“ You see… The doctors around here… They are witches!! A green light comes out of their hands and when they touch people with it, weird things happen… People touched by that change! Even the Hokage changed after it!”

As his dark eyes are still watching the drama queen of 7 years old, the Uchiha can’t help but feel little amused by what she considers to be magic. Her childish imagination certainly shows how naive and manipulable children can be at such age. She seems to be so excited and happy about the whole magic thing that it would really be a shame if anyone actually explained her that the green light is nothing more than chakra itself.

She would be devastated, for sure.

A smirk grows on his face as he imagines that little girl crying after learning the truth. She looks like the crybaby type, and if she were to release her tears far away from him, then that would be simply perfect.

She would definitely learn not to mess with him.

And that sounds simply amazing.

Unfortunately, he won’t be able to destroy the dreams of the new generation tonight.

“ Look, kid… Is this what you wanted to tell me?”

“ Yeh… Don’t you think it’s important? I mean, they can be planning to take over the village with an army of brainwashed ninjas!”

“ Tch You do have a weird imagination.”

“ What!?"

"That’s not magic. It’s simply one of the many ways to transform chakra. It’s possible to manipulate their natures and-“

“ Are you seriously going to explain a 7 year old girl about the change of chakra’s nature, Sasuke-kun?”

That soft, teasing voice came from behind and as soon as it entered his ears, the Uchiha knew his diabolical plan would go to waste. He tch-ed before lifting his head just to find his eyes aiming for the entrance of the cafeteria, where the pink haired doctor has her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes are playfully judging him, as a smile can be found on her lips.

Sakura does look beautiful even after a night shift, he thinks, as he finally stands up and straightens himself. He places his hand inside his pocket, and offers the woman one of his calm, stoic expressions. His dark orbs are perfectly connected to her emerald ones, and in the silence of their gaze, both of them know it’s time for them to leave.

But there’s still one small problem for them to solve.

“ Witch!!!”

A small, sharp voice finally breaks the silence of the room, as the annoying pest is pointing her index at Sakura. It’s possible to see how her arm is shaking, and it’s not until the Uchiha connects the dots that he finally understands that accusation. He can see an annoyance wrinkle forming on the pinkette’s forehead, and he understands that if that little girl was a little older, she would be in huge trouble for calling the strongest woman in the world a witch.

Perhaps having her dreams crushed wouldn’t have been that bad.

Finally, a sigh escapes Sakura’s lips. It’s been a long day, for sure. “ Chie-chan, are you still going on about the whole witch thing?”

“You won’t fool me! I’ve seen it!”

“ Tch, what an imaginative kid- shannarou…” Sakura mutters to herself, causing the Uchiha to smirk in pure contentment. Now that he's not the one being targeted by Chie, things do seem funny. “Look, your mother is looking for you.”

“ Mama? D-Did you do something to her!?”

“What? No, of course not! Come on, you should be in your room, resting so you can go home tomorrow. Be a good girl and come with me, will you?”

“ Never! You’re not using your powers on me!”

By the look in her eyes, Sasuke can easily tell Sakura is about to explode. She’s tired and hungry; and she’s definitely not in the mood to deal with that kid. As she looks at him, he can see how she’s practically begging for his help so they can both get out of there at once.

Sakura needs his help. And as the caring husband he is, he will help his wife so they can finally go home. Sarada is probably tired of waiting already.

“ Chie.” He finally speaks, catching the attention of both girls. He looks at the child, offering her a serene expression. “ You should listen to her. Your mother is probably waiting.”

“ Eh!? You’re with her!? How could you, you traitor!?”

“ Hn.” His attention drifts towards his wife, and right now, he can list endless reasons why he would betray the entire village to stay by her side. A sly smile takes over his lips, as he watches the cheeks of his silly wife blushing a little. “ Let’s just say she bewitched me.”

“ Y-You two are… Tch, I give up. Take me to my mom, witch.”

The pink haired Uchiha sighs in relief, looking at her husband in a thankful way. He has just saved their dinner, and he certainly deserves a nice reward after that. A chuckle escapes her lips, and as soon as she’s holding Chie’s small hand in hers, Sakura doesn’t waste a single minute before taking the little girl back to her worried mother.

She’s a pest, but she’s that mother’s precious pest.

And for having that curious daughter of hers waiting at home, Sakura knows exactly how that mother is feeling.

While the pinkette takes the little one down the hospital’s hallway, Sasuke watches with a certain pride in his eyes. Decorating the back of that red shirt of hers, there is nothing more than the beautiful Uchiha crest, and it’s at times like this that he realizes he could stare at that forever.

He, who is no longer the last survivor of his clan.

He, who is no longer alone.

He, who has a perfect family always waiting for him.

And it’s all thanks to that pink haired woman that is now coming towards him with a soft smile on her face. He doesn’t believe in magic, but he certainly feels something different every time he looks into those stunning eyes of his wife.  

[bluegreenamber]

The Prince (4/4)

((AN: So um. Hi? Here’s the ending to the story that literally no one ever wanted nor asked for. It only took me like two years to finish the last chapter. Oof. Sorry about that. Completely lost my inspiration and my obsession with the fandom. Not really an excuse, but I doubt anyone will really read this soooo. If you do read this, I hope you enjoy the story at least. It’s kind of a mess of two different writing styles cuz me and my writing have changed so much since 2017. Regardless, this is probably the last fanfiction I’ll post here, especially for EW. Idrk why I’m doing it now after so long of a hiatus, but I kind of wanted some sort of finality I guess. I honestly hated having an unfinished work published. Whatever, I’m rambling into empty space. I’ll cya ‘round. Who knows, maybe I’ll find another reason to dive back into a fandom here someday. But for now, Kat out.))

One of my dads would have nightmares sometimes.

No one had ever really been surprised by this. Most people with PTSD ended up with a couple of bad dreams at some point. 

My dad’s were very serious. Often, he would wake up in the middle of the night paralyzed or panicked or even violent. He’s sleepwalked once or twice. The medicine he takes helps, but there's nothing better for him during all those times than my other dad. 

My dads have always loved and cared for each other deeply and unconditionally. They have always been each other’s everything, their support and advisor and comforter and partner. They've always been able to solve each other’s problems, when they themselves weren't the problem, that is. 

We kids tried to help best we could, and we succeeded to some extent. Our parents loved us as much as they did each other. But they kept some things from us. We didn't know all the things they were going through, so of course we couldn't do as much as they could for each other. 

But there was the rare occasion when we had to step in. 

My dad hated the war. He hated talking about it, dreaming about it, thinking about it. It was the source of a lot of his problems, so naturally he despised it. The only thing he owned that could have reminded him of that time was the medals he had earned, and even those he kept locked in a small box hidden in the bottom of a dresser drawer. 

That's why we were all so surprised when he bought a rifle. 

When questioned about it, he excused it as wanting to “finally face his fears head on” and “not letting his past trauma keep him from all the possibilities of his future.” 

We bought it for the moment, but we all kept a close eye on him. And we were not disappointed.

He started acting funny, doing things he never would've normally done. He stopped taking his medicine. He took his medals out from their spot and laid them out on the mantle. He could regularly be found cleaning his gun, paying it a lot of attention and caring for it. He watched the news, specifically political things, and even war documentaries. He barely talked to any of us anymore, even my other dad. 

This was going too far for a simple epiphany. 

Then, he started disappearing. He just left sometimes, not telling anyone when or where he was going. And he had always told my other dad everything when he went out. 

I had to find out what was going on. 

I watched my dad very closely in the following days. Finally, I saw him sneaking out the door while everyone else was gone or in their rooms and decided to follow him. He took the car out towards town, and I followed him secretly on my bike. 

After about twenty minutes, we arrived at a strange building. It didn't look neglected, but it certainly wasn't new. It didn't have any labels or decorations on it, despite it being in the middle of the city. 

My dad parked right in front of it and walked up to the door confidently. He looked like he was definitely comfortable here. 

I chained my bike around the corner, watching him from the shadows. He opened the door without any hassle. Apparently it was just unlocked already. 

After a beat, I slipped inside as well. The interior was dark, the hallway I had stumbled into plunging into a twilit darkness as soon as the door clanged shut behind me. I realized then that I had no plan, no idea what I was doing, and no way to navigate this strange place. The only thing guiding me at this point was the fairly straightforward hallway illuminated only by a few flickering bare bulbs… and the faint sound of voices coming from the other end. 

When I finally crept up to the room where the voices originated from and peeked in, what I saw made me do a serious double take. The first thing I zeroed on was my dad, who was standing at a long, round table with several other people. All of them looked a little rough around the edges, though some had more subtle tells that only a child of a war veteran could really see. I knew instantly, instinctively that all of these people had served in the military. That should have been reassuring, should have made me think that my dad had just started going to some sort of veteran group meeting, but something felt off. Maybe it was the guy at the head of the table, the obvious leader of the group. He had a metal arm. 

Normally, prosthetics wouldn’t affect me. I had seen enough of them amongst my dad’s war buddies and viewed them with a sort of respectful reverence. But this… this was not a normal extension to work as a helpful tool for those in need. This looked like something straight out of a Marvel movie. This metal arm was a weapon, period.  

It also didn’t help that the owner of the arm was practically shouting his impassioned speech, his face radiating pure hatred and raw power. I had no idea what he was talking about, but that didn’t stop me from noticing the spittle flying from his rapidly-moving lips. His eyes seemed almost to glow red from utter rage. 

And my dad was listening with rapt attention. He was nodding and even loudly chiming in his agreement at some points. I felt vaguely sick. This wasn’t my dad. The man who had raised me to always be compassionate and patient and loving towards everyone and everything would never in a million years agree with whatever vile, twisted things were escaping this metal-armed man’s mouth. There must be something more to this. 

I took another look around the room to try to find the “something else.” The others around the table were much like my dad: listening to and agreeing with everything that the leader was saying, without question. Like soldiers to their commander. Was that it?

Before I could further ponder the state of these people’s minds, I felt rough hands grab onto my arms and lift me into the air. I cried out in surprise, kicking at my captor. It was no use, however. The person’s grip was like iron, and they effortlessly dragged me into the meeting room, stunning everyone within to silence. 

After a moment’s pause, the armless leader smiled at me with little warmth. “Well, well, well, what have we caught today?” 

“Let go of me,” I snarled, tacking on a few more choice words at the end that described exactly how I viewed the people currently holding me hostage. My protests were futile. 

The leader continued to stare at me, evaluating me, seeming to search my very soul with his piercing eyes. “You seem like a smart one. Which means that you know too much. Which, of course, makes you a loose end. A very disposable loose end.” 

A shiver of fear traveled down my spine. I couldn’t help it. Despite my desire towards defiance, I was in unknown (and quite possibly hostile) territory. What he was insinuating… I felt my stomach sink with dread. 

The best plan would most likely be to stall for time, maybe appease him just a little. “I don’t know anything! I don’t know where I am or what’s going on. I don’t know what this is or who you are.” And I didn’t even have to lie. 

He chuckled lightly. “Why, how rude of me. I am Red Leader, and this is the beginning of my army.” He swept his arm across the room, indicating all of the others gathered.

I narrowed my eyes at him, determined to play his game if it bought me any time. “Okay then. Does ‘Red Leader’ have an actual name?”

He seemed to find humor in me, at least, if his smugly amused smile was anything to go by. “Of course. This vessel was called… hm, I believe it was Nick. But you may call me Tord.”

The name immediately set off a million bells inside my head. This was the final one of the four boys in the photograph. Tord. Could he be The Soldier? Or something else? 

Also, did he say “this vessel”? Could he have meant… his body? Was he possessing someone else, someone named Nick? Questions whirled around in my mind, but they were interrupted when Tord raised his hand at the person still holding me.

“So now, I believe that you know too much,” he said to me before turning his attention back to my captor. “Motley, you know what to do.” 

My indignation at having been so blatantly tricked quickly turned into fear as I heard an actual growling sound come from the humanoid thing behind me that I still hadn’t gotten a good look at. Squirming desperately, I was about to resign myself to my fate when a shout rang out among the otherwise silent room. 

“Stop!”

Everyone’s head simultaneously turned towards the source of the loud cry. It was, of course, my father. His protective parental instinct must have broken whatever spell Tord had over him when he realized that my life was in danger. 

Something seemed to twitch in Tord’s smirk. “Oh? Is that insubordination I hear, soldier?”

My dad physically flinched. I started struggling again in the arms of who I assumed to be Motley. Whether it was out of anger for my dad or in an effort to draw attention away from him, I wasn’t sure. Regardless, it did nothing. There was no way I could escape by myself, and all eyes remained on my dad. 

The brief flash of fear in my dad’s eyes faded quickly into defiance. He only had to take a single glance at me, and his entire face contorted with the protective rage only a parent can truly experience. Tilting his chin up determinedly, he declared, “Yes. Yes, it is.”

Tord’s expression was utterly unreadable, and that was even more terrifying than the violent anger I was expecting. He opened his mouth to say something--perhaps to order the rest of his army to attack my dad, perhaps to order Motley to finally finish me off, perhaps to deliver a long-winded speech only storybook villains are capable of, perhaps even to grant us mercy--but never got the chance. Even from here, the entire room could hear the giant clang! as the door to the outside of the building swung open and hit the wall with great force. In the utter silence that followed, the rapid footsteps echoing down the hallway were almost as loud. 

To my somewhat surprise, my other dad burst into the room with all the grace of a hurricane. With me out of the line of sight, his eyes immediately locked onto his partner for life, and he rushed with open arms towards the collision of awkward limbs tangling. It was only when they were both wrapped up in each other that I realized that he was crying. I knew that there was going to be a hell of a conversation later, but it seemed that this moment required no words. 

The most interesting part, though, was Tord’s face. His mouth was open in a comedic “o” of surprise. In fact, he almost seemed close to tears himself, strangely enough. “Pat?” he whispered, his eyes locked on my tear-streaked dad. There was no acknowledgment of his quiet, almost fearful voice, but there was no need for it. 

Before anyone could react, Tord collapsed to the ground, glowing red eyes rolling into the back of his head. I watched in numb horror as a strange mist the same color as his eyes escaped out of his mouth and nose. Instead of rising like mist normally does, however, it sank into the floorboards. When the last of it had dissipated, I felt the huge arms encircling me finally loosen and release me. 

I dropped heavily onto the ground, my knees buckling underneath me from lack of use. At the loud thud, my dads finally unlocked their embrace properly and, at the sight of me on the floor, rushed over towards me. It felt like heaven when their arms wrapped around me--a sharp contrast to the arms that had been slowly crushing me not moments ago--and even them fussing over me incessantly was comforting instead of the usual annoying. 

Over their shoulders, I could see the rest of the army coming out of a sort of a daze. Many were blinking rapidly as if waking up from a dream. Many were reaching out and finding their own forms of comfort in human physical contact. Many were speaking lowly with one another, confused expressions on their faces. A few were even wandering out of the door already. Overall, though, it felt like things were going to be alright. Tord’s powerful influence had disappeared with the mist.

Speaking of which, I watched as Tord’s body rose from the ground, groaning and eyes widening with bewilderment. Nick, I think was his name. I half-expected the others in the room to remember what his body had done as Tord and be afraid of him, but they accepted him as fast as any other soldier. The moment I saw his first smile, I decided that things would most certainly work out after all. 

When we all gathered the strength to stand up, my dads practically carried me outside the dreaded building. They settled me in the backseat of the car while they put my bike on the car’s bike rack, speaking softly to one another as they did. I was so utterly happy to see their reconnection, the renewed spark of love between them, the one that had been missing for weeks now as my one dad descended into a war-crazed madness driven by otherworldly forces. 

We drove home to be greeted by my very worried brothers who had been waiting impatiently ever since my one dad had told them he was going out to track down the other. All of us exhausted, we ordered delivery and spent the evening on the couch in a great family pile. After what had happened that day, it felt like bliss. 

It wasn’t until I returned to my room to turn in for the night and saw the picture on my bedside table that I realized that the last of the four boys wasn’t in fact The Soldier. I almost laughed as I stared down at the finally clean photograph. My English teacher would be so disappointed in me; we had read through Machiavelli’s entire book during her class. Of course, the guy who craved power, who used fear to enforce it, was The Prince. 

Tord was grinning up at me, his hair pointed up into twin devil horns and a small crown insignia on the gun he was holding….

I was suddenly shaken out of my thoughts by muffled screaming. I was moving in an instant, speeding over to the other side of the house in the direction that the sounds had come from. Sticking my head out of the kitchen window, I couldn’t help but be surprised at what I saw.

The house next to us had a glowing green light spilling out of it, lighting up the entire neighborhood in the dark of night. 

I grinned, the small part of me not completely exhausted filling with relief. The adventure wasn’t over yet.

Because it seemed that our neighbors were having a bit of… paranormal trouble.

[rachelclewis]

Cohabitation

I started this blog after a breakup – a really bad one – with the idea that I was done with relationships.  I decided that I was tired of comparing myself to my ex-husband (married with two kids, while I was still single and lonely).  I decided I was done waiting for a guy to come along and stay in my life.  I was going to take myself to a sperm bank for my next birthday.  I was going to write about this process as it went along, as I made lemonade out of my sour relationship lemons.

I didn’t get far.  I went to my doctor and told her my plan.  She was discouraging.

“Your eggs are old; they won’t be very high quality anymore.”

I was 37 at the time.  I thought I was still in the window.  When was I supposed to freeze them? In my twenties?  Teens? No one told me!  My poor eggs.  I knew I had passed the ideal age, but I imagined there was still some green in my inner garden.  Suddenly I saw my eggs, not as colorful uncut blooms, but as the dusty and mold spotted roses rotting away on Miss Havisham’s wedding cake in Great Expectations.  Intended for a joyful event that never took place.

“Have you thought about adoption?” my doctor asked.

I did.  I thought a lot about it.  I certainly wasn’t opposed to it.  I did contemplate the fact that it is much cheaper to make a baby from scratch than to adopt one.  But the real deterant to me was the the fact that I would have to convince a number of people that I would be fit and capable of doing it on my own.  The sperm bank doesn’t have that obligation.  And I imagine they take credit cards.

The thought did leave me with the question… Could I prove to some strangers that I would be a good single parent?  If not, what did that mean? Would I be a good single parent?  I’ve got a paycheck, insurance and a spare room.  But it’s just me.  There’s no fall back plan.  If something happens to me, what happens to the baby?  Would bringing a child into the world, or even just my life, be a terribly selfish thing to do?

I decided it was.  And that was the end of that lemonade stand.

Let me say with full caps for emphasis: I AM NOT SAYING THAT SINGLE MOTHERS ARE SELFISH!!! THAT IS NOT WHAT I REMOTELY THINK OR FEEL!!!  I just decided that I didn’t have the resources to do it.  I have an amazing family, amazing friends, and I’m living a rich life that a part of me would love to share with a child.  The rest of me, however, is afraid.  Afraid I don’t have the physical or mental staminal to handle it.  Afraid that I would be too anxious or too sad to do it well.  And what if I get injured or sick and slide into destitution or a coma…?  As it stands, I already lie awake worrying about things like this.  If a little person were depending on me and only me?  I don’t think I could function.

ONCE MORE! FOR EMPHASIS! THAT IS JUST ME!  THE WORLD IS FULL OF AMAZING SINGLE PARENTS WHO KICK ASS ON A DAILY BAISIS AND I HONOR YOUR CHOICES AND YOUR AWESOMENESS!

Also, I heard a story on the radio about a woman whose 35 year old autistic son took a shit in the back of her car, and it terrified me so much I couldn’t blink for forty-five minutes.  So, just in case I implied that I am NOT selfish, that’s not what I meant.  I am.  I’m completely selfish.  That may be the real problem.

Anyway, that was three years ago.  And I did move on with my life.  I sold my condo and bought a house.  I got a promotion at work and that was a good thing.  I found other ways to connect with the children that were already in my life.  I focused on being the best damn aunt that I could be.

I didn’t want a relationship.  Frankly, the pain just wasn’t worth the reward.  I was never going to throw that much time and energy and love away on anyone ever again.  But time passed and – like I always do – I started losing my resolve.  Because I got lonely.  And I have these coupled friends that I hang out with and they make it seem so… possible.  So, I got back out there.  I met somebody.  And yada yada yada… my boyfriend and his five-year-old son moved in with me in September, just after my 40thbirthday.

So far, it is going really well.  I was worried I would feel invaded and have a hard time downsizing enough of my stuff to make space for “the boys” (two human males and one snake that I am told is male; I haven’t verified).  There were a few pieces of furniture that I gave to charity that were harder to let go than they should have been.  Perhaps because they were things that I bought immediately after the divorce and it were emblematic of my independence?  I bought them during the first period in my life when I had the freedom to choose a piece of furniture for myself.  First, I had to figure out what my own “taste” was, and I honestly had no idea.  I chose a few things, including a red armless chair and a faux leather trunk, that may well have been completely ugly, but they were new.  And all mine.  It was a scary, fun, and luxurious place to be.  Maybe giving those things away felt like closing of a chapter on my life, and that’s the issue?  Even though I wanted to close that chapter.

Or maybe I just liked that chair and that trunk and now I don’t have them anymore.  I guess I don’t need to get all Freudian about it.

My other concern was for Ethan, the kindergartener.  He expressed enthusiasm over moving in from the beginning.  He most often expressed excitement about getting to live with Wensley, because apparently moving in meant that the dog “will officially be my big brother!”  There was one other time that he told me he was really excited to come and live with me because I have Blu-ray, but mostly it was all about Wensley.

Still, I was concerned.  I was worried that once he saw his stuff in his new room in my little 1940’s house, he would realize just how much smaller it is than the one he had in his 2010’s town house.  He didn’t have a backyard at the town house, but there was a playground with a slide and swings.  And the old living room was more accommodating to wrestling.  Similarly, the old couch was more suitable for cannon-balls and similar.  I had the idea that I would set up his room with all of his old things but also put up a few new things that he could get excited about to distract him from the habitat shrinkage.  So I set about doing one of those HDTV makeovers, but on a much smaller budget.

First I got a Totoro night light.  You can choose if you want the stomach or the umbrella to be lit.  (When I turn it on for him at night I ask him, “Belly or brawly?”)  Then I got a large wall decal showing an X-wing and TIE Fighter battle over the fate of the death star from any one of the Star Wars movies (am I the only one who has noticed that they all seem to end the same way?).  His rug is five foot Millennium Falcon and his light switch cover says “Light Side / Dark Side.”  Admittedly, that last one was for me. Ethan will appreciate it when he is older, I’m sure.  But puns are not the natural purview of five-year olds.

Ethan got a tour of his room and he loved it.  Matt even helped make the light switch a success by acting out the difference between “light side” and “dark side” at the speed of Ethan’s switching.

It was a little strange because we were heading up to Idaho that day for a long planned visit to see Matt’s parents, so Ethan got to see his room but not stay in it that night.  While we were in Idaho Ethan and I were hanging out in Matt’s childhood room, looking through his old knickknacks.  We were blowing dust off sports trophies and holding sea shells up to our ears to listen for the ocean while Matt and his parents talked in the other room. Ethan put down his sea shell and told me again how excited he had been to move in with me.

“Daddy said we were moving and I said, let’s move Friday!”

I laughed. “Yeah, it took a little time to get it all planned.  We still have a lot of unpacking to do.  But I’m glad you are happy about it!  I’m happy too.”

Then he looked me in the eye and said, “You and Dad made a really good choice.”  I know it sounds like I’m putting words in his mouth, or like I don’t know how to write children’s dialogue.  But he talks like he is 28.  He just does.

I was charmed and more than a little bit verklempt.  He’s such a sweet kid; of course he wasn’t focused on the size of his room, or his stuff in general.  He’s been through a lot in his five years, and he is good at making lemonade, too.   I felt like he was telling me he’s glad I’m in his life, Totoro night light or no.  It suddenly occurred to me that he is gaining more than a dog and a yard – he’s gaining me, too.  I’m glad so glad he thinks that is a good thing.

[sunshinedjh]

The wolf of the woods: Part One

Hey guys, so I’ve been having the idea of writing a full length phanfic for a while now and I finally decided to give it a go so here we are. -

Word count: 843

Wattpad <<<

Warnings: none really, mild pain and unconsciousness? -

CHAPTER ONE: THE WEREWOLF

Pad, pad, pad, rapid footsteps (or rather, pawsteps) could be heard sprinting through the trees. Pad, pad, pad, a panting and frustrated sounding growl could be heard coming from the owner of the paws. Pad, pad. pad, not only did this mysterious creature have paws but he also had ears, great huge protruding ones that could be seen darting through the trees. His name was Dan, although at the moment he didn’t feel like Dan, his body was full adrenaline and fur, lots of fur.

You see Dan was a werewolf, he had been for most of his life. It was horrible changing into such a monster, it removed all logical thought and replaced it with desire, desire to kill, desire to eat. But currently Dan’s deepest desire was to get back home before… Before…

He wasn’t going to make it.

He felt a tingling sensation in his already aching feet that quickly turning into pain and shot up, infecting the rest of his body. He was panting even more now. The pain was throbbing, stabbing into him like a thousand knives. Panting faster still he took a few further steps before stopping dead still. His thoughts were coming back to him now, and the adrenaline was leaving him. He dropped to his knees breathing rapidly before one final excruciating jolt of pain struck him and knocked him out of consciousness.

Dan awoke the following dawn, cold and confused. His clothes were torn to pieces and his eyes were still slightly bloodshot as he opened them. Gazing down at his hands, he saw that they were no longer large and furry. He looked around at his surroundings, trees mainly, not much help. He had to get back home. He rose to his feet with an aching groan, a painful reminder of the previous night. Thank god he didn’t have school today.

Dan began to clamber through the trees in some hope of finding a path, or better still his home (If you could call it That). He hadn’t had a proper home since he was a child, before his parents had abandoned him. He remembered very little about them, only that one night on the full moon they had burst into his room just as he had begun transforming. He hadn’t wanted to hurt them so with the last fraction of his brain that was still his, he told himself to jump out the window and run. He had ran and ran and ran as far as he could, and spent the night in the forest, afraid and hungry. When he awoke the next day he had traipsed back home, still terrified (Mainly of himself) to find his parents. Only for them to say he was a disgrace and a monster. They had disowned him, kicked him out, never to see them again.

So now Dan lived this lonely life of solitude alone in his treehouse, which thankfully he could now see in the distance.

He bolted toward it with what little stamina he had left, not even bothering to look around for nearby intruders, or passers by. Luckily there was no one. As he began to climb up the rickety old ladder into his home his stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten a thing, in his own form or his werewolf form for 24 hours and now his stomach was finally catching on. He got to the top of his treehouse and started searching for any spare scraps of food. There was nothing. Nothing except an abundance of coffee cups, and that plate he smashed yesterday (he should really clean that up).

He sighed as he dumped himself onto his rickety old bed and thought about what he was going to do next. As uncomfortable as it was he was quite grateful he had a bed, he had found it in a scrapyard A while back and it had been quite a feat getting it back into the forest and up a tree. He looked around the room, his walls were covered in moon charts and crossed out calendars, each having a big red circle around the date of the full moon. There were a few claw marks in the walls from were he hadn’t been able to leave his house soon enough. Dan didn’t care though, they added ‘character’ he had told himself.

‘Well I better go back out then’ Dan sighed to himself, he had no problem with taking to himself since he had no one else to talk to. He got up and slung a backpack on his back, it contained a few bottles of water, a particularly sharp rock tied to a twig (a knife supposedly) and a few other supplies. He had no money. If he was going out to get food he would have to steal, and he’d much rather do that with some sort of weapon rather than armless.

He began to clamber back down the ladder and go in search of food. He hated stealing but right now it was the best he could do.